Strategic Communication in Crisis Management: Lessons from the Airline Industry

Communicating successfully is crucial if an organization is to survive and recover from a crisis. Focusing on the airline industry and some of the most recent headline-making disasters, Dr. Ray looks at organizational crises, the communications strategies employed by organizations when responding to crises, and the factors that influence the effectiveness for this strategic communication. Her three-stage model of crisis stages provides a comprehensive understanding of the significant factors that affect the success of communicating in crisis situations. She shows how strategic communication is best understood and developed from a broad frame of reference, and how specific communication choices must emerge from specific situations. Corporate communications specialists at all levels in the private and public sectors both, plus executives with other management responsibilities, will find Dr. Ray's book informative, useful, and fascinating reading.

SALLY J. RAY is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Broadcasting, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green.