Background: Crisis and crisis management is a research topic that since the 1980s has gotten increasing amounts of attention in research. A crisis refers to an event that may have severe effects on an organisation's survival, making it important to know how to prepare for them. Interest in research about crisis preparedness has been growing. However, literature tends to focus on crisis preparedness in an MNE (Multinational Enterprises) context, thus, leaving out SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises). Nonetheless, SMEs are a large and crucial part of the economy that may equally, if not more, be affected by crises. In SMEs, the leader has a significant impact on the strategic decisions in the business, making them a crucial part of the crisis preparedness process and an important aspect to study. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore what factors could influence the way a leader prioritises to work with crisis preparedness in SMEs. Further, this research aims to understand how those priorities affect the level of crisis preparedness in SMEs. Method:  This study was conducted as a qualitative exploratory research in the form of a cross-sectional multiple case study. The data was collected through twelve semi-structured in-depth interviews, where all the participants were active as leaders in SMEs. The data collected in the interviews was subsequently analysed through a thematic analysis approach. Conclusion: It was found that besides the previously found external factors of SMEs, crisis preparedness is also influenced by the leader’s attitude about crisis preparedness. This attitude, in turn, is primarily formed through the leader’s understanding of crises and their personality. It was further found that the type of industry could be a factor in crisis preparedness due to for example, differing amounts of rules and regulations. In conclusion, the thesis was able to connect much of what has been found in previous research while adding a focus on the leader and their attitude about crisis preparedness.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-06-11T13:41:52Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Claudia Klein Ferreira.pdf: 1543315 bytes, checksum: 2b2666157a4cb49e62fe9b8fa651acd6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-06-11T13:41:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Claudia Klein Ferreira.pdf: 1543315 bytes, checksum: 2b2666157a4cb49e62fe9b8fa651acd6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-23 / Nenhuma / No presente trabalho buscou-se um olhar para a gestão de crise de imagem em organizações educacionais numa reflexão sobre a prática da gestão e da comunicação organizacional à luz de diferentes saberes. Para responder “Como as organizações educacionais lidam com situações de risco de crise de imagem a partir da perspectiva da comunicação?” realizou-se uma investigação científica, por meio de sete entrevistas em profundidade com gestores de comunicação e de um grupo focal com diretores de sete escolas privadas de Porto Alegre, no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. A partir do conteúdo obtido, procedeu-se a uma triangulação com o referencial teórico envolvendo autores de áreas como administração, educação e comunicação. Assim foi possível definir categorias de análise e alcançar os objetivos propostos. Além de evidenciar como as organizações educacionais lidam com situações de risco de crise de imagem a partir da perspectiva da comunicação, foi possível analisar o papel da área de comunicação nas escolas no que se refere à gestão de crise e, ainda, entender quais os fatores de risco de crise de imagem e os fatores de proteção percebidos pelos gestores nas organizações educacionais. Entre os achados mais significativos, está a constatação de que os diretores têm consciência da responsabilidade de seu papel frente a uma crise, entretanto percebeu-se certo distanciamento entre a área de comunicação e a gestão principal das escolas. Também ficou evidente a falta de planejamento para uma possível crise de imagem por parte das organizações. / In this study I searched for a look at the image crisis management in educational organizations about the practical reflection of management and organizational communication in the light of different knowledge. To answer "How educational organizations deal with risk situations of image crisis from the perspective of communication?", I did a scientific investigation through seven in-depth interviews with communication managers and also I did a focus group with seven private school principals of Porto Alegre, state of Rio Grande do Sul. From the obtained content, I did a triangulation with a theoretical framework involving areas of authors as administration, education and communication. Thus, it was possible to define analysis categories and achive the proposed objectives. Besides making evident how the educational organizations deal with situations of risk of image crisis from the perspective of communication, it was possible to analyze the role of communications area in schools in relation to the crisis management also understand what the risk factors of image crisis and protective factors perceived by managers in educational organizations. Among the most significant results is the observation that the directors are aware of the responsibility for their role in a crisis, however we can see a certain distance between communication area and school management. It was also evident lack of planning for a possible image crisis by organizations.

A Comunicação Organizacional é um instrumento precioso e imprescindível tanto como ferramenta auxiliar no planejamento estratégico integrado quanto na prevenção ou resolução de uma crise de imagem, sendo esta definida como uma entidade externa e uma construção mental que inclui ideias, sentimentos, atitudes, conceitos mentais e expectativas, e que pode afetar diretamente a relação da organização com o seu público (STERN; ZINKHAN; JAJU, 2001). As estratégias de Comunicação Organizacional interferem diretamente ainda na recuperação da credibilidade e na reconstrução da imagem corporativa após um incidente de crise. Este estudo apresenta estratégias de Comunicação Organizacional e de Gestão de Crise de Imagem adotadas pela Assessoria de Comunicação do Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Sul – Campus Caxias do Sul. Dois anos depois de ter sido instituído, em 2010, o IFRS Campus Caxias do Sul enfrentou uma crise ocasionada pelo atraso na conclusão da obra da sede definitiva, fato que ocasionou protestos dos alunos, pais e servidores da instituição e que foi amplamente divulgado pela imprensa O início do trabalho de Comunicação Organizacional se deu em 2013, a partir de um planejamento de comunicação estratégica. Inicialmente, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa exploratória com os stakeholders (alunos, servidores, pais ou responsáveis e profissionais da imprensa), a fim de ampliar os conhecimentos sobre o contexto da crise. Após o diagnóstico da situação, foi realizado um Planejamento de Comunicação Organizacional e um Plano de Gestão de Crise de Imagem, com base no modelo de Timothy Coombs, elaborados para que a instituição pudesse recuperar a imagem abalada e a credibilidade do seu público de interesse. A implantação das estratégias de comunicação e do Plano de Gestão de Crise de Imagem foi planejada e executada em conjunto pela assessoria de comunicação e os gestores responsáveis pela instituição e resultaram em maior proximidade com o público e maior transparência nas relações, despertando o sentimento de pertencimento dos stakeholders em relação à instituição. / Organizational Communication is a precious and indispensable instrument as an auxiliary tool in integrated strategic planning and in the prevention or resolution of an image crisis, defined as an external entity and a mental construct that includes ideas, feelings, attitudes, mental concepts and Expectations, and that can directly affect the organization's relationship with its public (STERN; ZINKHAN; JAJU, 2001). The Organizational Communication strategies directly interfere in the recovery of credibility and in the reconstruction of the corporate image after an incident of crisis. This study presents strategies of Organizational Communication and Image Crisis Management adopted by the Communication Department of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul - Caxias do Sul Campus. Two years after it was instituted in 2010, The IFRS Campus Caxias do Sul faced an image crisis caused by the delay in the completion of the definitive headquarters work, a fact that provoked protests from students, parents and employees of the institution and was widely publicized in the press. The beginning of the work of Organizational Communication occurred in 2013, from a strategic communication planning. Initially, a qualitative exploratory research was carried out with the stakeholders (students, servants, parents or leaders and the press) in order to increase knowledge about the context of the crisis After the situation was diagnosed, an Organizational Communication Plan and an Image Crisis Management Plan, based on the Timothy Coombs model, were prepared so that the institution could recover the shaken image and the credibility of its target audience. The implementation of the communication strategies and the Image Crisis Management Plan was planned and carried out jointly by the communication advisor and the managers responsible for the institution, and resulted in greater proximity to the public and greater transparency in the relations, arousing the feeling of the stakeholders in relation to the institution.

This thesis explores the Security Governance of the European Union (EU) by examining the relationship between the external dimension of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) and civilian crisis management missions. More specifically it tests the capacity of EU level actors to project the external dimension of JHA's goals, in a coordinated and coherent fashion, into the Union's near abroad. The research 'puzzle' lies in the multi-dimensional character of the external dimension of JHA. The fact that the domains tools and competencies are spread within and across all three pillars of the EU make its coordination with civilian crisis management missions far from straight-forward. The ambition to link the two policy domains has been expressed repeatedly by the EU in high profile strategic documents, such as the European Security Strategy of 2003, and the 2005 'A Strategy for the External Dimension of JHA: Global Freedom, Security and Justice'. This thesis endeavours to test the EU's performance in governing the external dimension of JHA and the need to link its goals with those of civilian crisis management missions. It does this by taking three civilian crisis management missions recently projected into the EU's milieu, with mandates related to security sector reform and JHA. The missions selected for comparison are: Proxima launched in 2003 in Macedonia; EU Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine launched in 2005; and finally, EULEX Kosovo launched in 2008. These missions are selected to serve as prime test cases for the interface between JHA and civilian crisis management missions, covering a time period that will allow for an examination of continuity and change in foreign and security policy at the EU level.

Companies are during their operation impacted many risks from inside or outside. Business Continuity Management is a managerial discipline that deals with providing resistance against operation company risks and was developed due to the increasing requirement to save against unforseen incidents. The goal of this thesis is to optimize the Business Continuity Plan of particular company in accordance with a system of crisis management in Czech Republic.

Diploma thesis "Restructuring of OP Prostějov Company" offers a comprehensive insight into crisis management and key ingredients that lead to the successful company turnaround. Slatter`s theoretical approach is combined with the best practice of strategy consultants at Roland Berger. We analyze the situation of the biggest manufacturer of outerwear dresses in Czech Republic - OP Prostějov Company. Both financial and strategic analyses identify the key drivers in clothing industry and assess the causes of the company poor performance. OP Prostějov is recommended to focus on Measure-to-Made luxury collection, while all the unnecessary properties should be divested and sold in order to pay the bank loans and other liabilities of the company. The most important steps are defined in the part of financial restructuring and new strategic reorientation with attention to improve the basic operational metrics -- most importantly to improve EBIT margin and return on capital invested.

The presented master thesis is intended to serve as a guide to the corporate turnarounds for small and medium enterprises. In the first part, the theoretical background related to corporate turnaround is outlined complemented with specific aspects of the CEE region and the Czech Republic. In the next part, a comprehensive turnaround framework based on theoretical research is developed. The final part presents a case study of a small Czech company that went through a turnaround and evaluates the company's turnaround actions from the perspective of suggested theoretical framework.

Making decisions at the right time and in the right way is vital in dealing with extreme events. However, uncertainties and severe time constraints usually make the tasks hard and stressful. Since catastrophes are not frequent events in our lives, prior practice is essential to increasing preparedness. In accordance with its rapid development and extensive dissemination, information communication technology (ICT) has been recognised as an indispensable instrument, not only to assist onsite activities of professional emergency responders, but also to support collaborative actions of a wide-range of stakeholders for effective preparedness. This research intends to explore the feasibility of workshop-style decision-making exercises on the basis of scenarios of extreme events, and to examine the role of ICT in mediating the interactive processes during a workshop. A comparative approach between the UK and Japan was employed to find similarities and differences in the way of identifying major issues, proceeding to a discussion, and reaching a decision on which course of action to take. Interviews with Japanese and British experts, including researchers and practitioners, were conducted to develop realistic scenarios and to hear their opinions about the use of ICT in the crisis preparedness context. Experimental face-to-face (FTF) workshops and online workshops were respectively organised for Japanese and British research participants to examine the applicability of the scenario method under these two different methods of communication. Complementary online workshops were also conducted for Japanese and British practitioners to obtain practical feedback on the idea of scenario-based online workshops. The main finding of this study was that scenario-based exercises are beneficial regardless of the nationality or the methods of communication in decision problems in which individuals have no prior experience. The most noteworthy finding was that scenario-based online workshops are unlikely to be argumentative and results-oriented under certain conditions, such as complexity of issues and tasks, amount of time spent by participants, degree of facilitation and type of technology used. This finding indicates that online exercises require different strategies from FTF exercises. In theoretical aspects, this study provides a foundation for theory formation regarding scenario methods. In addition, this work contributes to further development of online communications based on the comparison with FTF communications. In practical terms, the examination of the scenario method and use of ICT offers methodological alternatives in order to implement more robust preparedness.

This thesis deals with a well-known part of Swedish government communication to the citizens and inhabitants of Sweden regarding the event of war or other external threats, the brochure “If War Arrives” first published in 1943. With a sixth edition named ”If War or Crisis Arrives” in May 2018 the suite of printed information has been the prime advice to the Swedes during 75 years. The aim of this thesis is to study: How, by which messages, the Swedish government and authorities try to strengthen the resilience of its society through the brochures? How has the messages from the Swedish state on how citizens should behave in war and crisis changed during the 75 years since the first edition. Do changes in the forming of the nation through the brochure reflect changed values in society and a changed national narrative? If War Arrives is part of communication that create the nation of Sweden. It must be assumed that those who produce it search a synthesis between the need to control and lead a people in endangerment and simultaneously catch the same people's self-image. To find answers to the questions a quantitative study of frequency of key words is performed. This is followed by a discourse analysis emphasising on the Swedish security discourse and the Swedish national discourse. The conclusion of the quantitative study is a surprisingly stable product with, except for one subject (description of the enemy), small changes in the messages to the citizens. Moral statements have declined but legally built requirements have increased during the six editions published. The discourse study show a slightly changing language concerning the demands on the citizens in case of war or other sever danger. The construction of the national narrative is more adjusted to the modern diversified society in a globalized world but nevertheless the inhabitants of the nation are responsible both for themselves as individuals and share a responsibility for the nation-state of Sweden. There are indications for a change in the narrative of the Swedish nation because the collective claims of expressions seemingly embraced by everybody like “our style of life” or “form of living” has changed to the phrase “… the right to live according to our own choice”. This is a rhetorical change in phrasing that suits the needs of a modern globalized nation far better. / Denna uppsats handlar om en välkänd del av svensk regeringskommunikation till medborgarna och invånarna i Sverige i händelse av krig eller andra hot, broschyren Om Kriget Kommer, som först publicerades 1943. Med en sjätte utgåva som heter "Om Krisen eller Kriget Kommer" i maj 2018 har sviten av tryckt information varit den mest framträdande rådgivningen till svenskarna under 75 år. Syftet med denna avhandling är att undersöka: Hur, med vilka budskap, försöker svenska regeringen och myndigheterna att stärka sitt samhälles motståndskraft genom broschyrerna? Hur har den svenska statens budskap om hur medborgarna ska förhålla sig vid krig och kris förändrats under de 75 år som gått sedan första upplagan. Finns förändringar i nationsformeringen som synliggörs genom broschyren och speglar de förändrade värden i samhället och en nytt svenskt narrativ? Om Kriget Kommer är en del av kommunikationen som skapar nationen Sverige. Det måste antas att de som producerar den söker en syntes mellan behovet att styra och leda ett folk i fara och samtidigt uppfånga samma folks självbild. För att hitta svar på frågorna utförs en kvantitativ studie av nyckelord i de sex texterna. Detta följs av en diskursanalys med betoning på den svenska säkerhetsdiskursen och den svenska nationella diskursen. Slutsatsen av den kvantitativa studien är en överraskande stabil produkt med, förutom ett ämnesområde (beskrivning av fienden), små förändringar i budskapen till svenskarna. Moraliska utsagor har minskat, men legalt byggda anspråk på landets invånare har i stället ökat i de sex utgåvorna som publicerats. Diskursstudien visar ett något förändrat språk om krav på medborgarna i händelse av krig eller annan allvarlig fara. Den projicerade nationen är 2018 mer anpassad till det moderna diversifierade samhället i en globaliserad värld, men nationens invånare är inte desto mindre ansvariga för sig själva som individer och de delar ansvarar för den svenska nationen. Det finns indikationer på en förändring i det svenska narrativet, eftersom kollektiva uttryck som är tänkta att omfamnas av alla som; "vår livsstil" eller "levnadsform" har förändrats till uttrycket ”… rätten att leva som vi själva väljer”. Detta är en retorisk förändring som passar behoven hos en modern globaliserad nation mycket bättre.

Thesis (M.A.) (Psychology) ---University of Limpopo, 2010 / The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of teenage pregnancy on pregnant teenagers. Specifically, the study sought to determine whether or not pregnant teenagers experience psychological distress during pregnancy, and to explore the nature of such distress. Fifty two (52) pregnant teenagers were conveniently sampled to participate in the study. Their ages ranged from 15 to 20 years, with the gestation period ranging from 4 to 9 months. The sample included pregnant teenagers from high schools and tertiary institutions in the Capricorn District (Limpopo Province). Data was collected using triangulation of methods, namely quantitative and qualitative methods. For the quantitative data, a 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) which measures such factors as somatic complaints, anxiety and insomnia, social isolation, and depression was used. For qualitative data, three focus group interviews were conducted with the participants. The results suggested indications of psychological distress during the gestation period. These included experiences of symptoms associated with somatic complaints, anxiety and insomnia, social isolation and severe depression. Furthermore, the study showed themes of distress wherein teenagers react to the realisation of pregnancy with fear and disbelief, and thoughts of termination of pregnancy. Participants gave reports that pregnancy was seen as a shameful event for the teenagers involved. Coping strategies noted included teenagers‟ resort to avoidance of situations which were perceived to be stressful, and also associating with people they perceived as being more supportive. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made: a) Intervention programmes should be put in place so as to help minimise the psychological and social problems experienced by pregnant teenagers, for example, crisis management skills could be offered to help deal with the trauma experienced; b) Social support structures should be made available to pregnant teenagers; and, c) Cultural practices should be incorporated in education syllabi that focus on human sexuality and reproduction. / N/A