ABSTRACT
Much of crisis management research has sought guiding principles (Drabek & McEntire, 2003) to allow managers to deal more effectively with crises. Recommendations highlight the importance of good planning and of management before the crises occur, and the literature on crisis communication emphasizes management of the organization’s image to safeguard its reputation (Alsop, 2004; Coombs & Holladay, 2006). This research provides useful lessons for crisis management, but these lessons do not always yield the desired results because managers and organizational members of organizations may not have, or implement, crisis management plans, or the defense of the organization’s reputation and the search for blameworthy parties may take precedence over collective well-being. The question that arises is thus, “How can one train managers to avoid the common mistakes and dysfunctions found during crises?”
