Module 2 Managerial communications

“Find a bit of beauty in the world today. Share it. If you can’t find it, create it. Some days this may behard to do. Persevere.”—inspirational directive on the blog Lisa Bonchek Adams hosted until her death
in 2015. Lisa’s philosophy follows some established counsel to find and feel gratitude every day, an
evidence-based practice that yields benefits. Another variation is keeping a delights journal, not
closing our eyes each day until we find something which delights us and note it somewhere. This kind
of valuing often falls under that heading, “the best things in life are free.”
Module 2 Comm 3068
LLopez F22 Module due October 27th
Pace yourself as there are 3 case studies this time
Section One: Gratitude/Beauty Taking Us Forward
Part A: I’m not just sharing Lisa’s counsel this time; we’re doing it. We need this.
We’re going to be looking at some rough issues/cases ahead, and we need to keep
sight of beauty and grace in the world. I’ve already been doing this one myself so
some examples follow. For at least 15 weekdays in October, I want you to find a bit of
beauty or create it. On weekends, CBS SUNDAY MORNING, which you can stream if
you don’t get the network, provides so much beauty, notably in their signature artistic
variations on the sun, that we’ll have them cover the weekends. So, first, you can
begin today and find 21 examples by Module 2’s due date: Oct. 27th. You can put
them in a word cloud or just make a list in a single paragraph. But because of our
number, please don’t send 15 links, though one or two favorites that way if you wish.
So something like this, here opening with the most incredible pizza my husband ever
made for us, using fresh figs from our mini fig orchard (just see the picture up front):
https://stripedspatula.com/fig-pizza/#wprm-recipe-container-14183
>And others in my list in progress: the changing colors of the season, reflected in nature and
in fashion; the first fall flowers of the season; scented candles; the Red Truck Bakery
Cookbook; the good/the bad/the collapsed bakes on GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW
running on YouTube; my fall-themed re-use grocery bag; . . . and I’ll share more examples as
we move through the month.
You can record these as you go in that little notebook.
Part B: Find CBS Sunday Morning (airs at 9 a.m., streams but easier to find if you look
sooner rather than later) at least twice this month and pick 2 segments, writing a response
for each, noting the information included and the approach taken to engage you and others.
You will most certainly find some initiatives among the segments along with pieces that focus
on our topics (changing environment, innovation, corporate social responsibility CSR
programs, etc.). Sometimes a segment will bring a change of perspective that perhaps
lightens our hearts in these stressful times—through music, art, or humor.
Section two again will be 7 news responses from the NYT and/or PBS Newshour. You
should choose at least one this time from the technology section and at least one from the
science section on Tuesday. Check out the Style section on Thurs. as for some reason, articles
on communication also often appear there.
*****NOTE: I need to see in the message that brings your module at the end of the month
that all of the work is your own. You can do additional reading, research if you wish—it’s not
required as doing your own thinking is paramount here. But if you do go to other sources, cite
them. It’s best practice and, even in the workplace, not doing that can have real
consequences. You must include NYT headline and/or PBS program-segment title and date,
not just general topics before you respond. These should be current pieces from October
2022. I was generous in evaluating the first module as it was the first module. But in modules
2 & 3, I can’t send any back for you to add missing pieces. Please submit keeping the
sequence of prompts in this guide as my brain adjusts for that as I read nearly 90 modules
again this term each time.
1. Reputation and Advertising
Read the Chapter 4 counsel and then read the JetBlue case, giving fully developed
responses to the case questions. As part two, find a current article in the news re: the
perilous state of the American airlines industry and write a response. How does the
industry seem to be responding to crisis in this climactic moment? As part three, find a
compelling ad or commercial and write a paragraph or two analyzing its effectiveness or
lack thereof. It should be an ad that seems to be working in the cause of the company’s
reputation but doesn’t have to be related to the airline industry. I will post a separate
course doc with some interesting ads, old and new, to kickstart your thinking and, in
some cases, maybe brighten your day.
>When you analyze the JetBlue case, give particular consideration to their reputation
going into this crisis situation. Obviously, in handling the crisis, one outcome they desire
is holding on to that strong reputation. What are other desired outcomes? In case work
in school and ahead in life, it’s like goal-setting. Keep desired outcomes in mind—but
also take time to articulate them, write them down as doing so should sharpen your
thinking. Although I understand that everyone doesn’t have access to Netflix, I strongly
encourage those of you who do to watch the documentary, DOWNFALL, as the issues in
the documentary parallel those in this case AND get to issues in internal/employee
communication. If you can’t see the film, do read the Ebert review previously posted.
And counsel not from our book but to remember always. Fred Garcia, a respected crisis
management/comms specialist, offers this framework for crisis response: do nothing, do
something, or do something more. As you read about various crisis situations in the
news as we go forward, keep that framework in mind. It’s not a best practice—and in
fact it’s usually THE riskiest of the options—but if a crisis situation hits when many
others are getting press, some organizational leaders will opt to do nothing and ride it
out. Others will do something. Here JetBlue goes the route of doing something more, a
bold move that hugely impacts a stakeholder group sometimes insufficiently factored
into case analysis: competitors. They will now have to figure out how to respond in kind.
Neeleman’s apology for this situation can easily be accessed online, and you should take
a look at it. Apologies, absolutely expected as part of crisis response, have become
particularly difficult to do because so many past ones have been perceived as insincere,
becoming the stuff of comedy on programs like THE SIMPSONS and SOUTH PARK, etc.
So choosing the right spokesperson is key as well as informing the apology with the right
information, a response to a standard set of questions. You no doubt have heard these
words in coverage of covid at the White House: what did they know, when did they
know it, what did they do about it—and what will they do to try to prevent future crises
ahead? This is a set of questions always asked. In the case of an issue like covid,
however, we are watching the science on this one emerge in real time. Many people
don’t seem to understand this part of the reality of this crisis.
Note, too, what David is wearing when you pull up the apology video. Standard counsel
advises a level of dress that mirrors what the audience would likely wear, maybe one jot
higher in formality but no more. I once heard Bill Gates speak at MIT. He wore what
many would call mom jeans (obviously brand new) and a v-neck sweater, dressier than
the predominant student- audience attire that evening but not by much. So note what
David wears when taping his apology. In communication courses today, I don’t think we
spend enough time on tone. Note the tone of his remarks and think about whether or
not he got that right with you.
One amazing thing JetBlue did in response to the situation in this case was to contact
every person who had given them contact information, even if that person never bought
a JBlue ticket. To this day, I have never heard from as many former students as I did
when this case broke, eager to tell me JBlue had contacted them. The sister of one of
my graduate students at that time was on one of the flights. She was given free tickets
for a future flight. When her mother wrote to thank them, adding the message, “We still
love you,” she was sent free tickets as well. It was beautiful; it was costly. But
reputational capital is a truly valuable commodity.
As always, imagine that you work there when answering the case questions and thus
have a stake in their getting the response right. I’m look for fully developed responses to
each question, not short answers.
2. Corporate Responsibility (CSR)
Read the chapter 5 counsel and then read, respond to the Starbucks case. As above,
cafes have been hard hit by the covid crisis. Find a current article in the news re: the
changes likely in store for what once was a thriving business type, seemingly
untouchable.
A standout former student who invested in Starbucks actually got some press and sent
me a clip along with an OK to share it. Who could have imagined an environment
changed so rapidly that Starbucks and similar others might turn out to be a shaky
investment? I have heard reports, though these things are speculative in nature, that
people have discovered during the pandemic that, yes, they can brew coffee at home,
though people do miss the community of coffee shops (and providing/selling
community was largely what enabled Starbucks to grow so fast). So we shall see ahead:

This segment opens with Robinhood noted in the background. Certainly, run that
organization and similar others in the NYT search before diving in to invest. I’ll check in
again with Nicolas and see if he’s still investing in Starbucks. But as he notes, ahem,
there should be more time to research these companies/do great modules during a
continuing pandemic. Again, most of you really did good work with the warm-up
Module One. but here in Module Two, it’s all about hitting your stride, going deeper.
3. Media Relations
Read chapter 6 counsel and the Coors case. This is an older case that originally had a
different takeaway from the one that fits our current moment in time. When analyzing
cases, you must analyze them in their own time period. So do that again in this case, but
then add a postscript re: how this case would unfold if happening today. If you aren’t
familiar with the organizations the Coors brothers were involved with, look those up. At
the time the brothers appeared on 60 MINUTES, they were believed. But today’s
audiences would be more skeptical. Here’s an example of some advance press before
their 60 MINUTES appearance:
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/12/16/Coors-hopes-60-Minutes-will-boostsagging-sales/2407408862800/
There are two takeaways here: the firm counsel of choosing and sticking with message
objectives. You’ve heard this practice described as “staying on message,” which isn’t
foolproof. Sometimes a spokesperson coached to stay on message doesn’t answer
questions posed by the media and interested others and thus can come across as less
credible. For an interview segment, message objectives must be carefully selected,
clear, and concise—and should address the transparency we expect today. Think about
what the Coors Brothers hope will be believed about the company, their
practices/treatment of employees, the beer at the end of the segment.
The parallel takeaway involves mixing professional and political identities. At the time of
this case, the counsel was to keep them separate. Today many customers insist on
knowing where a company stands politically, especially if they are donating to
candidates and, in some cases, urging employees to do so (a worst practice)—and
customers may adjust their spending accordingly. Examples include a recent boycott of
Goya and ongoing references to “that pillow guy.”
>There is an older but excellent documentary BEER WARS that I can’t seem to find any
more. I can’t recall if I originally found it on Netflix or on DVD at our public library,
where periodically they discard things. But if you ever come across it, it’s quite good—
and please let me know where you found it. It gets into larger issues of distribution,
regulation, and advertising slickness disguising poor quality.
***********
Note: This time I won’t be able to send back your module and alert you to missing pieces
so check it carefully against the guide before submitting it. This is not a difficult module,
though you will need to focus and allow reading and thinking time. Please submit the
module with the pieces in the order given here as my brain adjusts for reading them
that way—and there are quite a few of you. When doing the case analyses, imagine that
you work there and thus have a significant stake in their doing the right things.
I had originally planned to feed out the additional case hints/suggestions for focus as we
moved through the month. But since many of you will have traditional mid-terms this
month, I’m thinking (hoping) many of you will make good progress on Module Two
before that time. I do wish you good luck on those midterms in advance. I was an
anxious test-taker back in the day, always wishing to be freed to read, to write, to think.
I will be posting additional samples relevant to these topics as we move through the
month, just giving you additional things to think about, aerobics for our brains.