Book Notes Tuesday December 8 2015 5 35 AM Difference between competition and conflict Competition Everyone s eyes are on the prize such as sales or political support Is inevitable and omnipresent It occurs when two or more groups or organizations vie for the same resources Conflict All eyes are on the opposition that is on dealing with or initiating threats of some sort or another Occurs when two groups direct their efforts against each other devising communication and actions that attack The threat appraisal model A threat to an organization requires an assessment of the demands that the threat makes on the organization as well as an assessment of the resources available to address the threat One a threat is identified the public relations professional must consider a variety of factors knowledge time finances and management commitment available to combat the threat The contingency model Many factors determine the stance or position of an organization when it comes to dealing with conflict and perceived threats For dealing with particular audience or public the stance must be dynamic Contingency factors Expertise and experience of practitioners plays a large role Organizational level variables values of top management Contingency continuum Depending on circumstances factors such as the attitudes of tope management and the judgment of public relations professionals may move the organization either toward or away from accommodation of a public Pure advocacy to pure accommodation Pure advocacy is hard nosed stance of completely disagreeing with or refuting the arguments claims or threats of a competitor or a group concerned about an issue Pure accommodation the organization agrees with its critics changes its policies makes restitution and even makes a full Pure advocacy to pure accommodation Pure advocacy is hard nosed stance of completely disagreeing with or refuting the arguments claims or threats of a competitor or a group concerned about an issue Pure accommodation the organization agrees with its critics changes its policies makes restitution and even makes a full public apology for its actions Phases of conflict management Proactive phase Activities throughout the cycle that can prevent the conflict from arising or from getting out of hand Environmental scanning Strategic phase An emerging conflict is identified as meriting action by the public relations professional Risk communication Conflict positioning Crisis management Reactive phase Once the issue or imminent conflict reaches a critical level of impact on the organization the public relations professional must react to events as they unfold in the external communication environment Crisis communication Conflict resolution Litigation public relations Recovery phase An organization employs strategies to bolster or repair its reputation Reputation management Image restoration Crisis communication strategies Attack the accuser The party that claims a crisis exists is confronted and its logic and facts are faulted sometimes the organization threatens a lawsuit Justification The crisis is minimized with a statement that no serious damage or injuries resulted Ingratiation The organization acts to appease the public involved Corrective action The organization takes steps to repair the damage from the crisis and to prevent it from happening again Full apology The organization takes responsibility and asks forgiveness The organization acts to appease the public involved Corrective action The organization takes steps to repair the damage from the crisis and to prevent it from happening again Full apology The organization takes responsibility and asks forgiveness