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Crisis management in today’s organizations
Comm. 610
Queens University
Jordan Gallagher
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Abstract
This research paper examines crisis management found in today’s organizations. This main focus of this
analysis project is to prove how important having a public relations department is when crisis hits an
organization. I examined how the organization, Carnival handled a crisis in 2013, and what they could
better their crisis management in the future. I applied the classical management theory to Carnival’s
organization because each employee has a specific role, even when a crisis hits. I also applied a
rhetorical analysis to the press conference video provided by Carnival’s public relations team.
Keywords: Carnival, crisis management, public relations, classical management
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Crisis management in today’s organizations
Introduction
In today’s society, crisis management is crucial to an organization’s success. A crisis,
small or large can lead to the downfall of an organization’s reputation, and ultimately their
success. In February of 2013, the cruise ship line Carnival was forced to rethink how they used
crisis management after a crisis occurred on the Triumph ship. Many skeptics say that Carnival’s
public relations team could have addressed the public and families quicker than they did.
Because Carnival has been faced with negative publicity since the incident, the organization has
been working since, to make sure their means of crisis management is more effective in the
future. When a crisis hits, the organization’s public relations team is responsible for damage
control. This is why it’s important to look at each employee’s role in the organization and how
Carnival is still using the classical management theory.
Literature Review
According to Olsson, Nord, and Falkheimer, “If well managed, crises do not only pose a
threat to political actors but also provide opportunities to show action, strengthening credibility
and launching new policies.” (Olsson, E., Nord, L. W., & Falkheimer, J, 2015) This too can be
said for an organization because crisis management allows the organization to grow and
strengthen in credibility. Why is it important for an organization to have a public relations team
when there is a crisis? According to Ihlen, “Crisis is a serious matter: the organization faces a
major threat that imperils its future profitability, growth and, possibly, survival.” (Ihlen 2010)
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How does crisis management play an important part in Carnival’s organization?
According to Bryce, “Carnival Cruise Lines has suffered several mishaps which have harmed its
reputation and the reputation of the cruise industry in general.” (Bryce, 2014) Because Carnival
has had several incidents over the last few years, they have found that it is crucial to use crisis
management in order to prevent future problems. Bryce has done research about Carnival’s
cruise line and their mishaps over the last few years. According to his research, it seems that the
Triumph engine room fire was not the first crisis like this to occur. Even though there has been
much research about Carnival’s use of crisis management there have been none that identify how
they use classical management. For this reason, I have chosen to analyze a video of the February
2013 Carnival press conference.
Methodology
For my analysis paper, I will focus on Carnival’s press conference which was given after
the crisis onboard the Triumph ship. In this video, Carnival’s public relation team has a main
goal of defending the organization from the media. Since the purpose of the video is to persuade
the viewers, I have chosen to do a rhetorical analysis on the video. According to Vaughn,
"Rhetoric constitutes the core component of public relations; it is through rhetoric that people
and organizations negotiate and manage their relationships.” (Vaughn, 1997, pp.120)
Analysis
Many organizations today still use the classical management theory to run their company.
According to the authors of our textbook, “Classical management approaches are represented by
a collection of theories that share the underlying metaphor of organizations modeled after
efficient machines.” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr, Trethewey, 2014) So how does ‘efficient machines’
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have anything to do with Carnival’s organization one might ask? It has to do everything with
how their organizations runs. Like many organizations, Carnival has a specific role for each
employee. There are the people who work on the ship to make sure it’s run properly and then
there are the people like the CEO who takes care of the organization’s image. Carnival has found
success in their type of management because it allows for an efficient organization. Because
Carnival runs their organization from a classical approach, it is clear how important each
employee’s role is when crisis hits, especially the PR team.
At the beginning of the press conference, Carnival’s CEO Gerry Cahill addresses their
company goal for the crisis: “At Carnival, our promise to our guest is to provide a great vacation
experience and we try very hard to do that full time. It’s obvious in this case that we did not
fulfill that promise and we are very sorry that occurred.” (Cahill, 2013) So what does Cahill
accomplish by starting the conference off with this strong line? In my opinion, he does exactly
what he should, and that is to first and foremost apologize. By apologizing, he admits that
Carnival has not provided the promised experience. Next, the CEO enlightens the audience of the
current conditions onboard the ship, and the steps they are taking to bring the passengers safely
home. This is news to the families watching, who have been waiting days for news.
Throughout the video, Cahill addresses the audience about the engine room fire. Cahill
reiterates that “every decision we’ve made since Sunday morning is to ensure the safety of our
guest, and get them home as soon as possible.” By saying this statement, Cahill is showing that
the guest are the number one priority. In my opinion, the point of a press conference is to do
exactly as Cahill did, and that is to get the facts to the media and families quickly. Lastly, Cahill
addresses how Carnival will make sure everything is done to make sure guest arrive where they
should be, and in a timely manner.
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So why was it so important that Carnival hold this press conference? Bryce looks at a
crisis by saying: “Is the damage irreparable, or can careful crisis management and marketing
repair the trust and confidence of Carnival’s guests and prospective cruisers? (Bryce, 2014)
When an organization decides to have a press conference as crisis management, they are hoping
that it will strengthen their relationship with angry guest. A press conference also gives the
media and families the opportunity to obtain information about the crisis that they may not have
known. In reality, a press conference is just a way to reiterate how sorry the organization is.
Conclusion
After researching about crisis management and the effect that it had on Carnival,
something stood out to me. The title of Ihlen’s article: Love in Tough Times: Crisis
Communication and Public Relations, is exactly what crisis management can provide. When
crisis occurs, it is a tough time to love an organization, and ultimately the customer is left
questioning the credibility of the organization. Will the customer use the organization again,
even after the crisis? It’s questionable. But with the correct means of crisis management and
public relations, an organization’s credibility does not have to be lost, but instead strengthened. It
is when times are tough, that people are tested the most. Even though Carnival has been tested
time after time with crisis, they have bounced back by providing excellent customer service.
Public relations has become a successful career field for one reason, it is something that will
always be needed. Regardless of how organizations set themselves up, a crisis can happen to
anyone. Ihlen said it best, “Public relations proves its worth in times of crisis when the
organization feels surrounded by angry customers and pack-hunting journalists.” (Ihlen 2010)
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Reference:
Bryce, K. R. (2014). The role of social media in crisis management at carnival cruise
line. Journal of Business Case Studies (Online), 10(3), 231. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.queens.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/15513687
17?accountid=38688
Carnival Triumph Press Conference [Motion picture]. (2013). United States:
CarnivalCruiseNews.
Eisenberg, E., Goodall Jr., H., & Tretheway, A. (2014). Organization Communication:
Balancing creativity and constraint(Seventh ed., pp. 65-72). Boston, Massachusetts:
Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Ihlen, Ø. (2010). Love in Tough Times: Crisis Communication and Public Relations. Review Of
Communication, 10(2), 98-111. doi:10.1080/15358590903524748
Olsson, E., Nord, L. W., & Falkheimer, J. (2015). Media Coverage Crisis Exploitation
Characteristics: A Case Comparison Study. Journal Of Public Relations Research, 27(2),
158-174. doi:10.1080/1062726X.2014.976827
Vaughn, M. A. (1997). Organizational Identification Strategies and Values in High Technology
Industries: A Rhetorical-Organizational Approach to the Analysis of Socialization
Processes in Corporate Discourse. Journal Of Public Relations Research, 9(2), 119-139.