This assignment will provide the opportunity to apply readings, theories and course discussions to a crisis communication scenario. Students will dissect a current crisis and critique the company’s response to the crisis. It may be an ongoing crisis or one that has been recently resolved. However, students will want to back up their critique about the company’s response with both research and theory.
This assignment is designed for students to develop the skills and critical thinking necessary to succeed in a crisis scenario as a strategic communication practitioner. As a result, when students have completed this assignment, they will have developed the ability to understand and respond to a corporate crisis, provide sound feedback rooted in established public relations theories and offer alternative routes to mitigate future crises.
In a five page analysis, include the following information:
- Give brief historical background of the organization. What factors led up to the crisis? Summarize the crisis.
- What publics were affected by this crisis? Identify at least three.
- What organizational theory for crisis communication was used by the organization? See Chapter 2: Understanding Crisis Communication Theory and Practice.
- Did the organization handled the crisis well? Provide two reasons to support your claim.
- What could the organization have done differently to handle this crisis? Why is this a better solution than the one they chose?
- What could the organization have done to avoid this crisis altogether?
Select one of the following 2017-2018 organizational crises:
- Wells Fargo – The scandal surrounding the San Francisco bank stemmed from its aggressive “cross-selling efforts,” in which employees created millions of new accounts in customers’ names without their consent, such as new credit-card accounts, to meet sales goals. Their recent TV ad, “Re-Established” is designed to win back the trust of customers following disclosures about consumer abuses.
- Facebook – The personal data of up to 87 million Facebook users, mostly in the U.S., was obtained by an analytics firm that, among its other work, is alleged to have shaped the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. In response to that revelation, lawmakers and regulators in the U.S. and U.K. increased their scrutiny of the social media giant. The uproar has only added to the pressure on Facebook and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg over how the company was used to spread Russian propaganda and phony headlines. Facebook recently launched a TV ad campaign that addresses the recent controversies swirling around the platform titled “Here Together”.
- Uber – The provider of a ride-sourcing app has suffered ongoing problems, including sexual assaults by Uber drivers, departures of high-level executives, software that defrauded drivers and customers, and reports of transportation and safety issues. CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick resigned after continual negative news coverage. In an effort improve their image, Uber launched the TV ad “Moving Forward”. It features Uber’s new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, promising that the company is moving in a new direction.
- Choose your own crisis – If you would like to explore a different crisis, please send an email for approval prior to starting the assignment.
- Uber – The provider of a ride-sourcing app has suffered ongoing problems, including sexual assaults by Uber drivers, departures of high-level executives, software that defrauded drivers and customers, and reports of transportation and safety issues. CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick resigned after continual negative news coverage. In an effort improve their image, Uber launched the TV ad “Moving Forward”. It features Uber’s new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, promising that the company is moving in a new direction.
- Choose your own crisis – If you would like to explore a different crisis, please send an email for approval prior to starting the assignment.
Students are challenged to give more than just a summary of the conflict. To receive a passing grade for this assignment, students are expected to use a critical eye to dissect the conflict, explain the life cycle of the specific conflict, and offer feedback that shows you understand the role of conflict management in public relations.
You will be graded on the following:
- Answering in detail the questions listed above.
- Properly cited in-text citations and use of resources. Students must include at least 10 citations throughout their analysis – at least five from the text.
- Minimal to no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.
- Depth of understanding and application of public relations management.
Assignment Details
| Type of Assignment | Essay |
| Level | University |
| Format | APA |
| Pages/Words | 5 pg |
| Spacing | Double-spaced |
| Sources Topic/Subject | 10 Public Relations Management (Crisis Communication Case Analysis: Wells Fargo Scandal) |