Crisis Management

A natural disaster can strike anywhere , at any time . Earth-shattering explosions . Natural catastrophes. Paralyzing cold . Some disasters , such as hurricanes , can be anticipated . Others strike quickly , unexpectedly and often leave devastation in their wake . Since there may be little or no warning , as with any other crisis , it 's best to have a communications plan ready in advance . When people 's lives are shattered by disaster instant response is important

Hot Springs

The residents of Hot Springs , AK a city known for its

natural springs and spas , faced this situation in the spring of 1990 when a flash flood struck one week prior to the start of the traditional tourist season Memorial Day Weekend . Tourism is a major economic force in the area employing more than 20 of Garland County 's civilian labour force and bringing in millions of dollars and more than one million tourists every year . Following the flood , problems within the community and the negative national publicity surrounding the event could have spelled economic disaster for an area so dependent on tourism . But the community 's ability to turn the situation around helped it have a strong season in spite of the obstacles

Late Saturday evening , May 19 , 1990 , the sky over Hot Springs opened up and torrential rains caused a flash flood that engulfed the resort town By the early morning hours of May 20 , 13 inches of rain had fallen stranding tourists and sending cars and other belongings floating through the town 's central business district

By Sunday morning , the sun replaced rain clouds and the water subsided Members of the community began cleaning up and repairing damage to shops and restaurants in the historic district . By the end of the day evidence of the flash flood had diminished considerably . But deeper infrastructure problems and concerns about the town 's ability to be ready for the upcoming holiday weekend worried the town 's business community and residents . Many people living in the county had another concern : how they would obtain recovery help without flood insurance--safeguard no one thought necessary living in the hilly community (quake .ualr .edu

Local concerns were not the only challenges facing city officials . The national media had been busy on Sunday , too , collecting information about the flood and filing reports filled with dramatic s and pictures of the flood 's worst . As a result , Monday morning the nation learned of the event . USA Today ran a dramatic photo and story , and the morning network newscasts carried vivid footage and s of damage

Additionally , calls began coming in from worried tourists , motorcoach operators and other tourism industry leaders . Their perception . based on what they were seeing in the media , was that the town 's streets were still flooded . Fears and cancellations were mounting

The Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB , with assistance from its agency , Walker Associates based in Memphis , TN , began implementing a three pronged crisis communications plan addressing these problems . The efforts included : community relations...

These were the effects not only of the weather in that city but the media that create an awful panorama that pictured a negative vision of that place. Even when we live in a beautiful place, the media can create another view; only if they are interested in underestimate the citizens, and the politics. In most of the cases, press do not care the real situation but they try to persuade people to believe what they show, to sell what they sell.

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Oil Prices: Cause and Effect

Why is crude oil so expensive? Why does it matter?

The price of crude didn't rise from $12 in early 1999 to nearly $60

because the world suddenly ran out of oil. On the contrary, the

world supply of petroleum has risen 10 percent since then,

according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), from 65.8

million barrels a day in 1999 to 72.5 million in 2004. Cambridge

Energy Research Associates estimates global oil production

capacity will increase at least twice that rapidly over the next five

years -- by as much as 16 million barrels a day by 2010.

 Oil prices did not quintuple after 1999 because Americans

suddenly switched from mini-cars to SUVs. On the contrary, if all passenger cars, pickups and

SUVs were replaced with bicycles, the United States would still import a lot of oil.

 We import nearly 58 percent of all petroleum, yet only 45 percent of each barrel is used to 

produce gasoline, and a significant portion of that gasoline is used in delivery vans and taxis.

Commuter and leisure driving accounts for little more than 40 percent of the oil we consume -- 

far less than the amount we import. The rest of each barrel of crude is used for heating oil 

and diesel fuel for trucks, busses, farm machinery and ships (23 percent), petrochemicals 

(17 percent), jet fuel (9 percent), asphalt (4 percent) and propane (4 percent).

U.S. industries use petroleum to produce the synthetic fiber used in textile mills making

carpeting and fabric from polyester and nylon. U.S. tire plants use petroleum to make synthetic 

rubber. Other U.S. industries use petroleum to produce plastic, drugs, detergent, deodorant, 

fertilizer, pesticides, paint, eyeglasses, heart valves, crayons, bubble gum and Vaseline.

When the cost of oil goes up, production costs are increased and profits reduced for industries 

that depend on oil. Producer costs -- not consumer gasoline costs -- are the reason high oil

prices threaten to shrink industrial production of goods directly affected and also of energy-

intensive products such as aluminum and paper. This threat affects all new and old industrial 

economies, whether those nations import or export oil. The United States may be least

vulnerable because of superior energy efficiency and a larger service sector.

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Using your sales force to jump-start

growth

There’s a reason it’s called a sales force. Here are four innovative ways 

companies can use their sales reps to drive growth.

There’s no escaping the impact of the sales force on

your company’s growth trajectory. This is the frontline group best

placed to gain an intimate understanding of existing customers,

to observe the forces at work in an industry, and to identify

potential new business. During the past year, we interviewed

about 100 sales executives around the world, across a range of

industries, to identify the critical elements that distinguish true

sales leaders from also-rans. This article highlights four

intriguing ideas the executives described for leveraging the sales

force to jump-start growth. Together, these suggestions offer

practical insights for sales groups, as well as a starting point for discussions among CEOs and other 

senior managers hoping to get more from sales and marketing investments.

 

Look over the horizon

The sudden arrival of a truly disruptive technology—one that upends markets in ways few 

anticipate—presents obvious challenges to industry incumbents. Yet it’s also a huge growth 
opportunity. One supplier of parts to high-tech manufacturers has created a team of “speculative 
market analysts” to better identify the emergence of disruptive technologies and to predict their 
business implications. The team helps the company to position itself as a supplier that’s ahead of 
the curve and to enjoy superior sales growth while competitors scramble to catch up.

The full-time team cuts across all business units and draws on a variety of internal and external 

sources: the sales force provides insights into the technology initiatives of the company’s customers 

while continually pressing them for feedback about its shortcomings and the efforts of competitors.

In addition, the team closely scrutinizes all reports from competitors and customers—easier said 

than done, given the sheer volume of market information emanating from countries such as China. It 

even fosters close ties with venture capital firms and provides up-and-coming companies with

funding and “sweat equity” to convert innovative concepts into realities. Together, these efforts have 
helped the company’s sales force to get ahead of recent major disruptive trends, including the boom 

in tablet devices and e-readers, as well as the growing fields of LED lighting and solar technology.

What’s more, the team’s efforts are generating an estimated annual return on investment that

exceeds 12 percent.

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Freeing up the sales force for selling

Most sales reps spend less than half of their time actually selling. Here’s

how companies can reshape sales operations to allow them to focus on

their real job.

Here’s a situation that may sound familiar. “Inside” sales

reps at a global manufacturer spent 75 percent of their time

away from the phones—pushing through stalled deals,

scurrying for data to answer questions from customers, and

cobbling together one-off proposals for even the simplest

requests. Highly paid field reps spent 45 percent of their time on

internal sales support and tracking the progress of deals.

Developing a standard proposal required meetings with as

many as seven people, and field reps had to spend up to three

weeks of constant effort to get a special price approved. This

model of inefficiency culminated when the company fumbled a new-product launch because it

failed to meet the deadline for proposals to secure initial orders.

That was the wake-up call the company needed. For two years, it worked to streamline 

its global sales operation by creating “sales factories” comprising specialized sales support staff with clear responsibilities and deal coordinators to shepherd sales through the system on behalf of reps.

Internal processes were standardized and simplified, and a comprehensive performance-

management system was implemented. While not all companies can successfully achieve these 

difficult and time-consuming transformations, the rewards are worthwhile for those that rise to 

the challenge. When the program was rolled out country by country, in some cases the impact was 

felt in just four months: reps gained an average of 15 percent more time for selling, conversions of proposals to sales rose by 5 percent, and the cycle time for internal sales processes shrank by 20 percent.

We find these results to be typical at large companies, yet few tackle the problem: sales operations remain a great unmanaged cost center in many organizations and a woefully underleveraged 

source of growth and differentiation.

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Crisis Management

A natural disaster can strike anywhere , at any time . Earth-shattering explosions . Natural catastrophes. Paralyzing cold . Some disasters , such as hurricanes , can be anticipated . Others strike quickly , unexpectedly and often leave devastation in their wake . Since there may be little or no warning , as with any other crisis , it 's best to have a communications plan ready in advance . When people 's lives are shattered by disaster instant response is important

Hot Springs

The residents of Hot Springs , AK a city known for its

natural springs and spas , faced this situation in the spring of 1990 when a flash flood struck one week prior to the start of the traditional tourist season Memorial Day Weekend . Tourism is a major economic force in the area employing more than 20 of Garland County 's civilian labour force and bringing in millions of dollars and more than one million tourists every year . Following the flood , problems within the community and the negative national publicity surrounding the event could have spelled economic disaster for an area so dependent on tourism . But the community 's ability to turn the situation around helped it have a strong season in spite of the obstacles

Late Saturday evening , May 19 , 1990 , the sky over Hot Springs opened up and torrential rains caused a flash flood that engulfed the resort town By the early morning hours of May 20 , 13 inches of rain had fallen stranding tourists and sending cars and other belongings floating through the town 's central business district

By Sunday morning , the sun replaced rain clouds and the water subsided Members of the community began cleaning up and repairing damage to shops and restaurants in the historic district . By the end of the day evidence of the flash flood had diminished considerably . But deeper infrastructure problems and concerns about the town 's ability to be ready for the upcoming holiday weekend worried the town 's business community and residents . Many people living in the county had another concern : how they would obtain recovery help without flood insurance--safeguard no one thought necessary living in the hilly community (quake .ualr .edu

Local concerns were not the only challenges facing city officials . The national media had been busy on Sunday , too , collecting information about the flood and filing reports filled with dramatic s and pictures of the flood 's worst . As a result , Monday morning the nation learned of the event . USA Today ran a dramatic photo and story , and the morning network newscasts carried vivid footage and s of damage

Additionally , calls began coming in from worried tourists , motorcoach operators and other tourism industry leaders . Their perception . based on what they were seeing in the media , was that the town 's streets were still flooded . Fears and cancellations were mounting

The Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB , with assistance from its agency , Walker Associates based in Memphis , TN , began implementing a three pronged crisis communications plan addressing these problems . The efforts included : community relations...

These were the effects not only of the weather in that city but the media that create an awful panorama that pictured a negative vision of that place. Even when we live in a beautiful place, the media can create another view; only if they are interested in underestimate the citizens, and the politics. In most of the cases, press do not care the real situation but they try to persuade people to believe what they show, to sell what they sell.

Answer the questions related to the text visiting this Web site... http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H6YHMB8