Organizational Crisis Management and Human Resource Development: A Review of the Literature and Implications to HRD Research and Practice

Abstract

The problem and the solution. From the post-9/11 effect on financial and transportation industries to the corporate fraud scandals involving Enron and Tyco, organizational crises are a pervasive threat to organizational performance and sustainability.The authors' review of the literature suggests that although the impact of crises on organization effectiveness has been increasingly recognized, it has not attracted much attention from human resource development (HRD) scholars and practitioners. As a result, HRD has not considered how learning, change, and performance interventions might be used to support crisis management processes. The purpose of this article is to explore the role of HRD in organizational crisis management. Specifically, the authors review the theoretical underpinnings of organizational crisis management research, identify opportunities for HRD to be involved in crisis management processes, and explore how HRD research and practice may contribute to supporting organizations' crisis management efforts.

“Relaaax, I remember the recession in the early 1980s …”: Organizational storytelling as a crisis management tool

“…Several researchers have made inquiries regarding the inclusion of HRD in the change management process relative to the components of effective crisis management (Herling, 2003;Hutchins, 2008;Hutchins & Wang, 2008;Reilly, 2008;Roberts & Bea, 2001). Watkins (1989) presented several philosophical metaphors of HRD' s organizational roles, such as being a problem solver, change agent, designer, empowerer, meaning maker, and human capital developer (as cited in Hutchins & Wang, 2008).…”

“…This is especially relevant given the Epic Recession that most of the globalized world is experiencing today. Largely, organizational crises are regarded as major threats to organizational performance and effectiveness (Hutchins & Wang, 2008). Considering organizational and individual performance and effectiveness, the organizational crisis management and HRD disciplines share common theoretical perspectives.…”

“…Considering organizational and individual performance and effectiveness, the organizational crisis management and HRD disciplines share common theoretical perspectives. Namely, organizational crisis management is concerned with how crises impact organizations, individuals, community, and the societies at large (Hutchins & Wang, 2008), and HRD is a process primarily dealing with developing and improving organizational, individual, and system performances (Swanson & Holton, 2009). More specifically, one of the primary HRD functions is organizational development, which deals with intervention processes that enhance organizational effectiveness and the well-being of its members (Werner & DeSimone, 2006).…”

“…in providing explanations regarding events that have occurred in [or affect] the workplace" (O'Neill, 2002, p. 5), whether within or external to the organization. 2 The research on psychoanalytic aspects of crises encompass how the individuals make sense of crises, focusing on how the individuals' cognitive processes are influenced under times of distress (Hutchins & Wang, 2008). As previously stated, organizational storytelling is especially suited as a crisismanagement tool specifically because of its sensemaking prescription of disruption-transformation-solution (Weick,1995).…”

Evaluation of the Dawson College shooting psychological intervention: Moving toward a multimodal extensive plan.

“…The number of psychological first-aid programs is on the rise and targets specific disasters: disaster-related trauma; complex trauma; exposure to violence; traumatic loss; nonspecific mass trauma; organizational crisis management, and so forth (Jaycox et al, 2006;Hutchins & Wang, 2008 (Vernberg et al, 2008). In Quebec, the 1989 shooting of 22 young women at the École Polytechnique de Montréal prompted the development of a psychosocial approach to public security (Martel & Brunet, 2006).…”