2014

A BLOGGER IN THEIR MIDST

- A CASE ANALYSIS

MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION II
NILABJO GHOSH
REGISTRATION NO.-0241/51
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT CALCUTTA

Table of Contents
A Short Summary .................................................................................................................................... 1
The Problem ............................................................................................................................................ 2
Objective ................................................................................................................................................. 2
Understanding of the Case ..................................................................................................................... 3
Evaluation of Alternative Action Plans.................................................................................................... 3
Action Plan Recommended..................................................................................................................... 4
End Note ................................................................................................................................................. 4

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A Short Summary
The case is about the repercussions of the blogs of employees on public perception and strategy of a
company. In the case, an employee of Lancaster-Webb Medical Supply was writing blogs under the
name of Blogger Girl. She used to comment on different confidential aspects of the company and
about its clients on her blog. Her blog had become quite famous and it had unofficially and
unknowingly become one of the main sources of communication to the people from the company.
So, when she started writing about the benefits of SteriTouch gloves on her blog, the sales of the
product increased substantially, even though the company had not invested much in its marketing
that year. On another blog of hers, she had defended the companys low cost working structure in
China. However, she had also raised an ethical doubt about one of Lancasters prospective clients,
Houston Clinic, who had a very high rate of caesarean deliveries. This was one of the most significant
deals for the company in the near future with total value of over 1 million dollars. The top
management of the company is afraid Glove Girls comments have dissuaded the medical director of
Houston Clinic from making an appearance at the speech of Will Somerset, the CEO of Lancaster.
Further, the Glove Girl was giving a speech on the ultimate customer intimacy tool at the same
time as the Will Somerset and that also caused Will to lose some of his audience to her. This showed
that how popular she was among the general people.
Later, Will finds that Glove Girl has corrected her mistake regarding the views on the potential client.
Rex Croft, medical director at Fort Worth General gave Lancaster a very big order for their gloves
and they also asked for the glove girl to be transferred to them as an employee.

The Problem
The case presents us with this situation and we have to carry out an analysis on the following
aspects from Will Somersets perspective:

Should Glove Girl be fired from the company for revealing confidential data and if such a
step is taken what will be the public reaction to this action of the company?
Should the Glove Girl be left at her current position in the company and allowed to continue
with her blogs and hope that it has the same positive effects in the future as well?
Should he speak with the glove girl about the effects of her blog on the strategy of the
company and convince her to write the blog in consultation with the public relations group
of the company and also promote her to do similar tasks?

Objective
To ensure that Lancaster-Webb stays makes the best use of the available talent and be the pioneer
in the field of online marketing using blogs without compromising on brand image, client
relationships and confidential data security.

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Understanding of the Case

The backdrop of the case is the early years of the 21st century when the people had just started using
internet. The concepts like blogging were comparatively new to companies. Lancasters PR group did
conducted marketing through the conventional channels. They did not make use of the different
online tools available for promoting their product.
Here, the blogger Glove Girl, who is the assistant manager at one of Lancasters surgical glove units,
regularly writes about different aspects of the company. Her blog has connected with the general
public and she has developed a large fan base. Unknowingly, her remarks about some products has
boosted its sales. This shows that she is exceptionally gifted in public communication and has been
able to market products very well for the company in a much cost effective way.
The challenge here for Will Somerset is how to use this talent of hers for positive marketing of the
company. He also has to ensure that she does not portray the company in bad light in any of her
blogs or leak confidential data of the company and its clients to the general public.
In the context of the case it is very important that the CEO takes the correct call because it may have
severe business ramifications in the future for his company. This is that point in time when his
correct decision will take the company much ahead of the other competitors in the industry in terms
of customer reach and marketing of products, or if it backfires, will hit the company very hard in
terms of future sales.

Evaluation of Alternative Action Plans

In this section, each of the possible actions possible by Will Somerset will be evaluated to find their
merits and demerits.
1. In the first case, it is considered that he chooses to fire Glove Girl over her lapses in
judgement while writing about the company, which may cost the company an important
client. If the company does not have any control over what she writes, then similar cases
may happen in the future. However, if the company fires the Glove Girl and she chooses to
write negatively about her feelings on the blog, it will be a public relations nightmare for the
company and managing this negative public sentiment will be really hard for them.
2. The company may choose to continue with her in the current position. However, she may be
communicated that she should not write any content about the company on her blog. She
may be made to sign a non-disclosure agreement by the company. This will ensure that no
uncontrolled information is released to the press. Here, too the company risks of losing a
talented employee like the Glove Girl to the competitors and not make use of the golden
opportunity that has presented itself in front of them in form of this new channel of
marketing.
3. In case the employee does not agree to sign a nondisclosure agreement, the company can
still keep her on their pay rolls, but insist that she communicate clearly to her readers that
the views are her own and the official views of the company.

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4. Lancaster-Webb may actually change the function in which the Glove Girl works and shift
her to marketing or public relations department where she can make better use of her
talents. If she is in charge of the maintaining the image of the company in front of the public,
she possibly can make better contribution with her obvious understanding of the working
with the digital media.
5. In context to the request by the client to transfer, if Lancaster Webb chooses to let go off
her, then they will be losing a talented employee. However, they can guide the client on the
better use of blogs for marketing and use this to develop a better relationship with them.
6. Even if the Glove Girl leaves or does not participate officially in the companies peer
activities, Lancaster-Webb should think of starting their own official blogs to reach out to
potential customers. These blogs may be maintained by the employees of the company and
may carry the information that it is portrays the official position of the company. This way
the company will be able to take full advantage of the digital revolution that is coming in a
big way in near future and be a pioneer in the field of digital marketing.

Action Plan Recommended

The best possible course of action for Will Somerset is to convince the Glove Girl in taking up the
responsibility in public relations department of the organization. He should personally discuss the
current scenario with this employee. She should be made to realise the problems that may arise if
she comments on the companys clients or its policy in the public. Then, she should be offered the
above mentioned role. She seems to be very passionate about blogging and online marketing, as is
evident from her past experience. So, she should immediately grasp the offer. Will Somerset should
also consider providing similar platforms to other employees were they can share their positive
views of the companys activities in their blogs. So, similar problems may not arise because of some
other employee posting in private blogs. The employees should also non-disclosure agreement
under which they cannot comment on companys activities in their private blogs.
Further, Will Somerset should politely refuse Rex Crofts offer requesting this employees transfer,
but instead provide them with advice on their online marketing program based on Lancasters own
experience.

End Note
This case shows how a company has to continuously monitor the changes in its environment to
assess both new developments and update its policies to adapt itself to this new environment. While
on one hand this can lead to new opportunities, on the other hand it can lead to disastrous
consequences if such developments are ignored and the company fails to adapt itself to the new
environment.

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