Organizational Crisis Management: Integrating Strategic Models, Human Factors, and Applied Frameworks
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.1209.19383Keywords:
crisis management, organizational resilience, human factors, TAS model, strategic models, GIS, risk managementAbstract
Crisis management has emerged as a crucial field in organizational studies due to the frequency, intensity, and unpredictability of crises in the modern era. Organizations today face complex and multi-dimensional threats, ranging from natural disasters to technological breakdowns, political instability, economic recessions, reputational scandals, and human-driven disruptions. Effective crisis management demands a comprehensive framework that integrates strategic foresight, operational readiness, and attention to human factors. This paper provides a descriptive synthesis of the crisis management literature, drawing from three primary perspectives: (1) strategic models and theoretical frameworks such as those developed by Parsons, Mitroff, Burnett, and Gonzalez-Herrero; (2) applied tools and systems, particularly risk management techniques and Geographic Information Systems (GIS); and (3) the human factors dimension, with a focus on the Treatment Assessment System (TAS) model, which highlights the roles of morale, loyalty, rumors, and behavioral shifts during crises. By combining these perspectives, this study argues that crisis management is not solely a technical process but a socio-technical phenomenon requiring strong leadership, transparent communication, and organizational adaptability. The discussion highlights the importance of early warning systems, simulation-based training, organizational learning, and post-crisis recovery planning. Ultimately, the integration of strategic models, technological tools, and human responses creates a holistic framework that enhances organizational resilience and transforms crises into opportunities for innovation and trust-building.
References
Mitroff, I. I. (2004). Crisis leadership: Planning for the unthinkable. Wiley.
Pearson, C. M., & Clair, J. A. (1998). Reframing crisis management. Academy of Management Review, 23(1),
Doosti, P. (2010). Organizational crisis management. Tehran: Project.com.
Smith, D. (2000). Crisis management teams: Issues in the management of operational crises. Risk Management: An International Journal, 2(3), 61–78.
Burnett, J. (1998). A strategic approach to managing crises. Public Relations Review, 24(4), 475–488.
Mitroff, I. I., & Anagnos, G. (2001). Managing crises before they happen. AMACOM.
Herbig, P. (2003). Risk management and crisis planning. Disaster Prevention and Management, 12(3), 196–204.
Mirzaei, M. (2005). The role of crisis management in organizations. National Iranian Oil Products Malhooz, Z. (2025). Organizational Crisis Management: Integrating Strategic Models, Human Factors, and Applied Frameworks. Advances in Social
Jafari, M., & Shojaee, S. (2011). Crisis management in Iran: Lessons from Bam earthquake. Journal of Disaster Prevention and Management, 20(3), 321–335.
Brent, R. (2003). Distinguishing disasters from crises: A conceptual clarification. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 11(1), 15–22.
Gonzalez-Herrero, A., & Pratt, C. B. (1996). An integrated symmetrical model for crisis communications management. Journal of Public Relations Research, 8(2), 79–105.
Parsons, W. (1996). Crisis management. Career Development International, 1(5), 26–28.
Cutter, S. (2003). GIScience and disaster management. Transactions in GIS, 7(4), 439–446.
Myers, K. (1999). Business impact analysis and crisis assessment. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 7(3), 129–140.
Paton, D., Smith, L., & Violanti, J. (2000). Disaster response: Risk, vulnerability, and resilience. Disaster Prevention and Management, 9(3), 173–180.
Levinson, H. (2002). Organizational assessment and crisis intervention. Organizational Dynamics, 31(1), 3–21.
DiFonzo, N., & Bordia, P. (2000). Corporate rumors, their effects, and strategies to manage them. Public Relations Review, 26(2), 173–190.
Brenneman, B. (2000). Leadership and morale in times of crisis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21(3),
Sagini, M. (2001). Loyalty and cohesion in organizational life. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 37(4),
Kniffin, K. M., Narayanan, J., Anseel, F., Antonakis, J., Ashford, S. P., Bakker, A. B., ... & Vugt, M. (2021). COVID-19 and the workplace: Implications, issues, and insights. American Psychologist, 76(1), 63–77.
Reinhart, C., & Rogoff, K. (2009). This time is different: Eight centuries of financial folly. Princeton University Press.
Hotten, R. (2015). Volkswagen: The scandal explained. BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com
Yates, D., & Paquette, S. (2011). Emergency knowledge management and social media technologies: A case study of the 2010 Haitian earthquake. International Journal of Information Management, 31(1), 6–13.
Dong, E., Du, H., & Gardner, L. (2020). An interactive web-based dashboard to track COVID-19 in real time. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 20(5), 533–534.
Taleb, N. N. (2007). The Black Swan: The impact of the highly improbable. Random House.
Cinelli, M., Quattrociocchi, W., Galeazzi, A., Valensise, C. M., Brugnoli, E., Schmidt, A. L., ... & Scala, A. (2020). The COVID-19 social media infodemic. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 16598.
James, E. H., & Wooten, L. P. (2005). Leadership as (un)usual: How to display competence in times of crisis. Organizational Dynamics, 34(2), 141–152.
Varma, R. (2005). The Bhopal disaster of 1984. Current Science, 89(3), 476–480.
Kingston, J. (2012). Japan’s nuclear crisis: The Fukushima disaster and the politics of ungovernable technology. Critical Asian Studies, 44(1), 3–23.
Fearn-Banks, K. (2016). Crisis communications: A casebook approach (5th ed.). Routledge.
Freudenburg, W. R., & Gramling, R. (2011). Blowout in the Gulf: The BP oil spill disaster and the future of energy in America. MIT Press.
Ulmer, R. R., Sellnow, T. L., & Seeger, M. W. (2010). Effective crisis communication: Moving from crisis to opportunity. SAGE.
Bundy, J., Pfarrer, M. D., Short, C. E., & Coombs, W. T. (2017). Crises and crisis management: Integration, interpretation, and research development. Journal of Management, 43(6), 1661–1692. 213
Coombs, W. T. (2007). Protecting organization reputations during a crisis: The development and application of situational crisis communication theory. Corporate Reputation Review, 10(3), 163–176.
Pearson, C. M., Roux-Dufort, C., & Clair, J. A. (2007). International handbook of organizational crisis management. SAGE Publications.
Boin, A., Hart, P. ‘t, Stern, E., & Sundelius, B. (2016). The politics of crisis management: Public leadership under pressure (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Wooten, L. P., & James, E. H. (2008). Linking crisis management and leadership competencies: The role of human resource development. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 10(3), 352–379.
Seeger, M. W., Sellnow, T. L., & Ulmer, R. R. (2003). Communication and organizational crisis. Greenwood Publishing Group.
Shrivastava, P. (1993). Crisis theory/practice: Towards a sustainable future. Industrial & Environmental Crisis Quarterly, 7(1), 23–42.
Pauchant, T. C., & Mitroff, I. I. (1992). Transforming the crisis-prone organization: Preventing individual, organizational, and environmental tragedies. Jossey-Bass.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Zahra Malhooz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
