Public Relation Management: of Keystone XL Pipeline System - Case Study Example

Public Relations Executive Summary This particular report concerns the Keystone XL Pipeline System. This report will focus on how to approach the issue of public relations in dealing with situations presented in this case study. The report deals with almost all facets of environmental conservation. The issue at hand in this case study is allowing this controversial pipeline connection from US to Canada. The analysts have given their perspectives. At the same time, the specialists in the specialty of environmental conservation have provided their appreciation of the situation. It is upon the main players in this area to make the final decision. Whichever the decision that is finally undertaken; the main stakeholders that will be affected are the community. The effect will emanate from the environmental pollution effects as a result of allowing the pipeline to run as proposed. The other stakeholders that are likely to be affected with this situation include the government, regulators, and employees of this company and customers of the oil products from this company. The main issue in this case is the environmental implication of allowing the proposed pipeline. Introduction There has been a heated debate in the recent past concerning the Keystone XL Pipeline System. The major concern has been the environmental impacts that this pipeline will cause if allowed to link Canada and the US. The build-up controversy has been between the analysts carrying out the survey on behalf of the proponents and on the other hand the environmentalists. The environmentalists are not convinced that the recommendations being made by the proponents are genuine. They strongly believe that there is something absolutely wrong about the recommendations being leveled by the proponents. Climate scientists like James Hansen have been very vocal on this particular issue. The researchers in this field are convinced that the proposed pipeline will have serious implications. There has not been a point of consensus over this issue. Whichever the decision might be, the community stands out as the publics and it will be the most affected by the decision above. Public relations Indeed there is no standard definition of public relations. Therefore, should we use the literal approach to understanding the meaning of public relations and define public relations as the relationship with the public? Off-course it should not be the case. There have been quite varied definitions of this term. One of the renowned definitions of public relations is: the approach preferred by an organization in the treatment of information from the organization to the public (Heath & Vasquez, 2001). This definition captures the key issues in the subject. The need for the organization to understand how to share information with the public is paramount. It helps maintain the image and the overall outlook of the organization. For an organization to effectively deal with the information to the public, the organization must engage the public through activities that are of great concern to the public. According to Mohan (2005), it is up to the organization to carry out an assessment on the activities that will appeal to the public the most. The significance of public relations is founded on the contribution of the public to the success of the organization. Investors interested in any company are always concerned about the company’s relationship with the public. Any company that enjoys the goodwill of the public is poised to succeed. This is because the most significant stakeholder of profit making entities is the customer. The customers usually form the wider public. This is where the concept of marketing sets in. The organizations can use public relations as a tool to sell the companies’ products and services. Any good name is worth it. A company that manages to exhibit a good name for itself has the potential to improve its productivity. In line with this understanding, it is easier to link it to the case study at hand. Ensuring good relationship with the public will involve putting the consideration of the public at first. The need for profiteering should not be a leeway for an organization to ignore the interests of the public (Broom, 2009). This is because in so doing, the organization will lose the public favor and goodwill. The nature of the operations by the Keystone Pipeline can benefit greatly from the proper understanding of the need and the role of maintaining excellent public relations. From marketing point of view, public relation is a tool that is used to promote the salability of products of an organization in the long run (Gremler, Bitner & Zeithami, 2012). The main feature is that this approach exhibits low rate of influence, but a long term effect on the organization. Besides, in the situation in which this oil company is, it calls for good public relations approaches. The communication wing of the public relation department is responsible for designing a strategy for the company to use in quashing the situation (Gordon, 1997). The strategy will involve convincing the public that the proposed pipeline will not be a health hazard as said by some stakeholders. They ought to convince the entire public that the pipeline is for the mutual benefits. They have to creatively come up with the required detail to be able to convince the public on this issue. Apart from the general public, there are also the specialists who have vehemently opposed the move by the company. One of those who have expressed this overly is James Hansen. James Hansen is a climate scientist who has given so many reasons why the effect of the said pipeline connection will have extreme environmental consequences. The genuineness and the validity of most of the concerns raised by Hansen can be best evaluated by other scientists in that particular field. Nevertheless, it is the role of the public relation of the company to convince this group of stakeholders of the essence of the pipeline link. Some of the reasoning must be based on the cost benefit analysis. This is to say, the company appreciates first that there are some consequences that are likely to come a long with the approval of the said pipeline. Nevertheless the company’s public relation wing must convince the scientists and environmental experts that the benefits of this move far much exceeds the costs. Stakeholders There are many stakeholders allied to this organization. In a rather overall terms, a stakeholder is any person who is affected either directly or indirectly a decision made by the company (Beach, Brown & Keast, 2008). Other authors define stakeholder as any person with an interest in the operation of the company (Alison, 2005). Every stakeholder has his own role towards the company. This is greatly influenced by the interests being defended in the company. The higher the stakes in the company the more significant the shareholder is. Keystone Pipeline also has several stakeholders. As earlier said, they are either affected or affect the decisions made by the organization. Therefore, the organization must put the demands of the stakeholders into consideration every time it is making critical decisions. Keystone Pipeline stakeholders are customers, the government, employees, regulatory bodies, the management, board of directors, etc. The following is a discussion of the most important shareholders: The regulatory body This is the body that is mandated to provide guidelines on what to endorse in relation to waste product emissions into the atmosphere. These emissions can be in form of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases. Specifically, this arrangement is said to lead to a dramatic change in climate (Hartman, 2004). This indeed this is a serious concern. In such circumstances, a decision ought to be made in the interest of the country. Regardless of the mounting pressure, the regulatory body ought to make the right decisions. The government heavily relies on this body to enact laws and policies regarding their respective fields. These bodies have experts in the respective specialty fields. This is the reason the reports released by these bodies are highly trusted and relied upon. Based on their analysis, they provide sufficient guidance on the way forward in the prevailing conditions. In the above case, the regulatory has a mandate to evaluate the decision on the consequence of the pipeline proposed with regards to the climate change. Community Considering the situation above, another critical stakeholder is the community. This is because any decision made in this particular case will surely have an impact on the community. This will include in terms with the environmental health as well as the ultimate price of oil products (Hartman, 2004). In the situation above, the allowance of the pipeline will have direct impact on the community. When harmful components are released into the atmosphere, the greatest implications will be upon the community. Therefore, regardless of the decision that is made, considerations must be made in relation to the community. This is what makes the community a very significant stakeholder in the case of Keystone Pipeline. This means that the regulatory tools to capture the most significant stakeholders. The Issue The main point of contest in this particular case is the possible impact of allowing the Canadian oil pipeline from Canada to the United States. This impact is evaluated based on the climatic changes that are likely to occur. The opponents to this move to allow the Keystone Pipeline claim that the kind of energy supplied by the fuel being channeled into the country has a higher percentage of unwanted gases. From the perspective of the scientists, the tar in the fuel products emits more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than all the oil burnt in the human history. This makes it very unsafe for human existence. For this reason, many scientists have not shied away from expressing their greatest displeasure. According to the experts, the persistence of such gases will definitely have an impact on the greenhouse effect. This has been the greatest concern by the climate scientist. They feel that allowing such decision will further worsen the already bad conditions. The greatest concern to most of these scientists like Hansen is that the decision by the government to adapt the said proposal is not reversible. Once the deal has been accepted, the scientists feel that it will only be dreadful expectations of the worst from an environmental perspective. This is founded on the stand that the Canadian oil is the dirtiest fuel that has ever been allowed in the United States. It is upon the government to reject this proposal for the good of the society and the country at large. The reason this oil products turns out to be the dirtiest is based on the fact that bitumen cannot be transported by pipeline alone. It must be mixed with other chemical content to facilitate the transfer. During the refinement, these contents are burned out of bitumen. The emissions released from this process cannot be easily controlled. This is the main concern by most experts. On the other hand the proponents the Keystone Pipeline have remained adamant that the costs that are caused by this project do not exceed the benefits. They claim that it is within the expectations for the project to have the impact it is likely to have on the atmosphere. The Canadian Company has already applied for the permit documents to allow them undertake this process. This has been a stand still. The players in the industry have failed to reach an amicable solution over the matter. The Publics From most of the sources concerning publics, the public is part of the stakeholders. The publics is the shareholder group that is most affected by the issue in question. The term has been defined variedly by different authors. Donnalyne (2005) defines publics as individuals as well as groups of people who have vested interest in the organization. Whichever their stake may be, these people are directly affected by decisions undertaken by the organization. We have analyzed the issue in this case study in entirety. It is obvious that the most of the effects of such a move will affect the community. The issue of environmental pollution has dire consequences to the entire community. That is the reason there was to be a special consideration on some of these stakeholders when making a decision on whether to approve the move or not (Fassin, 2009). This is based on the size of the stakeholder. Representing the community in such matters is a great responsibility. Nevertheless, that is not the main issue. The public relations must be cognizant of the significance of the community. This is because the community has the capacity to affect the manner in which the company runs. This may include sales revenue and overall profitability of the company (McDaniel & Gates, 2009). Whichever approach the company chooses, it must ensure that safeguarding of the interests of the community is paramount. Furthermore, being concerned about the community is simply viewed as social responsibility. Social responsibility is considered a sign of ethical roles of the company (Hartman, 2004). This is one way that is used as a tool for marketing the company products. Therefore, in meeting the ethical standards that are required helps solve two problems at ago. This is explains why many organizations with long term objectives are always interested in welfare of the community. Conclusion Public relation is very fundamental in all organizations. This function of the organization is quite multi-faceted. Every organization must have the public relations organ. This is to ensure that the organization is appropriately advised in connection with how it is expected deal with the public. This is in consideration of the significance of the stakeholders to the overall performance of the company. The success of any organization is closely linked to the role played by its stakeholders. This is where the role of public relation gains prominence. This is in line with the most important stakeholder in most of the sectors. Moreover, it is good to appreciate the role of the public relations as a marketing strategy. This tool is used in the long run since it builds long term profitable trends for the company. This can be achieved through ensuring that the company is being part of the solution to the problems facing the community. The best way through which the company can be appropriately informed is through a well-established public relations function. With this in place, the organization will be well-placed to deal with issues related to most of the stakeholders. References Jacquie, L. (2005). Critical public relations: Some reflections. PRR 31(4), 521-526. Mohan J. D. (2005). Civil society and public relations: Not so civil after all. JPRR, 17(3), 267-289. Alison, H. (2005). Activism in "paradise": Identity management in a public relations campaign against genetic engineering. JPRR, 17(2), 117-138 (* Special issue) Donnalyn, P. (2005) ."Difference" in public relations research. 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