Chilean Mine Collapse Jessica Kuykendall BCOM/275 January 23,2012 Dr. Lodessa Washington Chilean Mine Collapse When disaster strikes it’s up to the people directly and indirectly involved to step up and clean up the mess. On August 5, 2010, a gold mine near the northern city of Copiapo, Chile caved in, trapping thirty-three miners about 2,300 feet below the surface. For seventeen days, there was no word on their fate. As the days passed, Chileans grew increasingly skeptical that any of the miners had survived.

There's a specialist from your university waiting to help you with that essay.
Tell us what you need to have done now!


order now

Throughout this paper we will take an in-depth look at the different roles of those in the audience of the Chilean Mine Collapse, the potential needs of the employees receiving the devastating news, and the actions necessary for management to take before and after intendance audiences receive this information. In an emergency response situation there are many needs that need to be accounted for. At the top of the needs list is communication. According to Moore & Parker (2009) communication involves the shared understanding of feelings, thought, wants, needs, and intentions of the message.

The most important part of communication is knowing who your audience is. In the Chilean Mine collapse the audience includes the affected employees, the friends and families of those affected, the employees, the management and stockholders of the company, the community, and never forget the media. When strategy strikes the first group that plays an immediate role are the friends and families of the affected employees. The friends and families are the ones that take the brunt of the turmoil.

It’s the families that have to hope and pray that their loved ones are going to survive, and come out of this alive and well while all along finding a way to continue on living. While struggling to keep up with the demands from the employees involved and the friends and families the company must also be involved with the employees not directly involved. The employees who are not trapped in the mine are mentally affected just who are buried alive. Thoughts of it could have been me, or it almost was me, or why am I not with them swarm through their minds.

And while we don’t like to think about all of the employees we need to remember that employees range from miners to management. We don’t like to think about how the management and or stakeholders feel in this situation we know that they are involved. With all of the employees, standing their side by side is one group that most overlook. Many times when tragedy strikes people forget about the community and how they are affected. While the media puts the emotional disaster all over the news it’s the community that’s left to stand alone and pick up the pieces.

While taking care of the needs to the employees in the mine management must also consider the other employees. The needs of the company’s employees include is the mine going to shut down permanently? Will they lose their jobs? Is the company at fault for this accident and do they want to continue working for the mine? The company’s employees are already thinking about their co-workers, and the constant thought remains of will they survive? One of the top resources that any company can use in an emergency response situation is the company’s Employee Assistance Program.

The EAP Program will help the miners on the outside during and after their co-workers rescue through anticipating current and unexpected needs. Before issuing any message there are actions that the company need to take to ensure that the message is received as intended. Management must decide what their intentions are. What do you want to accomplish with this message? What is the best method of releasing this information? I believe that the best method of communication to the employees and families is face-to-face meetings. People need to see the faces of those in management to see whether or not they are sincere.

I believe with the use of technology the mining company will be able to allow for communication between the trapped miners and the families. Management will be able to feed down tiny cameras for audio and visual communication to boost spirits, keep those involved calm and reassured. Those employees that are directly involved in the crisis are the reason that all groups of people come together and work towards a common goal, to save lives. We never forget the lessons we have learn, the feelings we live through, those who have survived, and those who have not.

Throughout this paper we took an in-depth look at the different roles of those in the audience of the Chilean Mine Collapse, the potential needs of the employees receiving the devastating news, and the actions necessary for management to take before and after intendance audiences receive this information. As the days move on it’s up to us to figure out how to progress into the future. Internal News Release to the Employees of the Chilean Mine Attention: Employees On August 5, 2010 thirty-three of our employees working in our San Jose Mine copper operation were trapped in a mine explosion.

We have deployed resources who are working diligently to rescue our employees. Details relating to this mine collapse are limited and will be released as we find out more detail. A press conference is being set up to address the media and preparations have been made to contact the immediate families. A special toll free number is being release for all those directly involved and needing assistance. Presently, there are counselors from our Employee Assistance Program are standing by and available for all in need.

We ask that all employees keep in mind that this is a delicate situation that not only affects us but also affects the community and the immediate family members of those involved in the explosion. Please direct any further concerns to human resources. Thank you, Chilean Mine Human Resources Internal Memo to the Families Attention: Families of the Employees of the Chilean Mine On August 5, 2010 there was an incident and there was an explosion at our San Jose mine. We regret to inform you that your husband was trapped in the explosion. Presently, the men have oxygen, food and water and we have minor communication with them.

We are working on setting up audio and visual technology so that you can communicate with your loved ones. If there is anything that we can assist you with please let us know. Presently, there are counselors from our Employee Assistance Program are standing by and available for all in need. We ask that all employees keep in mind that this is a delicate situation. We will continue to keep you informed as facts and information arrives. Thank you for your patience, Human Resources Reference Moore, B. N. , & Parker, R. (2009). Critical thinking (9th ed. ). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *