IJTEMT; www.ijtemt.org ; EISSN: 2321-5518; Vol. II, Issue V, Oct 2013 Index Copernicus (ICValue: 6.14), Ulrich, DOAJ, BASE, Google Scholar, J-Gate and Academic Journal Database. Page21 Page21 MANAGEMENT CHANGES IN CRISIS QUICKLY: WHAT INITIATIVES CAN KEEP CRISIS AWAY IN A COMPANY? REGINE ADELE NGONO FOUDA; Department of Logistics Management & Engineer Shanghai Maritime University Shanghai-China reginemilena@yahoo.fr NANA DARCIS ROMEO Department of Business & Marketing East China Normal University Shanghai-China tontonromeo@hotmail.com OLEME MENYE HERBERT AGRIUS Department of Statistics & Finance East China Normal University Shanghai- China agriusoleme2@hotmail.com ABSTRACT- Crisis management is that art of making decisions to head off or mitigate the effects of an incident that threatens to harm, or has harmed, your institution’s people, structures, ability to operate, valuables and/or reputation. This often means making decisions dynamically with situations as they unfold, often in unpredictable ways while you are under stress and you lack key pieces of information. For example; Evacuation after a called-in bomb threat, Denial of entry to suspicious persons etc. This paper will help illustrate the international management changes in crisis management and some appropriate Business Continuity to keep crisis far away from a company or institution. KEYWORDS- crises management, types of crisis, crisis leadership, successful & unsuccessful initiatives of crisis management, business continuity. I- PREFACE Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives efficiently and effectively. It comprises of planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal, according to Frenchman Henri Fayol (1841–1925). He was one of the most influential contributors to modern concepts of management. Also, Mary Parker Follett (1868– 1933), another thinker wrote "the art of getting things done through people" in the early twentieth century. She described management as a philosophy. Some people, found this definition useful, but considered it far too narrow. Crisis management therefore is that process by which an organization deals with a major event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public. Three elements are common to most definitions of crisis: (a) a threat to the organization, (b) the element of surprise, and (c) a short decision time. Venette argues that "crisis is a process of transformation where the old system can no longer be maintained." Consequently, the fourth defining quality is the need for a change. It is a discipline within the broader context of management consisting of skills and techniques required to identify, assess, understand, and cope with a serious situation, especially from the moment it first occurs to the point that recovery procedures start. Therefore, Crisis management consists of: Methods used to respond to both the reality and perception of crises; Establishing metrics to define what scenarios constitute a crisis and should consequently trigger the necessary response mechanisms; Communication that occurs within the response phase of emergency management scenarios. Crisis management is occasionally referred to as incident management; although several industry specialists such as Peter Power argue that the term crisis management is more accurate. The credibility and reputation of organizations is heavily influenced by the perception of their responses during crisis situations. The organization and communication involved in responding to a crisis in a timely fashion makes for a challenge in businesses. There must be open and consistent communication throughout the hierarchy to contribute to a successful crisis communication process. Crisis is also a facet of risk management, although it is probably untrue to say that Crisis Management represents a failure of Management since it will never be possible to totally mitigate the chances of catastrophes occurring. II- EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: TYPES OF CRISIS & CRISIS LEADERSHIP During crisis management process, it is important to identify types of crises whereby different crises necessitate strategies. Potential crises are enormous, but crises can be clustered. Lerbinger categorized seven types of crises, while Erika Hayes James, an organizational psychologist at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business, identifies two primary types of organizational crisis. She defines organizational crisis of leadership as “any emotionally charged situation that, once it becomes public, invites negative stakeholder reaction and thereby has the potential to threaten the financial well-being, reputation, or survival of the firm or some portion thereof.” A. TYPES OF CRISIS 1) Natural crises Typically natural disasters are considered as acts of God, such as: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, landslides, tsunamis, storms and droughts that threaten life, property, and the environment itself. For example, the Indian Ocean earthquake on December 26 th 2004 which was an undersea mega thrust earthquake that occurred with an epicenter off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia; killing over 230,000 people in fourteen countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30m (100 feet) high. 2) Technological crises Caused by human application of science and technology, Technological accidents inevitably occur when technology becomes complex and something goes wrong in the whole system (Technological breakdowns). Some technological crises occur when human error causes disruptions (Human breakdowns). People therefore tend to assign blames on others because technology is subject to human manipulation whereas they do not hold anyone responsible for natural disaster. When