危机管理—公共关系【外文翻译】

本科毕业设计（论文）外文翻译原文：Crisismanagement–publicrelationsDamagetoanorganization’sreputationcansoeasilybecausedbyaflippantremark;forexampleRatner’ssharescollapsedthroughthechiefexecutive’scarelessjoke.Atatimeofcrisis,theeffectofflippantcommentsorplatitudescanexacerbatethiseffect.ThecommentbyEurotunnel’spresident,inwhichhedescribedthefireas’anunpleasantincident’,whichwasadjustedafewhourslaterto’aseriousincident’wasevidenceofpoormanagementofthereleaseofinformation,whichresultedintheimpressionthatsafetyfearswerenotbeingtakenseriously.HillandKnowlton’sdirectorofcrisismanagement,DavidBrotzen,commentedthattheydidwelltokeeptheincidenttoaquestionoffreightsafetyratherthanlettingLeShuttlebecomeimplicated.But:ifIwastheirPR,I’dtakethemediain,showthemwhathappenedandwhy.I’dlaunchanindependentinvestigationintothecauseandseverityofthefireandbeopenandhonestaboutitsfindings.I’dalsoreviewallrollingstocktoreassurealltravellersthatsafetyisnumberonepriority(Beenstock,1996).BasicrulesAfewbasicruleshaveclearlyemergedfromtheaboveexamples.Firstofalltheimportanceoftellingthetruth.Second,ratherthanletthemedianetworkspeculate,usethemedianetworkasaopportunitytodisseminateyourinformation.Leavenoroomforspeculation’’ifyoucan’ttellthemsomething,tellthemwhyyoucan’ttellthem’(PRJournal,1995).AppropriateapologiesPerhapsanotherbasicruletobementionedatthispointistheneedtoapologizepromptlywhenappropriate.SirJeremyMorse,bankerandpastchairmanoftheInstituteofBankers,maintainsthatitalmostalwayspaystoissueanearlyapology.Althoughthiscouldleadtoanorganizationbeingblamedforsomethingwhichisnotitsfault,hecomments:Nevertheless,therearetwocentralreasonswhythisisusuallytherightcourse.First,externally,thepublicrespectanapologyfreelygivenratherthanonethatcomesafteraconsiderableperiodofstonewalling.Secondly,internally,anearlyapologyfreesmanagerstosortouttheproblemsfarmoreeffectivelythaniftheyarestillmaintaininganoutwardfrontthatnothingiswrong(Haywood,1994,p.177).However,Black(1993)pointsoutthatifalawyerispresenttheremaybepressurenottoexpresssympathyincasethisistakentoimplyliability:Lawyersmustbetoldthattheconsequencestothecompanyofnotcommunicatingandshowingsympathyinpracticaltermsaresuretobemuchworsethanifanopenpolicyoffullinformationandgenerosityisadopted.SpeedofmediacoverageItisvitaltorealizethespeedofmediacoveragebecauseofnewtechnologicaldevelopments.Notonlycanstoriesberelayedbymobilephonesandfaxedfromcars,buttheycanalsobesentfromhelicoptersandbouncedoffsatellites.Picturestoocanbetakenbydigitalcomputerizedcamerasandsentdowntelecommunicationslines:WhenGreenpeacestageditshigh-profilestandagainstthesinkingoftheBrentSparoilplatform,itnotonlypostedinformationontheWeb,butwasreportedtohaveairliftedsophisticatedfilmingequipmentandasatellitedownstationontotherig,sothattheycouldprovidetheirownVNRsdirecttonewsoutlets(Nicholas,1996a).Thismeansthatitisunlikelythattherewillbeatimedelaybetweenanincidentorcrisiseruptingandtheresultingmediacoverage.Thisemphasizestheneedtoreactquicklyatatimeofcrisis,andtoletallpartiesknowimmediatelyabouttheactionyouhavetaken.’Communicatingeffectivelywasnowmoreoftenseenasofthesameimportanceasputtingtheproblemsright.’(IPRJournal,1995,p.14).Furthermore,themediaareincompetitionandhungryforthemostnewsworthystories.Generallybadnewsisverynewsworthyandmoresensational(Ashcroft,1994).Ifimmediateinformationisnotavailable,thisleavesroomforspeculativestories.SpecialisttrainingforcrisisOrganizationswhichhavehandledcriseswellhavebeenwellpreparedforthem,andtheirplanshavebeentriedandtested.Therearenowanumberofcompaniesofferingspecialisttraininginhowtohandlethemediainacrisis,whichcaninvolvetrainingtosuittheindividualorganization,includingsimulations.MichaelBlandofMichaelBlandCommunicationshasnodoubtaboutthevalueofsimulationexercises.’Evencompanieswithverygoodcrisisproceduresalwaysfindsomethingiswrongorsomethingismissingwhentheydoasimulation’(Purdom,1995,p.12).Preparationinvolvesidentifyingwhichcrisesarelikelytohappenforanorganization,thatisanticipatingpotentialcrises.Thisrelatestoissuesmanagement.Preparation/trainingforcrisismanagementCrisismanagementmanualThecrisismanagementmanualisoftenviewedasanimportantpartinpreparation.Itcansetoutwhowillhandlewhatandtheestablishmentofacrisisheadquarters.However,toworkinpracticeitmustbeveryuserfriendlyandasconciseaspossible.CrisischecklistPurdom(1995,p.11)setsoutacrisischecklist:’Identifywhichmanagerswillbepartofthecrisishandlingteam.Establishwhoisthespokespersonandensuretheyaretrained.’Ensurethatoutofhourscontactnumbersofseniorstaffareavailabletorelevantstaff,includingeveningsecuritycover.’Establishacontrolroomawayfromtheday-to-dayrunningofthebusiness.Ensurecomputerequipment,TVandradioareavailable.’Practicemakesperfect.Seniormanagementshouldrunthroughasimulationofacrisisincludingdealingwiththemediaunderpressure.’Don’tforgettotrainsupportstaff.Oftenitwillbecustomerservice,secretarialstaffortelephonistswhowillbethefirsttoreceiveacall.’Considerarrangementsforreceivinglargenumbersoftelephonecalls.Telesalescompaniescanofferconsultancyand