Case Study/A Look at other Companies

For my research regarding my topic, I am referencing "The Theory and Practice of Corporate Communication" by Alan T. Belasen. This book references a lot of case studies and covers important topics related to corporate communication.

Case studies offer a clear example of theories. Sometimes when reading topics in a textbook, it may be hard to imagine them being applied in real life but comparing theories to real life is an excellent way to imagine yourself handling the situation and putting the idea to use.

There are many case studies out there regarding how crises were handled, the good and bad. Belasen  talks about Southwest Airlines and how they handled crises on their hands:

Date: December 8, 2005

What: Flight 1248 veered off the runway killing a 6-year old boy and injuring 11 other people.

How it was handled: Within hours of the crash, Southwest had released a statement that they were working with the National Transport Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. 

Southwest employees called the family of the individuals injured to inform them of the incident before releasing names to the press. 

Shortly after their first press release, Southwest issued another release with additional information regarding the incident, including contact information if additional information was needed.

Result: Southwest Airlines had complete control of the situation. By not releasing names until families were called, it avoided the state of panic families of the victims would have endured and releasing two press releases within hours of each other gave Southwest Airlines control as to how its imaged was shaped by the media.

Handling a crisis for a corporation is a process that involves honesty and timeliness. Most corporations, if not all, want to be viewed in the best possible light and not have a negative stigma attached but when a tragedy strikes, the best way to handle it is to come clean to all parties involved. Whether it is an internal issue regarding employees or something that effects the outside world, such as the Southwest case, being upfront and honest will make a company look much better than one that attempts to cover something up or not talk about the issue.

Timeliness is another factor that aids a company in crisis communication. When a statement is put out promptly, it shows that the company is willing to address the issue and also quickly answers people's uncertainty of the situation.  Being timely with statements also allows for the company to have more control with its image because the company is the one putting out the message, no other medium. Having that control can be the image saver of a company in a crisis. 

For further reading on Southwest Airlines and how, as a company, they are considered to be one of the top innovators in corporate communication and creating a culture within their company, read Nuts! Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success by Kevin and Jackie Freidberg.

 

Bank of America's Crisis

I look at my place of employment and see how the corporation handled some past crises. I think back to about 2 years ago when the bailouts where big news and many bank's were under scrutiny for accepting millions of dollars yet CEO's were still receiving millions of dollars in bonuses. This created a lot of speculation and anger amongst Americans. It also created a silent but hostile work environment.

Everyone knew what was going on but no one could talk about it because there was nothing that could be done from our end. The issue was never formally addressed and eventually the hype died down. However, the reputation has not. Even to this day, people I meet will hear where I work and they immediately bash how bad of a company it is because of their past behavior.

Had I been in a position of corporate communication, I think I would have handled the situation a little differently. By using the facts I already know, I would acted in the following way:

1.      Prepare a crisis management plan which would include template steps for any major corporate crisis.

2.      Immediately address the individuals that are directly impacted from the crisis. I would also ensure all the facts are known before announcing anything to the press (if the press is necessary)

3.      Ensure that my company is the main source of how the press is obtaining their information for coverage

4.      Have open communication available with anyone who wants to discuss or question the crisis. Welcoming questions seems risky but if you answer truthfully your company ends up looking better in the eyes of the public.

5.      Apologize. If your company is the wrong, it is best to come forward and sincerely offer apologizes. The more personal, the better. Sending out a press release of an apology is not sincere. The parties that have been effected need to know that their feelings have been acknowledged and apologizes along with whatever the company can offer is a start at rectifying the situation.  

Corporate Communication at Bank of America

I have been doing research at my own place of employment regarding how corporate communication works what it exactly entails. I have talked with an individual who handles our internal communication, Caesar Gonzales, in which he creates newsletters, e-mails, and any other news that would effect employees only.  Corporate communication also encompasses maintaining the bank's image to the public eye. Such an example is over the Christmas holiday, Bank of America employees had the opportunity to hand out Christmas cards to the residents at a nursing home. While this is a very nice gesture of the spirit of the holiday, it also plays an important role in the image of the company. It makes the bank look good in other organizations’ eyes because we “giving back” to the community.

Even before this project was started I had an understanding of the importance of such a large company keeping open communication with its employees. When I spoke with Caesar he made very clear the importance of it as well. It keeps up the morale for the employees and while not everyone will be in agreement with the contents of the internal messages, the message is out there for employees to know and take what they will from it. We have bi-weekly newsletters that report how the bank is expanding offices all over the world and also reports on the successes of our fellow employees. Most people glance at it, some delete it, but what's important is the fact that the information is out there and the company actually puts forth the effort to communicate with its employees.

What I would like to do eventually is contribute to this newsletter. Whether I help organize an event that would get some coverage in the newsletter or help decide on what stories to cover; contributing my ideas to this would be a step toward eventually handling the corporate communication at Bank of America.

Proposal - A look at Corporate Communication and Crisis Management

Hello! This is my blog about corporate communication and how corporations handle a crisis within their company. Many large companies today have some of sort of communication department in which their image is controlled and developed, internally and externally. This area of expertise is more widely used when negative attention is drawn unto the company.

In my blog, I would like to further exam how different companies handle crisis’s that come their way and even look at my own place of employment, Bank of America, and how their corporate communication department has handled past incidents.

The audience this blog is for is the general public who may not be familiar with the details of corporate communication but are interested to learn more about it and learn about the different case studies concerning crisis management for companies.  I will be sure not to use jargon and fully explain situations that the general public may not have any background information on. Being able to clearly explain to the audience is important because I want my message to be understood and my stories to have educational value.
This topic is important to me because I want to venture into this area of my career. It is important to study how past cases are handled to learn from the successes and failures.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!