Public Relations Case Study Summary, reviews Greenergy Co. and steps taken from PR prospective regarding serious accident.

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"Managing a Crisis Using PR"

Proactive planning is being prepared for unanticipated events. All businesses large or small should make a habit of this practice. The ability to be proactive will allow most companies especially in a crisis situation to remain calm. Proactive crisis management plans ensure that there is a methodical approach in place to handle a wide variety of crises.

Greenergy, a power company located in California and other western states had experienced a severe crisis. A turbine blade from a generation windmill broke suddenly and struck a group of nearby picnickers. In efforts to address the issue to the company's publics, the PR team went into action. Thankfully, the Director of Public Relations had established a crisis management plan. This allows the PR team to react to a situation quickly, coupled with minimal consequences to capital and reputation. To ensure the success of a company's PR department they should create general crisis management plans for a variety of emergencies.

It was under the advice of the Director of PR that the CEO acts as the face of all communications coming from within the organization. This will aid in persuading their publics that the situation is under control. The Director also called for several polls and surveys to be conducted. These surveys would allow the team to single out certain attitudes toward the crisis and allow them to react to the most pressing issues. Non-effectual tools for any crisis situation such as the hiring of celebrity spokespersons or conducting promotional events were not advised at that time. The team thought that by issuing their selected feedback mechanisms and preparing scripted responses for the CEO, this methodology would best fit their current situation.

It is important to understand that no two crisis events are completely the same. There...