Week 9!

I was a little under the weather this weekend, so sorry I am just now posting! I checked out some business plans/ procedure for something like the flu, and here are some of the things that I saw in there:

Identify a pandemic coordinator and/or team with defined roles and responsibilities for preparedness and response planning. The planning process should include input from labor representatives.
Identify essential employees and other critical inputs (e.g. raw materials, suppliers, sub-contractor services/ products, and logistics) required to maintain business operations by location and function during a pandemic.
Train and prepare ancillary workforce (e.g. contractors, employees in other job titles/descriptions, retirees).
Develop and plan for scenarios likely to result in an increase or decrease in demand for your products and/or services during a pandemic (e.g. effect of restriction on mass gatherings, need for hygiene supplies).
Determine potential impact of a pandemic on company business financials using multiple possible scenarios that affect different product lines and/or production sites.
Determine potential impact of a pandemic on business-related domestic and international travel (e.g. quarantines, border closures). (This info is from the web page!

I currently am employed at Eyemasters, and I was surprised to see that my general manager was not familiar at all with any company procedures such as the ones above. I think that its very unorganized to not have any procedures established with employees to follow in case of extreme events such as the bird flu. I will be seeking more information on this topic and will post again tomorrow!

Week 8: Business Contingency Plans and more

As I began looking for companies' business contingency plans, one of the first that I came upon was Massachusetts Institute of Technology's plan. As far as communication in these plans, this definitely plays a major part; in order for the plan to be executed obiding by the procedures listed in the plan, the communication must take place to the right people at the right time, this will determine the success or failure of the plan! Thus, communication is THE MOST important part of any contingency plan! When companies make these plans, they should keep a few things in mind. For instance, would you want to base most of the communication in a crisis plan on telephones? With many of the natural disasters, blackouts, and other conditions that could lead to loss of electricity, it doesn't seem logical to include much (if any) communication that is phone/web based! I think that companies should be prepared for all kinds of situations, and thus, they must think outside of the box when formulating these plans. In the case if disease, quarantine is defined as enforced isolation or restriction of free movement imposed to prevent the spread of contagious disease, whereas isolation is more seen as the actual act of isolating oneself. This could definintely slow and worsen employee activity if these conditions were active. This is why it is necessary to consider all options and have a plan for everything. And according to media, we might have our first try at these situations if the case of bird flu continues to flourish.

Week 7: Discussion Questions and more

I am very surprised and excited that the profession which I chose strongly promotes honesty and ethical decisions in the workplace. Its amazing to see that personal character is just as important to a corporation as skills and abilities.
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2. News Media has featured the American Cancer Society on numerous occasions, both nationally and locally, for their continuous efforts to increase the awareness of all kinds of cancers, as well as their community events such as their Walk-a-Thon's and annual fashion shows held. On the other hand, news media has also shown companies in a negative way. Fpr example, News Media (more specifically Forbes Magazine) released a document on their website called "Corporate Scandals," in which they exploited numerous companies for their unethical practices. One such company was Reliant Energy, who was supposedly engaging in"round trip trades to boost trading volumes and revenue.
5. Starbucks is definitely a great example of a company that is well known for their CSR. I would aslo have to say that many non-profit organizations like American Cancer Society incorporate CSR into their companies. Mary Kay is also a company with a highly esteemed reputation that is corporately responsible. As you may have already noticed, all of these companies continue to grow, with Starbucks almost becoming as visible as McDonald's, and Mary Kay being one of the top cosmetic companies in the world. I think that the ethical values instilled in the company have a lot to do with the financial successes, which all comes back to the consumer, and the fact aht consumers are more than sastisfied with the business practices!

Week 6!

I really wasn't that sure of what I was supposed to blog about last Friday (after the test), so I will say this...the test was pretty fair and really helped you examine the most significant points of Chapters 1-4. I did pretty well on the exam so I was definitely satisfied! This week we discussed a couple of current events as well as old events in relation to how the PR professionals handle information. We also discussed the differences between news reporters, who often report (in extreme events like 9/11) ALL information recieved, whereas a PR professional's duty is to obtain the factual information and relate that to the appropriate publics! I will be posting again here so shortly to complete this post!!!