Crisis Management Plan

Group 4: Lauren Camplin, Nohely Garay, Michelle Horn, Daniela Pavlova Robert Todd

Organization: McDonalds

Organization Description: McDonald's is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 33,000 local restaurants serving nearly 68 million people in 119 countries each day.McDonald's brand mission is to be our customers' favorite place and way to eat. Our worldwide operations are aligned around a global strategy called the Plan to Win, which center on an exceptional customer experience People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion. We are committed to continuously improving our operations and enhancing our customers' experience (McDonalds).

Crisis Inventory 1. E. coli outbreak at a McDonalds restaurant. a. This crisis is somewhat possible; it has happened to similar companies (Likelihood = 4). b. This crisis would cause considerable damage, and would denitely be a major media issue (Impact = 4). c. Food safety is the most likely crisis for a fast food company, and E. coli would be a major crisis because human lives would be at risk.

2. Toys in McDonalds kids meals contain lead and are making children sick. a. This crisis is remotely possible; a similar crisis happened before with paint on Shrek glasses that had the presence of a carcinogen (Likelihood = 3). b. This crisis would cause considerable damage, and would denitely be a major media issue; anytime children are involved a crisis is escalated (Impact = 4).

3. "America's #1 Cholesterol Fighter" Phil Sokolof takes out a full-page ad in a national newspaper charging McDonalds with the poisoning of America. a. This crisis is possible (Likelihood = 3). b. This crisis would cause considerable damage, but would not be a major media issue (Impact = 3). c. Fast food companies are constantly being accused of making Americans obese/unhealthy.This would just reinforce the idea that McDonalds is unhealthy.
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4. Case of mad cow disease re-ignites concerns about food safety at America's biggest seller of beef. a. This crisis is nearly impossible (Likelihood = 1). b. This crisis would be devastating, front page news that could jeopardize the organization's existence (Impact = 5). c. The phrase "mad cow" is similar to "pink slime;" it is hard for someone to forget. We decided to rank this crisis 4th instead of 3rd because our current 3rd priority crisis has a higher likelihood of happening.

5. Greenpeace stages several highly publicized protests outside of McDonalds restaurants, accusing the fast food company of cruelty with animal welfare policies. Greenpeace circulates viral videos of suppliers that depict animal cruelty, and they take over McDonalds Facebook page. a. This crisis is somewhat possible; Greenpeace is known for staging protests (Likelihood = 4). b. This crisis would cause some damage, but would not be a major media issue (Impact = 2). c. Greenpeace protests often so this would not be an extraordinary case.

6. U.S. ranchers protest McDonalds unprecedented use of Australian beef by an all-American company. a. This crisis is nearly impossible (Likelihood = 1). b. This crisis would cause considerable damage, but would not be a major media issue (Impact = 3).

c. This crisis in highly unlikely. Even if it did happen, many companies are outsourcing production and/or where they get materials (or food) from.

Purpose and Objectives Purpose This crisis plan contains a protocol for what to do, who to contact and what to say if McDonalds experiences a crisis of E. coli contamination and/or food safety crisis. Objectives Establish McDonalds as the authoritative source of accurate, conrmed information and demonstrate we have taken decisive action to address the issue. We must protect our consumers, customers, neighbors and employees. We must correct the situation by taking decisive action. We must connect with our key audiences to inform them of what we are doing to correct the situation.

List of Key Publics Enabling publics- top management, board of directors, shareholders, investors Functional publics- employees, consumers, customers, suppliers Normative publics- key partners and relationships, trade associations, professional associations Diffused publics- media, bloggers, community groups, neighbors to facilities/restaurants USDA, FDA, Chicago Department of Public Health

Crisis Communications Team Roles Crisis Core Team Lead- Lauren o Spokesperson o Oversees quality and food safety, legal, consumer response and corporate communications. Corporate Communications Team Lead- Nohely o Messages overall crisis communication efforts, activates crisis response plan, convenes the team and assigns roles, communicates with crisis core team and McDonalds executive team. Materials Developer- Michelle o Responsible for approvals, material development and attaining approved key messages. Graphics/AV- Michelle o Responsible for all audio-visual support during crisis including webcast, b-roll and supporting graphics. Media Contact- Daniela o Responsible for all contact with media and internet; determines when to put in spokesperson for media interviews. Focus on Tomorrow- Daniela o Anticipates Day 2 stories and develops proactive reputation recovery plan. Monitoring- Bobby o Monitors and delivers real-time news, creates twice-daily coverage reports, and evaluates coverage against key messages. Internal Communications- Bobby
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o Develops employee materials and supervisor talk points.

Key Messages

Despite our comprehensive food quality and safety measures, one of our restaurants has been linked to an E. coli outbreak which has affected a number our customers.
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We extend our sincere and heartfelt apologies to all our customers, especially those who have been affected.

Food quality and safety are top priorities for us and we are disappointed that we have fallen short of our efforts to ensure stringent standards.

We are aware of the situation and the safety of our customers is of our utmost concern.
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We regret this situation occurred and are doing all we can to reduce any harm caused.

We have closed the restaurant and are working with government health officials to conduct a complete investigation and total sanitization of the restaurant.

We take such matters very seriously and will work with appropriate industry parties to address the situation. McDonalds is taking all necessary corrective actions to reduce impact.
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We are continuously working with the USDA, FDA, Chicago Department of Public Health, and suppliers to conduct a full investigation on the matter.

One location was affected, but ingredients from all of our suppliers are being tested to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
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McDonalds has always strived for best quality, service, and cleanliness.
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Our quality and safety requirements meet or exceed USDA standards, and are among the strictest in the restaurant industry.

We have set up a website that will answer any questions about the situation and contact information for McDonalds, industry parties, and our suppliers.

Q&A 1. What happened? One McDonald's location was affected by an E. coli outbreak. This location, along with four others are currently closed.

2. Where did this occur? The affected location is in Chicago, Illinois. This situation is contained to the area.

3. Was anybody harmed? There are no reports of harmed individuals. We are currently working with government specialist to further investigate the situation. 4. Is there any immediate danger? There is no immediate danger. The situation is under control. McDonald's has closed the restaurant in Chicago to ensure the safety of our customers. 5. How much damage do you expect?

We expect minimum harm. We are tirelessly working with the USDA, FDA and Chicago Departments of Public health to ensure that there is no harm or damage to any of our customers or employees.

6. How certain are you about the damage prediction? We have emergency contacts in place and are working with every industry party. We have no known information about any harmed individual. 7. What is being done in response to the E. coli outbreak? We take this matter very seriously. As precaution we have closed four stores in Chicago. Ingredients from all of our suppliers are being tested. We are working with USDA, FDA, Chicago Department of Public Health and suppliers to investigate the matter. 8. What kind of response or help have you received? Our suppliers have cooperated with us in every step of this situation. Government and industry parties are also working with us guiding us through this. 9. How certain are you that this situation is under control? The health department investigation has proven this incident is isolated to one restaurant. We are closely working with all of our suppliers and monitoring every product. 10. What are you advising people to do? Any concerned individual may immediately contact McDonald's at 1-800-4444 or www.mcdonalds.com/question.

In addition we have set up a website that will answer and give updates about the situation www.mcdonalds.com/help.

12. How long before the situation is back to normal? We have the situation under control based on progress with the health department. The affected restaurant is currently closed and all food is being tested. All other restaurant will continue to take extra cautious measures.

13. What should we expect next from McDonald's? Our quality and safety is a top priority. We will continue to work and exceed USDA standards. We have communication systems in place and every McDonald's restaurant is closely working with its supplier. McDonald's will work with industry parties to ensure the best quality products. 14. What are you doing at the restaurant level to ensure this never happens again? We are communicating with our employees. We have constant communication ow of new information and policies. Each employee is up to date on information about this situation.

Key Media List National

CNN ABC CBS

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FOX NBC Wall Street Journal New York Times Washington Post USA Today

Local (Affiliates of above not mentioned)

WGN The Daily Herald Chicago Tribune Chicago Sun-Times

Social Media

Facebook Twitter Youtube www.McDonalds.com www.USFoodsafety.com

Spokespeople from Related Organizations

US Food & Drug Administration USDA Chicago Department of Health Centers for Disease Control Federal Trade Commission
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EHA Consulting (third party food safety auditors) ASI Food Safety (third party food safety auditors)

Pre-gathered Information Food safety procedures Federal authorities that handle the investigation, including the FDA and USDA Testing of all food locations A list of contacts of all distributors to help narrow down the cause of the bacteria

Prodromes/Crisis Warning Signs There are many examples of E Coli outbreaks within the food industry that span across the country and across the world. Within the country there have been many outbreaks linked to bad meat, cheese, and lettuce. Crisis warnings signs we can evaluate and turn into lessons include:

Being aware of the starting point: In many cases, people got sick at multiple locations because the suppliers of the restaurant ingredients were located all over the country, and in some cases, the world. It made the investigation difficult and caused more panic than necessary.

Getting control early: Chicago recently had a bacterial scare when men were accused of selling bad cheese to retailers and getting many customers sick with Salmonella and E Coli. This caused a lot of panic because it was unclear where the cheese was distributed and how serious the infection would be. In Chicago, many people were scared because they didnt have the proper information. It hurt customers trust in many
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retailers because they did not communicate immediately and effectively (Korecki).

Take action immediately when customers show symptoms: There is a lot of information available to retailers to see if the symptoms and timing of eating the food can cause alarm. Using the available resources to act quickly and make sure the smallest amount of people get contaminated is crucial.

Incident Information Sheet How many restaurants has the contamination occurred at? Are all the cooking materials properly cleaned and handled on a daily basis? Are all the ovens/stoves/machines properly working? Are there any new employees that might have cooked or created the meal incorrectly to cause this to happen? How many people are infected? How bad are the symptoms? How often has this happened in the past and how have other companies dealt with it? o How did the media cover it?

Evaluation Form Traditional and social media relations Media coverage o Were key messages included? o Was information factual?
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o Spokesperson quotes? o Referred third parties? Community relations o How has the crisis affected the organizations relationship with the community? o Is action needed to improve the relationship with the community? Crisis management team o Evaluate the team members performances. Do they need to be reassigned? o Does the crisis plan need to be updated? Does there need to be more frequent training/drills?

Second Priority Crisis Crisis Toys given away in girls and boys McDonalds kids meals contain lead and are making children sick. Key Messages

Despite our comprehensive monitoring of our supplier, a batch of (specic type of toys) distributed in boys and girls kids meals contain small amounts of lead.
o

We extend our sincere and heartfelt apologies to all our customers, especially those who have been affected.

Product quality and safety are top priorities for us and we are disappointed that we have fallen short of our efforts to ensure stringent standards.
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We are aware of the situation and the safety of our customers is of our utmost concern.
o

We regret this situation occurred and are doing all we can to reduce any harm caused.

We have set up a customer hotline to answer any and all questions and concerns.

We take such matters very seriously and will work with appropriate industry parties to address the situation. McDonalds is taking all necessary corrective actions to reduce impact.
o

We are continuously working with government agencies and suppliers to conduct a full investigation on the matter.

McDonalds has always strived for best quality, service, and cleanliness.
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We are reviewing our monitoring procedures and the incident to nd what happened so we can make sure this does not happen again.

We are disappointed that we have let our customers down and will do whatever we can to make things right.

Media Questions Which kids meals toys contain lead? How many toys contain lead and where were they distributed? How many children have gotten sick? When were you rst made aware of the situation? How could these toys have slipped through the inspection process? o How does McDonalds monitor its suppliers? How much lead was found in the toys? Is it enough to be lethal? What are you doing to address the situation?
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Incident Information Sheet How many toys have been distributed that may contain lead? How many children have gotten sick? How did this happen? How did our monitoring procedures fail us? How did other companies handle the same or a similar situation? o How did the media cover it?

Third Priority Crisis Crisis "America's #1 Cholesterol Fighter" Phil Sokolof takes out a full-page ad in a national newspaper charging McDonalds with the poisoning of America. Key Messages McDonalds offers a large variety of menu choices for every customer. o McDonalds strives to provide its customers with quality foods of all types ranging from hamburgers to fresh vegetables and fruits. McDonalds provides the nutritional information for each of its menu items to help customers make informed decisions on what to eat. McDonalds has made several changes over the past decade to both its recipes and its menu to help customers make better dietary choices. Media Questions

Is McDonalds food healthy? Is McDonalds poisoning America? How much cholesterol is actually in McDonalds food? What is McDonalds doing to offer healthier foods?

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What is McDonalds response to Mr. Sokolofs newspaper ad?

Incident Information Sheet What are the nutritional facts for every item on the menu? How often are our less healthy products bought? How often are our healthier products bought? How healthy is our competitors food? What can we do to make our food healthier? What are the health benets/risks that come from eating McDonald's as part of a balanced diet?

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Sources Eng, M. (2011, July 4). Food safety: Government could cut screenings for deadly E. coli in produce - Chicago Tribune. Featured Articles From The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 20, 2012, from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/ 2011-07-04/news/ct-met-pathogen-program-20110704_1_pathogens-colifda

Korecki, N. (2012, April 19). Four indicted in Chicago for washing, reselling moldy cheese - Chicago Sun-Times. News articles and headlines from the Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved May 20, 2012, from http://www.suntimes.com/ news/crime/12005658-418/story.html

McDonalds The Leading Global Food Service Retailer :: AboutMcDonalds.com. (n.d.). McDonalds Official Global Corporate Website :: AboutMcDonalds.com. Retrieved May 20, 2012, from http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/ our_company.html

Pathologist: Source Of E. Coli Outbreak Will Be Hard To Find. (2011, June 7). CBS Chicago. Retrieved May 20, 2012, from chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/06/07/ pathologist-source-of-e-coli-outbreak-will-be-hard-to-nd/

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