issues management slideshow
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TRANSCRIPT
What are issues? How do you manage
them?
What is an issue?
Fac t :
4 4 p e r c e n t o f a l l c o m p a n i e s w i t h a n i n t e r n a l l y r e c o g n i z e d p u b l i c a f f a i r s f u n c t i o n h a v e s t a f f m e m b e r s w o r k i n g o n i s s u e s m a n a g e m e n t f u l l - t i m e
“…the idea of “managing” contentious issues–taming them, bringing them to heel and making them do our bidding–is illusory, but utterly compelling.”
http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/issues-management/
By Elizabeth Dougall, Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill December 12, 2008
Can issues be managed?
In fact, the USC Annenberg 2007 GAP V survey
of senior public relations practitioners revealed
that those with direct budgetary responsibility
for issues management (42 percent) were
more likely to report higher levels of C-suite
support, effective working relationships with
other departments, larger budgets, and more
access to resources for research, evaluation
and strategic implementation. So emphatic was
the relationship between issues management
and key indicators of effective practice, the
authors added establishing an issues
management strategy to the list of 13
best practices for public relations.
The C-Suite
A Definition Issues management is an anticipatory, strategic management process
that helps organizations detect and respond
appropriately to emerging trends or changes in
the socio-political environment. These trends or changes may then crystallize
into an “issue,” which is a situation that
evokes the attention and concern of
influential organizational publics and stakeholders. At its best, issues management is
stewardship for building, maintaining and
repairing relationships with stakeholders and
stakeseekers (Heath, 2002).
“The identification, monitoring, and analysis of trends in key publics’ opinions that can mature into public policy and regulative or legislative constraint” (Heath, 1997,p.6)
Heath, R.L.(1997).Strategic issues management: Organizations and public policy challenges.Thousand Oaks,CA:Sage.
Another definition
Issues management argues that organizations should adopt an external focus and enact their environment by attending to relevant issues
(Crable & Vibbert,1985;Gaunt & Ollenburger,1995;Heath & Nelson,1986;Jones
& Chase,1979).
The “you” approach Identifying and communicating
about an incubating set of organizationally relevant public perceptions and attitudes
The “You” approach
Monitoring the environment for threats
Preventing issues from becoming crises
Issues management is a proactive
approach to organizational crises
Crises can also create issues
Issue management is a postcrisis
communication imperative
Issue(s) management and crisis
communication are closely related
activities at the pre and post crisis stage
What is I.M. in real life?
Proactive planning
1. P red ic t p rob lems2. Ant i c ipate th reats3. M in imize surpr i ses4. Reso lve i ssues5. P revent c r i ses
The process
Two-way communications Formal environmental
scanning Active sense-making
strategies
Effective Issues Management requires:
“Issues Management is the organized activity of identifying emerging trends, concerns or issues likely to affect an organization in the next few years and developing a wider and more positive range of organizational responses toward the future.”
Another definition
1. Issue identification2. Issue analysis3. Strategy options4. Action plan5. Evaluation of results1
Another look at process
1. Wilcox,D. & Cameron,G.(2009).Public Relations Strategies & Tactics, 9th ed.Boston,MA:Pearson
Crisis management is reactive Issues management is
proactive Active planning and prevention
can mean the difference between crisis and noncrisis
The majority of organizational crises are self-inflicted because management ignored the warning signs
Try to avoid crises
Alternative press Mainstream media Online chat groups,
blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Google+Business, Google News
Activist groups
Listen and monitor
The End