Experts in crisis communication say the way David Collins and his executive staff at Johnson & Johnson handled the Tylenol poisoning episode in the 1980s is the standard by which all subsequent events are to be judged. Collins, who is currently teaching this spring in the Graduate School of Management at UC Davis, says this indelible stamp that has been placed on Johnson & Johnson by the media and politicians is misleading. No corporation calamity is similar and therefore no universal solution can be mandated, noted Collins, who was a part of the senior management team at Johnson & Johnson in 1982-1988. "The challenge to American business leaders today is to understand the needs of the news media but not react too quickly without having accurate and complete information," says Collins. "What led to Johnson & Johnson's successful response to the Tylenol problem was the intimate involvement of top executives." Collins is teaching future management leaders that making right decisions is only possible if you possess good information. In crisis situations, corporate heads should listen to their shareholders, their own experts as well as independent specialists on how to proceed, he says. Called "Management Strategy," the course examines the challenging relationships among corporations, competitors and governments.