Crisis Management in a Complex World

Managers business owners public relations practitioners and others grapple daily with issues that have the potential to radically redefine the reputation of a person company or industry. They confront a fundamental question about contemporary crisis management: to what extent is it possible to control events and stakeholder responses to them in order to contain escalating crises or safeguard an organization''s reputation? In Crisis Management in a Complex World authors Dawn Gilpin and Priscilla Murphy address this question head-on. Operating from a strong theoretical orientation this book marks a sharp departure from other crisis management texts which focus on nuts-and-bolts procedures and information distribution in an effort to simplify the turbulent reality of a crisis situation. Instead this book pairs real-world examples from across the globe with theory-based analysis to show why simplification often fails to alleviate crises and can even intensify them. Gilpin and Murphy propose a new complexity-based approach to organizational learning that can allow organizations to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. This volume addresses both scholars and high-level practitioners of public relations organizational communication and strategic management. Strongly cross-disciplinary the book draws on theories from communication the physical sciences and business. It invites controversy and ultimately aims to change the way people conceptualize and prepare for crises.