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  DewaashitaMay. 25, 2011 - 05:48AM JST

  Something I would like to see is a good evacuation plan for all involved in the case of natural and/or man-made emergency. I would like it rehearsed and rehearsed until everyone knows it in their sleep.

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  ExportExpertMay. 25, 2011 - 09:10AM JST

  An escape route for the management !!! lol

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  EUcitizenMay. 25, 2011 - 11:31AM JST

  Depends on the company. I think considering flex time (stamp card, you get paid for the time you work, not for being there at the same time as others) and computer work done online from home are good options.

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  smartacusMay. 25, 2011 - 11:37AM JST

  They should hold a press conference quickly and be transparent. Don't hide anything from the public. Top management should also insist that they be informed of problems by lower-level staff. Too many times in Japan, I have heard of cases where the president didn't even know what was going on until a scandal broke. Then he had to do his bowing and apologizing at a press conference.

  On the whole, I think airlines handle crises fairly well because they say right away "We don't know what caused the crash. As soon as we find out the cause, we'll let you know." But companies like TEPCO, BP, Toyota, Bridgestone, Sony do not. They try to keep the lid on it and hope that things don't blow up in their face.

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  porterMay. 25, 2011 - 02:35PM JST

  competant people at the helm.

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  KronosMay. 25, 2011 - 02:36PM JST

  Changes from company to company. Generally being prepared, giving out confidence, telling the truth, knowing what you are doing are the basics.

  As we see in the current nuclear crisis here, saying one thing and then finding out you were wrong and others were right destroys your reliability and makes you look incompetent. People then think "Are these the people who are going to oversee this big crisis?".

  Crisis is a time for confrontation - at least in the West. However in Japan people just bury their heads in the sand and hope that it will go away. The companies have it pretty easy here as well. The media and Japanese are not putting any pressure on them. "Ganbaro" is keeping everyone's mouth shut. If we take TEPCO as an example, it would have been ripped to shreds if it were operating in the West.

  However considering this is Japan, companies do not need to have a good crisis management plan. There is minimal risk for them - especially if they are big companies. I would just advise them to make sure that their operations can continue under any physical threats (like an earthquake) and do not worry about it otherwise. Either the Japanese government or other companies will bail them out after their president makes an apology and resigns.

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  FrungyMay. 25, 2011 - 02:50PM JST

  It's important to at least appear to be in control at all times, so a good crisis management plan should include at least one line saying that some people should panic and run around screaming.

  ... okay, seriously, there is a lot of overlap between most natural disasters and I think that workplaces should be required to keep emergency kits on hand with food, water, etc sufficient for all their employees. The majority of the details should focus on preparations BEFORE the disaster and the manual should include a detailed section on First Aid and other measures that can be taken AFTER things settle down a bit.

  The actual section dealing with the crisis should really be kept as simple as possible and should be obvious to even the most panicked employee. In far too many offices I see mysterious little blue and red arrows and most employees know that they have something to do with what to do in a disaster, but beyond that they're really confused. Does it take that much more effort to put "Tsunami" on the blue arrows and "Fire" on the red arrows?

  With good preparation during an actual emergency the employees should literally be looking at the instructions as they go, so "Follow the 'Tsunami' arrows" would lead them to the top floor, where there would be another sign saying, "Tsunami Safe Room - Now close all doors and windows.", etc. I've seen way to many manuals that have a frikkin' huge shopping list of things for some poor SOB to try and do when there's a fire or other disaster and it's really idiotic, because with good planning 90% of it wouldn't be necessary.

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  herefornowMay. 25, 2011 - 04:11PM JST

  Two things. First, have a single spokesperson authorized to speak to the press, and fire anyone that violates this policy. That way there is only one message getting out. Second, get ahead of the situation, like Tylenol did. Do more than is expected, and do it NOW, rather than "study the situation" to "develop and appropriate response".

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  NovenachamaMay. 25, 2011 - 07:33PM JST

  The major elements of effective crisis management planning include the establishment of a crisis management team, an assessment of the most likely crisis scenarios, the development of a crisis management plan document, periodic crisis training exercises, adherence to crisis communication guidelines and continual review and refinement of the plan. Companies with crisis management plan should work effectively with local emergency responders and agencies in responding to events and promptly attend to the needs of those affected. They should always assist investigating agencies without jeopardizing the company's legal counsel and also form working relationships with media and elected officals that will help get the company's message to the public by providing accurate, timely information, and prepare for possible litigation and claims. It should try to contain financial exposure and minimize the incident's effect on the company's reputation at all cost. Last of all, a crisis management plan should have the objective of reducing tension during the incident, demonstrate corporate commitment and experise, control the flow and accuracy of information and manage the resources effectively. Hence ideally a great crisis management plan is everything you need in one place so you don't have to search because you may not have time to search.

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  japan123May. 26, 2011 - 03:40AM JST

  Chief, if u give me a rough estimate of how much you would like to spend, i can develop you one for TEPCO at no charge!!!!!! Just to show that there are still good people out there!! Otherwise i would not like ranting on when you intend to use baby budgets such as what TEPCO and government are currently using. it would be a waste of my valuable time...

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  NuckinFutzMay. 26, 2011 - 07:50AM JST

  A very large rug so you can quickly sweep things under it!

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  EUcitizenMay. 26, 2011 - 10:43AM JST

  OK, if the company is a power co with nuclear plants: Create a plan and an emergency fund for a 20-30 km evacuation plan which includes the farm animals as well. If you evacuate, you have to evacuate the cows, pigs etc. as well, and the company should have ready some piece of field where to put those animals temporarily. It is criminal what they are doing in Fukushima now.

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  dontpanicMay. 26, 2011 - 03:33PM JST

  Novenachama - Straight out of the business continuity/HAZOPS manual. The only one here who seems to have understood the question.

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  j4p4nFTWMay. 26, 2011 - 10:30PM JST

  Certain items I get paid by clients to talk about and would never disclose publicly.

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