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Effective Crisis Communication: Moving From Crisis to Opportunity
In this fully updated Fourth Edition of Effective Crisis Communication , three of today’s most respected crisis/risk communication scholars provide the latest theories and innovative approaches for handling crisis. Unlike other crisis communication texts, this acclaimed book answers the question, "what now?" and explains how organizations can create the potential for opportunity, renewal, and growth through effective crisis communication. Authors Robert R. Ulmer, Timothy L. Sellnow, and Matthew W. Seeger provide guidelines for taking the many challenges that crises present and turning those challenges into opportunities. Practical lessons and in-depth case studies highlight successes and failures in dealing with core issues of crisis leadership, including managing uncertainty, communicating effectively, understanding risk, promoting communication ethics, enabling organizational learning, and producing renewing responses to crisis. New to the Fourth
- GenresNonfiction
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 19, 2024
3.75 stars rounded up to 4. Very informative and useful, and I appreciate their perspectives, but it was also tedious and repetitive at times.
December 13, 2010
Three years have elapsed since the first edition of Effective Crisis Communications (Ulmer, Sellnow, Seeger, 2007), and while the fundamental nature of crisis remains the same, the population at which the text is targeted has experienced dramatic events on a global scale, as well as the diffusion of broad reaching communication technologies whose application and utility is still being explored. The second edition of the book, published by SAGE Press, is a generally valid effort to maximize relevance in a changing communications environment. The authors offer a subtle reshuffling of case studies and introduce new theory and research with the intent of capturing a larger audience and emphasizing the role of leadership in renewal and recovery from crisis. Occasionally, they overstretch the thematic categorization, but overall provide a useful text for communications scholars and practitioners seeking guidance or information on crisis communications. Chapter progression remains similar to the original text, but observable changes reflect the book’s overall shift in focus.
The first four chapters provide a formist grounding in crisis communications. The chapters transition across a continuum from the powerlessness of crisis towards the realm of control, beginning with the nature and typologies of crisis, the management of uncertainty, and lessons on communication and ending with guidance for leaders in crisis. The lessons offered are unchanged from the first edition, but several pages have been added to address the role of social media and highlight the importance of including underrepresented populations. The former indicates a societal shift, the latter is most likely a correction of a previous oversight.
Chapters five through eight present a series of case studies thematically clustered around industrial, food-related, terrorist, and natural disaster crises. The studies carried forward from the first edition include two industrial fires, the largest outbreak of food-related illness in the U.S., the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and the government response to Hurricane Katrina. Added studies either provide more timely (and thus applicable to the audience) accounts, or more thematically appropriate topics. Melamine poisoning from China and an ecological disaster from Tennessee do not reflect the updated themes of the text better than the examples they replaced, but an expanded discussion of leadership following 9/11 (originally a brief anecdote in the first edition), and the story of a tornado in Kansas as an impetus for civic renewal drive later discourse.
A newly added chapter featuring case studies in financial crises is conceptually justified based on recent national events, but is thematically overextended. While the first two explorations of the Enron and General Motors collapse fit the label, a third study discussing Pizza Hut and youtube is out of place, presenting a crisis of image instead of finance. Its inclusion is appropriate to the theme of the book, though, in that it addresses the changing nature of public relations due to the advent of social media. There may not have been enough image related crises to warrant a separate section, but that does not excuse the authors decision to omit the largest financial crisis of the past decade and the most recent. There is no mention anywhere in the text of the mortgage foreclosure crisis, perhaps because it is a crisis of national proportions instead of one with an easily identifiable perpetrator and rectifier. The individualist emphasis in the significant majority of the case studies is in contrast to and complementary of the abstract and theoretical discussion in the first four chapters.
The majority of the revisions are to the final third of the book and address leaders in crisis. A chapter on learning through failure persists unchanged save for minor edits, but the following chapter discussing risk communication presents a ‘Convergence Theory,’ drafted by Sellnow, Ulmer, Seeger, & Littlefield (2009). The theory describes the process of meaning-making that the public engages in when viewing multiple divergent arguments on a topic, and is of use to risk communicators for its ability to shape discursive strategy with regard to the extant themes of public debate.
The concept of corporations as moral agents, elaborated in chapter 12, addresses a larger scale philosophical question than was absent in the first edition of the book. Though it contrasts with the individualist perspective of the case studies, it is a necessary topic in the wake of the largest financial crises of the past decade, even if the authors leave that topic unaddressed. Even in their discussion of corporate responsibilities, however, they conclude by directing attention back towards the individual level.
The theory of the Discourse of Renewal, addressed in chapter 13, is central to this edition’s theme of leadership and renewal. Using case studies from the earlier chapters and introducing the concept of the organization as a moral agent, the authors lay out a plan for post-crisis growth through four ‘opportunities.’ The basis of opportunities range from strong organizational values to the concept of significant choice; a combination of relevant communication with stakeholders and an absence of coercive influences. Additionally, the authors also add a section dispelling common misconceptions, using the cases studied to disprove the points. There is no discussion of where these common misconceptions were solicited.
Updating the text with the themes of social media, the discourse of renewal, and corporations as moral agents provides added relevance to the second edition of Effective Crisis Communications. The authors have created a comprehensive and well researched text with an adequate balance of theory and real-world examples. The mis-categorized case study is excusable in the overall scope of their work, especially because the study speaks to the overall updates in theme. The relevance of the text appears to be preserved, though the decision of SAGE press not to offer an electronic edition suggests further room for growth in the synthesis of technology and communication education.
The first four chapters provide a formist grounding in crisis communications. The chapters transition across a continuum from the powerlessness of crisis towards the realm of control, beginning with the nature and typologies of crisis, the management of uncertainty, and lessons on communication and ending with guidance for leaders in crisis. The lessons offered are unchanged from the first edition, but several pages have been added to address the role of social media and highlight the importance of including underrepresented populations. The former indicates a societal shift, the latter is most likely a correction of a previous oversight.
Chapters five through eight present a series of case studies thematically clustered around industrial, food-related, terrorist, and natural disaster crises. The studies carried forward from the first edition include two industrial fires, the largest outbreak of food-related illness in the U.S., the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and the government response to Hurricane Katrina. Added studies either provide more timely (and thus applicable to the audience) accounts, or more thematically appropriate topics. Melamine poisoning from China and an ecological disaster from Tennessee do not reflect the updated themes of the text better than the examples they replaced, but an expanded discussion of leadership following 9/11 (originally a brief anecdote in the first edition), and the story of a tornado in Kansas as an impetus for civic renewal drive later discourse.
A newly added chapter featuring case studies in financial crises is conceptually justified based on recent national events, but is thematically overextended. While the first two explorations of the Enron and General Motors collapse fit the label, a third study discussing Pizza Hut and youtube is out of place, presenting a crisis of image instead of finance. Its inclusion is appropriate to the theme of the book, though, in that it addresses the changing nature of public relations due to the advent of social media. There may not have been enough image related crises to warrant a separate section, but that does not excuse the authors decision to omit the largest financial crisis of the past decade and the most recent. There is no mention anywhere in the text of the mortgage foreclosure crisis, perhaps because it is a crisis of national proportions instead of one with an easily identifiable perpetrator and rectifier. The individualist emphasis in the significant majority of the case studies is in contrast to and complementary of the abstract and theoretical discussion in the first four chapters.
The majority of the revisions are to the final third of the book and address leaders in crisis. A chapter on learning through failure persists unchanged save for minor edits, but the following chapter discussing risk communication presents a ‘Convergence Theory,’ drafted by Sellnow, Ulmer, Seeger, & Littlefield (2009). The theory describes the process of meaning-making that the public engages in when viewing multiple divergent arguments on a topic, and is of use to risk communicators for its ability to shape discursive strategy with regard to the extant themes of public debate.
The concept of corporations as moral agents, elaborated in chapter 12, addresses a larger scale philosophical question than was absent in the first edition of the book. Though it contrasts with the individualist perspective of the case studies, it is a necessary topic in the wake of the largest financial crises of the past decade, even if the authors leave that topic unaddressed. Even in their discussion of corporate responsibilities, however, they conclude by directing attention back towards the individual level.
The theory of the Discourse of Renewal, addressed in chapter 13, is central to this edition’s theme of leadership and renewal. Using case studies from the earlier chapters and introducing the concept of the organization as a moral agent, the authors lay out a plan for post-crisis growth through four ‘opportunities.’ The basis of opportunities range from strong organizational values to the concept of significant choice; a combination of relevant communication with stakeholders and an absence of coercive influences. Additionally, the authors also add a section dispelling common misconceptions, using the cases studied to disprove the points. There is no discussion of where these common misconceptions were solicited.
Updating the text with the themes of social media, the discourse of renewal, and corporations as moral agents provides added relevance to the second edition of Effective Crisis Communications. The authors have created a comprehensive and well researched text with an adequate balance of theory and real-world examples. The mis-categorized case study is excusable in the overall scope of their work, especially because the study speaks to the overall updates in theme. The relevance of the text appears to be preserved, though the decision of SAGE press not to offer an electronic edition suggests further room for growth in the synthesis of technology and communication education.
June 30, 2019
This book was great for a textbook. The foundation and theories were very understandable. At the end of most sections, there was a table outlining all the lessons from the section. Some sections even scattered one line lessons, to help break up larger sections of text. Super helpful when you are trying to skim a section or try to find a section you wanted to reference back to. Because, I was not going to be able to read every section with fine tooth comb attention!
I really liked all the case studies that were given for examples. Crisis communication, done!
I really liked all the case studies that were given for examples. Crisis communication, done!
January 14, 2018
I read this for a university Crisis Communications Management class. Although it was a small book, it's packed with dense information about communication theories, common misconceptions about crises and real cases that allow for the reader to apply the new information in context. The book was easy to understand and had a great pace. I was glad to find that there wasn't fluff in this book, which made it easy to read. For learning about crisis communication, I think that this was a great book.
February 24, 2020
Easy to read and follow. Concise and to the point.
June 12, 2012
While the first edition was well-written and clear, in the second edition the authors did a large amount of expansion and updating that made the theory and practical application much more effective. Unlike most crisis, strategic, or public relations literature, the authors push for open and honest communication before, during, and after a crisis (rather than focusing on image and reputation). The argument they present, which has been supported by research, is that when an organization makes stakeholders their top priority, their reputation will take care of itself. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in crisis, strategic communication, or effective communication in general.
October 19, 2013
This book was very enlightening towards crises. They included examples that are relevant and included both positive and negative responses. A good read, very interesting, and powerful, I recommend this book for those interested in crisis communication.
July 9, 2020
Read the fourth edition for an online course on crisis communications. Includes several helpful outlines for developing communication plans, many case studies, and common sense management and ethics guidance.
January 2, 2013
A positive introduction with effective examples.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews