chapter10: Leading through Effective External relations

In globalization Leader might consider about positive reputation. To become well regarded, companies must deserve it. They must develop coherent images and consistency of posture internally and externally. Identify and self-representation beget reputation. Just as the leaders determine the personailty of the company on the inside, they also shape the outside image as well. The goal of organizational leaders is to ensure that the company's ethos positive-that all external audiences consider the company honorable, trustworthy and ethical.

This chapter provide guidelines to help manage external relations in day-to-day encounters and in crisis situation so that the company projects a positive image, in additional know how to shape a positive image, how to deal with the media and how to manage crisis communications

Developing an external relations strategy:

1.clarify your purpose and strategies objectives

2.identify your major audiences or stakesholders

3.create, refine and test your major messages

4.select, limit and coach your spokesperson(s)

5.establish the most effective media or forum

6.determine the best timing

7.monitor the results

Working with the new media helps a company to increase chances for favorable treatment,it is important for a company to establish s positive relationship with the media in order that we should manage encounters with them. Using the media, we have to understand media's role; print, broadcast, and internet; are the primary channels for much that is communicated in our society.

Reputation affects the bottom line, and even the strongest companies will have difficulty surviving damage to their reputations. Organizational leaders must give high priority to establishing and maintaining a positive corporate image. There are six ways companies can build and maintain a positive corporate image:
Design campaigns to promote the company as a whole.
Carry out ambitious programs to champion product quality and customer service.
Maintain systems to screen employee activities for reputations side effects.
Demonstrate sensitivity to the environment.
Hire internal communication staff and retain public relation firms.
Demonstrate “corporate citizenship.”
The mistakes or missteps that tarnish a company’s reputation are most often uncovered and publicized by the news media. To increase chances for favorable treatment, it is important for a company to establish a positive relationship with the media and for every senior manager to know how to work effectively with them.At one time or another, most companies will face a crisis. A situation requiring crisis communication involves “a specific, unexpected and non-routine event or series of events that create high levels of uncertainty and threaten or are perceived to threaten an organization’s high priority goals.” The following guidelines will help companies respond appropriately in most crisis situations:
Develop a general crisis communication plan and communicate it.
Once the crisis occurs, respond quickly.
Make sure you have the right people ready to respond and that they all respond with the same message.
Put yourself in the shoes of your audiences.
Do not overlook the value of the Web.
Revisit your crisis communication plan frequently.
Build in a way to monitor the coverage.
Perform a post-crisis evaluation.
All companies, no matter the size, must have a crisis communication plan. When crisis happens, it is too late to develop a communication strategy and select target audiences, create appropriate message content, and choose spokespersons. Everyone must be ready to move quickly or the company risks its reputation, and lost reputation results in lost morale for employees and a loss in market share for the company.To conclude, managing external relations effectively is essential for organizational leaders; however, external relations do not exist in isolation. Companies must link all communication activities to ensure that what the outside world sees and hears reflects what the inside world lives.