Think: Public Relations, 2nd edition, New York: Pearson Education, 2012.

Managing Competition and Conflict Ask Yourself 8 Good Intentions Go Further with Smart PR An old adage states that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” For Merck, the maker of a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, that saying may prove to be all too true. The company’s anticancer vaccine has faced criticism, attacks, and a political maelstrom in a free society where clashing views are heard. Merck’s Gardasil is a vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV causes painful recurring genital warts and is a major risk factor for cervical cancer. HPV has also been identified as a risk factor for penile cancer. Those unaware of the central role of conflict in news and public relations might imagine that inventing a vaccine against a pernicious virus would be a guaranteed ticket to fame and fortune for the scientists, companies, and politicians involved. But Gardasil has had a conflict-ridden and crisis-plagued journey since its 2006 FDA approval, even playing a showstealing role in the 2011 debates among Republican presidential hopefuls. Socially conservative Minnesota Senator Michele Bachmann sharply criticized Texas Governor Rick Perry for issuing an executive order in his state requiring that sixth-grade girls be vaccinated against HPV. Perry was blasted by conservative and Tea Party members for excessive government interference in private lives, for spending tax dollars on social engineering, and the order’s implication that 11- and 12-year-old girls are engaging in early and/or frequent sexual activity. The crisis for the Perry campaign brought Gardasil to center stage, where other voices took up the public discourse about vaccines. Diverse groups who joined the chorus against the vaccine included: > What Role Do Competition and Conflict Play in Public Relations? p. 174 > What Factors Affect the Stance that an Organization Takes During Conflict Management? p. 179 > What Are the Phases of the Conflict Management Life Cycle? p. 182 > How Can Public Relations Professionals Best Manage the Conflict Management Life Cycle? p. 183 • Public health professionals who expressed concern that females would become complacent about protected sex and omit regular pap smears to detect cervical cancers not covered by Gardasil • Anti-vaccine groups who argued that Merck was greedily profiting from “risky” vaccinations • Social activists who worried that offering access to Gardasil for lowerincome families at public health clinics was a form of racial profiling • Advocates of sexual abstinence before marriage Merck stayed above the fray, offering a short statement affirming the efficacy and safety of Gardasil and pointing out the millions of girls were 173 being vaccinated without incident each year. A Merck spokesperson said, “Despite much media attention and strong opinions from many quarters, vaccines remain one of the greatest tools in the public health arsenal.” The road to heaven or hell—or even just good health policy—is rife with conflict and crisis. Because so much is at stake, health public relations is one of the most polemical and highly charged specialties in public relations. Skill and understanding of how public discourse and strategic conflict management work in a free society provide perspective for communicators striving to improve human health and wellbeing. 1 How might the more recent recommendation to vaccinate boys with Gardasil to protect against penile cancer change the nature of the public discourse? 2 Gardasil has become a platform for social action and political groups to further their own positions by fomenting conflict. Do you think this conflict escalation strategy is ethical? 3 What role should the public relations team at Merck play in the very public debate about Gardasil? A NEW WAY OF THINKING: Conflict & Competition P ublic relations can be defined as the strategic management of conflict and competition in the best interests of an organization and, when possible, also in the interests of key publics. The paramount concern of public relations professionals is managing communication in the interests of their employers and clients to enhance their competitive position and handle conflict effectively, provided the objectives of their employers are worthy and ethical. This definition is more assertive than definitions that emphasize building mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its various stakeholders. Building relationships is a key objective, but it is only part of the larger role that public relations plays in ensuring an organization’s success. Public relations enables both forprofit and nonprofit organizations to compete for limited resources (e.g., customers, volunteers, employees, donations, grants) and to engage in healthy, honest conflict with those who hold different views of what is best and right for society. Achieving these sorts of objectives increases the value of public relations to an organization. It is also how public relations professionals earn the influence that leads to greater recognition by top management, increased respect in the field, and, ultimately, better-paying, more The dismay, confusion, and chaos following the revelation of a sexual scandal in the football program at Penn State in part resulted largely from the absence of a crisis communication plan, but also from a failure to employ proactive conflict management steps. 174 chaPteR 8 Managing competition and conflict “ I believe that many of the well-known crisis communication management techniques were overlooked or inappropriately implemented. The adage to ‘tell the truth and tell it quickly’ surely was ignored when one considers the timeline of the alleged events. ” Dr. Robert Baukus, head of the Department of Advertising/ Public Relations at Penn State secure positions for public relations professionals in general. Although competition and conflict are closely related, this book makes a distinction between the two. Most public relations activities and programs deal with competition between organizations for COMPETITION Organization RESOURCES CONFLICT Organization In business, these “resources” may consist of sales, market share, contracts, employees, and ultimately profits. Organization and sales and customers. Conflict, in contrast, usually involves confrontations between organizations and various stakeholders or publics. Organization In the nonprofit sector, the competition may be for donations, grants, clients, volunteers, and even political influence. Organization Conflict arises when labor unions pressure WalMart to unionize or when an environmental group lobbies Home Depot to stop selling lumber from endangered hardwood forests. Conflict also occurs when government regulators revoke million-dollar salaries and bonuses paid to executives at companies receiving taxpayer bailout funds. Organization COMPETITION is inevitable and CONFLICT occurs when two groups omnipresent. It occurs when two or more groups or organizations vie for the same resources. direct their efforts against each other, devising communication and actions that attack. a New Way of thinking: conflict & competition 175 Admittedly, the distinction between competition and conflict is partly a matter of The Susan P. Komen Cancer Foundation Planned Parenthood also offered abortion degree, but and Planned Parenthood is a classic illuscounseling. it is also a tration of competition and conflict. Both The announcement generated a blizzard matter of organizations provide health services to of criticisim from thousands of women focus. In women and, compete with each other who were upset with the decision , and competition, for donations from many of the same the online community and mainstream everyone’s sources. media framed the issue as a major conflict eyes are on This competition, however, rose to the between two well-respected organizathe prize— conflict level when the Komen Foundations. In a matter of hours the Komen such as sales tion announced in January of 2012 that Foundation was under siege for taking or political it would no longer provide grants to sides in the highly charged issue of aborsupport, for example. Planned Parenthood to provide cancer tion, which alienated many women who With conscreenings to poor women. The rationale were its primary donor base. flict, all was that the foundation decided not to Within three days, the Komen Founeyes are on fund organizations under “investigation” dation’s board of directors rescinded its the opposiby Congress. Actually, it was only one decision. It then had the difficult task of tion—that conservative Republican legislator who rebuilding its credibility and reputation is, on dealwas calling for an investigation because with its donors and the public. ing with or initiating Wal-Mart may please labor unvestor who provides essential capital threats of some sort or another. ions by paying more employee bento corporations. Environmentalists In either case, striving for mutual efits, but consumers who like low may want to close a coal plant, but benefit is extremely important. It prices may object to that policy if it the company’s employees and the involves balancing the interests of means that the company will charge local community may be avid supan employer or client with those more for its goods. To compound porters of keeping the plant open of a number of stakeholders. Ofconflict management challenges, a despite any environmental concerns. ten, professionals can accommodate powerful third public is the stock inGiven competing agendas and isthe interests of both the organizasues, public relations profestion and its various publics. But To whom does a PR professional sionals must look first to the sometimes organizations may owe primary allegiance? needs of the organization, not be able to please all of their and then manage the inevitapublics because there are differble conflicts that arise. ences in worldviews. b t w… The Difference Between Competition and Conflict think THE ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN MANAGING Conflict P ublic relations professionals must develop communication strategies and processes to influence the course of conflicts to the benefit of their organizations and, when possible, to the ben- efit of the organizations’ many constituents. This deliberate influence is called strategic conflict management. Public relations can involve reducing conflict, as is frequently the 176 chaPteR 8 Managing competition and conflict case in crisis management. At other times, conflict is escalated for activist purposes, such as when antiabortion advocates picket health clinics and assault clients, doctors, and nurses. Some strategies are less dramatic, such as when industry advocates lobby to open parts of the Alaskan wilderness to exploration for oil, striving to win approval from the public—and ultimately, from Congress. Conflict management often occurs when a business or industry contends with government think Is conflict always bad for organizations? regulators or activist groups that seem determined to curtail operations through what the indus- ethics in Moral Conflicts Pose Special Challenges When organizations clash over a heated issue or a moral conlict such as embryonic stem cell research or capital punishment, charges leveled at the opposition often aim at impugning the ethics of the opponent. Often, such charges can be paraphrased as “We are just trying to tell the truth, but they are lying and twisting facts.” Sometimes this “truth telling” is contrasted with the “spin” practiced by the other side—even though both sides use the same tactics in addition to a full range of persuasive public relations strategies. When proponents embrace try considers excessive safety or environmental standards. Industries will often organize as coalitions or trade groups to fight back. For example, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (cleancoalusa.org) spends tens of millions of dollars annually on ACTION absolute moral values in this way, they fail to reach out to, or understand, the other side. Most news conferences begin with an opening statement by the organization holding the news conference. Write an opening statement for a press conference on a current moral conlict somewhere in the world. You might take the role of a WikiLeaks spokesperson making an appeal for support of its mission to expose secret documents and practices to the light of day. Or perhaps you prefer to serve as a Pentagon spokesperson decrying the threat to the safety of American troops in sensitive operations being compromised by WikiLeaks disclosures. Outline your statement for the side that you support most strongly, and then try to understand the worldview of the other side and sketch an opening statement for that group. Does this exercise prove that it is foolish for public relations people to stand for something they believe in when there is no absolute right or wrong? Or does the classic adage, “You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything” ring more true in your ears? the Role of Public Relations in Managing conflict 177 public relations, including advocacy ads on television claiming that industry innovations have turned coal into a clean, abundant source of energy. Speeches and news releases from this organization also warn against excessive regulation that would curtail the role of coal in America’s energy future. On the other side, environmental groups such as the Sierra Club lobby Congress and regulatory agencies for restrictions in coal burning, claiming that the concept of “clean” coal is a myth. Solar energy enthusi- asts, in an effort to capitalize on the clean coal controversy, have employed an interesting approach. One such group hosts a website that uses the words “clean coal” in its URL; only when visitors reach the website do they learn that the site actually touts solar technology, not clean coal. The creation of such anti-sites are a popular guerrilla tactic for activist groups with small budgets. Sometimes an organization is able to catch a conflict at an early stage and reduce damage to the or- ganization by employing a strategy that crisis management experts term “stealing thunder.” In other cases, an issue may smolder for some time before turning into a major fire. For example, lavish executive salary packages had periodically emerged as a point of contention over the past decade. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until the 2009 economic collapse in the United States, which was precipitated largely by rampant speculation perpetrated by highsalaried managers in banking and insurance, that a broad groundswell The regime that ruled Egypt for decades faced an organized and determined physical presence in Tahrir Square that was motivated and organized through effective strategic communication. The Mubarak government gradually moved toward greater and greater accommodation of the demands for democratic representation, ultimately capitulating to the will of the people for dramatic change. 178 chaPteR 8 Managing competition and conflict of resentment found its voice in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Although the tactics, the anarchistic philosophy, and even the appearance of some of the Occupiers may not sit well with conformist middleclass Americans, the call for justice and equity does. Unfortunately, most conflict situations do not have a clear- cut, ideal solution. In many cases, public relations professionals will not be able to accommodate the concerns of an activist group or a particular public because of many factors, including those Which factors related to the continued viabildetermine how a ity of the organization. In such public relations cases, public relations profesprofessional reacts to conflict? sionals must make tough calls and advocate on behalf of their organizations. think it depends: FACTORS THAT AFFECT Conflict MANAGEMENT W orking with management, a public relations professional or team must determine the stance the organization will take toward each stakeholder involved in a conflict situation. This stance determines the strategy employed— what will be done and why. The stance-driven approach to public relations began with the discovery that virtually all practitioners share an unstated, informal approach to managing conflict and competition: “it depends.” In essence, the stance taken “depends” on many factors, and it changes in response to changing circumstances. One approach to determining how to react in a conflict is the threat appraisal model and another is contingency theory. In this section of the chapter, we discuss them both briefly. The Threat Appraisal Model A good public relations practitioner monitors the external communication environments, such as news, social media, and the blogosphere, for threats, assesses them, arrives at a stance for the organization, and begins communication efforts from that stance. Practitioners face a complex set of forces to monitor and consider. A threat to an organization requires an assessment of the demands that the threat makes on the organization as well as an assessment of the resources available to address the threat. Once a threat is identified threat, the public relations professional must consider a variety of factors. Are the knowledge, time, finances, and management commitment available to combat the threat? What is the best method to assess the severity of the danger? Is it a situation with the potential for a long duration, or is it a relatively simple matter that can be resolved fairly quickly? After carefully assessing the threat, professionals sometimes decide to ignore an issue or a pressure group, thereby saving themselves and their clients time, energy, and trouble. Letting an issue or a group “die on the vine” may appear to be accommodative or even humane, but is often considered an affront, even an insult. It should be done only after ethical deliberation. Contingency Theory Two fundamental principles underlie the definition of public relations as strategic management of competition and conflict. The first principle is that many factors determine the stance or position of an organization when it comes to dealing with conflict and perceived threats. The second principle is that the public relations stance for dealing with a particular audience or public must be dynamic. The stance must change as events unfold; there is a continuum of stances ranging from pure advocacy to pure accommodation. These two principles form the basis of contingency theory. contingency factors. The public relations approach that is used is “contingent” on many factors that professionals must take into account. In a survey of 1,000 members of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), most practitioners reported that the expertise and experience of the public relations professional play a major role in formulating the proper strategy for dealing with a conflict or issue. Organizational-level variables, however, are also important. Likewise, the values and attitudes of top management clearly have a great influence on how an organization responds to conflict and threats. It Depends: Factors that affect conflict Management 179 Ca pi tu la ti Ap on an olo d gy Re sti tu tio n m om ise t pe Co m pr iti Co ng Av oi d Co ing op Co era lla tio b n Ne ora go tin tia g tio n on Co nt en Co din g m pr om isi Co m pe tin Li t g i Pu ga bl tio ic n Re la tio ns Ar gu in g PR professionals will change stance as events and factors emerge as is indicated in the real life examples. CONTINGENCY CONTINUUM PURE ADVOCACY PURE ACCOMMODATION When it was claimed that used syringes were found in cans of Pepsi, the company took the stance that such claims were a hoax and stood 100 percent behind its product, resisting suggestions that a product recall was needed. the contingency continuum. Depending on circumstances, factors such as the attitudes of top management and the judgment of public relations professionals may move the organization either toward or away from accommodation of a public. The range of response forms a continuum from pure advocacy to pure accommodation. Pure advocacy is a hard-nosed stance of completely disagreeing with or refuting the arguments, claims, or threats of a competitor or a group concerned about an issue. The other extreme on this continuum is pure accommodation. In accommodation, the organization agrees with its critics, changes its policies, makes restitution, and even makes a full public apology for its actions. Of course, there are other stances in between these two extremes. The continuum shows the dynamism of strategic conflict management. In many cases, When videos of its kitchen workers stuffing shredded cheese up their noses went viral on the web, Dominos faced damage to its 50-year-old brand as a Twitter storm ensued. Using the same social media channels its employees had used to besmirch its good name, Dominos swiftly apologized and took corrective actions that restored its solid reputation. an organization initially adopts a pure advocacy stance, but as the situation changes, new information comes to light, and public opinion shifts, the stance changes toward more accommodation, provided such a move does not violate deeply held principles. “ Christi McNeill, who oversees social media communication at Southwest, told PR Daily on Wednesday that social media is a key component of the airlines’ crisis plan. ‘As soon as we get some facts, we share it with our customers,’ McNeill said. ‘We want our customers to find out about it from us, before it hits the evening news.’ So much for the ‘not commenting until the incident has been reviewed by the FAA and NTSB’ response that some other airlines fall back on. Blogger Gil Rudawsky 180 chaPteR 8 Managing competition and conflict ” PR CAsebooK Free Silva For Silva Harotonian, a pleasant afternoon drinking tea with friends ended at iran’s notorious Evin prison. Seven months later, a deceptive legal process resulted in her threeyear conviction for “attempting to overthrow the iranian government.” international outcry followed against the allegation that an iranian citizen of armenian heritage working on maternal and child health initiatives for irEX was a genuine threat to iran’s theocratic dictatorship. after all, irEX is simply a Washington DC-based international nonprofit organization that administers the Fulbright scholarship and many other U.S. State Department programs—. the charges against Harotonian, which claimed she was plotting a “soft revolution” as a U.S. “spy,” may have arisen from the role she had played in facilitating visits to iran by child health experts. To reverse this travesty of justice, IREX hired public relations firm Edelman to mount a communication campaign and obtain her release. The international firm executed a global program designed to: • raise international awareness of the case; • build leverage that could be used as part of diplomatic negotiations; • develop relationships with key influencers; and • minimize anything that might link Silva to the U.S. as a “spy.” With the help of this program, IREX and Harotonian’s family and lawyers ultimately gained the leverage they needed to successfully negotiate her release. Crucial components of the award-winning campaign included research and planning. Edelman conducted extensive research of other detainments to find patterns in media coverage and diplomacy that could be emulated. Planning focused on identifying specific influentials who could impact Harotonian’s situation, particularly the Ayatollah, the president of Iran, religious clerics, U.S. diplomats, and governmental officials around the world. Concerns expressed through the campaign Silva Harotonian gave Harotonian a voice. The highest profile advocate was Harotonian’s former cellmate, journalist Roxana Saberi, who had endured a similarly unjust incarceration. Tactics of the strategic plan included: • An advocacy website as the core platform for Harotonian’s “voice,” with tracking tools to show massive global support • Targeted international media, which demonstrated widespread support for Harotonian while maintaining a respectful tone toward Iran and downplaying U.S. connections • Assisting in public and private diplomatic efforts to make personal appeals for Silva’s release Edelman’s staff identified key Iranian and Armenian holidays and significant historical dates to time program pushes accordingly. The firm engaged and mobilized respected human rights advocates and organized a press conference and symbolic event at the Human Rights Esplanade in Paris in June 2009 to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Harotonian’s detention. Results from the pointed tactics were impressive. Many influential appeals were made to Iranian leaders against a backdrop of media coverage from top-tier outlets that included the Associated Press, Reuters, USA Today, CNN, and Fox News. Coverage of the Paris event was aired in Tehran, a media market known for its heavy censorship of anything thought critical of the regime. The website was such a successful advocacy tool that Iranian officials stipulated its removal as a condition of Harotonian’s freedom. After three months of private negotiations and 11 months into her threeyear sentence, Harotonian was paroled from Evin prison. In March 2010, she was allowed to leave Iran. 1 Edelman opted for an accommodative stance toward the Iranian leadership. How did this stance shape the strategy and communication program of the campaign? 2 Would you have taken a more or less accommodative stance if Edelman had hired you to lead the campaign? It Depends: Factors that affect conflict Management 181 THE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT Life Cycle S uccessful public relations professionals serve as more than communication technicians carrying out the tactics of organizing events, writing news releases, handling news conferences, and pitching stories to journalists. They also take on the responsibility within the organization for managing conflict and weathering the crisis situations inevitably faced by all organizations at one time or another. The conflict management life cycle illustrates the “big picture” of how to manage a conflict. Strategic conflict management can be divided into four general phases, but bear in mind that the lines between the phases are not absolute, and that some techniques overlap in actual practice. Furthermore, in the exciting world of public relations, busy practitioners may be actively managing different competitive situations as well as conflicts in each of the four phases simultaneously. Proactive Phase Strategic Phase The proactive phase of the conflict management life cycle includes activities and thought processes that can prevent a conflict from arising or from getting out of hand. The first step in the proactive phase is environmental scanning—the constant reading, listening, and watching of current affairs with an eye toward the organization’s interests. As new issues emerge, issues tracking becomes more focused and systematic through processes such as blog monitoring and daily news story scanning. Issues management occurs when the organization makes behavioral changes or creates strategic plans to address emerging issues. In the proactive phase, well-run organizations also develop a general crisis plan as a first step in preparing for the worst—an issue or an event that escalates to crisis proportions. In the strategic phase of the life cycle, an emerging conflict is identified as meriting action by the public relations professional. Three broad strategies are undertaken in the strategic phase. Through risk communication, dangers or threats to people or organizations are conveyed to forestall personal injury, health problems, and environmental damage. Conflict positioning strategies enable the organization to situate itself favorably in anticipation of actions such as litigation, boycott, adverse legislation, elections, or similar events that will play out in “the court of public opinion.” To be prepared for the worst outcome—that is, an issue that resists risk communication efforts and becomes a conflict of crisis proportions—a specific crisis management plan is developed. Issues Management Crisis Planning Conflict Positioning Crisis Management Crisis Communication Litigation PR Conflict Resolution RECOVERY Issues Tracking Risk Communication REACTIVE Environmental Scanning STRATEGIC PROACTIVE The CONFLICT MANAGEMENT LIFE CYCLE Reputation Management Image Restoration This figure shows the four phases of the conflict management life cycle and numerous techniques that public relations people use to deal with conflict. Typically, events move through time from left to right along the life cycle. At the end of the cycle, the process begins all over again. 182 chaPteR 8 Managing competition and conflict Reactive Phase Once the issue or imminent conflict reaches a critical level of impact on the organization, the public relations professional must react to events as they unfold in the external communication environment. Crisis communication includes the implementation of the crisis management plan as well as 24/7 efforts to meet the needs of publics such as disaster victims, employees, government officials, and the media. When conflict has emerged but is not careening out of control, conflict resolution techniques are used to bring a heated conflict—such as collapsed salary negotiations— to a favorable resolution. Often, the most intractable conflicts end up in the courts. Litigation pub- Is the job of public relations finished once a conflict has been resolved? think The proactive phase of the conflict management life cycle involves rigorous environmental scanning. lic relations employs communication strategies and publicity efforts in support of legal actions or trials. Recovery Phase In the aftermath of a crisis or a high-profile, heated conflict with a public, an organization employs strategies to bolster or repair its reputation. Reputation management includes conducting systematic research to learn the state of the organization’s reputation and then taking steps to improve it. When the damage is extreme, image restoration strategies can help, provided the organization is willing to undergo genuine change. MANAGING THE Life Cycle OF A CONFLICT a lthough challenging, conflict management is not impossible. Four systematic processes that correspond to the four phases of the conflict management life cycle provide guidance and structure for this highly rewarding role played by public relations professionals: (1) issues management in the proactive phase, (2) strategic positioning and risk communication in the strategic phase, (3) crisis communication in the reactive phase, and (4) reputation management in the recovery phase. Issues Management Identifying and dealing with issues in a timely manner is one of the more important functions of the proactive think How can early issue identification help prevent a crisis? phase of the conflict management life cycle. Issues management is a systematic approach to predicting problems, anticipating threats, mini- mizing surprises, resolving issues, and preventing crises. Issues management is proactive planning. Writing in Public Relations Review, Philip Gaunt and Jeff Ollenburger say, “Issues management is proactive in that it tries to identify issues and influence decisions regarding them before they have a detrimental effect on a corporation.” Gaunt and Ollenburger contrast the issues management approach with crisis management, which is essentially reactive in nature. They note, “Crisis management tends to be more Managing the Life cycle of a conflict 183 “ Effective issues management requires two-way communications, formal environmental scanning, and active sense-making strategies. ” Martha Lauzen, San Diego State University reactive, dealing with an issue after it becomes public knowledge and affects the company.” Active planning and prevention through issues management often mean the difference between a noncrisis and a crisis—or, as one practitioner put it, the difference between little or no news coverage and a front-page headline. This point is particularly relevant because studies have shown that the majority of organizational crises are self-inflicted, in that management ignored early warning signs. With appropriate handling, issues and situations can be managed or even forestalled by public relations professionals before they become crises, or before they lead to significant losses for the organization, such as a diminished reputation, alienation of key stakeholders, and financial damage to the organization. Strategic Positioning and Risk Communication Strategic positioning is any verbal or written exchange that attempts to communicate information to position the organization favorably regarding competition or an anticipated conflict. Ideally, the public relations professional communicates in a way that not only positions the organization favorably in the face of competition and imminent conflict, but also favorably influences the actual behavior SUGGESTIONS FOR COMMUNICATORS Suzanne Zoda, writing on risk communication in Communication World, gives the following suggestions to communicators: • Begin early and initiate a dialogue. Do not wait until the opposition marshals its forces. Early contact with anyone who may be concerned or affected is vital to establishing trust. • actively solicit and identify concerns. Informal discussions, surveys, interviews, and focus groups are effective in evaluating issues and identifying outrage factors. • Recognize the public as a legitimate partner in the process. Engage interested groups in two-way communication and involve key opinion leaders. • address issues of concern, even if they do not directly pertain to the situation. • anticipate and prepare for hostility. To defuse a situation, use a conflict resolution approach. Identify areas of agreement and work toward common ground. • Understand the needs of the news media. Provide accurate, timely information and respond promptly to requests. • always be honest, even when it hurts. 184 chaPteR 8 Managing competition and conflict Is it an organization’s responsibility to warn consumers of risks that may occur naturally, such as beach undertows and riptides near a hotel beach? think of the organization. For example, a handful of state governments have mounted challenges to President Obama’s health care mandate, arguing that the legislation co-opts states’ rights. Both political parties have staked out positions in the health care debate, and health care providers/insurance companies have also strategically positioned themselves in anticipation of Supreme Court decisions that could trigger major public debate or even outrage. Often public relations professionals can communicate in ways that reduce risks for affected publics and for their employers. Communicating about risks to public health and safety and the environment is a particularly important role for public relations professionals in the strategic phase. Organizations, including large corporations, are increasingly engaging in risk communication to inform the public of risks such as those associated with food products, chemical spills, radioactive waste disposal, or the placement of drug abuse treatment centers or halfway houses in neighborhoods. These issues deserve public notice in fairness to the general populace. In addition, expensive lawsuits, restrictive legislation, consumer boycotts, and public debate may result if organizations fail to disclose potential hazards. As is often the case, doing the right thing in conflict management often proves the least disruptive tactic in the long run. When risk communication fails, however, an organization may face a true crisis. Crisis Communication In public relations, high-profile events such as accidents, terrorist attacks, disease pandemics, and natural disasters can dwarf the effectiveness of even the best strategic positioning and risk management strategies. This is when crisis management takes over. The conflict management process, which includes ongoing issues management and risk communication efforts, is severely tested during crisis situations when a high degree of uncertainty exists. Unfortunately, even the most thoughtfully designed conflict management process cannot prepare an organization to deal with certain crises, such as planes flying into the World Trade Center. And and accurate information as quickly as possible. Smoldering crises. Crises are not always unexpected. One study by the Institute for Crisis Management found that only 14 percent of business crises were unexpected. The remaining 86 percent were what the institute called “smoldering crises,” in which an organization was aware of a potential business disruption long before the public found out about it. The study also found that management—or in some cases, mismanagement—caused 78 percent of the crises. “Most organizations have a crisis plan to deal with sudden crises, like accidents,” says Robert B. Irvine, president of the Institute. “However, our data indicates many businesses are denying or ducking serious problems that eventually will ignite and cost them millions of dollars and lost management time.” Echoing Irvine’s thought, another study by Steven Fink found that 89 percent of the chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies reported that a business crisis was almost inevitable; however, 50 percent admitted that they did not sometimes, even when risk comhave a crisis management plan. This munication is employed to prevent situation has prompted crisis conan issue from evolving into a major sultant Kenneth Myers to write, problem, that issue will grow “If economics is the dismal into a crisis. At such times, science, then contingency “When verifiable information planning is the abysmal people about what is happenscience.” With proper ing or has happened believe that issues management may be lacking. and conflict planning because nothing Uncertainty many s moldering has gone wrong, causes people to crises could potenbecome more acnothing will go tially be prevented tive seekers of from bursting into wrong, they court information and, flames. disaster. There is research suggests, how various more dependent noise in every system organizations reon the media for and every design. If spond to crises. information to Recent research has this fact is ignored, shown satisfy the human that organidesire for closure. nature soon reminds zations don’t all reA crisis situation, spond to crises in the us of our folly.” in other words, puts same way. W. Timothy Donald Chisholm a great deal of presCoombs of Eastern Ilsure on organizations and Martin linois University lists the to respond with complete Landry following crisis communica- How an organization responds in the first 24 hours, experts say, often determines whether the situation remains an “incident” or becomes a fullblown crisis. Managing the Life cycle of a conflict 185 tion strategies that organizations may use: • Attack the Accuser—The party that claims a crisis exists is confronted and its logic and facts are faulted; sometimes the organization threatens a lawsuit. • Denial—The organization explains that there is no crisis. • Excuse—The organization minimizes its responsibility for the crisis by denying any intention to do harm and saying that it had no control over the events that led to the crisis. This strategy is often used when a natural disaster or product tampering occurs. • Justiication—The crisis is minimized with a statement that no serious damage or injuries resulted. Sometimes, the blame is shifted to the victims. This is often done when a consumer misuses a product or when an industrial accident occurs. • Ingratiation—The organization acts to appease the public involved. Consumers who complain are given coupons or the organization makes a donation to a charitable organization. • Corrective Action—The organization takes steps to repair the damage from the crisis and to prevent it from happening again. • Full Apology—The organization takes responsibility and asks forgiveness. Some compensation of money or aid is often included. The Coombs typology gives options for crisis communication management depending on the situation and the stance taken by the organization. As Coombs notes, organizations do have to consider more accommodative strategies (ingratiation, corrective action, full apology) if defensive strategies (attack accuser, denial, excuse) are not effective. The more accommodative strategies not only meet immediate crisis communication demands but can also help to subsequently repair an organization’s reputation or restore previous sales levels. Often, however, an organization doesn’t adopt an accommodative strategy because of corporate culture and other constraints included in the contingency theory of conflict management matrix. Organiza- tions do not, and sometimes cannot, engage in two-way communication and accommodative strategies when confronted with a crisis or conflict with a given public. In some cases, the contingency theory contends that the ideal of mutual understanding and accommodation doesn’t occur because both sides have staked out highly rigid positions and are not willing to compromise their strong moral positions. Taking such an inflexible stance can be a foolish strategy and a sign of lack of professionalism. At other times, conflict is a natural state between competing interests, such as oil interests seeking to open Alaskan wildlife refuges to oil exploration and environmental groups seeking to block that exploration. Frequently, one’s stance and strategies for conflict management entail assessment and balancing of many factors. Reputation Management Reputation is the collective representation of an organization’s past performance that describes the firm’s ability to deliver valued CRISIS b t w… What Is a Crisis? Kathleen Fearn-Banks, in her book Crisis Communications: A Casebook Approach, defines a crisis as a “major occurrence with a potentially negative outcome affecting the organization, company, or industry as well as its publics, products, services, or good name.” In other words, an organizational crisis can constitute any number of situations. A PRWeek article included “a product recall; a plane crash; a very public sexual harassment suit; a gunman holding hostages in your office; an E. coli bacteria contamination scare; a market crash, along with the worth of your company stock; a labor union strike; [and] a hospital mal- 186 chaPteR 8 Managing competition and conflict practice suit” in its list of crisis scenarios. Cantaloupes from Colorado were condemned as the source of a New Mexico listeriosis outbreak in 2011. Public relations scholar Lisa Lyon makes the point that reputation, unlike corporate image, is owned by the public. Reputation isn’t formed by packaging or slogans. A good reputation is created and destroyed by everything an organization does, from the way it manages employees to the way it handles conflicts with outside constituents. outcomes to multiple stakeholders. Put in plain terms, reputation is the track record of an organization in the public’s mind. the three foundations of reputation. Reputation scholars describe the three foundations of reputation as (1) economic performance, (2) social responsiveness, and (3) the ability to deliver valuable outcomes to stakeholders. Public relations plays a role in all three, but professionals who manage conlict effectively will especially enhance the latter two. The social responsiveness of an organization results from careful issues tracking and effective positioning of the organization. Social responsive- think Which factors determine how effective an apology is? ness is further enhanced when risk communication is compelling and persuasive. The ability to make valu- It is unlikely that the gun control advocates and the NRA will ever achieve mutual understanding and accommodation, much less arrive at a substantive compromise about the laws surrounding gun ownership in this country. able contributions to stakeholders who depend on the organization results in part from the organization’s ability to fend off threats that might impair its mission. In addition to tracking and dealing proactively with issues, conveying risks to publics, and managing crises as they arise, public relations practitioners need to apologize at those times when all efforts to manage conflict have fallen short. The future trust and credibility of the organization are at stake, based on how well this recovery phase of conflict management is handled. The frequent platitude in postcrisis communication is that practitioners should acknowledge failings, apologize, and then put the events in the past as quickly as possible. In reality, Lisa Lyon (see nearby quote) has found that apology is not always effective because of the hypocrisy factor. When an organization has a questionable track record (i.e., a bad reputation), the apology may be viewed as insincere and hypocriti- “I’m honored that @MicheleBachmann was on our show yesterday and I’m so sorry about the intro mess. I really hope she comes back,” a Tweet from late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon after his house band played Fishbone’s “Lyin‘ *ss Bit**” as presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann took the stage. Despite political and feminist furor, the apology forestalled crisis. The band was “grounded” by Fallon. Managing the Life cycle of a conflict 187 # SocialMediaInaction Social Media and the BP Oil Spill Crisis The explosion aboard BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 set off a chain reaction that resulted in the deaths of 11 workers, the largest ocean oil spill in history, and threats to the environmental and economic viability of the American Gulf Coast region. Needless to say, the spill dominated U.S. news coverage for several months. Everything that BP said and did mattered; especially since this was just the most recent transgression in a line of BP safety violations. While BP was heavily criticized for how it managed its public relations problems in general, its use of social media received strong public relations industry praise for communicating a central narrative that BP cares, explaining its commitment to the Gulf coast region, communicating remorse for the damage, and defending its efforts to respond to the spill. Researchers at Marist College and Nanyang Technological University reviewed all of BP’s online press releases, Facebook posts, and Twitter tweets throughout the five-month crisis. They concluded that BP’s public relations response in social media was coordinated and positive, although it was still found wanting in some ways. BP used different social media tools to strategically address different aspects of the company’s central narrative touting BP’s positive response to the disaster. Typical Facebook posts highlighted people, programs, and events. Twitter was employed differently. Though still emphasizing a positive identity, typically BP tweets emphasized status updates on the leak and cleanup efforts and defended criticisms of its leaders and actions. BP’s social media response was synchronized, but the company used different social media to communicate different parts of the story. BP’s response also demonstrated another challenge in bridging the gap between social media and public opinion—if the messages do not go viral, the social media effort is not likely to have a strong positive impact on public opinion. Though BP seemed to have communicated all of the “right” messages in its social media effort, Pew Research found that the spill story generated considerably less attention on blogs, Twitter, and YouTube than it needed to go viral. BP pressed all the right social media buttons but did not evoke an e-wom, or electronic word-of-mouth, spread of its messages. Perhaps netizens did not “buy” the BP narrative. Or perhaps if the BP postings had been edgier or more moving, the narrative would have moved spontaneously to vast audiences. What do you think? Source: Audra Diers (Marist College), Augustine Pang (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore), Jennie Donohue (Marist College). Examples of Typical BP Facebook Posts From June 30, 2010 The health and safety of those involved with the cleanup efforts is a top priority. BP has been working with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in distributing thousands of safety guides and fact sheets to employees involved with the oil spill cleanup. From July 12, 2010 Wildlife rescue leader Ken Rice returned from brief retirement to oversee efforts to rescue and rehabilitate animals. After a career lasting three decades, Rice moved to Alabama but didn’t settle long, joining the relief effort as a branch director in three Gulf states. Despite uncertainty in the region, Rice is steadfast: “I know we are going to recover from this.” From July 12, 2010 Want to know more about BP’s claims process? Watch as BP’s Darryl Willis provides more information about the process, the improvements that will be made in the future, and what BP is doing to “get money out the door as quickly as possible, especially for businesses” in the video below. For more information on the claims process, please visit: http://www.bp.com/claims. Examples of Typical BP Tweets From August 23, 2010: Alert: The last 862 square miles of fishing waters in Louisiana have reopened to recreational fishing. From June 4, 2010 BP takes full responsibility for responding to #oilspill and will compensate for all legitimate claims. From May 25, 2010 BP is committed to openness and transparency in our response to the #oilspill in the Gulf of Mexico. cal. Coombs suggests a relational approach, which assumes that crises are episodes within a larger stakeholder–organizational relationship. Determining how stakeholders perceive the situation can help communicators determine which strategy is best to rebuild the stakeholder–organization relationship and restore the organization’s reputation. Image restoration. Reputation repair and maintenance is a long-term process, but one of the irst steps in the recovery process is the inal one in the conlict management life cycle. The image restoration strategy that an organization chooses depends a great deal on the situation, or what has already been described as the “it depends” concept. If an organization is truly innocent, a simple denial is a good strategy. Not many situations are that black and white, however. Consequently, a more common strategy is acknowledging the issue, but making it clear that the situation was an accident or the result of a decision with unintentional consequences. Professor William Benoit of Ohio State University calls this approach the strategy of “evading” responsibility. Another strategy for restoring an organization’s reputation relies on reducing offensiveness. Ultimately, the most accommodative response is a profuse apology by the organization to the public and its various stakeholders. Despite the public relations practitioner’s best efforts, the chosen strategy or combination of strategies may not necessarily restore the organization’s reputation. A great deal depends on the perceptions of the public and other stakeholders. Do they find the explanation credible? Do they believe the organization is telling the truth? Do they think the organization is acting in the public interest? In many cases, an organization may start out with a defensive strategy only to find that the situation ultimately demands corrective action or an apology. APPLY What Would You Do? YoUR KNoWLedGe This chapter points out that public relations professionals can influence the larger goals of an organization through litigation public relations by addressing the marketplace of ideas that revolves around lawsuits and court proceedings. Sometimes the litigation hinges on momentous questions facing society. For example, controversies exist about the legal rights surrounding the patenting of life forms developed in labs. These life forms can be specialized plants or biopharmaceuticals—or potentially in the future, nano-creatures that will carry out medical procedures inside the human body. The Fortune 500 company Monsanto is alternately demonized or glorified for its agricultural breakthroughs in patenting plant seeds that increase production, tolerate drought, or resist herbicides. Monsanto has invested enormous amounts in developing a soybean plant that enables farmers to kill weeds (using a pesticide from Monsanto called Roundup) without harming the food plant itself. Less tilling is required and harvests are higher—but of course, there is a catch. Traditionally, farmers have kept some of their crop to serve as seed for the coming year. This practice is a violation of Monsanto’s patent requiring new seed to be purchased each season. To protect its patent, the company has filed suit against small farmers and businesses that reseed with its Roundup-Ready soybeans rather than purchasing new seed. (The fascinating documentary film Food Inc. puts a very human face on this litigation.) Monsanto’s decision to sue—undoubtedly a difficult one for a corporate giant that operates globally and claims to be a key player in the battle to end worldwide hunger—has served as a lightning rod for media coverage and contentious discussion. The company is taking an advocacy stance in the courts in defense of its right to protect its (expensively developed) intellectual property. Naturally, the publisher of this textbook would not want a small bookstore to buy one copy, photocopy it, and sell the copies to hundreds of students each semester. But does the same hold for copying (growing) a plant? In what ways does the adversarial stance taken by Monsanto shape its communication strategies? Draft a proposal for a campaign to address the issues that the company’s stance necessitates. Discuss with your classmates how a movement on the continuum toward a more accommodative stance might cause you to revise your campaign. Déjà Vu—All Over Again To paraphrase Yogi Berra, conflict management is like déjà vu all over again. After a crisis, the best organizations, led by the best public relations professionals, will strive to improve performance by starting once again at the beginning of the conflict management life cycle, with tasks such as environmental scanning and issues tracking. Issues that are deemed important receive attention for crisis planning and risk communication. When preventive measures fail, the crisis must be handled with the best interests of all parties considered in a delicate balance. Then restoration and burnishing of the organization’s reputation must be given due attention. At all times, the goal is to change organizational behavior in ways that minimize damaging conflict, not only for the sake of the organization, but also for its many stakeholders. Managing the Life cycle of a conflict 189 summary What Role Do Competition and Conflict Play in Public Relations? p. 174 What Are the Phases of the Conflict Management Life Cycle? p. 182 • Public relations can be defined as strategic management of competition and conflict. • Strategic conflict management is broadly divided into four phases. Specific techniques and functions are part of each phase: the proactive phase, the strategic phase, the reactive phase, and the recovery phase. • Some of the most crucial roles played by public relations professionals involve the strategic management of conflict. What Factors Affect the Stance That an Organization Takes During Conflict Management? p. 179 • The outstanding practitioner monitors for threats, assesses those threats, arrives at a desirable stance for the organization, and then begins communication efforts from that stance. One approach is the threat appraisal model. • Contingency theory argues for a dynamic and multifaceted approach to dealing with conflict in the field. • Conflict management is ongoing and cyclical in nature. How Can Public Relations Professionals Best Manage the Conflict Management Life Cycle? p. 183 • Issues management is a proactive and systematic approach to predicting problems, anticipating threats, minimizing surprises, resolving issues, and preventing crises. • Risk communication attempts to convey information regarding concerns about public health and safety and the environment. 190 chaPteR 8 Managing competition and conflict • The communication process is tested in crisis situations, which can take many forms. A common problem is the lack of crisis management plans. Organizations’ responses vary from defensive to accommodative. • One of an organization’s most valuable assets is its reputation, which is influenced by how the organization deals with conflict, and particularly crises that generate significant media attention. questions FoR ReVieW ANd disCUssioN 1 Do you accept the proposition that conflict management is one of the most important functions of public relations? Why or why not? 2 How can effective issues management prevent organizational crises? 3 4 What is risk communication? 5 Do you think that image restoration is merely a superficial fix or a substantive solution to adverse events? Support your view with some examples from current news stories. How would you apply what you have learned in this chapter about the contingency theory of conflict management (the continuum from accommodation to advocacy) in advising management on a rising conflict situation? 6 What are the phases of the conflict management life cycle? 7 Why are the first 24 hours after a crisis so crucial in public relations? 8 Why do experts feel that the social media strategy of BP in the wake of the Deep Horizons oil spill ultimately failed? 9 Consider the Monsanto case discussed in the Apply Your Knowledge feature at the end of this chapter. Why would lawyers benefit from working closely with public relations counsel? For litigation? For dispute resolution through effective negotiation? Questions for Review and Discussion 191