Communication Management - Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 Crisis - Case Study Example

Communication Management: A Case Study of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 Crisis Name: ID: Course Title: Lecturer: Date: Introduction It was Saturday morning on 8th March, 2014 at 1:20 AM local time in Malaysia. The world woke up to shocking news: a Malaysian airplane – Flight MH370 which had left Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on its way to Beijing China went missing. The plane was carrying 239 people, 12 of whom were workers of the airline and 227 were passengers. These passengers were citizens of 14 different countries but the highest number came from China. The aircraft was a Boeing 777-200ER operated by Malaysia Airlines and it went missing just minutes after it had taken off. The aircraft has not been located to date. This incident is one of its kind in the aviation industry judging from the interest and concern it raised world over. Within two months, there almost 58 million social interactions logged with the airline. This paper studies the way Malaysia Airlines communicated with the relatives of those on board and how it released information on this incident to the public. The company’s website, social media accounts, press releases, short message service (SMS) alongside other media of communication will be analyzed in this paper. The discussion will be guided by theories of communication and good communication practices. The models and theories this paper refers to include crisis management theories; linear communication model (Shannon, 1948); the intermediary communication model (Katz, 1957); the interactive model (Weiner, 1986); the transactional model (Steinberg, 1994) and the ecological model (Foulger, 2004). For detail analysis, the discussion will investigate communication management within the first month of the incident. Crisis Communication Malaysia Airlines revealed the disappearance of its Flight MH370 on the same day it happened (8th March) at 7:24 AM. This was about 5 hours after the airplane went missing. This information, though painful to the families of the passengers on board, was very important. What the airline was going through at this particular moment was a crisis. A crisis has been defined as a sudden occurrence that interferes with the normal operations of an organization and it requires a quick response since it threatens the organization’s future profits and survival (Millar, 2004; Lerbinger, 1997). Information shared during this situation is therefore called crisis communication which is done is such a way that the crisis does not hurt the organization’s operations (Hale, Dulek & Hale, 2005). Crisis communication entails collecting information, processing that information, making decisions about it, and distributing this information to the people it concerns (Coombs, 2007). Jie (2014) observes that breaking the news about the disappearance of the plane after five hours was a delayed response that could seriously affect the way the company is viewed by its customers. Nevertheless, after the breaking news, the families of the 239 passengers were eagerly waiting for information about their loved ones. It is hence important to critically review the communication that followed. The message creator/source The Eye or Travel issue for May 28, 2014 reports that within a span of two hours after the news on Flight MH370’s disappearance, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) suspended its commercial communications and the company website was put into the mode known as ‘dark side’. The Malaysia Airline’s senior marketing vice president, Dean Dacko, said in a press interview that the company will only convey information and updates on the lost airplane. This was to demonstrate that MAS was sensitive to the issue at hand. It also emphasized that the airline had directed all its focus on resolving this issue. This matter was sensitive since it involved loss of life and hence it could negatively affect the 47,000 customers MAS serves around the world. Dacko said that this was a matter of life and death for the airline: it may push them out of business. He also told the media that the airline’s staff that had to continue working even as they grieve. The entire nation was mourning the fate that befell its national carrier. The airline called for support from other partners to manage its communication. They included Google, Millward Brown (a brand management firm), Rally (a social media firm), IPG (a media firm) and the public relations department of O&M Company. A crisis management team made of 40 experts was put in place to handle communication during the crisis. This is the point in the communication process called message creation. The team assembled by MAS is, therefore, the message source in the communication process. Message source is at center of all models and theories of communication cited at the beginning of this paper. The linear communication models put the message source at the beginning of the flowchart and calls it ‘information source’ (Shannon, 1948). In the intermediary models, the source also comes first but it is called the ‘speaker’ (Katz, 1957). The interactive models also begin with the ‘information source’ (Weiner, 1986) while the transactional models identifies the source as ‘Communicator A’ and places it at the center of the flowchart (Steinberg, 1994). The ecological model’s flowchart puts the source at the beginning and calls it ‘Creators’ (Foulger, 2004). Though this team worked together with each expert doing its role, the official source of all communication was Malaysia Airlines. The message The first message Malaysian Airlines given in the form of a press release on 8th March, 2014 at 7:24 AM is summarized as follows: Malaysia Airlines are confirming that MH370 lost communication with air traffic controls at Subang today at 2.40 AM. The flight departed from Kuala Lumpur today at 12.41 AM and was expected to arrive today at 6.30 AM in Beijing. On board were 227 passengers (that include 2 babies) and 12 members of the crew. MAS is working together with the relevant authorities to find the airplane and will give information on the situation regularly. The families can contact +603 7884 1234 for more details. This message was posted on the Malaysia Airlines Facebook account as seen below Fig 1 Malaysia Airlines Facebook Page Retrieved on 20th January, 2015 from "https://www.facebook.com/my.malaysiaairlines" The second response that immediately followed the first within two hours was the ‘dark’ status on all the company’s online media outlets like the website, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook. This is where all the sites are replaced by a colourless background. This non-visible feature means that there is a crisis or an emergency. The following is the snapshot of Malaysia Airlines official website. Fig 2 Malaysia Airlines official website: Retrieved on 21st January, 2015 from "http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/uk/en.html" The last message the paper focuses on is the SMS text message. This was sent on 24th March 2014 which was 16 days after the disappearance. The text is summarized below. Malaysia Airlines express deep regrets that MH370 is lost and there is no survivor. This follows satellite information that confirms that the plane crashed in the Indian Ocean. This text was sent after the airline had received data from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch http://www.aaib.gov.uk/home/index.cfm (AAIB, 2014) and Inmarast (Branigan, 2014). The two investigation agencies had shared data with MAS and Malaysian government to the effect that the plane crashed in the high seas. The airline management decided to relay this information to the families just moments before the Prime Minister made a media briefing on the same issue. Like the message source or creator, the massage is an important element in the communication process. In Shannon’s (1948) model and the interactive model (Weiner, 1986), message is represented as the first arrow in the flowchart. Both the transactional model (Steiner, 1994) and the ecological model (Fougler, 2004) put the message box right in the middle of the flowchart. The Media This is a very important element in the communication process since it carries the message from the source to the receiver and vice versa. In the cases cited above, three different channels of communication were used by Malaysia Airlines. The press, the dark status of the website and the SMS are the channels of communication used by the airline to reach its audience. The models of communication include the channel, also called media of communication. The transactional model puts the message within the medium hence it is hard to separate the message from the medium of transmission. This view is convincing enough since in practice, a message doesn’t exist in a vacuum but it is seen or heard when it is being conveyed through a medium. It is important to note that the press releases and the SMS messages are verbal while the dark status of the website is a symbolic way of communication. Evaluation of communication management by Malaysia Airlines The manner in which the airline handled the crisis has attracted both praise and criticism from different quarters. Communication and public relations experts have analyzed the content, the channel and the timing of communication in assessing the airline’s strengths and weaknesses as far as crisis communication is concerned. The experts in public relations and crisis management have praised the response of the airline to the crisis. The airline has been commended for being honest and sincere to the families whose relatives went missing.. It has kept on communicating with the families, whose loved one went missing on a regular basis (B&T Magazine, 28th March, 2014). The dark site technique has also been supported as it shows that the company is sensitive and that they are on top of things What has attracted a great deal of condemnation is the SMS text to the families. The airline has been criticized for using a harsh medium of communication to pass the message. The airlines defended itself that the texts were sent to families that were not present in the support centre. It explains that the families present were told in person. The critics still believe that a kinder way of communication should have been used to reach the families with the information. The SMS was also criticized for the choice of word. Stating that the airline had to “assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board survived” is rather cruel (O’Dwyers March 27 2014). The B&T Magazine (2014) reports that the timing, message and the medium chosen for passing the devastating news are thoughtless and damaging. The magazine also finds fault with the wording of the text which it feels is lacking in empathy. Conclusion Communication in terms of a crisis does not undo the harm that leads to a crisis but it makes or breaks the hearts of those that are affected by the crisis. In the case of the Flight MH370, several lessons about crisis communication management have been learnt. Reuters (July 17, 2014) suggests how such crises can be better handled. There is need to react very quickly. The golden hour after a disaster should not be more than an hour as this will show the relatives that the organization cares. Instead of addressing the press first, separate the families from the media and talk to them directly. Private conversations in rooms without the media are advised. Talk often and talk honestly. It is important to tell the relatives what is known and what is yet to be known. They should also be given a timetable for getting further information. Such measures may go a long way to comfort the affected families and keep the reputation of the organization high. References Branigan, T.,2014. The Guardian. "http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/24/mh370-lost-southern-indian-ocean-malaysian-pm" [Retrieved 1May 2014]. Coombs WT (2007) Crisis Management and Communication. Institute for Public Relations. [Online]Available:http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/crisis-management-and-communications/. Hale JE, Dulek RE, Hale DP (2005) Crisis response communication challenges: building theory from qualitative data. J. Business Communications, 42(2):112-34. Lerbinger, O (1997) The Crisis Manager: Facing Risk and Responsibility, Lawrence Elbaum Associates Publishers, New Jersey. Katz, E (1957) The Two-Step Flow of Communication. Public Opinion Quarterly, 21, p. 61-78. Shannon, CEA (1948). Mathematical Theory of Communication. Bell System Technical Journal, vol.27, pp. 379-423 and 623-656, July and October, 1948. Steinberg, S (1994) Introduction to Communication: Course book 1 The Basics. Landsdowne: Juta. Weiner, N (1986) Human Use of Human Beings. Cybernetics and Society. Avon. 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