Crisis Management Case Activity

Crisis Communication assignment for Introduction to Public Relations:

 (Please ignore any published date associated with this post. Due date for this assignment to be announced.)

A grocery shopper in Atlanta, Georgia, has discovered some metal filings in a box of cereal manufactured by the company you work for as its PR director. This is brought to the attention of the store manager, who brings the matter to the attention of the cereal manufacturer.

It’s learned, upon investigation, that in fact a worker in your plant accidentally spilled some metal filings into a large vat of cereal. It’s a “substantial” amount of filings, and it affected only this one vat.

The company vice-president for sales is concerned that cereal sales would decline if the public finds out about the accident, and therefore he wishes to keep it quiet. As PR counsel to the company’s top management, your task is to advise company officials on what they should do in this matter.

Draw upon your knowledge of what we (and the book) have been talking about in terms of handling crisis management issues and, specifically, how to most effectively communicate during a crisis. You can provide your advice to me (Mr. Paul Chimera) as President of Cheery-Oh Manufacturing Co., Inc. You should put your recommendation in a narrative form – as if you’re basically talking to me, one on one – and may include bullet points as part of your explanation. Length is up to you: whatever you believe it will take to be as clear and complete as possible. Remember: you not only want to address the immediate problem, but also consider steps that will ensure continued support and confidence from the consuming public.