CORPORATE IMAGE IN THE MEDIA IMPACTS EMPLOYEES
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA-The image a corporation projects to external audiences through its public affairs efforts deeply impacts its employees.
"In this new era of extremely tight labor markets, minimal corporate loyalty and high job mobility, public affairs efforts increasingly impact a firm's employees," says Philip L. Cochran, director of the Center for the Study of Business and Public Issues in Penn State's Smeal College of Business.
Cochran and Kevin G. Corley and Thomas G. Comstock, both doctoral students, in Smeal College's Department of Management and Organization, recently co-authored a paper exploring the impact of public affairs on internal audiences. The paper, Image and the Impact of Public Affairs Management on Internal Stakeholders, will appear in a forthcoming issue of The Journal of Public Affairs.
"Public affairs managers must be particularly concerned about the ways in which images that are intended for and projected at external stakeholders-such as investors, the media or consumers-are reflected back to internal stakeholders," says Corley.
Corley explains that the images an organization projects about itself, and the images that external stakeholders have of the organization, influence the internal stakeholders' perceptions of their organization as well as their own images of themselves as members of the organization.
An example is Bridgestone Corporation's handling of the tire problems. If it had released its own data on tire problems when U.S. authorities began a probe in May 2000-several months before the crisis hit in the national media-Bridgestone would have projected an image to the external stakeholders that it was on the case.
"The bad press Bridgestone received in the national media impacts its employees and their commitment to the organization," says Corley "The negative image it received by mishandling the public affairs affects moral and turnover."
Cochran notes that feedback from external stakeholders, in the form of communicated perceptions about how a company's image was interpreted and of the impressions that external stakeholders hold of the organization, is reflected back to internal members through media stories or personal conversations.
"It's a looking-glass effect. Corporations project an 'image' or 'identity' to external audiences that is reflected back to the employees. The outside acts as an imperfect mirror that deeply affects employees," says Cochran.
Top management may need to consider developing a type of feedback process to more closely monitor how internal stakeholders react to images, both projected and reflected over time.
"By monitoring their public affairs process, managers may more quickly identify when internal stakeholders have developed a perception that differs from their original intent," says Corley. "This will allow managers to better maintain a consistent image of the firm-both inside and outside-and to better manage the firm's culture and key human resources."
Top management team members, Cochran notes, also need to be aware that it is possible to overdo the corporate image process and negatively influence internal stakeholders.
"It is easy to get caught up in the game of image projection or reputation building as an organizations thrusts and parries with various external stakeholder groups over expectations and perceptions," says Cochran. "This focus on external perceptions may lead the organization to project images of itself that are not completely true or realistic."
Internal stakeholders are usually the first to catch these transgressions and are often the harshest in their reactions, says Corley. One example of this can be found in the anonymous tips received by reporters during tobacco company trials.
"While the companies were projecting images of innocence to the claims of targeting minors in their marketing campaigns, insiders were projecting a contrasting image through leaked documents showing the companies had done just the opposite."
While this "anonymous whistle-blowing" may be an extreme incident, Cochran says it provides a compelling argument against asking organization members to endure too great a gap between projected image and corporate reality.
"Management needs to be sensitive to the likelihood that any message aimed at external stakeholders will be reflected back to and may well unintentionally affect internal stakeholders," says Cochran.
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Editors: Philip Cochran is at 814-865-2195 or [email protected]. Kevin Corley is at 814-863-0127 or [email protected]. Thomas Comstock is at 814-863-0127 or [email protected]. For a copy of the paper, please contact Steve Infanti in the Smeal College Media Relations' Office at 814-863-3798 or [email protected].
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