The ongoing battle with crisis : determining the factors of crisis planning for public relations professionals : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

Abstract

The following research project evaluates four areas of crisis communication planning. The relevance of autonomy of the public relations department, interaction with upper-level management, the presence of a written crisis communication plan and the importance of the existing communication culture of an organization were researched through a review of literature, a summary of well-known cases, indepth interviews with professionals and a survey. Following an interpretation of the research results, a narrative detailing an internship experience that prompted the interest in crisis communication and a sample plan developed by the researcher are included.