Knowledge@ASB: Headline Disasters

Organisations often have difficulty foreseeing disasters, but what can be controlled is the extent of the damage. The sexual harassment complaint against retailer David Jones’ former chief executive Mark McInnes and the ecological crisis in the Gulf of Mexico involving BP are just two ongoing headline examples. How an organisation – its directors and management – is seen to behave when a disaster strikes will have an impact long after the cleanup. What’s needed is a plan to manage the unexpected and to appease the news-hungry media. Crisis management experts claim the greatest blunders in the panic are lying or saying nothing. Instead, the information vacuum might be filled with an apology, without admitting liability.