Deck 5: Issues Management and Crisis Management

Question 1

A probability-impact matrix is most useful in the issue identification stage.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The emergence of issues managers is a direct outgrowth of the changing mix of issues that managers have had to handle.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Strategy relevance, action ability, criticality, and urgency are filter criteria for ranking issues.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The conventional approach to issues management cannot be used as a "stand alone" decision process because it is intimately interconnected with the strategic management process as a whole.

Question 5

Communications planning should be a part of managing business crisis.

Question 6

One view is that the issues development process tends to follow an eight-year curve, though it is very difficult to generalize about the time frame.

Question 7

An essential factor in whether issues management is effective has been found to be whether the CEO is a member of the Issues Management Association.

Question 8

The acute crisis stage is the first of the four crisis stages.

Question 9

An example of a "leading event" might be the group known as the Sierra Club.

Question 10

The strategic approach to issues management is broader than the conventional approach.

Question 11

The first of the four crisis stages is the prodromal stage.

Question 12

One key aspect of a crisis is that conditions will always get worse.

Question 13

Issues management and crisis management are the same thing.

Question 14

T. Graham Molitor has advocated that there are only three leading forces in predicting social change: leading events, leading literature, and leading political jurisdictions.

Question 15

The conventional approach to issues management addresses issues that fall within the domain of public policy or public affairs management.

Question 16

The use of "precursor" events or "bellwethers" are among the techniques used in issues identification.

Question 17

In practically all conceptualizations of the issues management process, issue analysis is the first stage.

Question 18

To date, no one has been able to describe or explain the issues development process.

Question 19

According to author Joseph Coates, in an emerging issue, the terms of the debate are not clearly defined.

Question 20

In practice, issues management may only be conducted when it is housed, organizationally, in a department of its own.

Question 21

Which of the following approaches to issues management is restricted to public and social issues?

A) conventional approach
B) strategic management approach
C) public affairs approach
D) restricted approach

Question 22

Which of the following is not one of Thomas Marx's stages in the issue development process?

A) prodromal initiative
B) social expectations
C) political issues
D) social control

Question 23

In the issues management process what step comes after the identification of issues?

A) analysis of issues
B) ranking or prioritization of issues
C) formulation of issue responses
D) implementation of issue responses

Question 24

The study by Wartick and Rude on issues management effectiveness discovered all of the following to be success factors except

A) top management support and involvement.
B) issues management must fill a void in decision making.
C) membership in the Issues Management Association.
D) an emphasis on output, not processes.

Question 25

The emergence of "issues managers" is a direct outgrowth of

A) the professionalism of the field.
B) the rise of public affairs specialists to CEO positions.
C) the changing mix of issues that managers have had to handle.
D) college programs that train issues managers.

Question 26

Which of the following was not cited by Coates as a characteristic of an emerging issue?

A) The terms of the debate are not clearly defined.
B) It deals with matters of conflicting values and issues.
C) Tradeoffs play no role in the issue.
D) It is often stated in value-laden terms.

Question 27

William R. King has developed an issues-ranking scheme. He recommends that issues be screened on five filter criteria. Which one of the following is not one of the five?

A) strategy
B) relevance
C) actionability
D) normative

Question 28

The major contribution of books like Megatrends is

A) in explaining issues identification.
B) in the realm of trend-spotting services.
C) in providing vivid, recent examples of corporate crises.
D) none of the above.

Question 29

At various times, the terms social forecasting, futures research, and environmental scanning have been used to refer to

A) public affairs management.
B) stakeholder analysis.
C) probability-diffusion analysis.
D) issue identification.

Question 30

Which of the following approaches to issues management can be used as a "stand alone" decision process?

A) conventional approach
B) strategic management approach
C) public affairs approach
D) restricted approach

Question 31

According to John Naisbitt,

A) the really important issues always start somewhere in the countryside.
B) issues management is a dying art.
C) the really important issues always start in the major, large cities.
D) the really important issues typically start in Europe.

Question 32

In the Issues Management Process presented in the text, which of the following best represents the sequence of steps involved?

A) Issues ranking, analysis, identification, response formulation
B) Issues identification, analysis, prioritization, response formulation
C) Formulation of issue response, implementation of issues response, identification of issues, analysis of issues
D) Prioritization of issues, analysis, response formulation, response implementation

Question 33

Which of the following does not refer to issue identification?

A) social forecasting
B) future research
C) megatrends
D) environmental scanning

Question 34

William R. King recommends that issues be screened on the basis of

A) urgency to society.
B) five filter criteria.
C) probability-impact analysis.
D) executive intuition.

Question 35

Which of the following is not included in the conventional approach to issues management?

A) issues fall within the domain of public policy or public affairs
B) issues typically have a public policy/public affair orientation
C) issues management is responsible of senior line management
D) issues originate in social/political/regulatory environments

Question 36

A ___________ refers to a matter that is in dispute between to or more parties.

A) trend
B) issue
C) action
D) threat

Question 37

Which of the following was not one of Molitor's five leading forces in predicting change?

A) political jurisdictions
B) authorities/advocates
C) Cabinet decisions
D) literature

Question 38

A probability-impact matrix compares the probability (high, medium, low) of occurrence of an issue with an assessment of the impact on

A) the company.
B) Society.
C) primary stakeholders.
D) voting patterns.

Question 39

Which of the following depicts the correct sequence of the issue development life cycle process stages presented in the text?

A) Leading political jurisdictions, media coverage, felt need, regulation/litigation
B) Media coverage, felt need, leading political jurisdictions, regulation/litigation.
C) Regulation/litigation, felt need, media coverage, leading political jurisdictions.
D) Felt need, media coverage, leading political jurisdictions, regulation/litigation.

Question 40

The loss of executives, personnel or workplace violence is and example of which type of crisis?

A) economic
B) human resource
C) psychopathic
D) Natural

Question 41

Augustine's stages of crisis management contain how many stages?

A) 6 stages
B) 4 stages
C) 10 stages
D) 8 stages

Question 42

In which four-crisis stage does the crisis usually occur?

A) chronic crisis stage
B) crisis resolution stage
C) acute crisis stage
D) prodromal crisis stage

Question 43

Fink conducted a survey of Fortune 500 firms and found that

A) most of them have a prepared crisis plan.
B) of those who reported as already having had a crisis, almost all now have a crisis management plan in place for future crisis.
C) most of the executives who responded felt that a crisis in business today is as inevitable as death and taxes.
D) Most of the respondents felt that crimes were less likely today because of their sophisticated crisis management approaches.

Question 44

Communication planning and training executives in product dangers and dealing with media is contained in which step of crisis management?

A) identifying areas of vulnerability
B) forming crisis teams
C) simulation crisis drills
D) developing a plan for dealing with threats

Question 45

There are four crisis stages. Which of the following is not one of the four?

A) prodromal crisis stage
B) acute crisis stage
C) Chronic crisis stage
D) strategy crisis stage

Question 46

According to Fink, which of the following crisis stages is the "warning" stage?

A) Prodromal
B) Acute
C) Chronic
D) crisis resolution

Question 47

Which of the following is seen by Steven Fink as the first vital stage in crisis management?

A) identifying the crisis
B) isolating the crisis
C) managing the crisis
D) ending the crisis

Question 48

Star-Kist Foods, Johnson & Johnson, and the Canadian beef industry have which of the following in common?

A) They all went bankrupt.
B) They all have effective public affairs offices.
C) They all use Naisbitt's trend-spotting service.
D) They all have experienced significant crises.