Identifying Adoption Barriers in Organizational Rhetoric: A Response to the Strategic Plan for the National Animal Identification System

This study analyzes an organization’s predisposition to accept or reject an argument for change. Specifically, an analysis of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association’s (NDSA) official response to the Strategic Plan for the National Animal Identification System revealed key themes attributing to NDSA’s perceived inadequacy of the plan. This study contends change agents who recognize the role of rhetoric in the diffusion process will be more effective if they are able to identify the discursive justifications needed to rationalize and legitimize the adoption of an innovation. Based on the literature reviewed and the analysis in this study, these justifications can be identified by analyzing organizational rhetoric and determining the influence of organizational leadership as an opinion leader in the diffusion process

Bringing Home the Crisis: How US Evening News Framed the 2011 Japan Nuclear Crisis

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112264/1/jccm12068.pd

Session 2A: \u3cem\u3ePanel Discussion: Developing Post-Incident Risk Communication Guidelines for Intentional Water Contamination Events\u3c/em\u3e

This panel will discuss emerging findings from a US EPA-funded research project intended to improve risk communication for post-incident decontamination and clearance activities associated with intentional contamination of a water system. The session will center around Phase II of the study, which focuses on extending the Phase I case study findings that were presented at last year’s KWRRI Symposium, to identify ways in which disparate stakeholder groups in metropolitan areas differentially perceive risk and subsequent risk communication efforts

Session 2A: \u3cem\u3eDeveloping Post-Incident Risk Communication Guidelines for Intentional Water Contamination Events\u3c/em\u3e

This panel will discuss a US EPA-funded research project intended to improve risk communication for post-incident decontamination and clearance activities associated with intentional contamination of a water system. The study incorporates two complementary methods conducted in successive phases. The recently-completed first phase included robust case study analyses of risk communication related to recent and significant contamination incidents. The second phase, which is currently underway, will identify ways in which disparate stakeholder groups in a metropolitan area differentially perceive risk and subsequent risk communication efforts

Identifying Adoption Barriers in Organizational Rhetoric: A Response to the Strategic Plan for the National Animal Identification System

This study analyzes an organization’s predisposition to accept or reject an argument for change. Specifically, an analysis of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association’s (NDSA) official response to the Strategic Plan for the National Animal Identification System revealed key themes attributing to NDSA’s perceived inadequacy of the plan. This study contends change agents who recognize the role of rhetoric in the diffusion process will be more effective if they are able to identify the discursive justifications needed to rationalize and legitimize the adoption of an innovation. Based on the literature reviewed and the analysis in this study, these justifications can be identified by analyzing organizational rhetoric and determining the influence of organizational leadership as an opinion leader in the diffusion process

Exploring Public Relations Challenges in Compounding Crises: The Pariah Effect of Toxic Trailers

This study examined the distinct exigency of a compounding crisis, a crisis that occurs in close succession to another (potentially unrelated) crisis before an organization has had the opportunity to rebuild legitimacy. Specifically, we identified the public relations challenges faced by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency during the formaldehyde travel trailer crisis and examined how the Hurricane Katrina crisis encumbered the agency’s response efforts. We offer a theoretical frame for understanding the public relations challenges inherent in compounding crises and propose that, in a compounding crisis, organizational legitimacy and social capital decrease while stakeholder risk perceptions and attribution of crisis responsibility increase. A new phenomenon termed the pariah effect is offered to explain when an organization experiencing a compounding crisis is ostracized by other organizations that could assist with the crisis response to avoid negative spillover effects that could result from associating with the offending organization. This study also demonstrates how attribution of responsibility in a compounding crisis can create an exigency in which an organization must take actions beyond the scope and original mission of the organization

Preparing For International And Cross-Cultural Crises: The Role Of Competing Voices, Inclusivity, And The Interplay Of Responsibility In Global Organizations

The unprecedented global interdependence of nations and organizations means that crises with remote beginnings have the potential for international impact. This chapter establishes a framework for comprehending the complexities of international and cross-cultural crises. We view such crises as a composite of competing voices best understood through a framework of inclusivity, or the lack thereof, and the interplay of responsibility. We offer analysis of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pandemic of 2003 as an explication of our framework. We conclude that organizations are best served when they create opportunities for inclusivity and collaboration in their responses to international crises

Revisiting the Best Practices in Risk and Crisis Communication: A Multicase Analysis

This study extends the research on best practices in risk and crisis communication by synthesizing the contributions from research thus far and assessing the applicability of the best practices framework in a multi-case analysis. Specifically, we summarize the research on best practices in risk and crisis communication over the last decade and analyze five environmental contamination crises through government documents, media accounts, and in-depth interviews to identify communication challenges and ethical imperatives that necessitate modifications to the original list and descriptions. We conclude with an updated framework of best practices in risk and crisis communication

Using An Inoculation Message Approach To Promote Public Confidence In Protective Agencies

This investigation tested the effectiveness of inoculation as a pre-crisis strategy in combating the effects of politically motivated violent acts. A four-phase experiment was conducted involving 355 national consumer panel participants. The findings indicate that inoculation can be an effective pre-crisis message strategy as it was successful in enhancing public beliefs in the ability of government agencies to prevent, and minimize the effects of, violent acts. This strategy also created a ‘blanket of protection’ that extended beyond the focal politically motivated attack event as it enhanced the confidence in government agencies to manage national crises in general. Inoculation was also effective in lowering the intensity of experienced fear evoked by the threat of violent attacks and it enhanced the ability of individuals to cope with the aftermath of a crisis