Degree Type

Creative Component

Semester of Graduation

Spring 2018

Department

Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication

First Major Professor

Gang Han

Degree(s)

Master of Science (MS)

Major(s)

Journalism and Mass Communication

Abstract

Throughout history, we have seen critical moments that defined an individual, group, business or organization. For the most part, British Petroleum was defined by their reaction to the gulf coast oil spills, Tiger Woods’s success on the golf course has been overshadowed by his personal issues, and the Duke Lacrosse team’s championship run was cancelled because of a sexual assault accusation. These are just a snapshot of major crises that we can (and will) examine in this text. Despite the notoriety of these cases, these crises are what form a major part of the public perception of these entities to date.

While some small crises may go unnoticed due to effective communication, others can call for the world’s attention. In either scenario, careful evaluation and consideration must go into the response. Factors such as the events that lead to the crisis, the publics or stakeholders that are following the situation, and the organization’s reputation are just examples of perspectives that need to be considered.

This project will provide a theoretical basis for the decision-making process before reviewing and analyzing three cases that possess various levels of threat to an organization’s reputation. The purpose is to provide an understanding and plan for student organizations to follow in the event of a crisis. The final sections of this text will outline three scenarios of various threat levels and a guide for how to respond to each.

Copyright Owner

Ismond, Scott

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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