Crisis Communication: A case study of the Integrated Master Plan Crisis in Oromia regional state
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Date
2018-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Crisis communication is an important part of public relations that could have either constructive
or risky consequences based upon the action that an organization acts in response. This study
aimed to find out the crisis communication management of the Oromia state government.
Theories of crisis management and crisis communication were employed to identify models of
best practices for crisis management and to apply these models to analyze the effectiveness of
government’s response to the crisis due to the new integrated master plan, a master plan for
Addis Ababa city and towns on the outskirts of the city.
A content analysis of 58 articles from five newspapers; Reporter, Capital, Addis Zemen, Fortune,
and Barissa, was conducted to examine how government responded to the crisis of integrated
master plan. Results revealed that government’s response incorporated both best practices of
crisis communication, as well as crisis responses that could be categorized as unethical. Such
unethical responses included evasion of responsibility, attack of the accuser, minimization, and
denial, while effective crisis communication tactics consisted of updating the public in a clear
and concise manner, acknowledgment of mistake, and expressing sympathy and concern.
In-depth interview were also conducted with eight participants from public relation practitioners
to examine the communication strategies employed in the different phases of the crisis, the
effectiveness of crisis communication strategy, media usage, influence of organizational culture
in crisis communication, and stakeholder’s consideration. Results revealed that different media
were employed during the crisis period, organizational culture has influenced crisis management
and communication, and the role of stakeholders was mostly considered from an organization’s
perspective and stakeholders were seen purely as receivers of organizational messages
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Keywords
Oromia state government., Theories of crisis managemen