Conflict Management: Dealing with Issues, Risks, and …harwoodp.people.cofc.edu/PRCh10ConflictManagementPP.pdf · Conflict Management: Dealing with Issues, Risks, and Crises Chapter

Conflict Management: Dealing with Issues, Risks, and Crises Chapter 10 Public Relations is involved in

“influencing the course of conflicts to the benefit of the organization and, when possible, to the benefit of the organization’s main constituents.”

The use of public relations to influence the course of a conflict is called “strategic conflict management.”

In competition/conflict, a sense of mission and conviction is needed:

That your organization’s behavior is honorable and defensible

Your organization is ethical

Your organization’s mission is worthy

Your advocacy of the organization has integrity

Your organization works at creating mutual benefit whenever possible

“Fight the good fight!”

Taking a Stance A PR professional or team must determine the stance its organization will take toward each public or stakeholder involved in a conflict situation. The stance then determines strategy- what will be done and why. McDonald’s Billboard Controversy p. 248

The mayor of Bogota, N.J. accused the restaurant chain of racism because it posted a billboard in Spanish to advertise its new iced coffee

The mayor saw it as a slur against local Latinos, McDonald’s assuming local Latinos didn’t speak English

McDonald’s and its PR firm (MWW Group) had to assess the threat to the company’s reputation and how the media and public (Hispanics especially) would react to the charge of racism

Research found a localized response was best and found that the mayor was not especially popular in Bogota (and he had distributed Spanish-language campaign material in the past)

McDonald’s then prepared its store managers in the tri-state area to handle local media inquiries and sent backgrounders to editors and reporters about its long history of multicultural programs, including extensive annual scholarship grants to Hispanic students

Many media outlets referenced this info in stories and McDonald’s received generally positive coverage

Thus the issue was short-lived and didn’t snowball into nat’l story Sales of the iced coffee even increased 22 percent in greater N.Y. area

Phases of the Conflict Management Life Cycle:

Proactive

Strategic

Reactive

Recovery

Think of the conflict management process as a life cycle of a problem or issue that professionals must track. Strategic conflict management can be divided into four general phases (above)

Proactive Phase

This phase involves activities and thought processes that can prevent a conflict from arising or from getting out of hand.

One way is through “environmental scanning”—the constant reading, listening and watching of current affairs with an eye to the organization’s interest.

Issues Tracking– as issues emerge, attention becomes more focused and systematic through, for example, the daily clipping of news stories

Issues Management– when an organization makes behavioral changes or creates strategic plans in ways that address the emerging issue

Crisis Plan– the first step in preparing for the worst– an issue or event that has escalated to crisis proportions

“Stealing Thunder”-disclose a crisis before it is discovered by the media or others. Studies show stealing thunder enhances credibility of the organization and decreases the perceived severity of the problem

Strategic Phase

An issue that has become an emerging conflict is identified as needing concerted action by the PR professional.

Three broad strategies take place in this phase:

Risk communication

Conflict-positioning

Crisis management

Strategy Phase Three Strategies: Risk communication—dangers or threats

to people or organizations are conveyed to forestall personal injury, health problems, and environmental damage

Conflict-positioning—strategies to favorably position the organization in anticipation of actions such as litigation/lawsuits, boycott, adverse legislation, elections, or similar events that will play out in the “court of public opinion.”

Crisis management—a plan of action for dealing with worst case scenario crisis situations

Reactive Phase

This is when an issue or conflict has reached a critical level of impact on the organization

Now PR professionals must react to events in the external communication environment as they unfold.

Reactive Phase Strategies can include:

Crisis communications—implement your crisis communication plan

Conflict resolution—techniques used to bring a heated conflict, such as collapsed salary negotiations, to a favorable resolution (PR people employing strategies to assist negotiation or arbitration efforts to resolve conflict, for example)

Litigation public relations—employs communication strategies and publicity efforts in support of legal actions or trial

Recovery Phase

In the aftermath of a crisis or a high profile, heated conflict with a public, the organization should employ strategies either to bolster or repair its reputation in the eyes of key publics.

Two ways: Reputation management and image restoration

Recovery Phase: Two Approaches

Reputation management—includes systematic research to learn the state of the organization’s reputation and then taking steps to improve it

Image restoration—strategies to help a company’s or organization’s reputation that has been damaged by the poor management of issues or controversies, or callous responses to a crisis

How to Communicate during a Crisis

Put the public first

Take responsibility- for solving problem

Be honest- don’t obscure facts or try to mislead public

Never say “No comment” (guilt?)

Designate a single spokesperson

Set up a central information center

Provide a constant flow of information

Be familiar with media needs and deadlines

Be accessible

Monitor news coverage

Communicate with key publics

How organizations respond to crises:

Attack the accuser-confront, challenge, threaten

Denial-there is no crisis!

Excuse-minimize responsibility; no control/harmful intent

Justification-minimize crisis- no serious damage/injury

Ingratiation-take actions to appease publics involved

Corrective action-steps taken to repair damage;

prevent from happening again

Full apology-take full responsibility, ask forgiveness

Crisis Case Studies

Intel’s Pentium Chip Problems (p. 263)

Pepsi’s Syringe Hoax Crisis (p. 263)

Toyota’s Car Recall (p. 266-7)