ASPECTS OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT APPLIED IN ...

Annals of the University “Constantin Brâncuşi”of Tg-Jiu, No. 1/2008, Volume 2,
ISSN: 1842-4856
Key Themes in the Literature
The literature on tourism crises has grown considerably in recent years, particularly in the
light of the impacts on destinations of the September 11 events, as well as the impacts of other political
events, natural disasters, disease, crime or war. However, the need for more research on the nature of
the crises was recognised well before the occurrence of such events. One strand of research was geared
towards providing a set of typologies of tourism crises. For example, Meyers (1986) categorised crises
into major effects on public perceptions, product failures, sudden changes in the market and changes in
top management. Meyers also argued that crises can be caused by problems with financing, industrial
relations, take-overs, international events and changes in regulations. Booth (1993) classified crises
into those that are gradual, periodic or sudden, where gradual crises threaten parts of the organisation,
periodic crises threaten part or all of the organisation and sudden crises threaten the entire organisation.
Seymour and Moore (2000) classified crises according to the process by which they occur, terming a
crisis that occurs gradually a ‘python’, in contrast to a ‘cobra’ which strikes suddenly.
Crises have also been classified according to their causes. Coombes’ (1995) classification was
based on stakeholders’ perceptions of the crisis as internal or external, resulting from unintentional or
intentional decisions. For example, an unexpected crisis within the organisation is both internal and
unintentional, whereas terrorism is external and intentional. Other studies that have focussed on the
causes of crises include Slatter’s (1984) crisis susceptibility model. Some researchers have categorised
crises according to their severity. Some studies have concentrated on the role that the mass media plays
in affecting people’s perceptions of crises (Hall, 2002: Glaesser, 2004). Both crises and the media's
portrayals of them cause changes in perceptions that affect people’s intentions to travel with
consequent effects on destinations. Such effects have been examined for destinations ranging from
South West England (Coles, 2003), to Malaysia (Sausmarez, 2004), Nepal (Thapa, 2004) and Bali
(HItchcock, 2001; Henderson, 2003), the Gili Islands (Soemodinoto et al., 2001) and Lombok (Fallon,
2004) in Indonesia.
Recognition of the magnitude of the effects that crises can inflict on destinations has
stimulated research on different approaches that can be used to manage crises. Early contributions
include those of Cassedy who focussed on the strategies that destinations can implement to respond to
crises, and Drabek (1995) who examined the operational moves required for crisis response. Young and
Montgomery (1998) subsequently emphasized the importance of designing and implementing an
effective communications strategy as an integral part of crisis management. A positive communications
strategy may enhance the organisation’s reputation above its pre-crisis level (Fearn-Banks, 1996). In
contrast, an absence of effective communications is likely to instigate belief that the organisation is
incompetent or uncaring. In this respect, effective communications channels support the credibility of
the organisation (Seymour and Moore, 2000). A well organised team is required for implementation of
the communications system (Barton, 1993; Heath, 1994, 1998), as is an integrated management
approach (Heath, 1994). Within this system, top management is expected to play an important role in
the organisation and dissemination of information (Sonnenfeld, 1994; Hill and Wetlaufer, 1998).
Communications strategies should form part of a wider crisis management model, as Smith
(1990) and Smith and Spipika (1993) pointed out. They identify three states that crisis management
must confront, namely crisis of management, operational crisis and crisis of legitimation. As crisis
management is concerned with damage limitation in as short a period and by as much as possible,
effective management involves regaining control over events (Green, 1992), efficient use of resources
and time (Regester and Larkin, 2002) and processes aimed at crisis prevention, mitigation, response
and recovery (Rosenthal and Pijnenburg, 1991). These include cultural and religious strategies
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