Managing Organizational Crises in the Light of Political Unrest : The "Gulf Agency Company" Egypt Case

Sammanfattning: Background: The field of crisis management has been researched extensively in the last two decades, with a focus on man-made organizational crises in large corporations (Mitroff et al., 2001; Pearson et al., 1993; Weick, 1988). Crises, as phenomena, are very complex events with a low probability of occurrence (Pearson et al., 1998), which subsume multiple layers in their construction causes and manifestation. In the recent years, the number of crises has increased dramatically, with either natural, technological or human causes and each of us can name at least a few dozen examples. Crises are no longer an aberrant, rare, random, or peripheral feature of today’s society. They are built into the very fabric and fiber of modern societies" (Mitroff et al., 2001, p.5). Aim: The purpose of the present research paper is to enhance the understanding of the importance of crisis management for organizations, where the crisis can be triggered by a political unrest situation. Our empirical study will address the issues of how the Gulf Agency Company Egypt team identified, responded and learned from the organizational crisis they were faced with, due to protests against the formal regime of Hosni Mubarak, in the beginning of 2011. Methodology: The goal of our research paper is firstly using existing theory and previous knowledge which will serve as the bricks of our academic construction. Further on, the GAC Egypt case study will be the principal empirical tool that will support and prove or contrast the theoretical roots. In this way, we plan to make use of already existing theory, while in return bringing our own contribution by our results and empirical findings. Completion and results: Our results entail that there are numerous gaps between what the literature on crisis management presents and the organizational procedures in GAC Egypt. In this respect, our findings lead us to notice the absence of an official crisis management plan, minimal perception of credible early signals, weak top management support correlated with a high degree of employee empowerment, as well as the learning outcomes for the organization.