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Public confidence in scientists working for:
97%
Environmental groups
77%
Government
Media confidence in scientists working for:
73%
Environmental groups
41%
Government
64%
Industry
38%
Industry
Who would you trust more to make the right decisions
about the environment
39%
Euro-politicians
32%
UK government
Figure 18.1 Monitoring the trust factor
Source: Mori, 1995, Third party information expertise
and Field, 1996). Perception plays an important
part at every stage of monitoring and evaluation
of public response. For example,
Susskind and Field (in Florence and Kovacic,
2001: 84) suggest six types of anger requiring
different responses, namely: when people
have been hurt; when people feel threatened
by risks not of their own making; when people
feel their fundamental beliefs are being challenged;
when people feel weak in the face of
powerful others; when people believe they
have been lied to or duped; and when people
strategically display anger to manipulate the
reactions of others.
Thus, confidence in the quality of information
provision and in the perceptions of
management relies on what Sopow (1994)
calls the critical issues audit based on recognition
of the main points (recognizable in
key phrases such as unique, new, first, only
or last); in quality support through research,
evidence, studies and testing methods; and
through public linkages which emerge
through what people say, what the public
demands and strong support (Regester and
Larkin, 1997: 32). UK consultants Regester
and Larkin’s 1995 UK research audit suggests
the organizational priorities based on cost and
choice shown in Figure 18.2. A 1994 survey
of 250 British companies indicated that
employees thought a crisis was more likely to
be triggered from outside the organization,
rather than inside by management, as shown
in Figure 18.3.
Florence and Kovacic (2001) suggest three
models of crisis communication management.
Their market place model argues that crises
are caused and solved by economic, political
and legal competition; ideologically based
models evolving new or evolving social movements;
and a public participation model
based on co-operation among governments,
private industry and the public. Because of
the significance of mass media involvement,
these authors stress the importance of message
strategies; by identifying stages in a crisis,
message strategies can be more appropriately
put together, up to a point. Of course,
unknown variables make a positive risk-theoretical
view virtually impossible and so as with
models of forecasting, empirical knowledge is
built up with experience so that an understanding
of the ‘probabilities consequent to
© 2004 Sandra Oliver for editorial matter and selection;
individual chapters, the contributors