Summer Project Report

On
Dimensions of Issue Management

By

Raisha Bharti
A2028813069
MJMC-2 Class of 2013-15

Under the Supervision of

Sandhya .G . Krishnan

AMITY SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

AMITY UNIVERSITY UTTAR PRADESH
SECTOR 125, NOIDA - 201303,
UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

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AMITY UNIVERSITY UTTAR PRADESH

AMITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

DECLARATION

I, Raisha Bharti student of Bachelor Of Business Administration from Amity School of

Business, Amity University Uttar Pradesh hereby declare that I have completed Summer
Internship on Dimensions of issue Management as part of the course requirement.

I further declare that the information presented in this project is true and original to the best of my
knowledge.

Date: 20/07/14

Raisha Bharti
Enroll. No: A2028813069

Place: Noida

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MJMC Class of 2013-15

Abstract:

A issue is any situation that threatens the integrity or reputation Of a company.

A public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, With the aim of
earning understanding, support and influencing opinion and behavior. There
have been several examples of public relations crises that were handled. At the
same time, there are even more instances where Companies have failed to
properly manage issue situations. What can, and must be managed is the
response. Each issue situation is unique and, therefore, requires a tailored
response .This article presents some examples from each category. As a result,
some steps that should be executed in order to properly manage a issue ,
including the necessity to create a issue plan before a issue actually occurs.
Finally will be presented ways to survive a public relations issue .

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Table of Content
Topic

Page no.

Introduction

Issue Management

Challenges of Issue Management

14

Planning For Issue Management

17

Examples Of public Relation Issue

19

Conclusion

25

References

29

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INTRODUCTION

Issue management is the process by which an organization deals with a major

event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general
public. The study of issue management originated with the large-scale
industrial and environmental disasters in the 1980s.
Three elements are common to a issue : (a) a threat to the organization, (b) the
element of surprise, and (c) a short decision time. Venette argues that "issue is a
process of transformation where the old system can no longer be maintained."
Therefore the fourth defining quality is the need for change. If change is not
needed, the event could more accurately be described as a failure or incident.
In contrast to risk management, which involves assessing potential threats and
finding the best ways to avoid those threats, issue management involves
dealing with threats before, during, and after they have occurred. It is a
discipline within the broader context of management consisting of skills and
techniques required to identify, assess, understand, and cope with a serious
situation, especially from the moment it first occurs to the point that recovery
procedures start.

Hundreds have written definitions attempting to capture the essence of public

relations by listing the major operations that make up the practice what public
relations does. As one observed, definitions serve at least two purposes: to help
us understand the world around us and to argue for a particular worldview of
how one concept relates to other concepts. (Gordon C. Joye, 1997) A long time
public relations scholar and professional leader, the late Rex F. Farlow, collected
almost 500 definitions. He then identified major common elements in an
attempt to define public relations. His definition includes both conceptual and
operational elements. (Farlow F. Rex, 1976)The first World Assembly of Public
Relations Associations, held in Mexico City in August 1978, defined the
practice of public relations as the art and social science of analyzing trends,
predicting their consequences, counseling organizational leaders, and
implementing planned programs of action, which will serve both the
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organization and the public interest (Wikipedia). Public relations (or PR) are a
field concerned with maintaining public image for high-profile people,
organizations, or programs. Public relations practitioners help others establish
and maintain effective relationships with third parties. Their work is usually
performed in organizational environments like a public relations firm or an
agency, or as independent consultants or on the communication staffs of
corporations, not-for-profit organizations, or government agencies. To establish
a broad, realistic, and accurate description of the public relations function we
offer the following definition (Latimore Dan, Baskin Otis, Heiman T. 2Suzette,
Toth L. Elizabeth, Van Leuven K. James, 2004): Public relations is a leadership
and management function that helps achieve organizational objectives, define
philosophy, and facilitate organizational change. Public relations practitioners
communicate with all relevant internal and external publics to develop positive
relationships and to create consistency between organizational goals and
societal expectations. Public relations practitioners develop, execute, and
evaluate organizational programs that promote the exchange of influence and
understanding among an organizations constituent parts and publics.

Here is a formal three-part definition of public relations (Centrer Allen, Jackson

Patrick, Smith Stacey, Stansberry R. Frank, 2008):
a). Public relations is a condition common to every individual and organization
in the human environment whether or not they recognize or act upon the fact
that refers to their reputation and relationship with other members of the
environment.
b). Public relations is the systematized function that evaluates public attitudes
and behaviours; harmonizes the goals, policies, and procedures of an individual
or organization with the public interest; and executes a program of action to
earn public understanding, acceptance, and supportive behaviour.
c). Public relations is the full flowering of the democratic principle, in which
every member of society is valued for himself or herself, and has both a right
and the duty to express an opinion on public issues, and in which policies are
made on the basis of free exchange of those opinions that results in public
consent.

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In other words: Public relations is something that everyone has; public relations
foster the improvement of public relations through specific activities and
policies; Public relations is the cornerstone of a democratic society.The
definition of public relations describes what public relations is and does, as well
as how it relates to other organizational activities: Public relations is the
management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial
relationships between an organization and the publics on whom its success or
failure depends. This definition of public relations positions the practice of
public relations as a management function, meaning that management in all
organizations must attend to public relations. It also identifies building and
maintaining mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and publics
as the moral and ethical basis of the profession. At the same time, it suggests
criteria for determining what is and what is not public relations. (Broom M.
Glenn, 2009)In todays competitive market, reputation can be a companys
biggest asset, the thing that makes you stand out from the crowd and gives you a
competitive edge. Effective PR can help manage reputation by communicating
and build good relationships with all organization stakeholders.Public relations
is about reputation the result of what you do, what you say and what others
say about you. Public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation,

With the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and
behavior. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain
goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics.
Public relations take many forms in different organizations and come under
many titles, including public information, marketing or customer relations. To
add to all the confusion, not all of these titles always relate accurately to public
relations, but all of them cover at least part of what public 3relations is. At its
best, public relations not only tell an organization is. At its best, public relations
not only tell an organizations story to the publics, it also helps to shape the
organization and the way it works. Through research, feedback communication
and evaluation, the practitioner needs to find out the concerns and expectations
of a companys publics and explain them to its management. (Chartered
Institute of Public Relations)

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A relation is at its best, public relations not only tell an organizations story to
the publics, and it also helps to shape the organization and the way it works.
Through research, feedback communication and evaluation, the practitioner
needs to find out the concerns and expectations of a companys publics and
explain them to its management. (Chartered Institute of Public Relation
Issue emerged in the universe right from the beginning of man and has remain a
reoccurring variable or decimal but not without effects.
Mans interaction with the environment coupled with the sophistication of
the present age, survival of the fittest has become a since-quo-non. Thus, people
get involved in many activities with the prime objective to satisfy their basic or
primary needs (psychological and safety) and secondary needs (social, esteem
and self fulfillment).
In the process to achieve these need, issue always emerge either between
employee and employees and the management of an organization.
On the other hand organization and groups strive to win a bigger shame
of the market as to make profit than rivals which will result in intensive.
Competition and finally to issue . Communities due to interest will engage in
issue . Issue is a necessary evil with us.
Presently, hardly is there any day without news of issue from our media
whether religion, political or industrial issue . Of a truth, issue has been with us
for centuries but the spate of current violent issue in organization government
and communities portent great anger and threaten the growth and stability of the
mention areas and the society in general.
This situation requires appropriate measures and structures to manage
properly these evil called issue .

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ISSUE MANAGEMENT

Issue management is a professional approach to handling the crises that come

up with organizations and people who are often in the public eye. Issue
management is one of the special realms of the art of public relations. Public
relations consultants are trained in the arts of issue management. A issue is a
negative event. A issue is when something bad, unwanted, or terrible
happens. (Issue Management, 2009)
The word issue comes from the Greek issue , meaning decision. Weve all
been there. Those moments when were pressed in an instant to decide a course
of action. Move to the left, or move to the right. Fight or flee. Offer an
explanation, or dummy up tight. (Van Hook R. Steven, 2010)
In the opinion of the Institute for Issue Management a issue is a significant
business disruption that stimulates extensive news media coverage. The
resulting public scrutiny will affect the organizations normal operations.
Moreover, it could have political, legal, financial and government impact on its
business.
Also, a issue may be defined as any situation that is threatening or could
threaten to harm people or property, seriously interrupt business, damage
reputation or negatively impact share value. (Bernstein L. Jonathan, 2010)

A issue , in public relations terms, is any event that draws intense, negative
media coverage and interferes with normal business activity; or a highly
stressful struggle or conflict within an adversarial environment. It is marked by
a potentially damaging turning point that could result in financial or mortal
disaster after which things will never be the same. (Ross Dave, 2010)

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It can be highlighted the difference between an issue and a issue . The

difference can be understood on the basis of five parameters like speed,
surfacing, scrutiny, structure and stance. A issue happens quickly, suddenly and
demands intense scrutiny whereas an issue develops gradually and generates
sporadic interests from the audience. An organizations structure needs to be
rigid during a issue , on the other hand, in case of an issue, it should be fluid.
The stance should be reactive in a issue situation whereas in the case of an
issue, an organization should be proactive. The public relations practitioners
should also understand the relationship between the two. Issue and issues are
not two
Different entities, rather they share a deep relationship. One can say that if an
issue is not managed timely, it can result in a issue . (Bensilum Eddie, 2010) In
other words, when an issue escalates, it may become a issue .
We can categorize issue according to the cause of their existence or in another
way, based on the warning time. Crises, like any business activity, have life
cycles. The length of each phase depends on the efficiency of the management
in dealing with the issue . It is managements responsibility to try to solve the
issue using everything it can, beginning with self confidence, going through
using all the skills and ending by having the ability to absorb the publics anger
or fear without harming the firms income or reputation. If a manager solves a
issue without the public hearing about it, the manager has proven his brilliant
capability. (The Texas State Office of Risk Management)

Crises can cost organizations millions of dollars to repair or can potentially put
them out of business for good. So for those looking to steer clear of any possible
PR issue , the following list outlines the principal categories that the PR disaster
can spring from (McCusker Gerry, 2010):
a) Acts of God. Even when natural disasters - such as a Tsunami - cause
unforeseeable real life crises (and even if no-one was directly responsible for
the incident) pockets of the media frequently describe how its a PR disaster of
some sort; for tourism or even for the governments of the countries involved.
b) Business Operations. This is where corporate activity adversely impacts on
stakeholder groups, such as when Coca Cola and Pepsi had to defend
themselves in India against allegations that their soft drinks contained excess
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levels of toxins. From a PR disaster viewpoint, both companies managed to fan

the flames or discontent, rather than calm matters down.
c) Corporate Moves. Around the time of acquisitions, mergers or takeovers,
theres plenty of room for dissatisfaction and even scandal, such as when a
London PR man found himself rumbled, tried and prosecuted after indulging in
a bit of insider trading. This happened after a client had confidentially told him
of its plan to take over a competitor organization.
d) Legalities. When contentious issues are debated in court, then reported in the
media -such as in the notorious McDonalds McLibel case - the potential for
PR disasters is massive. Media watchers labeled this case "the worlds biggest
corporate PR disaster".
e) Rumours. Gossip can be highly damaging for brand reputation, as Procter &
Gamble found when malicious rumours of Satanism - in part propagated by a
P&G competitor -dogged the company for decades, forcing a worldwide logo
redesign and extensive counter PR efforts.

f) Staff. When New Yorks Twin Towers collapsed on 9/11, staff at one of the
citys Starbucks charged rescue workers for bottled water they needed to treat
victims of the attack. When word got out virally about this incident, the PR
fallout was highly damaging.

g) Scandal. Financial or sexual shenanigans generally capture the medias

attention, such as when basketball star Kobe Bryant faced allegations of sexual
assault. PR disaster the media screamed, as Bryants lucrative sponsorship
deals and image as an all-round good guy were jeopardized.

Human nature. When people are subjected to great emotional stress, their
normally self-controlled behavior tends to become irrational and unpredictable.
Their reactions turn down the steps of Maslows hierarchy of human needs. At
the bottom, of course, are a persons physical needs. One step above are a
persons safety needs. When people feel that physical needs and safety needs are
threatened, they are prone to panic. In panic, peoples baser instincts for
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survival take command. This survival might be physical, financial, social, or

some other component vital to a persons life, but you can count on self-interest
or self-preservation to take command of a persons emotions and actions. These
phenomena become immediately apparent in such catastrophic circumstances as
fires, floods, explosions, and tornadoes. The same pattern emerges, with less
severity, in noncatastrophic situations such as scarcity of gasoline or coffee, a
spate of crime in a community, or even a standing-room-only crowd at a public
event. Similarly, sensations approaching panic may invade us when it appears
that we may miss a departing airflight, lose of a dear friend, find ourselves
unexpectedly deprived of light in our home at night, or walk a dark street to our
parked car. (Centrer Allen, Jackson Patrick, Smith Stacey, Stansberry R.Frank,
2008)

Understand how people typically respond to issues. Philip Lesley (1984), a

veteran public relations counselor and philosopher/critic of the field, developed
the following model. On any given issue dividing public opinion, people will
fall into these groups:

Zealots will be the first to take firm stands on the issue for and against. The
majority, however, will watch to see which way the opinion leaders go before
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they are firm enough in their views to speak or act. Public relations efforts must
focus on the opinion leaders / the 8 percent who can influence the 90 percent.
Resist the temptation to capitalize on the lea lots who support your view. They
anger people on both sides of the issue, including those inclined to agree with
them. Keep in mind that opinion leaders are rarely the visible leaders (elected
officials or organization officers).

Look for them at all levels and in all segments of society. The opinion leaders
are not necessarily the educated and articulate, but are always the familiar and
trustworthy. Most of us are inclined to seek reinforcement for our choices from
people who are in the same situation we are, not from people who are different
.

There are three smart ways to approach issue situations (Van Hook Steven,
2010):

1) Avoid a issue in the first place (a pinch of prevention is worth a mound of

cure);
2) Quickly address and resolve issue issues before they escalate;
3) Seek possible ways to turn your issue into an opportunity.
Dealing with a potential issue , issue management is crucial to the survival and
reputation of the company. Depending on the situation, simply responding can
help to alleviate the problem and diffuse the bomb before it goes off

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Challenges of issue management

Offer a conceptual framework that strives for comprehensiveness, as well as a

series of propositions grounded in multiple perspectives on organizational
crises. For those most interested in practice, we believe that our framework
captures a systemic, big picture approach that would be useful in
championing, planning, and implementing issue management efforts.
Definitions of Organizational Issue and Issue Management from a
Management Theory Perspective
As an introduction to the nature of organizational crises, we provide, in Table 1,
examples of the variety of types of crises that can impact organizations. This
array of types suggests the breadth of organizational vulnerabilities. Although
the types of crises in Table 1 seem to differ substantially, like all organizational
crises, they share a number of common elements.
An array of organizational crises
Extortion Bribery
Hostile takeover Information sabotage
Product tampering Workplace bombing
Vehicular fatality Terrorist attack
Copyright infringement Plant explosion
Environmental spill Sexual harassment
Computer tampering Escape of hazardous
Security breach materials
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 Executive kidnaping Personnel assault

Product/service boycott Assault of customers
Work-related homicide Product recall
Malicious rumor Counterfeiting
Natural disaster that disrupts a major Natural disaster that destroys corporate
product or service headquarters

A Multidimensional Defi nition of Organizational Issue and Issue

Management

An organizational issue is a low-probability, high-impact situation that is

perceived by critical stakeholders to threaten the viability of the organization
and that is subjectively experienced by these individuals as personally and
socially threatening. Ambiguity of cause, effect, and means of resolution of the
organizational issue will lead to disillusionment or loss of psychic and shared
meaning, as well as to the shattering of commonly held beliefs and values and
individuals basic assumptions. During the issue , decision making is pressed by
perceived time constraints and colored by cognitive limitations

The Issue Management Process: A Multidimensional Perspective

we provide our version of a comprehensive descriptive model of the issue

management process. This model moves beyond previous efforts by

Explicitly recognizing both subjective or perceptual components as well as

objective components;

acknowledging the complexity of outcomes

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 integrating previous models that dealt only with limited aspects rather than the
entire issue management process; and

linking multidimensional views of issue and issue management drawn from

psychological, social-political, and technological-structural perspectives.We
begin our presentation of the model by considering issue management
outcomes and then describe the contributing factors (fi rst with executives
perceptions of risk) that impact the degree of organizational success or failure
from a issue .
For example, cultural beliefs about power exchanges and organizational reward
systems can be infl uenced by the perceptions of executives (Deal & Kennedy,
1982; Kotter & Heskett, 1992). Similarly, executives own abilities to deal with
risk may impact their personal effectiveness as related to concerns that exceed
the traditionally rational parameters of their organizations cultures (Shapira,
1995).
The match between executive mindset and culture is no less powerful for issue
management.Perceptions of senior executives determine cultural beliefs in the
organization about the value and need for issue management (Pauchant &
Mitroff, 1992). In organizations where executives believe that their company is
relatively immune from crises, there will be fewer plans and procedures for
issue preparation and prevention.
Many senior executives in industries in which issue preparations are not
regulated fail to perceive the importance of issue management and early
response (DAveni & MacMillan, 1990; Dutton & Duncan, 1987; Kiesler &
Sproull, 1982; Nystrom & Starbuck, 1984). Even in industries that are regulated
or where issue management practices have been institutionalized, executive
perceptions and the cultural environment must support issue management for
programs to be highly effective. The mere existence of policies and procedures
may be false signals of preparedness. If executives and the organizational
culture do not support issue management activities, risk behaviors of
employees may mock issue management procedures and policies (Hynes &
Prasad, 1997). Our discussion leads to the following proposition:

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PLANNING FOR A ISSUE

A issue can come from nowhere at any time; natural disasters, human error
(including management itself) and industrial accidents can all cause a issue .
The most serious property of crises is the element of surprise. The most
dangerous thing in a issue does not know about it or not being prepared for it,
whether it is natural, mechanical, human error, or a management problem. The
natural causes are hard to control as they happen unexpectedly. For other
causes, they can be faced with the proper planning and sometimes, the plans are
well-designed enough to suit and deal with even the natural causes. (The Texas
State Office of Risk Management)
There are several consequences to incidents associated with organizational
crises. They include financial loss, increased security and insurance costs and
faltering of the companys image in the customers eyes. Additionally, costs may
be staggering from an employment perspective. The psychological trauma
following a traumatic workplace incident from both an individual and from an
organizational standpoint can result in decreased productivity, increased
absenteeism and an increase in workers compensation claims.

The expectation is that through preparation for such an event, the physically
harmful effects of the traumatic event will be minimized. Such preparation
might include identification of the most likely to occur issue situation and the
establishment of issue plan. Additional factors to consider are how to respond
to customer reactions and questions and how to respond to the media. (The
Texas State Office of Risk Management)

The expectation is that through preparation for such an event, the physically
harmful effects of the traumatic event will be minimized. Such preparation
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might include identification of the most likely to occur issue situation and the
establishment of issue plan. Additional factors to consider are how to respond
to customer reactions and questions and how to respond to the media. (The
Texas State Office of Risk Management)

In effective handling of a issue , preparation and anticipation are key

considerations. Of course, sometimes crises will occur even when all possible
preparations have been made. So, every organization needs a plan to enable it to
handle a issue quickly and effectively if the need arises. (Whims Ellie, 2010)
A). Examine Vulnerabilities
The most important first step in issue management is to prevent a issue in the
first place. Take a hard look at your company, and examine potential
vulnerabilities from every angle, and seek out potential problems in your
dealings with your customers, your employees, and even your vendors.
B). Develop a Issue Communications Plan
This is one of those dont try this at home situations. Working with seasoned
public relations professional will help you in a number of ways. A pro will be
able to provide an unbiased, outsiders opinion about both your vulnerabilities
and communications plans. Experienced media relations pro can anticipate
questions the media will, and can therefore help you craft appropriate answers.
Your Issue Communications Plan should:
a) Identify steps to gather information about the situation - make sure you know
the pertinent facts.
b) Appoint a Issue Team - these individuals will be responsible for handling the
issue itself.
c) Appoint a spokesperson - this person will typically serve as the point of
contact between your Issue Team and the media.
d) Identify your key audiences - your customers, employees, vendors, and the
media.

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C. Warning: objects in the mirror are closer than they appearThe object lesson
here is: dont wait. Dont wait until you are in the midst of a issue to try to
figure out what needs to be done. You will have your hands full as it is, dealing
with whatever situation caused the issue in the first place. As Louis Pasteur
once said, chance favors the prepared mind. Your best chance for a favorable
outcome in a issue is to lay the groundwork well in advance by developing a
sound Issue Management Plan.

EXAMPLES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS CRISES

There have been countless public relations crises in the past. Each issue
situation is unique and, therefore, requires a tailored response. There have been
several examples of public relations crises that were handled properly and did
not have an overall negative effect on the company in question. At the same
time, there are even more instances where companies have failed to properly
manage issue situations.
In 2008, the following industries racked up the most business crises according
to the annual Business Issue Trend Report by the Institute of Issue
Management (May 2009):
1. Banking
2. Food Industry
3. Security Brokers/Investment Co.
4. Petroleum Industry
5. Insurance Industry
6. Automobile Manufacturing
7. Pharmaceutical Companies
8. Software
9. Aircraft Industry
10. Telecommunications
Eight of the ten most issue prone industries repeated from the previous year.
The American Big Three and the entire top selling European and Japanese
Carmakers struggled with ever worsening bad news throughout the 2008.
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Product defects and recalls accounted for 15% of all crises in 2008, including
recalls by GM, BMW, Honda, Pontiac, Chrysler and Porsche. There were major
toy recalls, including problems with dangerous and tainted toys. Chinas toy
industry was devastated, as a result, and 3,600 factories were closed and
thousands of workers out of work.

Heres a classic model of how a issue can be turned into an opportunity for
good PR (Van Hook R. Steven, 2010): In 1986 someone put capsules poisoned
with lethal amounts of cyanide in Johnson and Johnson bottles of Tylenol on
store shelves. Before anyone could do anything, seven people died from the
poisoned medicine. The company met the issue head-on. First, they spent $300million recalling all samples of the medicine bottles. Then the company
introduced new tamper-proof medicine containers that changed the entire
industry. But most importantly, the company was prepared, it acted coolly, they
answered the tough questions, and in the end maintained their dominance in the
market. They used the media to demonstrate their concern and their
determination to resolve the issue . It was a message of courage and leadership
through effective public relations
The first critical public relations decision, taken immediately and with total
support from the company management, was to cooperate fully with the news
media. The press was key to warning the public of the danger. The poisonings
also called for immediate action to protect the consumer, so the decision was
made to call two batches of the product and later to withdraw it from store
shelves nationally
During the issue phase of the Tylenol tragedy, virtually every public relations
decision was based on sound, socially responsible business principles, which is
when public relations is most effective.
Johnson & Johnsons corporate Credo strongly influenced many of the key
decisions. The Credo lists four responsibilities. The customer is placed first and
foremost, followed by responsibility to employees, to the communities where
they work and live, and finally, responsibility to the stakeholders.
At Johnson & Johnson, Lawrence G. Foster, corporate vice president of public
relations, reported directly to chairman and CEO James E. Burke, who promptly
formed a seven-member committee to deal with the issue . Foster and five
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senior executives on the committee met with Burke twice daily for the next six
weeks to make key decisions, ranging from advertising strategy and network
television interviews to planning Tylenols comeback in tamper-resistant
packaging.
In the weeks following the murders, Foster and his three senior staff members,
all former journalists, responded to the more than 2,500 calls from the press.
They were helped by the smaller public relations staff at McNeil Consumer
Products (manufacturers of Tylenol). While the corporate staff was dealing with
the press, Burson-Marsteller, which had the product publicity account for
Tylenol, began planning a unique 30-city video press conference via satellite to
reintroduce the product. Polls showed that 90 percent of Americans did not fault
the company, and 79 percent said they would again purchase Tylenol.
The satellite relaunch took place in just six weeks. Later, sales of Tylenol began
soaring to new highs.
The unthinkable happened four years later. A woman in Westchester County,
New York, died after ingesting a Tylenol Capsule that contained cyanide. A
second contaminated bottle was found in a nearby store a few days later.
Chairman Burke reconvened the strategy committee, and the Credo was at the
center of the discussion.
Next day, Johnson & Johnson announced that, henceforth, no J&J Company
worldwide would market any over-the-counter capsule product because the
safety of customers could no longer be assured, even when the capsules were in
the new safety packaging. The public made Tylenol caplets a best seller soon
after, and to this say Johnson & Johnson has kept its pledge not to market an
over-counter capsule product anywhere in the world.
Once again, Robert Wood Johnsons Credo had shown the way. The Tylenol
tragedies demonstrated that a Public relations is a business of basic and that the
best public relations decisions are closely linked to sound business practices and
a socially responsible corporate philosophy. The Washington Post wrote:
Johnson & Johnson has effectively demonstrated how a major business ought
to handle a disaster. (Foster Lawrence, 2002)
A great example of a company acting quickly is Odwalla, whos juices were
contaminated. Despite where Odwallas contamination took place (though it
was found that some of their oranges contained the E. coli making consumers
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ill), they knew they needed to recall their juices. They also changed their
methods of making the juice to avoid and lower the possibility of
contamination. (Wirthlin Ashley, 2009)

Odwalla is a juice company that built its reputation - and its business - on
providing natural juice drinks to health-conscious people. After drinking
Odwalla drinks containing apple juice contaminated by the E. coli bacteria, 65
people, including many children, became severely ill. Then, when it looked like
the worst was over, one of those infected by E. coli, a 16-month-old Colorado
girl, died. As you might expect, some of the sickened people have decided to
sue Odwalla

Odwalla is still feeling the effects of the issue , but its financial picture is
improving. Its products are still on the shelves, customers are coming back, and
stock prices are up, so the companys future looks positive.

The picture today might be very different if Odwalla had looked at the E. coli
contamination problem from a purely risk management standpoint. Since risk
managers seek to minimize the companys risk it might have taken the very
different strategy of denying liability for the contamination or of waiting to act
until the link to its products was proven. Instead, Odwalla considered its
philosophy and its customers in formulating its approach. In doing so, it
protected its most valuable asset - good name. And thats what effective public
relations is all about.

Although you may never been faced with life and death problems, any company
runs the risk that a problem with its products or actions could affect its
reputation. Having an action plan ready before issue strikes will help you act
quickly and correctly. Like your buildings or inventory, your companys
reputation is a valuable asset that deserves protection. Public relations, used
properly, can help you protect this asset. (Wirthlin Ashley, 2009)

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Another example of issue management can be seen by Pepsi who took the time
to research and evaluate the next steps. They were accused of allowing syringes
to be canned in some of their soda. Instead of first allowing the recall to take
place, but while still not avoiding responsibility, they were able to ensure that
syringes being canned did not take place in their factories. After time, the claims
came out to be rumors, and Pepsi was saved millions of dollars a recall would
have cost.

Remember the old rule: the best defense is a good offense. Always look for a
new opportunity in the middle of a issue ; and take the following example. It
was in Los Angeles during a long drought, when a huge water pipe burst right in
the middle of one of the busiest streets, the Ventura Boulevard, causing the road
to split apart. Water flooded the street and sidewalks, closing all the businesses.
The area was blocked off, so no customers could get to any of the businesses.
One of the businesses in the flood area was a hamburger restaurant called Mels
Diner. Since he didnt have any customers, Mel started giving away free
hamburgers to the workers repairing the water pipe. The TV news crews took
video of this, and that evening thousands of viewers saw a happy report on what
a fine citizen Mels Diner is. For the cost of a few hamburgers, Mel got the kind
of media coverage you just cant buy, because he did the right thing at the right
time.

Hurricane Katrina: A Disaster from Beginning to End. The facts about

Hurricane Katrina are well known: thousands of hundreds of people displaced;
hundreds of lives lost; property damage in the billions of dollars; confusion,
consternation, and complacency coming together to leave a landmark America
city in shambles. The devastation in New Orleans was real.
No one was ready for the hurricane; not people of New Orleans, not the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), not the State of Louisiana nor the
City of New Orleans. No one was ready for its aftermath of displaced citizens,
lost services, diseases, death, and destruction.

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Perhaps most telling, however, was the fact that no one was prepared to
communicate through the issue . Tylenol, for example, communicated well
through its well-known issue , and even though no one has ever been arrested
and no one knows why or how the tampering occurred, Tylenol and Johnson &
Johnson generally get high marks for handling the issue . No one in New
Orleans approached problem in Tylenol-like way. Politics seemed more
important than the people.
The problem in New Orleans was a bifurcated one-half operations and half
communication. On the operational side, the cleanup suffered from: poor
planning; poor anticipation; poor execution. On the communication side, the
story was similar. Communication efforts suffered from: poor planning, poor
anticipation; poor execution; lack of anything to communicate.
No one knew what needed to be done or said. There was little compassion from
FEMA or state or officials. No one was able or willing to meet the needs of
those most affected by Katrina. One great truth of public relations is that
communication must follow performance. In New Orleans, performance
didnt happen. There was no performance to communicate. Without
performance, communication is hollow, and even disingenuous
With respect to the Public Relations Impact (Broom M. Glenn, 2009), there was
no consideration prior to, during, or after how a coordinated public relations
plan would help the Katrina aftermath. There was no one Clear Voice. No one
was able to set a positive agenda. No reasonable expectations were established.
No one seemed to have expected the unexpected and made any preparations.
If there were competent public relations counsel available, it was difficult to see
amid the confusion that was New Orleans in August 2005. Decision makers
were equally impaired. The mayor, the governor, the director of FEMA, no one
was able to make sense of what was going on. Rumors thrive in the vacuum of
no information, and rumors ran rampant after Katrina. It is likely that the
Finest public relations counsel would not have made much difference, but, then
again, it might have.
Planning and preparation are invaluable. When disaster strikes, its too late to
write a issue plan or develop a legacy of trust with key publics. What might
some good public relations planning and preparation have added to the situation
in New Orleans?
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CONCLUSION
Every organization is vulnerable to crises. Used effectively, public relations can
prevent a critical situation from resulting in irreparable damage to the businesss
reputation and goodwill

Companies in issue are nothing new. As we have seen time and again, from
Tylenol to Exxon to Firestone to Enron, how you act and react once a issue
begins often forms your companys future. Companies face crises all the time product recalls, plant closings, tainted products, a crime committed by an
employee, a branded item found at a crime scene, a company leader making a
poor personal decision.

Effective communication is an essential part of trying to control any issue

situation. It is the responsibility of the company or organization to provide
information about what is happening, the effects it will have a numerous
publics, and what the company plans to do to resolve the situation. The
questions most asked by the public involved are: What exactly has happened?
Why was information about the issue not released sooner? What could have
been done to prevent it from happening?

While no one can predict a issue , appropriate foresight and thought can mean
the difference between maintaining a stellar corporate reputation and the
dreadful alternative. There are six steps to follow for a issue resolution:
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preparation is key (if you dont prepare, you will take more damage), make sure
you have all the facts, take immediate action to minimize danger to human life,
tell the truth, show you care and be sincere, and never overlook the power of
common sense.

Timing is the essence, taking responsibility is key, and acting responsibly is

vital to overcoming a issue . As can be seen with Odwalla and Pepsi are gone on
to continue being profitable. Consumers still enjoy the beverages either
company provides, and they can continue providing them because of the great
issue management they each used.

REFERENCES

1. Bensilum Eddie Corporate Reputation and Issue Management, 30 March

2010, www.insidepublicrelations.blogspot.com
2. Bernstein L. Jonathan The 10 Steps of Issue Communications - part 1, March
30, 2010, http://managementhelp.org/blogs/issue -management
3. Broom M. Glenn Effective Public Relations, Person Education, Inc., Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey, 2009
4. Centrer Allen, Jackson Patrick, Smith Stacey, Stansberry R. Frank Public
Relations Practices: Managerial Case Studies and Problems, Pearson Prentice
Hall, new Jersey, 2008
5. Chartered Institute of Public Relationshttp://www.cipr.co.uk/
6. Farlow F. Rex Building a Public Relations Definition, Public Relations
Review 2, no. 4 (Winter 1976)
7. Foster G. Lawrence Tylenol: 20 Years Later, The Public Relations
Strategist 8, Issue 4, Fall 2002
8. Gabrowski Mark Issue Prevention through Foresight, 2010,
http://aboutpublicrelations.net

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9. Gordon C. Joye Interpreting Definitions of Public Relations: Self

Assessment and a Symbolic Interactionism-Based Alternative, Public Relations
Review no. 23, no. 1 (Spring 1997)
10. Institute of Issue ManagementBusiness Issue Trend Report, May 2009,
http://www.issue experts.com/reports.htm
11. Lesley Philip Overcoming Opposition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall, 1984

15. The Texas State Office of Risk ManagementPublic Relations and Issue
Coordination,http://www.sorm.state.tx.us/Risk_Management/Business_Continui
ty/pr_issue .php

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