The organizations that survive are not necessarily the wealthiest or most powerful. They are the ones that understand the grammar of accusation and apology. They know when to fight (denial, provocation) and when to yield (mortification). They know that a crisis is not a problem to be solved but a narrative to be navigated.
Johnson & Johnson, led by CEO James Burke, enacted a strategy Hearit would categorize as mortification combined with corrective action . They immediately recalled 31 million bottles ($100 million cost), halted advertising, introduced tamper-resistant packaging, and communicated transparently through the media. The organizations that survive are not necessarily the
Initially, United CEO Oscar Munoz engaged in provocation and victim-blaming —calling Dao “disruptive and belligerent” and defending the airline’s “established procedures.” When public fury exploded, Munoz issued a second statement that Hearit would call a hollow apology : “I apologize for having to ‘re-accommodate’ these customers.” The euphemism “re-accommodate” became a meme of corporate tone-deafness. They know that a crisis is not a
Munoz violated two key Hearit principles. First, he failed to separate the technical violation (did the crew follow rules?) from the moral violation (was the treatment acceptable?). Second, his initial apologia used provocation (blaming Dao), which is only effective when the other party is universally condemned. In this case, the public sided with Dao. Initially, United CEO Oscar Munoz engaged in provocation
| Topic | Files | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Processes Management & Synchronization | - |
| 2 | Memory Management | - |
| 3 | File Systems & Input/Output (I/O) | - |