New Strategies for Reputation Management: Gaining Control of Issues, Crises and Corporate Social Responsibility [Paperback]

Andrew Griffin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2009

A damaged reputation can severely hurt the bottom line.  Most corporations value their reputations accordingly.  New Strategies for Reputation Management shows executives how to take the initiative in strategically managing a company’s reputation.

Author Andrew Griffin argues that standard thinking on reputation management is often inadequate for today’s information age.  He describes a host of new and robust methods that will ensure a company’s reputation can withstand the major crises and unforeseen events that threaten it.

Covering both practical and strategic issues, New Strategies For Reputation Management explains how to deal effectively with unexpected crises.  It also describes what strategies can build a company’s good reputation at other times.  International case studies and hundreds of examples drawn from the author’s extensive experience in the field make this book an effective guide for managing a company’s reputation for success.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"By defining the key terms involved in reputation management and providing specific examples, Griffin makes his points clearly." -- getAbstract.com

About the Author

Andrew Griffin is CEO of Regester Larkin, a specialist reputation management firm providing high-level strategic advice and training on sensitive issues.  He has worked extensively with global companies such as Shell, Sony, BT and Nestl??.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Kogan Page (October 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749456337
• ISBN-13: 978-0749456337
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #691,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A FRESH VIEW ON CORPORATE REPUTATION, December 20, 2009

By 

David S. Park (South Melbourne, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: New Strategies for Reputation Management: Gaining Control of Issues, Crises and Corporate Social Responsibility (Paperback)

This is a timely text. It provides a fresh take on reputation management (RM) for organisations of all scales. It does this in a number of ways that help clear a new conceptual space for RM that makes the whole sometimes fuzzy field easier to grasp. First, by placing issues and crisis management at either end of the same RM continuum, Griffin bundles these concerns in a way that assists organisations better focus their PR efforts. Second, Griffin provides an up-to-date view of how many major corporations are starting to say 'enough is enough' when it comes to the vocal negative minority dominating their agendas. Like Peter Finch in the movie "Network" where he cracks and yells "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Griffin's case studies reveal how some big corporates are re-prioritising their issues and crisis management to focus first on those who care positively for the company rather than those who may (and invariably do) complain: which has been the MO in PR/community engagement for some time. Stand by to hear more corporates push back and be less acquiescent to the negative few while giving 'nearer and dearer' stakeholders greater priority. And while Griffin's text may not have sparked this trend, in my experience it's certainly under way. And this book is a good signpost to where that's heading.

As a communications consultant working in this field I found Griffin's text to be an exciting up-date for this often misunderstood area of strategy. Indeed I trust it will help elevate the importance of communications strategy within any organisation concerned for its reputation.

David Park

parkyoung

strategy + communications

[...]

5.0 out of 5 stars A welcome counterweight, March 11, 2009

By 

J. P. Thulin "reader of books" (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: New Strategies for Reputation Management: Gaining Control of Issues, Crises and Corporate Social Responsibility (Hardcover)

I came across this book when doing some reading up on CSR so it is from this perspective that I will rate it.

As everyone who has tried to get an overview of the literature in this field will tell you, it is flooded with books written by people with a PhD degree in business ethics (usually from a less than well known university) trying to cash in on the latest managerial hype by convincing people that this is the book they need to read in order to survive and thrive as a modern 21st century business.

Typically, these books will begin by telling the story of how the corporate map has been redrawn in later years, how companies can no longer regard themselves as (yes, you know it's coming) 'isolated islands' and that it is the companies that learn to engage with their surroundings in a responsible and ethical way that are bound to prosper in the future. From here on, the authors will usually get right down to business and produce as many truisms and pointless models as they can out of concepts that you were already familiar with, although perhaps under slightly different names.

Seen from this perspective, Griffin's book is a god send. Of course, the whole CSR hype has already been dismissed by the left as an elaborate form of greenwash, propagated by the consultant industry. What Griffin does in this book however is to produce an even more devastating critique of the whole business, but this time from a managerial perspective. Unlike your average second-rate academic, Griffin has actually had extensive personal experience of the issues he deals with, perhaps explaining his deep distrust of the whole CSR hype.

Griffin's hands on, gritty and no-nonsense style of dealing with the many problems of CSR is a wonderful complement to this literature and which confirms, I suspect, what many people who have actually tried to implement these ideas in practice have already sensed.

You don't have to agree with every point Griffin makes in this book; some of you are probably bound to find Griffin's view on the issue just a bit too cynical. On the other hand, when considering the gospel-like preaching methods coming from its proponents, I wonder it this is perhaps the kind of counterweight needed to restore some of the balance.

For your own sake, read this book before jumping on the bandwagon of implementing an elaborate and resource consuming CSR strategy of your own. My guess is you will be more hesitant to do so once you've listened to what Griffin has to say.

4.0 out of 5 stars Clearly written book on reputation and issues management, July 30, 2008

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: New Strategies for Reputation Management: Gaining Control of Issues, Crises and Corporate Social Responsibility (Hardcover)

A person's reputation is his or her most valuable asset. This is also true of corporations. As author Andrew Griffin explains, a corporation's reputation is the result of how it manages social responsibility, crises and issues. Griffin notes that more corporations now acknowledge the importance of reputation, but few turn that awareness into anything tangible. Yet, unfortunately, when a firm's reputation goes bad, it is nearly impossible to fix. By defining the key terms involved in reputation management and providing specific examples, Griffin makes his points clearly. He delves into issues management and the benefits of being a good corporate citizen. getAbstract recommends this book to business communication professionals and other executives who want to learn how to shape the way the public regards their corporations.