Course: Crisis and Disaster Management Course Code: INE-526 Dr. Hamdi AYED Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Khaled University- Abha Academic Year 2022 – 2023 G CDM Course for Industrial Engineering - College of Engineering - Abha University 1 Course Content Unit‐1: An Introduction to Crisis Management Unit –2: Crisis Management and Decision‐making Unit‐3: Ethics in a Crisis Unit‐4: Crisis Technology and Analytics Unit‐5: Disaster management 2 Unit 3: Ethics in a Crisis 3 Unit 3 Content Section 1: Prominent Ethical Issues in Crisis Situations Section 2: Access To Information During A Crisis 4 Section 1: Prominent Ethical Issues in Crisis Situations 5 Section 1: Prominent Ethical Issues in Crisis Situations I: Ethical Principles of Responsibility and Accountability II: Ethical Principle Of Humanistic Care III: Crisis Communication Objectives IV: Attributions Of Crisis Responsibility‐‐ Situational Crisis Communication Theory 6 Crisis Communication Collection, processing, and dissemination of information required to address a crisis situation An emerging field in applied communication studies Involves ethical responsibilities by organizations before, during and after a crisis Stages of Crisis Communication Pre‐crisis 1. 2. Monitoring crisis risks Making decisions about how to manage potential crises Training people who will be involved in the crisis management process Crisis Response 1. 2. Collection and processing of information for crisis team decision making Creation and dissemination of crisis messages Post‐crisis 1. 2. Assessing the crisis management effort Providing follow‐ up crisis messages as needed Ethical Principles of Responsibility and Accountability Responsibility: morally based obligations and duties to others and to larger ethical and moral codes, standards, and traditions Accountability: readiness or preparedness to give an explanation or justification to stakeholders for one’s judgments, intentions, and actions Ethical Principle Of Humanistic Care Humanistic care is an ethical principle relevant to many sudden crisis events that create victims. Emphasizes the uniqueness and inherent worth of human beings Concerns the duty of all humans to others, specifically requiring a supportive response to individuals in suffering and in need The first priority of an organization in any crisis is to protect stakeholders from harm Ethical Principle Of Humanistic Care Examples would be telling consumers not to eat contaminated foods or warning messages alerting the public to a chemical leak. All victims should be provided an expression of sympathy, any information about corrective actions and trauma counseling when needed. Ethical Principle Of Humanistic Care When a crisis brings harm to individuals and leads to sufferings and loss, disaster victims need to receive medical assistance, food, shelter, counseling, and short‐term financial assistance. From a humanistic perspective, organizations have an ethical duty to avoid any action that could harm others. They also have a duty to be supportive to those harmed by crises. If an organization encounters a natural disaster or industrial accident that caused deaths, family members of victims and others affected could be offered memorial services and other forms of support. Post‐crisis communication should include counseling and follow‐up messages. Crisis Communication Objectives To provide accurate, timely information to all targeted internal and external audiences To demonstrate concern for the safety of lives To safeguard organizational facilities and assets To maintain a positive image of the organization as a good corporate or community citizen Crisis Communication Objectives For example, when a manufacturing company faces allegations and media inquiries relating to defective products that caused bodily injuries to consumers, the objectives of crisis communication activities should be: Having proper internal communication in preparing for a crisis moment of media frenzy Maintaining dialogs with different stakeholders in the middle of crisis Explaining clearly and accurately the extent of damage and crisis management steps to stakeholders to assure that they comprehend the situation without misunderstanding or confusion Attributions Of Crisis Responsibility Ethical crisis management requires the organization to focus its initial response on using communication to address the physical and psychological concerns of the victims. After this foundation is established, crisis managers could then turn their attentions to reputational assets. Ethical crisis communication practices involve decisions regarding accepting responsibilities and protecting organizational reputation. Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) provides guidance when crisis managers have met their initial obligations and are starting to address reputational assets. Attributions Of Crisis Responsibility SCCT offers an evidence‐based framework for understanding how to maximize the reputational protection afforded by post‐crisis communication. This is based on the idea that guidance for decision making in a crisis should be supported by scientific evidence from empirical research, rather than personal preference and unscientific experience. SCCT identifies key facets of the crisis which influence attributions about the crisis and the reputations held by stakeholders. SCCT emphasizes that crisis managers match their reputation repair strategies to the reputational threat of the crisis situation. Attributions Of Crisis Responsibility According to SCCT, the crisis manager assess the situation by asking the following questions: Can the organization is viewed as a victim of the event? 2. Does the event occur due to factors that are unintentional or uncontrollable by the organization? 3. Is the event preventable? 1. Attributions Of Crisis Responsibility In cases of natural disaster, violent incidents, rumors, and product tampering, the organization can be seen as a victim, and therefore is attributed minimal crisis responsibility. In accident crises, such as industrial accidents or technical errors causing product harm, the organization is attributed low crisis responsibility. In preventable crises caused by human errors or misdeeds, the organization is attributed strong crisis responsibility. In addition, crisis history is whether or not an organization has had a similar crisis in the past. A history of crises suggests an organization has an ongoing problem that needs to be addressed. Crisis managers should use increasingly accommodative reputation repair strategies as the reputational threat from the crisis intensifies. Section 2: Access To Information During A Crisis 19 Section 2: Access To Information During A Crisis I‐ Significant Choice Ethical Framework II‐ Challenge of Information Uncertainty in Crises III‐ Communication Ambiguity in Crises IV‐ Ethics Of Withholding Information V‐ A Dialogic Approach In Addressing The Public’s Concerns 20 Significant Choice Ethical Framework An important ethical principle that can be applied to crisis communication involves the concept of significant choice, because a crisis has the potential to create great harm while disrupting daily routines. Based on the significant choice ethical framework, individuals must be given enough information to make a reasoned decision. Choice based on the best information available when the decision must be made Choice making that is voluntary, free from physical or mental coercion When a group has vital information the public needs, that information must be disseminated as completely and accurately as possible Five Standards For Significant Choice Stakeholders are free from physical or mental coercion. 2. The choice is made based on all the information available. 3. All reasonable alternatives are included in the discussion. 4. Both short‐term and long‐term consequences are disclosed and discussed. 5. Both senders and receivers of messages are open about their personal motives With free flow of information and reasonable judgment based on their understanding of the situation, stakeholders can make objective decisions that they believe to be in their best interest. 1. Problems of Misinformation There are also several forms of communication that could diminish the opportunity for significant choice, according to Nilsen. If an organization provides unclear or biased information to stakeholders, it can corrupt the decision‐making process. Some forms of communication such as bias, ambiguity and emotionalized language could distort meaning or create unnecessary alarm among the public. The following is considered to be miscommunication that can lead to problematic consequences: Problems of Misinformation The following is considered to be miscommunication that can lead to problematic consequences: incomplete information biased information statistical units that may be inadequately defined or incomplete vague or ambiguous terminology in which listeners find erroneous meanings relationships that may be implied between the issue under discussion and other issues, when in fact no relationship exists false sense of urgency or false sense of importance highly emotionalized language which may distort meaning Problems of Misinformation In times of crisis, disclosure of timely, relevant, and complete information is particularly important when lack of information can be particularly harmful. In many cases, crisis communicators must perform the dual role of organizational spokesperson and counselor. In both instances, stakeholders’ informational needs and interests must be considered. “No comment” should not be an option for ethical crisis communication. Public relations professionals need to take responsible communication actions built on principles of openness and transparency. Challenge of Information Uncertainty in Crises Uncertainty is the inability to determine the present or predict the future. Organizations experience uncertainty ‐‐due to lack of information ‐‐due to the complexity of the information ‐‐due to questions about the quality of the information Communication Ambiguity in Crises Defined as multiple interpretations of an event Various groups may have communication goals and viewpoints that potentially conflict with each other The consistency of message is one important benchmark of effective crisis communication Ethics Of Withholding Information In general, an organization that withholds pertinent crisis‐related information by stonewalling, offering only selected disclosures, creating ambiguity, etc., is considered unethical. However, there may be legitimate reasons to withhold information temporarily. For example, it’s ethical to withhold the names of dead victims until the families are notified. Sometimes it is necessary to withhold strategic information because of concerns of national security, for instance, a case involving ongoing investigation of a terrorist plot. Or sometimes it is a good choice to temporarily withhold information that might unnecessarily panic the public. Types of Sensitive Information— Potential Consequence if Released Might jeopardizes national security or an ongoing police investigation Might unnecessarily violates privacy might lead to undue stigmatization of individuals or groups might lead to behaviors that would result in increased spread of disease Eventually, the reasons for knowingly withholding information should be fully defensible and based on ethical considerations. A Dialogic Approach In Addressing The Public’s Concerns The public has the right to know what risks it faces Public concerns about risk should be accepted as legitimate. The public can serve as a resource, rather than a burden, in risk and crisis management Maintaining information transparency is important in building risk communication capacity to support all phases of emergency management Public Health Risk and Crisis Communication Checklist Demonstrate respect for persons affected by risk management decisions by involving them early, before important decisions are made. Involve all parties that have an interest or a stake in the particular risk. Include in the decision‐making process the broad range of factors involved in determining public perceptions of risk, concern, and outrage. Use a wide range of communication channels to engage and involve stakeholders. Adhere to the highest ethical standards; recognize that people hold you professional and ethically accountable. Strive for mutually beneficial outcomes.
