How Do Companies Deal With The Negative Rumours And Accidents?

Your Name Course No. Professor 2nd May 2018 HOW DO COMPANIES DEAL WITH THE NEGATIVE RUMOURS AND ACCIDENTS? A negative rumor can have devastating and far reaching implications on corporate reputation, image and identity. It can dent and adversely affect the core corporate objective. If not well managed, a negative rumor can adversely impact on the company’s bottom-line (Grant 2010). In an attempt to deal with the rumor menace, companies have devised diverse strategies aimed at mitigating and minimizing its potential adverse impact. Most companies pursue preventive strategies through policies and procedures aimed at stemming internally and externally generated rumors (Brown 2009). While internal rumors could be easy to deal with, externally generated rumors are often complex and difficult to manage. Besides negative rumors, companies have also to deal with workplace accidents. Unlike rumors, accidents can be easily managed through workplace policies and safety procedures. Although companies have plans and strategies aimed at dealing with negative rumors and workplace accidents, these two vices pose a significant challenge that every company has to contend with. This essay explores how different companies deal with negative rumors and workplace accidents. Negative rumors can take the form of black propaganda which is a derogatory attack on an entity’s reputation aimed to destroy its public reputation. The best strategy for dealing with negative rumors is not withdrawal, but rather launching a vicious pubic relation response aimed at filling the void that the rumor was meant to fill (Scientology.com 2018). This is based on the philosophy that whenever a void exists; people have a tendency to invent data to fill it. Based on the law of omitted data, companies employ public relations campaigns aimed at filling the omitted data that generated the negative rumor (Grant 2010). Thus companies either hire or use their internal public relations to deal with the rumor. The best approach is usually to confront the rumor without denying it, and by not directly addressing the subject. By filling the vacuum, companies deal with rumors by either directly or indirectly disapproving the false data that is already in the public domain (Brown 2009). This strategy involves consistent disapproval of the falsehood using authoritative documentary evidence. This can be accomplished by use of either demonstration or display technology. The affected company should directly challenge the false statements using factual and credible evidence. The third strategy of addressing negative rumors is to consistently fill the void(Grant 2010). The process of filling the void should be continuous and aimed at publicizing the company’s positive contribution thereby turning the public focus away from the rumor. This can be accomplished through the use of social media platforms, pamphlets and press releases (Brown 2009). A company’s own publication can also provide an ideal platform for confronting negative rumors. While dealing with the negative rumor that Coke’s Arabic Logo, when turned backwards reads, “No Muhammad, No Mecca”, Coca Cola blundered by denying the rumor through its web portal (Economist 2011). The company’s attempt to deal with this rumor flou...