• Workers safety prevents future liabilitiesscaffolding workers image by Greg Pickens from <a href='http://www.fotolia.com'>Fotolia.com</a>
  
  A crisis can be natural, like a hurricane that damages property and interrupts business; or it can be man made, like a technology failure, or a scandal among top management. Crises may create risks to public safety or to the organization's finances and reputation. Crisis management is the discipline an organization uses to foresee threats to its operation, and react to those threats effectively. The plans and approaches vary by the type of crisis.
  
  

Natural Disasters

• Earthquakes, hurricanes and floods destroy communications networks and workplaces, and paralyze business operations. Managing this type of crisis requires disaster recovery services, which an organization develops on its own, or hires a contingency planning consultancy to develop. IBM commands 10 percent of this market as of December 2010; the international disaster recovery market is estimated to be worth $4.5 billion with a growth rate of 14 percent.
  
  

Technology Failure

• Complex technological systems suffer breakdowns and require backup services; for example, computer software is subject to failure and loss of important data. Technological failures have also caused catastrophic results and loss of life; an example is the 1984 chemical leak which occurred at a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, killing more than 3,000 people. Insurance firms like FM Global offer customized premium packages for businesses susceptible to technological disasters. They also offer risk analysis and contingency planning development.
  
  

Poor Management

• Bankruptcy and loss of confidence by customers in a business are usually caused by poor management decisions. Lack of immediate response by management to a crisis can create lingering financial losses and scarred reputations. In 1989, Exxon customers canceled credit cards after the Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska's coast caused environmental damage. Those customers cited lack of response and communication from Exxon management. Crisis communications is a discipline of its own, whereby an organization responds to the crisis publicly and honestly, including its plans to mitigate the crisis and pay restitution (if necessary).
  
  

Workplace Discontent

• Workplace violence by a disgruntled employee harms other employees and the company's standing. Dissatisfied employees may also spread negative rumors about an organization or its products or sell its intellectual property. An organization can reduce the impact of employee discontent by limiting its possibility; the organization must conduct a preemptive review of risk and crisis susceptibility, then, mitigate the risks.
  
  

Confrontation Crisis

• Confrontational tactics like acts of terrorism, product sabotage and boycotts by disgruntled workers or interest groups are crises as well. These crises are best handled with effective public relations. In 1982, unknown saboteurs laced bottles of Tylenol pain reliever with deadly cyanide, causing seven deaths and a public relations crisis. Tylenol producer Johnson & Johnson immediately pulled the product from store shelves, and hired public relations professionals to help the company navigate the crisis. Effective public relations helped the Johnson & Johnson restore the reputation of both Tylenol and the company.