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Managing Business Crises: From Anticipation to Implementation, John Burnett, Quorum Books, Westport, Conn., 2002, 219 pages.
A crisis is a problem, but not every problem is a crisis. At least that is the view of most crisis experts, who define a crisis as something much more serious than a problem. Some well-known crises examples include the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Pepsi syringe-in-the-can scare, and the Johnson and Johnson Tylenol deaths. Few would argue that these problems clearly constituted crises for the companies involved. But John Burnett's definition of a crisis is much broader, and perhaps more practical for most businesses than the traditional casebook approach to crisis management. Burnett points out that events must be seen from "the eyes of the beholder." Therefore, he rejects the view that the only crises that need to be managed are catastrophes. Instead, he suggests that crisis management must become a natural part of corporate culture and that crisis management must be viewed on a continuum. As he asserts, any minor disruption can become a catastrophe if it is not well managed.
This approach should make good sense to most businesses and might even persuade those who do not have a crisis plan...