The Court of Public Opinion - Assignment Example

THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION Introduction Public relations is a field that is basically concerned with solving public problems. It plays a vital role in the contemporary society as considering the fact that citizens are given the forum to give their own views regarding certain emerging issues within the society. However, it is apparent that the emergence of social media has greatly revolutionized the general practice of public relations. For instance, the speed in which information is spread across has greatly increased hence making the general process of communication much easier1. This appears to be good news but certainly there are negative impacts as well. Most companies as well as renowned individuals have had their public images and reputations ruined through social media sites. Some companies have had to be even closed down as a result of the public opinions regarding how the company conducts its operations. This paper will review some of the recent articles to illustrate the critical importance of the court of public opinion. This paper seeks to illustrate the vital role of public relations in the contemporary world. Question 1 The British public opinion has turned against Robert Murdoch’s News of the World newspaper, a move that has led to the closure of this media company. The company acknowledged that it went forth to hire some investigators to hack into the phone accounts of celebrities, politicians and even the ordinary citizens with the aim of developing stories that targeted the British troops that were murdered in the Afghanistan war, the London transit bombings victims in 2005 and the case about the 13 year old girl who disappeared and was later found dead2. Apparently the company has been subjected to some criticisms in the past but the latest phone tapping scandal has spurred major criticism from his allies and the general public at large. Apparently, the company’s efforts in managing this crisis are not effective. Certainly, it is good that the company came into light and accepted the fact that it made a mistake by taping the phones of the citizens in its attempts to develop stories. However, one major mistake the company made is to close down its operations instead of apologizing to the public for their mistake and probably seek to reconcile with the public. Closing down is a primitive way of tackling the situation since there are no further investigations that need to be done regarding the issue. What is probably left is for the company to come to the public and apologize for its misbehavior. The same way it came into light and accepted the fact that it hired investigators to conduct the hacking process, it should also come out and apologize to the affected individuals and the public at large. That is the only way the company can restore the public trust. There are few lessons businesses should learn from this case. First, it is important to maintain public trust. Therefore, the drive for profit making or fame in that case, should not make the business lose the public trust. In this case, for instance, we read that the News of the World, is one of the most widely read newspapers and therefore in its drive to remain famous, it sought into this criticized scandal, hence generating more troubles for the company. In addition, businesses should maintain good reputation and image and should not engage in activities that will make the company spoil its reputation and image. However, when the company’s reputation is spoilt, the management and the entire staff of the company stand to face criticisms3. For instance, in this case, we note that the company director’s image and reputation has been spoilt and faces condemnation, not only from the general public, but from his own allies4. Finally, it is important to come into light and apologize whenever the business has engaged in an activity that goes against the expected norms. Businesses should form crisis management committees that will help the company deal with such issues when they arise. Instead of evading situations by closing down, the appointed committees will help in such times. Importance of public attitudes in gaining acceptance of new technologies It is apparent that since the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant following the tsunami in March, worldwide public opinion has sharply turned against the introduction of new technologies for instance nuclear power. This may be due to the negative impacts of the new technologies compared to their substitutes. This part of assignment will focus on the importance of public opinion in gaining acceptance of the introduction of the novel technologies. Gaining public support on the introduction of new technologies such as genetically modified foods and nuclear energy is a key for effective introduction5. In my opinion, this statement is very true. Generally, public opinion which will either support or oppose the introduction of a new technology is very vital. This is so due to various reasons. Firstly, the industry will know the percentage of those accepting and those opposing the new technology. From this, the industry can try to convince those opposing by enlightening them on the importance of the new technology and how it can benefit the society as a whole. Having enough knowledge means that the public will have trust with the industries introducing the new technologies6. Public support means that industries can introduce new technologies effectively without any opposition from the public and this will result to their success. According to research done by Carrington the opinion poll from Ipsos-Mori revealed that one out of five Britons who currently oppose nuclear power had a positive opinion before the Japan’s catastrophe7. Internationally, the poll showed that two-thirds of the people are against nuclear power. For instance, in Germany and Italy, 79 percent and 81 percent of the public respectively are against nuclear power8. In the United Kingdom however, the general public is split 50-50 between opposing and supporting nuclear power. All this can be linked to the negative impacts of the novel technologies, for instance, the Tsunami in Japan that resulted to death, injuries and destruction of property. Furthermore, the genetically modified foods are associated with health problems all of which impact the general public. Question 2 Role played by public relations in the introduction of new technologies Public relations can be defined as the process of creating and promoting good relationship with the public. They are also the activities, methods and policies which are employed by the corporations in the process of establishing a good relationship between them and the public. In this regard, public relations should play various roles in order to ensure they build public trust in the new technologies. The best model of public relation that can be employed in this case is public information model. This is one way communication and it employs press releases and other communication methods to distribute company information. According to George Monbiot public distrust of corporations is linked to views of industry spin9. As a result, the use of public information model is the best which is meant to create public interest in the introduction of the new technologies. This will make use of various tools including press releases, media kits, brochures, annual reports, news letters, blogs and social media. However, the use of social media allows fro two way communication whereby corporations can receive feed back regarding the introduction of the new technologies from the public. Public relations in this case will employ a fundamental method of identifying the target population and tailoring messages to appease them. The target audience in this case includes the worldwide or national audience. Through these tools, the public relations can play a role of offering information regarding the novel technologies and how they will benefit the public. Through this they can convince the public to accept them which as a result will lead to success in their introduction. According to Carrington’s study, the public are in support for low-carbon energy such as solar power (97%), hydroelectricity (91%) and wind power (93%)10. Moreover, the introduction of genetically modified crops in the United Kingdom doomed the commercial application of technology for two consecutive decades. The application of these renewable technologies in addition may cost the government less compared to the nuclear technologies. This implies why the attempts to introduce a new technology necessitates regard to consumer attitudes. The application of public relations in this case can convince the public otherwise and they may end up accepting the nuclear technologies and the genetically modified crops. Question 3 Public relations in the new era of social media The new era of social media has greatly revolutionized the whole notion of public relations. Previously, issues to do with public opinion were very rare. It would take a group to stand and fight for their rights so that an issue is considered a public concern. However, this is not the case in the contemporary where social media has provided almost all individual with an equal opportunity to express their concern over matters that involve the public opinion. For instance, from the case provided, Adams Brimo, through the modern era social media, found a site where he could express his problem concerning the Vodacom Company11. However, this did not take long before it gained public support since many people facing the same problems had the opportunity to express their problems regarding the company. It is therefore apparent that the modern era social media has provided the public with a forum where they can express their views concerning matters of the public. The essential practice of public relations has therefore been greatly revolutionized by the modern era social media as this function has been made more important due to widespread coverage and the speedy mode of online communication. Indeed, the modern era social media can be considered a great achievement in the field of public relations as it has made this process more realistic and effective. How companies can protect their reputations in the digital age It is evident that the emergence of social media such as Face book, Twitter, Flickr, and You Tube among others over the past years is revolutionizing public relations practices, perhaps making the function more significant than ever before due to the immense reach and lightening pace of novel forms of online communication. However, the increased use of social media in the contemporary society is impacting the way companies operate which is even damaging their reputation. Due to this, companies should establish strategies which will assist them in protecting their reputation in this digital era. For instance, companies should operate in ways which are consistent with the expectations of the consumers. It is apparent that each individual has a set of basic, which underlies ones psychological requirements. Such a basic include justice, which implies that consumers must to be treated with fairness in spite of the goods or services they are purchasing. Research shows that failure to do this triggers negative emotions among consumers and they can vent this anger through digital media12. This is a major disaster and may affect a company’s reputation negatively, as we all know that bad news usually travels fast in an enabled social media environment. Furthermore, companies should act quickly in facing the existing predicaments. They should also be honest regarding their failings and try to evade a fast escalating public relation disaster. Nevertheless, while acting speedily and looking for solutions to solve the existing customer problems, companies should make certain that they do not put forth expectations that cannot be met. Bibliography Booth, W. and P. Farhi. Phone-hacking scandal is biggest PR disaster of Murdoch's career. The Washington Post, 8 July 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/phone-hacking-scandal-is-biggest-pr-disaster-of-murdochs-career/2011/07/07/gIQALAKm2H_story.html (Accessed 31 August 2011). Carrington, D. Collusion over nuclear power mirrors the PR disaster of GM crops. The Guardian, 1 July 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2011/jul/01/nuclear-power-british-government-fukushima (Accessed 31 August). Fighting a viral infection - when the internet hurts your image. Business Spectator, 11 July, 2011. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Vodafone-United-Airlines-vodafail-complaints-ACCC--pd20110711-JN2DP?opendocument&src=rss (Accessed 31 August). Grunig, J. E., and Hunt, T. Managing Public Relations. Fort Worth, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1984, pp.78-108. Monbiot, G. The nuclear industry stinks. But that is not a reason to ditch nuclear power. The Guardian, 4 July, 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/04/nuclear-industry-stinks-cleaner-energy?intcmp=239 (Accessed 31 August). Shamir, J and Shamir, M. The Anatomy of Public Opinion, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000, pp. 45-167. Read More