Year 2000 Problem and Corporate Crisis Management

Understanding the Year 2000 Crisis

The Year 2000 crisis was a data error resulting from a failure in the date records of computerized systems. This was due to a lack of foresight by software designers regarding how systems registered dates. By using only two digits for the year, the transition from 1999 to 2000 caused programs to revert to the early 20th century (1900) rather than the beginning of the 21st century.

Changing this registry can cause significant damage to multiple programs and the information geared toward them, as well as millions in losses linked to financial situations.

Strategic Crisis Action Plan

A comprehensive crisis plan should consist of the following levels of action:

• Identification of the crisis: Specifically, the Crisis of 2000.
• Setting limits: Identifying causes and potential risks, and determining if it can trigger new conflict-induced processes.
• Clarifying responsibilities: Defining the roles of internal teams and third parties.
• Assessing damage: Evaluating the number of affected parties and the legal, commercial, and domestic consequences.
• Media visibility: Determining the degree of media coverage, both quantitatively and qualitatively, to discern between facts and rumors.
• Urgent assembly: Bringing together the crisis management components immediately.
• Defining speech: Developing a communication strategy to buy time, take action, and manage sensitive information.

Corporate Crisis Management Principles

A crisis plan is a regulatory program that determines patterns of corporate behavior in an emergency and sets out the general principles of crisis management. Preparing for a crisis during "peacetime" optimizes corporate behavior when an actual emergency occurs.

General rules of prevention that a company must maintain include:

• Dossiers containing general information about the company.
• A history of past crises, especially within the same sector.
• Simulated cases with formalized crisis solutions.
• Records of personal contacts for senior management, including mediators such as administrations, trade unions, and consumer associations.
• An updated file of journalists and media contacts.
• An inventory of internal communication channels and a profile of public relations agencies that can assist as external agents.

These data must be kept confidential and must be updated and revised periodically.

Phases of the Communication Plan

1. Determine what we want to achieve and define our objectives.
2. Decide who we will address in our communication.
3. Think about the idea or message we want to convey.
4. Fix the budget and determine how resources will be allocated.
5. Select the appropriate means and frequency of use.
6. Execute the media plan and measure its impact.