Importance of creating and having an emergency response plan
An emergency response plan is one of the most vital tools for the management of a disaster. The following are the importance of an emergency response plan. First and foremost, an emergency response plan is useful in the prevention of the reoccurrence of injuries on people. This is because policies are put in place to avoid a repetition of the accidents. Secondly, an emergency response plan reduces the damage of property. Disasters destroy property worth millions of dollars each time three is a crisis. Thirdly, a program protects the environment. Disastrous environmental hazards such as oil leaks in the ocean lead to the death of aquatic life. An emergency response plan put in place would reduce the fatality of such a leak (HFR Solutions CIC, 2018)
The need for a command center when an event occurs
A command center is essential to the control of an event that has happened in a particular place. A command center enables an organization to function smoothly in the occurrence of a specific calamity. The tasks to mitigate the effects of the events are given by the command center. A command center ensures that the normal activities in an affected community go on as planned. The command center normalizes the operations by controlling the event that is going on in a specific area. The command center acts as a source of leadership in the face of an event by maintaining order and avoiding confusion among the victims (Department of Homeland Security, 2018).
Examples of planned responses to corporate crises
In 2015, Volkswagen was faced with an emissions scandal that involved the company manufacturing cars whose engines were releasing excessive fumes that were dangerous to the environment. However, the company treated the issue a secret until it was illuminated by the media. The company was therefore expected to have been honest with the problem to the customers and stick to their goals in the company such as reducing the engine emissions (Hotten, 2015. Southwest Airlines was affected by critical comments regarding its social media responses in 2016. The customers’ concerns on their social media platforms went unanswered leading to customers’ uproar. The company was forced to apologize for the inconveniences (Kerley, Lloyd, Luna, & Cook, 2017).
Strategies for dealing with the media in a crisis
The role of the press in revealing the secrets of individual personalities and even organizations may be perceived as a breach of privacy. To avoid such a scenario, the following are the strategies to be considered. Firstly, the lines of communication between a company and the media have to be open. This prevents the thought of information concealment. The second strategy is to pay attention to the social media. A company can mitigate a crisis by observing their customers reactions to social media (Leach, 2013).