This paper examines the barriers organizations face when developing and implementing effective crisis communication strategies. Drawing on peer-reviewed literature in public relations and organizational management, the paper defines crisis communication, outlines why many organizations remain unprepared despite known risks, and identifies the guiding principles experts recommend for robust crisis planning. Case examples — including responses to Hurricane Isabel and the post-9/11 environment — illustrate practical steps such as preparation, assessment, restoration, and analysis phases. The paper concludes that proactive planning, trained crisis teams, and consistent messaging are essential to minimizing damage during inevitable organizational crises.
The paper demonstrates effective literature synthesis: it draws together definitions, frameworks, and case evidence from multiple peer-reviewed sources to build a cumulative argument. Rather than simply summarizing each source in sequence, the author weaves them together thematically — moving from definitional foundations, to practical constraints, to prescriptive principles, and finally to contemporary trends.
The paper opens with a context-setting introduction framing Hurricane Katrina as the motivating problem. The body is divided into two main analytical sections: the first establishes what crisis communication is and why organizations struggle with it; the second details concrete strategies and a four-phase planning model. A final section surveys post-9/11 trends before the conclusion synthesizes the core lesson — that preparation is essential because crises are inevitable, not exceptional.
When a disaster strikes, there is no time for planning — what is already in place must therefore suffice. One of the most important factors to emerge from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was the need for more effective communications between relief agencies, the U.S. military, and civil law enforcement. Effective communications between these agencies and the people who needed help was clearly required, but the implications of this failure were played out in the international media, and calls for reform have grown increasingly louder in response. To determine what could have been done differently to ensure that effective crisis communications were in place, this paper reviews the relevant peer-reviewed literature to examine the background of the problem and what experts are advising.
When it comes to crisis communications, there is no room for positive thinking. According to Fearn-Banks (2002), "A crisis can and will happen. 'When?' is the question. Negative thinking is more appropriate than positive thinking in crisis management" (p. 2). The difficult part about ensuring effective communications during periods of crisis is the unknowable aspects of what to expect. In this regard, Fearn-Banks defines a crisis as "a major occurrence with a potentially negative outcome affecting the organization, company, or industry, as well as its publics, products, services, or good name. A crisis interrupts normal business transactions and can sometimes threaten the existence of the organization" (p. 2).
Crises can assume a number of both man-made and natural forms, including strikes, terrorism, fires, boycotts, product tampering, product failures, or a wide range of other comparable events. The size of the enterprise involved is not relevant to the need for crisis planning and management (Fearn-Banks, 2002). "It can be a multinational corporation," this author advises, "a one-person business, or even an individual. By definition, a crisis interrupts the normal flow of business, so a crisis cannot be a normal part of this flow" (p. 2).
In reality, the scope of potential crises that an organization faces is extensive. This is particularly true if one follows the definition of an organizational crisis provided by Fink (1986): "A time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending — either one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome or one with the distinct possibility of a highly desirable and extremely positive outcome. It is usually a fifty-fifty proposition..." (p. 15). All too often, however, people tend to consider crises only as disasters or accidents. While these are in fact types of crises, as Dyer (1995) emphasizes, "Crisis is more a matter of organizational response to business situations. Crisis occurs when there is a large, important difference between the expectations that corporate management has about the way its plans will interact with the environment and what actually happens" (p. 38).
In the Age of Information, it might seem unnecessary to be overly concerned about the need for effective communications — after all, everyone is connected and communications are virtually instantaneous. Unfortunately, when disasters strike, one of the first resources to be lost is often the communications infrastructure, and the situation has been getting worse rather than better in recent years for a number of reasons. According to Stone (2003), the need for effective communications during periods of increasing frequency and severity of crises has made clear that more needs to be done. "Whether such crises occur in our public schools, governmental agencies, or business enterprises, these crises affect people, property or our environment, and they are matters of major concern" (p. 3).
The criticality of crisis communication management to U.S. businesses in particular is underscored by three salient factors:
First, the increasing mass media reporting of hazards and their attendant risks. Second, the phenomenal growth in the number of product-liability lawsuits, particularly since 1975. Third, the pervasive and enormous impact of business crises on more than just the reputations and the financial and social status of businesses (Gonzalez-Herrero & Pratt, 1996).
The convergence of these factors has created environments in which a number of enterprises have been forced to respond strategically to crises. The communications strategies adopted in response represent a trend in which companies increasingly perceive themselves as more vulnerable to crises today than they were in the past (Gonzalez-Herrero & Pratt, 1996). Unfortunately, in spite of these trends, an enormous number of companies in the United States still do not have any type of crisis communications plan in place. "Even though corporations are more vulnerable to crises than they were in the past, a majority of them are reluctant to adopt integrated crisis management plans" (Gonzalez-Herrero & Pratt, 1995, p. 25).
The research showed that crisis communications has assumed a new level of importance in recent years, and most experts have come to recognize that it is not a matter of if, but when such disasters will strike. The research also showed that although every company's situation is different, there are solid steps that can be followed to ensure that everything possible has been done to prepare for such an eventuality. An old adage suggests that "prior planning prevents poor performance," and this was borne out in the review of the relevant peer-reviewed literature: "Not every crisis can be planned for: who could have imagined September 11? But the more you plan and the more you are prepared, the more likely you will be able to cope, even with the unexpected" (Samansky, 2002, p. 25).
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