Inseparable Actions of Organizations (and the PR crisis control that follows)

While I frantically and excitedly finish packing for my weekend in New Orleans for Mardi Gras (be there soon, Yelena!) I wanted to briefly touch on the idea that organizations can no longer separate different actions from the vision and perception of the company as a whole. Actions such as charitable donations, political affiliation, religious tendencies by the company as a whole or even just CEO and upper management can lead to a radical change of perception of or behavior toward that organization.

In a global, limitlessly connected and communicating world, everything becomes transparent if it is newsworthy enough to matter to stockholders, stakeholders, and ultimately customers. This has recently become present with companies such as Susan G. Komen (withdrawing money from Planned Parenthood), Chik Fil A (supporting anti-gay groups), and Apple (unfair working conditions at Chinese factories). All of these companies’ Public Relations divisions deserve an A+, maybe not for response and reactiveness but just for having to deal with global crisis management.

Social media plays into this by giving a stronger, louder, and sharable voice to the people (concerned citizens, followers who want to join the hashtag, etc.). Companies need to have prepared procedure for events like these and clear understanding for how each action can lead to potential PR disasters. PR Crisis teams should not solely rely on reactive measures, but be continually “in the loop” to stop them before they need fixing. Crisis management is not something I see myself working with in my future, but monitoring social media and listening to consumers will play a big role in prevention of, understanding of, and response to a wide range of crises.