essay

An introduction to reputation management – week 1

Introduction

Reputation management is an important concept to embrace as an individual and as leaders in public relations. As such this unit will take a broad look at reputation management and encompass:

· organisations (private companies, government departments and not-for-profit organisations)

· individuals (self, public figures, and celebrities)

This first topic will focus on the broad spectrum of reputation management and provide you with reference points to investigate further. There are several terms defined and described in this first module that will be covered in greater depth in the remaining topics.

This topic draws to your attention the components that help people formulate an opinion about individuals and organisations. A key concept is the importance of ‘reputational capital’. This is something that we should value, measure, build and protect. To do this, we need to engage in dialogue with stakeholders and build relationships. The stakeholder relations topic will focus on the concept and importance of stakeholders. The fragility of reputations is another theme discussed within reputation management; in future weeks we will look at the reactions and responses of individuals and organisations experiencing reputation issues and/or crises. Lastly, you will develop your awareness of the importance of reputation measurement and begin to identify the indexes upon which organisations are ranked. 

Definitions

Reputation is often intermixed with the terms identity, image and reputation. Boundaries can be drawn between the three terms.

Image, reputation and identity are key terms used in the discussion of reputation management. For greater clarity on the relationship between these three factors, please read da Camara (2011). The da Camara (2011) chapter highlights the assertions arising from different disciplines.

Image and reputation are two terms used interchangeably in some of the literature, particularly as you read across discipline areas. Image is the perception a person has about an individual or organisation based on the current day. As noted in da Camara (2011) such imagery can be created quickly and may not be based on direct experience with the individual or organisation. Image can be likened to a single snapshot in time. Reputation, on the other hand, can be likened to a collection of snapshots that an individual has pieced together over time to form an opinion. A key differentiation between image and reputation can therefore be linked to the time frame. Reputation is also ‘more durable than image and can act as a positive store of goodwill and support or a negative bank of distrust and avoidance’ da Camara (2011, p. 51). 

Reputation and character 

Another aspect to consider is the difference between reputation and character and the relationship they have. Character includes the attributes and features that define individuals including ‘the combination of emotional, intellectual and moral qualities…’ (Brown 2010, p. 57). Reputation, as previously mentioned, is what other people think you are. 

Brown (2010, p. 57) suggests that ‘by aligning your inner character and values to your outer personal brand, you can begin designing and controlling the reputation you wish to develop’. Your personal brand is what Brown (2010, p. 58) regards as ‘your public face’ and ‘directly influences your reputation’.  Your ‘personal brand connects you to the outside world and shapes how other people will perceive you’ (Brown 2010, p. 58).

Sometimes individuals have fantastic core personal values and traits that are easily recognisable by external parties. While there may be other characteristics that people are unaware of. Brown (2010) lists 41 different ways you can build, maintain and salvage your reputation using both online and offline methods. Brown also has an interesting Web site, http://www.rob-brown.com/ which may provide you with some thought-provoking reading.

How external attitudes are formed 

Doorley and Garcia's (2011, p. 4) reputation equation:

As individuals, we have opinions and images that help to inform our view of social entities. Such images are based on the actions, past performance and/or track record of organisations and individuals. How we form such imagery is linked to the third component of Doorley and Garcia's (2011) equation: communication. We learn about the performance and behaviour through interactions or communication you receive from an organisation or individual. For example, you may have developed an opinion regarding your treatment as a customer of a shop or bank. In this instance, a positive experience may help you to develop a positive opinion of the organisation, conversely poor customer service may cause you to develop a negative opinion.

We often share our experiences with our friends or relatives. Pre-internet, your opinion may have remained within your immediate social group yet with the expansion of social media, your opinions can now be expressed and read by a much broader audience. Shared experiences or reviews feature through product review sites, travel and restaurant apps, or dialogue via social media. Your expressed view contributes to the other various forms of media reporting the performance and behaviour of organisations and individuals. The actions or inaction, of organisations and individuals, can be communicated through traditional media, social media and personal interactions. Collectively, such communication is interpreted by the receiver who then forms an opinion.

Communication becomes a critical component of the reputation equation for as Rolph (2008, p. 172) states, ‘...all reputation, and consequently all damage to reputation, is mediated, that is, it occurs through some form of medium of communication’. A hierarchy of information sources is presented in Elearn (2009, p. 2), these include:

1)    Direct experience,

2)    Hearsay from friends,

3)    Third-party sources, and

4)    Organisation-generated information.

The Elearn hierarchy also identifies the level of control that a Public Relations Manager has on each source.

Social entities have begun to realise the importance of managing their reputation and as such, many scholars have begun to investigate strategies to manage reputation. You will see in the article by Hutton, Goodman, Alexander and Genest (2001) the amount of investment into this area.

Reputational value 

This leads to the importance of the value of reputation, or as stated in Doorley and Garcia (2011), ‘reputational capital’. Discussed over page 4/5, reputation capital is something that can be built over time and although it is largely accepted that reputation is a valuable asset, few organisations ‘take a rigorous, quantifiable approach to reputation management – measuring, monitoring, and managing the concept of asset management’ (Doorley & Garcia 2011, p. 5). However, if organisations measure and plan ahead, they are better positioned to be proactive in their ‘behaviors and communications to take advantage of reputational opportunities and minimize problems...’ (Doorley & Garcia 2011, p. 5). 

As discussed from page 4 (Doorley & Garcia 2011), whether the entity is an organisation or individual, reputation has value. The example of Kanye West is mentioned by Doorley and Garcia (2011); for those of you who did not see the media coverage of the incident, this link may remind you:

Referring to the formula, 

Doorley and Garcia 2011, p.4.

‘The formula demonstrates that reputation is cumulative. So when a famous individual behaves badly, he or she cannot generally make up for it with a press conference, no matter how sincere or eloquent the apology’ (Doorley & Garcia 2011, p. 5). Did Kanye West have sufficient reputational capital to recover from that incident? Consider recent examples where we we cannot reflect on the outcome (as we can do with the Kanye West incident) but instead, need to look at what may happen.

Measurement 

Some social entities work towards maintaining a clear identity (see Doorley & Garcia 2011, pp. 5-8) and stakeholders acknowledge, support such efforts. There are various research tools that can be implemented to assess what your stakeholders think of your performance, behaviour and communication. Many organisations employ research firms to survey stakeholder opinions; some are very transparent by publicly displaying the overall findings. Others may conduct thorough media monitoring; detecting the number of mentions an organisation receives and whether these are positive or negative. Overall, there are a range of techniques that can be used to measure reputation and while there is debate about the best measures, one way of comparing your overall performance to that of your competitor is where you are situated in indexes. There are a few different types of indexes that can be used for comparative purposes that rank companies according to core criteria. You may have heard of the Fortune 500 index or ‘Great Place to Work’. 

There are external organisations such as the Reputation Institute that define and measure reputation. Please visit the Reputation Institute site to learn how they measure and view the discussion from Dr Charles Fombrun. 

Visit: Reputation Institute 2016, About Reptrak, Reputation Institute, retrieved 10 March 2016,

https://www.reputationinstitute.com/reputation-measurement-services/reptrak-framework

Summary

This topic has drawn to your attention the components that help people formulate an opinion about individuals and organisations. A key concept has been the importance of ‘reputational capital’. This is something that we should value, measure, build and protect. To do this, we need to engage in dialogue with stakeholders and build relationships. We have also looked at the fragility of reputations and in future weeks we will look at the reactions and responses of individuals and organisations involved in issues and crises. Lastly, you should now be aware of the importance of reputation measurement and begin to identify some of indexes upon which organisations are ranked. 

 

The influence and impact of traditional and new media – week 2

Introduction

This topic focuses on both traditional media and social media in the context of reputation management. We will look at the highs and lows of media and how it can enhance reputations or contribute to the demise of organisations and individuals. This topic examines the importance of building relationships with the media and the different priorities that exist within the sector. Over time there has been a shift in the nature of the articles reported and the different mediums used to reach target audiences. Social media in particular has become a valuable tool for PR practitioners yet has contributed to the decline in traditional media. This has obvious consequences for the changing dynamic between media professionals thus building and maintaining respectful relationships should remain a priority.

 

- The communication process. Understand the importance of clarity in the

communication process.

Changing face of traditional media

Digital news surpasses newspapers, radio

With young

-

newspapers lack relevance

Newspaper free fall continues

Magazine drop continues

TV stable for old, but tumbling with young

Local TV news slips

Reading still popular

Digital growing

Online news is more mobile, or social

· Corporate participation in Social Media

· Social media for brand building & engagement

· Social media to create stakeholders pressure

· Handling bad PR via social media responses

Social Media & Reputation

•

Given the scale of social media today, organizations

—

no matter the

sector, nonprofit or for

-

profit, small or large

—

must address social

media as part of the reputation management matrix

•

Social media allows people to connect with organizations and each

other in ways that were limited or not possible before

Summary

· Relationships with media

· The communication process

· Good to bad news ratio

· Changes in media

· Knowledge of appropriate/effective use & benefits of social

· media

· Consider social media policy

· Celebrities use of social media/media relation

This topic has examined the importance of building relationships with the media and the different priorities that exist within the sector. Over time there has been a shift in the nature of the articles reported and the different mediums used to reach target audiences. Social media in particular has become a valuable tool for PR practitioners yet has contributed to the decline in traditional media. This has obvious consequences for the changing dynamic between media professionals thus building and maintaining respectful relationships should remain a priority.

Stakeholder relations – Week 3

Introduction

All sectors, private, public (government) and not-for-profit should identify their stakeholders and recognise the need to manage relationships, i.e. stakeholder relations. It is important to know who your stakeholders are, how your actions impact upon them, what you can do to address concerns and, ensure you are behaving as good corporate citizens.

 

Overall, stakeholders are summarised as those people, or groups, that have a ‘stake’ in the organisation.  The concept of stakeholders and ‘Stakeholder Theory’ has evolved and subsequently applied to a range of different fields. The manner in which you identify, analyseand prioritise stakeholders is similar across all sectors; the difference depends on the organisation and issue at hand.  Organisationsneed to consider their actions and determine what type of organisational values they wish to reflect. The importance of behaving ethically, meeting stakeholder concerns and implementing socially responsible behaviour is of growing importance for many organisations and the individuals they employ.

 

Learning Objectives

At the end of this topic you should be able to:

· Define stakeholders and understand how stakeholder theory has evolved.

· Identify stakeholders, their differing needs, their varying potential impacts and, the manner in which they interact. 

· Comprehend the application of the stakeholder concept across a different organisations, sectors and industries.

· Examine the relationship between stakeholders and social responsibility.

  

Prescribed material

Stakeholder theory with R. Edward Freeman 2009, video, Darden MBA, 13 May, retrieved 3 February 2020,  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih5IBe1cnQw

Recommended reading

Fiedler, L 2011, ‘Reputation management in different stakeholder groups’, in S Helm, K Liehr-Gobbers & C Storck (eds), Reputation management, Springer, New York, pp. 127-149.

So what is a stakeholder? 

 

The term ‘stakeholder’ is often traced back to work by Freeman (1984) who defined them as ‘any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of an organization’s purpose’ (cited in Fiedler 2011, p. 127). Stakeholders provide tangible and intangible resources critical to a firm’s success; they have a ‘stake’ or claim in some aspect of a company (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell 2013). 

 

Edward Freeman appears in a You Tube video where he provides great insight into Stakeholder Theory explaining its evolution, interpretation, research and adoption. This 49-minute video is split into segments; the main ones are highlighted in the Table provided in Table 3.1. Please listen to Edward Freeman’s discussion to develop your understanding of Stakeholder theory. 

 

Stakeholder theory by Edward Freeman

Table 3.1 Stakeholder theory by Edward Freeman

Watch Edward Freeman’s video and make annotations about the various sections he addresses:

Minute	Topic discussed	Notes
0 >	What is stakeholder theory?
3.00	What are stakeholders?
14.49	Does stakeholder theory harm shareholders?
17.38	Friedman vs. Freeman
21.20	Strategies for managing stakeholder relationships
26.01	Changing the story of business
33.00	Saints & sinners
35.07	Effects of technology on stakeholder relationships
37.08	Is stakeholder approach universal?
44.00	Building Trust by Stakeholder
47.00	Who do people trust?

 

Stakeholder Expectations 

If the expectations and concerns of stakeholders are known by the organisation, they can begin to determine if they are addressing these needs appropriately. Stakeholders have expectations about an organisation’s performance. As Coombs (2012, p. 60) states, ‘perception is the key. Even if an organization has made significant efforts to reduce pollution, if the stakeholders do not know about it, there is a gap’. Perceived gaps can turn into reputational threats but many organisations do not have sufficient resources to ‘address every expectation gap’; the solution is to 'prioritize stakeholders' Coombs (2012, p. 61). To determine which stakeholders should be given priority organizations should look at the salience of the stakeholder; a stakeholder’s importance to an organisation. 'Stakeholder salience is a function of power, legitimacy, and willingness' (Coombs 2012, p. 61). 

 

Power – ‘the ability of the stakeholder to get the organization to do something it would not otherwise do”, or “to disrupt organizational operations’ (Coombs 2012, p. 61). 

 

Legitimacy – ‘refers to actions that are considered desirable, proper, or appropriate according to some system. A stakeholder concern is more serious when it is deemed legitimate by other stakeholders’ (Coombs 2012, p. 62). 

 

Willingness – ‘refers to stakeholders’ desire to confront the organization about the problem’ (Coombs 2012, p. 62). 

 

As some stakeholders are arguably given more prominence by some organisations. Stakeholders can therefore be divided into primary and secondary stakeholders. This form of prioritisation is practicable when trying to identify key stakeholders. Fiedler (2011, p134) reports that ‘customers and employees’ rank highest, followed by ‘society as a whole and the media’ then the financial community (shareholders), business and industry partners, with ‘the state, universities, competitors and interest groups’ lower in the ranks. An important consideration, however, as Ferrell et al. (2013, p. 33) note, is that although ‘primary groups may present more day-to-day concerns, secondary groups cannot be ignored or given less consideration’. 

  

Social responsibility towards stakeholders  

Meeting stakeholder needs and expectations leads us to the importance of being socially responsible. Social Responsibility is 'an organization’s obligation to maximize its positive impact on stakeholders and to minimize negative impacts' (Ferrell et al. 2013, p. 39). It can be viewed as a contract with society taking on four levels of social responsibility; economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic (Ferrell et al. 2013). 

 

View the Archie Carroll interview

The steps of social responsibility were portrayed as a pyramid by Archie Carroll. Please see the video delivered by Archie Carroll at this link,

Corporate Responsibility: The American Experience -- Archie Carroll Interview 2012, video, University of St. Thomas Minnesota, 7 November, retrieved 4 February 2020,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5HANkhPEmQ

 

Many business people and scholars have questioned the role of ethics and social responsibility in business because legal and economic responsibilities are accepted as the most important determinants of performance. Such people regard abiding by the laws and government regulations as key and generating wealth or a profit as the core objective. This is something Edward Freeman speaks about in the YouTube video. It is important though to view social responsibility as a framework that considers the ethical perspective: standards of acceptable behaviour as judged by stakeholders and philanthropic – giving back to society and being a good corporate citizen.

 

It is important to know who your stakeholders are, how your actions impact upon them and what you can do to address concerns and ensure you are behaving as good corporate citizens. Corporations need to consider their values and reflect on what type of image they wish to reflect. Do they wish to just meet the legal and economic expectations, or do they wish to forge ahead and develop Corporate Social Responsibility best practice and be considered in the list of top ethical companies (or be somewhere in between)? 

 

The importance of behaving ethically, meeting stakeholder concerns and implementing socially responsible behaviour is of growing importance for many industries and the individuals within those industries. If we select the sports industry for example, there are exemplars of best practice in social responsibility situated alongside those who struggle to meet ethical standards and expectations. There is a growing body of literature on the sports industry and their social responsibility towards stakeholders. In the context of our discussion about stakeholders, the community, athletes, government and media are a handful of groups that have a ‘stake’ in the sports industry. If we focus sportswear manufacturer, such as Nike, we can see their journey of meeting stakeholder needs and managing stakeholder expectations. Nike's journey has been summarised By Ewing (2015, pp. 334 - 335 and 344 - 346) in Chapter 12 of Doorley and Garcia's edited book. Whilst Nike’s journey is something we will revisit when we discuss Corporate Social Responsibility, it is important to note at this point, Nike’s realisation that constructive engagement with stakeholders is very important (Ewing 2015). 

Summary

 

The concept of stakeholders and ‘Stakeholder Theory’ has evolved and subsequently applied to a range of different fields. The manner in which you identify, analyse and prioritise stakeholders is similar across all sectors; the difference depends on the organisation and issue at hand.  Organisations need to consider their actions and determine what type of organisational values they wish to reflect. The importance of behaving ethically, meeting stakeholder concerns and implementing socially responsible behaviour is of growing importance for many organisations and the individuals they employ. Some organisations are leading the way in stakeholder orientation and demonstrate the importance of acting socially responsible. For some organisations, this realisation occurs after poor stakeholder management. These examples demonstrate the value of stakeholder engagement and the overall impact reputation can have on the sustainability of a business.

Acting ethically and responsible – week 4

Introduction

There are several words that people attribute to ethical communication such as honesty, trust, truthfulness, transparency, credibilityand integrity. This topic focuses on the factors that underpin an ethical organisation, the discrepancies that arise between legal and ethical boundaries and, points of consideration when practicing ethical communication.

 

Learning Objectives

At the end of this topic you should be able to:

· Understand ethical considerations 

· Understand the influencing factors on ethical decision making

· Recognise the importance of ethical leadership

· Recognise the overlap between legal and ethical behavior

· Acknowledge the practice of ethical communication 

 

Prescribed Reading

Doorley, J & Garcia, HF 2015, Reputation management, The Key to Successful Public Relations and Corporate Communication, 3rd edn, Routledge, New York

Chapter 2: Ethics and Communication, pp. 45 – 91.

 

How ethical decision-making is influenced 

To be able to understand what constitutes an ethical decision, it is first important to reflect on what factors influence an individual’s decisions. Individuals are subject to 'spheres of influence' when confronted with ethical choices.  The level of influence will depend on the level of importance the decision maker perceives the ethical issue to be and their level of moral intensity (Ferrell et al. 2013). Moral intensity is the decision maker’s perception of the social pressure and harm that may have on others as a result of their individual decision (Ferrell et al. 2013). 

 

Here are a few individual factors that influence decision-making. 

· Basing decisions upon your own individual values/your principles of what is right or wrong behaviour. 

· Nationality or culture influences an individual in terms of the legal relationship between a person/country in which he/she is born/resides; such differences may contribute to differing value systems. 

· Whilst one individual might stick to a promise made; another individual may lower their standards and rationalise this by saying “everyone does it”. 

· Researchers investigating gender  and ethical decision-making suggest that women are generally more ethical than males.  

· Education and work experience are both positively correlated with making ethical decisions.  

· Research on age  and ethical decision-making reveals a complicated relationship. Younger managers are far more influenced by organizational culture than are older managers.  

· Locus of control relates to how an individual is affected and makes decisions based on the whether they feel they are in control of events or they feel controlled by external events. 

(Ferrell et al. 2013, pp. 130 -132)

 

Apart from individual factors outlined above, there are also organisational factors that contribute to ethical decision-making. Ferrell et al. (2013, p. 132) suggest that an organisation’s values can have a greater influence on decision making than an individual’s own personal values. Opportunities abound within the workplace to become involved in conversations and discussions with people of differing backgrounds, beliefs, values etc… 'Ethical choices in business are most often made jointly', whether working on a joint project or on a committee with others' (Ferrell et al. 2013, p. 132). The strength of an individual’s personal values, the opportunity to behave ethically or unethically, and the exposure to others behaving ethically or unethically can influence decisions. Ideally, a positive corporate culture exists where an individual can learn from positive behaviours that align, and do not compromise their own personal values.

 

'A corporate culture can be defined as a set of values, norms, and artefacts, including ways of solving problems that members (employees) of an organization share' (Ferrell et al., 2013, p. 133). 

 

The 'ethical culture reflects whether the firm also has an ethical conscience' and includes 'corporate policies on ethics, top management’s leadership on ethical issues, the influence of co-workers, and the opportunity for unethical behaviour' (Ferrell et al. 2013, p. 133). As such, if there is a dominance of people that can be considered a bad influence then this can have a detrimental effect on the organisation and its culture. Conversely, with a positive culture, with effective communication and empowerment employees are less likely to make unethical decisions (Ferrell et al. 2013).

 Importance of Leadership Within a Corporate Culture 

The actions of CEOs, Managing Directors and, other individuals leading organisations help guide, influence and encourage acceptance of the values they are trying to generate through the organisation (Ferrell et al. 2013). Top managers have the ability, power (or authority), the vision, influence to shape a positive corporate culture.  There are some positive, ethical leaders who are exemplars of positive leaders with ethical leadership traits. Ethisphere has a good listing of ethical leaders, visit  http://ethisphere.com/.

The following points are identified as important traits in an ethical leader:  

· Strong Personal Character 

· Have a Passion to Do Right 

· Proactive 

· Consider Stakeholders’ Interests 

· Role Models for the Organisation’s Values 

· Transparent and Actively Involved in Organisational Decision Making 

· Competent Managers Who Take a Holistic View of the Firm’s Ethical Culture 

Code of Ethics:

· Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)

· International Business Association of Business Communicators (IABC)

Code of Conduct:

· International Public Relations Association (IPRA)

Summary 

Inattention to ethics risks significant harm to reputation and to other important intangible corporate assets - including employee morale and productivity, demand for a company's products, confidence in a company's executives, and stock price performance. Ethical lapses also lead directly to changes in senior leadership of a company. Inattention to ethics and the consequences of unethical behavior can even affect an organization's ability to survive.

(Doorley & Garcia 2015, p. 49)

 

Ethical communication can be considered an important factor towards the integrity and sustainability of organisations. While there are several key points to arise from this topic, such as, the importance of setting guidelines and creating positive corporate culture, these are mere starting points. This topic has guided you towards further reading which includes some practical guidance on ethical communication.

Corporate Social Responsibility – week 5

Introduction

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): 'The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time' (Carroll 1979, p. 500).

The emphasis in this topic is on CSR. CSR has developed over the years with several organisations taking the lead and inspiring others to follow. There are a variety of reasons (or rationales) as to why organisations adopt a CSR strategy. Some may be guided toward the business case others for more altruistic reasons; many may become involved for a range of reasons. Regardless of motivation, there are different mechanisms to become involved but core to a successful strategy is to identify stakeholders, ascertain stakeholder needs and, align core objectives to meet those needs. Lastly, in order to determine if your CSR initiatives have achieved their aims, measurement is essential.

 

This topic is divided into the theoretical components of CSR and the practical application. Included within this are factors that influence the motivations for becoming involved in CSR and the strategic direction CSR initiatives take. As such, a discussion on the various forms CSR may take and, best practice exemplars will be incorporated into the discussion.

At the end of this topic you should be able to:

 

· define Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and associated forms of social responsibility,

· identify how organisations enact socially responsible or sustainable practice,

· understand why organisations engage in or embed socially responsible and/or sustainable practices, and

· examine best practice examples and structure of social responsibility.

CSR defined

 

Archie Carroll was seminal in his definition of CSR which has become an expansive field of research amongst academics and practitioners. The concept has been investigated in terms of the whether it has a return on investment, and the best practical application of CSR.

Returning to Carroll’s (1979, p. 500) definition, engagement in CSR is a way in which organisations can meet 'economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time'. Society as we investigated in when we investigated the ‘Stakeholder’ topic, is made up of multiple stakeholders that all have different expectations, needs and wants. 'Meeting the non-financial expectation of stakeholders helps a company manage risk, protect its reputation, attract and retain employees, grow its markets and improve its financial performance for shareholders' (Ewing 2011, p. 338).

 

The definition of CSR has been debated over the years. Ewing (2015, p. 336) describes one of the first hurdles in CSR is its flexible terminology. He states that companies use the following terms interchangeably,

. Corporate responsibility

. Corporate Social Responsibility

. Corporate citizenship

. Business ethics

. Sustainability

(Ewing 2015, p. 336)

 

Reasons or motives to become involved in CSR

 

The Business Case

 

There are several reasons to become involved in CSR when focusing on the business case. Ewing (2015, pp. 337-340) discusses the business case in more depth but the following list is a summary of key reasons:

. Managing and mitigating risk

. Protecting and enhancing reputation, brand equity and trust

. Attracting, motivating and retaining talent

. Improving operational and cost-efficiency

. Ensuring a license to operate

. Developing new business opportunities

. Creating a more secure and prosperous operating environment

(Ewing 2015, p. 339)

 

Stakeholder pressure

 

Refer back to the Stakeholder Topic for more discussion of what constitutes a stakeholder. Organisations may take a reactive approach or a proactive approach. Grayson and Hodges (2004) and Gunningham (2007) refer to the term ‘trigger’. Often pressure from stakeholders if the first (or most influential) ‘trigger’ that causes organisations to act and ‘a trigger in the form of a crisis is often compelling enough to 'shake the players free from their customary behavior' forcing them to find alternative methods or solutions to problems (Gunningham 2007, p. 127, cited in McDonald, 2010, p. 26).

 

Ethical CSR vs altruistic CSR vs strategic CSR

 

Please read the Lantos (2001) article to develop your understanding of the distinctions between these three types of CSR.

 

Enacting Social Responsibility

 

Some forms of CSR appear to be token efforts while other organisations recognise the importance and value of fully integrating CSR into their decision making and business operations.

 

Social partnerships are one of the most integrative forms of CSR organisations can demonstrate.  Social partnerships are 'the voluntary collaborative efforts of actors from organizations in two or more economic sectors in a forum in which they cooperatively attempt to solve a problem or issue of mutual concern that is in some way identified with a public policy agenda item' (Waddock 1991, pp. 481-482).

 

There are other forms of social responsibility that attempt to improve the conditions/lives of communities, reduce or reverse the impact on the natural environment or engage with other stakeholders.

 

These are the most common examples of corporate social responsibility:

· Reduce carbon footprints to mitigate climate change

· Improve labor policies and embrace fair trade

· Engage in charitable giving and volunteer within your community

· Change corporate policies to benefit the environment

· Make socially and environmentally conscious investments

· Reduce carbon footprints and climate change

(Sickler 2017)

 

This Website provides some examples for the bullet points listed above and identifies the top organisations investing in CSR:

 

Sickler  J 2017, Powerful Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Examples, Reputation Management.com, retrieved 4 February 2020, https://www.reputationmanagement.com/blog/corporate-social-responsibility-examples/

 

Every year, the Reputation Institute produce a list of the best performing organisations in CSR. You can download a list by visiting their website.

 

To access the 2018 list, please visit this link: https://www.reputationinstitute.com Search for:  '2018 Global CSR' and you will find a link: https://insights.reputationinstitute.com/reptrak-reports/2018-global-csr-100-reptrak-data 

You will need to enter your name and email; RepTrak® allow you to download the CSR list. 

The title of the 2018 report is:

Reputation Institute 2018, Raising the Stakes on Corporate SocialResponsibility; Global CR RepTrak®100, Reputation Institute, retrieved 4 February 2020, https://insights.reputationinstitute.com/reptrak-reports/2018-global-csr-100-reptrak-data 

  

Best Practice CSR

 

There are 7 factors Ewing (2015, p. 346) attributes to best practice,

. Demonstrate responsibility; do not assert it

. Get the facts

. Engage critics

. Earn credibility

. Define the company’s “sphere of influence”

. Connect corporate responsibility to business strategy

. Be transparent

For more detail, please read Ewing (2015, pp. 346 -353).

 

Register and Larkin (2008, p. 90) provide a checklist of CSR best practice that you could consider. They then provide a four-phase approach for CSR (Register & Larkin 2008, p. 91-93).

 

Look at the CSR reports of organisations for which you are a stakeholder. Based on the advice presented this week, do you feel they present the information well?

How do they rate? Use the ACCSR CSR Hub link: https://www.csrhub.com/CSR_and_sustainability_information/Amazoncom-Inc

 

Summary

 

CSR has developed over the years with several organisations taking the lead and inspiring others to follow. There are a variety of reasons (or rationales) as to why organisations adopt a CSR strategy. Some may be guided toward the business case others for more altruistic reasons; many may become involved for a range of reasons. Regardless of motivation, there are different mechanisms to become involved but core to a successful strategy is to identify stakeholders, their needs and align core objectives to meet those needs. Lastly, in order to determine if your CSR initiatives have achieved their aims, measurement is essential.

 

Environmental Scanning and tools to measure reputation. Week – 6

Introduction

‘Scanning is the communication activity through which organizations learn about trends and events in their environment’ (Lauzen 1995, p. 187).

Environmental scanning is an important data collection exercise that should be conducted on a continual basis to help organisations become aware of any trends, events or issues that they should be proactively managing or planning for. There are many sources of freely available information that practitioners can utilise and analyse to help make informed choices.  This topic will help navigate the various sources and tools available.

At the end of this topic you should be able to:

· Understand the rationale for monitoring the media’s representation of an organisation.

· Identify how monitoring can be conducted and the sources and tools available for this purpose.

· Identify methods used to analyse data once the information has been collected.

Environmental Scanning 

At the start of this process, it is important to know what the problem is and how you can obtain relevant information.

A good starting point when conducting environmental scanning is to address the following questions:

. How can monitoring the media help an organisation?

. How many issues can/should be monitored at any one point in time?

. Where can you obtain sources of information?

. With so many sources, where do you start and finish data collection?

. Once you have your information, how do you analyse it?

. Can issues and crises be predicted?

 

'Arguably, organizational survival rests on the ability of organizations to monitor, interpret, and respond to the myriad issues that both threaten and enhance survival and growth' (Lauzen 1995, p. 187).

 

How can monitoring the media help an organisation?

 

There are various reasons why monitoring the media can be useful for an organisation and why it should be conducted. Dowling and Weeks (2011) identify eight valid reasons listed in Table 6.1.

 

Table 6.1: Measuring an organisation’s media reputation

Measuring an organisation’s media reputation

Measure the effectiveness of a public relations or marketing initiative

Track the competitive landscape

Provide a barometer of sentiment

Provide an early warning signal of trouble

Provide insight into the mental models of media opinion leaders

Shed light on the influence factors that lie beyond the direct control of the company

Monitor the performance of communications during a crisis

Help the managers who are tasked with protecting and enhancing their company’s desired reputation

(Source: Dowling and Weeks 2011, p. 111)

 

Apart from monitoring the media, there are other ways you can obtain information. Your organisation or client may conduct annual surveys and you can assess what changes have occurred, what issues have arisen or what may be developing as an issue to address. There are other research methods you may be able to utilise such as interviews or focus groups.

 

When considering the role of the public relations practitioner in environmental scanning there are a number of tasks they may undertake (see Figure 6.1).

Figure 6.1: Issue identification and monitoring

 

Source: (Coombs, 2012; Lauzen, 1995)

 

Where can you obtain sources of information?

Coombs (2012) provides you with an indication of further sources of information (see Figure 6.2).

Figure 6.2 Source of information to monitor

Issues Management Sources
TRADITIONAL
News Media: Newspapers, television news, news and business magazines Trade journals: Medical and science journals Newsletters: Government publications Public opinion polls: Public opinion experts Stakeholder actions
ONLINE
News and business wires Online newspapers, magazines, and trade publications Archives for professional associations, special interest groups, and government agencies Consumer-generated media: Websites, blogs, and discussion groups Newsgroups
Risk Assessment Sources
Total quality management	Liability exposure	Natural disaster exposure
Environmental crisis exposure	Criminal exposure	Product tampering exposure
Legal compliance audits	Financial audits	Ethical climate surveys
Workers compensation	Safety, accident records	Behavioral profiling exposure
Internet use monitoring
Reputation Sources
Consumer-generated media: Web sites, blogs, and discussion groups Stakeholder comments sent to the organization

Source: Coombs 2012, p. 53

 

Additional sources of information generated within an organisation may also help; these include,

. Organisation’s mission, values, goals and other formal documentation such as relevant policies and procedures, and internal records such as databases of contacts etc.

. Material on the products, services and program under review

. Figures on the organisation’s resources, budgets, staffing, sales, profits, details of major shareholders, etc.

. Summary of internal communication tools

(Harrison 2011, p. 302)

 

Dowling and Weeks (2011) discuss how the media landscape (which includes mass media, corporate media and, social media) are three overlapping domains which can present differing impacts to an organisation’s reputation. Social media, in particular, 'can act as a lead indicator for reputation trouble' (Dowling & Weeks 2011, p. 113).

  

With so many sources, where do you start and finish data collection?

 

Start with your goal. Refer back to table 6.1; some specific examples may include,

· Rate the success of your campaign, product launch, event….?

· Gauge the opinions of your key stakeholders?

· Monitor the community reaction to a crisis event?

· Monitor how the media portrays your brand/client?

 

You can therefore narrow the parameters by focusing on, for example, the surveys you annually conduct with a specific stakeholder group and monitor changes over time. Perhaps it is the reach of an organisation you are measuring therefore you may wish to monitor the media coverage your organisation achieved over a specified timeframe. Electronic news services can help achieve this type of search.

 

Some of these articles may be copies of other journalist pieces, you may count these to determine the number of articles that featured (and make a note if they were replications). You would then read the articles and start to determine if an issue appears to exist. When reading media articles, Dyer suggests noting,

1. Sources used; write these down along with the source’s qualifications;

2. Terms used in reference to your client subject; how is the news copy treating your subject?

3. Issues; what are some of the key issues that are appearing time and time again?

4. The length of articles. Count the number of paragraphs per article. While you are reading, record significant quotes. Note especially value laden phrases (either very positive or very negative) and set these aside for your report.

(1993, p. 36)

 

Once you have your information, how do you analyse it?

 

As Lauzen (1995) points out, environmental scanning is merely information gathering. For this information to help form strategic decisions, it is what you then do with this information, i.e. how it is translated and the analysis.

 

Content analysis is useful to manage and analyse data. Content analysis is defined as 'the study of recorded human communications” and is generally used to address questions related to “who says what, to whom, why, how, and with what effect?' (Babbie 2005, p. 328-9).

 

Content analysis 'involves the systematic coding and classification of written materials' (Coombs 2012, p. 56). Using the sources obtained, each piece of information can be placed into a coding category (Coombs 2012). To ensure consistency and ‘reliability’ coding should be undertaken by experienced researchers. A definition would be provided/assigned to each code. A coder should be consistent in the manner in which they classify a piece of information. If another person should code the same information (or use the same categories) the definitions should be accurate so that they too would code the information in a similar way. Reliability is thus maintained, and accurate comparisons can be made (Coombs 2012).

 

Aligned to your sampling process, you can also classify your analysis according the lifecycle phases in which they occurred (as per Hainsworth 1990 and Regester and Larkin 2008) (see Table 6.2). An example is discussed by Dyer (1993) where the client is an organisation whose product launch backfired. This can be applied to product launches that failed to deliver in recent months. Consider the release of a failed mobile phone or movie release for example.

 

Table 6.2 The lifecycle model and media coverage

(Adapted from Dyer1993; Hainsworth 1990; Regester & Larkin 2008)

 

In relation to the third row of Table 6.2 (above), it is recommended that you read the chapter presented by Dowling and Weeks (2011); they present some valuable information in measuring the reputation of organisations and provide a method in their appendix. Dowling and Weeks assert that numerical measurements have a role, but greater value can be gained from a combination of 'thematic and message-centric analytics in addition to simple counts of inputs (such as media releases) and outputs (such as press coverage)' (2011, p. 123).

 

Complementing Dowling and Weeks (2011) is Dyer’s (1996) discussion on measuring content through 'three content dimensions' (see summary Table 6.3):

 

Table 6.3: Three content dimensions

Content dimension	Definition	Measurement	Interpretation
Salience	The stated or implied personal relevance or importance of news content to audience needs	Public opinion poll or market survey on every issue being monitored	Positive: audience believes issue is important to them
			Negative: audience believes issue is not important to them
			Neutral: audience believes issue neither relevant or irrelevant to them
Visibility	The amount or prominence of coverage afforded an actor event or object in the media	Count number of articles. Define source categories.	Positive: many articles in right outlets = more/positive visibility
			Negative: articles in wrong outlets = negative visibility
			Neutral: no coverage at  all
Valence	The general sense of favor (positive), neutrality, or disfavor (negative) associated with the portrayal of a given object/media issue	Determine if news item is positive, negative or neutral through coding.	Positive: media coverage favourable
			Negative: media coverage unfavourable
			Neutral: balanced media coverage

Dyer (1996, p. 139-143).

 

By reading Dyer’s (1996) article you can see how his articulation of the coding and analysis process through a model.

 

 

Accessing Newsbank and creating Lifecycle Diagrams

 

You can access Deakin Library's collection of electronic newspapers from around the world. Click here for a short PDF help guide to help you begin your search.

 

As part of your assessment, you will adapt Hainsworth’s (1990) lifecycle model to your own specific case (see Figure 6.3). Your specific case curve will vary depending on how quickly the problem/crisis developed (and escalated).

Figure 6.3: Hainsworth's issue cycle

Source: (Hainsworth 1990, p. 87).

If you read Regester and Larkin (2008) you will see that they have adapted Hainsworth’s model for their cases. On page 32 they replicate the model for the ‘Phthalates in toys case’, on page 105 the model is used for the 'Shell Brent Spar' case, and on page 70 they have a detailed version for the 'Ribena' case (see Figure 6.4) (please see Regester & Larkin 2008 for detail surrounding each case).

Figure 6.4: Example of a detailed Lifecycle Diagram

Source: (Register and Larkin 2008, p. 70)

Please view these examples to help you prepare your own adaptation. It will also give you an idea of how the phases differ in duration depending on how quickly an issue escalates into a crisis and then how quickly the crisis is resolved for example.

 

Summary

Environmental scanning is an important data collection exercise that should be conducted on a continual basis to help organisations become aware of any trends, events or issues that they should be proactively managing of planning for. There are many sources of freely available information from which practitioners can utilise and analyse to help make informed choices.