BU.610.705.

XX – Crisis Management – Instructor – Page 1 of 5

Crisis Management
2 Credits

BU.610.705.XX
[NOTE: Each section must have a separate syllabus.]

[Day & Time / ex: Monday, 6pm-9pm]

[Start & End Dates / ex: 8/20/18–10/15/18]

[Semester / ex: Fall 2018]

[Location / ex: Washington, DC]
Instructor
[Full Name]

Contact Information
[Email Address]
[Phone Number, ###- ###-#### (Optional)]

Office Hours
[Specify the day and time of the 2 hours that will be dedicated to office hours each week. For evening classes,
faculty may wish to hold their office hours by phone or email. While faculty are permitted to state “and by
appointment,” office hours should not be held exclusively by appointment.]

Required Text
Crisis Management: Leading in the New Strategy Landscape (2nd ed.). William Crandall, John Parnell, John
Spillan. Sage, Los Angeles, 2014.
ISBN-13: 978-14129-9168-1

Course Description
In this course, we will examine the entire crisis management lifecycle – from prevention and preparedness
through response, recovery, and mitigation – and consider the lifecycle’s principles and practices. We will
identify and use the entire crisis management toolkit to address challenges faced by managers when
organizations face any crisis, due to either external factors outside the organization’s control or internal control
or strategic management failures. We will develop a complete crisis management plan, including tools and
methods to identify potential crises, implement response and mitigation strategies to limit exposure, manage
crisis response teams, and create communications to address stakeholder and public relation issues.

Prerequisite(s)
BU.120.601 OR BU.930.610

Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. Distinguish a crisis from an emergency or a risk.
2. Explain different types and sources of crisis.
3. Analyze strategic failures leading to a crisis.
4. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a crisis response.
5. Analyze an organization’s public communications regarding a crisis.
6. Conduct an after-action analysis to mitigate future crises.
7. Apply a framework to analyze ethical approaches to crises management.
8. Create a crisis management plan using best principles and practices.

To view the complete list of the Carey Business School’s general learning goals and objectives, visit the Carey
website.
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Course Policies

Classes and Communication

You are expected to read assigned materials in advance.
Class time will be spent discussing the implications of what you have read.
You may receive important announcements by email, so please check your email regularly.
You may email the Professor at any time.

Attendance and Class Discussion

You are expected to attend all class sessions.
You are expected to participate in the class discussions and presentations.
The Professor reserves the right to randomly call on students to make sure everyone is participating and
following the material. Be prepared for this, as it is an opportunity to shine.

The ability to “think on your feet” and succinctly articulate your point of view about a decision to be made is
critical to any general leader and manager. Our classroom will provide a safe place for you to develop and hone
these skills. Please note that the quality of what you contribute to class discussions (whether a thoughtful
question, some astute analysis, or some other meaningful contribution) will count far more than the quantity of
your remarks.

Assignments
There are four main types of assignments, each worth 25% of your final course grade:
 Weekly reflections
 Weekly project assignments
 Final Project
 Final Presentation

Weekly Reflections
At the end of each class, you will be required to submit a one-paragraph reflection to the Professor, which
identifies the one key crisis management concept from that class you found most useful, and why. That
reflection is due by 11:59 pm the next day (Friday).

Weekly Project Assignments

There is a separate document that details the project assignment due each week. That assignment is due by
11:59 pm the Sunday immediately following that week’s Thursday evening class.

Final Project
Module 8’s project assignment is the final crisis management plan, which is the Final Project. The separate
project assignment document details this project.

Final Presentation
All students are required to prepare a brief PowerPoint presentation that summarizes the highlights of the final
Crisis Management Plan. While the Plan can be as long as needed, the purpose of the Presentation is to
synopsize at a level that can be efficiently conveyed in a short amount of time.

Your Final Presentation is an opportunity to distill your plan into a very short presentation—ideally, under 4
minutes, but absolutely no more than 5 minutes—to simulate the way you would need to brief organizational
leadership. The Presentation should be based on PowerPoint, and include the following elements:
 Introduce yourself, e.g., your name and industry or major
 Explain the specific crisis you chose in Module 2 very briefly (a couple of sentences)
 Explain the steps you would have taken to handle this crisis and avoid the company’s missteps
 Describe your general approach to crisis management: the CMT, the process for activating it, and the
basics of your response plan (not just for the specific crisis in Module 2)
 Describe your general crisis communication strategy (not just for the specific crisis in Module 2)
 Describe what you learned most from doing this project

Please write a script for each slide in the Notes section of PowerPoint.
 BU.610.705.XX – Crisis Management – Instructor – Page 3 of 5

Session 8 of this course will be set aside for brief (<10 minutes) in-class presentations (the draft of each
student’s Final Presentation). Students will volunteer for these presentations; if not enough students volunteer,
the instructor will pick students at random.

These presentations serve two purposes:

 For the student presenting, the activity provides the experience of condensing a comprehensive (space-
unrestricted) written analysis into a succinct (time-limited) oral presentation.
 For the students listening to the presentations, this activity provides an opportunity to see how peers
apply crisis management to a variety of industries and business settings.

Grading
Each of the four gradable elements (weekly reflection, weekly assignment, Final Project, Final Presentation) is
assigned a numerical score. Each individual assignment has a maximum point value of 100. The eight weekly
reflections’ scores are averaged to produce the final weekly reflection score. The seven weekly assignments’
scores are averaged to produce the final weekly assignment score. Those two final scores, plus the score for
the Final Project and the Final Presentation, are averaged, and the final course letter grade is based on that final
course average score. The conversion between score and letter grade will be based on a curve, such that the
average grade in the class is a B+. Of note, this means there is no preset conversation from a numerical score
to a letter grade. However, based on experience, a score of ~85 translates to a B+.

Carey Business School Grading Policy: The grade of A is reserved for those who demonstrate extraordinarily
excellent performance as determined by the instructor. The grade of A- is awarded only for excellent
performance. The grades of B+, B, and B- are awarded for good performance. The grades of C+, C, and C- are
awarded for adequate but substandard performance. The grades of D+, D, and D- are not awarded at the
graduate level (undergraduate only). The grade of F indicates the student’s failure to satisfactorily complete the
course work.

Please note that for Core and Foundation courses, a maximum of 25% of students may be awarded an A
or A-; the grade point average of the class should not exceed 3.3. For Elective courses, a maximum of 35%
of students may be awarded an A or A-; the grade point average of the class should not exceed 3 .4. (For
classes with 15 students or fewer, the class GPA cap is waived.)
 BU.610.705.XX – Crisis Management – Instructor – Page 4 of 5

Course Calendar
The Professor reserves the right to alter course content and/or adjust the pace to accommodate class progress.
Students are responsible for keeping up with all adjustments to the course calendar.

Note: All readings below refer to the textbook.

Week Date Topic Reading

1 Introductory Concepts Chapters 1 and 2

2 Sources of Crisis Chapter 3

3 Crisis Management as Strategy Chapters 4 and 6

4 Crisis Management as Tactics Chapters 5 and 7

5 Crisis Communication Chapter 8

https://emergency.cdc.gov/cerc/
resources/pdf/
cerc_2014edition.pdf

6 Continuous Quality Improvement Chapter 9

7 Ethical Crisis Management Chapter 10

8 Applying What You’ve Learned: Student Presentations No readings

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Carey Business School Policies and General Information

Blackboard Site
A Blackboard course site is set up for this course. Each student is expected to check the site throughout the
semester as Blackboard will be the primary venue for outside classroom communications between the
instructors and the students. Students can access the course site at https://blackboard.jhu.edu. Support for
Blackboard is available at 1-866-669-6138.

Disability Support Services

All students with disabilities who require accommodations for this course should contact Disability Support
Services at their earliest convenience to discuss their specific needs. If you have a documented disability, you
must be registered with Disability Support Services (carey.disability@jhu.edu or 410-234-9243) to receive
accommodations. For more information, please visit the Disability Support Services webpage.

Academic Ethics Policy

Carey expects graduates to be innovative business leaders and exemplary global citizens. The Carey
community believes that honesty, integrity, and community responsibility are qualities inherent in an exemplary
citizen. The objective of the Academic Ethics Policy (AEP) is to create an environment of trust and respect
among all members of the Carey academic community and hold Carey students accountable to the highest
standards of academic integrity and excellence.

It is the responsibility of every Carey student, faculty member, and staff member to familiarize themselves with
the AEP and its procedures. Failure to become acquainted with this information will not excuse any student,
faculty, or staff from the responsibility to abide by the AEP. Please contact the Student Services office if you
have any questions. For the full policy, please visit the Academic Ethics Policy webpage.

Student Conduct Code

The fundamental purpose of the Johns Hopkins University’s regulation of student conduct is to promote and to
protect the health, safety, welfare, property, and rights of all members of the University community as well as to
promote the orderly operation of the University and to safeguard its property and facilities. As members of the
University community, students accept certain responsibilities which support the educational mission and create
an environment in which all students are afforded the same opportunity to succeed academically. Please contact
the Student Services office if you have any questions. For the full policy, please visit the Student Conduct Code
webpage.

Student Success Center

The Student Success Center offers free online and in-person one-on-one and group coaching in writing,
presenting, and quantitative courses. For more information on these services and others, or to book an
appointment, please visit the Student Success Center website.

Other Important Policies and Services

Students are encouraged to consult the Student Handbook and Academic Catalog and Student Services and
Resources for information regarding other policies and services.

Copyright Statement
Unless explicitly allowed by the instructor, course materials, class discussions, and examinations are created for
and expected to be used by class participants only. The recording and rebroadcasting of such material, by any
means, is forbidden. Violations are subject to sanctions under the Academic Ethics Policy.