Carnival Cruise Lines: Wreck of the Costa Concordia

Authors
Foster, J., Sorrentino, M.J., Florance, C., and O'Rourke, J. S. (Editor)
Region
North America
Topic
Strategy & General Management
Length
14 pages
Keywords
crisis
management
crisis management
Public Relations
public relations disaster
Copyright Holder
Notre Dame
Student Price
$4.00
Target Audience
Graduate Students
Undergraduate Students

On Friday, January 13, 2012, around 9:40 p.m. local time, the Costa Concordia, a luxury cruise ship carrying 4,200 passengers, punctured its hull off the coast of Italy. What followed the collision was a chaotic evacuation, irresponsible actions from the ship’s captain, and a lack of communication from the parent company, Carnival, all leading to a public relations disaster.

Learning Outcomes
  1. To emphasize the effect that a corporate and subsidiary structure can have on the company’s ability to communicate during a crisis.
  2. To stimulate discussion of the direct and indirect costs of a crisis as well as the indirect costs of the crisis itself and the company’s management of the crisis.
  3. To encourage consideration of the effects of one company’s problems on the industry as a whole.