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Organizations frequently find themselves in situations we would define as a crisis. Consider but a few examples: Union Carbide’s devastating chemical release in Bhopal; Carrefour suffering from protests at its stores in China because of French attacks on the Olympic torch relay; customers experiencing E. coli at Taco Bell; rumors about designer Tommy Hilfiger’s racist comments; Tyco executives stealing millions from the company; and Oxfam claiming Starbucks did not support coffee growers by opposing the branding of certain African coffees. We must accept that no organization is immune from a crisis anywhere in the world even if that organization is vigilant and actively seeks to prevent crises. The reality of crises leads to the need for preparation and readiness to respond–crisis management. The critical component in crisis management is communication. Over the past decade, there has been a massive …