Human life is filled with a myriad of challenges and obstacles, and overcoming them can be

frustrating for an individual. Challenges often come in the disguise of opportunities and can be
difficult to comprehend. On similar lines, the organization has multiple challenges of
competition and brand in the market. Likewise, non-profit organizations have a huge obligation
to maintain their reputation among diverse groups of stakeholders. If an organization is not
careful in its business, a major organizational crisis can spoil its reputation in the business. A
crisis of a major kind has the potential to overpower the business plans of any organization,
which later needs to be resolved by crisis communication. Crisis communication is needed by a
company, where a public relations personnel uses diplomatic means to address the issue by
relaying the correct message or protocols. A company's public relations officer reworks the
communication policy and issues a public notice to repair any damage affected by the crisis. This
paper will discuss the crisis directly from the child molesting case in Boys Scouts of America
(BSA). 

The Boys Scouts of America was developed in 1908 by Lord Baden-Powell in England. The
original goal of scouting included: "good citizenship in the future of men" (Reynolds, 1950, p.
1). Boys Scouts of America is a non-profit organization established in 1910. It started in
Washington, D.C., on February 8, 1910. The founders of BSA were Robert Baden-Powell, along
with Charles Eastman and others. As the history and culture of BSA are unique since it started
more than 100 years ago, the need to study the communication crisis became important for
review and future direction for other companies or organizations to follow. The Boys Scouts of
America has been a strong influence for boys whose ages range between 10 to 17 years. The
scouts learn life skills by camping and learning the basics of survival. Similarly, the Boys Scouts
have stamped positivity in the American culture by serving close to 13 million hours and
reaching close to 3 million youths. Moreover, the culture has spread to more than 161 countries
across the globe. Although the scouting program is not the first of its kind to start, Boys Scouts
of America has a strong legacy to be proud of. Popular Americans graduating from BSA include
Neil Armstrong, Gerald Ford, and many others. 
By the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, BSA has been able to incorporate useful skills to adapt
to the modern amenities of life. This adjustment has led to winning merit badges in the current
age of computer technology and programming. 

 
An initiative known as Volunteering Screening Database (VSD), previously known as Ineligible
Volunteer Files, was created in 1920, which was much earlier than cases of perpetration of
victims emerged, and when there were no such resources for protecting the youth population.
This method was implemented largely to not admit people with a history of sexual abuse and
misconduct, which today has also been accepted by experts to be a useful tool to weed out
predators from keeping close to children. (Saul et al., 2007). Although local chartered
organizations take responsibility for choosing their unit leaders, it is mandatory for national-level
organizations to check the criminal background of the candidate. However, an important point
emphasized by experts aloe is that even with background checks, the majority of the abuse does
not get reported. (Bourke et al., 2014)
A grave concern among the public has been the alarming statistics of child abuse in the United
States, as one in four girls have reported sexual abuse or assault as they reach 18 years. (DUBE
et al., 2005). These reports had been reviewed under the light of the incidents of sexual abuse
among the vulnerable age groups, and BSA has tried to formulate strategies for a holistic
solution.
Although the sexual abuse involving pedophiles had not gone unreported, BSA did less to
control the incident at the very beginning. It is also known as the pedophile epidemic if the
number of cases has to be taken into account. The historical relevance of the cases reported prior
to 1994 had gone to about 2000 cases of sexual abuse in Boys Scouts of America. Thousands of
reports of sexual abuse had been kept confidential within the confines of the scouting
organization. As a result of growing public scrutiny, Boys Scouts of America had to instigate a
public commission team to intervene so that public image could be saved. As any crisis is fatal
for the goodwill of the company, a non-profit organization had a lot at stake in the form of the
upcoming funds coming through charity from major donors like Walt Disney. Walt Disney is a
child-centric organization that would have stopped funding if they knew of the child abuse in a
social organization. 
"TIME has confirmed that approximately 92,700 people have now filed sex abuse claims against
the Boy Scouts of America ahead of the November 16 deadline set to demand damages from the
organization" (Dockterman, 2020). Boys Scouts have not been able to deal with the surge in
cases of sexual abuse since the first time the case was reported in 1984 but have been actively
trying to stop instances of misuse of authority by the screening of applicants who were appointed
as leaders of the scout group. However, the lack of proper administrative measures put the case
in oblivion since reporting to police would have defamed the name of the organization. Thus,
fear of media attention aggravated the incident, and more cases of sexual abuse were reported. 

The Boy Scouts of America emphasizes the development of character through mental training
and fitness and teaches values of trustworthiness and discipline. The Handbook of Scout Manual
explicitly states to set aside time to meet alone with the boy either before or after the meeting.
However, for the Boy Scouts, this "alone time" has proven problematic since it presents a clear
chance for a scout leader to confine and harass youth scouts. For many years, child sexual abuse
has occurred during scouting activities, with hundreds of examples of institutional abuse. The
Boy Scouts of America paid $15 million in litigation brought against them by families of
molested youths between 1987 and 1991. In addition, there have been individual claims that the
Boy Scouts of America lied to the press in order to conceal the sexual abuse that was taking
place at the time. For example, the Boy Scout file system has been kept secret for so many years,
and its lawyers have battled tooth and nail to keep it that way. However, considering the number
of instances that have come to the fore in current history, the widespread media attention, and the
reality that the majority of children know who abuses them (Gallagher, Bradford & Pease, 2008).

The Boys Scouts of America could not control the situation from the start and could not gather
much information about the sexual abuse, and the list of perpetrators could not be accessed due
to fear of public defamation. According to Argenti's corporate communication manual for crisis
communication, despite having a crisis communication plan, the management did not respond to
the crisis for damage control. The communication lines within the coordinators were open, but
the complaint mechanism could not deal with the abusers at the right time. As multiple issues
related to molestation and rape were reported after a long time, timely action could not be taken
against the pedophiles. However, with the reputation of Boys Scouts of America, the crisis
situation could have been better handled by the management of the crisis management plan that
had been properly followed. The Public Relations effort could not detect by communicating
directly with the affected constituents, and similar to Firestone's blunder of contacting the dealers
instead of the customers, BSA made a major mistake by not talking to the stakeholders. There
was a clear miscalculation by the management team on reading the crisis, as the mission
statement of the crisis communication plan was meant to have clear lines of communication in
times of crisis, and the first 24 to 48 hours action originally meant to speak with both parties
(abused and abuser), was not initiated, which led to further damage, and lawsuit of million
dollars had to be arranged to be paid in lieu of the damages. Furthermore, with reference to the
communications manual plan point no. 2, Understanding crisis communications, the
philosophical base directions to speak to the grieved party before the media attention is sought,
matters went to the court for legal settlement. The Boys Scouts of America were late to take the
situation under control, and while the Crisis Team of Ken Tucker, Scout Executive, was
appointed for this situation, they were unable to take remedial actions of speaking to the public
and arrangement to understand media's mission in a crisis. Moreover, with a lack of proactive
measures, the future business of BSA is going to get affected, and their apathetic behavior
questions their motive on whether they wanted the business to continue. With reference to the
ineffective actions taken by the management team, there is a failure to address the needs of the
victim. Likewise, victims could not be blamed as there were not just single cases but tens of
thousands of cases. Although BSA apologized for the behavior of its leaders, it was not enough
to save the tarnished image of one of the revered non-profit organizations. Thus, the management
had to take full responsibility for the failure to address the issues. "A likelihood of the crises
happening again cannot be negated, but the preparation to deal with the crisis is what an
organization can learn" (Argenti, 2016). 

Speculations of close to a billion-dollar settlement amount to the victims are popular on authentic
media channels, and if this is passed in judgment, then it would be a historic settlement.
However, it has not yet been approved, but BSA already filed for bankruptcy in February 2020.
This is a major step, and there are indications of changing the name of the organization as the
erstwhile name cannot resemble the values associated with scouts. 
Boys Scouts of America has a website www.boyscouting.org, and it has all the information
required to join the scouts and the values of the organization. Among the pivotal issues, it is
understood from the website that as per chapter 11, BSA has filed for bankruptcy, which is
intended to meet the dual objectives. The restructuring section in the website has addressed
concerns for the victims of sexual abuse and intends to compensate all past victims with an
appropriate sum of money. A public message has also been written to relay a message of social
and moral responsibility for equitable compensation to all victims. In addition to that, it has also
been ensured that all victims receive adequate counseling, with BSA paying for it. The BSA's
main focus is the safety of the children in our programs. Nearly 90% of the BSA's ongoing and
claimed abuse claims are for abuse that occurred more than three decades. This is why, in any
youth-serving institution, we've built some of the strongest, expert-informed youth protection
rules (BSA, n.d.). Furthermore, the local councils are listed as separate from the chapter 11
claims, and they will function irrespective of the dissolution of BSA. Therefore, the mission and
messages for the public are clear, and the BSA has apologized for the past incidents along with
assurance to pay for the wrongdoings. Furthermore, the message on the online media has similar
news as mentioned on the website, which is about the compensation to the victims. However,
some news media have been analytical of the delay in communication by the BSA and have
criticized the management for not paying attention to the channels of communication in the hour
of crisis. A reputed news agency posted positive news on the sex abuse debacle. The official
committee for survivors in the Boy Scouts' Chapter 11 case agreed to waive its long-standing
objections to the deal ahead of a February 22 hearing before a U.S. bankruptcy judge in
Delaware in return for new parameters that include strengthened child-protection measures for
scouts. (Chutchian, 2022). A non-profit organization from Texas has to wait for a hefty
settlement of 2.7 billion dollars, as the bankruptcy judge has not yet approved the deal. The Boys
Scouts have already thanked the settlement body for having endured long-standing support for
the organization. The new settlement has been agreed upon only after BSA had promised to
oversee a more secure child-protection plan. Therefore, the crisis communication plan as
endorsed through the message on the wall of the organization's website has proved to be
effective in garnering support from the public and local councils. 
Despite the efforts made by Boys Scouts to save its image and financial standings, the injustice
in the form of sexual abuse to the scout members cannot be justified. The cause of the crisis was
poor man-management by the organization. Moreover, BSA lacked moral obligations to protect
the victims from further damage. The crisis communication method as was approached by the
organization did not have any impact on the result of the communication. However, the
compensation amount could not be negotiated, as it went out of the reach of the organization.
Thus, the organization could have used prudent methods in dealing with the victims of sexual
abuse. Moreover, BSA should have used transparent methods to punish the offender on the first
complaint. BSA did not use proactive methods in preventing complaints from piling up, which
was unprofessional for a respected organization like the Boys Scouts of America. 
Crisis in communication is one of the most important parts of the planning phase of the
company. The reason a crisis communication plan helps the organization in being a step ahead of
the bad word of mouth in the market is due to the opportunity to take corrective or remedial
actions in the event of any internal or external crisis. However, the crisis communication lesson
from the book 'Corporate communication' has a subjective approach to the solutions outlined in
the event of any crisis. The steps in the communication process are effective for each step, as
early intervention can prevent further dam1wage to the image of the company. Reflections from
the crisis communication have been a learning experience, and the best example has been the
case of Boys Scouts of America, wherein the management could not prevent damage to the
image of the organization. If the management or the managerial body takes corrective action in
the event of any crisis affecting the brand of the company, major savings can be made in the area
of personnel and finance. Additionally, learning from mistakes is also a crucial reflection for
undoing the damage felt by irresponsible actions. BSA could not save its public image and is on
the brink of selling property to compensate victims of sexual abuse. A very famous saying of 'A
stitch in time saves nine' can be related to the situation faced by BSA. The managing body of
BSA could have taken corrective actions in time and should have saved its organization from
public litigation and shame.
Our life is full of chances to learn in each step. We can learn from so many mistakes, yet life
gives us a second chance to make amends for the mistake. However, BSA is potentially going to
pay a huge price for the technical errors it made during the course of action. In addition to it, the
cases kept piling up, and the leadership group was never ready for organizational turmoil.
Therefore, every person must keep learning from mistakes and be ready for challenges in life. If I
were in place of the senior leadership group of BSA, I would have coordinated with public
relations personnel from my team to speak to the public on behalf of the organization. The
stakeholders would get the opportunity to talk directly on the issue and address any hidden issue
related to sexual abuse. I would have ensured that all steps of crisis communication be taken and
take responsibility for action in each step. As media communication is crucial, I would have
talked to the media personnel about any false perception by the public and would also have taken
the initiative to take the lead to speak to the victims. Thereafter, the victims would receive their
compensation amount. Similarly, a press release by the public relations personnel about the
corrective action and future prevention plan would be announced either in a speech or on the
company's website. This action would have saved the company from incurring financial losses or
tarnished brand image. 

In conclusion, BSA's history and culture have been unique since its founding more than a
century ago. It was necessary to investigate the communication crisis for assessment and future
direction for other firms or organizations to follow. For boys between the ages of 10 and 17, the
Boys Scouts of America has a tremendous impact. Camping and mastering the basics of survival
teach the scout life skills. Even though pedophiliac sexual abuse was not unreported, the BSA
did nothing to manage the situation at the outset. If the number of instances must be considered,
it is also known as the pedophile plague. As a result of increased public scrutiny, the Boys
Scouts of America had to convene a public commission team to act to save their public image.
The organization's inadequate man-management was the root of the disaster.
Furthermore, BSA did not have any moral responsibility to shield the victims from additional
harm. The organization's approach to crisis communication did not affect the communication's
outcome. One of the most crucial aspects of the company's planning phase is the communication
crisis. The ability to take corrective or remedial activities in the event of any internal or external
crisis is why a crisis communication plan helps the organization stay ahead of the unfavorable
word of mouth in the market. Thus, if crisis communication is not implemented in real life,
whatever has been achieved to date will have no value in the future. The lessons learned from the
Boys Scout of America incident highlight the value of crisis communication, and any incident
must be planned beforehand. In other words, the top management must handle the situation in
the best possible way.
Argenti, P. A. (2016). Corporate communication (7th ed.). McGraw Hill Education.

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settlement-2022-02-10/

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