Crisis Communications and Reputation Risk

All organizations confront crises, either of their own making or from external events. To be ready, equipped, and able to extricate itself from a potential calamity, major or minor, can mean the difference between continued operation and obsolescence. This course focuses on strategies for managing communications during times of organizational crisis by exploring topics such as crisis planning and preparedness, crisis communication strategies, and reputation management techniques as well as the use of social media and other digital platforms in these communications. The course uses case studies of organizations that have faced crises and examines the communication strategies that were employed, both effectively and ineffectively. Outside speakers will include serving and former senior officials in government whose positions required crisis communication skills and expertise. These include Penn’s VP of Public Safety, the Philadelphia Fire Commissioner, and the former Director of the U.S. Secret Service.

Students will develop skills in crisis-communication planning, message development, and crisis response coordination. They will learn to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of crisis communication strategies in real-world scenarios. As part of these learned competencies, students will be media-trained in bridging techniques, smart brevity presentation and writing principles, and message development. As a wrap-up of these acquired skills and techniques, students will be presented with an actual crisis case and serve as the company spokesperson. Non-Dynamics students: please include a brief job description in your Permissions Request.