Editors: Mildred Perreault and Sarah Smith-Frigerio Publisher: Peter Lang, 2024 ISBN: 9781433192234 DOI: 10.3726/b18897 Number of pages: 398
The authors effectively illustrate the multifaceted nature of crisis communication and responses in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, encompassing various phases and complexities across all societal levels. Recognizing that traditional crisis communication literature may not fully capture the intricacies of such events, this book provides a comprehensive examination of the challenges and practices associated with pandemic-related crisis communication. Organized into four major categories, individual, organizational, community/regional, and national/international, the book utilizes a case study format to explore these complexities. Each chapter presents essential background information, including theoretical concepts and/or contextual information, before detailing a case study and concluding with discussion questions. This structure ensures readers gain a holistic understanding of crisis communication, moving beyond isolated examples to grasp the broader context and relevant background information.
Editorial Record: Submitted May 25, 2022. Revised September 17, 2022. Accepted October 28, 2022. Published March 2024.
Author
Bora Yook Assistant Professor College of Arts & Sciences Fairfield University Connecticut, USA Email: byook@fairfield.edu
ABSTRACT
This paper presents two sequential team projects in a crisis communication course: case study and press conference simulation. Initially, students engage in a comprehensive team case study, conducting in-depth background research and critical analysis of real-world organizational crisis communication. Subsequently, students prepare a simulated press conference, addressing hypothetical scenarios for the same organizations analyzed in their case studies. The scenarios integrate various social issues, such as diversity and inclusion, ethics, environment, and human rights. In preparation, students apply media training guidelines to enhance their verbal and nonverbal communication skills as crisis spokespersons. This pedagogical approach fosters the development of essential knowledge, skills, and abilities in students, as outlined in the Commission on Public Relations Education’s (CPRE) 2018 “Fast Forward” report. These competencies include knowledge in crisis management and social issues, writing and public speaking skills, and the cultivation of problem-solving, creative, and critical thinking abilities.
This crisis communication course integrates two sequential team assignments – a case study and a simulated press conference. Effective execution of a crisis press conference simulation requires a comprehensive understanding of the organization and crisis communication, writing and communication skills, and problem-solving ability. Researchers in higher education argue that a scaffolding pedagogical approach, including sequential assignments, facilitates student achievement in key learning outcomes such as writing skill, problem-solving, and engagement (Acosta-Gonzaga & Ramirez-Arellano, 2022; Hunker et al., 2014). This scaffolding approach provides students with the necessary support and guidance to motivate their engagement in active learning (Acosta-Gonzaga & Ramirez-Arellano, 2022).
Case studies are often used in public relations education and practice because the method offers rich data about events, organizations, people, processes, and various circumstances (Stacks, 2016). In the case study component of this course, teams select and analyze recent, real-world organizational crises to evaluate the effectiveness of crisis communication. Each team delivers a comprehensive analysis and presentation, and both are graded by the instructor. Upon completion, students gain in-depth knowledge about the organization and its crisis communication practice. Additionally, students receive feedback on their writing and communication skills and critical thinking abilities from the instructor and peers. Reflecting on feedback from both the instructor and peers (see Appendix A) helps students improve their skills for the subsequent team assignment: the simulation. Thus, the strategic design of the case study and press conference simulation as sequential assignments provides an optimal opportunity for students to develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs).
Public relations educators suggest that classroom simulations are effective pedagogical approaches in crisis communication education (O’Donnell, 2020; Veil, 2010; Wang, 2017). Role-playing activity in a simulated crisis conference enhances students’ competencies in crisis management (Wang, 2017). Crisis simulation and collaboration with journalism students have proven to effectively enhance learning about real-life crisis communication (Veil, 2010). Additionally, simulated media interview exercises have been found to improve students’ competencies in business acumen, media communication skills, and critical thinking (O’Donnell, 2020). Across various disciplines, simulated activities facilitate students’ development of skills and abilities such as critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration (Chernikova et al., 2020). These studies recommend implementing a simulation in the crisis classroom as well as in other public relations courses (O’Donnell, 2020; Veil, 2010; Wang, 2017). However, guidelines from a media training perspective are rarely discussed when simulations are implemented in classrooms.
Media training is often considered essential for senior public relations professionals and executives because top executives frequently become spokespersons in crisis communication (Wang & Wang, 2014). Strong verbal and nonverbal communication skills have always been vital for public relations professionals, particularly in today’s social media landscape and its visually driven nature. Public relations professionals have noted the importance of visuals in social media communication (Conner, 2018). Consequently, current assignments draw from research to encourage students to develop their verbal and nonverbal communication skills as spokespersons in crises (e.g., De Waele et al., 2018, 2020).
De Waele et al. (2018, 2020) recommended several visual cues for spokespersons’ media training, particularly in crises. These cues include maintaining a stable, open, and relaxed posture, showing one’s face directly to the audience (e.g., interviewer or camera), and using a simple background to avoid visual distractions. The researchers also highlighted the importance of verbal and vocal cues, noting that a lower voice pitch can enhance the speaker’s credibility. For clearer message delivery, the study suggested using only two or three key messages, having short quotes, and employing information vivid language, such as metaphors or examples. To focus on honesty and empathy, they recommended phrases like “we do, we know, we care” and simplifying key messages (De Waele et al., 2020, p. 6). An organizational crisis is a “perceptual” event (Coombs, 2015) where stakeholders interpret the message from the content itself and the manner of its delivery. Thus, it is essential for aspiring public relations professionals to be ready for managing media interactions and navigating highly “visible” social media communication during crises.
Connection to CPRE’s Fast Forward Report
The Commission on Public Relations Education’s 2018 Fast Forward report stated that specific knowledge, skills, abilities, and traits are needed for entry-level public relations professionals, bridging the educational-industry gap (O’Neil et al., 2018). Sequential assignments in this course are designed to cultivate these competencies for students. First, students acquire in-depth knowledge about crisis management and various social issues. During the simulated press conference, they deal with hypothetical crisis scenarios involving the same real-world organizations they analyzed in their first project. These hypothetical crisis scenarios concern social issues such as diversity and inclusion, ethics, environment, and human rights. For instance, a hypothetical crisis scenario involves a coffee chain company accused of unethical sourcing and worker exploitation in developing countries. The allegation accuses the company’s suppliers of using forced labor under inhumane conditions to produce coffee across multiple developing countries.
Students have multiple opportunities to hone their writing, public speaking, and nonverbal communication skills while completing the assignments including five major deliverables: a case study paper and presentation, a response statement, social media strategy with message examples, and simulated press conference. The case study paper requires extensive secondary research on the organization and its crisis communication strategies. Students apply theoretical frameworks such as Coombs’ Situational Crisis Communication Theory and Benoit’s Image Restoration Theory for critical analysis. They also develop persuasive key messages for crisis response statements and social media. During the simulation, students present these messages and engage in Q&A sessions with “media representatives.” Preparation for the simulation includes practicing media interviews, video recording themselves and reflections, and applying media training guidelines to potential interview questions (see the Press Conference Simulation Assignment Guide). This method of self-recording and reflection is an effective tool for enhancing oral communication skills (Tailab & Marsh, 2019).
Through sequential projects, students enhance their problem- solving, creative, and critical thinking abilities by analyzing past crises to effectively devise future organizational communication strategies. Students also create authentic and realistic social media content for the hypothetical crises and participate in a peer feedback loop, which involves both offering and receiving critiques on their written, verbal, and nonverbal communication skills. The reflective and collaborative approach in the preparation process fosters the development of problem-solving, creative, and critical thinking abilities. Furthermore, students are required to strategically assign roles and responsibilities for conducting Q/A sessions with the classmates acting as media representatives.
Assignment Learning Objectives
Gain knowledge of the principles and theories in organizational crisis communication
Understand various social issues and stakeholders’ expectations
Evaluate the effectiveness of crisis communication execution
Enhance critical and creative thinking, problem solving abilities
Apply theoretical knowledge into practice
Improve proficiency in written, verbal, and nonverbal communication
Connection to Public Relations Practice and/or Theory
Edelman’s 2022 Connected Crisis study revealed important insights that crisis management is increasingly required for communication and corporate leaders. The report highlights a shift in stakeholder expectations, particularly among Gen Z, who demand transparent communication and wield significant influence over crisis communication through social and digital platforms (Edelman, 2022). Given the rising prominence of social issues in corporate operation and communication, it is critical for future PR professionals to understand a broad spectrum of social issues and their relevance to communication practices. In this course, students delve into Coombs’ (2007) Situational Crisis Communication Theory and Benoit’s (1997) Image Restoration Theory. Students apply these theories, along with other principles, in practice by writing critical analyses, formulating response strategies, and suggesting recommendations, thereby deepening their understanding of the connection between research and practice.
How the Assignment was Class-Tested
This course, a required 3000-level offering, is designed for PR majors and minors, mostly upper-class students. A prerequisite introductory PR course is essential, ensuring students possess a foundational understanding of public relations principles. Upon completing the first assignment – a team case study paper and presentation – students are equipped with confidence in comprehending the organization and its crisis communication practices. This foundational knowledge is crucial as they progress to the simulated press conference, which employs hypothetical scenarios for practical application. Ideally, conducting the simulation in a media broadcasting studio or an auditorium-style classroom is recommended, as it provides a more realistic experience to students.
Evidence of Learning Outcomes
Through this course, students acquire a comprehensive understanding about crisis management including its process, various models and strategies, communication planning, engagement with various stakeholders, and critical evaluation of an organization’s crisis communication. The assessment of student progress in writing and public speaking skills is facilitated through both formal and informal methods, utilizing multiple deliverables. A senior colleague observed the class and commented:
[I]t is excellent for students’ portfolios, and it underscores that research and theory guide message design. She is also having students facilitate press conferences in our media studio, giving students applied experience where from an instructional design perspective, it’s clear that assignments for the course build on one another. And, in addition to the professor, students provide feedback to one another.
Template Assignment Guides
Case Study Assignment Guide
Overview
This six-week team project involves a comprehensive case analysis that covers organizational crisis history, background, culture, stakeholders, and critical analysis of crisis responses. Students gain a deep understanding of both the organization and its crisis communication strategies. In addition, students apply theoretical concepts to real-world cases. The final deliverables include a team paper and presentation.
Instruction
Each team submits a comprehensive case study paper and presentation. The paper should encompass a crisis communication study including analyses of the organization, theoretical framework and review of previous literature (professional and scholarly), crisis timeline and responses, and conclusion. The process for completing this assignment is divided into three steps: 1) submit three potential recent cases for the professor’s review, 2) upon receiving approval from the professor, teams start working on the case analysis and periodically sharing their progress for the professor’s feedback, and 3) submit the final paper, presentation, and peer and self-evaluation. The case study includes:
Title page
Executive summary
This one-page summary is tailored for busy professionals, summarizing key findings, evaluation, and/or implications for their future communication practice. Highlight how these insights are beneficial to the organization, the specific situation, and related issues.
Synopsis
Organization Background and Industry Overview
Summarize the organization’s history, mission, vision, and values. Include communication campaigns as well as the industry overview.
Crisis Situation and Timeline
Comprehensive details of the crisis, its impact, and timeline of the crisis.
Address its significance, financial and reputational impacts, stakeholder reactions, and media responses.
Theory, Principles, and Concepts
Introduce and summarize specific theory or concepts applied in the case study. For example, discuss Coombs’ SCCT (2007) or Benoit’s IRT (1997) in the section, how either theory (or other principles) makes sense of the case.
Crisis Communication, Action, and Analysis
Analyze the organization’s crisis actions and response by tactic or media type or chronicle order or stakeholders.
Explain how the organization communicated about the crisis to stakeholders.
Identify the crisis response strategies based on the concepts, theories, models, and critical analysis of organization’s response and its appropriateness.
Conclusion
Discuss implications, contributions, recommendations, and future directions for the organization and societal impacts.
References (excluded in the page limit)
Include a minimum of 10 credible scholarly and professional references relevant to the topic. An appropriate scholarly study should be 1) published in a communication journal or relevant fields, and 2) an original study with primary data collection (not a review of a book). Professional reference refers to mass media (e.g., New York Times, Wall Street Journal) or reliable professional publications (e.g., PR Week, PR News, PRSA’s Strategies and Tactics, Marketing Dive, McKinsey Quarterly, Harvard Business Review).
Presentation
About 15-20 minutes including Q/A session with all team members presenting.
Submit visual aids (PPT, Prezi, video, etc.) on Blackboard. Consider readability and attractiveness of the slide design (e.g., font size, color, relevant visuals/videos, logos, simple layout). Maintain professionalism in verbal and nonverbal communication (e.g., show confidence, appropriate voice tone).
Peer and Self-Evaluation
Using the provided evaluation forms to assess the performance of each team after presentations. Also, submit a self-evaluation form to reflect on your own performance in this project.
Evaluation criteria: Focus on verbal and nonverbal communication skills, the ability to answer questions effectively, and response appropriateness.
Press Conference Simulation Assignment Guide
Overview
Each team hosts a simulated crisis press conference based on a given hypothetical scenario, focusing on the same organization analyzed in the case study. Team members play the role of spokespersons, responsible for representing the organization, delivering the crisis response, and facilitating the Q/A sessions. This four-week project culminates in a set of deliverables: a response statement, social media strategy and message examples, and a simulated press conference presentation.
Instruction
The objective is to enable students to apply theoretical knowledge to practical scenarios and equip students with the skills necessary to perform as effective crisis spokespersons, thereby enhancing their proficiency in crisis communication. The hypothetical crises involve one or multiple social issues in the context of diversity and inclusion, ethics, environment, or human rights.
Five-step process for a successful press conference:
1. Team will receive a unique crisis for its organization.
Each team receives a hypothetical crisis scenario.
Collaborate with team members to determine the details of the crisis, preparing to address all potential media questions during the press conference.
Learn about other teams’ crisis scenarios and prepare a minimum seven questions per scenario, ranging from easy (e.g., fact-checking type) to challenging questions (e.g., organizational deception or mismanagement). You will ask those questions to other teams by playing a role of “media” during the conference.
2. Team will submit a paper containing three components: a response statement, social media strategy, and social media message examples.
Response statement (one-page): Write a statement outlining key facts and updates about the crisis (e.g., current situation, impact of the crisis, organizational actions, and next steps) and related social issue. This is a statement that the spokesperson will communicate with “media” at the beginning of the conference.
Social media strategy
Select one or two social media platforms, justifying their relevance to your stakeholders. Explain your stakeholders and their significance to the organization and the crisis.
Develop a message strategy for the selected social media platforms, providing a rationale for its appropriateness.
Outline a timeline and frequency for your social media posts.
Social media message examples
Write realistic social media messages aligned with your suggested strategy, considering elements like hashtags, account names, visuals, etc.
3. Spokesperson training (all members)
Summarize the key do’s and don’ts for spokesperson training based on course materials (Coombs, Ch. 4 [2015]; De Waele et al. [2018, 2020]).
Record a video of yourself presenting the statement without looking at the notes or statement.
Video recording: Each student should create a 1-2 minute video, using their cellphone, demonstrating a stand-up position.
Review and reflect: Utilize the established do’s and don’ts to review your own and team members’ videos and share constructive feedback. Please reflect on each other’s comments and practice your presentation.
In-class workshop: Share a one-paragraph summary in class, discussing improvement in verbal and nonverbal communication skills gained from the media training process.
4. Press conference day: The simulation will be about 12-15 minutes per team and all team members must speak during the conference.
Presenting role: Host the crisis press conference, utilizing a one-page response statement for key information. No PowerPoint slides or visual aids are permitted.
Non-presenting role: Act as a “journalist,” attending and engaging in all other teams’ conferences by asking questions.
5. Peer and self-evaluation: Using the provided evaluation forms to assess the performance of each team after presentations. Also, submit a self-evaluation form to reflect on your own performance in this project.
Evaluation criteria: Focus on verbal and nonverbal communication skills, the ability to answer questions effectively, and response appropriateness.
Assignment Grading Criteria or Rubric
The Commission on Public Relations Education’s Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities are intended to be measured in both team assignments – case study and press conference simulation as following:
Knowledge in crisis management and social issue
Skills in writing, public speaking, and communication
Abilities in problem-solving, critical, and creative thinking
Crisis Case Study Paper (Total 100 points)
Executive Summary & Synopsis (10)
Concisely summarizes key findings and valuable recommendations. Skillfully narrates the crisis, its significance, and consequences. Professionally organized.
Organization Background and Industry Overview (10)
Extensive background research on the organization, including mission, vision, values, etc. Summarizes key facts from an industry overview and the industry’s characteristics.
Crisis Situation and Timeline (20)
Detailed description of the crisis and its impact. Explains the significance of the crisis and related social issues. Describes media and stakeholder reactions. Utilizes credible sources (news, published reports) and presents a clear timeline.
Theory and Principles (10)
Concise and accurate description of the relevant theory or principles. Justifies their application.
Crisis Communication, Action, and Analysis (25)
Comprehensively addresses the crisis responses and actions.
Justifies the analysis based on application of chosen theory or principles. Provides a critical analysis of crisis management. Demonstrates deep understanding of the crisis and its magnitude.
Conclusion (15)
Synthesizes case highlights. Discusses limitations, implications for future practice, and societal impact. Provides insightful recommendations.
Reference and Style (10)
Adheres to APA citation style. Included a minimum of 10 credible sources.
Crisis Case Study Presentation (Total 100 points)
Case Study Presentation Materials (50)
Includes all required elements. Engages audience with appropriate visuals. All texts are clear and easily readable.
Case Study Presentation (50)
Demonstrates confidence and good understanding of the case and crisis management. Efficient time management. Presenters are well-prepared, using appropriate voice tone, body language (e.g., eye-contact), and maintaining professionalism.
Press Conference Simulation Paper (Total 100 points)
Response Statement (50)
Addresses crisis responses and actions. Clearly informs the updates on the crisis and outlines next steps. Demonstrates in-depth understanding of the crisis and its societal impact.
Social Media Strategy and Message Examples (50)
Strategic approach to the chosen social media platform(s), considering the stakeholder and the crisis. Clearly states the strategy and message timeline. Ensures message examples are aligned with the proposed strategy. Messages are realistic and professional.
Demonstrates confidence and good understanding of the case and crisis management. Efficiently manages time and addresses all inquiries during the Q&A sessions. Presenters are well-prepared, using appropriate voice tone, body language (e.g., eye-contact), and maintaining professionalism.
Teaching Note
These sequential projects are best suited for crisis communication or media relations courses, ideally with class sizes ranging from 15 to 25 students who have previously completed an introductory public relations course. Implementing these assignments may be challenging in classes where students lack foundational knowledge in public relations. Instructors should encourage and support students to proactively initiate the projects, as active participation is vital for the success of these projects. Providing weekly informal feedback to each team can enhance student engagement. However, managing this format in larger classes could present logistical challenges. After students receive their grades on the case study assignment, conducting a class-wide discussion is recommended. This discussion should aim to identify strategies for strengthening writing, public speaking, and communication skills for the subsequent project, the simulation. For the simulation, it is imperative that students should familiarize themselves with the other teams’ cases in addition to preparing their own crisis case. Facilitating multiple group discussions can be an effective way for encouraging peer-to-peer learning and idea exchange. Conducting the press conference simulation in a special setting, such as a media broadcasting studio or an auditorium-style classroom would be advantageous as such environments more closely replicate the dynamics of a real press conference, providing students with a more authentic learning experience. Instructors are encouraged to review award-winning case studies from reputable sources like the Arthur W. Page Society’s student case study competition, the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) Silver Anvil, and Public Relations Student Society of America’s (PRSSA) Bateman case study competition. For additional research and insights, valuable open-access resources worth exploring include the Institute for Public Relations’ (IPR) research library and the International Public Relations Research Conference’s (IPRRC) proceedings.
References
Acosta-Gonzaga, & Ramirez-Arellano, A. (2022). Scaffolding matters? Investigating its role in motivation, engagement and learning achievements in higher education. Sustainability, 14(20), 13419. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013419
Chernikova, O., Heitzmann, N., Stadler, M., Holzberger, D., Seidel, T., & Fischer, F. (2020). Simulation-based learning in higher education: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 90(4), 499–541. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654320933544
Coombs, W. T. (2007). Protecting organization reputations during a crisis: The development and application of situational crisis communication theory. Corporate Reputation Review, 10(3), 163-176. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.crr.1550049
Coombs, W. T. (2015). Ongoing crisis communication: Planning,managing, and responding (4th Ed.). Sage publications. De Waele, A., Claeys, A.S., Cauberghe, V., & Fannes, G. (2018).
Spokespersons’ nonverbal behavior in times of crisis: The relative importance of visual and vocal cues. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 42(4), 441-460. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-018-0284-5
De Waele, A., Claeys, A. S., & Opgenhaffen, M. (2020). Preparing to face the media in times of crisis: Training spokespersons’ verbal and nonverbal cues. Public Relations Review, 46(2), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2019.101871
Hunker, D. F., Gazza, E. A., & Shellenbarger, T. (2014). Evidence-based knowledge, skills, and attitudes for scholarly writing development across all levels of nursing education. Journal of Professional Nursing, 30(4), 341-346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2013.11.003
O’Neil, J., Moreno, A., Rawlins, B., & Valentini, C. (2018). Learning objectives: What do students need to know and be able to do for entry-level positions? Fast forward: Foundations +future state. Educators + practitioners (pp. 45-57). https://www.commissionpred.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/report6-full.pdf
Stacks, D. W. (2016). Primer of public relations research. Guilford Publications.
Tailab, M., & Marsh, N. (2019). Use of self-assessment of video recording to raise students’ awareness of development of their oral presentation skills. Higher Education Studies, 10(1),16. https://doi.org/10.5539/hes.v10n1p16
Wang, X., & Wang, Z. (2014). The effect of product-harm crisis situations on firms’ spokesperson strategies: Evidence from China’s emerging market economy. Public Relations Review, 40(1), 110–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2013.11.001
Appendix A
Student Peer and Self Review Criteria Example
Overall Evaluation (1-5 Likert Scale):
How effectively was the press conference organized?
To what extent did the conference inform attendees about the organization’s actions?
How well-prepared were the spokespersons for the conference?
How effectively did the team collaborate?
How professionally were all questions answered by the spokespersons?
Qualitative Comments:
What were the highlights of the conference?
What constructive feedback can be offered to the team?
Verbal Communication (1-5 Likert Scale) (De Waele et al., 2020):
How effectively were two or three key messages presented?
Were there relevant short quotes to emphasize the key messages?
How vividly did they (or you) deliver information through metaphors or examples?
How well did they (or you) explain the key message in a simple way?
Nonverbal Communication (1-5 Likert Scale) (De Waele et al., 2020):
How well did they (or you) maintain a stable, open, and relaxed posture?
Was the face clearly visible to the audience (e.g., interviewer or camera)?
To cite this article: Yook, B. (2024). A sequential approach in crisis communication: Integrating case study, press conference simulation, and media training guidelines. Journal of Public Relations Education, 9(3), 121-140. https://journalofpreducation.com/?p=4312
Editorial Record: Submitted June 9, 2023. Revised September 23, and November 19, 2023. Accepted November 21, 2023. Published March 2024.
Author
Tiffany Derville Gallicano Associate Professor Department of Communication Studies UNC-Charlotte North Carolina, USA Email: tgallica@charlotte.edu
ABSTRACT
An ethics assignment is shared involving a cultural crisis. Any moral dilemma involving a cultural crisis could be used in this assignment, or the Arla Foods cartoon crisis could be adopted, which is the model case used in this assignment description. Arla Foods confronted a crisis when it was boycotted based on its Danish identity. This case involves a heated clash in values, it pulls an apolitical company into a high-stakes political battle, it involves managing the complexities of ethics in a global context, and it has themes of cancel culture in the form of boycotts. These themes are relevant to today’s ethical landscape. In addition, the case broadens traditional examinations of diversity and inclusion by delving into the religious diversity of both internal and external key stakeholders, and the case requires students to understand cultural differences. Students engage in environmental scanning by navigating academic, corporate, and news sources; thinking critically; creating solutions; and analyzing them, providing the opportunity to reinforce foundational knowledge about moral decision making (e.g., Martin & Wright, 2016) and crisis management (e.g., Coombs, 2007) from previous lessons or courses while advancing to higher levels of Bloom et al.’s (1956) taxonomy. Leadership and teamwork skills are developed through a lecture about Tuckman’s (1965) group stages and how to navigate them, including ways to confront poor team behavior in this team project.
On September 30, 2005, a controversial newspaper in Denmark published cartoons ridiculing the Prophet Muhammed, which were depicted by a UAE cabinet minister as “cultural terrorism, not freedom of expression” (Fattah, 2006, para. 20). The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League sent a joint letter to the Danish Prime Minister, who turned down the invitation to meet and backed the newspaper’s freedom of speech, reflecting Danish sentiment. About four months later, a newspaper in Norway reprinted the cartoons. A little more than two weeks later, Arla Foods issued an apology through ads in 30 Middle Eastern newspapers, which activated Danish feminist NGOs, politicians, and other influencers, who criticized the response as supportive of a religion that represses women (Holmström et al., 2010). Middle Eastern consumers started boycotting Danish companies, including Arla Foods, because the Danish government would not accept responsibility or punish the newspaper (Gaither & Curtin, 2008). Within five days of the boycott, the company’s $1.8 million in daily sales from the Middle East plummeted to nearly nothing (Gaither & Curtin, 2008).
GIFT Overview
In teams, students collectively take on the role of vice president of public relations for Arla Foods on the day the cartoons were first printed. They are instructed to gather information about the case as a practice of environmental scanning. Although their information gathering is different (i.e., they would not read a case study about their current situation in an academic journal), they still gain the experience of learning about an event through the navigation of required sources and summarizing the issue concisely at the start of their moral analysis document. They benefit from knowing what actually happened in the case and are in the pilot’s seat to argue for the best morally justifiable solution for how the company should have responded, starting on the day of the initial cartoon publication. In groups, they perform an analysis based on a framework for moral decision making. The textbook by Martin and Wright (2016) was used for teaching the model; however, the model can be found in other ethics textbooks, such as Bivins (2009). Instructors using alternative models for moral decision making can still use the assignment. They would need to start the assignment by having students begin their document by concisely summarizing the issue in about five sentences for the CEO, developing a list of relevant facts, generating a list of key stakeholders, and proposing their best set of three potential moral solutions. Then, any moral decision-making model already used in class could be applied. A common learning moment for student teams is falling into the trap of figuring out what the company can get away with rather than what the company has a moral duty to do. Once students have developed their three moral solutions, instructor feedback is shared and moral solutions can be revised before proceeding to the final step, which involves choosing one of the solutions and justifying it for the CEO in about two paragraphs.
Rationale
Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion, and a Cultural Perspective
The Commission on Public Relations Education is “the authoritative voice on behalf of public relations education, with a board representing 18 organizations and groups, and between 50 and 60 board members on an annual basis” (CPRE, 2018, p. 9). According to the Commission on Public Relations Education’s Fast Forward report, there is a large gap between how PR professionals rate the amount of ethics knowledge entry-level practitioners should have (the importance of which was rated as an average of 4.57 on a 5-point scale) and the amount of ethics knowledge found among entry-level practitioners (rated as an average of 3.34 on a 5-point scale; CPRE, 2018). Although a public relations ethics course was endorsed by CPRE in its 2006 report, The Professional Bond, the need for stronger ethics training has persisted as an issue, leading the CPRE (2018) to list it as its first recommendation in a report of major recommendations, noting that it is “more essential than ever” (p. 20). CPRE’s (2023) recent report indicates that professionals viewed ethics as “an essential competency” despite finding that young professionals lack ethical skills in their first five years.
The assignment also delves into what CPRE (2018) described as “knowledge areas that entry-level practitioners should have”: diversity and inclusion, in addition to a cultural perspective (p. 55). CPRE’s position was informed by practitioners’ prioritization of the areas as the most desired, in addition to a cultural perspective, social issues, and business acumen. The presence of a multicultural perspective among entry-level practitioners was rated as an average of 2.82 on a 5-point scale). This case can help students develop their knowledge of these areas, as religious diversity is seldom explored in the public relations classroom, and students have commonly grown up in a freedom of speech culture in which no religion is so sacred that it is spared from public ridicule. In fact, students typically make the initial mistake of summarizing the event as an issue of racism, seemingly lacking the lexicon to distinguish racism from religious hatred and failing to find words (such as blasphemy) to depict an event that is deeply offensive to members of a religion. Students learn from instructor feedback about how to write about religious offense as they revise their work prior to the recommendation stage of the project.
There are several advantages of using the Arla Foods case with the recommended materials mentioned earlier. The case is a moral dilemma involving conflicting duties to oppositional stakeholders. Students should be reminded that they have a major duty to the organization, but they must also consider their duties to others. As Martin and Wright (2016) noted, “In the ethics classes and workshops we have taught, we have noticed a tendency for public relations people to address ethical issues in terms of “what works?” rather than “what’s right?” That is sometimes because it is often more difficult to figure out what ethics requires than what good public relations practice demands (p. 219).
The case is also strong because of the variety of solutions, some of which could involve collaborating with other groups, ranging from the Confederation of Danish Industries to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which students learn about when completing their reading assignments. The availability of high quality teaching materials (mentioned in the Teaching Note in this manuscript) provides deep opportunities for cultural learning. The case is also ideal because it involves pressure on a decidedly apolitical company that must do something politically to address its moral duties. The case involves managing the complexities of ethics in a global context, and it has themes of cancel culture in the form of boycotts. Students must understand the religious offense from a Muslim standpoint, explain why Middle Eastern countries expect the government to have unilateral control over the media, and use the characteristics of Middle Eastern culture to understand why collective behavior such as boycotts are expected to have high participation rates.
Although the company’s crisis began in 2005, the context continues to be relevant to contemporary events. For example, in 2023, an adjunct art professor was sued and fired for sharing artwork of the Prophet Muhammad in a global art course following a Muslim student’s complaint (Patel, 2023). The tweet promoting this story received over a million views on Twitter (New York Times, 2023). Notably, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (i.e., described by the Associated Press as the largest Muslim advocacy organization in the United States) took the position that analyzing images of Prophet Muhammad for academic purposes was not Islamophobic, unlike efforts to produce images for the purpose of offending Muslims (Hollingsworth, 2023; Lawson-Tancred, 2023).
Another example is the controversy the Asia Society faced when blurring images of the Prophet Muhammad in the museum’s online showcase––the museum called the blurring a mistake and explained that the physical museum tour includes Prophet Muhammad images with warnings to avoid the area if the content is found offensive. Discussing contemporary cases in the context of the Arla Foods case helps students recognize the importance of the intent behind the action, which aligns with Kantian theory (e.g., Bivins, 2009; Martin & Wright, 2016).
To complete the assignment, students must think critically, create solutions, and analyze them, which provides the opportunity to reinforce foundational knowledge about moral decision making (Martin & Wright, 2016) and crisis management (e.g., Coombs, 2007) from previous lessons or courses while advancing to the application level of Bloom et al.’s (1956) taxonomy. Leadership and teamwork skills are also developed through a lecture about Tuckman’s (1965) group stages and how to navigate them, including ways to confront poor team behavior.
Assignment Learning Objectives
The assignment has the following learning objectives:
Succinctly summarize a complex moral issue for a CEO based on environmental scanning that is compelling enough to be deemed a priority by the CEO
Identify key stakeholders to consider in an ethical dilemma
Present three strong solutions to a moral dilemma
Perform a moral analysis of potential solutions to a moral dilemma
Justify a chosen solution based on moral arguments
Connection to Public Relations Theory
This class project is an ideal way for students to apply approaches to moral decision making they have learned throughout the semester. Students can apply concepts such as Ross’ moral duties, Kantian theory, utilitarianism, and care ethics. These topics are generally covered in PR ethics textbooks, such as Bivins (2009) and Martin and Wright (2016). Students can even focus on virtue ethics by thinking about the best solution for developing the company’s moral character (see Martin & Wright, 2016). When understanding the Danish government’s initial lack of a response, instructors can guide students through Grunig and Hunt’s (1984) linkages model––summarized in an open access publication by Rawlins (2006)––placing the Danish government in the center of the figure. This figure can also be used to help students understand why targeting Danish companies is a compelling option for applying pressure to the Danish government. In addition, instructors can discuss the case in light of Rawlin’s summary of how to prioritize publics based on linkages type (i.e., enabling, functional, normative, or diffused), situational theory classification (e.g., active, aware, or latent), and additional considerations (e.g., power, legitimacy and urgency). Moral duties fall into the third category (additional considerations). Furthermore, students review and apply primary and secondary crisis response strategies in their proposed solutions (e.g., Coombs, 2007). The case allows students to determine how to apply theory to understand and navigate their moral analyses. In addition, Tuckman’s (1965) group stages can be presented with strategies for navigating each stage.
How the Assignment was Class-Tested
This project was adopted in one graduate Public Relations Theory course and in three undergraduate Public Relations Ethics classes. One of the classes included a student who participated in the Arla Foods boycott, and this student served as an additional resource for the class. The revision opportunities for each part of the assignment were essential to most students’ ability to achieve the learning outcomes. The heart of the assignment is the moral analysis of three options for resolving the issue. Students’ rough draft scores typically increased with each subsequent option they assessed, likely due to the benefit of instructor feedback.
The team member evaluations that were due with each rough draft were helpful for discouraging freeloading. Students evaluated themselves and their teammates based on communication skills, reliability, and contribution to the assignment due (considering that rotational team leaders carried expectations for performing greater work than the rest of the team). Students assessed performance on a 5-point scale for each criterion and were required to add comments for themselves and for any student rating below a 3 (i.e., a “meeting expectations” score). Each assignment in the project was set up to be graded individually rather than as a team in Canvas to enable the ability to lower students’ scores for contributing less to the team. If a student did not contribute at all, a zero was given on the assignment. If a student contributed far less than the rest of the team, points were deducted and an email was sent to check in with the student and explain the need for better communication with the team and more substantive contributions to each assignment. Students were required to respond to each other’s communication within 24 hours and had the option to make this window shorter, provided that the team unanimously agreed. These guard rails were effective in correcting poor team behavior. Throughout the team assessment assignments, feedback was shared about the stage their team might be in from Tuckman’s group stages (1965).
Evidence of Learning Outcomes
Each semester, students were invited to reflect upon the assignment. Students appreciated the opportunity to apply an ethical analysis to a complex case and to engage in collective problem solving when deliberating about a difficult ethical case. They also appreciated the experience of guiding a company that is entangled in a culture war and discovering how the assignments within the project were helpful to understanding how to address the conflict. Other students also emphasized problem-solving and expressed appreciation for the diversity and inclusion context of the cast. In addition, students expressed a deeper appreciation for the importance of environmental scanning and audience analyses. Students took the initiative to talk about the case in class discussions of theoretical material.
Template Assignment Guide
The instructions for teaching the assignment in an asynchronous course, a semester-length timeline, and the grading rubrics are presented below in their original format.
Project Instructions
For our class project, you will apply the framework for ethical reasoning, described by Martin and Wright (2016) in chapter 13, to the Arla Foods case. As with all assignments in class, the use of ChatGPT on this assignment would be a form of academic dishonesty other than an area where I state that it is allowed to understand scholarly concepts from cultural studies. I want your thinking to entirely be your own to maximize your learning.
Here are the steps to follow for the assignment.
1. Choose your team in the People tab by the end of the day on Thursday, Aug. 24, or I will assign you to a team after that date.
Communicate with the team and figure out who is taking on which role.
2. Learn about the Arla Foods case and the moment in time I’ve chosen for your assignment.
You are the vice president of public relations for Arla Foods. Every part of this assignment should be written as if you are in this position, and your audience is the CEO of the company (i.e., write to me as the CEO, not as your professor). On Sept. 30, 2005, a controversial newspaper in Denmark published cartoons ridiculing the Prophet Muhammed, which are highly offensive to the Islamic community. As a Danish company with substantial profit from the Middle East, you are concerned about a backlash against Arla Foods just on the basis that it is from the same country as the controversial newspaper.
Sept. 30, 2005, is the day on which we are entering the case.
This means that no one has started boycotting yet because the newspaper cartoons were just published. You are developing the framework to make a recommendation to the CEO about what Arla Foods should do. I will act in the role of the CEO. Although we are completing this project over the course of the semester, in the real world, you would identify the potential damage from this incident (always preparing for the worst as a PR practitioner) and complete the framework within the day.
I chose this historic case because it involves a heated clash in values, it pulls an apolitical company into a high-stakes political and social battle, it involves managing the complexities of ethics in a global context, and it has themes of cancel culture in the form of boycotts. These are all important characteristics in today’s ethical landscape.
This project involves navigating high-quality research. Each of the sources below has unique information, in addition to overlapping information. Each team member is responsible for reading each of the sources below, regardless of the section you are leading. Learn important details about the context and discover what Arla actually did and the consequences of its actions. Seeing what happened will help you when you develop your best- and worst-case scenarios later in the process.
Gaither, T. Kenn, & Curtin, P. A. (2008). Examining the heuristic value of models of international public relations practice: A case study of the Arla Foods crisis. Journal of Public Relations Research, 20(1), 115–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627260701727051
Holmström, S., Falkheimer, J., & Nielsen, A. G. (2010). Legitimacy and strategic communication in globalization: The cartoon crisis and other legitimacy conflicts. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 4(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/15531180903415780
Use the Martin and Wright (2016) book as one of your resources. Our textbook authors present the framework we are using and write out an example for us. I’ll want you to use full sentences (unlike they did), skip a line of space between bulleted information and paragraphs, and go a little deeper than they did, but it is still a useful example.
3. Dive into the assignment.
Ready to get started? Follow the steps below.
Watch my assignment template walk-through. You might want to open the assignment template below first.
Head over to the assignment template, go to File in the Google Docs menu and select “Make a copy.”
Go to the Share button in the upper right corner and give anyone access to the document who has the link. Make sure to give “editor” access from the drop-down menu. This is technically listed under Team Member One’s duties, but anyone can do it.
Download the free version of Grammarly for your internet browser and use it to help you proof as you write.
Coordinate roles, meeting times, and a timeline for completion with your team.
I have organized the project into roles, so each team member will have a turn leading at least one assignment. This leader will be responsible for coordinating team meetings for the assignment they are leading, in addition to taking a leadership role in developing the content and writing. Also, this person will coordinate a timeline for completion to enable all team members to have 24 hours to edit the document before it is due.
Finally, the team member is responsible for revising the work based on my feedback and sharing it with the team for final approval.
There will be a team member assessment due with each original (non-revision) assignment, which will factor into the individual grades I assign. You will report how you contributed to the portion of the group project that is due and you will share feedback about your team members. Although feedback is not required on the revisions because this work should be performed by the team leader with final approval from team members, if there are contribution issues that arise, please share them in the comments section of the assignment or email me.
Below is a list of assignment responsibilities for each team member role, which you will determine in your groups. Additional instructions for each part of the assignment appear in the template after this section.
Team Member One: Fill in your name here.
You are responsible for starting the Google Doc for your team to use for their individual assignments and for the team assignment at the end of the document. You will share editing access with your classmates and me (see the “share” button in the upper right corner and ensure that you are selecting editing access for me rather than the default option).
You will lead the “issue” section, which is one paragraph. See page 209 in our Martin and Wright (2016) textbook for an example of this paragraph.
You will co-lead the “relevant facts” section with Team Member Two by incorporating relevant facts from the Gaither & Curtin (2008) article and the Arla Foods (2006a) annual report (see the assignment description on Canvas for these two documents). Remember to use in-text citations. Work with Team Member Two to organize the information in decreasing order of importance, ending with historical facts. Also, ensure that the facts you include do not overlap. See pages 209-210 in our Martin and Wright (2016) textbook for an example of this section.
You will co-lead the decision and justification section with Team Member Two since both of your roles do not otherwise involve applying a moral analysis.
Team Member Two: Fill in your name here.
You will co-lead the “relevant facts” section with Team Member One by incorporating relevant facts from the Holmstrom et al. (2010) article and the Arla Foods (2006b) news release (see the assignment description on Canvas for these two documents). Remember to use in-text citations. Work with Team Member One to organize the information in decreasing order of importance, ending with historical facts. Also, ensure that the facts you include do not overlap. See pages 209-210 in our Martin and Wright (2016) textbook for an example of this section.
You will lead the “relevant stakeholders” section.
You will co-lead the decision and justification section with Team Member One.
You will lead the “team reflection” section, which is due with the decision and justification sections (co-led with Team Member One).
Team Member Three: Fill in your name here.
Lead your team in proposing a strong option for Arla Foods to take, list the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the option, and evaluate the option (see pages 211-215 in the Martin and Wright textbook). If your team would like feedback on the collection of three options chosen by your team (since they will need to be strong options as a part of your grade), list the proposed actions (for all three options) and email me with a link to your document. I would be happy to sign off on them if you get them to me at least 24 hours before the deadline.
Team Member Four: Fill in your name here.
Do the same thing as Team Member Three; however, your option needs to be different from the other options.
Team Member Five: Fill in your name here.
Do the same thing as Team Member Three; however, your option needs to be different from the other options.
Sample Project Timeline
Assigned work in the schedule below is based on when it is due rather than when it is assigned. Teamwork evaluation forms are not reflected in the schedule below to save space; however, they are due on the class day that follows each rough draft deadline.
Week One, Thursday
Thursday: Instructor: Present a lecture about the case study project. Walk through the assignment description (recorded or in person).
Thursday: Students: Choose a five-person team for the class project, or the instructor will assign you to a team by next week if you prefer. (Sign-ups can occur in person or via the learning management system used for class.)
Week Two, Tuesday
Instructor: Assign students to project teams if needed.
Students: Set up your team meetings for the semester based on your project deadlines and which person will full each role described in the assignment template. Reach out to your instructor if a team member does not return communication within 24 hours, which is a class requirement.
Week Two, Thursday
Students: Read the case study resources (see the list earlier in this description) and watch the historical context video (also found earlier in this description).
Instructor: Facilitate a discussion of the reading material in person or online.
Week Three, Tuesday
Students: The Issue Summary is due. Team Leader: Person One.
Week Four, Tuesday
Students: The Issue Summary Revision is due. Team Leader: Person One.
Week Five, Tuesday
Students: The Relevant Facts section is due. Team Leaders: Person One, who leads the contributions from Gaither and Curtin (2008) and the Arla Foods (2006a) annual report; Person Two, who leads contributions from Holmström et al. (2010) and Arla Foods’ (2006b) news release.
Week Six, Tuesday
Students: The Relevant Facts revision is due. Team Leaders: Person One, who leads the contributions from Gaither and Curtin (2008) and the Arla Foods (2006a) annual report; Person Two, who leads contributions from Holmström et al. (2009) and Arla Foods’ (2006b) news release.
Week Seven, Tuesday
Students: The Stakeholders section is due. Team Leader: Person Two.
Week Eight, Tuesday
Students: The Stakeholders revision is due. Team Leader: Person Two.
Week Nine, Tuesday
Students: Option One is due. Team Leader: Person Three.
Week 10, Tuesday
Students: Option One revision is due. Team Leader: Person Three.
Week 11, Tuesday
Students: Option Two is due. Team Leader: Person Four.
Week 12, Tuesday
Students: Option Two revision is due. Team Leader: Person Four.
Week 13, Tuesday
Students: Option Three is due. Team Leader: Person Five.
Week 14, Tuesday
Students: Option Three revision is due. Team Leader: Person Five.
Week 15, Tuesday
Students: Decision, Justification, and Assignment Reflection assignment is due. Team Leaders: Person One and Person Two.
Week 16, Tuesday
Students: Decision, Justification, and Assignment Reflection assignment is due. Team Leaders: Person One and Person Two. Assigning a revision is optional. This particular assignment tends to be strong enough to stand on its own without revision opportunities.
Instructor: Facilitate a discussion about each team’s decision and justification.
GIFT Grading Criteria or Rubric
Each initial draft assignment is listed below. Each assignment rubric also contains the following text, which is solely listed here to save space:
“In addition, the score you earn is based on your teammates’ evaluation of your performance, as well as your reflection of your performance with regard to communication, reliability, and contribution to this assignment.”
Students complete a team assessment form following the submission of each initial draft assignment based on the following criteria primarily provided by ChatGPT: reliability (i.e., meeting internal team deadlines; leading the team in setting deadlines for the team leadership role), communication skills (i.e., listening, expressing ideas, giving constructive feedback, working collaboratively as a team member; facilitating productive communication for the team leadership role), and contribution to the assignment (in the context of the expectations of the team member or team leader role). Students rate themselves and their team members on a 5-point scale for each criterion and have an optional comments area for each criterion.
The assessment of the content for each assignment is based on the rubric below (see Figure 1).
Figure 1
Content Rubric
The assessment of the writing for each assignment is based on the rubric below; a quantitative approach is used to increase grading consistency and the communication of expectations (see Figure 2).
Figure 2
Writing Rubric
Minor corrections include errors relating to format (see the template for the format), AP style, grammar, punctuation, executive voice and brevity.
Major corrections include mistakes such as word jumbles, typos, spelling errors, and other obvious issues, such as quotation marks facing the wrong way.
Revision assignments use the same assignment criteria and rubric as the corresponding drafts, but they are worth half the number of points as the original drafts to emphasize the performance of the work independent of my help, the incentive to focus on doing the assignment well the first time, and the lower level of effort generally required to revise the content and writing.
Revisions are performed by the one to two people leading the team for the assignment and include the requirement of a 24-hour window for the team to proof the work.
Assignment: Issue (40 points)
Content: 20 points, Writing: 20 points
The situation is summarized in a paragraph, so your CEO understands what happened.
The paragraph begins with details the CEO would need to understand what happened (what is the name of the newspaper, is it the largest newspaper in Denmark, how many cartoons were there, how did they come about, and what does the Islamic religion say about any visual depiction of the prophet, even if it is positive? What is an example of what was portrayed?).
Based on the content, I can grasp the severity of the offense.
The paragraph helps the CEO understand why an outside issue of this nature is relevant to the company.
At the end of the paragraph, there is a sentence about what is at stake (this is the same idea as why the CEO should consider a response to this issue).
The content is clearly targeted to the CEO (not an external audience). The paragraph does not include potential solutions to the issue.
I am looking for the quality of the content, as well as the extent to which relevant facts are included and less pivotal facts are omitted.
Assignment: Relevant Facts
Content: 40 points, Writing: 40 points
Additional information is shared about the case. If you did not already cover it in the Issue section, the relevant facts section includes information about how these cartoons came into existence (there is a backstory).
Information is also provided about the prominence of the newspaper. The potential for the Streisand effect is addressed.
Economic, social and political pressures are included. Based on this section, the CEO is reminded of the company’s economic interests in the Middle East and the amount of revenue from the Middle East versus the company’s overall revenue.
This section also includes facts that help the CEO understand whether there is potential for retaliation through peaceful and violent means.
Facts are also shared that help the CEO make inferences about how Middle Easterners might expect a Danish company and Danish government to respond. The explanation for why this is the case is explained clearly for someone to understand who is not a cultural studies scholar. Permission is given to use ChatGPT to understand the meaning of some of the terms in the scholarly articles, provided that the output is entirely reworded. A prompt that includes some of the jargon and “can you explain this for a seventh grader” works well.
A comparison of Danish and Middle Eastern cultures is made. Statistics or numerical facts are shared when helpful to understanding the factual statement.
A discussion of Muslims in Denmark is included based on the assigned reading.
Information is ordered thematically based on what is particularly relevant to the situation before getting into more historical facts.
Factual information about anything occurring after the day the cartoons were published is excluded since this project takes place on the day when the cartoons appeared.
Both journal articles are cited extensively, and the annual report is cited. APA style is used for in-text citations and in the references section. Outside sources are welcome.
I am looking for the quality of the content, as well as the extent to which relevant facts are included and less pivotal facts are omitted.
The same A-F rubric is used for content and for writing that appeared in the Issue section. The number of writing errors is adjusted for a 40-point scale, staying consistent with the percentages reflected in the 20-point scale.
Assignment: Stakeholders
Content: 20 points, Writing: 20 points
The stakeholder section includes all of the people your decision could affect and everyone to whom you have a duty.
This section includes what each stakeholder group is likely to be thinking, desiring in the situation, and feeling in response to the cartoons and in response to what the group might expect from Arla Foods.
Lower grades will correspond to the extent to which stakeholders and their interests are excluded.
In addition, the score you earn is based on your teammates’ evaluation of your performance, as well as your reflection on your performance with regard to communication, reliability, and contribution to this assignment.
Assignments: Option One, Option Two, and Option Three
Content: 40 points, Writing: 40 points for each option
These three assignments are evenly spaced in the timeline but are condensed here since they are identical.
When evaluating each Option assignment, I am examining the quality of the primary and secondary crisis response options, as well as the quality of argumentation for justifying them.
The primary response option conveys whether the option involves siding with the non-Muslim Danish community, having the company side with the Muslim community, or having the company stay neutral. All three options could involve different ways of enacting the same primary response option, provided that they are substantially different. For example, one option could involve the company’s coalition building efforts with the Confederation of Danish Industries to take a particular stance on the issue, and another option could involve the same stance but be carried out through attempts of dialogue between the company and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
The secondary response option involves efforts that can be added to a primary response option, such as a corporate social responsibility initiative. The secondary response option could vary or stay the same across all three options.
In addition, I am considering the quality of the pros/cons section, duties section (including harm/care, duties, rules, and the categorical imperative), and personal values section.
The section is written as if the option is being weighed rather than arguing that the option should be chosen. Choosing the option and defending it is a separate assignment after Option Three is completed.
Assignment: Decision, Justification, and Team Reflection
Content: 10 points, Writing: 10 points
This assignment contains three components: the decision of which option the team recommends, a justification for the chosen option, and a reflection about the assignment. The content guidelines for the rubric are presented below.
The decision chosen is a wise decision, and the justification is compelling. Arguments for why the other two options were not chosen are shared. If the chosen option has a decent chance of not working (such as attempting dialogue with the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation or convincing the Confederation of Danish Industries to adopt a particular position and engage in certain actions), one of the alternative options is shared as a backup response.
The assignment reflection includes at least five sentences about what was learned (as a team or individually, depending on your team’s choice). Feedback about how to improve the assignment is welcome and counts towards the sentence minimum.
Teaching Note
Any moral dilemma involving a cultural component could be used for this assignment. As noted previously, this assignment was used in a graduate Public Relations Theory class and three undergraduate Public Relations Ethics courses. The assignment would also function well as a final project in a Principles of Public Relations class or in an International Public Relations course. The Danish cartoons do not need to be shown to the class for this assignment; in fact, students can be informed that none of the required materials involve examining the offensive images. In addition, students should be informed that part of their grade is based on the quality of the three moral solutions they present, and they should be expected to benefit from knowing what the company actually did and what the ramifications were.
Recommended resources include all of the sources found in the assignment description. An additional cultural insight from a student who was an activist when the case occurred is the importance Muslims place on not wasting food. Articles about contemporary controversies involving depictions of the Prophet Muhammad mentioned earlier can also enrich class discussions (Hollingsworth, 2023; Lawson-Tancred, 2023; Patel, 2023; Small, 2023).
Instructors can also help students engage in critical thinking by introducing other contemporary cases of religious cultural controversy. For example, the Los Angeles Dodgers invited a drag troupe called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to its annual LGBTQ Pride celebration, rescinded the invitation after experiencing backlash, and then re-extended the invitation once again to honor the group (Li, 2023). Two of the team’s players were deeply offended because they thought the honoring of the group violated organizational values of respect and inclusivity by impersonating and ridiculing Catholic practices and beliefs (Li, 2023). The application of virtue ethics, Kantian theory, utilitarianism, and care ethics would be insightful to new contexts, especially in light of discussions about the Arla Foods case.
This assignment can be adapted to diverse institutions of learning, as well as online and in-person formats. The assignment has been taught in an online class; however, it would arguably be easier to teach in an in-person class based on the comparative ease of understanding directions delivered by an in-person instructor and coordinating with team members.
Five-person teams can be reduced to smaller teams for smaller class sizes. Colleges with religious affiliations could take particular interest in this study and related contemporary studies that provide a grounded case study approach to exploring contestations over religious tolerance and critique.
Bivins, T. (2009). Mixed media: Moral distinctions in advertising, public relations, and journalism (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Bloom, B. S., Englehart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H., & Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives, Handbook: The cognitive domain. David McKay. Commission on Public Relations Education (CPRE). (2006). The professional bond. http://www.commissionpred.org/commission-reports/the-professional-bond/
Coombs, W. T. (2007). Protecting organization reputations during a crisis: The development and application of situational crisis communication theory. Corporate Reputation Review, 10(3), 163–176. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.crr.1550049
Gaither, T. Kenn, & Curtin, P. A. (2008). Examining the heuristic value of models of international public relations practice: A case study of the Arla Foods crisis. Journal of Public Relations Research, 20(1), 115–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627260701727051
Grunig, J. E., & Hunt, T. (1984). Managing public relations. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
New York Times. (2023, January 8). An adjunct professor at Hamline University showed a painting of the Prophet Muhammad for an art history class. It was followed by an outcry from Muslim students. University officials said it was Islamophobic, but many scholars say the work is a masterpiece. Twitter. https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1612147150472757249?lang=en
To cite this article: Gallicano, T.D. (2024). Spilt milk: Navigating a response to a moral dilemma. Journal of Public Relations Education, 9(3), 141-169. https://journalofpreducation.com/?p=4324
Editorial Record: Submitted May 25, 2022. Revised September 17, 2022. Accepted October 28, 2022. Published May 2023.
Authors
Michelle M. Maresh-Fuehrer, Ph.D. Department Chair & Professor of Public Relations Communication and Media Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Texas, USA Email: michelle.maresh-fuehrer@tamucc.edu
Abstract With the purpose of giving students real-world experience in teamwork and remote project management pre-pandemic, two instructors taught their undergraduate crisis communication courses collaboratively for an entire semester. Students from comparable public 4-year Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) located in the south-central and southwestern regions of the United States worked together on a service-learning project requiring the development of a crisis communication plan for a client representing a nonprofit organization. The following themes emerged concerning lessons students learned: navigating cultural uncertainty, using tactful communication via technology, managing distance and adapting to challenges. The results correspond with reports by the National Association of Colleges and Employers and the Commission on Public Relations Education emphasizing the importance of preparing students for the challenges posed by a technological work environment. Along with anecdotes from the instructors’ observations and students’ evaluative comments, suggestions for future applications of this type of service-learning collaboration are provided.
Keywords: service-learning, crisis communication, inter-institutional collaboration, public relations, remote work
The COVID-19 global health pandemic accelerated organizations’ adoption of digital technologies, as many nonessential businesses were forced to embrace hybrid and remote work environments to sustain business activities. During the pandemic, nearly 70% of full-time employees in the U.S. worked from home (OWL Labs, 2020). As a result of the work-from-home (WFH) surge, organizations now rely heavily on technology to power connectedness among employees and processes in hybrid and remote work environments, and systems that were once manual are now digital and automated (Craig, 2021).
College graduates face the reality that employers seek new hires with relevant work experience (Craig, 2021) which now includes navigating the plethora of professional technologies required to enable WFH settings. Adequate preparation has challenged college graduates for years and spurred the need for hands-on experiences and internships (Thompson, 2014). While Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) are referred to as “Zoomers” because they have grown up in a digital world and are hyperconnected, comfort with technology does not necessarily equate to professional prowess (Gentina & Parry, 2021).
To help students overcome these challenges in preparation for today’s job market, educators need to consider modern career readiness competencies and strategies for incorporating opportunities to practice these skills in the classroom. In the context of public relations, scholars have argued that education must include collaboration and industry tools to support PR practices (Formentin & Auger, 2021), as well as “the need to help students learn about their digital presence” (Kim, 2022, p. 9). Furthermore, a roundtable workgroup sponsored by the Commission on Public Relations Education (CPRE) argued that “a significant element in public relations education is developing a student’s presence to effectively deliver content, lead groups, and engage in interpersonal dimensions online” (Kim, 2022, p. 11).
Service-learning is one high-impact practice (HIPS) shown to help students develop competencies while providing a service for the community that allows for hands-on experience in a real-world situation (Dapena et al., 2022). Through service-learning experiences, students may develop a sense of personal and social responsibility and work ethic, retention of course content, the ability to apply theory to practice, and leadership and communication skills (Jacoby, 2015). In fact, researchers have found that service-learning and collaborative learning approaches “can successfully bridge academic concepts and practice” (Maresh-Fuehrer, 2015, p. 187) by fostering an environment where students take personal initiative, become a better team member or emerge as a team leader, and feel connected to their community (Johnson, 2007; Maresh-Fuehrer, 2015).
While many researchers have studied the benefits of service-learning in singular classrooms and across academic departments and colleges, an exploration of inter-institutional collaborative versions of this teaching practice is lacking (Chang & Hannafin, 2015). Some researchers have found that inter-institutional collaborations result in unique benefits (Fraustino et al., 2015), so it is worthwhile to explore how such a collaboration addresses the need for exposing students to the technological practices required in today’s professional environment.
Thus, the following case study reflects on a collaborative semester-long service-learning partnership led by two instructors at comparable, public 4-year Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) in different regions of the United States. Although this remote collaboration occurred pre-pandemic, the results provide important support for the CPRE recommendations for online pedagogy and guidance on how to improve such instruction.
University and Student Comparisons
This service-learning project was implemented in senior-level crisis communication courses at two accredited universities located in the south-central and southwestern regions of the United States. Because of their geographic locations, the campuses are in two different time zones with a one-hour time difference. One institution is a comprehensive university located on a tri-institutional commuter campus with 95% of its students coming from in-state. The other institution is a research university that has both on-campus and commuter students, with 93% of its students coming from in-state. More than 40% of enrollment at both institutions is first-generation college students, and both are federally designated Hispanic Serving Institutions. However, the differences in geographic locations and student characteristics made this collaboration particularly appealing to the instructors. The class at the southwestern university was composed of 11 upper-division journalism and public relations majors. Each of the enrolled students had completed several courses in AP style and journalism-centric writing techniques. Conversely, the south-central university class featured 39 students from a variety of majors, many of them had limited or no experience in public relations or journalism writing but with backgrounds working in related industries such as emergency response.
Service-Learning Project
Prior Applications
Prior to embarking on this collaboration, both instructors modeled their crisis communication courses to involve team projects and a semester-long service-learning experience where students develop crisis communication plans for community-based clients. As such, both instructors were familiar with choosing appropriate clients for service-learning projects and how to balance client needs with student learning outcomes.
Curriculum Coordination
Curriculum coordination began approximately one year in advance of the project. Since students would be registering for the course at their home university, the instructors felt it was important to discuss the time zone difference and try to teach the courses at the same time to build in time for team teaching and collaboration. However, an unanticipated challenge arose when scheduling courses as both institutions use specific time blocks, none of which were shared between campuses. As a result, the instructors selected times when the classes could overlap for 30 minutes. In the class periods leading up to a major assignment deadline, students were expected to use the overlapping time to work together and submit a report to both instructors detailing their progress.
The next step required examining course syllabi and policies, discussion content and grading rubrics with the purpose of creating a unified voice between the classes. Each syllabus incorporated the same policies, resources, deadlines and expectations except for university-mandated statements. Both instructors shared lecture notes and determined the content to be taught but, recognizing that no two instructors share the same teaching style, allowed for individuality in selecting examples and instructional methods. All documents were shared with both classes in their independent Blackboard shells. Several class periods were scheduled via Zoom to provide the students with an opportunity to participate in lessons taught by both instructors. In these class periods, the instructor in charge of the lesson for that day broadcast their lecture live via Zoom, while the other instructor and their students were sitting together in their own classroom, attending via Zoom.
New grading rubrics were also developed for each of the assignments. During the semester, the instructors graded each group assignment separately and then discussed and agreed upon scores before providing a unified grade to students. Little to no variation in the instructors’ individual scores occurred.
Technology and Collaboration
In addition to the Zoom class meetings, students used a variety of technology applications to communicate and collaborate outside the classroom, including the text messaging app, GroupMe. Students were encouraged to post questions and examples in a class group and create subgroups for discussions within their assigned teams. Students were also encouraged to participate in an optional Twitter discussion using a unique hashtag for the course. To encourage collaboration, students were prompted to share something interesting they learned in class or in the readings, an example of a course concept or commentary about a crisis that was not discussed in class. Fourteen students (28% of the class) contributed 119 posts with an average applause rate (likes) of 1.96. While the engagement rate is modest, it is worth noting that the students’ examples were referenced during class sessions to spark face-to-face discussion. Also of interest is the fact that many of the engagements were from persons who were not members of either class, thus evidencing increased visibility of the institutions and the PR profession among students’ networks.
The Assignments
The instructors used the crisis management plan (CMP) project developed by Maresh-Fuehrer (2013), which consists of four major assignments and a written/oral presentation to a client. Three of the assignments required students to work in different groups to collaborate, and one assignment allowed for individual work. Since group work can be daunting for students, the instructors assigned the most graded weight to the individual assignment. The instructors used a shared rubric to independently grade each team’s work and then briefly met to discuss and finalize scores and feedback before issuing grades to the teams. Students were told that their team assignments were being graded collaboratively by both instructors. However, for the individual assignments, instructors used a shared rubric but only graded the work of students enrolled in their class sections. Students were required to complete revisions of each assignment based on the feedback they received. The revisions were compiled into a Google document that students presented to the client at the end of the semester.
Results
A component of service learning is reflecting on what has been learned and how it applies to a real-world project. The instructors’ observations of student communication coupled with comments from student reports of instruction (SRIs) suggested that students gained individual insights and exercised newly acquired skills from the challenges posed when collaborating with peers in another region to complete a major academic project for a real client.
Navigating Cultural Uncertainty
The first learning experience for students emerged during the early weeks of the semester. While the instructors expected students to share their excitement about the collaboration, a different attitude was apparent. An “us versus them” mentality seemed to dominate students’ communication about their classmates and the project. Students at both institutions emphasized the difference in geographic regions by referring to the collaborating class as the “[State] class” or “[State] students,” rather than using inclusive language such as “our class” or “our group.” The tone was negative and competitive and became most obvious during a situation where a few teams submitted late assignments, despite the instructors’ shared policy on late work. The students tasked with submitting the assignments on behalf of the teams were all from the same campus, so the students from the collaborating campus expressed anger at the fact that the “[State] students” were negatively impacting their grades. Some students even used stereotyping to make sense of the experience, saying things like “You’d think people from [State] would be more laidback.”
This language and behavior seemed to signal the existence of implicit cultural bias among students, which was especially exposed due to the teams being geographically dispersed. However, this allowed the instructors to engage in a discussion with all of the students about recognizing how cultural differences may impact communication among the members of their teams, respecting those differences and knowing when personal accountability can be used to avoid conflict. After having this talk with the classes, the instructors observed an increase in communication between the groups and more individual students demonstrating accountability. One student shared, “This course really demonstrated ‘real world’ situations when working with groups of different backgrounds. Involved VERY tactful communications within the groups and individuals. Conflict resolution was tested to the extreme.” However, it is unclear whether the students ever fully escaped the “us versus them” mentality, as one student reflected, “There were times that working with [State] class was a little difficult, but we worked it out and made it happen – that proved to be a learning experience in itself.”
Using Tactful Communication via Technology
Students were overall receptive and comfortable using new technologies, such as GroupMe and Zoom to communicate with their classmates; however, they were faced with differing expectations for communicating on these platforms. For example, students experienced a great deal of conflict when communicating using GroupMe. A specific anecdote occurred early in the semester when students formed their initial groups for the organizational history assignment. Students from one campus were using the app for casual/social messaging, such as connecting with each other to identify their location (such as studying in the student union or eating lunch at a particular restaurant). This irritated some students who were not on the same campus, prompting them to post derogatory comments that sparked even more unrelated text exchanges that further created division among the classes. One student wrote, “The smaller chats worked better but still had problems, like people using it to find what room they should meet in. I think a training on how to use group chats would help these problems.”
Thus, when this issue arose, the instructors used class time to discuss professional text messaging conduct and provided a handout that offered tips for professional engagement. They also directly addressed concerns with select students and prompted the students to reflect on how they may have approached their text responses differently. As the semester continued, students adapted to the norms for professional technology use and realized that tactful communication was necessary on these platforms, especially to resolve misunderstandings. At the end of the semester, one student shared, “TIL [today I learned] collaboration can actually go smoothly across time zones when communication is respectful. Looking back, this project has taught me more than I thought…”
Managing Distance
For each assignment, students were randomly grouped with classmates from both campuses. During class, the students who shared a physical location would coordinate their schedules and select out-of-class meeting times to work together on their assignments. The ease of communicating with classmates that shared a physical location made it common for them to forget to reach out to the remote group members. This resulted in frustration when the classmates who were left out of the arrangements were unable to meet at the time their group chose to work on the assignment. When referring to this scenario, one student described, “Working with the…team was difficult because there were some instances where they were not willing to support team work. There were a few times where it was hard to communicate with them.”
This dynamic opened the pathway to discussing the differences between collaborating virtually and face-to-face. When the instructors learned of this, they quickly reminded the students of the importance of including everyone in conversations that impact the team or the project. They utilized an analogy of the students being stakeholders in the project and connected this to the core public relations principle of the need to inform stakeholders about matters that concern them (Center et al., 2012). The instructors expressed that the communication tools available–such as GroupMe–are meant for fostering collaboration, especially in these types of moments.
Adapting to Challenges
When the instructors approached their classes about a lack of participation in team meetings, several students shared that they were uncomfortable in virtual meetings because they could see themselves while talking and became self-conscious. Sharing these challenges in the classroom helped students realize that others had the same feelings. The instructors shared tips for navigating this situation, such as hiding the self-view on Zoom.
A second challenge that emerged was based on student characteristics (differing class sizes, majors and PR writing experience). The instructors observed several benefits and challenges students faced as a result of this mixed class configuration. The heterogeneous nature of the group contributed to the discovery of a robust set of potential risks (335 unique risk scenarios) that illustrated students’ specialized knowledge of the law, environmental science and other technical risks that may not have otherwise been considered in a class of only PR/journalism majors. At times, however, students in both courses approached the instructors with frustrations over the varying degrees of professional writing skills, AP style proficiency and personal worth ethic present among their classmates. Some students reported that they made extensive edits to their group’s work, while others expressed frustration that their individual contributions had been edited to a degree that changed the intended meaning of their content. These concerns led to the instructors discussing the nature of collaborative projects in the workplace, which included a discussion of French and Raven’s (1959) bases of power. The instructors emphasized that professionals often work with people from different departments and locations that may not share the same knowledge base. However, each person must be valued for the unique strengths that they contribute toward the success of a group. At the end of the semester, one of the students shared about the remote work experience, “Working with different individuals throughout the semester helped me jump out of my comfort zones.” Another student emphasized that the challenging nature of group work was “a real example of how life may work sometime.” Much to the instructors’ satisfaction, one student shared
This class was a favorite of mine this semester! It was definitely a challenge every minute, but it taught me so much in just a short 4 months. I learned how to work with various individuals on a large project with a wonderful outcome.
Discussion
As Kim (2022) describes in the Commission on Public Relations Education’s Spotlight Report, “online education should prepare students to develop their digital presence by providing opportunities to learn about, practice, and reflect on digital interaction” (p. 11). Since COVID-19, the professional world–including education–has seen a rise in the use of different modalities to collaborate with workgroups. Although the project described in this case study was a remote collaboration that only partially took place online, the lessons learned from this inter-institutional project show that this approach makes it possible for instructors to expose students to the “ways that remote and hybrid workplaces practice presence across teams and between managers and their teams” (Kim, 2022, p. 9).
The students’ experiences are consistent with previous research on the benefits of service-learning and inter-institutional collaborations as “mirroring the type of work PR professionals regularly perform” (Smallwood & Brunner, 2017, p. 450) and providing mutual benefit to the students and client (Maresh-Fuehrer, 2015); however, the added component of remote collaboration resulted in several added benefits. Students were suddenly thrust into an environment where communication deficiencies were realized. They had to learn to adapt to cultural uncertainty, differing skills and communication expectations, and challenges posed by geographic distance and their own insecurities. As Berger and Calabrese (1975) explain, people feel uncertainty about others that they do not know. Given the nature of the collaboration, students anticipated future interaction with one another, so their interest in reducing uncertainty was high. Unfortunately, the brief overlap between the two classes provided only limited opportunities for verbal and nonverbal warmth and self-disclosure among students. Additionally, moments of conflict–such as in the cases of the frustrated GroupMe messages or late assignment submissions–may have led to uncertainty remaining high, despite the collaborative environment. This challenge is important to overcome because a sense of closeness results in higher contributions from students (Gilmore & Warren, 2007).
Another advantage of the collaboration was the numerous teaching moments the instructors were able to have with students to help them navigate challenges, as described in the Results section. This corresponds with the CPRE’s recommendation to incorporate “topics such as leading a Zoom presentation, nonverbal communication through technology, and other elements that hold the potential to elevate or inhibit their future success” into online instruction (Kim, 2022, p. 11). This seems especially important as the instructors observed that, although both classes were mostly comprised of “digital natives” (Prensky, 2001), it became clear that students did not understand how professional technology use differs from personal use. Overcoming this issue is necessary, as “students’ efficacy with the technologies…may lead to…positive attitudes and performance expectations when using such technologies in future on-the-job environments” (O’Malley & Kelleher, 2002, p. 183).
In many cases, diversity in skill sets were an asset in helping students avoid groupthink, which occurs when a homogenous group of people allow the desire for harmony in the group to result in poor decision-making (Janis, 1997). The instructors observed students gaining insight into their strengths that required them to recognize how they operate within a team (e.g., do they take on a leadership role or do they hold back their questions or concerns? Do they criticize others’ work, or do they help improve the end product?). Students arrived at these realizations by being asked to regularly reflect on their experiences throughout the class and during the instructors’ one-on-one or team conversations with them when concerns arose. These discoveries helped students understand how to be more effective team players and work through disagreements and miscommunication, regardless of the geolocation of their team members. More research is needed on the benefits and pitfalls associated with learning in remote inter-institutional service-learning activities, especially when students have varying levels of competency.
Another significant contribution of this project is the experience and benefits afforded to students while requiring few additional resources beyond what is normally required to manage a classroom. While O’Malley and Kelleher (2002) remarked that “the extra resources required to coordinate two distant university classes did not seem worthwhile…” (p. 183), the instructors of the CMP project did not arrive at the same conclusion. The primary resource required to formulate and run this class was time. The instructors developed their own syllabi to reflect university-specific language and classroom conduct expectations but collaborated on the development of each assignment, rubric, and grading structure, and determining audio and video technology requirements to sync classrooms. Each instructor also prepared lectures for joint classroom instruction, and the instructors graded some of the projects together to ensure consistency in evaluation. When student concerns arose, the instructors took time to turn them into teaching moments, but these lessons did not exceed what would normally occur as part of classroom management.
Recommendations for Future Applications
The areas where students struggled present opportunities to improve the design of a PR curriculum focused on providing students with real-world experiences. Based on their shared experience, the instructors offer the following recommendations for future applications of inter-institutional service-learning projects.
Schedule Time for Team Building. As evidenced by the exemplars provided in the Results section, students struggled with aspects of intercultural communication which, at times, contributed to a feeling of hostility among students. The intense course schedule necessary to cover the material allowed little room for team building exercises. The instructors agree with the need to integrate team-building exercises into the curriculum to build trust, develop team identity and promote information exchange to help improve virtual team dynamics (Jarvenpaa et al., 1998). Students would also benefit from a discussion of the similarities and differences among the institutions and student skill sets, as well as more specifications for assigning roles and deadlines and streamlining communication when working in groups.
Discuss Professional Technology Use. Collaboration, especially in a virtual environment, requires guidance and some level of oversight by instructors. Initially, the instructors believed setting communication parameters, such as establishing a GroupMe text channel, offered sufficient room for students to successfully connect. However, instructors quickly found that students would have benefited from more information about what constitutes professional communication in mediated platforms. Additionally, students’ lack of comfort seeing themselves on Zoom also supports the notion of teaching them how to use technology. This finding is especially salient, as the CPRE report discusses the need to help students learn “how to do direct engagement with groups in virtual settings, how to leverage software…for successful group projects, and what effective Zoom engagement looks like in various professional settings” (Kim, 2022, p. 9).
Balance Class Sizes. Furthermore, the instructors would recommend considering comparable class sizes as a factor in selecting a cross-collaboration partner. A lack of balance in class size resulted in lopsided group representation. The natural in-person collaboration that occurred among students in the larger class meant the students in the smaller class often reported feeling out-of-sync with their teams. According to O’Leary and Cummings (2007), it is common for geographically dispersed teams to experience unequal distribution across locations. As the National Research Council (2015) explains, this results in a phenomenon called the “hub and spoke model,” where the “culture and communication style of the headquarters typically dominate, and the group members at remote locations may experience lower status and less power, while their needs and progress are invisible to others” (p. 154-155). In this case, the larger class seemed to be perceived as the main class or a centralized “hub,” where the smaller class’ students felt as though they were just the “spokes” feeding into the larger hub, though this was not the case.
Course Extensions.By fine-tuning aspects of communication and balancing the size of teams, an international inter-institutional course is possible. Such a course would enhance students’ exposure to different cultures, ethnicities, communication nuances, social norms and technologies in a way that extends what they are able to experience working with students in another region of the same country. According to Molleda (2009), gaining a broad understanding of the global economy and standards of communication practices in various regions of the world is increasingly important. This data is confirmed by the career readiness competencies outlined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) in its job outlook report: career & self development, communication, critical thinking, equity & inclusion, leadership, professionalism, teamwork and technology (NACE, 2021).
In sum, while data exists illustrating the benefits of service-learning, little information exists about the value of experiential learning in a remote inter-institutional environment. With globalization and the ability to telework expanding, it is imperative for students to learn how to work collaboratively and virtually and with people who are different from them (Kim, 2022; NACE, 2021). With structured facilitation of such projects, remote inter-institutional collaborations are a highly effective method for honing the interpersonal and technological skills required in today’s workforce.
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To cite this article: Maresh-Fuehrer, M., and Baum, M. (2023). Inter-Institutional Service-Learning Collaborations in a Remote Environment: A Case Study. Journal of Public Relations Education, 9(1), 147-165. https://journalofpreducation.com/?p=3564
Editorial Record: This article was originally submitted as an AEJMC Public Relations Division GIFTs paper, with a February 25, 2022 deadline. Top papers were submitted to JPRE June 2022, and accepted for publication at that time. Published November 2022.
Authors
Kalah Kemp Associate Professor Communication Arts College of the Ozarks Point Lookout, Missouri. Email: kkemp@cofo.edu
Colleen Palmer Assistant Professor Communications and Digital Media Carthage College Kenosha, Wisconsin Email: cpalmer5@carthage.edu
Crisis communication is a fast-growing field in industry and scholarship. This teaching brief incorporates Benoit’s image repair and Coombs’s Situational Crisis Communication Theory. Two crisis case studies are presented to two different public relations classes by two different professors at two different institutions. The first case study is presented toward the beginning of the semester, and the second case study is presented at the end of the semester, after students have learned theory and strategy. Once the crisis is presented in each class, students have 45 minutes to develop a news release, a 60-90 second spokesperson video, and a social media post in response to the crisis, as a simulation of what would occur at an organization facing a crisis. Then, the responses from the colleges are shared with one another, providing an opportunity for competition, critique, and objective feedback.
Keywords: Image repair theory, situational crisis communication theory, crisis communication
Brian Solis (2013) tweeted, “we live in a time where brands are people and people are brands.” Reputation management, including crisis management, is an ongoing process as crises are expected and often unpredictable (Coombs, 2014). Due to this, as educators it is our responsibility to prepare students to maintain brands with strategic, theory-grounded responses to crises of all types within various organizations. This simulation involves two crisis case studies that actually occurred being presented to two separate public relations classes by two different professors at two different institutions. The cases should represent differing crisis typologies and affect one nonprofit organization and one for-profit organization. This way, students gain experience responding to unique crises on behalf of various organizations.
Once the case study is presented, each class uses the remaining class time, about 45 minutes, to complete a news release, a 60-90 second spokesperson video, and a social media post in response to the crisis. Competing with another institution incentivizes students to present their best work and encourages peer feedback, which studies show enhances educational relationships, fosters deeper learning, and develops students’ critical thinking skills. The professors together decide which class’s response might be more effective for each crisis to declare a winning team. Additionally, the Spider Web pedagogical method challenges students to collaborate with one another. This discussion method involves students sitting in a circle to problem solve within a group, while the instructor sits outside of the circle and records the discussion pattern, which often takes on the appearance of a spiderweb (Wiggins, 2010). Additionally, the instructor notes the nature and significance of students’ conversational contributions. Students become less concerned about interacting with the instructor to seek approval and more focused on working together to problem solve with this method. We also found that students are better able to criticize the work of their peers with whom they have no personal connection than peers in the same class. Therefore, this teaching brief explains the process of the crisis exchange program, student learning goals, theories foundational to this project, and ways in which to assess the student learning goals.
Step 1: Selecting the case studies
To ensure the crisis exchange program best meets the student learning goals, selecting appropriate crises for analysis is paramount. The first case study is presented to students toward the beginning of the semester, before they have learned the value of a crisis management plan, crisis communication theory, or strategy. As such, we select a simple, straight-forward case study involving a human error made by a nonprofit organization. We present this case study to each of our classes on the same day, so the sharing of responses and feedback is timely. Students feel the pressure of time that would exist in such a scenario. They first discuss their possible responses amongst the class and then quickly divide into smaller teams—one to write a news release, one to write a social media post, and one to record a 60-90 second video response. Students must email the professor their responses so they may be shared with the other professor after class.
The second case study (Appendix A) is presented to students toward the end of the semester, after students have learned how to develop a crisis management plan, crisis communication theory and strategy. We select a challenging case study that is difficult to classify. This incident occurs at a for-profit organization, and students take their time to strategize before breaking into smaller teams to develop the response. Students are encouraged to serve on a different team (video, news release, or social media post) than they selected in the first case study so they may gain practice with a second response type. Toward the end of class, students compare their news release, video response, and social media post for accuracy and consistency. While the students discuss the crisis, we record the discussion using the Spider Web model. We use this record to provide detailed feedback on the contributions of each crisis communication team member (students).
Step 2: Critiquing the responses
Once the responses are collected and shared with the other professor, the next class meeting is used to critique the crisis responses. During the first crisis case study, students are often distracted by outfits worn by the other team or unique contextual features shown in the video. However, they also enjoy critiquing other students’ work and uncovering important conclusions. These conclusions are summarized and shared with each of the two classes. We then show students how the organization responded, which helps them to critique their own work.
After the second case study, students are eager to show their best work to another class and professor, and eager to strategically critique the other team. Students apply theory, strategy, and textbook language to identify areas of concern from rhetoric to video details and even social media contextual factors. Similar to the first case study, students are then exposed to the way in which the organization responded to the crisis, which again helps them to critique their own work more thoroughly.
Step 3: Personal reflection
After these class meetings, students complete a self-evaluation form (Appendix C) questioning their individual contributions and teamwork throughout the crisis response and critique process. Feedback is given to the students based on the record of spider web discussions. We record how students interacted and the nature of their contributions to the conversations. The self-evaluation form also challenges students to summarize what they learn through the crisis exchange program. This final step is especially important as they articulate the challenge of crisis response, the quality of their responses or critiques, or even lessons learned about teamwork.
Student Learning Goals
To best implement the crisis exchange program, student learning goals must be considered. This teaching brief is designed to meet four student learning goals. First, students will synthesize and evaluate a complex crisis scenario. Presenting students with two different crises at two types of organizations challenges them to incorporate textbook concepts with examples from the professional world.
Secondly, students will exhibit an understanding of professional strategies used in crisis communication. Since students work to develop a crisis response, they demonstrate their writing, video, and social media prowess. Thirdly, students will apply crisis theories and strategies in a simulated activity. For the second case study, we provided students with a worksheet outlining Coombs’s Situational Crisis Communication Theory and Benoit’s Image Repair Theory. This way, they use the language of theory to best articulate the crisis and ensure the responses fit the crisis typology and attribution level.
Finally, students will collaborate to develop a professional crisis response and provide critical feedback to students at another institution. Through the critique of their own work, work from another college, messages from the organization, and self-evaluation, students work together to critically analyze professional crisis responses.
Connection to public relations practice and theory
The crisis exchange program is underpinned by Benoit’s Image Repair (1997) and Coombs’s (2014) Situational Crisis Communication (SCCT) theories. Heider’s Attribution Theory is briefly discussed, but only within the context of SCCT. Regarding SCCT, Coombs asserts that to best respond to a crisis, the crisis type, history of the crisis, and the reputation of an organization must be considered. Once these elements of Coombs’s SCCT are discussed, the classes are required to consider Benoit’s Image Repair postures to develop their response content and tone. During the critique process, students are challenged to uncover the image repair strategy used by the other class and the organization. They also revisit their own crisis response to discern whether their posture is the best strategy for clear and effective crisis communication.
Evidence of learning assessment
At the core of designing the crisis exchange program is student learning goals and ways in which we may evidence their learning. The student learning assessment for this project is four-fold. First, pertaining to students evaluating a complex crisis, the professors employ the Spider Web discussion model, as described by Alexis Wiggins (2010), to document students’ contributions to discussions. Students may use the textbook and crisis response strategy worksheet (See Appendix B) to guide their conversational input.
Next, students’ understanding of professional crisis strategies is assessed through students’ completing a reflective self-evaluation and nature of contributions made to the Spider Web discussion. Students’ abilities to apply crisis communication theories is assessed by evaluating the news release, social media post, and video response of the other class to analyze their response and provide feedback to those students. Feedback from the Spider Web discussion is also considered.
Finally, students are required to develop a crisis response and provide a critique of a crisis response. This goal is assessed through the self-evaluation and level of critical analysis made about both college classes and the organization’s responses to the crises. Not only is this program engaging for students, but they learn and apply crisis communication theory to simulated crises.
To cite this article: Kemp, K. and Palmer, C. (2022). Crisis exchange program. Journal of Public Relations Education, 8(3), 89-100. https://aejmc.us/jpre/?p=3227
Editorial Record: Original draft submitted April 12, 2021. Revisions submitted July 22, 2021. Accepted August 17, 2021. Published March 2022.
Author
Nia Johnson, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Communication and Media Howard College of Arts and Sciences Samford University Birmingham, AL Email: vjohnson@samford.edu
Abstract
This project allows students to take an important chapter from the course text and apply it to a real-world situation: they create and respond to a hypothetical crisis, based on the information discussed in class and in the text. In doing so, they utilize information literacy, critical thinking, and other analytical skills. Learning objectives, steps and procedures, and assessment information are discussed.
Textbooks and case studies can only take students so far in mass communication curricula; the best learning involves experience and application. This may be especially the case for public relations education. While traditional textbook knowledge is important, particularly for beginning PR students, helping those students see the information played out in reality is a great way to ensure actual learning has taken place, rather than simple exposure or memorization. Kolb’s (1984) work on Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) posits that learning is a process where knowledge is acquired by experiences. According to this theory, knowledge obtained from successful experiential learning is cyclical, “where the learner ‘touches all the bases’—experiencing, reflecting, thinking, and acting—in a recursive process that is responsive to the learning situation and what is being learned” (Kolb & Kolb, 2005, p. 194). Nilson (2016) also provides researched-based findings to help understand how students learn best, and suggests that true learning can be achieved by “thinking about the meaning of the new knowledge and connecting it to what [students] already know; …interaction with others; …actively engag[ing] in an activity; …receiv[ing] the new material multiple times but in different ways; …[and] making and correcting mistakes [rather than] being correct in the first place” (Nilson 2016, pp. 4-5).
One subject area that fits naturally with experiential learning methods is crisis management, which is an important part of the overall public relations curriculum. Well-known crisis management researcher and theorist Timothy Coombs (2001) stated that:
“crisis management moves the public relations role to the managerial function and requires the development of many skills and knowledge points… the need for crisis management in practice increases each year as the technology and stakeholders continue to create new crises and pressure how organizations should respond to crises.” (p.89)
The internationally recognized accreditation program for public relations practitioners, Accreditation in Public Relations (APR), stresses crisis and issues management as 15% of the knowledge, skills, and abilities tested as part of the examination process (Universal Accreditation Board, 2021). Further, after in-depth interviews with 29 advertising and public relations agency leaders, Neill and Schauster (2015) reported that the necessity of crisis and issues management skills for undergraduates was emphasized 70 different times by 25 of the participants.
The activity described here was designed to foster the learning of crisis management and communication by utilizing an experiential learning method that helps students engage in their own learning, interact with others, and actively, critically think about the material. This project allows students to take an important chapter from the course text and apply it to a real-world situation: they create and respond to a hypothetical crisis, based on the information discussed in class and in the text. In doing so, they utilize information literacy, critical thinking, and other analytical skills.
This project is designed as the second of two main assignments for an introductory public relations class. The first assignment involves cold-calling and interviewing a public relations practitioner who has been in the industry a minimum of five years, and writing and presenting a report about the information learned in that interview. That assignment helps students to understand clearly what public relations is and that a practitioner needs to be knowledgeable of and skillful in an array of areas. Typically, the students in the class are sophomores or juniors who will be starting their PR practicum sequence in the next academic year. This class is their first introduction to the profession, but this assignment takes place in the second half of the semester after learning and being initially assessed on the material needed to complete the assignment.
Learning Objectives
This activity enables students to demonstrate knowledge and application of every step in the crisis management lifecycle, as discussed in class and in the assigned text: chapter 10 of Wilcox et al.’s (2015) Public Relations: Strategies & Tactics. Wilcox et al.’s (2015) approach to crisis management involves a lifecycle, where a potential crisis is first identified in the proactive stage, developing crises are planned for in the strategic phase, full-blown crises are responded to in the reactive stage, and reputation damage is assessed and addressed in the recovery stage. The reactive and recovery stages also include applying Benoit’s (1995) image restoration strategies.
Students are able to master this new-to-them material through an assignment that caters to a variety of learning styles and applies multiple categories of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (Bloom, et al., 1956). Therefore, this activity is designed to achieve six learning objectives (LO):
Explain the role public relations plays in responding to a crisis.
Explain the four phases of the conflict management life cycle.
Identify and research issues facing an organization that require attention or that could lead to a crisis situation.
Identify important steps to deal with a crisis as it occurs.
Design a crisis communication response plan.
Present your plan and defend your decisions.
The activity: Steps and Procedures
The students are first divided into groups of roughly equal numbers. The instructor should be the one to assign students to groups, making sure each group contains students of mixed-ability and is as diverse as possible. Each group is instructed to choose a company or organization that most group members are already perfunctorily familiar with, and pretend that they are the public relations department for that organization. As the PR department for their chosen company, each group is tasked with crisis response: they are to anticipate any issues that might turn into crises for their organization and be prepared to respond to crises that occur. Together, each group is to:
Choose an organization to “work” for and research that chosen company.
Analyze the company’s current situation, based on the research collected. This involves writing a basic situation analysis, including an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT).
Scan the environment of the company and industry to identify potential issues that could develop into crises for the organization.
Choose one of the issues identified, and envision how that issue could develop into a crisis that could plausibly impact the organization. This step involves designing and describing a particular crisis in detail.
Develop a specific crisis communication plan to respond to the designed crisis.
Present the research, designed crisis, and crisis response plan to the class.
With this activity, students are able to “produce new or original work,” the pinnacle of Bloom’s taxonomy, but it also requires them to work their way through each of the proceeding categories (Bloom, et al., 1956). In addition, the collaborative effort of the group work component contributes to the educational process. “The research on the effects of group learning has focused on several variables—achievement/productivity (learning), positive attitudes and ethics, the quality of interpersonal relationships, and psychological health—and group work enhances all of them for students at all educational levels and of all backgrounds” (Nilson, 2016, p. 180).
Assessment
Students are instructed that this project will result in a 5-10-page paper that should include the information described below, which also serves as the grading rubric for the paper. Each section of the paper corresponds to one of the stages in the crisis management lifecycle as presented in the assigned text (Wilcox et al., 2015). In addition, each group will also present their research, designed crisis and crisis response plan. The presentations should be 10 minutes, involve every member of the group, and include a visual aid. An additional 30-point value is added to the final paper grade for the presentation.
Company information and background (10%):
At a minimum, this section should answer: What is the company; what do they do; what services or products do they provide; how many employees and locations do they have? Have they ever faced any major crises? If so, what was their response or the result? This section should also include a SWOT analysis and any other background information deemed relevant.
Environmental scan (Proactive Phase; 10%):
Identify emerging trends, concerns, or issues—both within the organization, within the larger industry, or within society—likely to affect the organization in the next few years. Predict problems and anticipate threats to the company. This involves the reading, listening, and watching of current affairs with an eye to the organization’s interests. Identify and describe at least five issues with the most potential to develop into crises for the organization. Why were those issues selected? What makes them the most likely to cause a crisis?
Crisis (15%):
Choose one of the issues identified in the environmental scan to develop into a full-blown crisis. Consider all possible factors about that crisis. Every detail about it is up to the group to design: What is it? Where did it start? Who does it involve? What level of blame could be accurately placed upon the company? How long does the crisis last? Does the media make the crisis public before the company is able to? etc.
Crisis Response Plan (Strategic and Reactive Phases; 25%):
Design the crisis management and communication plan for the crisis described in the previous section. At a minimum, this section should answer: What are the main messages? Who are the spokespeople and what employees will be made available for comment? What/where is the media headquarters? What main crisis response strategy and image restoration strategy should be employed (denial, excuse, justification, etc.)? Explain the reasoning behind every decision (why were those choices made regarding messages, strategy, spokespeople, etc.).
Conclusion (Recovery Phase; 10%):
What is the final result? What is the anticipated result if the company followed the crisis response plan exactly as designed? What next steps should be taken once the crisis is over?
Evidence of Student Learning
Working with a group to identify issues, create a crisis and respond to that crisis provides a cooperative learning experience, similar to the “think, share, pair” method that Nilson (2016) has found to be a particularly effective learning style. It also helps ensure that students have not simply learned the material in a way that allows them to just answer a question, but to reason with the material and fully apply it to real life scenarios. All of this is enabling the students to move through Bloom’s Taxonomy in a demonstrable way.
In practice, I’ve found that students tend to split up the major sections of this paper and work independently on those sections. Most of the collaboration happens in the beginning, while choosing the company and the design of and response to the crisis, and at the end, in planning the presentation. Allowing some class time for work on this project allows me to monitor each individual’s contribution to the project and the overall group dynamic, answer any major questions groups may encounter, and ensure each group completes the assignment correctly.
Linked below are examples of papers that were submitted during the spring 2021 semester, based on the assignment instructions. Please note that these examples have been linked in their originally-submitted form, without any comments or grading information, and are shared with student permission.
During the spring 2021 semester, I administered a volunteer survey to gauge reactions to this project. One-third of the students in this class participated in the research and answered questions about their experience with this project using a Likert-type scale. The questions and their responses are presented in table 1. While this represents an extremely small sample, it does provide some indication of students’ perspectives of this project. Overall, during this semester, the students who responded enjoyed the project, did not find it too easy or overly difficult, self-reported gaining a better understanding of the material, and overwhelmingly understood the instructions and assignment expectations. Unsurprisingly, the group work aspect of the assignment drew mixed reviews.
An additional, open-ended question regarding the group dynamic was also included, which allowed students the opportunity to relay any serious concerns about their groups or particular individuals. I also regularly encourage students to inform me if there is major group discord or work disparity, so those issues can be assuaged before the project is due.
Conclusion
Crisis management abilities are necessary for success in public relations practice, and experiential learning techniques, such as the project described above, can help students thoroughly learn this important topic. By being introduced to this information early in their academic careers in a way that helps foster real learning through engagement and critical thinking, students can become proficient in this subject, leading to greater success in senior-level classrooms and, eventually, in the workforce.
References
Benoit, W. L. (1995). Apologies, excuses, and accounts: A theory of image restoration strategies. State University of New York Press.
Bloom, B. S., Engelhart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H., & Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. David McKay Company.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2005). Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing experiential learning in higher education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(2), 193-212. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40214287
Neill, M. S., & Schauster, E. (2015). Gaps in advertising and public relations education:
To cite this article: Johnson, N. & (2022). Crisis Response Plan Group Project. Journal of Public Relations Education, 8(1), 144-153. https://aejmc.us/jpre/?p=2881
Editorial Record: Submitted September 14, 2020. Revised April 2, 2021. Accepted June 7, 2021. Published March 2022.
Author
Michelle Groover, Ph.D. Senior Lecturer, Public Relations Department of Communication Arts Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA Email: mgroover@georgiasouthern.edu
Abstract
The in-class activity explores how Princess Diana’s death turned into a crisis for the British monarchy. The movie, which is interspersed with actual footage, explores how the monarchy responded following the death of Princess Diana. After watching the film The Queen the class discusses aspects of the crisis, response strategies, and how it may have been handled differently today due to social media.
Keywords: film, social media, crisis communication
Examining a real-world crisis through the lens of a film can help students better understand how to respond to real-life public relations crisis. This activity allows student to explore whether what took place was a crisis or paracrisis, the mistakes made, the response strategies used, and what they would have done if they were in the position of the Prime Minister or the Queen. Although some students may not have been aware of Princess Diana’s life or death, they find the accident and what followed to be an interesting look into how a real-life crisis was handled.
The movie, which is set shortly after Diana’s death, is a study in crisis communication and how to, and not to, address a crisis. Zaremba (2010) noted the film “illustrates how the newly elected Prime Minister, Tony Blair, attempted to defuse a developing crisis for the monarchy in Great Britain” (p. 113). Additionally, the inclusion of actual footage of mourners and the flowers outside Buckingham Palace can help to bridge the gap between what actually happened and Hollywood’s version of events.
Shift in response time
While still time sensitive, prior to social media an organization had the benefit of a bit more time to craft a response to a crisis. Birch (1994) wrote, “The one thing that is in short supply during crisis is time” (p. 33). Additionally, Fishman (1999) stated, “The level and extent of media coverage directly influences the degree of ‘urgency’ placed upon an organization to provide a coherent explanation or to undertake corrective action” (p. 348). Tony Blair, prime minister of the United Kingdom at the time of Diana’s death, gave a speech the morning she died where he historically called Diana “the people’s princess.” Queen Elizabeth did not make a public statement until five days after her death which caused some controversy among the people of the United Kingdom and a decline in her popularity (Kirby, 1998).
In today’s 24/7/365 world, organizations are expected to respond within the hour of a crisis, if not before. Claeys and Opgenhaffen (2016) discuss the term “golden hour” which is “the first hour after the scandal breaks” (p. 239). This “golden hour” is important as the organization can get its side of the story out before the media. The faster an organization, or in this case a monarchy, can respond to a crisis, the better for its image and reputation (Claeys & Opgenhaffen, 2016).
A crisis response must address the issue with as much transparency as possible, providing information to the key publics about what took place and how the organization will address it ( Millar & Heath, 2004). Further, “strategic actions in response to a crisis can enhance an organization’s legitimacy” (Veil et al,, 2012, p. 333). Rather than waiting for the Queen to respond, Tony Blair, the Prime Minister at the time of Diana’s accident, took action through his press conference and decision to speak to the media. Eventually, through pressure, Queen Elizabeth did provide a response to her public via a televised statement.
Connection to Practice
Incorporating an actual crisis example through a film provides students an opportunity to apply what they have learned about crises and how to address them. The film is shown at the end of the semester so that students can point out and discuss the topics discussed throughout the semester from lecture, readings, guest speakers, and other in-class discussions.
The 2020 Global Communications Report (USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations, 2020) noted COVID-19 “taught us, future-focused PR executives must be prepared to manage unexpected events and controversial issues” (p. 12). As many crises a public relations practitioner may encounter in their career are unexpected, including Princess Diana’s death, this activity allows students to understand how to be better prepared to confront these issues should they arise.
One of the benefits of this exercise is first, the students are exposed to a piece of history (although it is a film which assumes some parts of what happened behind the scenes), and are able to identify the crisis aspects. Second, the exercise allows students to explore the various crisis response strategies used (which have been discussed in class prior to watching the film) and if, in their opinion, they did or did not work. Third, it provides an opportunity for students to explore what they would have done differently in the situation, as well as how modern technology, such as social media, may have changed the course of the discussion and the crisis response strategies employed by all parties involved.
Assignment and Implementation
Toward the end of the semester, students in an upper division public relations and crisis communication course would watch the film The Queen. By showing it at the end of the semester, which takes two class periods to watch, students can apply what they understand regarding what constitutes a crisis and the various crisis response strategies. Further, students witness a “crisis in action” without the stress of having to handle it themselves.
If teaching a crisis communication class, before watching the film, the professor should cover the following topics over the course of the semester:
Definition of crisis
Difference between a crisis and paracrisis
Identifying the trigger event to a crisis
Responding to the crisis
Identifying the appropriate crisis response strategy(ies) to apply in a situation
Identifying an organization’s audience(s)
Identifying and selecting a crisis management team and spokespeople
Ethical communication prior to, during, and following a crisis
Monitoring throughout the crisis
Evaluating the situation post-crisis
Having discussed and read this information throughout the semester, students should be able to discuss how they believe the crisis addressed in the film was handled and what they would have done differently. Through written responses discussing the following questions, students can work out the best response strategy in their opinion and determine how they would go about implementing it if this were to have happened today. They are also able to demonstrate how, if at all, they understand the concepts which have been discussed throughout the semester in this application exercise. Students would need a minimum of one day to work on this assignment before submitting it to the professor for grading. It should be submitted prior to the next class meeting day following the viewing of the film to facilitate the debrief in-class discussion. The professor can then elaborate on the responses provided, which enables a more in-depth class discussion around the crisis itself and recommendations they have for crisis messaging during and after the event.
As students are watching the film, encourage them to take notes on the crisis elements they witness throughout. Once the film ends, on the second day, provide students the following discussion questions and ask them to submit their responses to them thoroughly, demonstrating their comprehension and understanding of crises and the content of the film:
Is this a crisis or a paracrisis? How did you determine this?
What was the trigger event for the crisis?
Could the crisis have been prevented?
What should have been done to prepare for this type of crisis (the death of a royal/non-royal)?
What crisis response strategies did you notice?
What did Blair and his team do well? Need to improve on?
If you were in Blair’s role, what would you have done differently/the same?
If you were the Queen, would you have waited so long to respond? Why/why not?
Do you think the people of the UK believed Queen Elizabeth and her statement? Why/why not?
Diana died in 1997 when social media did not exist; if this were to happen today how do you think this would have changed the management of the crisis and the response to it?
How would you have responded to this event if you worked on the public relations team for the Prime Minister? For Queen Elizabeth? Explain your response.
Assessment
The key learning objectives for the written assignment are to: 1) Identify the trigger event for this crisis; 2) Identify the crisis response strategies implemented in the film; 3) Discuss what the various parties did well and needed improvement regarding the crisis response; 4) Discuss how social media may have changed the crisis response by the various parties involved.
The written assignment is evaluated by the student’s ability to accomplish the following: 1) to demonstrate knowledge of the types of crisis response strategies; 2) to identify the crisis response strategies used; 3) to effectively discuss the crisis response strategies and what they would have done in the situation; and 4) to edit and proofread their response prior to submission. This assignment counts as 5% of the total grade in the course.
Conclusion
The author has observed that students seem to enjoy learning through watching and discussing this particular film. The author has also found this activity has helped students better identify the various crisis response strategies which have been discussed throughout the semester. Additionally, the students have been able to apply their public relations knowledge to this situation pulling not only from the crisis course, but from courses including social media, writing, and others. One challenge has been some students not effectively or completely answering the questions posed. One way to address this has been after grading the written assignment the professor uses the next class meeting to hold a debriefing to discuss the questions with the class. The debriefing also allows the professor to further discuss the crisis strategies and responses and lets students hear the perspectives of their classmates and continue the discussion. Finally, this debriefing permits those students who did not provide complete or effective answers to discuss their thoughts verbally.
Following the debriefing with the class, students remarked how they enjoyed the use of outside media to talk about and make clearer the topics which had been discussed in class. Others stated the group discussion allowed them to see other classmate’s point of view and build off each other when determining the course of action during and following a crisis. One student stated it was their favorite assignment as they were able to learn how to deal with a crisis on such a large scale, and how an institution like the British monarchy could recover from such a crisis.
As technology continues to change and evolve, other questions could be added to the list of discussion questions provided such as questions related to international public relations. A variation of the assignment could be having students discuss the questions in groups in class to develop a response, then with the class as a whole. These discussions could count toward in-class participation points for those who participated in the conversation.
References
Birch, J. (1994). New factors in crisis planning and response. Public Relations Quarterly, 39(1), 31-34.
Claeys, A., & Opgenhaffen, M. (2016). Why practitioners do (not) apply crisis communication theory in practice. Journal of Public Relations Research, 28(5-6), 232-247. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2016.1261703
Fishman, D. A. (1999). ValuJet flight 592: Crisis communication theory blended and extended. Communication Quarterly, 47(4), 345-375. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463379909385567
Veil, S. R., Sellnow, T. L. and Petrun, E. L. (2012). Hoaxes and the paradoxical challenges of restoring legitimacy: Dominos’ response to its YouTube crisis. Management Communication Quarterly, 26(2), 322-345.
Zaremba, A. J. (2010). Crisis communication: Theory and practice. M.E. Sharpe.
At a time when an increased amount of reputational issues pop on social media platforms, and organizations’ constituents are more willing to take them to task publicly, the window for public relations professionals between getting it right and getting it right now continues to narrow. For many professionals, this calls for a need to reset leadership and constituent expectations while rethinking their approach to issues and crisis planning and online engagement strategy, especially as the two areas continue to merge.
In the book Social Media and Crisis Communication, book editors Lucinda Austin, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Yan Jin, associate professor at the University of Georgia, take a comprehensive look at the state of crisis communications research and the implications that the rise of social media has had on the field. This book couldn’t have come at a more important time as the quick and public nature of social media allows anyone with a handle to more easily challenge organizations, causing many public relations professionals to rethink their issues and crisis response strategies and approach to online reputation management.
This is the first book that explores the nexus of social media and crisis communications research and the new challenges that have emerged. For example, Chapter 2 author Timothy Coombs notes how social media has pushed many prevention and mitigation efforts by organizations in the traditionally private pre-crisis phrase into the public eye (p. 25). This public challenge by a stakeholder, organizational faux pas, or angry customer complaint is referred to as a paracrisis. In Chapter 4, Valentini et. al. note that “social media have become the milieu in which many crises are discussed, if not formed” (p. 57).
Structure
The book covers a large body of research and is divided into themed sections, including current and emerging issues of social media and crisis communication, overviews of dominant research streams, emerging theories and frameworks, areas for special consideration, future directions, and applications in specific areas of crisis. Additionally, the editors note that the book addresses some themes throughout different chapters, including the need for more dialogic approaches to crisis communication via social media and measurement of social media engagement in crisis communication response. These recurring ideas show a consistent need for implementation in public relations strategies and potential ideas for future crisis research.
The Dialogic Approach
Because of the interactivity and user-generated nature of social media, multiple chapter authors argue that crisis communication practices need to shift away from typical stakeholder-informing communications toward a more dialogic approach. For example, Valentini et al. say that little research currently exists, but it is needed to understand organizations’ potential use of dialogic communication with stakeholders via social media. They argue that two-way dialogic communication is an important step toward establishing credibility and trust and that stakeholder interactions can also be leveraged to add third-party voices to the mix.
The book also covers the shift over the past decade from organizational approaches to audience-oriented and public-centered approaches for crisis communications, focusing on dialogic communication and stakeholder engagement. In Chapter 19, Guidry and Messner acknowledge that social media opens up two-way communication opportunities, but many organizations have been hesitant to embrace the possibilities and continue to use the platforms ineffectively as a “one-way megaphone” (p. 270).
In Chapter 9, Fraustino and Liu surmise that in crisis scholarship and, to some extent, social media crisis scholarship, a focus on an audience’s perspective is on the rise, placing an emphasis on ethical communications. They add that some gaps remain as the scholarship shifts, including the need to consider publics and outcome measures that aren’t just focused on the organization’s short- and long-term survival, but more so on the social good—the audience response during a crisis as a whole. In Chapter 5, Hung-Baesecke and Bowen add that organizations need to consider the ethics of engaging with stakeholders on social media when planning crisis strategies, including the fact that being “authentic” helps organizations in the long-run (p. 74).
Measurement of Social Media Engagement in Crisis Communication Response
Along the theme of measurable goals, Austin and Jin suggest more research is needed to continue to assess the effectiveness of crisis communications messaging, especially on different social media platforms. In Chapter 3, Goodman, for example, explained that the quality of proactive issues management (monitoring for issues, building and maintaining relationships, and implementing an effective issues-response system) is “usually a direct result of how rigorously those efforts are measured” and how specific goals are defined, especially in the “issues mapping” process (p. 65). In other words, the more you can show the value, the more support organizational leadership will have for proactive prevention. Conversely, as evidenced by Fraustino and Liu, the value to the organization should not be the only consideration. Ethically, organizations should have a concern for the effectiveness of communications on directing audiences during a crisis, to create not only a good organizational image but also to benefit the public.
Social Media Crisis Communication Models
The book explores the development of different types of crisis communications models, including Coombs’ situational crisis communications theory (SCCT), Benoit’s image-repair theory, and Cameron and colleagues’ contingency theory of strategic conflict management, in conjunction with the role of social media in crisis communications. It also explores the only social-media specific crisis communications model, Austin and Jin’s social-mediated crisis communications (SMCC) model.
The authors did a nice job of explaining these models and showing examples of putting them into practice. Austin and Jin identify the need for a focus on developing better theories and frameworks specific to communicating a crisis on social media platforms, instead of attempting to adapt the existing theories. Austin and Jin suggest this approach for future research, citing the need for “prescribing strategic solutions and recommendations for crisis managers who look for science-based insights tailored for a relatively focused and specialized crisis communication arena” (p. 450).
Visual Elements and Social Media Crisis Communication
The book also addresses the visual nature of social media, including the potential benefits of integrating images and graphics into crisis responses. In Chapter 19, Guidry and Messner show how the more visually focused platform Pinterest contributes to pro- and anti-vaccination health communications. Janoske expands on the benefits of visuals in Chapter 22, writing about how natural disaster images help the public understand and emotionally cope in recovery. She shows how social media allows members of the public to form communities when sharing emergency information and photos during a crisis and how crisis communicators can use these online visual communities to better understand the situation and inform their communications strategies for the publics they serve.
Austin and Jin conclude the book by acknowledging new areas of research opportunities, noting the fact that social media technology is so rapidly changing calls for continued research as crisis communications adjusts to developing platforms.
Recommendation
This is an excellent, informative, and well-researched book with contributions from many well-established authors in both the crisis communications and social media research fields. The book gives a comprehensive overview of the current state of research and offers suggestions for the future as these two areas continue to overlap. It thoroughly covers the emergence of crisis communications theory and its increasingly common intersection with social media, and, I would argue, will serve as a bedrock resource for the next wave of research.
The book is valuable for academics and professional practitioners alike. The variety of examples of organizations and types of crises studied in the “application” section makes it a great tool for public relations practitioners, in particular. At 461 pages, this book is expansive, but its thoughtful organization and high-level approach lend it to easily be used as a textbook for a graduate course on the topic.
Editorial Record: Submitted to AEJMC-PRD GIFT Competition by Feb. 22, 2019. A blind copy was peer reviewed by the PRD Teaching Committee, led by Chair Brigitta Brunner, and selected as a Top GIFT. First published online on August 17, 2019.
Author
Cessna C. Winslow, Tarleton State University
Rationale
Public relations instruction does not need to be limited to classroom dialogue and textbook lectures, such as discussing theory or case studies. Adding service learning to the curriculum allows students to apply a meaningful experience to their education. By combining service learning with disaster-relief work, students are able to see a direct connection to the definition of public relations and how building good relationships benefits society. This experience is even more powerful when the disaster hits close to home.
Student Learning Goals
The service-learning project contributed to the following course goals noted in the syllabus:
Understand the processes involved with crisis communication.
Understand the roles the media, relief agencies, and first responders play in crisis situations.
Understand effective communication techniques.
Employ critical-thinking skills to crisis communication.
Use teamwork skills to assist in disaster relief.
Use storytelling skills to share experiences.
Develop materials suitable for inclusion in portfolios.
Connection to Public Relations Practice and Theory
This service-learning project supports the theory that the public relations profession “involves a combination of practical experience and expertise, balanced with a solid grounding in the history of the practice and the social science that informs it” (Gleason & Violette, 2012, p. 281.) By assisting disaster survivors and meeting with community leaders who employ PR methods to address a crisis, students are able to connect history and information to application. The requirement that students produce a publishable artifact provides tangible evidence of their ability to create a product used in the practice of public relations.
Evidence of Student Learning Outcomes
Students write a reflection paper and produce a publishable artifact that shares highlights from their service learning experience. The artifact projects are presented at a showcase and reception open to the university community, public, and local media. The media reported on the service-learning experience both years, thus helping the students see how positive public relations efforts can enhance goodwill. Additionally, the 2018 team was featured in the university magazine and presented at the President’s State of the University address. In his showcase presentation, one student summarized it well:
For me, the trip was absolutely life changing. It gave me a new perspective on how I should appreciate things I previously took for granted: Electricity, fresh water, sewage, and shelter to name a few. Listening to the mayor and the survivors’ stories shows me just how amazing humanity can be when we come together to help those in need.
Sample projects students have presented (shared with permission):
Fink, S. (2013). Crisis communications: The definitive guide to managing the message. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Gleason, J., & Violette, J. (2012). Integrating service learning into public relations coursework: Applications, implications, challenges, and rewards. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education,24(2), 280-285. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ996274.pdf
APPENDIX A
Description and Assessment
As part of a hybrid crisis communication course, a team of students and faculty members spent their spring break in Rockport, Texas, assisting in the ongoing rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Harvey. During the day the team partnered with a disaster-relief agency to help rebuild homes. In the evening, they met with survivors, community leaders, first responders, and disaster-relief workers and learned about their experiences. Leading up to the service-learning project, students studied crisis communication strategies and public relations theory and practices. After they returned, they shared what they learned from serving in a disaster region and applied it to the class discussions, readings, and projects. When the idea for a course on crisis communication was being developed, Hurricane Harvey had hit the Texas Coast—not far from where some of the students call home. This course (specifically the service-learning project) has created a positive response to a tragedy while enhancing the learning environment.
Prior to the Service-Learning Experience
For the first seven weeks of the semester, the class met face-to-face once a week. During that time, students read and discussed Crisis Communication: The Definitive Guide to Managing the Message, which served as the course textbook. They also assessed case studies on public relations strategies and participated in team-building activities and assignments. This grounding helped prepare them for the disaster-relief service-learning experience.
Over spring break, the class traveled to Rockport, Texas, where we helped survivors of Hurricane Harvey clean up and fix their homes. For this, we partnered with Samaritan’s Purse—a relief agency that assists with rebuilding efforts following natural disasters. Samaritan’s Purse has a volunteer application process that takes four to six months to complete, so the paperwork had to be started the September prior to spring break.
During the Service-Learning Experience
After volunteer teams are approved and assigned a site to work, Samaritan’s Purse provides meals, lodging, construction materials, resources, training, and supervision. The students’ cost for the week-long service-learning project was minimal, as volunteers are only responsible for transportation and personal necessities. The fact that students can spend spring break doing something productive and educational without spending a lot of money adds to the popularity of this course and the appeal of the service-learning project.
While volunteering, the team painted, caulked, landscaped, and removed and installed doors, windows, siding, drywall, cabinets, and countertops for residents whose homes were being rebuilt by Samaritan’s Purse. When we returned from the worksites, we had dinner with the Samaritan’s Purse staff and fellow volunteers. After showering and eating, the students were encouraged to tour the area and visit with residents, business owners, and others affected by the hurricane to find content for their showcase project and reflection paper assignments. Additionally, while in Rockport, we had the privilege of visiting with local mayors, first responders, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Long-Term Recovery Team. Not only did the students learn from these meetings, but the meetings also allowed the speakers to personally express their gratitude for the volunteers who helped rebuild their community—a PR gesture that was not lost on the students.
Post Service-Learning Experience
After the students returned, they met online discussing what they learned while working on their reflection paper and project. At the end of the semester, they presented their projects at a showcase where they were evaluated by outside professionals. The students have used photography, video, and essays to share their experiences. They are free to choose the medium and topic, but their projects must be approved before the showcase. Projects have focused on survivors, businesses, pets, and the service-learning experience, along with the role disaster-relief agencies play in the recovery efforts and the ongoing need for volunteers.
Assessment
Participation in the service-learning experience accounts for 30% of the course grade. The reflection paper and showcase project count for 20% each. Other assignments and an exam make up the remaining 30%.
APPENDIX B
Assignment Examples
Pre-Trip Example
For this assignment you are to find two news stories about recent hurricanes or another natural disaster. For each article, provide the link, briefly summarize it, and reflect on it. Is it enlightening? Does it provide adequate information? Does this story benefit survivors? Is there any PR value? Post each article as a separate discussion so that you have two entries.
Post-Trip Example
For this discussion you are to share what you are doing for your showcase project. Make sure you include the following information in your post:
What you are doing. Is it a solo or partnered effort?
Why you chose that project.
Project status.
Any assistance or guidance you need from me.
What technology or display items will you need to present your project?
APPENDIX C
Service-Learning Experience Grading Rubric
_____/10 You showed up!
You get points for being there!
_____/20 You worked hard!
Did you put your heart and soul into the work? Did you whine? Did you go above and beyond?
_____/10 You’re a team player!
This score assesses your ability to follow directions and work as a team.
_____/10 Your engagement showed!
This score assesses how well you engaged guest speakers and sought information for your project.
Additional Comments
____/50
APPENDIX D
Reflection Paper Instructions and Prompts
Reflection Paper Instructions
You are to reflect on the service learning experience and summarize/share your experiences. This paper needs to be reflective and worthy of inclusion in your portfolio.
Please respect the following directions:
Use the Reflection Paper Prompts document as your writing guide.
Upon completing all of the required elements, provide a word count at the bottom of your paper.
Since this should be a portfolio artifact, you need to have it reviewed by the Writing Center. Please plan accordingly to allow time for that requirement.
Follow the syllabus guidelines regarding font and spacing requirements. Attached is the grading rubric to help you assess your work.
Make this a valuable experience and find joy in reflecting. I look forward to reading these and learning from your reflections.
Reflection Paper Prompts
For your Applied Learning Experience reflection paper, address and respond to each of the areas noted below. Please label each section of your paper accordingly.
OVERVIEW
Your name
Description and dates of your service-learning experience
Rationale for choosing your service-learning experience
SECTION 1 – Application of College Courses
What skills did you learn in this course and/or other college courses that helped you on this learning experience?
In 3-4 paragraphs be descriptive as you analyze the knowledge and skills you acquired in your college courses that you utilized in this experience.
SECTION 2 – Student Involvement and Life Experience Skills
What skills did you learn in your student organizations or other college employment that helped you with this service learning experience?
In 1-2 paragraphs be descriptive as you analyze the essential knowledge and skills acquired in experiences outside the classroom that were utilized in this experience. Provide specific examples.
SECTION 3 – Global Awareness
Share how this service-learning experience impacted your view of cultures and society.
In 1-2 paragraphs analyze and describe how this experience enhanced your awareness of the diverse world and society around you.
SECTION 4 – Implications
Share how this service-learning experience impacted your view of crisis communications and disaster relief efforts.
In 2-4 paragraphs be descriptive as you analyze the impact this service-learning project had on understanding of public relations and the role disaster relief agencies play in assisting disaster victims.
SECTION 5 – Putting It All Together
Drawing on your responses to the above prompts, share your service-learning experience story.
This section needs to be 5-10 paragraphs and demonstrate reflection and application.
APPENDIX E
Showcase Project Grading Rubric and Examples
Showcase Project Grading Rubric
_____/30 Content
This score assesses the depth of your project and presentation. Do you demonstrate passion and interest in your project?
_____/30 Clarity and Professional
This score assesses the clarity of your project and your presentation professionalism. Can we understand your objective? Are you professional?
_____/30 Creative and Interesting
This score assesses your creativity and presentation skills. Is it creative? Interesting?
_____/10 Proofing skills
This score assesses your grammar and how well you proofed your presentation.
