Crisis Management

The field of crisis management (CM) attempts to mitigate the losses incurred when a crisis occurs and to prevent crises that could occur in the future. An organizational crisis is defined as a low-probability but [Page 530]high-impact event that threatens an organization's existence by disrupting its normal operations and its social legitimacy. An organizational crisis can be distinguished from a natural disaster in that it implies human responsibility; furthermore, it is a highly complex event, both in terms of its genesis and its consequences.

First developed in the field of political science, the theory and practice of CM is today shaped by scholars from many disciplines, as diverse as administrative sciences, systems theory, risk management, positive psychology, and ethics. Gerald Mars and David Weir have rendered ...