Key Idea: Topic 5.7 is HL-only and focuses on crisis management and contingency planning. Students are expected to judge how well a business prepares for crises and how effective its response is likely to be for operations, reputation and stakeholder trust.
✅ Effective response: **Good crisis response —** act quickly. **Communicate clearly and honestly**. **Protect people first**. **Take responsibility where appropriate**.
⚠️ Ineffective response: **Weak response —** delay. **Hide information**. **Ignore stakeholder concerns**. **Fail to learn and update systems**.
HL exam tip: Do not just describe the crisis. Explain how preparation or poor preparation affects operations, trust, cost and long-term reputation.
A strong HL evaluation weighs the benefit of preparedness against the cost and practicality of maintaining contingency plans for events that may never happen.
Example: A strong answer: Contingency planning may reduce disruption because the business can react quickly with backup suppliers, clear communication and defined responsibilities. However, preparing detailed plans for many different crises is costly and some events will still be impossible to predict fully.
Important: Common triggers: define crisis management, identify crisis types, explain contingency planning, analyse how a business should respond, or evaluate whether contingency planning is worth the cost.
- Identify the crisis or planning issue
- Use the correct term
- Explain the response or preventive measure
- Apply it to the business and stakeholders
- Show the likely effect on operations and reputation
- For HL, weigh benefits against limitations or costs