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Crisis management isn't just about putting out fires—it's about understanding the systematic lifecycle that every organizational crisis follows. You're being tested on your ability to recognize how preparation, response, and recovery interconnect as a continuous process. The stages aren't isolated checkboxes; they form a feedback loop where lessons from one crisis strengthen your readiness for the next.
When you encounter exam questions on this topic, you'll need to demonstrate more than recall. Expect to analyze why certain interventions work at specific stages, how communication strategies shift as a crisis evolves, and what distinguishes reactive damage control from proactive resilience-building. Don't just memorize the six stages—know what organizational principle each stage protects and why skipping any stage creates vulnerabilities.
These stages happen before a crisis strikes. The underlying principle is simple: organizations that invest in anticipation dramatically outperform those that only react. Proactive crisis management reduces response time, limits damage scope, and preserves stakeholder trust.
Compare: Pre-Crisis Planning vs. Crisis Detection—both occur before active response, but planning builds capacity while detection builds awareness. Planning asks "what could happen?" while detection asks "what is happening?" FRQs often test whether you understand this distinction.
Once a crisis materializes, organizations shift from preparation to execution. The goal here is containment and controlled communication—limiting damage while maintaining stakeholder confidence through transparency.
Compare: Containment vs. Communication—containment addresses the operational reality of the crisis while communication manages the perceived reality. Misalignment between these creates credibility gaps. If an FRQ asks about stakeholder trust, emphasize how transparent communication during containment builds long-term organizational credibility.
These final stages determine whether an organization emerges stronger or merely survives. Recovery restores operations while evaluation transforms crisis experience into institutional knowledge.
Compare: Recovery vs. Evaluation—recovery focuses on returning to normal while evaluation focuses on improving the new normal. Organizations that skip evaluation repeat mistakes; those that skip recovery lose operational capacity. Both are essential, but evaluation is what transforms a crisis from pure loss into organizational learning.
| Concept | Best Examples |
|---|---|
| Anticipation & Readiness | Pre-Crisis Planning, Crisis Detection |
| Operational Response | Containment, Damage Control |
| Information Management | Crisis Communication, Spokesperson Designation |
| Stakeholder Relations | Communication Strategy, Recovery Engagement |
| Organizational Resilience | Business Continuity, Post-Crisis Evaluation |
| Feedback Loop Completion | Lessons Learned Integration, Plan Updates |
| Time-Sensitive Actions | Early Detection, Immediate Plan Activation |
Which two stages both occur before active crisis response, and what distinguishes their primary focus?
If an organization successfully contains a crisis operationally but fails at crisis communication, what specific stakeholder consequences would you predict?
Compare and contrast the goals of Business Recovery and Post-Crisis Evaluation—why is skipping either stage problematic for long-term organizational health?
An FRQ presents a scenario where a company detected warning signs but had no pre-established crisis plan. Which stage failure does this represent, and how would it impact all subsequent stages?
Identify which stages form the "feedback loop" in crisis management and explain why this cyclical relationship matters more than linear stage completion.