Reference no: EM133403950
Assignment:
Claire was recently promoted to the newly created position of CSR manager for a regional oil distribution company. Not long ago the company had received negative media coverage as a result of a small oil leak in one of its storage tanks. Fortunately, the oil didn't leak into the water supply, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is still testing the soil to verify if any of the leaked oil reached groundwater levels.
The owner of the company, Mr. Jones, promoted Claire from the marketing department so that the company could polish its brand with a "new environmentally friendly message."
Claire considers herself to be very environmentally responsible. She recycles everything she can; she drives an electric car; she participates in neighborhood cleanup events; and she only buys from companies with strong CSR reputations.
In her first meeting with Mr. Jones, Claire receives very clear instructions:
"We took a double whammy here Claire. The cleanup for the leak will cost a ton of money, and even though oil prices are at historic lows, we're losing customers because of the leak story. I need some quick ideas to turn our reputation around without spending any money, and I need them yesterday."
After reading all of the negative media coverage about the leak, Claire realized that, with no money available for big budget projects, the best she could do in the short term would be to emphasize that the company cared about the community it served.
The leak was an accident-the EPA found no evidence of shoddy maintenance practices-but the community had been directly impacted. Employees who lived in the community were embarrassed when confronted in the street by angry residents. They took pride in their work and took the loss of customers very personally. Falling sales also brought the threat of job cuts that damaged morale even more.
Claire chose to present a two-step plan to turn around the company's reputation:
A commitment to transparent communication. Mr. Jones would write an open letter to the media acknowledging the errors of the leak and making a public commitment to working with the EPA inspectors and implementing whatever changes they want the company to make. Mr. Jones would also write a second letter to employees acknowledging the issue and addressing their concerns about their community and their job security.
At the next shareholders' meeting (in three months), Mr. Jones would, with Claire's help, propose a more proactive CSR strategy with a planned rollout of capital investments. The projects would be small at first-sponsoring highway cleanup outside the head office, allowing employees to spend one day per month volunteering in the community, and sponsoring a local community event. Over time, larger projects could be introduced, such as switching to hybrid or electric cars for the sales fleet or solar power for the office.
QUESTIONS
- Did Claire do the right thing here?
- Do you think that customers will be convinced? Why or why not?
- What do you think Mr. Jones's reaction will be?