Crises Communication

Crises Communication: Can businesses make a comeback?

According to the book, the definition of a crises for an organization is "...a major catastrophe that may occur either naturally or as a result of human error, intervention, or even malicious intent. It can include tangible devastation ,such as the loss of an organization's credibility or other reputational damange. The latter outcomes may be the result of mangament's response to tangible devastation or the results of human error. A crises usually affects multiple constituents in more than one market."

Crises Characteristics

The elemnent of surprise- Businesses can be hit hard with a crisis whether it is natural disaster or a business mistake, it is the companys number one priority to repair the issue. ie. Philip Morris found carcinogens in its filters.

Insufficient information- the company doesn't exactly know all the facts in the situation but has to recover fast and explain the issue to the public.

Quick pace of events- it is important to keep up with the issues surrounding the company.

Intense scrutiny- executives are often unprepared for the media's scrutiny. The media can play a big part of how much loss the business will take.

History of Business Crises

Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol Recall- Tylenol vs. Toyota

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFMLrCNX4HY

Perrier Benzene Scare

Perrier faced a contamination crises when a techinician in the Mecklenberg County Envrionmental Protection Department, discovered a minute amount of benzene in the water. The recall included over 70 million bottles from North America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2rPXvtT9rc

Pepsi- Cola Syringe Crises

Pepsi faced a highly publiczed contamination crises when a man in washington State reported that his can of diet Pepsi has a syringe in the can.

How to bounce back? http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3289/is_n3_v163/ai_15312359/

Plan for Crises- Experience

Right now we are all experiencing the Toyota Crisis. What can Toyota do to help them deal with the crisis of their vehicles?

-The person in charge of corporate communication should call for a brainstorm session that inclused the most senior mangers in the organization. During this session, the participants should work together to develop ideas about potential crises. They should be encouraged to be creative with new ideas. Once ideas are put into order the faciliatator should help the group to determine which of the ideas developed have the most potential to actually occur.

Hacking

On Thurday April 15th, we discussed in class the importance of keeping your computer and files updated and protected. There are many hackers out there that want to steal your information. Below is a link to a video on how to protect your computer from Malware.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcAHSgw7jNQ

Government Relations

Government regulations began with railroad companies. Industry grew from people traveling and from shipping goods over distances. Blls were passed that affected business in many ways. Businesses resist new regulations and most times it causes problems. It may also be impacting american business and our association with foreign markets. It is mprotant that government does have some level of regulation with business in America.

There are reasons for governments to regulate economies. Medicine is a great example of the importance of regulations. Also food regulations are necessary in order for consumers to be safe.

Government sometimes fails. Sometimes the people in government may act in response to their own interest or work with their associates instead of focusing on the interests of the country as a whole. Follow this link for a blog about government regulations gone bad:

http://sybilstar.blogspot.com/2008/02/example-of-government-regulation-gone.html

There are so many things that have had an impact on how companies handle government affairs. For example, companies rely on the Internet and because of the Internet, a crisis can reach many people before the company has a chance to prepare for it. It is very important for a company to manage their relationships with lawmakers and the government. Everything needs to be linked in order to be successful as a company.

Investor Relations

Investor relations are very important for any and every company. To ensure that constituents are secure with their investment, a company has to maintain a strong and healthy relationship with them. Before someone invests in any firm, they want to know what their return will be on the investment. A firm has to communicate its strategies for reaching its goals with all its investors. Providing the proper information to them is just one aspect. Performance and company image are very important also, being a socially responsible corporation would attract more investors. When a company performs at top level,investors recognize it and are intrigued by it. They want to know that investing in your firm would be the best option for them if they want to make money. Making the price of your stocks reasonable also attracts investors. This allows them to purchase more shares, and again attracts more people.

There are numerous companies who make it top priority to build strong,lasting relationships with their investors. I visited the Apple webpage, where they had a page specifically for their investors. They have all of their stock prices along with recent news from within the company that investors would find interesting. This is Apple's way of acquiring investors and keeping them. They are making a conscious effort toward keeping strong relationships with investors. It's a strategic way to their company and seems to be working out well for them.
here is a link to the Apple website I am referring to.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=107357&p=irol-index

Media Relations

Media Relations

"We can't quite decide if the world is growing worse, or if the reporters are just working harder." -The Houghton Line

The media are both a constituency and a conduit through which investors, employees, and consumers recieve information about and form images of a company. With the technology that we have today, companies are under constant examination from many of their constituencies. It is important for companies to have a good relationship with the media. One way to establish this relationship would be to have an experienced media relations department. Some companies cannot afford a department focusing on media relations, if that's the case there are always consultants that focus solely on media relations. As technology develops new channels for relaying information throughout our future, media relations will continue to grow. In today's news, you hardly ever see a story about something positive. It seems like the worse the news is about a company or person the more likely it is going to become a major story, whether the information is true or false.

Examples in today's society:

This example explains how media can help or hurt a company. A company can use the media for its own promotion and advertising. Wall street journal is contemplating on doing a story on Apples "all you can eat" itunes television. This television plan will consist of WSJ, CBS, and Disney adding an entire lineup of shows for just one single fee. This fee will be paid once and you are able to view any shows you want on these networks, at any time. This story will obviously help Apple tremendously and hurt local cable companies. You can read more on this here- www.theappleblog.com

Experience:

I don't have a personal experience here but I have another example where I personally saw an advertisement for a business that hurt another business. For example, I don't know if anyone is familiar with the Nuva Ring advertisements for birth control but I was watching television the other day and witnessed a law firm advertisement focusing on the side effects on Nuva Ring. The advertisement asked for people having blood clot, stoke, or heart attack from taking Nuva Ring to contact their lawfirm immediately. This is obviously an example of how an advertisement for a company can effect another company. Do you have any experiences where you saw the media help and hurt companies? An example of this advertisement is found here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9mYEoDbSqI

Chapter 5 - Corporate Responsbility

It is important that corporations take ownership in the social implications of its business. They need to be accountable for issues beyond the business aspect and make efforts to improve society and quality of life for all customers and employees, etc. It needs to include environmental, social, and economical issues. Without this focus today, companies are in danger of facing problems.

Corporate responsibility will have an impact on customers buying products or using services. It is even more important when economic conditions are bad. Corporate responsibility can set organizations apart from the pack.

Coca-Cola for instance, works with the local community to support projects that help the community. They make a lot of donations mainly to local community issues but also to other organizations in relation to the environment, healthcare and disaster relief. Another company example would be Burger King. Burger King places a lot of emphasis on the environment. They are continually working to find ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. The kids meal bags are made out of recycled materieals and are printed with educational information about recycling.

It is very important that all companies work hard to show proof of their efforts. Consumers are not going to just believe the company is "going green" just because they advertise that fact. They need to report what they are doing and show evidence of how they are backing up their plan. In todays world of skepticism, "seeing is believing " and no one wants empty promises.

CHAPTER 4: Identity, Image, Reputation, and Corporate Advertising

IMAGE AND REPUTATION

Outside the business world, we relate image with social status, respect, prestige, character, and values. We closely link identity with aspects such as community, culture, ethnicity, and nationality.
In business, we notice that various products are targeted to appeal to those who seek prestige. Driving flashy cars, expensive jewelry and other aspects of one’s lifestyle can give an impression of wealth and prestige. Products such as these meet the consumer's expectations for high quality and status.
In the cell phone industry, Verizon and AT&T constantly battle to be the best. In their humorous commercials they'll both claim to offer the best service, widest coverage, fewest dropped calls and so much more. AT&T will mock some aspects of Verizon's service, and Verizon will gladly return the favor; it's very entertaining. Their numerous ads would make any potential consumer feel that buying cell phone service is a choice between one or the other. No doubt, they’ve succeeded in building a strong presence.

As a business, the image or reputation you’d like to build depends on your market segment. Cell phone companies such as T-Mobile and Cricket appeal to their customers with competitive prices. T-Mobile's unlimitted plans are almost 40% cheaper than Verizon's and AT&T's, but their coverage is poor. Cricket provides great convinience - they don't run credit checks or make consumers sign contracts, but their service is regional. In the auto industry, especially now, customers are looking for inexpensive and fuel efficient cars. In retail, Wal-Mart succeeds by striving to offer the lowest prices.

From a quality standpoint, a company has to make sure it's products are consistent with the image it projects. Often times, products or services don't match the consumer's expectations. I’m sure you can relate with an experience where you were either impressed or dissapointed by a product or service.

Communicating Strategically and Effectively (Chapter 2)

Communication is one of the most important things in business. However, it seems like there are always problems with communication in the workplace, even though we now have more communication channels than before. Why do you think that is? I believe that many communication problems start because people do not consider the type of person they are talking too. Many people don't consider how the person feels or how they will interpret the message being relayed. Sometimes if you know what type of personality a person has it is easier to communicate with them.
In order to give you a better understanding of what I am talking about, I would like to introduce you to the Merrill-Reid personality types. According to the Merrill-Reid personality types, a person can be analytical, amiable, a driver, or expressive. An analytical person is someone who is task oriented and pays close attention to the facts and details. An amiable person is people oriented and sincere, and their main focus is to cooperate with others in order to get the job done. A driver is someone who is task oriented and focuses on power and control to get the job done. An expressive person is people oriented and likes to persuade others, and their main focus is on popularity and recognition. The following link will give you a better understanding of the four personality types:
http://www.bigideasnetwork.com/four_quad_personality_profile.htm
Since, you now have a better understanding of the four different personality types, consider this. I work in the Accounting department at 1ST SUMMIT BANK, and I am an analytical person because my main focus is on the details. I do my best to ensure the overall safety of the Bank. However, there are numerous people in the bank who are expressive, and worry more about providing excellent customer service instead of worrying about the Bank's safety. There are many times when our personalities clash and it makes it hard to communicate. In order to get them to understand my side of things, I assure them that I know we need to make the customer happy, that way they know I understand their side of things. However, I also remind them of the things they may have overlooked. It is easier to communicate with people with different personalities if you know how to handle them. If you know what type of personality a person has you can prepare yourself even more. In order to communicate effectively you have to be willing to see things from the other person's point of view not just your own. If you can not see things from a different perspective, there is a good chance that it will be very hard for you to communicate effectively with others.