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5.7 Crisis management & contingency planning (HL)

5.7 Crisis management and contingency planning (HL Only)

Top tip!

Note that crises do not have to occur on a national or international scale. They can occur on a small scale, affecting just a single organization, e.g. an expected power cut, machinery breakdowns, hacking of ICT systems or the sudden illness of a key member of staff. Also, try to use contemporary examples. Too often, students write about major crises, such as the financial crisis of the late 1920s(!) Have a look here on the InThinking website for more contemporary case studies about crisis management.

 Did you know?

The Chinese characters for crisis are “危機”, with the first character meaning danger or threat, and the second character being part of the characters that make up the word opportunity or chance “機會”. Hence, out of every crisis, an opportunity arises. During World War II, the Germans banned the import of Coca-Cola. The head of Coca-Cola Deutschland (Germany) decided to produce an alternative drink called Fanta, using domestically sourced ingredients. Ten years later, Coca-Cola launched Fanta across the world.

 Case Study - Toyota's product recall crisis

To get an idea of the need for crisis management and contingency planning, watch this short video featuring Toyota’s head of global operations who made a public appearance in the USA to apologise for safety problems with its cars. At the time, over 8.5 million Toyota cars had been recalled in the USA alone.

InThinking Business Management resources

Click the hyperlinks below to access the InThinking resources for this particular section of the IB Business Management syllabus.

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