National Extension Workshop Developing effective risk and crisis communication approaches in the poultry industry

Abstract

The poultry industry, like every other industry, is susceptible to a wide variety of crises. In this paper, the Discourse of Renewal is presented as an empirically tested approach to help poultry organizations and the poultry industry prepare for, manage, and learn from crises. The key parts of the Discourse of Renewal provide poultry industry and organization leaders practical communication strategies for use in their preparation and management of crises. The theory also provides counterintuitive reasoning to help leaders build their knowledge and competencies in preparing for and managing crises. The Discourse of Renewal, then, is a normative theory that provides theoretically grounded guidelines for poultry industry leaders to prepare for, learn from, and communicate effectively during a crisis. This essay provides a clear understanding of the Discourse of Renewal and its applications to crisis planning, preparation, response, and learning from a crisis. This essay also provides poultry industry leaders and others the necessary background to develop guidelines for preparing to manage any type of crisis in the industry.