Theoretical and Practical Understandings of Crisis Communication

Crisis Communication: The Case of the Volkswagen Scandal
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Question One
Conflicts are inevitable, especially when individuals and groups with differing views converge. Organizations encounter conflicts (both external and internal) that affect their relationships with various stakeholders (Spence, 2008). Therefore, there is a need for efficient and effective conflict management and resolution strategy to resolve and contain the impacts of the organization's actions. Conflict resolution and management are handled by an entity's public relations (PR) department. There is no specific formula for public relations. However, there exist several contingencies or plans for managing public relations issues. Therefore, based on the specific circumstances of the crisis or conflict, one can select a plan that best addresses the concern at hand. According to the strategic contingency theory of public management, the response plan or the stance adopted by the PR can either be pure accommodation or pure advocacy (Cameron et al., 2012).
The latter entails defending the company at all costs by meeting its needs or those of stakeholders at the expense of other groups (the general public). The former strategy meets the needs and demands of the general public at the firm's cost. After understanding the issue (conflict) in play, the PR utilizes the classical tools of conflict management, analysis, and resolution (Plowman 2009; 1998). They comprise position, interest, and PIN. The last element argues that there exist basic universal needs and that individuals will create certain positions and pursue interests that best suit them. Needs entail the objectives pursued by an organization or individual for survival. A position is a stance taken by a conflicting party. It is always in line with the needs, while the interest is all that is required to obtain the conflicting party's needs.
In the case of the Volkswagen conflict, the stakeholders affected were the consumers, regulators (the United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA)), employees, investors, policymakers, and the Non-Governmental Organizations affiliated with the company. EPA's main concern was the amount of Nitrogen Oxide emissions produced by vehicles from the VW Company. After a series of analyses and assessments, EPA concluded that the VW Group had used a defective device (between 2009 and 2015) to cheat in the emission testing as the actual emissions were 40 times higher than the federal limits. Hence, the company was violating the Clean Air Act. To preserve its reputation (need), VW at first attempted to deny the allegations (position) by providing alternative explanations (interest) for testing outcomes.
Therefore, the crisis analysis and resolution strategy employed by the company was advocacy. The firm aimed to meet its needs at the expense of other conflicting parties. However, after the crisis was made public, and the scandal became worldwide. The public pressure, especially from the social media platforms, and the company's stance shifted. The entity admitted to having used deception in the emission testing and apologized. Other solutions to repair the damage were also put in place.
Question Two
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