Informasjon og Samfunnskontakt

Stakeholders
Issues

Management
Environmental Scanning
21 February 2001
Peggy Simcic Brnn

EXTERNAL
LINKAGES OF
AN
ORGANIZATION

Stockholders
Government
Regulators
Boards of Director
Community
Leaders
ENABLING
INPUT Employees

Associations
Unions
NORMATIVE
Political
FUNCTIONAL Suppliers
Organization
LINKAGES
Groups
LINKAGES
Professional
Consumers
Societies
OUTPUT
Industrial
DIFFUSED
Purchasers
Environmentalists
Users of Service
Community Residents
Voters
Media
Minorities
Women
Other Publics

Four Key Linkages

Enabling Linkages
Functional Linkages

Input

linkages
Output linkages

Normative Linkages
Diffused Linkages

Peggy Simcic Brnn

Enabling Linkage

Organization could not exist without this

linkage
Authorities
Shareholders
Legal

System

Peggy Simcic Brnn

Functional Linkage
Linkage that give input and take output
Input Linkage

Employees
Unions
Suppliers

Output Linkages
Customers
Other

organizations
Individual consumers

Normative Linkage

Organizations that have common

problems or similar values
Membership

organizations
Professional groups
Associations

Peggy Simcic Brnn

Diffused Linkage

Elements in society that are not clearly

identified as a formal member of
organization
Environmentalists
Community

Residents

Media
Other

Publics
Peggy Simcic Brnn

Identifying Organizations
Linkages to Stakeholders

Who are organizations stakeholders?

No

general group, but identified by common problem

Vary from case to case
Dependent on what organization does and how other
individuals and organizations react to organizations
behavior

Key: What consequences of organizations

activities will have on its stakeholders and how
do these consequences affect each other?

Job of PR
Decide how activities link to others -individuals or organizations
Find groups, define exact nature of
opportunity/problem and select PR
solution

Peggy Simcic Brnn

Degree of Involvement
High
Type of Public
Problem-facing behavior
high understanding of problem
low constraint
Constrained behavior
high understanding of problem
high constraint
Routine behavior
low problem understanding
constraint recognition
Fatalistic behavior
low problem understanding
high constraint

Low
Type of Public

Active

Aware/Active

Aware/Active

Latent/Active

Active
(Reinforcing)

None/Latent

Latent

None

Uncovering Key Publics

Purpose:
To identify those individuals or
organizations that will be
affected by the decision or
solution arrived at by the group
and who have the power to
prevent its implementation.
Reference:
Stakeholders of the Organizational Mind, I.I.
Mitroff

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Issues Management

Peggy Simcic Brnn

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BUSINESS FIRM AS AN
ECONOMIC INSTITUTION
Little acknowledgement of external
environment
Produce goods
Provide employment
Pay dividends
Success measured in economic terms

Peggy Simcic Brnn

13

BUSINESS AS SOCIO-POLITICAL
INSTITUTION

1960s - economic growth producing

detrimental side effects

Emphasis on protecting human health,

not environment per se

Peggy Simcic Brnn

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RISE OF PUBLIC ISSUES

Public demand collective action and

there is disagreement on solution
civil

rights
feminist movement
consumer movement
ecology movement

Peggy Simcic Brnn

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Corporate Response to Public Issues

Reactive - Fight Change
Accommodative - Adapt to Change
Proactive - Influence Change
Interactive - Adjust to and Influence
Change

Peggy Simcic Brnn

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ISSUES MANAGEMENT

Coined in 1977
New Type of Corporate Communications
Response to Increasing Criticism of Big Business
Method of Monitoring the Environment
Managing New Challenges and Change
Mid-1970s, Issues Became Strategic Issues
Organizations Became Proactive

Peggy Simcic Brnn

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Location of IM Programs

Public/Government Affairs

Corporate Planning

Corporate Communications

Issues Management
Peggy Simcic Brnn

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Broad Categories of Issues

Financial

Operational

Employee Relations/Conditions

Communications/Customer Relations

Community Relations
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Four Types of Issues

Type

Universal issues: have serious and imminent

effects on a large number of people. Government
action is expected since the issue is beyond the
scope of private organizations
Advocacy issues: potential problems foremost of
the population that are identified by groups claiming
to represent the broad public interest. Scope of
problem suggests government intervention.
Selective issues: affect special interest group.
Costs of dealing with them is passed on to general
public.
Technical issues: of little direct interest to the
population and are left to experts. Note that an
advocacy group may shift a technical issue to
another group be redefining it.

P.N. Reeves, Issues management: The other side of strategic

planning,
Hospital &Health Services Administration 38(2), Summer 1993

Example

The energy crisis

Health insurance reform

Medicaid reimbursement that

results in cost shifting

Hazardous waste disposal that

can be characterized as creation
of an environmental threat

Issues Management Process

The Chase-Jones Model

Issues
Identification

Theory and
Research

Performance
Evaluation

Issues
Analysis
Judgement
and Priority
Setting

Results
Program
Design
Implementation

Policy
Options
Policy and
Strategy Selection

STRATEGIC ISSUES MANAGEMENT

(SIM)

Process Whereby a Corporation

Enhances its Capacity to Adapt

Varies According to Types of Issues and

Scope of Activities

Internal and External Issues

Provides Executives With Powerful

Planning and Control Capability
Peggy Simcic Brnn

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The SIM Process

Identify Issues/Environmental Scanning

Analyze Issues

Set Priorities

Select Strategic Options

Implement a Program of Action and

Communication

Evaluate Effectiveness
Peggy Simcic Brnn

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High

Low

Issue Priority

The Clarity - Priority Matrix

Assess impact of issue on
objectives, current strategies
and operational plans for
immediate action.

Closely monitor issue.

Actively seek additional
information.

Evaluate impact of issue and Monitor issue.

identify nature of response, if Drop, if unimportant.
any.

Clear

Fuzzy

Issue Clarity
J.C. Camillus and D.K. Datta, Managing strategic issues in a turbulent environment,
Long Range Planning 24, April 1991

Effectiveness of Integrated Planning

Increasing

The Public Issues Life Cycle

Education reform
Global warming
Day care
Shorter work week
Comparable worth
Road congestion

Social
Expectation

Groundwater
protection
Acid rain
Clean Air Act
Amendments
Energy taxes
Health care reform
Hazardous waste
treatment

Political

Environmental
Protection Agency
Motor Vehicle
Safety and Health
Admin.
Energy Policy and
Conservation Act
Safety belt use
laws

Legislative

Emission standards
Environmental permits
Gas guzzler taxes
Product recalls
Plant inspections/fines
Fuel economy standards

Social Control
T.G. Marx,Strategic planning for public affairs,
Long Range Planning, 23(1), 1990.

Effectiveness of Decision Making

Increasing

Evolutionary Phases...Integrated Planning Systems

Thorough environmental analysis
Strategic relations with external
constituencies
Propose solutions
Social Expectations stage

Thorough situation

Environmental scanning analysis and

Manage solutions
competitive
Political stage
assessments
Maintain status quo
Legislative/Social
Control stage

Annual Budgets

Communications
Monitoring
Incentives

Well defined strategic framework

Coherent reinforcing management practices
Negotiations of objectives
Progress review
Incentives
Supportive value system and climate

Evaluation of strategic
alternatives

Multiyear Budgets
Gap Analysis

Business Planning

Business
Planning

Phase 1
Financial
Planning

Phase 2
Forecast-based
Planning

PA
Mgmt

Reactive

Pro-Active

Phase 3
Phase 4
Externally Oriented Strategic Business
Planning
Management
Inter-Active

T.G. Marx,Strategic planning for public affairs,

Long Range Planning, 23(1), 1990.

Strategic Public
Affairs
Management

IM Payoffs ...

Competitive Advantages
Changes in Corporate Behavior
Avoidance of Serious Mistakes
Ability to Detect Issues and Develop Corporate
Responses While in Emerging State
Enhancement of Firms Credibility
Reduced Vulnerability to the Slings and Arrows of
Outrageous Fortune
Peggy Simcic Brnn

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ORGANIZATIONS HAVE TWO

CHOICES
Reactive

pursue own financial goals

be forced by external agents to change

Proactive

business strategy

business strategy

actively seek operations that limit

consequences
open up dialogue with external agents
Peggy Simcic Brnn

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Environmental Scanning
A

methodology for coping with

external competitive, social,
economic and technical issues
that may be difficult to observe
or diagnose but that cannot be
ignored and will not go away.
J. D. Stoffels
Peggy Simcic Brnn
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Added value of scanning

Promotes education and mind-stretching
experiences for management.
Assists in formulating of policy and
strategy.
Promotes the development of operational
programs and action plans.
Provides a frame of reference for
budgets.

Peggy Simcic Brnn

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Organizational environment
Does the company accept new ideas,
concepts and processes?
Are there open communications
channels?
Is the company capturing environmental
information that is readily available`?

Peggy Simcic Brnn

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Organizational environment
Are the linkages of change to the
companys operations properly
assessed?
Is environmental intelligence integrated
into strategic planning= Operation?

Peggy Simcic Brnn

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Four Reasons for Scanning

Industrial Evolution
Speed of Change and Increasing
Complexity
Evolution in Planning Methodology
Asymmetry of Environmental Impacts

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o
h
ke

log
ica
l

Ap
De plied
v
Em elope
In P ergin d
g
Co
nce roces
s
Bo
und ptuali
Kn arie zed
so
ow
G
l
e
o
Te
ver dge f
nm
ch
no ents

a
St

e
Go
v
Ec ern
m
Ind ono en
m
t
Ma ustr ies s
Pr rke ies
od ts
uc
ts

eti
ti

i al
nc

Governments
Economies
Control
Productivity
Capacity
Resources

a
ts
Fin
en
nm ies
ver
s
Go onom rket
Ec l Ma
pita oney
Ca
ts
M
rk e
Ma

s
ty der
cie ol
So areh ers
Sh stom rs
e
Cu ppli unity
Su mm yees nts
Co plo me
Em vern
Go

rs
e
ld

Co
mp

Environmental
Scanning
Dimensions
Operational

Approaches to Scanning

Scientific -- social scientific measures of

stakeholders to determine whats going
on out there
Tree

Diagrams, Trend Impact Analysis

Flow Charting, Morphological Models

Informal -- individualistic, subjective

techniques, nonrepresentative samples
of publics, and key contacts
Peggy Simcic Brnn

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Sources of Environmental Information

PEOPLE SOURCES

EVENT, OBJECTS

External Media-related Sources

Business-related
Bankers
General
Customers
Business & Financial
Suppliers
Trade
Consultants
Technical/Academic
Unrelated
Regular associations
Other Sources
Friend
Purchased research reports
Professional peers
Technical conferences
Periodic encounters
Trade shows
Adjoining seat occupant
Educational seminars
Neighbor
Direct observation

Sources of Environmental Informatio

PEOPLE SOURCES
Line Relationships
Superiors
Subordinates

EVENT, OBJECTS
Internal

Staff Relationships
Peer Relationships
Counterpart Relationships
(cross-divisional)
Other (motivated by
personal relationships,
mutual interest)

Reports
Progress
Performance
Projection
Activity
Meetings
Scheduled
Issue-motivated

Ranking of Sources of Environmental

Information
Rank Source
Pct. Ranking 1st/2nd
1 Daily Newspapers
91
2 Expert Organizations 59
Publications (Conferences
Board, etc..)
3 Business Periodicals
52
4 Futures Consultants
42
and Forecasters
5 Government Publications
42
6 Seminars and Conferences
30

Peggy Simcic Brnn

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Starting to think about the future

Read utopian and science fiction.
Read magazines like The Futurist and
Futures. Borrow the authors predictions.
Monitor the writings of politicians and
social scientists.
Watch out for mention of areas of
people who adopt innovation early.

Peggy Simcic Brnn

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