Week 1- Brand Reputation and Effective Communciation

• Mismanaged issues becomes a crisis, leaving a business in tatters lacking all confidence

· To ensure stakeholder loyalty, effective communication and understanding is needed throughout an organisation

· Reputation is the key asset. By listening to consumers and respectively treating stakeholders intelligently, an organisation can avoid issues within a management system

· External PEST issues, Politics, Economics, Social, Technological, can all shape the way an organisation works

· Economics, Security, Job Security, Environmental Issues, QSV and VFM Issues, Accountability, Empowerment are all concerns a society has effecting activism to consumerism

· Micro Issue and develop into Macro Issue then Beyond Crisis

· Tipping points time line- Initiation, Interpretation, Implications, Ignition, Influence, Imposition

· “The consumer must be protected at times from his own indiscretion and vanity”, Ralph Nader (NGO)

· Direct Action- single issue campaign groups seeking immediate results through a form of activism

· DA and NGO’s have a greater influence in stopping government policy and public practice. These issues can gain immediate momentum through media such as the web

· “A stakeholder is someone with a vested interested in an organisation’s operations”, Trench and Yeomans. Stakeholders can influence an organisation therefore analysis of their needs is paramount for the organisation

· Aware and active stakeholders then become publics

Bernard Matthews- Case Study

· Outbreak of Avian Flu- badly managed communication resulting in poor relations with the media. Outcome- failure to engage stakeholders the consumer was left unconvinced of their health and safety being protected. Ultimately the company clearly lacked issues management and all trust was lost