Select a crisis experienced by an Australian organisation in the last 12 months. This means it must have hit the media NO earlier than September 2022. You may not use crises addressed in the unit via readings, seminars, or the study guide.

Choose a crisis which has received significant media attention in Australia to ensure you have enough information to answer the three questions below. It is for you to decide how to allocate the 800 words across the three questions.

2. How does the crisis you selected meet the definition of a crisis requiring crisis communication? Your answer should also make clear what type of crisis it is and what characteristics of a crisis it demonstrates.
4. Did the organisation respond effectively? Draw on Kim's Balanced Crisis Communication Decision-making Triangle to frame your answer.
6. What range of negative or adverse outcomes did the organisation experience as a result of the crisis? Support your answers with reference to evidence located in news media reports, social media commentary, and if relevant any political consequences (federal, or states and territories, or local government). In framing your answer, you should consider elements such as impact on trust, reputation, and risk management in addition to other consequences such as legal and regulatory consequences. Note, some consequences may still be occuring/unfolding - they would be relevant for the purpose of this question.

Part B:

You will use the following fictitious scenario to prepare responses to four tasks below.

Scenario background

Brand X is a leading global clothing brand for men, women, and children with a market value equivalent to AUD $350 million. They are classified as a fast fashion brand and have been accused of greenwashing in the past. This is because they claim they are responsive to environmental concerns of their customers sourcing materials from environmentally sound sources. However, many products in their clothing lines include up to 60% recycled polyester and other fossil fuel-based materials. Environmentalists claim these add to the microplastic problem in the environment.

Brand X also claim their clothing is made in offshore factories that provide the highest standards of safety and care for their workers. Their garments are made in several developing countries through a network of suppliers. Ten years ago they were at the centre of a major disaster when workers were trapped and killed in a factory fire owned by one of their major suppliers. The supply company was found to have locked several fire exits and workers could not escape. After the disaster, Brand X promised to set up a fund to compensate the survivors and families of the workers who were killed. They also promised to implement rigorous processes to vet manufacturers in their supply chain and ensure high safety standards and compliance with local safety codes and regulations.

In 2022, an activist organisation - Broken Links - whose mission is to call out bad and unethical practice in company supply chains, learned from a whistle-blower that Brand X has not been truthful in their environmental and sustainability claims and worse, that no money had been paid to the survivors and families of victims after the fire 10 years ago. They teamed up with investigative journalists to discover the truth.

The crisis

Nancy McAllister, newly appointed CEO for Brand X, has been in the role for two weeks. Although she has no direct experience in the clothing industry, she has established a reputation for being fair, honest, and committed to fixing supply chain problems in other problematic industries.

She is aware Brand X has supply chain problems and is being scrutinised by the media. However, she is not aware of the full extent of the problems nor that the company is yet to compensate survivors and the families of victims. When taking on the new role, she expected she would have time to learn more about problems and develop appropriate strategies to address them.

On Thursday, in the third week on the job, Nancy McAllister learns that a national news paper will be releasing a major feature article outlining the environmental and supply chain failures of Brand X including how they have failed to compensate the victims of the fire 10 years ago. She also learns the previous CEO refused all requests to be interviewed for the story.

The article will feature in the Saturday edition of the paper (print and online). Because Brand X is a high-profile brand, Nancy knows they have a crisis on their hands.

Nancy convenes the crisis communication team and sets the following tasks :

• Task 1 400 words: Prepare a statement to be delivered by the CEO (as the official spokesperson) in a media conference that will be followed by a Q&A session.
• Task 2 200 words: Prepare a set of five or more questions that journalists are likely to ask about the Brand relating to the crisis.
• Task 3 400 words: Prepare a media release outlining the nature of the crisis and include 2 quotes from the CEO. The media release must follow the format presented in the unit. Your media release should also include boilerplate information.
• Task 4 200 words: Brand X doesn't have a dark site. However, the CEO is not sure whether a dark site should be set up or whether the brand's online newsroom and social media sites will be sufficient for communicating with customers, investors, and the media. What would you advise and why?

Part C: 400 words (requires referencing)

Define corporate social responsibility (CSR) and explain why it may be perceived as a cynical public relations exercise but also how CSR can be used to support organisational strategy and demonstrate commitment to positive social and environmental change.

• Illustrate your answer with evidence from two organisations and their CSR initiatives. One organisation must be using CSR effectively, the other organisation will not be.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Part A Crisis The recent scandal surrounding Crown Resort an Australian casino operator highlights a crisis that meets the definition of a crisis requiring crisis communication According to Coombs 201... View the full answer