Deck 12: Crisis Communications

Question 1

The process of identifying potential threats is known as ________.

A)contingency theory
B)planning
C)risk assessment
D)coorientation
E)public relations

Answer 1

C

Question 2

According to former automobile industry executive Gerald Meyers,which of the following statements about crises are true?

A)Crises can bring opportunity.
B)No good can come from a crisis.
C)Crises can create heroes.
D)A and C
E)None of the above.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

At which step of the crisis communications process do you engage in evaluation of what went well in handling the crisis and what didn't?

A)message development
B)recovery
C)response
D)risk assessment
E)planning

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The crisis management team meets in the ________.

A)emergency operations center
B)media information center
C)central command post
D)executive suite
E)place where the crisis is occurring

Question 5

During the Sago mine disaster in 2006,families of the trapped miners were erroneously led to believe that the men had been successfully rescued because ________.

A)the mining company did not have crisis communication plan
B)the mining company's crisis communications plan was not followed
C)state officials "jumped the gun" in a effort to get credit for the rescue
D)company officials lied to them
E)the families were impatient

Question 6

A major reason for the government's inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina was ________.

A)it was unexpected
B)a breakdown in relationships among key stakeholders
C)a failure to conduct realistic training exercises
D)A and B
E)B and C

Question 7

Which of the following statements is/are true?

A)NASA learned to communicate better during crises after the Challenger accident.
B)In both shuttle disasters,NASA suffered from what investigators called "go fever."
C)NASA won public praise for its handling of the Columbia accident.
D)All of the above.
E)None of the above.

Question 8

An unpleasant occurrence that is commonplace,can be addressed in a limited time frame,and doesn't drain organizational resources or arouse public attention is a ________.

A)a crisis
B)a problem
C)a situation
D)an incident
E)an event

Question 9

The second step of the crisis communications process is ________.

A)message development
B)recovery
C)response
D)risk assessment
E)planning

Question 10

A crisis plotting grid ________.

A)charts an organization's progress in responding to a crisis
B)measures the quality of an organization's crisis response
C)compares the crisis responses of different organizations
D)gauges the effectiveness of an organization's crisis communications messages
E)aids in identifying the most likely and most disruptive potential crises

Question 11

The first stage of a crisis is known as ________.

A)the cleanup phase
B)the point of no return
C)the critical moment
D)when things return to normal
E)the warning stage

Question 12

Hurricane Katrina was ________.

A)an emergency management failure
B)a public relations failure
C)a disaster that many had seen coming for years
D)A and C
E)All of the above.

Question 13

Most crises are ________.

A)unavoidable
B)disastrous
C)time consuming
D)expensive
E)predictable

Question 14

The third stage of a crisis is known as ________.

A)the cleanup phase
B)the point of no return
C)the critical moment
D)when things return to normal
E)the warning stage

Question 15

Something that requires a considerable investment of time and organizational resources while bringing unwanted public attention is ________.

A)a crisis
B)a problem
C)a situation
D)an incident
E)an event

Question 16

A crisis communications plan should include ________.

A)the members of the crisis management team
B)a definition of a crisis
C)a list of an organization's key stakeholders
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 17

According to former auto executive Gerald Meyers,crises can ________.

A)cause you to "get religion"
B)help develop new competitive edges
C)can change people
D)A and C
E)B and C

Question 18

Northern Illinois University's successful crisis communications response to a deadly on-campus shooting in 2008 is credited to _____.

A)a policy of transparency
B)research into the earlier Virginia Tech shootings
C)an increase in computer server capacity
D)All of the above.
E)None of the above.

Question 19

The second stage of a crisis is known as ________.

A)the cleanup phase
B)the point of no return
C)the critical moment
D)when things return to normal
E)the warning stage

Question 20

The primary goal behind the establishment of a media information center during a crisis is a desire to ________.

A)make the reporters happy
B)make the reporters accessible
C)make it the reporters' only source of official information
D)monitor media reporting
E)monitor rumors

Question 21

In the hours and days following the 2008 shooting on the Northern Illinois University campus, school officials treated the news media as ________.

A)partners
B)adversaries
C)as just other public
D)visitors
E)enemies

Question 22

Who should be on the crisis management team?

Question 23

What are the elements of a good crisis communications plan?

Question 24

Because of his response to the Tylenol tampering incidents in the 1980s,Johnson & Johnson's James E.Burke ________.

A)has been hailed as a hero
B)has been called a villain
C)was forced to resign
D)B and C
E)won the Nobel Peace Prize

Question 25

During the 2006 Sago mine disaster,________.

A)the mining company initially received praise for its crisis communications
B)the mining did not have a crisis communications plan
C)the mining company president acknowledged that he made a mistake
D)A and C
E)B and C

Question 26

The procedure for verifying the identities of working reporters is known as credentialing.

Question 27

During risk assessment,organizations evaluate the quality of their crisis response to determine what
lessons,if any,can be learned.

Question 28

What are the four steps of the crisis communications process?

Question 29

Are most crises unexpected and,therefore,unavoidable?

Question 30

Nothing good ever comes from crises.

Question 31

Prior to the Columbia accident,NASA had little or no experience with crises.

Question 32

What are the four stages of a crisis?

Question 33

It is a good idea to include a lawyer on an organization's crisis management team.

Question 34

How did NASA's responses to the Challenger and Columbia accidents differ?

Question 35

What is apologia? What are the five strategies for using it?

Question 36

What is the difference between a problem and a crisis?

Question 37

What role do organizational values play in crisis planning?

Question 38

Exxon Corporation CEO Lawrence G.Rawl ________.

A)won praise for his handling of the Alaskan oil spill in March 1989
B)waited a week before publicly commenting on the Alaskan oil spill in March 1989
C)rushed to the scene of the Alaskan oil spill in March 1989
D)A and C
E)All of the above.

Question 39

A crisis probability factor is part of ________.

A)a communication audit
B)a crisis planning team
C)a crisis management team
D)a crisis plotting grid
E)none of the above