Chapter 6

1. Were you the public relations director of HP, what would you have advised Chair Dunn in terms of “plugging leaks”?

I would never have advised Dunn to do anything like “pretexting.” That is extremely unethical. Taking someone’s personal information to impersonate them to gather more personal information is unacceptable. I would have advised a legal way to acquire the necessary information rather than something so invasive.

2. Had you not been consulted in advance but found out about the leak investigation after-the-fact, what would you have done?

I would advise that the investigation be immediately halted. If word got out that HP was doing something completely unethical, it could ruin their spotless reputation. I would advise the company to keep the investigation under wraps and if that failed then I would advise they admit the investigation to the public.

3. What steps would you recommend Hewlett-Packard take to avoid such ethical problems in the future?

Implementing or requiring a course on business ethics would be good. Everyone could use a refresher course. Also they should review and update their code of conduct. They should include identity theft into the “do not do” category. You figured it would be there already…

Chapter 8.

1. What kind of communications program would you launch to accomplish Rapcorn’s objectives?

I would launch a program that would put the hospital in a positive view by showing everything that the hospital does and compare it to other hospitals in the area like how the equipment, staff, and building is just as good as the top rated hospitals. I could do this by making surveys, interviews, and talking to the staff.

2. What would be the cornerstone-the theme-of your communications program?

The cornerstone would be the comparisons between Alan Louis General and the other big name hospitals. Highlighting the pros and mentioning the actions being taken to improve the cons. The program ultimately needs to get people to choose this hospital over another, so pointing out reasons for them to do that is the main goal.

3. What would be the specific elements of your program?

The biggest push would be to improve the hospital in areas where it lacks. Also, since it’s a smaller hospital, we could play with the “family style” aspect. Kind of like a small college versus a university. Personal attention and doctor examinations, not just nurses. We would use testimonies of current and past patients to reinforce that point. That could start buzz, or word of mouth, within the community.

4. In launching the program, what specific steps would you follow-both inside and outside the hospital-to build support?

Inside the hospital I would reinforce the staff. We already know that patients have been especially impressed with the staff. I would also let them in on what the board knows about where we stand in comparison with other hospitals in the area. Just to keep those things in the back of their minds. Outside I would get something in the newspaper, maybe an article or an advertisement, I’d research both radio and television advertising to reach more people in the area. Another area to work in is online advertisements. Some big name sites have cheap advertisement slots and can make them just for local viewers like google or bing for example.

5. How could you use the internet to conduct more research about area hospitals and residents’ perceptions of the care at these hospitals? How could you use the internet to research the effectiveness of the communications program you implement?

I would research other hospitals that are similar to us, but in different areas.  You can learn a lot from similar places in different geographical locations. I would also do surveys and questionnaires to help gather information about the hospitals image, care, etc. You could do this via email lists of previous patients.

Chapter 3

1. What public relations options did Walmart have in response to the Roehm suit?

Walmart had multiple options at their disposal. The first was to settle with Roehm and not respond with the counter-lawsuit that involved company policy and not involved Womack. This would have kept things clean and quiet, but would’ve cost Walmart some dollars. Another option was to simply talk to Roehm before going public with the company policy allogations. Tell her that, unless she wants the info to go public, she should drop the lawsuit and quietly resolve matters outside of court. A third option was the counter-lawsuit involving Womack’ and her violation of company policy.

2. How would you assess Walmart’s response to the suit of its former employee?

I would assess that Walmart responded to the suit, while maybe not well-mannered, but an effective way. Walmart has a precedent with it’s employees and when they do not follow the guidelines there are consequences. They also proved that if you want to play with the big boys, bring a bigger bat.

3. What is the downside to the Walmart response? What is the upside?

I think it’s obvious that the downside was all of the negative news and press coverage they were getting. Like the quoted attorney said, “Usually these matters are quietly resolved.” Walmart proved why. The upside is that Walmart showed that they care about the employee atmosphere and turned the negative energy toward Roehm.

4. Critics suggest that Walmart’s action will “poison” the atmosphere for hiring future executives. Do you agree? Why or why not?

I don’t think that Walmart’s action will “poison” the atmosphere for hiring future executives. If executives worried about something when trying to get hired, then they should follow company policy. Plain and simple. It’s only going to poison it with people who will have something to hide. In that case they shouldn’t be hired in the first place. \

5. What would you recommend Walmart do now, relative to the Roehm court case?

I would recommend that Walmart make their interview and hiring process more thorough. Also I would suggest they quickly donate a generous sum to a large charity. Get some good PR out there after all of this negativity.