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Effective Communication a Case Study

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Effective Communication a Case Study
Running head: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION A CASE STUDY

Effective communication a case study
David Vigh
University of Phoenix
Public Relations
MKT438
Douglas Bottomley
Jun 20, 2006 Abstract
This paper evaluated the communication efforts used to communicate the tragedy on December 2 1984 in Bhopal India when a UCC plant there leaked Liquefied Methyl Isocyanides which led to the death of between 1,700 and 4,000 people. The discussion will cover the history of the accident and discuss ways the UCC handled the communicating of information to publics and briefly discuss way that may have improved this process

Effective communication a case study
Crisis Management
Even when the best preparations have been made many companies still must deal with crisis. How each company deals with these says much about the company and the leadership. In the case being discussed today many good decisions made by management failed because of reasons that could have been foreseen.
Background
In December of 1984 Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which produced Liquefied Methyl Isocyanides (MIC) had a leak in their plant in Bhopal India. According to some figures as many as 4,000 people died that night as a result of this accident. The company after years of producing MIC was pressured by the Indian government to sell off a large part of their ownership, to that same government, as a means of the government to provide much needed jobs for their citizens. The plant was run by managers and workers from India and information concerning the plant was reported to the corporate headquarters in the US. (Jackson & Center, 2003) There were many aspects of the crisis management plan which failed however the communication aspect deserves the most scrutiny.

Communication of the Accident
The beginning of the failing began with the reporting of the incident through the levels of management. The CEO Warren Anderson was informed by a reporter who called his home at 0430
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