Crisis Management (Part of Leadership Experience and Attitude Development (LEAD))

Course Name Crisis Management (Part of Leadership Experience And Attitude Development (LEAD))
Course Code As per program
Course Credit To be decided
Trimester
Course level Goals This course aims to help students understand the concept of crisis and crisis management.
(CLGs): It will help them identify communication styles, leadership traits and mitigation strategies
for effective crisis management.

Course Intended 1. To enable students to effectively communicate information to the public in

Learning response to a crisis.
Outcomes (CILOs) 2. To enable every student to understand leadership traits for effective crisis
management.
3. To make students understand strategic thinking for unplanned scenarios in times
of crisis.

Pre-Requisite Organizational Behaviour

Course Outline
1. Groups of six members each will be made by the Programs for all group
assignments in a trimester.
2. The course will be completed in trimesters two and three.

Module 1: Crisis Communication (30 percent of evaluation- case study and project based)
Session: What is a crisis communication? Types of Crisis in organizations, Situational Crisis
Communication theory by Timothy Coombs (1995).

A Case Study on Crisis Communication will be discussed with the students. Thereafter they
will be asked to prepare a communication plan taking further guidance from the following
articles:
1. Stephens, K. K., Waller, M. J., & Sohrab, S. G. (2019). Over-emoting and
perceptions of sincerity: Effects of nuanced displays of emotions and chosen
words on credibility perceptions during a crisis. Public Relations
Review, 45(5), 101841. 
2. Coombs, W. T., & Holladay, S. J. (2002). Helping crisis managers protect
reputational assets: Initial tests of the situational crisis communication
theory. Management Communication Quarterly, 16(2), 165-186
3. Bentley, J. M. (2018). What Counts as an Apology? Exploring Stakeholder
Perceptions in a Hypothetical Organizational Crisis. Management
Communication Quarterly, 32(2), 202–232.
https://journals.sagepub.com/stoken/rbtfl/J8BPQYL7J69WW3B032ZMM/pd
f/10.1177/0893318917722635
Module 2: Leadership Traits and Strategies (60 percent of evaluation- case study and
project based)
The students will be asked to go through the video as per the YouTube link shared below.
Thereafter the following two articles will be discussed with them in class.
1. Managing through Crisis: What is Crisis Management?
https://youtu.be/1evSfmArTRQ
2. Leadership in a crisis: Responding to the coronavirus outbreak and future
challenges https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-
insights/leadership-in-a-crisis-responding-to-the-coronavirus-outbreak-and-
future-challenges# 
3. Five things true leaders should never do in a crisis
https://www.peoplematters.in/article/leadership/five-things-true-leaders-
should-never-do-in-a-crisis-25658

The students will then be asked to select one of the following articles and present them
in class in their groups.
1. The world will not be the same again: Shiv Shivakumar, ABG
https://www.peoplematters.in/article/c-suite/the-world-will-not-be-the-same-
again-shiv-shivakumar-abg-25594
2. OYO's CHRO on leading with empathy and resilience
https://www.peoplematters.in/article/leadership/oyos-chro-on-leading-with-
empathy-and-resilience-25527
3. A leader needs to demonstrate optimism and hope in any crisis: Minakshi Arora,
CHRO, Trident Group https://www.peoplematters.in/article/leadership/a-leader-
needs-to-demonstrate-optimism-and-hope-in-any-crisis-minakshi-arora-chro-
trident-group-25588
4. Adaptive leadership helps accelerate any transition: Director HR, L'Oréal India
https://www.peoplematters.in/article/employee-engagement/adaptive-
leadership-helps-accelerate-any-transition-director-hr-loreal-india-25542
5. In a crisis, don’t pretend like you have all the solutions: CEO & MD, Godrej
Consumer Products Limited https://www.peoplematters.in/article/leadership/in-
a-crisis-dont-pretend-like-you-have-all-the-solutions-because-you-cant-ceo-md-
godrej-consumer-products-limited-25633
6. COVID-19: What’s keeping HR leaders awake at night?
https://www.peoplematters.in/article/employee-engagement/covid19-whats-
keeping-hr-leaders-awake-at-night-25679
7. Moments of truth for CEOs: Gearing up for post COVID-19 scenario
https://www.peoplematters.in/article/c-suite/moments-of-truth-for-ceos-
gearing-up-for-post-covid-19-scenario-25565
8. 4 Behaviors That Help Leaders Manage a Crisis https://hbr.org/2020/04/4-
behaviors-that-help-leaders-manage-a-crisis
9. What Makes You an Effective Leader in Crisis Situations?
https://www.europeanbusinessreview.com/what-makes-you-an-effective-
leader-in-crisis-situations/
10. How to Lead Through a Crisis https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-
articles/how-to-lead-through-a-crisis/
11. Leadership During Crisis: Navigating Complexity and Uncertainty
 https://www.corporatelearningnetwork.com/leadership-
management/articles/leadership-during-crisis
12. Five women leaders doing a great job at managing the crisis
https://www.peoplematters.in/article/leadership/women-leaders-who-are-
doing-great-job-at-managing-the-crises-25514
13. How not to layoff during the COVID-19 crisis
https://www.peoplematters.in/article/c-suite/how-not-to-layoff-during-the-
covid-19-crisis-25702

Subsequently, every group of students will interview one business leader on how they
managed this crisis at work and present their learnings on the same in class.

Module 3: Mitigation Strategies (20 percent of evaluation- case study and project based)
Session: Strategic thinking in Crisis Times (unplanned)
1. COVID-19 as a Novel Event and Risk Management Framework, by Professors Dutch
Leonard and Bob Kaplan
https://www.hbs.edu/coronavirus/managing-through-crisis/Pages/faculty-virtual-
programming.aspx#popup

2. Are You Leading Through the Crisis … or Managing the Response?, Eric J. McNulty
and Leonard Marcus

https://hbr.org/2020/03/are-you-leading-through-the-crisis-or-managing-the-response

case to be shared in the class.

Evaluation 100 percent internal evaluation

30 percent – Communication module
50 percent – Organizational Behaviour module
20 percent – Strategy module