Confrontation, Workplace Violence, and Harassment Crisis

A crisis is defined as a "very unanticipated incident that threatens critical stakeholder expectations and can negatively and dramatically damage an organization's performance" (Parnell, 2015). A crisis can be a breakdown of the production and operation systems or a nightmare of public relations. Crises can cause legal issues, which can disrupt routine business operations. In particular, crises that result in the loss of human life or environmental harm, such as the "Exxon Valdez Oil Spill" and the "Chernobyl Leak," have a negative influence on enterprises. Organizations in the United States and other industrialized countries are paying more attention to crisis management. From 2010 to 2015, the compensation amount paid out by US corporations increased to approximately $60 billion annually while this amount exceeds $100 billion globally (Kalavar & Mysore, 2017). Each industry has had its fair share of casualties and the automobile is one of the most affected sectors in the US characterized by numerous recalls (Kalavar & Mysore, 2017). The researcher shall develop a crisis plan for the Californian based Anteros Coachworks Inc. known for the production of supercharged horsepower sports cars. The study shall include types of crisis that can affect the company, leadership needed to survive a crisis, models and theories employed, and a preparedness plan.

Organization and Attributes

Roger Hector established Anteros Coachworks Inc. in 2005. The Californian based sports car manufacturer has grown into a multimillion-dollar business whose cars are associated with design artistry and luxury interiors of the finest materials. Roger Hector, also the company’s chief designer has led the manufacture of two car brands since inception (Roger Hector, 2017). Several attributes (culture) define the company. Roger has natured the spirit of adaptability whereby employees are encouraged to adapt to changes in the environment. This includes ability to adapt to changes in consumer tastes and preferences. As a result, the company has succeeded in developing cars that meet the demands of the customer. The second attribute is teamwork. Collaboration is the firm’s backbone (Roger Hector, 2017). Roger, who is also the owner, believes that teamwork fosters creativity and learning, blends complementary strengths, and enhances a broader sense of ownership. The third attribute is result orientation. This involves setting goals and providing a result-oriented atmosphere for people to work and succeed. Employees are trained constantly and proper communication is maintained throughout the organization (Roger Hector, 2017).

Types of Crisis

The probability of a crisis occurring in the contemporary businesses has doubled. This is attributed to the increased complexity of products, for instance cars are programmed with more than 150 million lines of code while goods move across several supply chains that involve multiple intermediaries and jurisdictions (Kalavar & Mysore, 2017). Furthermore, the higher level of stakeholder expectation is a significant issue. Customers can easily avoid a firm when they realize it is unethical, government is always ready to seek compensation from an organization that it believes is breaking the law, while shareholder activism has become a common denominator. Increased anxiety and mistrust is an element that can also destroy organizations. Additionally, the current business environment is characterized by rapid communication and quick product developments, which increase the likelihood of a crisis occurring (Schirick, 2017).

Organizations spend a significant amount of time trying to prevent probable crises than preparing for a possible occurrence. Company leadership is responsible for minimizing crisis events that if they occurred, could end up defining the company for several years to come (Schirick, 2017). Therefore, they should understand the different types of catastrophes that can affect organization. Anteros Coachworks Inc. in particular is a car manufacturing company. One of the major crises that can hit the company is a defective product. A faulty element in one of their cars can cause human injury or worse, death and when this kind of information reaches the media, it may haunt the firm for several years. This probably leads to loss of existing market share and ultimate collapse. The following are types of crisis the company can encounter.

Financial Crisis

This type of crisis centers on the ways financial resources are controlled in the organization (Bernstein, 2011). Losses, higher costs of operation, lack of funds, bankruptcy, and inability to pay back creditors are some of the financial issues that can affect Anteros. The Guardian (2016) depicts Deutsche Bank in the US as one the companies that found itself in a financial crisis after it mis-sold mortgage bonds in 2006. In 2016, the Department of Justice slapped the bank with a $14 billion penalty for the actions and this has placed a toll on the organization. Numerous financial crisis cases are related to bankruptcy scandals since such scenarios usually lead to loss of jobs.

Technological Crisis

Failure of technology can immensely affect Anteros Coachworks. Technology relies heavily on human application of science so it may break down if it becomes too complex (Bernstein, 2011). The company’s products rely solely on effective and efficient technology so a defect on its car systems may lead to a technological crisis. Safety-related defects are the fundamentals that can affect the company’s reputation if not handled appropriately.

Malicious Crisis

Increased mistrust, intense competition, and anxiety are the greatest catalysts to this type of crisis. Competitors or criminal organizations may use company employees to fulfill their agendas, which may eventually hurt the organization. For instance, spreading false rumors about the company can have negative repercussions on the firm’s goodwill (Bernstein, 2011).

Acts of God

The acts of God, also natural crises are associated with the environment. Hurricanes and tornadoes can affect the company’s production systems leading to unpredicted downtimes or losses (Javerbaum, 2015).

Crisis Relating to Organizational wrongs

Such crises arise when the management ignores the harmful effects that its strategies can bring on stakeholders. The executives ignore the outcomes and implement strategies that bring swift results (Coombs, 2014). They are grouped into three:

Unfavorable Management Values. The management may settle for short-term benefits and ignore long-term rewards leading to a crisis. This may be due to shareholders’ pressure for profit maximization, normally short-term, rather than wealth maximization, which is usually long-term (Coombs, 2014). A crisis occurs when the firm fails to attain the projected goals after supporting the short-term benefits over the long-term ones.

Deception. Deception can turn to a crisis when the company executives interfere with vital company information. This may include making wrong statements and creating misleading data about the firm in order to dupe stakeholders about the actual situation surrounding an enterprise (Coombs, 2014). Worldcom is one of the companies that fell into a crisis of deception after its accounting scandal was revealed.

Management Misconduct. Poor character depicted by the management can become a crisis when the executives engage in deliberate acts of malfeasance, for instance, accepting bribes (Coombs, 2014). The firm may be depicted in bad image due to such incidences destroying its reputation.

Confrontation, Workplace Violence, and Harassment Crisis

Employees may turn violent on each other while on organizational grounds. Sexual harassment incidences may also occur. Disagreements usually lead to nonproductive acts such as strikes, which may go for long periods. Employees become insubordinate and force superiors into accepting their demands. Lack of coordination, poor conflict resolution methods, and unproductive communication are the primary courses violence and confrontations (Hindle & Economist, 2008).

Leadership Needed for Success

Employees look upon leaders for direction in times of crisis. Therefore, leadership should be competent enough to facilitate reorganization through and after a crisis (DuBrin, 2013). The following are competencies that leaders should depict.

Leaders Should Focus on Building Trust

Leaders should strive to create an environment of trust in the organization during the time of crisis. They can achieve this by being transparent and truthful when relaying information regarding to employees. Leaders should not have gaps in their information because if this occurs, employees fill the discrepancies with negative information, which creates mistrust (O’Hara, 2014). Further, leaders can create trust through encouragement and not commanding. Encouragement motivates and empowers employees so they will work harder and smarter to maneuver the crisis. It is also important that during crises, managers should learn to take blame and give credit. Leaders cannot earn trust at during and after a crisis when the center on taking credit and giving out harsh criticisms. Employees will feel like they are working towards a common goal and not fulfilling the manager’s agenda (O’Hara, 2014).

Changing Organizational Mindset

Employee mindset is important though a difficult process during and after a crisis. Changing mindsets can be done collectively or individually. However, this can be done effectively by imparting positive thinking on employees, and applying compassion, integrity and honesty (Butman, 2013). This will only be effective the leadership has already earned trust from employees.

Courage

The leadership should depict courage and wisdom when making, and taking decisions. Employees will develop confidence in this type of leadership due to its ability to lead them in the right direction. This is the stage were the leadership should learn from the crisis to bring solid change in the company (DuBrin, 2013).

Models and Theories Used

Models Used in Crisis Management

“Crisis Management Model.” Successful crises resolution calls for comprehensive understanding of how to handle them before they occur. The model describes the procedures followed in handling a crisis outlined in 3 phases. Phase one entails an analysis of possible signs or dangers, phase two necessitates selecting a suitable turnaround technique, while phase three, is the implementation of the process and constant monitoring (Crandall, Parnell & Spillan, 2010).

Theories Used in Crisis Management

The “Structural-Functional Systems Theory” governs communication in an organization. It addresses the complexities of information networks and command levels that make up communication in the organization. Effective communication internally and externally is imperative during a crisis. The management is required to maintain open and transparent communication with employees throughout the crisis. Ignoring them can make matter worse. Company leaders must encourage the staff to give its best (Goel, 2009).

The “diffusion of innovation theory” is also employed when sharing information in the organization. It describes how innovation is communicated through all channels in the organization in a given period. When a person communicates an innovation to another individual or a group of people, four components are involved: first, the “innovation” in its original form. Secondly, the person or entity, with adequate knowledge or experience in using the innovation, adopts it. Third, a person or entity with no knowhow with using the innovation also receives it and fourth, a communication channel connecting the giver and the receiver of the innovation (Goel, 2009). Thus, information sharing is important during a crisis. Each employee should therefore come up with an innovative idea to resolve the crisis. Once an employee has formulated an innovative idea, he should not keep it to himself but rather communicate it to other employee in its original form.

Preparedness Planning and Development Phases

Crisis management planning centers on developing circumstances when events fail to go as planned. It is a post-accident method of risk management, which aids the organization in responding to events after an accident (Burnett, 2002). Crisis management planning follows four phases: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

Preparedness Planning (Mitigation and Preparedness)

Create a Team. The company should create a crisis management team of around four to five individuals. The team can people from different departments in the organization. However, the company owner, public relations manager, chief finance officer, insurance broker, and risk manager may be extra resources to be accessed by the team (Devlin, 2007).

Conduct a Vulnerability Analysis. The company should conduct a risk identification process, normally referred to as the “acts of God” (Bernstein, 2011). Employees can be the cause of other crises so the company should also identify the circumstances, which may create a crisis due to staff actions or inactions, for instance, breach of company network compromising vital customer data, sexual harassment, molestation incidents, and fires that may lead to serious damage (Schirick, 2017). Further, the firm should analyze crisis exposure stemming from its proximity to other business units for instance, nearby nuclear plants and other chemical plants. The team should make a concrete list of events that can lead to a crisis where the company is located. The company executives should then plainly define the core “black swan” threats that can hit the organization, which can also be done by analyzing large crises in other industries (Parnell, 2015).

Formulate an Emergency Action Plan. Using the list mentioned above, the firm should formulate “Emergency Action Plans (EAPs).” EAPs differ according to each crisis. For example, the EAP for fire will differ from the one for a sexual harassment incident albeit some elements may cut across (Schirick, 2017). In addition, the company should have a risk management plan in response to the requirements of the government agencies. Fagel (2013) assert that the organization should also seek counsel from local or regional resources on the type of capabilities it should put in place to handle a possible crisis. The principle priority is to protect the lives of people the center on preserving or protecting organization property. Loss of lives can have a devastating effect on the organization.

Establish Authority. The chain of command is important during a crisis. Roles should be well defined and unambiguous while authority should be less bureaucratic. Each person in the company should know the person in charge and a primary and secondary means of communication should be in place, which will be viable in case of an emergency (Schirick, 2017).

Response and Recovery

Immediate Response. When an emergency occurs, the company should have a crisis command center, tasked with coordinating responses. The firm should have a team leader tasked with collecting and disseminating facts from the site of the incident to the command center. The team leader should be trained adequately to ensure their effort is fast and reflexive. When an injured person is being transported, let few staff members accompany them as their advocate and source of information at the hospital (Coombs, 2014).

Prepare for Fallout. Once the threat has passed, collect all the relevant facts on how the incident occurred. However, information how the incident should have been prevented should not be part of the report since it is a benefit to the plaintiff’s attorney. Once the team has collected the information, the company should determine who should get it and the appropriate communication mediums to be used for dissemination (Schirick, 2017).

Interaction with the Media. The company should have a security team stationed at its entrances to prevent the media from walking into its premises. However, a spokesperson with the relevant media training should be stationed at the front gate incase the media shows up. At this level, honest and transparent communication is imperative (Schirick, 2017). Engaging a public relations firm or crisis consultant is important because, while the staff is busy attending to the crisis, they help in monitoring the social media and offering the necessary advice. They also help minimize the effect of the event on the reputation of the company (DuBrin, 2013). Involve the insurance company because some pay the fees depending on their ideal definition of a crisis.

Recovery. Many SMEs lack a recovery plan after a crisis. Infact, most wind up. This is the phase were the insurance comes into play especially when there is damage to property leading to suspension of operations. Particular insurance companies pay business income, which help the business cover expenses while repairs are ongoing. It can also cover other liabilities such as workplace violence and food contamination but few cover losses caused by acts of God (Schirick, 2017).

Conclusion

The study focused on developing a crisis management plan for Anteros Coachman Inc. The California-based company manufactures sports cars, which can be exposed to malfunctions. Therefore, and effective crisis plan can aid the company tackle unpredictable events that can destroy its reputation in the market. Anteros can be hit by a financial, technological, malevolent, natural disasters, management wrongs, and confrontations, violence and harassments crises. The organization can survive a crisis if it has strong leadership with a proper crisis management plan in place. Leadership means the enterprise’s management has the energy to hold employees together during and after the crisis. A crisis management plan with all the phases will guide the firm in handling a problem.

References

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