Here's a short video for my last JGR post! Enjoy!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Ethics are Important, No Matter what the Industry
Ethics are a highly discussed topic across all industries. In the simplest form, ethics concern what is right and what is wrong. This can differ from what is legal at times. Sometimes, just because something is legal does not mean that it is ethical and vice versa.
Being ethical is not only important to keep an organization out of trouble, but it is also important to keep a good reputation overall. People feel good about themselves if they consider themselves to be ethical and therefore would not want to be a supporter of an organization who makes unethical decisions.
So, how can this relate to a NASCAR team? The goals of Joe Gibbs Racing discussed in earlier posts were centered around racing well and maintaining sponsorships and a loyal fan base. To be ethical, drivers and team members need to be following the rules and regulations of NASCAR. No cheating can ever occur, because it would permanently tarnish the reputation of JGR.
Here we can see where some things might be allowed but are unethical at the same time. For example, bump-drafting is allowed. It is a more aggressive form of racing, but permissible. However, if a JGR driver does bump-draft and wrecks a fellow competitor, taking them out of the race, is it ethical? They are following the rules: They have not cheated, they were clearly racing following the rules and they are furthering their goal of finishing in a better position. However, this does not make that decision ethical. Furthermore, NASCAR fans will not think that it is ethical, so that decision can end up hindering their goal of having a loyal fan base.
Our book makes some suggestions to help uphold ethical practices in Chapter 10 (Crandall 206). One idea is to have a code of ethics. All employees need to be familiar with this code in order for it to work. In JGR's situation, it could be possible to have everyone be familiar with the entire document. But, each area of the team should have a section of ethics that deal with their own expertise. Mechanics should have a section about what is allowed in the engine. Account managers for the different sponsors should have ethical rules about how to get new accounts and maintain existing accounts.
Having an ethical record can go a long way in any industry, so it is important to keep up with the organization's ethical standards and altering them as needed.
Being ethical is not only important to keep an organization out of trouble, but it is also important to keep a good reputation overall. People feel good about themselves if they consider themselves to be ethical and therefore would not want to be a supporter of an organization who makes unethical decisions.
So, how can this relate to a NASCAR team? The goals of Joe Gibbs Racing discussed in earlier posts were centered around racing well and maintaining sponsorships and a loyal fan base. To be ethical, drivers and team members need to be following the rules and regulations of NASCAR. No cheating can ever occur, because it would permanently tarnish the reputation of JGR.
Here we can see where some things might be allowed but are unethical at the same time. For example, bump-drafting is allowed. It is a more aggressive form of racing, but permissible. However, if a JGR driver does bump-draft and wrecks a fellow competitor, taking them out of the race, is it ethical? They are following the rules: They have not cheated, they were clearly racing following the rules and they are furthering their goal of finishing in a better position. However, this does not make that decision ethical. Furthermore, NASCAR fans will not think that it is ethical, so that decision can end up hindering their goal of having a loyal fan base.
Our book makes some suggestions to help uphold ethical practices in Chapter 10 (Crandall 206). One idea is to have a code of ethics. All employees need to be familiar with this code in order for it to work. In JGR's situation, it could be possible to have everyone be familiar with the entire document. But, each area of the team should have a section of ethics that deal with their own expertise. Mechanics should have a section about what is allowed in the engine. Account managers for the different sponsors should have ethical rules about how to get new accounts and maintain existing accounts.
Having an ethical record can go a long way in any industry, so it is important to keep up with the organization's ethical standards and altering them as needed.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
The Internet...Beneficial or Detrimental?
Chapter 12 in our text book discusses future trends in crisis management practices. Possible trends were given for both the internal and external landscape for each of the four steps of crisis management provided by the book.
One trend that has a an increasing prominence in the future is the use of the Internet. Internally, "the organization's website will become the chief communications tool during the crisis" (Crnadell 240). Externally, the Internet will become increasingly "more powerful in its ability to influence the outcome of a crisis" (Crandell 240).
So, how can this effect Joe Gibbs Racing? Firstly, the use of the Internet can be broken down similarly to the book's explanation, with both an internal and an external use. Starting with internal, the Internet could be quite beneficial to JGR should a crisis occur.
As described by the book above as the "chief communications tool during a crisis" the website must function as the messenger in many instances. Although important publics will still be contacted directly, the website could provide information to publics who are curious or slightly affected by the crisis.
For example, you can currently get information about all of the teams, sponsors, drivers, personnel, crews, top news stories, drivers' blogs, and so much more off of the website, which is www.joegibbsracing.com. However, during a crisis they can post constant updates about what is happening, and what the team is doing to remedy the situation. In a crisis situation, it would be more likely that a person or team would be assigned only to the task of maintaining the website.
Now let's look on the opposite end of the spectrum, which is the external landscape. Here, there is much less, if any, organizational control of what is being said. For example, if a blogger is upset with something JGR does, they can post almost whatever they like. Unless it is clearly libelous, it is out of the scope of anyone's authority. By constantly surveying the Internet and reading what has been posted about the organization, JGR can be proactive and ready to counter any possible problems in the future.
Overall, the Internet is beneficial and detrimental, depending on the situation. It can help to mitigate crisis but can also help to spark them if the organization is not paying enough attention or taking the Internet seriously.
One trend that has a an increasing prominence in the future is the use of the Internet. Internally, "the organization's website will become the chief communications tool during the crisis" (Crnadell 240). Externally, the Internet will become increasingly "more powerful in its ability to influence the outcome of a crisis" (Crandell 240).
So, how can this effect Joe Gibbs Racing? Firstly, the use of the Internet can be broken down similarly to the book's explanation, with both an internal and an external use. Starting with internal, the Internet could be quite beneficial to JGR should a crisis occur.
As described by the book above as the "chief communications tool during a crisis" the website must function as the messenger in many instances. Although important publics will still be contacted directly, the website could provide information to publics who are curious or slightly affected by the crisis.
For example, you can currently get information about all of the teams, sponsors, drivers, personnel, crews, top news stories, drivers' blogs, and so much more off of the website, which is www.joegibbsracing.com. However, during a crisis they can post constant updates about what is happening, and what the team is doing to remedy the situation. In a crisis situation, it would be more likely that a person or team would be assigned only to the task of maintaining the website.
Now let's look on the opposite end of the spectrum, which is the external landscape. Here, there is much less, if any, organizational control of what is being said. For example, if a blogger is upset with something JGR does, they can post almost whatever they like. Unless it is clearly libelous, it is out of the scope of anyone's authority. By constantly surveying the Internet and reading what has been posted about the organization, JGR can be proactive and ready to counter any possible problems in the future.
Overall, the Internet is beneficial and detrimental, depending on the situation. It can help to mitigate crisis but can also help to spark them if the organization is not paying enough attention or taking the Internet seriously.
Monday, March 29, 2010
CSR Goes a Long Way
One of the areas heavily discussed with regards to public relations is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR has to do with economic profitability for the corporation as well as social actions that benefit society as a whole. Chapter 10 in our book discusses four components of CSR: Economic profitability, legality, ethics, and philanthropy (Crandall 196). Here we'll look at the last component and see what the Joe Gibbs Racing Team drivers do to "give back".
CSR can go a long way, and can mean a lot to consumers who might purchase or support a particular brand or product. For example, if an environmentally-conscious consumer was trying to choose between brands and found out that one brand planted over one million trees, they might choose that brand simply because of that action.
With NASCAR, many of the drivers do charity work. I personally think that this helps fans like the drivers because they feel good about giving them their support. For example, Tony Stewart has been in trouble in the past for showing unsportsmanlike behavior. However, he makes frequent large charitable donations, which sometimes can actually make up for the bad behavior in a way.
On the other hand, the Joe Gibbs Racing Team is usually positively reflected, except for actual racing techniques on the track, which will always be criticized by some. However, each of the three drivers participates in activities that help improve and maintain an image of 'caring' about others.
The website joegibbsracing.com highlights some of the recent philanthropic work that the drivers have done. For example, Joey Logano is involved with the U.S. Paralympic Hockey Team, who recently won the gold at Vancouver. Joey Logano partnered with the Extreme Ice Center to provide the sleds for the players. He has hopes that winning will help spread more awareness and support for the team members. For the full article, check this out.
Denny Hamlin is involved with the March of Dimes, which raises money so that babies can be born healthy. According to Denny, "I want to do everything I can to help raise awareness for the amazing work the March of Dimes does so that more babies are born healthy." For the past three years at Phoenix, he has raced a special March of Dimes race car that helps to raise awareness on a national level. For the full article, check this out!
Kyle Busch, who is often said to be too aggressive on the race track, actually has his own foundation! Formed in 2006, The Kyle Busch Foundation provides money and assets to organizations that foster children, providing them with what they need to successfully give children a safe and nurturing place to live. To see the website for his foundation, check this out!
CSR can go a long way, and can mean a lot to consumers who might purchase or support a particular brand or product. For example, if an environmentally-conscious consumer was trying to choose between brands and found out that one brand planted over one million trees, they might choose that brand simply because of that action.
With NASCAR, many of the drivers do charity work. I personally think that this helps fans like the drivers because they feel good about giving them their support. For example, Tony Stewart has been in trouble in the past for showing unsportsmanlike behavior. However, he makes frequent large charitable donations, which sometimes can actually make up for the bad behavior in a way.
On the other hand, the Joe Gibbs Racing Team is usually positively reflected, except for actual racing techniques on the track, which will always be criticized by some. However, each of the three drivers participates in activities that help improve and maintain an image of 'caring' about others.
The website joegibbsracing.com highlights some of the recent philanthropic work that the drivers have done. For example, Joey Logano is involved with the U.S. Paralympic Hockey Team, who recently won the gold at Vancouver. Joey Logano partnered with the Extreme Ice Center to provide the sleds for the players. He has hopes that winning will help spread more awareness and support for the team members. For the full article, check this out.
Denny Hamlin is involved with the March of Dimes, which raises money so that babies can be born healthy. According to Denny, "I want to do everything I can to help raise awareness for the amazing work the March of Dimes does so that more babies are born healthy." For the past three years at Phoenix, he has raced a special March of Dimes race car that helps to raise awareness on a national level. For the full article, check this out!
Kyle Busch, who is often said to be too aggressive on the race track, actually has his own foundation! Formed in 2006, The Kyle Busch Foundation provides money and assets to organizations that foster children, providing them with what they need to successfully give children a safe and nurturing place to live. To see the website for his foundation, check this out!
Different Strategies for Different Crises
Chapter 8 of our textbook is dedicated to crisis communication or the actions and messages organizations should convey during the actual crisis.
The magnitude of the crisis can help to determine how much communication is needed and who it needs to be directed to. For example, a larger problem could require more communication to most or all of the publics while smaller problems might only require communication to some of the publics.
So, the crisis management team must continually assess the situation in order to determine how much is enough. According to our book, “ Setting a [communications] strategy can determine the difference between a quickly resolved crisis and one that remains a management problem for a number of days-or longer (Crandell 157).
W. Coombs outlined four potential strategies for communicating to publics during a crisis in 2006, which can be applied to any organization. We will look at two that a NASCAR team might utilize at one point.
The first is called the denial posture, where the organization will not accept blame for the situation. To apply this to the Joe Gibbs Racing Team (or really any NASCAR team), we will act as if they had just received notice that another team told officials and the media that they were breaking the rules by using an illegal part. As mentioned earlier in this blog, this would create a crisis for JGR because it attacks the credibility and reputation of the organization as a whole.
To use the denial posture, Joe Gibbs and his team could take three different actions. First they could attack the accuser back and claim that in fact they are the ones cheating. Second, they could simply state that it is untrue. Third, they could use a scapegoat tactic and shift the blame to a manufacturer or supplier.
Second is called the diminishing posture, where the organization will give others the impression that it had little or no control over the situation at all. This strategy works better if the organization has a positive reputation and no past crisis history. For this strategy, we will act as if a crew member was injured during a race. Since JGR has not had a history of big accidents, it would be appropriate to use this strategy.
To use the diminishing posture, they could take an excusing action, where the blame for the injury would fall on the circumstances happening at that moment in the race. They could also use justification, which tries to make the situation seem less serious.
Again, these are both examples of crises that could be prevented, as outlined in previous blogs.
The magnitude of the crisis can help to determine how much communication is needed and who it needs to be directed to. For example, a larger problem could require more communication to most or all of the publics while smaller problems might only require communication to some of the publics.
So, the crisis management team must continually assess the situation in order to determine how much is enough. According to our book, “ Setting a [communications] strategy can determine the difference between a quickly resolved crisis and one that remains a management problem for a number of days-or longer (Crandell 157).
W. Coombs outlined four potential strategies for communicating to publics during a crisis in 2006, which can be applied to any organization. We will look at two that a NASCAR team might utilize at one point.
The first is called the denial posture, where the organization will not accept blame for the situation. To apply this to the Joe Gibbs Racing Team (or really any NASCAR team), we will act as if they had just received notice that another team told officials and the media that they were breaking the rules by using an illegal part. As mentioned earlier in this blog, this would create a crisis for JGR because it attacks the credibility and reputation of the organization as a whole.
To use the denial posture, Joe Gibbs and his team could take three different actions. First they could attack the accuser back and claim that in fact they are the ones cheating. Second, they could simply state that it is untrue. Third, they could use a scapegoat tactic and shift the blame to a manufacturer or supplier.
Second is called the diminishing posture, where the organization will give others the impression that it had little or no control over the situation at all. This strategy works better if the organization has a positive reputation and no past crisis history. For this strategy, we will act as if a crew member was injured during a race. Since JGR has not had a history of big accidents, it would be appropriate to use this strategy.
To use the diminishing posture, they could take an excusing action, where the blame for the injury would fall on the circumstances happening at that moment in the race. They could also use justification, which tries to make the situation seem less serious.
Again, these are both examples of crises that could be prevented, as outlined in previous blogs.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Who's Talking Now?
Chapter 7 of our book in class briefly mentions one very important point to consider when making all crisis management plans and crisis prevention tactics: The assignment of one spokesperson. For Joe Gibbs Racing, the main spokesperson would be Joe Gibbs himself, because he is the owner of the team and has the final say in all decisions. However, one of the drivers, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, or Joey Logano, may also have to speak if the situation clearly involves them.
To prepare for a crisis, all four team members should have crisis management training, if they do not already. Although they all speak to and deal with many different media outlets on a regular basis, it is important that they can handle the pressure of a crisis when in the public eye.
Another consideration to go along with the speaker is the audiences that he will be speaking to. Internal audiences for Joe Gibbs Racing will include their own team members. So, owners, mechanics, drivers, crew chiefs, crew members, assistants, sales personnel, marketing personnel, etc. It is imperative that the team maintains one voice during a crisis, no secrets are kept and that all team members have all of the imformation they need.
External audiences include fans, NASCAR officials, spectators, sponsors, investors and retailers who might purchase merchandise with the Joe Gibbs Racing Team name on it. All of these publics, both external and internal, are of great importance and need to be addressed correctly and promply in the event of a major crisis.
To prepare for a crisis, all four team members should have crisis management training, if they do not already. Although they all speak to and deal with many different media outlets on a regular basis, it is important that they can handle the pressure of a crisis when in the public eye.
Another consideration to go along with the speaker is the audiences that he will be speaking to. Internal audiences for Joe Gibbs Racing will include their own team members. So, owners, mechanics, drivers, crew chiefs, crew members, assistants, sales personnel, marketing personnel, etc. It is imperative that the team maintains one voice during a crisis, no secrets are kept and that all team members have all of the imformation they need.
External audiences include fans, NASCAR officials, spectators, sponsors, investors and retailers who might purchase merchandise with the Joe Gibbs Racing Team name on it. All of these publics, both external and internal, are of great importance and need to be addressed correctly and promply in the event of a major crisis.
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