Summary of the Class Readings
The first article “Through the Looking Glass” supports the use of effective communication after a crisis. The SCCT model offers useful guidelines that can manage the manner in which different organizations respond to crises. According to this article, the diminish strategy can minimize an organization’s association with different crises.
The findings indicate how Red Cross fails to assume responsibility for different crises. The second article “Compassion without Blame” examines how ValuJet responded after one of its planes crashed. ValuJet decided to use several mortification strategies after Flight 592 crashed.
The company “also used new strategies such as nonexistence, suffering, ingratiation, and distance” (Englehardt, Sallot, & Springston, 2004, p. 149). This approach resulted in detrimental results. The targeted accident was human-induced thus resulting in many deaths.
The article explains why it was appropriate for the company to use mortification strategies in order to maximize its concern for the community. The approach would have repaired the firm’s image. The article recommends the use of “Compassion Without Blame” strategy in order to produce the best image.
ValuJet should have also established the best PR strategies in order to restore its image. The article “Crisis Communication, Image Restoration, and Battling Stereotypes of Terror and Wars” explores the issues facing many countries in the Middle East.
The region “experiences constant coverage of terror attacks, conflicts, and wars” (Avraham, 2013, p. 1354). According to the author, the multi-step model can alter place image. Many countries in the Middle East use “three strategies (message, source, and audience) to deal with wars, crises, and stereotypes of terrorism” (Avraham, 2013, p. 1354).
This discussion explains why the Middle East should adopt a powerful branding tool. The fourth article “Blowout!: Firestone’s Image Restoration Campaign” explores how concealment of incriminating evidence and denial occur after every wrongful event.
Firestone used such responses after producing defective tires. Such tires caused numerous injuries and deaths. The company was driven by corporate greed. This case study explains why a corrective action could have produced the best results. The authors also examine how mixed strategies such as corrective action and mortification could have produced the best results.
Significance and Implication to Strategic Communication
The first article supports the use of the diminish strategy in order to ameliorate the targeted crisis. This strategy can therefore help many organizations to deal with every crisis. An “informed approach should therefore depend on the best public relations (PR) theory” (Sisco, Collins, & Zoch, 2010, p. 27).
The Role of Apologia can also produce the best results instead of avoiding responsibility. The second article recommends the use of “Compassion Without Blame” strategy in order to produce the best image after a crisis. This approach can also bolster a company’s communication approach whenever there is a crisis.
These two articles encourage entrepreneurs and organizations to respond to different crises. The third article supports the use of appropriate marketing initiatives, campaigns, and PR strategies. Such approaches can restore the image of the targeted region. New media campaigns and appropriate marketing officials can also promote the best PR practices.
This approach can deal with negative situations and events characterizing a specific region. The article supports the use of a corrective action in order to produce the best communication outcomes (Blaney, Benoit, & Brazeal, 2002). Companies can therefore use the above models in order to support their strategic communication approaches.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Articles
The first article begins by examining the aspects of the SCCT model. This understanding makes it easier for the reader to identify the effectiveness of the diminish strategy. The authors have also used the best research approach. The authors have used three approaches to explore the models used by the American Red Cross.
However, the article lacks sufficient examples and quality sources to support the arguments. The second article combines different models that can support a firm’s public image. The authors present a powerful model to explore how different organizations can deal with certain crises.
These ideas can support the goals of different companies. The “Compassion Without Blame” approach is also applicable in other industries. The study approach presents quality ideas to the reader (Englehardt et al., 2004). The third article identifies unique branding strategies that have supported the image of the Middle East.
The article examines how the multi-step model can deal with such challenges (Avraham, 2013). However, the article fails to offer a powerful PR approach that can produce the best outcomes. The article on Firestone identifies the major mistakes committed by different companies.
The article uses an appropriate methodology and discussions to discourage companies from shifting blames. A corrective approach can produce better results. A combined strategy will also improve the image of every company. The main weakness associated with the article is the absence of quality or recent sources.
Agreements and Disagreements
These articles present powerful arguments that can make different firms successful. The authors of the articles also support the importance of crisis communication and management in every organization. This approach “can support the goals of both for profit and not for profit organizations” (Sisco et al., 2010, p. 25).
Most of the concepts presented in these articles can transform many companies. The articles support the importance of Public Relations (PR) in every firm. Societies and companies should use the best models to address every crisis.
Reference List
Avraham, E. (2013). Crisis Communication, Image Restoration, and Battling Stereotypes of Terror and Wars: Media Strategies for Attracting Tourism to Middle Eastern Countries. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(9), 1350-1367.
Blaney, J., Benoit, W., & Brazeal, L. (2002). Blowout!: Firestone’s Image Restoration Campaign. Public Relations Review, 28(1), 379-392.
Englehardt, K., Sallot, L., & Springston, J. (2004). Compassion Without Blame: Testing the Accident Decision Flow Chart With the Crash of ValuJet Flight 592. Journal of Public Relations Research, 16(2), 127-156.
Sisco, H., Collins, E., & Zoch, L. (2010). Through the looking glass: A decade of Red Cross crisis response a situational crisis communication theory. Public Relations Review, 36(1), 21-27.