Course : Strategic Issues Management (1504SIM01)

elearning.lspr.edu
Master of Arts in Communication : Corporate Communication Studies

LSPR eLearning Program

Session Topic : Issue and Crisis Introduction

Course: Strategic Issues Management

By Rudi Sukandar, Ph.D

Content

Part 1

Overview

Part 2

Issues and Crises

Part 3

Issue Management

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Part1: Overview

Overview: Unit

This unit covers,

the specialist area
of issues
management
from a public
relations
perspective.

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Overview: Essential

Above all,
Management of an
organisation must be,
1. Competent and
2. Ethical.
Otherwise,
The handling of issues and
crises
will expose managements
failings to the world and
could destroy the
organisation.
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Overview: Today

The context
All organisations depend on good relationships with,
internal and
external
stakeholders.
Organisations,
constantly have to deal with a range of challenges
in their operating environment to be successful.
Effective issue management,
helps overcome these challenges
by focusing on effective stakeholder relations management.
Corporate planning is strengthened by good issue management.
The details of this units content and assignments will be provided following this lecture.
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Overview: Interaction with Operating Environment

Internal
environment

Public (govt)
policy
formulation

Specialinterest
groups

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Values
&
lifestyle

The
Organisation

Role of
Stakeholder
groups
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Ethical
standards

Information
age

Attitudes
towards
business

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Overview: Continuum

Continuum of Challenges

Concern

risk

problem

issue

crisis

This unit is about issues,

which are located on a continuum of organisational challenges
caused by stakeholder attitudes and actions.
The strategy dealing with these challenges should be an
integrated process.
More discussion on this in later weeks.
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Part2: Issues and Crises

Issues & Crises: About

Issues,
are messy
they dont progress predictably in a straight line.
They are usually the outcome of trends
which are detectable changes likely to affect the
operating environment (Jones & Chase, 1979).
Issues and crises,
are closely related,
but crises are not necessarily a failure of issue
management.

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Issues & Crises: About (cont.)

Ignoring an issue,
doesnt necessarily lead to a crisis
some issues and potential issues
fade away without action by
management.
A crisis can be an event that,
creates an issue or
keeps an issue alive or
gives it strength
(Heath, 1997, cited in Jaques, 2009).

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Robert L. Heath
Emeritus Professor,
Communication, Houston
Univ.
Published many awardwinning books
Hal 12

Issues: Definition

Q: What is An emerging issue?

A: A condition or event,
either internal or external to
the organisation,
which if it continues, will
significantly affect the
functioning or performance of
the organisation or
its future interests.
(Regester & Larkin, 2008, p. 44).

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Michael Regester
Founding Director,
Regester Larkin
Ltd (1994)

Judy Larkin
Owner, Risk
Principals Ltd
(2006)

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Issues: Jim Kukral

Issues are around us every day

Jim F. Kukral
Founder, Author Marketing Inst.
(2014 - present)
Professor, Internet Marketing
Univ. San Francisco
(2009)
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Issues: Definition

Q: What is an issue?
A: It
Usually causes two or more strongly held/opposing
views
Involves emotions
Concerns that any decision will impact peoples
lives
Might become a crisis when not effectively
handled

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Issues: Levels

Some levels of Issue

Q: What is an issue?
A:
It
1. Latent
In
process of
being formed
theUsually
causes
two or more strongly
held/opposing
views
2. Emerging
Begins
Involves
emotions
to appear
in journals, specialty media sources, alternative media
Adopted
by interest
groups
and opinion
become
aware
Concerns
that any
decision
willleaders
impact
peoples
lives
3. Hot
In current
Mightdebate
become a crisis when not effectively
handled
4. Fallout
Waiting to be rekindled (sparks of a past fire ready to re-ignite)
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Issues: Organisations

More pressure on organisations

Q: What is an issue?
Organisations,
A: It
are under more public scrutiny than every before,
especially
Usually causes
two
or
more
strongly
due to social media.
held/opposing
views
Headlines
are more sensationalised.
But most cases are merely issues, not anything worse.
Involves emotions
1. Concerns
Media disaster!that any decision will impact peoples
PR,
lives
2. disaster!
3. Might
blunder! become a crisis when not effectively
4. catastrophe!
handled
5.
6.
7.
8.

mess!
blow!
bungle!
stumble!

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Issues: Example

This trivial example in 2013,

t any
decision
impact
peoplesfumbled
lives for a drink of water
occurred
because will
a nervous
US Congressman
while making an important speech.

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Issues: Business Issues

Nevertheless, many genuine issues are around

t any decision will impact peoples lives

Here are the business issues reported in the Asian Wall Street Journal in
just one day in October 2013.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Apple cuts orders for iPhone 5C

Ireland moves to block tax shelter for international cos
Laos aircraft crashes at Mekong River
Glaxos ex-China chief assists in bribery probe
A shakeout for Wal-Marts China stores

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Issues: Business Issues (cont.)

6.
Danone
cuts forecasts
after
t any
decision
will impact
peoples lives
baby-formula recall
7. Yahoo: profit stuck, for now
8. Mattel plants face scrutiny in
China
9. JP Morgan fined $100m for
reckless trading

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Issues: Caused

Q: What about issues caused by social media?

A:
Types of issues
1. Negative comments
2. Rogue tweets
3. Campaign-gone-wrong

Any other categories of social media issues?

Specific examples?

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Part3: Issue Management

Issue Management: 2 Ways

Issues and Issue Management

2 ways to view issue management

1. As a structural framework a public policy approach
2. As its application in practice a set of processes
This leads to 3 different ways to define issues:
1. Controversy or dispute
An issue is a contestable difference of opinion
2. Gap in expectations
Gap between organisational actions and the expectations of
stakeholders
The legitimacy gap
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Issue Management: 2 Ways (cont.)

3. Impact
Event,
Trend or
Condition creating, or
Has potential to create,
A major impact
(Jaques, 2009)

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Issue Management: Legitimacy

Any issue can form when,

constituencies and
organisations
.have different expectations and
behaviours.

This is called the legitimacy gap.

Addressed through public policy or
through firms voluntarily making
changes after engaging with
constituencies who want a change,
or
the firm persuading
constituencies to its point of view

W. Timothy
Coombs Ph.D
Professor,
Advertising-Public
Relations, Univ. of
Central Florida

Sherry J. Holladay,
Ph.D
Professor, Nicholson
School of
Communication,
Univ. of Central
Florida in Orlando

(Coombs & Holladay, 2010, p. 196-197).

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Issue Management: Legitimacy (cont.)

Legitimacy involves sufficient people accept the issue as a

public concern.
Power and influence,
Are central in issue management, and
therefore strong need for an ethical approach
(Coombs & Holladay, 2010, p. 210)

An issue always involves some degree of conflict

(Hainsworth, 1990, cited in Oliver & Donnelly, 2007)

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Issue Management: Definition

Q: What is Issue management ?

A: A form of risk management.
It reduces the risk of the organisation being worse off
than
if it hadnt dealt properly with the issues.
We will talk about risk communication later in this unit.

Issues management,
was formed in response to activist action to shape public
policy (i.e. government) in the 1970s,
but now extends to general matters in public.
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Issue Management: Definition (cont.)

The term issue management,

actually gives the wrong impression.
Organisations cant actually manage issues;
public issues are too big to control
management can just try to shape and influence them,
ideally to best mutual advantage with stakeholders
(Arnold & Ewing, 2012, p. 344)

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Issue Management: Definition (cont.)

IM is,
1. the function of strategically
aligning the corporation with the
operating environment,
allowing continued survival and
development of relationships
with members of that
environment
(Bowen, 2002)
2. about identifying risk and
opportunity before your key
audiences can
(Palese & Crane, 2002)
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Shannon A. Bowen, Ph.D.

Associate Professor Univ. of South
Carolina (2012)
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Issue Management: Definition (cont.)

3. originally intended to help firms compete with governments

and NGOs in the development of public policy.
But Govts and NGOs themselves now use IM techniques
to promote and implement those very policies.

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Issue Management: The Focus

The focus of issue management

Issue management is about strategic issues,
the trends,
events and
developments
that meet 3 criteria:
1.

They would affect the organisations business

performance

The organisation,
2. would have to systematically mobilise resources to
deal with them.
3. may reasonably expect to exert some influence
over the outcome.
(Mahon, n.d. cited in Harrison 2011, p. 780)
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John F. Mahon
Chair, Intl Business Policy
& Strategy
Professor, Mgt. Univ. of
Maine (2001-Present)

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Issue Management: Planning

Planning strengthened by IM

Corporate planning is strengthened by

issue management when IM:
1. Anticipates, analyses & prioritises
issues
2. Helps develop a position on vital
issues
3. Identifies stakeholders & key players
4. Identifies desired behaviours of
stakeholders and influential persons
These functions support achievement of
the organisational mission.
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Issue Management: Planning (cont.)

Communication professionals are empowered when they are involved

in these functions.
(Heath & Palenchar, 2009, p. 31)

Robert L. Heath
Emeritus Professor, Communication,
Houston Univ.
Published many award-winning books
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Michael J. Palenchar, Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy, Mass
Communication, Univ. of
Florida (2005)
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References

1. Arnold, J., & Ewing, R. (2012). Issues management methods for

reputational management. In C. Caywood (Ed.). The Handbook of Strategic
Public Relations and Integrated Marketing Communications (2nd ed., pp.
335-352). New York: McGraw-Hill.
2. Bowen, S. (2002). Elite executives in issues management: the role of ethical
paradigms in decision making. Journal of Public Affairs, 2(4), pp. 270283.
3. Coombs, W., & Holladay, S. (2010). PR Strategy and Application:
managing influence. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
4. Heath, R., & Palenchar, M. (2009). Strategic Issues Management:
organizations and public policy challenges (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks,
California: SAGE Publications.
5. Jaques, T. (2009). Issues and crisis management: quicksand in the
definitional landscape. Public Relations Review, 35(3), pp. 280-286.
6. Jones, B., & Chase, W. (1979). Managing public policy issues. Public
Relations Review, 5(2), pp. 3-23.
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References (cont.)

7. Harrison, K. (2011). Strategic Public Relations. Melbourne, Australia:

Palgrave Macmillan.
8. Oliver, G., & Donnelly P. (2007). Effective use of a Strategic Issue
Management System (SIMS): combining tools and approach. Journal of
Public Affairs, 7(4), pp. 399-406.
9. Palese, M., & Crane, T. (2002). Building an integrated issue management
process as a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Journal of
Public Affairs, 2(4), pp. 284-292.
10. Regester, M., & Larkin, J. (2008). Risk Issues and Crisis Management in
Public Relations (4th ed.) London: Kogan Page.

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Course : Strategic Issues Management (1504SIM01)

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