A Trade Association's Role In Crisis Management

Trade associations are structured for studied consensus development with advocacy of their approved policy. They are not designed for crisis action. Crisis management, the antithesis of consensus management, is virtually un known in the trade association field. Yet, when confronted with a major crisis, a trade association has only two options—do nothing or do some thing. The Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA) opted for the latter when the magnitude of the Bhopal accident became evident. This paper out lines the steps that CMA took to: 1) get the story out regarding Bhopal; and 2) help the chemical industry respond to the post-disaster environment, which was marked by a high level of public scrutiny and suspicion.