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Executive OverviewFor the tirst time in history, human-induced crises have the potential to rival natural disasters in both scope and magnitude. The financial cosfs of some crises have exceeded one billion dollars; the devastation wrought by these crises has included loss oi hundreds of human lives as well as immeasurable damage to future generations and to the environment. For instance, major crises such as Chernobyl and Exxon Valdez, as well as the oil spills and fires during the Gulf war, affected large regions of the globe. Previously, such effects could only have been wrought by natural disasters.This article seeks to explain how organizations may actually contribute to their own crises, as well as what can be done to avert human-induced disasters, and to manage those that still occur. A framework is provided for executives interested in improving their organizations' crisis preparedness. First, we consider how to defermine those crises for which a company should prepare. Next, the phases of a crisis are described followed by a description of the organizational systems which affect and are affected by it. Stakeholders' roles in the management of a crisis are discussed. The article concludes with implications for managers and executives interested in taking action. ArticleTylenol Chernobyl, Bhopal, the Space Shuttle Challenger, and Exxon Valdez. These human-induced disasters have become household words. The brand name Tylenol became synonymous with producf tampering on a nationwide scale when cyanide was heinously injecfed into pain capsules; Chernobyl-the explosion of a Soviet nuclear reactor-with the hazards associated wifh nuclear power, and as a result, a threat to the existence of the worldwide nuclear industry; Bhopal-the explosion of a pesticides manufacturing plant in India owned and operated by Union Carbide-with the hazards associated with modern chemical technology; the Space Shuttle Challenger-the loss of seven astronauts-with the dangers inherent not only in technology but also in the management of technology; Exxon Valdez-the devastation of one of the world's most pristine and sensitive ecosystems-with the danger associated with operating colossal technology. The list goes on and on. Every day seems to bring news of another crisis.The potential for large scale, human-induced crises is virtually built into the fabric of our times.' In many cases, the potential negative effects of technology exceed the ability of our organizations and management structures to control them. Indeed, there is evidence which indicates that each of the dramatic cases cited earlier could have been prevented if human operators and their managers had been crisis prepared, that is, equipped to anticipate, respond to, and learn from their crisis experiences.Ĉ ritical differences exist between human-induced and natural disasters. The public generally reacts more negatively to the effects of human-induced crises than to natural disasters. It is conceded that organizations have little control over natural catastrophes. Human-i...

Many organizations are concerned about the potential for workplace aggression and violence, yet pay little heed to lesser forms of interpersonal and organizational mistreatment. Drawing from knowledge and experiences of managers, attorneys, law enforcement officers and emergency medical professionals, we report a multi-method, multidisciplinary inductive study addressing two questions: (1) what is the nature of workplace incivility and how does incivility differ from and fit among other types of workplace mistreatment; and (2) what are some implications of incivility for employees and organizations?