Abstract
This study examined the internal communication strategies and channels used by Electricity Company of Ghana Limited (ECG) in its preparations towards crises. It also studied ECG’s employees’ perceptions of those channels used in communicating crisis-related information to them. An in-depth interview was conducted with the ECG Public Relations Manager and results of the responses were analyzed using Morgan’s ethnography summary. In addition, a survey was conducted on 100 employees from five ECG Regions and the results analyzed in frequencies and tables. This study was premised on the systems theory. The findings revealed that ECG’s crisis preparedness communication strategy involved series of organizational meetings with employees at the head, regional and district offices. The strategy had been integrated into the organizational culture where existing communication channels and processes were adopted in communicating its preparedness towards future crisis. It was also observed that durbar remained employees’ most effective channel; though telephone calls, departmental meeting, social media and company website were also considered effective channels of communicating crisis-related information. In addition, social media was most preferred because communication through it is prompt, consistent, easily accessible and it enhances effective communication. The study recommended that more efforts be geared towards making the crisis preparedness information readily available and accessible to all employees.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iv
CHAPTER ONE…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
CHAPTER TWO…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND RELATED LITERATURE………………………………. 10
2.0 Overview……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10
- Defining Crisis……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10
- Defining Communication as a Prerequisite for Internal Communication and Organizational Crisis Preparedness. 11
CHAPTER THREE……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23
METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23
- Overview……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 23
CHAPTER FOUR…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 30
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS…………………………………………………………………………………… 30
- Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 30
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 45
CHAPTER FIVE………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 48
CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS…………………………………. 48
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 52
APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR THE PR MANAGER………………………………… 56
APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EMPLOYEES……………………………………………… 57
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
An organization experiences crises when a negative event occurs with unexpected intensity, surprising the stakeholders and also requiring an immediate response (Coombs, 2007). Many organizations in the world have experienced different types of crises such as; the BP oil rig explosion which resulted in millions of gallons of oil spilt in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010; the collapse of the Melcom building in Achimota, Ghana; Johnson & Johnson and Tylenol product tampering and recently, the nationwide energy crisis of ECG in Ghana. According to Hargis and Watt (2010), crises can be experienced at any stage of an organization’s life cycle because risks and hazards are diverse (Sutton & Tierney, 2006:31). The organization’s ability to identify potential crises will enable it make good initiatives to manage the threats associated with crises; such as “public safety, financial loss and reputational loss” (www.instituteforpr, 2014).
Boins and Sundelius (2005) have defined a crisis as a ‘‘specific, unexpected, and non‐routine event or series of events that create high levels of uncertainty and threaten or are perceived to threaten an organization’s high priority goals”. Crisis needs to be prevented because it costs money, necessitating organizations to prepare (put in measures which will best protect capital, stakeholders and reputation) to respond effectively when crisis sets in. Organizations which do not prepare towards crisis are exposed to risks such as reputational damage, fire outbreaks, loss of human lives, technical failures etc. (Coombs, 2007). A Crisis Management Plan (CMP) is a reference tool which details important contact information, reminders of activities needed to be acted on, training and
crisis drills, communication planning and other strategic and tactical options (Handbook of Crisis communication, 2010). A crisis management plan helps to prepare an organization towards crisis (Johansen & Frandsen, 2012; Boz & Küçükaltan, 2013; Promsri, 2014, Coombs, 2012).
A crisis management plan according to Coombs (2007) consists of three phases: (1) pre-crisis, (2) crisis response, and (3) post-crisis. The pre-crisis phase is concerned with prevention and preparations against crisis. The crisis response phase is when management must actually respond to the crisis and the post-crisis phase looks for ways to improve on the crisis preparation against the next crisis. The pre-crisis stage is the most important of the crisis management phase because planning and preparation are the fundamentals for an organization to be able to act quickly as well as put together more useful decisions (Selart, Johansen and Nesse; 2012). “Communication is the critical component of crisis management” (Handbook of Crisis Handbook of Crisis Communication (2010:17).
Part of the organization’s pre-crisis management practices is to communicate internally its crisis management plan and its expectations of employee behavior during crisis (Coombs 2012; Lando 2014). Internal crisis communication is important because crisis is not handled by management alone but with employees. Also, it helps employees appreciate the possibility of managing crises and the procedures required to do so. Internal communication builds trust between management and employees and it also strengthens organizational effectiveness (Welch, 2012). Employees are assured that management has their interest at heart, gain confidence in the organization, share in the organization’s identity, execute their duties effectively and achieve their organizational objectives during a crisis if they are aware of the organization’s plans towards crises.
A good communication relationship between management and employees before a crisis is likely to result in good employee communicative action during crisis. Selart et al. (2012:100-101), have confirmed that “the way leadership is handling the pre-crisis phase most often has an impact on its relationship with the employees”. This implies that employees play both receiver and sender roles during crises and are likely to act as advocates for their organization and not to exaggerate managements’ responsibility by leaking secret information about the organization or distance themselves from the organization and refuse to be its advocate (Ulmer, 2001). This agrees with Fearn-Banks (2007:17) assertion that “strong people-centered corporate culture, rather than a profit-centered one, is also an effective crisis prevention tool”.
Information flows from the sender to the receiver through communication channels. The use of effective channels result in organizational efficiency because it prevents miscommunication and unsatisfied behavior among employees in the work place. In order to attain the organization’s communication objectives, it is vital management knows employees’ views and preferences for its internal communication channels. In bridging that gap, the focus lies in developing a crisis communication strategy.
The presence of communication strategies will guide the organization to communicate effectively to its intended audiences by using effective communication channels and well developed messages. The primary aim of any communication strategy is for the message to be delivered and be understood by its intended audience. Communication strategies will guide the organization to use effective communication channels and well developed messages to communicate with its intended audiences successfully. During crisis, employees are probably the last to receive information from management because that is when management works excessively to protect the
organization’s reputation by engaging the external publics and the media. Internal communication strategy plays an important role in the crises preparedness process and must not be overlooked by crises managers so as to maintain consistent flow of information to all publics.
Crises are unforeseen events. Therefore an organization needs to prepare towards any potential event. The organization must establish an appropriate response plan, select the proper channels or mediums for information flow to protect the organization’s reputation and its stakeholders. It is in this context that this study uses the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) as a case to examine the internal communication strategies and channels used in communicating crises in the pre-crisis phase. Also, to find out employees perceptions of those channels and whether they preferred others to the existing ones.
Profile of Institution
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is the major power distributor in Ghana. ECG makes it possible for an estimated 45-47% of Ghanaians, including 15-17 % of the rural population, to have access to grid electricity (ISSER, 2005). ECG is a limited liability Company wholly owned by the Government of Ghana and operating under the Ministry of Energy (ME) since February, 1997 (www.ECGonline.info, 2015). Operationally, ECG buys energy supply in bulk from suppliers
(such as Volta River Authority and other Independent Power Producers (IPPs) like Sun Asogli, Bui etc.) and distributes to its customers.
ECG’s mission is “to provide quality, reliable and safe electricity services to support the economic growth and development of Ghana” (www.ECGonline.info, 2015). As part of the organization’s
functions, it is responsible for distributing electricity through well maintained networks for efficiency. The organization’s vision is “to be among the leading Electricity Distribution Companies in Africa by 2020” (www.ECGonline.info, 2015). Due to these operational activities,
more technical than administrative staff have been employed by ECG to help achieve all the organization’s objectives as stated above. These objectives could be achieved if ECG takes internal communication seriously.
Problem Statement
ECG operations involve a lot of risk: fire outages, financial loss, reputational loss, technical failures, loss of human lives etc. and this increases the crisis vulnerability of the organization. At the time of this study, ECG had encountered cash flow challenges resulting from huge debt (about GH¢ 1.2billion) owed by some of its customers and government agencies. ECG’s situation was further aggravated by an energy crisis which eventually resulted in load shedding, lasting over three years.
This energy crisis posed the highest threat to the growth of Ghana’s economy and affected individuals, industries and ECG as well. Energy tariffs went extremely high, the cedi depreciated and the nation recorded high inflation rates. Several businesses collapsed and many employees lost their jobs because of low productivity. Many Ghanaians were frustrated about the high cost of living resulting from this crises. Some physically attacked ECG offices and assaulted its employees whilst pressure groups, some celebrities and political parties also went on demonstration against ECG. All these threatened the sustainability and reputation of the organization. It became a huge and serious topical issue. The media reported that ECG was likely to undergo a concessionary sale
or partial privatization which might lead to diminishing conditions of service and redundancies (Graphic Online, 19th May, 2015).
When employees experience risky situations they make use of information from trusted sources. Nonetheless if ECG has a crisis management plan but does not communicate it effectively to its employees, it would be difficult for the employees to know their roles and act confidently towards the achievement of the organizational goals during crises. In order to manage rumors and information from unofficial sources, ECG must prepare its employees towards crisis management and the changes which may affect them when the company undergoes a concessionary sale.
Several literature reviewed indicated that organizational crisis can be evaded if organizations anticipate the possible crises which threaten their business continuity and have in place, crisis preparedness plans. Others confirmed that managers neglect management-employee communication during crisis and recommended it as a new research area (Lockwood, 2005; Promsri, 2014; Lando, 2014; Coombs, 2014; Heide & Simonsson, 2014; Johansen et al., 2012; Mazzei et al., 2012; Frandsen & Johansen, 2011). It is for this reason that this study focused on the internal crisis communication preparedness existing at ECG.
Research Objectives
- To examine the internal communication strategies used by Electricity Company of Ghana for its crisis preparedness communication as entailed in its crisis management plan.
- To know about the internal communication channels used by the Electricity Company of Ghana in preparing employees for crises.
- To evaluate ECG employees’ satisfaction with the channels used in communicating crises to them and identify their most preferred internal communication channel.
Research Questions
In order to achieve the above objectives, this study would be guided by the following research questions.
RQ 1. How do ECG’s crisis communication strategies adequately prepare its employees for crises? RQ2.What channels do ECG use in communicating its crisis preparedness to its employees?
RQ3. Which communication channels do ECG employees perceive as effective?
RQ4. Which of the internal communication channels used by ECG employees is the most preferred channel?
Significance of the Study
This study will contribute to a deeper understanding and emphasis on the importance of internal crisis communication preparedness to organizations and open up further scholarly investigation on the subject within Africa (since most studies done have considered the western context). It will also contribute to scholarship on the crisis communication field.
In addition, the findings of this study will help ECG to build strong internal strategies for crisis communication management in order to better manage future crises from escalating into a nationwide crisis. Findings of this study will also encourage ECG to make crisis information easily accessible to all employees so that they can easily relate it to the organizational culture and perform productively towards their organizational goals. It will also highlight the importance of management-employee crisis communication preparedness before considering the external crisis
communication. Organizations in the energy sector can also apply the recommendations that stem from this study to improve their crisis resiliency.
Operational Definition of Key Terms
The following terms used in this research have been defined as follows:
- Employees: In this study, the word employee is used to refer to anyone who has been employed by the Electricity Company of Ghana as a permanent staff.
- Management: The decision making body of ECG which is in charge of operations, decision making and administration. It is also used interchangeably with top management to mean the same in this study.
- Internal Communication: This refers to the exchange of information between an organization or management and its internal stakeholders or employees. For the purpose of this study, Internal Communication has been used interchangeably with organizational communication.
- Crisis: It is any unpredictable event which threatens stakeholders’ expectations and can fatally impact an organization’s performance and cause negative outcomes.
- Preparedness: It involves psychologically rehearsing circumstances and providing the organization with systems and procedures so that they can react appropriately, sufficiently, and timely.
Organization of the Study
The organization of this study is in five separate chapters. Chapter one gives an introduction and a background of the study and focuses on internal communication; the need to develop
communicational strategies and effective use of communication channels to establish relationships with employees in other to attain high productivity in an organization. The problem statement, profile of the institution, significance of the study, objectives and research questions and key terms of the study is also captured in this first chapter.
Chapter two focuses on the conceptual framework and literature reviews related to the study; on crisis preparedness, crisis communication, internal communication strategies and channels. The theory used (Systems Theory) for the study is also explored.
The methodology used for this study is presented in chapter three. The chapter gives details of the sampling procedure, the sampling size, the population and respondent background, data collection process, data collection instrument and data analysis.
The findings of the study are presented in chapter four while chapter five discusses the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the study.
