Running head: Group Project outline Group 1 1
Group Project Outline group 1
Maxine Cox
Raina Parsons
Chante Powell
Christy Stephens
Ben Wall
Liberty University
BMAL 504 – Leading Organizational Change
Running head: Group Project outline Group 1 2
Definition of Project:
“The Lord has never spoken to me, but I feel Chick-fil-A has been His gift” (Schmall,
2007). This statement from CEO and founder of Chick-fil-A, S. Truett Cathy, embodies the food
chain’s biblically minded approach. Chick-fil-A is a family owned business known for its
chicken sandwich. It has been known for its Christian values by many and its stance on being
closed on Sundays it a great way that they hold true to those values. Chick-fil-A’s crisis struck
when Cathy stated “I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist
at him and say, “We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage”… and I pray God’s
mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the
audacity to define what marriage is about (Coleman, 2012). In order to overcome this crisis we
must take certain measures to overcome this crisis.
A communication strategy must be put into place to restore the organizations reputation
An explanation of comments made by Carey to expand on his beliefs but not to be
prejudice to others decisions.
Diagnosis of current situation:
As the CEO and a representative of Chick-fil-A stakeholders he should not have professed an
opinion in a public arena without the stakeholders having that opinion as well as the company.
By doing so, he stirred controversy among stakeholders. Furthermore he did not take into
consideration the views of the majority of the public and political views on this matter before
choosing to speak his personal belief on the topic of what a Marriage should be. This caused
tremendous backlash from the media as well as social media.
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Recommendations:
It is important for Chick-fil-A as an organization to make a public statement as soon as possible
to correct this action. According to Coombs (2012), “A quick response helps to ensure that
stakeholders receive accurate crisis-related information and hear the organization’s side of the
story”
Implementation Plan:
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Summary:
The Statements made by Cathy who represented Chick-fil-A as the CEO made personal opinion
comments regarding what a marriage should consist of resulting in a crisis for the company as a
whole. Statements made did not represent those of stakeholders within the company and should
have been taken into consideration along with the views of both political and public eye prior to
voicing such opinions. Quick communication is key to addressing such things as it can lessen
the effect of the crisis. While they did not follow proper strategies for communicating views in
the public eye, they were able to learn new insights on how to effectively engage the media.
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References
Coleman, K. (2012, July 27). Redefining tolerance: The case of Chick-fil-A. [Web log post].
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-coleman/redefining-tolerance-chickfil-
a_b_1711677.html
Coombs, W. T. (2012). Ongoing Crisis Communication: Planning, Managing, and Responding.
3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2012. Print.
Jick, T., & Peiperl, M. (2011). Managing change: Cases and concepts (3rd ed.). New York:
Mcgraw-hill.
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