In his Crisis Guru Commentaries, Jim Lukaszewski provides real answers to real questions about your most critical communications problems and issues.

To submit a question, please direct it by e-mail to crisisguru@e911.com.  Be sure to include your full name, affiliation, address, and telephone number.  All published questions will be identified by title and industry only.  Your confidentiality will be protected.

Question:

Dear Crisis Guru:

As a French student in Communication in the Sorbonne in Paris, I am currently working on the topic of “multiculturalism and crisis communications.” As a specialist in this field, your opinion on the subject would be of a tremendous help for me!

I've been asked to research whether it's possible or not to build different models of crisis communications, depending on the geographic/economic/cultural context of the company. Do you think there is a predominant model when it comes to responding to a crisis, or would there be significant differences for a similar crisis between the USA, Germany, and China (for instance)? What would be these differences?

Do you have any other suggestions?

I apologize for my broken English, and I thank you a lot in advance for your time and cooperation.

Sincerely,

French Student

Answer:

Dear French Student:

The common factor among all crisis in all cultures is also the most overlooked aspect of these situations, especially by communicators, namely the victims that crises create. A few other crisis situation aspects can vary by culture but the victim dimension and the expectations of society are the same everywhere.

I’ve attached a recent speech on this topic, which you'll find interesting. [Chill-Out, Have a Heart: Managing the Victim Dimension of High Profile Litigation, Vital Speeches of the Day, March 15, 2006]

There is a common pattern of community expectation when crisis occurs. The community is expecting perpetrators to behave in ways that allow the community to forgive them. I’ve attached a brief outline of the behaviors the community expects, pretty generally in all cultures. [Seeking Forgiveness]

Also, there is series of predictable behaviors perpetrators use to avoid taking responsibility or to shift away the blame. I've attached a brief explanation of these behaviors. [Profiles in J-ello]

Finally there is a technique that mitigates much of the damage that crises can cause, can limit litigation, and seriously reduce media interest and coverage . . . it's the apology. I've attached a recent article I have published on this specific topic. Notice the sidebar on how executives try to avoid apologizing. [Who's Sorry Now? The Growing Art of the Apology, The Strategist, Winter 2006]

Hope you find these materials helpful. They can give your study a very unique flavor and power. Please respect that all these materials are copyrighted.

Good luck.

Jim Lukaszewski