Better Manager 7th prelims:Better Manager 7th edition

(Ron) #1

How to manage a crisis


WHAT IS CRISIS MANAGEMENT?


The phrase ‘crisis management’ was coined by Robert
Macnamara at the time of the Cuban missile crisis when he said:
‘There is no longer any such thing as strategy, only crisis
management.’
Crisis management situations happen in any organization
where the pressure of events – external or internal – forces
management into making urgent decisions. These arise because a
crisis is a turning point or a time of danger and suspense, and, in
this turbulent age, turning points and dangerous moments are
always with us.
Crisis management can be defined as:


The process of dealing with a pressurized situation in a way that
plans, organizes, directs and controls a number of interrelated oper-
ations and guides the decision-making process of those in charge to a
rapid but unhurried resolution of the acute problem faced by the
organization.

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