Note:  These chapter notes and study questions should not be viewed as substitutes for coming to class and joining in the lecture and discussion.  Rather, they should be viewed as a starting point for lecture and discussion.  These notes will be heavily supplemented with discussion, examples and debate in class.  To do well in class, you should read the text and make some notes on the reading, read these on-line notes and study questions, come to class, make your own notes and be ready to discuss what you have read and studied intelligently. --Dr. John M. King

Wilcox Ch. 13 Notes
Corporations
3/23/2000

The Corporate Role
A key goal with corporate PR is to ensure that the public sees that a company is conducting its internal and external affairs in a socially responsible manner.

Many Americans consider corporations Big Business that is not to be trusted.

The Human Factor
Corporations must treat publics honestly and heed the desires and attitudes of people in the communities where they operate.

The Public Perception
Public perception of a company's practices is paramount.  Corporate practices must be sound, but PR departments and firms must ensure that the public gets an accurate picture.

Downsizing
Downsizing tends to amplify public distrust.  Corporations are seen as greedy.  TV images of workers saying "How could they do this to us after 27 years," are very damaging to public perception.

Longtime job security is quickly vanishing from the American landscape.  Employer loyalty and employee loyalty were once both fairly high.  No more.

High CEO salaries, even at companies that are failing, fuel public resentment.

Corporations have to show why layoffs are justified and and help displaced workers.

Businesses Must Not Overlook the Human Factor
U.S. Bank of Washington lost a $1 million account because it failed to validate a 60-cent parking ticket.
Taco Bell lost a lot of public trust when they fired an employee for providing humanitarian aid to a teenager outside the restaurant.

Corporations must be sensitive to public attitudes and sensitive to employee attitudes.

Community relations and internal relations programs help.

X vs. Y Management Theory (I have added this)

In a company that follows X theory, communication flows from the top down.  Employees have little input into decisions and feel alienated because they are not having much direct effect on communication and how things are done in the company.

In a company that follows Y theory, communication flows at all levels, including from the bottom up.  Employees have a great deal of input into decisions and feel empowered because they have a great deal of effect on communication and how things are done in the company.

Companies that follow Theory Y find that employees are happier and more productive.  The company benefits because production is better.  Because the quality of work life is better, employees produce better products or services.  Also, often because employees at the lower levels are the first to recognize problems in the company, these facts are communicated to the higher levels of management, who have the power to improve the situation.  Listening is a good metaphor for this process.  When top managers listen to lower level employees, they learn a great deal about what is going on in the company and how to improve the situation.

Study Questions 1:  Explain the difference between theory X and theory Y management in companies.

Computers vs. Humans
Over-computerizing communication with the public can lead to alienation quickly.
have you noticed how rare it is to get a live human on the telephone at a company anymore?

Consumerism
Ralph Nader pioneered consumer rights groups who demand efficient, safe, economical products and services.

His book, Unsafe at Any Speed, about unsafe automobiles rocked that industry.

Government regulation of safety, health and truth in advertising are regulations the public welcomes.

Boycotts
-powerful consumer tool used to punish public offenses by corporations
-Texaco and Denny's faced boycotts based on racial discrimination in the past few years

Product Recalls
-defective products should be recalled immediately
-don't wait for government orders to do so

Study Questions 2:  How has the Internet empowered consumers in their quest for information about the safety, efficiency and economy of goods and services? What tools do consumers have to increase public distrust of a company?
 

Business Public Affairs
Corporate citizenship, social responsibility,  helps to decrease regulation.
The idea is to engage in highly visible public activities that help foster goodwill.

Community Relations
Purpose is to develop a dialogue between the company and the community.

Corporate Aid to Education
Companies adopt schools and provide millions of dollars to colleges and universities.
Be careful to engage in programs that aid education and are not designed to market to students.
Channel One, a cable TV operation based in Knoxville, came under fire for offering free electronic equipment to schools across the nation and then requiring students to see commercial-based programs in classrooms.

Corporate Philanthropy
Corporations often give money to support causes related to the company.
Hewlett-Packard donates computers to colleges in hopes that better students will emerge.

Philanthropy can backfire when groups corporations support come under public fire.

Corporations and the Environment
Pollution of air, water and soil are all contributed by corporations and individuals.

Many companies green wash, work to make it appear that they are environmentally friendly, when in fact they are not.
Many of the largest polluters have been known to engage in this practice.
Setting up front groups with nice sounding names like "The Committee for a Better Tomorrow" to cover up environmental destruction is a common practice among corporations and one of the top ethical breaches of the PRSA Code of Ethics.

Study Questions 3:  What is greenwashing?  What are some of the possible negative effects of greenwashing?

Sensitivity to Ethnic Groups
Texaco paid $176 million dollars to settle a racial discrimination suit when a tape surfaced of company executives using racial slurs and news that the company had shredded pertinent documents (obstruction of justice) arose.

Denny's paid $54 million to African American customers who were mistreated.

Study Questions 4:  What can companies do to eradicate lawsuits and huge settlements against them in racial discrimination cases?

Marketing Communications
Marketing public relations is used primarily to sell products or services.
PR, marketing, direct mail, advertising and promotion functions are merged.
Some PR professionals worry that the bottom line rather than the quality of relationships will become the only level of evaluation.

Five methods of marketing PR
1/ product publicity- press agentry for products
2/ information bureaus- used to distribute research results
3/ school promotions- used to capture youth markets for current and later years
4/ cause-related marketing- reputation management
5/ corporate sponsorships of events- used to promote brand name awareness

Study Questions 5:  What is marketing communications, also called marketing public relations?  How does it differ from public relations?

Employee Communications
Internal communications are very important within corporations.
-employees are a primary public
-communicating fairness is a major concern

Health and Social Issues
-employees are given info to help them improve their health to stem insurance costs and loss of productivity
-info about use of drugs on the job
-how to stop smoking
-how to recognize and report sexual harassment
-the need for day care facilities

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