150416_LSPR-SIM01-s36

Master of Arts in Communication : Corporate Communication Studies

elearning.lspr.edu

Course : Strategic Issues Management (1504SIM01)

Session Topic : Issue and Crisis Introduction

Course: Strategic Issues Management

By Rudi Sukandar, Ph.D

LSPR eLearning Program

Powered by HarukaEdu.com - 1504SIM01- Hal 3

• Part 1 Overview

• Part 2 Issues and Crises • Part 3 Issue Management

Content

Part1: Overview


Overview: Unit

This unit covers,

• the specialist area

of issues

management…

• …from a public

relations

perspective.


Overview: Essential…

Above all,

• Management of an

organisation must be,

1. Competent and

2. Ethical.

Otherwise,

• The handling of issues and

crises

• will expose management’s

failings to the world and

• could destroy the

organisation.


Overview: Today

The context

All organisations depend on good relationships with,

• internal and

• external

…stakeholders.

Organisations,

• constantly have to deal with a range of challenges…

• …in their operating environment to be successful.

Effective issue management,

• helps overcome these challenges…

• …by focusing on effective stakeholder relations management.

Corporate planning is strengthened by good issue management.

The details of this unit’s content and assignments will be provided following this lecture.


Overview: Interaction with Operating Environment

The Organisation

Values &

lifestyle Internal

environment

Public (govt) policy

formulation

Special-interest groups Role of

Stakeholder groups

Attitudes towards business

Information age

Ethical standards


Overview: Continuum

Concern risk problem issue crisis

This unit is about issues,

• which are located on a continuum of organisational challenges

• …caused by stakeholder attitudes and actions.

The strategy dealing with these challenges should be an

integrated process.

More discussion on this in later weeks.

Continuum of Challenges

Part2: Issues and Crises


Issues & Crises: About

Issues, • are messy • they don’t progress predictably in a straight line. • They are usually the outcome of trends… • which are detectable changes likely to affect the

operating environment (Jones & Chase, 1979).

Issues and crises, • are closely related, • …but crises are not necessarily a failure of issue

management.


Issues & Crises: About (cont.)

Ignoring an issue, • doesn’t necessarily lead to a crisis • some issues and potential issues

fade away without action by management.

A crisis can be an event that, • creates an issue or • …keeps an issue alive or • …gives it strength (Heath, 1997, cited in Jaques, 2009).

Robert L. Heath

• Emeritus Professor,

Communication, Houston

Univ.

• Published many award-

winning books


Issues: Definition

Q: What is An emerging issue? A: A condition or event, • either internal or external to

the organisation, • which if it continues, will

significantly affect the functioning or performance of the organisation or

• …its future interests. (Regester & Larkin, 2008, p. 44).

Michael Regester

Founding Director,

Regester Larkin

Ltd (1994)

Judy Larkin

Owner, Risk

Principals Ltd

(2006)


Issues: Jim Kukral

Issues are around us every day

Jim F. Kukral

• Founder, Author Marketing Inst.

(2014 - present)

• Professor, Internet Marketing

Univ. San Francisco

(2009)


Issues: Definition

Q: What is an issue?

A: It…

• Usually causes two or more strongly held/opposing

views

• Involves emotions

• Concerns that any decision will impact people’s

lives

• Might become a crisis when not effectively

handled


Issues: Levels


A: It…

• Usually causes two or more strongly

held/opposing views



lives


handled

Some levels of Issue

1. Latent

In the process of being formed

2. Emerging

• Begins to appear in journals, specialty media sources, alternative media

• Adopted by interest groups and opinion leaders become aware

3. Hot

In current debate

4. Fallout

Waiting to be rekindled (sparks of a past fire ready to re-ignite)


Issues: Organisations


A: It…

• Usually causes two or more strongly

held/opposing views



lives


handled

More pressure on organisations

Organisations,

• are under more public scrutiny than every before,

• …especially due to social media.

• Headlines are more sensationalised.

• But most cases are merely issues, not anything worse.

1. Media disaster!

PR…,

2. disaster!

3. blunder!

4. catastrophe!

5. mess!

6. blow!

7. bungle!

8. stumble!


Issues: Example

t any decision will impact people’s lives This trivial example in 2013,

• occurred because a nervous US Congressman fumbled for a drink of water

• …while making an important speech.


Issues: Business Issues

t any decision will impact people’s lives Nevertheless, many genuine issues are around

Here are the business issues reported in the Asian Wall Street Journal in

just one day in October 2013.

1. Apple cuts orders for iPhone 5C

2. Ireland moves to block tax shelter for international co’s

3. Laos aircraft crashes at Mekong River

4. Glaxo’s ex-China chief assists in bribery probe

5. A shakeout for Wal-Mart’s China stores


Issues: Business Issues (cont.)

t any decision will impact people’s lives 6. Danone cuts forecasts after

baby-formula recall

7. Yahoo: profit stuck, for now

8. Mattel plants face scrutiny in

China

9. JP Morgan fined $100m for

reckless trading


Issues: Caused

Q: What about issues caused by social media?

A:

Types of issues

1. Negative comments

2. Rogue tweets

3. Campaign-gone-wrong

• Any other categories of social media issues?

• Specific examples?

Part3: Issue Management


Issue Management: 2 Ways

Issues and Issue Management

2 ways to view issue management

1. As a structural framework – a public policy approach

2. As its application in practice – a set of processes

This leads to 3 different ways to define issues:

1. Controversy or dispute

An issue is a contestable difference of opinion

2. Gap in expectations

• Gap between organisational actions and the expectations of

stakeholders

• The ‘legitimacy gap’


Issue Management: 2 Ways (cont.)

3. Impact

• Event,

• Trend or

• Condition creating, or

• Has potential to create,

• A major impact

(Jaques, 2009)


Issue Management: Legitimacy

Any issue can form when,

• constituencies and

• organisations

….have different expectations and

behaviours.

This is called the legitimacy gap.

• Addressed through public policy or

• …through firms voluntarily making

changes after engaging with

constituencies who want a change,

or

• …the firm persuading

constituencies to its point of view

(Coombs & Holladay, 2010, p. 196-197).

W. Timothy

Coombs Ph.D

Professor,

Advertising-Public

Relations, Univ. of

Central Florida

Sherry J. Holladay,

Ph.D

Professor, Nicholson

School of

Communication,

Univ. of Central

Florida in Orlando


Issue Management: Legitimacy (cont.)

Legitimacy involves sufficient people accept the issue as a

public concern.

Power and influence,

• Are central in issue management, and

• …therefore strong need for an ethical approach (Coombs & Holladay, 2010, p. 210)

An issue always involves some degree of conflict (Hainsworth, 1990, cited in Oliver & Donnelly, 2007)


Issue Management: Definition

Q: What is Issue management ?

A: A form of risk management.

• It reduces the risk of the organisation being worse off

than…

• …if it hadn’t dealt properly with the issues.

We will talk about risk communication later in this unit.

Issues management,

• was formed in response to activist action to shape public

policy (i.e. government) in the 1970s,

• …but now extends to general matters in public.


Issue Management: Definition (cont.)

The term issue management,

• actually gives the wrong impression.

• Organisations can’t actually manage issues;

• public issues are too big to control…

• …management can just try to shape and influence them,

…ideally to best mutual advantage with stakeholders

(Arnold & Ewing, 2012, p. 344)



IM is,

1. …the function of strategically

aligning the corporation with the

operating environment,

• allowing continued survival and

• development of relationships

with members of that

environment

(Bowen, 2002)

2. …about identifying risk and

opportunity before your key

audiences can

(Palese & Crane, 2002)

Shannon A. Bowen, Ph.D.

Associate Professor Univ. of South

Carolina (2012)



3. …originally intended to help firms compete with governments

and NGOs in the development of public policy.

• But Govts and NGOs themselves now use IM techniques…

• …to promote and implement those very policies.


Issue Management: The Focus

The focus of issue management

Issue management is about strategic issues,

• the trends,

• events and

• developments

…that meet 3 criteria:

1. They would affect the organisation’s business

performance

The organisation,

2. …would have to systematically mobilise resources to

deal with them.

3. …may reasonably expect to exert some influence

over the outcome.

(Mahon, n.d. cited in Harrison 2011, p. 780)

John F. Mahon

• Chair, Int’l Business Policy

& Strategy

• Professor, Mgt. Univ. of

Maine (2001-Present)


Issue Management: Planning

Planning strengthened by IM

Corporate planning is strengthened by

issue management when IM:

1. Anticipates, analyses & prioritises

issues

2. Helps develop a position on vital

issues

3. Identifies stakeholders & key players

4. Identifies desired behaviours of

stakeholders and influential persons

These functions support achievement of

the organisational mission.


Issue Management: Planning (cont.)

Communication professionals are empowered when they are involved

in these functions. (Heath & Palenchar, 2009, p. 31)

Robert L. Heath

• Emeritus Professor, Communication,

Houston Univ.

• Published many award-winning books

Michael J. Palenchar, Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy, Mass

Communication, Univ. of

Florida (2005)


References

1. Arnold, J., & Ewing, R. (2012). Issues management methods for

reputational management. In C. Caywood (Ed.). The Handbook of Strategic

Public Relations and Integrated Marketing Communications (2nd ed., pp.

335-352). New York: McGraw-Hill.

2. Bowen, S. (2002). Elite executives in issues management: the role of ethical

paradigms in decision making. Journal of Public Affairs, 2(4), pp. 270-

283.

3. Coombs, W., & Holladay, S. (2010). PR Strategy and Application:

managing influence. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

4. Heath, R., & Palenchar, M. (2009). Strategic Issues Management:

organizations and public policy challenges (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks,

California: SAGE Publications.

5. Jaques, T. (2009). Issues and crisis management: quicksand in the

definitional landscape. Public Relations Review, 35(3), pp. 280-286.

6. Jones, B., & Chase, W. (1979). Managing public policy issues. Public

Relations Review, 5(2), pp. 3-23.


7. Harrison, K. (2011). Strategic Public Relations. Melbourne, Australia:

Palgrave Macmillan.

8. Oliver, G., & Donnelly P. (2007). Effective use of a Strategic Issue

Management System (SIMS): combining tools and approach. Journal of

Public Affairs, 7(4), pp. 399-406.

9. Palese, M., & Crane, T. (2002). Building an integrated issue management

process as a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Journal of

Public Affairs, 2(4), pp. 284-292.

10. Regester, M., & Larkin, J. (2008). Risk Issues and Crisis Management in

Public Relations (4th ed.) London: Kogan Page.

References (cont.)


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Course : Strategic Issues Management (1504SIM01)

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150416_LSPR-SIM01-s36