Thesis (M.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): H. Lyman Miller, Harold D. Blanton. AD-A402 689. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Vi och alla runt omkring oss drabbas av kriser, både som individer och som deltagare i grupper. Men vad innebär det när ett företag drabbas, vad kan vara en företagskris? Syftet med denna rapport är att belysa vad som är en företagskris enligt vissa aktörer i hotellbranschen. Vi använder oss av aktörsynsättet eftersom det innebär att det är individerna som skapar sina egna verkligheter och att dessa verkligheter inte är bestående. För vår del innebär det att den definition av företagskriser som vi får från de personer vi intervjuar inte är en generell definition utan den gäller för just dessa aktörer just nu. För att genomföra studien har vi tagit del av teorier inom bl.a. företagsekonomi och psykologi. Dessutom har vi intervjuat fem personer som arbetar på olika hotell i Gävleborgs län. Det finns nästan lika många uppfattningar om vad en företagskris är som det finns teoretiker, men alla definitioner har vissa gemensamma beröringspunkter. Om vi utgår från teoretikernas uppfattning av företagskriser så är en företagskris en oväntad förändring som hotar företagets existens och som måste lösas under tidspress. Även aktörernas olika innebörder på ordet kris har gemensamma drag, vår tolkning av deras svar är att en företagskris är en plötslig och allvarlig händelse som inte hör till den dagliga verksamheten. Dock finns det vissa skillnader i exakt vad aktörerna lägger in i sin innebörd. Det finns många olika tolkningar av vad som är det bästa sättet att hantera en företagskris på, men de flesta teoretiker verkar anse att det viktigaste är att förebygga företagskriser så att de överhuvudtaget inte inträffar. Även om en del av forskarna anser att en företagskris kan vara något positivt som ger aktörer i ett företag en möjlighet att förändra företaget samt visa upp sin återhämtningsförmåga. Något som vi började tänka på under arbetet med uppsatsen är hur mycket handlingsplaner och krisberedskap det finns i samhället. Främst tänkte vi på alla handlingsplaner för hur människor ska agera vid bränder. I de flesta allmänna utrymmen finns nödutgångar utmarkerade. I grundskolan åker eleverna till brandstationer och får utbildning i hur de ska göra vid en brand och på arbetsplatser genomförs det regelbundna brandövningar. Men det finns så mycket mer i samhället, t.ex. på flygplan och färjor finns det information om flytvästar och när de ska användas. Den största lärdomen vi har fått från detta uppsatsarbete är hur individuellt allt är. Det gäller inte bara vilken innebörd ordet företagskris har eller uppfattningen om det bästa sättet att hantera företagskriser på utan det gäller allt i livet. Hur du väljer att agera i en viss situation är upp till dig och beror på de förutsättningar samt erfarenheter som du har. / We all experience and are affected by crises, both as individuals and as part of groups. But what does it means when a company is affected, what can be considered a company crisis? The purpose of this rapport is to try to clarify what a company crisis is according to the actors of the hotel sector. We use an actor perspective since it views individuals as creators of their own reality and these realities aren’t permanent. For our study this means that the definition of company crises that we attain from the people we interview isn’t a general one, shared by the general public, but a definition that is only true for these people at this very moment. To undertake the study we studied litterateur in among others business administration and psychology. In addition to this we have interview five people from different hotels in Gävleborgs län. There are as many views on what a company crisis is as there are theorists but all definitions have some similarities. If we start with the theorists’ viewpoint, a company crisis is an unexpected change that threatens the very existence of the company and that needs to be resolved under time pressure. The different meanings of the word crisis from the actors’ viewpoint also have some common features; our interpretation of their answers is that a company crisis is a sudden and serious event that’s not a part of the daily routines. There are however some differences in the individual actors’ specific meanings. There are many different interpretations of what is the best way to handle a company crisis, but most of the theorists seem to believe that the most important factor is to prevent company crises from occurring at all. Even if some of these scientists believe that a company crisis can be something positive that give the actors in a company an opportunity to change the company and show their resilience. Something that we have thought about during the course of this thesis is how many action plans and how much crisis preparation there are in today’s society. We are thinking foremost of all the action plans there are for how people should handle fires. In most public buildings there are EXIT-signs marking the fire exists. In compulsory school students make field trips to fire stations and get educated in how to act in case of a fire. Companies have fire drills with its employees on regular bases. But there is so much more out there, for instance information is given to passengers on board air planes and ferries on where the life vest are and on how to put them on. The biggest insight this thesis have given us is how individual everything is. It doesn’t just apply to the meaning of the word crisis or how best to handle a company crisis but really everything in life. How you choose to act in a particular situation is up to you and depends on your knowledge and experience.

Problem: -The 2008 Financial crisis has caused global impact on business market and led to question leader's competence. Prior study has found that leadership contributes certain effects to organizations' performace under a crisis situation, however there is lit-tle study which has been made regarding to identifying crisis leadership and its compe-tence and management during crisis. Purpose: - The purpose in this thesis is to bridge the gap between crisis management and leadership by finding answers of five research questions. Which are ; How this 2008 financial crisis has affected the international financial institutions, what leadership dimensions are performed by leaders during the financial crisis, which leadership style do leaders tend to rely on in international financial companies during the 2008 financial crisis, why do leaders tend to rely on the dimensions of transformational leadership or transactional leadership and what are the implications in this study that could lead to fu-ture research. Method: - The study employs qualitative methods to fulfill better and deeper understanding about 'how' and 'why' on leadership dimension during the 2008 financial crisis. Data were collected by personal interviews to support and act as a foundation of the analysis to answer the research questions. The choice of interviewees is middle managers of large international companies in the financial sector in Sweden and South Korea. Conclusions: - The finding of this study indicates that 2008 financial crisis has af-fected on large international financial corporations in Sweden and South Korea. More-over, three dimensions of transformational leadership are strongly performed by the middle managers during the 2008 financial crisis. The three strongly performed dimen-sions are (1) Inspirational Motivation, (2) Charisma/ Idealized Influence and (3) Indivi-dualized consideration.

Throughout the last three decades there has been a shift in the provision of crisis services from the hospital to the community (Joy, Adams, & Rice, 2007). Further, the needs of individuals experiencing crises differ, making it essential that these community organizations are able to adapt to each client that they serve (Krupa, Stuart, Mathany, Smart, & Chen, 2010). Program evaluations are one way to determine if, and how, best services are being provided. Using a utilization-focused (Patton, 1997) process evaluation (Stufflebeam & Shinkfield, 2007) framework, the purpose of this study was to explore client perspectives on the services that they are receiving from Crisis Management Service (CMS). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 participants based on questions generated with CMS staff support. Using the general inductive approach (Thomas, 2006), transcripts were analyzed and eight dimensions emerged. The results illustrate client experiences with CMS, client perspectives on the care that they are receiving from CMS, and the benefits they are receiving from being involved with CMS. However, the findings also indicate, that participants would like to change some elements of the program (e.g., having more constant support and having more finances). This study provides valuable insight on clients’ perspectives, particularly that of vulnerable clients in crisis situations, an area that is not extensively researched. This research may also benefit individuals in helping professions as it highlights the effects of working from a strength-based model with at-risk individuals, and the need to engage clients in their move to a healthier lifestyle.

Title:Marketing mix in banking in the time of global financial crisis. Purpose:The purpose of this study is to gain better understanding of banks‟ marketing mix in the time of a global financial crisis. Theoretical framework:The theoretical framework presents a review of selected theories of marketing mix and crisis management, the focus on marketing mix in banking and marketing mix in the time of a crisis. Method:This is a qualitative research, with a deductive approach. The research has a form of multiple case study. Empirical Framework:The empirical data have been obtained through interviews and secondary data research. Analysis:The empirical data have been compared with the theoretical framework. The changes of marketing mix trough those phases are analyzed – separately for Sweden and Estonia, by doing two within-case analysis. This is followed by a cross-case analysis. Findings:The global financial crisis resulted in a two-stages crisis for Swedbank. Marketing mix has been used actively by the company while overcoming the impact of the crisis. Depending on the type of the crisis, different marketing mix elements can contribute to the battle against the crisis. The marketing mix changes over different stages of the crisis, because of both internal and external factors.

How can the enterprises in Taiwan take preventive measures handle or manage the crises is an important issue. Crisis Management has become a major concern in public relations of all private sectors. This study aims to examine various crisis management strategies adopted by different enterprises affected by crises. This thesis specifically raises the following questions to discuss that the enterprises employ used Burke¡¦s Rhetorical Analysis with Dramatism strategy to analyze two case studies. The study found out the conclusions as follows: 1. Enterprises in Taiwan did not respond to crisis clearly and quickly. 2. Enterprises did not utilize image-repair-strategieswell. 3. They usually used ¡§act and agency¡¨in Pentadic analysis to interact with stakeholders. 4.Enterprises should cooperate with distributors to prevent crisis and establish a secure shopping environment.

Avian Influenza (AI) has made hundreds of people dead in Europe. The hospital system of Taiwan, standing in the first line of prevention and treatment, has to effectively employ the experience of SARS in order to tackle the new serious challenge of AI. Though Taiwan is not yet an epidemic area of AI, it is important for us to be well prepared to confront it. Given that prevention is more important than treatment. It is essential that we try our best to build up an efficiently preventive system for AI. This study aims to investigate what is most important and critical in the preventive system. More specifically, what is a priority to do in such a preventive system, especially in a limited condition of budgets and human resources? According to the five stages of crisis management proposed by Mitroff (1988) (see page 35), the current study focuses mainly on operations in the second stage, preparation and prevention of crisis. In terms of analytic hierarchy process (AHP), it designs a questionnaire to systematically interview 12 doctors. Since four of them are outliers when the consistency test is considered, results are based primarily on the opinions of the remaining 8 doctors. The results are summarized as follows. 1. Before the crisis comes, both ¡§the training of doctors and nurses¡¨ (weighted value = 0.3195) and ¡§the regularization of preventive process¡¨ (weighted value = 0.2978) are most important. 2. The regularization of preventive process (weighted value = 0.3066) is most economic in the limited condition of budgets that is available to the preventive operations. Accordingly, it is a best way to regularize the individual operations and spread the concept of the regularization. 3. The training of doctors and nurses (weighted value = 0.3513) is most important in the limited condition of human resources, that recently appears gradual reduction among hospitals. That is, by means of rehearsal of related operations and of training courses, the crew in a hospital can have an understanding of AI spreading in a short period of time. 4. In consideration of hard equipments, the doctors to be questioned hold similar opinions, as mentioned above. Apparently, the mastery of various preventive operations in the preventive system plays a critical role in that whether the AI crisis will continue to develop. 5. Only in consideration of the effects of prevention, the training of doctors and nurses is also most important. In conclusion, the experts all think that the training of doctors and nurses is a priority, regardless of in what conditions. The findings of the study hope to provide references for other hospitals by manifesting the order of the importance of different preventive operations in the preventive system.

Kaohsiung Harbor is located on the strategic point among Northeast , Southeast Asia and the Chinese Mainland. It¡¦s not only the largest international business harbor in our country but also the sixth largest container harbor in the world. Recently, with the rapid expansion of economy and the revolution of industrial promotion in our country, the variety and quantity of importing and exporting chemicals (dangerous goods) also increase rapidly. For example, the total amount of imports and exports of chemicals and related industrial products in 2004, has reached 9,074,295 tons. Besides the busy intercourse of all kinds of ships in the harbor area, the goods loading and unloading are also very complicated. If anything disastrous occurs, it will cause a serious influence on the operation of the whole harbor, including 1. the damage of public wealth 2. the responsibility of goods damage 3. the risk of suspending operation in the harbor 4. the reputation of an international harbor 5. the influence on national economy. If the disaster of dangerous goods spreads, it will cause enormous influences in many fields. It can even threat the lives and health of the residents nearby. Therefore, almost every port has special wharves for different purpose and special warehouse areas. They should also standardize related safe operation procedures to reduce the unexpected occurances or reduce the damage as little as possible while the disaster occurs. In Kaohsiung harbor, they should build public wharves for dangerous goods, special wharves for oil products, rent wharves for petrochemical companies and special warehouse districts. Within these wharf districts , how to enhance the crisis consciousness and management as well as the operation security of all the petrochemical companies has become a very important topic. It¡¦s really necessary to take a deep research and find out where the dangerous factor is so that they can make sure serious chemical disasters can be completely avoided, not to endanger the security of the harbor area and the lives of the residents nearby. Kaohsiung city and country are the heavy industry centers of Southern Taiwan. The petrochemical industry is flourishing and all of the raw materials they need are imported to Kaohsiung harbor by special ships and then pumped into different kinds of dangerous goods storage tanks through pipes. Finally, delivered to the factories by tank cars. At present, the total number of storage tank in Kaohsiung harbor has reached 512, and the overall capacity is 43,160,940 tons, belong to twelve companies that engage in the operation of dangerous goods tanks. The main purpose of this research is to discuss the crisis consciousness and management about the disaster invention and treatment of the companies that engage in the operation of dangerous goods storage tanks in Kaohsiung harbor area. This research also discussed the practical operations and current condition analysis of every stage¡Asuch as crisis invention and sense of risk. It¡¦s purpose is to find out where the problem is and provide references for¡]both¡^the manage department of Kaohsiung harbor¡]and¡^the private companies that engage in the operation of dangerous good storage tanks. It can avoid the disaster from occurring or once the urgent accidents occurs, it can also provide prompt and effective treatment to reduce the damage and protect the health and the security for both the members in the harbor area and residents nearby. This research is based on the review and discussion of literatures as well as the questionnaires. Through the discussion of literatures, we can understand the meanings of disaster crisis managements and the related theories, operation methods of crisis prevention, preparation and response. With the help of questionnaires, we can analyze and discuss the shortages of managements on crisis prevention and response for the companies that engage in the operation of dangerous goods storage tanks in Kaohsiung harbor area. Moreover, it provides the best suggestion to disaster prevention, enhances the disaster prevention ability of the companies that engage in the operation of dangerous goods storage tanks in Kaohsiung harbor area and raises the overall ability in crisis response.

People are usually unaware of crises. Good preparation and prevention routinely can reduce the impact and influence of a crisis when it occurs. People are frightened of the hazards from a crisis, but it can also be a turning point for the situation. A good crisis management can effectively avoid crises. Even when a crisis happens, the crisis management can minimize the damage and help an organization to resume its functions which may turn a crisis into an opportunity. Therefore, having a good knowledge of crisis management becomes more and more important in the modern society. This study uses three-stages crisis management theory, pre-crisis stage, in-crisis stage, and post-crisis stage, combining with the characteristics of performing arts in Taiwan to analyze and evaluate the shutdown incident of Ping-Fong Acting Troupe¡¦s ¡§Incredible Country¡¨ in 2001. There are three main purposes of this research: (1).To review the theories and practical knowledge about crisis management; (2).To examine the procedures of handling the cancellation of Ping-Fong Acting Troupe¡¦s ¡§Incredible Country¡¨ and to evaluate if their crisis management can be used by others. (3).To make some suggestions for the performing arts groups to understand the importance of crisis management. The study also recommends that a performing arts company should not only adapt the crisis management from business world, but also recognize the characters of performing arts. A good crisis management of a performing arts organization is to balance between its financial structure and artistic concern simultaneously.

Abstract The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and crisis management, and to examine the important effect of emotion implementation on daily life. The study investigates the predictive effect of different background variables of emotional intelligence on crisis management. Further, emotional intelligence can influence the policies or actions taken for any crises. The subjects were 162 teachers from Nantou Area in 921 Earthquake Catastrophe in Taiwan. The instruments used in the study included ¡uemotional intelligence questionnaire¡vand ¡ucrisis management questionnaire¡v. The data was analyzed by the statistics methods of frequency distribution, person's correlation, t-test, one-way ANOVA, MANOVA, canonical correlation and stepwise multiple regression. The major findings were as follows: 1.The level of emotional intelligence and crisis management of Earthquake Catastrophe Area School Teachers are medium. 2.For emotional intelligence, emotion management, there were significant differences among variables of faith¡Bteaching experience¡Bthe top academic degrees on emotional intelligence, but gender¡Bage¡Bposition and school scope were not. 3.As to crisis management, there were significant differences among variables of gender¡Bteaching experience¡Bthe top academic degrees on crisis management, but age¡Bfaith¡Bposition and school scope were not . 4.There were significant differences of crisis management due to different emotional intelligence measures. 5.The result of canonical correlation analysis revealed that perceived emotional intelligence was significantly associated with crisis management by a canonical variable. The one canonical relation coefficient is .294. 6.The variables of emotional intelligence could significantly predict crisis management.