Transcript Risk Issues and Crisis Management

Risk Issues and Crisis
Management
Outside-in thinking
Outside-in thinking:
The actors
A general public perspective:
 Business (greedy leaders)
 Government regulators (in the
pockets of industry)
 The media (sensationalize news)
 Consumer activists (exaggerate
dangers)
= a changing relationship between
business and society
New trends in society
Information is spread rapidly
 Corporate behaviour is under
scrutiny (excessive profits, lack of
governance)
 Lack of trust of authority
 Lack of trust of businesses with an
ethical stance
= a general mistrust

New trends in society




Demographic changes
Changing values and attitudes
Divorces
Lack of job security
= raising concerns and lack of
security
 A sentiment of risk
New trends in society
Single-issue groups
 Greater consumer power and more active
consumers
Conclusion:
big science combined with big business’
makes people suspicious.

From the perspective of the corporate
sector this leads to reputation risks
For NGO tactics, see p. 13
Problems and Issues
Activists deal with problems with a
wide context (e.g. pollution,
poverty)
 Companies deal with issues
(examples?)
Question:
What are some of the aspects a
company would consider if facing an
action from an NGO?

Problems and Issues


How would you characterise the
relationship between NGOs and
companies today? (Greenpeace and
business for instance  e.g.
reduction of carbon dioxide
emissions from cars)
What is the stance expressed by the
authors (Regester and Larkin)
concerning NGOs and business?
Risk and risk assessment
Risk is a measure of the adverse effect of an issue
 Risk means different things to different people
 Risk assessment is about possible hazards
associated with a process relative to the
safeguards and benefits which it offers.
Questions:
Describe the pattern a crisis tends to follow
Comment on the MMR case (measles, mumps and
rubella) and the significance of ’emotion’.

Advocacy
An approach used by activist groups to win
public support for a cause, e.g.
environmental protection. Techniques
used are:
 Public opinion polling and lobbying for an
idea
 Direct mail and grass roots mobilization
 Gathering information (e.g. from scientific
experts) and passing it on to the media.
 Boycotts of companies or countries
 Etc.
Some cases



Phthalates in toys
Mobile phones and radiation
Other examples?
Issues management
A powerful strategic planning tool
 A way of implementing corporate social
responsibility
 A process whose goal is to help preserve
markets, reduce risk, create opportunities
and manage image (Tucker and Broom)
= advocacy advertising (a corporate
communication response to the critics of
business activities).

Issues management



What are the advantages of issues
management?
What is the difference between
issues management and crisis
management?
Definition of an issue: ’a gap
between corporate practice and
stakeholder expections’ (Regester
and Larkin)
Issues management



A public relations field
Who are the stakeholders?
What is a stakeholder risk radar?