Public Affairs Management

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Public Affairs Management
Chapter
2

• Public Issues
• Managing the Public Affairs Function
• Issue Management
• Crisis Management

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Public issues

• Public issue
• An issue that is of concern to an organizations
  stakeholders.
• Stakeholder expectations
• A mixture of peoples opinions, attitudes, and
  beliefs about what constitutes reasonable
  business behavior.
• Performance-expectations gap
• A gap between what stakeholders expect and what
  an organization is actually doing.

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Figure 2.1
A stakeholder network focusing on a public issue
Stakeholders with a shared focus on an issue
Stakeholders with a shared focus on an issue
Stakeholders with a shared focus on an issue
Stakeholders with a shared focus on an issue
Stakeholders with a shared focus on an issue
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Phases of the public issue life cycle

• Phase 1 Changing Stakeholder Expectations
• When a performance-expectation gap emerges, the
  seeds of a public issue have been sown.
• Phase 2 Political Action
• When a problem is placed on the agenda for
  government action.
• Phase 3 Formal Government Action
• When legislative proposals or draft regulations
  emerge. Characterized also by an increased
  number of people involved in the conflict.
• Phase 4 Legal Implementation
• When a new law or regulation is implemented and
  companies are forced to comply with the law.

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Figure 2.2
The public issue life cycle
High
Phase 1 Changing Stakeholder Expectations
Phase 2 Political Action
Phase 3 Formal Government Action
Phase 4 Legal Implementation
Level of Stakeholder Concerns
Life Cycle of Issue
Management discretion to resolve the issue
Management Discretion
Low
Time
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Public affairs activities

• External forces
• Loss of public trust institutions
• Globalization of world markets
• Rise of the Internet
• Internal forces
• Better communication within organizations
• More experience dealing with significant change
  and complexity
• Growing focus on the interplay between the
  organization, its environment, and its strategies
• Public affairs management
• The active management of a companys external
  relations, especially its relations with external
  stakeholders such as government and regulatory
  agencies, customers, investors, and communities.

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Corporate public affairs activities of 250
companies
Table 2.1a
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Table 2.1b
Corporate public affairs activities of 250
companies
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Public affairs managements relevant stakeholders
and functions
Figure 2.3a
Public Affairs Management

• Government
• Public policy
• Lobbying
• Political action
• Trade associations
• Advocacy ads
• Grassroots mobilization

• Stockholders
• External and internal audit
• SEC filings, compliance
• Communications
• Proxy election management

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Figure 2.3b
Public affairs managements relevant stakeholders
and functions
Public Affairs Management

• Employee
• Communications
• Union negotiations
• OSHA, EEOC, and labor law compliance
• Diversity and family-work programs

• Customers
• Customer service
• Total quality management
• Liability lawsuit defense
• Recall management

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Figure 2.3c
Public affairs managements relevant stakeholders
and functions
Public Affairs Management

• Environment
• EPA and state environmental compliance
• Internal environmental auditing
• Recycling, take-back programs

• Community
• Corporate philanthropy
• Partners with schools, NGOs
• Volunteerism, employee time contributions

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Figure 2.3d
Public affairs managements relevant stakeholders
and functions
Public Affairs Management

• Activists, General Public
• Environmental scanning
• Stakeholder dialogue
• Social reporting
• Social monitoring

• Media
• Public relations
• Executive speeches
• Image advertising
• Crisis management
• Web page management

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An effective public affairs function must

• Manage public affairs as an ongoing, year-round
  process.
• Cultivate and harvest the capability to build,
  develop, and maintain enduring stakeholder
  relationships.
• Influence stakeholders using refined information.
• Recognize the importance of managing the grass
  roots.
• Communicate in an integrated manner.
• Continuously align its values and strategy with
  publics interests.
• Improve its external relations using the accepted
  facts of contemporary management practice.

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Issue management

• A structured and systematic process to aid
  organizations in identifying, monitoring, and
  selecting public issues that warrant
  organizational action.
• Environmental intelligence
• The acquisition of information gained from
  analyzing the multiple environments affecting
  organizations.
• Customer
• Competitor
• Economic
• Technological
• Social
• Political
• Legal
• Geophysical

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Eight strategic radar screens
Figure 2.4
Customer Environment
Competitor Environment
Geophysical Environment

Seeking Environmental Intelligence
Economic Environment
Legal Environment
Technological Environment
Political Environment
Social Environment
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Figure 2.5
The issue management process
Issues Identification
Issues Analysis
Research
Performance evaluation
Judgment and priority setting
Results
Policy Options
Program Design
Implementation
Policy and strategy selection
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Crisis management

• Corporate crisis
• A significant business disruption that stimulates
  extensive news media coverage.
• Crisis management
• The process organizations use to respond to
  short-term and immediate corporate crises.

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An effect crisis management plan involves

• Preparing for action by creating an internal
  communication system that can be activated the
  moment the crisis occurs.
• Communicating quickly, but accurately.
• Using the Internet to convey the public affairs
  message.
• Doing the right thing by not minimizing the
  seriousness of a problem nor exaggerating minor
  incidents.
• Following up and, where appropriate, making
  amends to those affected.