Crisis

From ArticleWorld

Crisis may be basically defined as a crucial stage or turning point in the course of something. It is similar to a turning point or decisive moment in events. Typically, it is a specific moment from which an illness may go to either death or recovery. More loosely, it is a term that means 'a testing time' or 'emergency event'. It is a concept in international relations. In terms of international politics and affairs it may be said that a crisis consists of a situation of real or alleged threat may be found to escalate into a major confrontational situation. In this context, a crisis can be loosely defined as “a situation where there is a perception of threat, heightened anxiety, expectation of possible violence and the belief that any actions will have far-reaching consequences”. The problem associated with a crisis is that generally the threat that is perceived by the general populace might not be an actual one. But it might be one that is a product of misconstrued thinking. Crisis may also take the form of Information security whereby there might exist in the field of Information Security. It can be said that crisis is the present tense of a disaster. An uncontrolled disaster or a combination of mismanaged disasters could lead to a crisis. The magnitude of crisis could be bigger than a disaster in terms of loss expectancy. A crisis usually happens because of accumulated unresolved issues. It is always the goal of security to contain the disaster and thus avoid the disaster by rightfully identifying the disaster and never giving it the chance to develop into a full-fledged crisis. When a disaster becomes a crisis it usually goes out of control in some form or proportion. Every Crisis is a disaster but not all disasters may become a crisis, because it could be controlled way before it becomes crisis. An important factor that differentiates between crisis and disaster is time. Crisis usually has a longer lifespan as compared to Disaster because the birth of Crisis arises from one or more uncontrolled Disasters. One certain factor might start a disaster whereas a crisis usually needs more than one mismanaged factor. Hence, the term Crisis Management. Usually it is seen that people are not able to clearly distinguish between Disaster and Crisis and when one ends and other starts.