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Business

and

Society

POST, LAWRENCE, WEBER

Business and Public IssuesChapter

2

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This chapter focus on these key questions and objectives:What are public issues, and what is the life cycle through which they evolve?What are the duties of a company’s public affairs manager or office?What tools or techniques are available to public affairs managers to assess an organization’s multiple environments?What are the steps in the issue management process?How is competitive intelligence gathered and used?How can a public affairs manager effectively respond to an organizational crisis?

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Public Issues

A public issue is an issue that is of concern to an organization’s stakeholdersThe emergence of a new public issue usually indicates that a gap has developed between what stakeholders expect and what an organization is actually doing.Performance–expectations gap

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The performance-expectations gap

Corporate StakeholderPerformance Expectations

- Actual performance - Expected corporate performance- Outcomes - What stakeholders want- Results - Satisfaction - Impacts on others - Disappointment or anger

“How wide is the gap?”

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Performance (Economic and Social)

Time

Performance Gap

Expectation

Actual

The Performance-Expectations Gap

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Figure 2.1

A Stakeholder Network Focusing on a Public Issue

Stakeholders with a shared focuses

on an issue

Stakeholders with a shared focuses

on an issue

Stakeholders with a shared focuses

on an issue

Stakeholders with a shared focuses

on an issue

Stakeholders with a shared focuses

on an issue

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The Public Issue Life Cycle

A public issue exists when there is a gap between the stakeholder expectations of what an institution should do and the actual performance of those businesses, government agencies, or nonprofit organizations

Refer to Figure 2-2 (page 25)

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Figure 2.3

The public issue life cycleHigh

Low Time

Life Cycle of IssueManagementDiscretion

Lev

el o

f S

tak

ehol

der

Con

cern

s Phase 1:Changing

StakeholderExpectations

Phase 2:Political Action

Phase 3:Formal

GovernmentAction

Phase 4:Legal

Implementation

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Managing the Public Affairs Function The growth of public affairs activities in business organizations has several causes: External forces Internal forces Public affairs management refers to the active management of a company’s external relations, especially its relations

with external stakeholders such as government and regulatory agencies, customers, investors and communities. Refer to Figure 2-3 (page 29)

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Issues Management

A structured and systematic process to aid organizations in identifying, monitoring, and selecting public issues that warrant organization action.

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Scanning the EnvironmentEnvironmental analysis provides managers with the information about external issues and trends that enables an organization to develop a strategy that minimizes threats and takes advantage of new opportunitiesEnvironmental intelligence is the acquisition of information gained from analyzing the multiple environments affecting organizationsRefer to Figure 2.4 (page 33)

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Eight Strategic Radar Screens

Figure 2.4

Seeking Environmental

Intelligence

Geophysicalenvironment

Legal environment

Socialenvironment

Politicalenvironment

Technological environment

Customer environment

Economic environment

Competitorenvironment

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Eight Strategic Radar Screens Customer environment includes the demographic factors Competitor environment includes information on the number and

strength of the organization’s competitors Economic environment includes information about costs, prices

international trade, and any other features of the economic environment that affect customers and competitors behavior

Technological environment includes the development of new technologies and their applications affecting the organization

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Eight Strategic Radar Screens Social environment includes cultural patterns, values, beliefs, trends, and conflicts

among the people in the societies where the organization conducts business or might conduct business

Political environment includes includes the structure, processes, and actions of all levels of government-local, state, national and international

Legal environment includes legal considerations of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and intellectual property

Geophysical environment includes an awareness of the physical surroundings of the organization’s facilities and operations, and the organization’s dependency and impact on natural resources such as minerals, water, land or air

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Figure 2-5

The issue management process

PolicyOptions

ProgramDesign

Results

Issues Identification

IssuesAnalysis

Research

Judgement and priority

setting

Policy andstrategy selection

Implementation

Performance evaluation

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Competitive Intelligence

The systematic and continuous process of gathering, analyzing and managing external information about the organization’s competitors that can affect the organization’s plans, decisions, and operations

The importance of the ethical considerations when collecting competitive intelligence cannot be understated

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Crisis ManagementA process companies use to respond to short-term and immediate shocks, e.g. accidents or disaster.Four characteristics of crisis:

SurpriseLack of controlEscalating pace of eventsIntense scrutiny

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Effective Crisis Management PlanPrepare for action by creating an internal communication system that can be activated the moment the crisis occursCommunicate quickly, but accuratelyUse the internet to convey the public affairs messageDo the right thingFollow up and where appropriate, make amends to those affected