Business Crisis and Continuity Management (BCCM)

Class Session 21

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Saul Alinskys Rules for Radicals

Seal, Mike. Saul Alinsky, Community Organizing and Rules for Radicals.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have. Never go outside the expertise of your people. Feeling secure stiffens the backbone. Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy. Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety, and uncertainty. Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules. If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000. Ridicule is mans most potent weapon. Theres no defense. Its irrational. Its infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions. A good tactic is one your people enjoy. Theyll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. Theyll even suggest better ones.
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Saul Alinskys Rules for Radicals

Seal, Mike. Saul Alinsky, Community Organizing and Rules for Radicals.

7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag. Don't become old news. Even radical activists get bored. So to keep them excited and involved, organizers are constantly coming up with new tactics. Keep the pressure on. Never let up. Keep trying new tactics to keep the opposition off balance. As the enemy masters one approach, hit them with something new. The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself." Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist. "If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive." Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog. "The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative." Never let the enemy score points because you're caught without a solution to the problem. Pick the target and freeze it, personalize it, polarize it. Isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people, not institutions. People hurt faster than institutions.
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Steps Common to Most Confrontational Crises

1. Definition of grievances and remedial demands by an individual or group. 2. Organization of a social action group to press demands. 3. Solicitation of public approval and support for action. 4. Use of crisis-provoking tactics. 5. Involvement of news media.
Lerbinger: The Crisis Manager
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Confrontation Crisis Management Process

1. Planning a response. 2. Evaluating the organizations vulnerability. 3. Meeting with reasonable and potent activist groups. 4. Using legal approaches sparingly. 5. Preparing to negotiate. 6. Taking the initiative when dealing with the media.
Lerbinger: The Crisis Manager
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Proactively Managing Public Relations

1. 2. 3. 4. Meet with leaders of neighborhood associations before meeting with all residents in a public forum. Keep neighbors informed of the organizations mission and plans through periodic newsletters. Meet with the local zoning director and community planning director to ascertain what changes in local building laws may be contemplated. Join the local chamber of commerce or board of trade as well as other local groups. Contribute to meaningful community programs. Hire a clipping service that scans all area newspapers and business magazines to look for early warnings of potential problems.
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5.

Barton: Crisis in Organizations

Proactively Managing Public Relations

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Periodically issue news releases to keep the community updated about the organization. Urge the collective organization and individual members to get involved with the community and maintain positive relations. Make publications concerning the organization available to community members. Emphasize positive contributions to the community in these publications. If deemed appropriate by a thorough analysis, provide support for public officials who understand the organization and the benefits it provides to the community. If major physical changes are contemplated, develop a master plan that can be shared with the community. If the organization has a tax-exempt status, consider the costs and benefits of making contributions to the community.

Barton: Crisis in Organizations

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Organizational Vulnerability
1. Type of organization. 2. Degree of identification of the product to the organization. 3. Classification of products as convenience items. 4. Availability of competing products. 5. Connection of the organization to previous controversies or social issues. 6. Strength of the potential adversaries. 7. Legal rights of potential adversaries.
Lerbinger: The Crisis Manager
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Drivers of Vulnerability
1. Ownership of the organization. 2. Size of the organization and adequacy of insurance. 3. Ability to read and act on warning signals. 4. Nature of products and services. 5. Public awareness. 6. Location.
Barton: Crisis in Organizations
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Reasons for Avoiding a Confrontation

1. 2. 3. Issues are complex and difficult to explain briefly. The confrontation will divert attention from more important matters. The opposition is very strong and/or is promoting an issue that the organization does not want to be perceived as opposing. The opposition needs public exposure to improve its position and power. The organization has overwhelming resources or an unassailable position from which to negotiate. The organization does not want to be perceived as being in a Goliath-David confrontation.

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Lerbinger: The Crisis Manager

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Crises of Malevolence from Outside the Organization

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Product tampering. Terrorism. Extortion. Corporate espionage. Rumors. Disinformation.

Lerbinger: The Crisis Manager

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Crises of Malevolence from Inside the Organization

1. 2. 3. 4. Workplace violence. Employee sabotage. Sexual harassment. Discrimination due to race, religion, sex, physical capabilities, etc.

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Each member of the small group is to individually prepare a two-page written report covering the following points
1. 2. 3. 4. A brief description or definition of the topic. Specific legal protection for employees. Current trends or issues. A discussion of the impacts on the affected people and the workplace in general. 5. What should be done to prevent events (preventive controls). 6. What should be done if an event occurs (consequence mitigation controls).
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Strategies for Managing a Crisis of Malevolence

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Reduce vulnerability to the threat (hazard). Engage in intelligence activities. Strengthen security measures. Take defensive action. Seek law enforcement support.

Lerbinger: The Crisis Manager

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Corporate Governance
Corporate Governance is concerned with holding the balance between economic and social goals and between individual and communal goals. The corporate governance framework is there to encourage the efficient use of resources and equally to require accountability for the stewardship of those resources. The aim is to align as nearly as possible the interests of individuals, corporations and society."

Sir Adrian Cadbury in 'Global Corporate Governance Forum27, 2009

Corporate governance refers to the broad range of policies and practices that stockholders, executive managers, and boards of directors use to (1) manage themselves and (2) fulfill their responsibilities to investors and other stakeholders. Nathan Hurst: Corporate Ethics
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Level 4: Organizational Strategies

Plans, Mechanisms and Procedures for Crisis Management Dedicated Infrastructure for Crisis Management Organizational Beliefs and Rationalizations

Level 3: Organizational Structure

THE ONION MODEL OF CRISIS MGT.

Source: Pauchant, Thierry C. and Mitroff, Ian I. 1992. Transforming the Crisis-Prone Organization. San Francisco: JosseyBass Publishers. Pages 49.

Individual Defense Mechanisms

Level 2: Organizational Culture

Level 1: Character of the Individuals working for the organization

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31 different rationalizations that in different combinations and degrees of belief shape the organizational culture with respect to crisis management. Pauchant, Thierry C. and Mitroff, Ian I. 1992. Transforming the Crisis-Prone Organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Source: Publishers. Page 86. Properties of the Organization
1. Our size will protect us. 2. Excellent, well-managed companies do not have crises. 3. Our special location will protect us. 4. Certain crises only happen to others. 5. Crises do not require special procedures. 6. It is enough to react to a crisis once it has happened. 7. Crisis management or crisis prevention is a luxury. 8. Employees who bring bad news deserve to be punished. 9. Our employees are so dedicated that we can trust them without question. 10. Desirable business ends justify the taking of high-risk means.

Properties of the environment

11. If a major crisis happens, someone else will rescue us. 12. The environment is benign; or, we can effectively buffer ourselves from the environment. 13. Nothing new has really occurred that warrants change. 14. Crisis management is someone elses responsibility. 15. Its not a crisis if it doesnt happen to or hurt us. 16. Accidents are just a cost of doing business.

Properties of the Crises Themselves

17. Most crises turn out not to be very important. 18. Each crisis is so unique that it is impossible to prepare for all crises. 19. Crises are isolated incidents. 20. Most crises resolve themselves; therefore time is our best ally. 21. Most (if not all) crises have a technical solution. 22. It is enough to throw technical and technical quick fixes at a problem. 23. Crises are solely negative in their impact. We cannot learn anything from them.

Properties of Prior Crisis Management Efforts

24. Crisis management is like an insurance policy; you only need so much. 25. In a crisis situation, we just need to refer to the emergency procedures weve laid out in our crisis manuals. 26. We are a team that will function well during a crisis. 27. Only executives need to be aware of our crisis plans; why scare employees or members of the community? 28. We are tough enough to react to a crisis in an objective and rational manner. 29. We know how to manipulate the media. 30. The most important thing in crisis management is to protect the good image of the organization. 31. The only important thing in crisis management is to ensure that our internal operations stay intact.

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Seven Keys to protecting Your Company

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Obtaining top-level support and commitment. Establishing corporate policies that integrate environmental issues. Establishing interfaces between corporate and business-unit staffs that reflect the corporate culture and develop trust throughout the organization. Developing a high degree of employee awareness and training that supports an environmentally conscious culture throughout the organization. Implementing a strong auditing program to assess progress and compliance. Establishing a strong legal base for the environmental program through general counsel involvement and reporting. Establishing ownership of environmental programs at all levels of the organization.

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Hunt and Auster: Proactive Environmental Management

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