Crisis Management : The nature of managing crises

Abstract: Purpose - The purpose of this thesis is to provide recommendations for commercial organizations when managing crises. By examining the ongoing operations of health care organizations the thesis will investigate the application of a similar structure toward commercial organizations. Background - In the globalized a fast paced reality we operate in it is essential for organizations to be prepared for the unthinkable. This have been illustrated not only in reality, but also empathized by a vast amount of researchers. A survey made by Steelhenge, an international consultancy, argues that organizations are not sufficiently prepared for crises. Researchers have also notified this lack of crisis preparedness within organizations. We argue that being crisis prepared is an essential factor and responsibility for commercial organizations in modern society. Method - In order to answer the research questions we have used a qualitative research method. The qualitative research method is further linked to the descripto-exploratory purpose, abductive reasoning and directed content analysis that provide a mixture of concept and data driven categories. We have conducted semi-structured, one-on-one interviews within health care organizations and commercial organizations. The respondents were chosen by a purposive and self-selecting sampling method. Conclusion - The empirical study suggests that there are learning’s to be considered for commercial organizations by applying health care organizations operational structure. What can be concluded is that health care organizations rely on coordination between individuals or teams to solve multi-functional issues. Commercial organizations would implement CMT’s to use a similar structure with all the essential factors for efficient coordination.