Commentary—A Dimon in the Rough: Apologetic Crisis Management at JPMorgan Chase

2020 ◽  
pp. 232948842093230
Author(s):  
Keith M. Hearit ◽  
Lauren Berkshire Hearit
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Management ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Corrective Action ◽  
Actional Legitimacy

When companies are caught in a crisis, the need to deliver a defense in order to salvage their damaged reputation is an ongoing challenge. Drawing from actional legitimacy and apologia theory, this article examines corporate use of crisis communication through a case study surrounding Jamie Dimon, CEO at JPMorgan Chase. Dimon found himself in a crisis from 2012 to 2013 when a so-called “London Whale” made a series of trades that cost the company $6 billion U. S. Dollars, and raised serious questions over Dimon’s judgment and ability to lead JPMorgan Chase. In particular, we argue that the restoration of actional legitimacy centers around strategies of mortification, (corrective) action, justification, and authorization.

scholarly journals Crisis and Image Repair at United Airlines: Fly the Unfriendly Skies

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Benoit
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Communication Theory ◽  
Initial Response ◽  
Corrective Action ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Image Repair ◽  
Image Repair Theory ◽  
United Airlines ◽  
Proper Response

In April 2017, United Airlines had a passenger removed from one of its airplanes. Video of the bleeding man being dragged off through the aisle went viral the next day. United’s initial response attempted to downplay this offensive act (relying primarily on differentiation and mortification, but not really apologizing for this offensive act). This stance provoked outrage and ridicule. This study applies image repair theory (Benoit, 2015) to the discourse in this case study. United’s CEO, Oscar Munoz, was forced to offer a “do-over,” stressing mortification and corrective action that were actually directed to the offensive act. United finally arrived at the proper response, but it came too late to realize its full potential. This essay argues that corrective action can be an important strategy in crisis communication theory; it also explains that social media have changed the crisis situation (with nearly instant and widespread criticism) and compressed the time in which those accused of wrongdoing can respond.

Crisis Management and Image Restoration through Social Networking

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debarati Bhattacharya
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Image Restoration ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Damage Control ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Utmost Care

The study aims to discern how social networking sites have become an important tool in enabling immediate crisis communication. Juxtaposing theories on crisis and strategies of image restoration the paper aims to analyze the recent Maggi Crisis. The case study takes Twitter and Facebook as points of analysis. The paper observes that although social networking site facilitates immediate communication, it can cause a lot of damage to the reputation of the organization if utmost care is not taken in the message that goes out. The paper will further analyze the possibilities and limitations provided by social networking sites to the companies at the time of crisis. The paper concludes that damage control to a great extent could be exercised through adoption of apt strategies right away.

scholarly journals Crisis and Image Repair at United Airlines: Fly the Unfriendly Skies

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Benoit
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Communication Theory ◽  
Initial Response ◽  
Corrective Action ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Image Repair ◽  
Image Repair Theory ◽  
United Airlines ◽  
Proper Response

In April 2017, United Airlines had a passenger removed from one of its airplanes. Video of the bleeding man being dragged off through the aisle went viral the next day. United’s initial response attempted to downplay this offensive act (relying primarily on differentiation and mortification, but not really apologizing for this offensive act). This stance provoked outrage and ridicule. This study applies image repair theory (Benoit, 2015) to the discourse in this case study. United’s CEO, Oscar Munoz, was forced to offer a “do-over,” stressing mortification and corrective action that were actually directed to the offensive act. United finally arrived at the proper response, but it came too late to realize its full potential. This essay argues that corrective action can be an important strategy in crisis communication theory; it also explains that social media have changed the crisis situation (with nearly instant and widespread criticism) and compressed the time in which those accused of wrongdoing can respond.

scholarly journals Crisis Communication Preparedness Practices Among U.S. Charitable Organizations: Results From a National Survey

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402110145
Author(s):  
Ryan P. Fuller ◽  
Antonio La Sala
Keyword(s):  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Negative Word ◽  
Organizational Crisis ◽  
Crisis Planning ◽  
Charitable Organizations ◽  
Major Stakeholder

Organizations should prepare for crises, through identifying crisis concerns, having written crisis communication plans, and designating teams for crisis planning and response, for example. Nonprofit organizations, which represent an important sector of U.S. society, are no different in needing to prepare, but to date, a review of their crisis communication preparedness is lacking. Therefore, a national online survey of 2,005 U.S. charitable organizations was administered to determine nonprofit organizations’ adoption of an anticipatory perspective of crisis management. The anticipatory perspective shifts the organization’s focus from reaction to crises to anticipation of them. According to the survey, 75% of organizations reported at least one organizational crisis in the 24 months prior to taking the survey (circa 2017–2019). Loss of a major stakeholder was the most common organizational crisis that had occurred and the greatest future concern. Most nonprofits (97.5%) reported implementing some crisis communication preparedness tactics. Importantly, charitable organizations can enact communication preparedness tactics without significantly detracting from program delivery. Moreover, given the general concerns within the sector, nonprofit organizations should prepare specifically for loss of a major stakeholder and technologically created crises such as data breaches and negative word of mouth on social media.

scholarly journals Social Media in and Around a Temporary Large-Scale Refugee Shelter in the Netherlands

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630512110249
Author(s):  
Peer Smets ◽  
Younes Younes ◽  
Marinka Dohmen ◽  
Kees Boersma ◽  
Lenie Brouwer
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
State Policies ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Top Down ◽  
And Migration

During the 2015 refugee crisis in Europe, temporary refugee shelters arose in the Netherlands to shelter the large influx of asylum seekers. The largest shelter was located in the eastern part of the country. This shelter, where tents housed nearly 3,000 asylum seekers, was managed with a firm top-down approach. However, many residents of the shelter—mainly Syrians and Eritreans—developed horizontal relations with the local receiving society, using social media to establish contact and exchange services and goods. This case study shows how various types of crisis communication played a role and how the different worlds came together. Connectivity is discussed in relation to inclusion, based on resilient (non-)humanitarian approaches that link society with social media. Moreover, we argue that the refugee crisis can be better understood by looking through the lens of connectivity, practices, and migration infrastructure instead of focusing only on state policies.

Rethinking crisis dynamics from the perspective of online publics: A case study of Dolce & Gabbana’s China crisis

2021 ◽  
pp. 2046147X2110268
Author(s):  
Zhuo Ban ◽  
Alessandro Lovari
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Interactive Process ◽  
Communicative Behavior ◽  
Media Channels ◽  
Chinese Public

On November 18, 2018, the Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana (D&G) released a controversial video on all their social media channels. The video triggered an instant outcry from the general Chinese public, who called the video a racist caricature of Chinese culture. D&G responded to the crisis with several image repair strategies. This study examines D&G’s crisis communication efforts in the wake of this incident. Departing from corporate-oriented perspectives prevalent in the field of public relations, this study employs a dynamic, public-oriented view of crisis communication, which focuses on the dynamic, interactive process of crisis development from the standpoint of the publics. By analyzing communicative behavior on Twitter (an increasingly influential alternative public sphere in China) and in particular, comments and responses toward the crisis communication strategies employed by D&G, we have identified four prominent themes, or ways that publics framed their key messages against the corporation: “Apology not enough”; “Apology done badly”; “Call to unite against D&G”; and “Sarcasm, mockery, and abuse.” And they can be interpreted as a number of crisis communication strategies of the global, online publics. Based on our analysis of the D&G case, we discuss the theoretical implications of a dynamic, public-oriented perspective (DPOP) on crisis communication, highlighting its key areas of difference from the corporate-oriented perspective (COP).

scholarly journals Maple Leaf Foods: Crisis and Containment Case Study

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwyneth V.J. Howell ◽  
Rohan Miller
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Organisational Values

Crises can impact an organisation’s viability, credibility and reputation. Communication can preserve and protect the valuable reputation of an organisation, by demonstrating an acceptance of responsibility for the crisis and addressing victim concerns. The research illustrates that Maple Leaf Food’s crisis communication strategy was effectual and in supported to its purported organisational values as an organisation focused on health and safety. This case highlights why it is crucial for organisations to develop and apply a cohesive crisis communication strategy.

scholarly journals Appeals to Ethos and Pathos in Post-Crisis Communication: A Case Study of Press Conferences Handling Tianjin Blasts

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Xueyu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
Rhetorical Appeals ◽  
Discursive Resources

<p>This study focuses on the rhetorical appeals in post-crisis communication, and analyzes the influence of dynamically changing context on the speakers’ choice of rhetorical means. Aristotle’s three important rhetorical appeals-ethos, pathos and logos are investigated in the transcript of 14 press conferences handling Tianjin blasts. The changes in speakers’ rhetorical appeals are explored in relation to the changing context in the evolving crisis. In post-crisis press conferences, the speakers most frequently used appeals to ethos and pathos to persuade. Specifically, when appealing to ethos, the speakers usually manipulated discursive resources to construct their credibility, expertise, and similarity with the audience; when appealing to pathos, such emotions of the public as the feelings of depression, need for appreciation, and expectation for a thorough investigation of the blasts were addressed. In addition, as the crisis unfolded, the context for communication was dynamically changing. There was a tendency for speakers to adapt their rhetorical appeals to the dynamically changing context.</p>

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