Political Science in the Age of the Internet and Digital Revolution
The Digital Revolution and Powershift Ever since the first personal computers began to make their presence felt in the late 1970s, a silent revolution in the way nations, politics, business, culture and society conduct themselves began to be apparent. Futuristic thinkers like Alvin Toffler wrote about the changing contours of business in the information age […]
Importance of Communication in an Organization
Effective Communication is significant for managers in the organizations so as to perform the basic functions of management, i.e., Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling. Communication helps managers to perform their jobs and responsibilities. Communication serves as a foundation for planning. All the essential information must be communicated to the managers who in-turn must communicate the […]
The Great American Pyramid Schemes
Donald Trump has promised to make America great again. He may have a bigger task on his hand than he previously thought. The American social life is plagued by many erroneous policies of the past government. It will take a lot of hard work to get rid of these policies. This is because these policies […]
Diversity and Inclusivity as a Value Based Imperative
Diversity and inclusivity in organizations have to be practiced instead of being preached. This is because they are concepts that lend credence to value based management and management that is humanistic in nature. Many organizations claim to have diversity programs only to have a few women in positions of power or differently abled employees just […]
Building an Emotionally Agile Workforce
“Leave your emotions at home.” Almost every working individual must have heard of this phrase. And leaders admit repeating it time and again, to eliminate the ‘so-called’ emotional drama at the workplace and foster ‘practical thinking’. This raises many questions. Is it even possible? Aren’t emotions the part of human existence? Can they be separated […]
Crisis refer to unplanned events which cause harm to the organization and lead to disturbances and major unrest amongst the employees.
Crisis gives rise to a feeling of fear and threat in the individuals who eventually lose interest and trust in the organization.
Gonzalez-Herrero and Pratt proposed a Crisis Management Model which identified three different stages of crisis management.
According to Gonzalez-Herrero and Pratt, crisis management includes following three stages:
The first stage involves detecting the early indicators of crisis. It is for the leaders and managers to sense the warning signals of a crisis and prepare the employees to face the same with courage and determination. Superiors must review the performance of their subordinates from time to time to know what they are up to.
The role of a manager is not just to sit in closed cabins and shout on his subordinates. He must know what is happening around him. Monitoring the performance of the employee regularly helps the managers to foresee crisis and warn the employees against the negative consequences of the same. One should not ignore the alarming signals of crisis but take necessary actions to prevent it. Take initiative on your own. Don’t wait for others.
Once a crisis is being detected, crisis management team must immediately jump into action. Ask the employees not to panic. Devise relevant strategies to avoid an emergency situation. Sit and discuss with the related members to come out with a solution which would work best at the times of crisis. It is essential to take quick decisions. One needs to be alert and most importantly patient. Make sure your facts and figures are correct. Don’t rely on mere guess works and assumptions. It will cost you later.
Employees must adjust well to new situations and changes for effective functioning of organization in near future. It is important to analyze the causes which led to a crisis at the workplace. Mistakes should not be repeated and new plans and processes must be incorporated in the system.
According to structural functions systems theory, communication plays a pivotal role in crisis management. Correct flow of information across all hierarchies is essential. Transparency must be maintained at all levels. Management must effectively communicate with employees and provide them the necessary information at the times of crisis. Ignoring people does not help, instead makes situations worse. Superiors must be in regular touch with subordinates. Leaders must take charge and ask the employees to give their best.
Diffusion of innovation theory proposed by Everett Rogers, supports the sharing of information during emergency situations. As the name suggests during crisis each employee should think out of the box and come out with something innovative to overcome tough times. One should be ready with an alternate plan. Once an employee comes up with an innovative idea, he must not keep things to himself. Spread the idea amongst all employees and departments. Effective communication is essential to pass on ideas and information in its desired form.
Unequal human capital theory was proposed by James. According to unequal human capital theory, inequality amongst employees leads to crisis at the workplace. Discrimation on the grounds of caste, job profile as well as salary lead to frustrated employees who eventually play with the brand name, spread baseless rumors and earn a bad name for the organization.
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Chain of Command, Business Continuity Planning, and Crisis Leadership in Corporates
February 12, 2025
