Course : Strategic Issues Management (1503SIM04)

elearning.lspr.edu
Master of Arts in Communication : Corporate Communication Studies

LSPR eLearning Program

Session Topic : Analysing and Prioritising

Course: Strategic Issues Management

By Rudi Sukandar, Ph.D

Content

Part 1

Assessing The Environment

Part 2

Issue Analysis Tools

Part 3

Prioritising Issues

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Part1: Assessing The Environment

Assessing The Environment: Issue Life Cycle

Issue
Life
Cycle

Public concerns

Assessing the environment Today

1. Issue analysis
2. Prioritising issues

Source: Liebl (2000)

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Assessing The Environment: Public Issues

Examples of public issues

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Climate change
Traffic congestion
Population growth
Aging population
Corruption
Recycling
Motor vehicle emissions
Smoking & tobacco
Terrorism

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10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

Pollution
Tobacco
Food standards
Food & product safety
Obesity
International trade
Health & safety
standards
17. Workplace issues

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Assessing The Environment: Issue Analysis

Issue analysis requires an

understanding of:
1. The public policy process
2. Anticipated social, economic,
technological and political
changes
3. Each issue advocates
objectives
4. The quality of the argument
being made
(Heath & Palenchar, 2009, p. 110).
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Robert L. Heath
Emeritus
Professor of
Communication
from Houston
University
Published many
award-winning
books

Michael J.
Palenchar, Ph.D.
Doctor of
Philosophy, Mass
Communication at
University of
Florida (2005)
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Assessing The Environment: Public Motivation

Understanding public motivation

Q: What is a first key step in issue management?
A: Understanding what makes stakeholders or the
general public angry or motivated to act.

A persons understanding of a situation is affected by,

the way in which information is presented and
the broader social context.

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Assessing The Environment: Public Motivation (cont.)

Sources of anger or motivation

1. Reality
Where people are affected by a firms actions.
2. Expectation
Where people anticipate an action will affect them.
3. Ideology
Where they believe a firms action is morally or ethically wrong.
4. Impotence
They feel picked on, usually by another party they perceive to be more
powerful.
5. Power and manipulation
Where anger is used for manipulating a situation to gain a position of
power.
(Watson, Osborne-Brown & Longhurst, 2002)
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Part2: Issue Analysis Tools

Analysis: Element

14 Elements that raise an issues visibility

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

11.
12.
13.
14.

How specific or ambiguous

Extent of temporal relevance (topical timing)
Prominence of industry
Extent of social significance
Degree of complexity
Slow news day/politics
Visibility of consequences (of action or
inaction)
Emotionality of issue
Whether an issue champion
Organisational mishandling/managerial
bungling
Industry/firm under previous scrutiny/suspicion
Timing
Luck
Three Vs victims, visuals and villains (Mahon,
2005)

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John F. Mahon
Chair, International Business
Policy &Strategy
Professor of Management
Univ. of Maine
2001 Present
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Analysis: Tools

Issue Analysis Tools

1. Issue characterisation
May be broad agreement on the problem, but different
departments may see it differently, from their own
perspective.
Describing the issue in writing forces members to agree
on the core nature of the issue and the potential threat
posed.

2. Strategic objective
Initial,
Updated and
Final
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Analysis: Tools (cont.)

3. Force field analysis.

List, discuss and evaluate the forces for and against the
change.
Both types can be positive and negative.
Need to think outside the immediate issue.
For instance, a new product arising from a new technology
may driven by forces not specific to that product alone.
4. Stakeholder assessment
5. Scenario mapping
6. Key player assessment
7. SWOT analysis
(Oliver & Donnelly, 2007).
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Analysis: BASF

Sample BASF issue analysis

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Part3: Prioritising Issues

Prioritising Issues: Issues

A. An issue cant be considered in isolation.

Issues priority setting takes the information
received through monitoring,
using analysis to determine issues that
comprise opportunities or threats
to the firms business plan (Heath &
Palenchar, 2009, p. 113).
B. The organisation has the resources to deal only
with a small number of issues at a time.
Therefore it must prioritise the various issues it
faces.
C. The quality of an issue depends on its
legitimacy, the extent to which it is recognised
as a public concern (Coombs, 2002).
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W. Timothy Coombs Ph.D

Professor, Advertising-Public
Relations,
Univ. of Central Florida
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Prioritising Issues: Deciding relative importance of emerging issues

10 Key questions,

1. Can corporate action change the outcome?

2. In the light of this analysis, are our present corporate
policies and practices correct?
3. Do we have the resources and will to do something on this
at present?
4. How can we evaluate the effectiveness of our actions?
5. Will the issue affect the bottom line?

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Prioritising Issues: Deciding relative importance of emerging issues (cont.)

What

6. Is the probability and time scale of this issue impacting on

us?
7. Will be the cost to influence this?
8. Are the financial or policy benefits to us of doing that?
9. Can we learn from this for the benefit of our organisation?
10.Can we learn from this situation to ensure future
competitiveness?
(Harris, 2011, p. 101)

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Prioritising Issues: Matrix

Potential Impact
Urgency
Low

Significant

Major

5, 10

Significant

Critical

Low

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Prioritising Issues: Matrix (cont.)

Examples of issues facing the organisation

1. Government tariff review
2. Changes to environmental regulation
3. Implementation of new IT management system
4. Change management progress - retrenchments
5. Establishment of new manufacturing plant
6. Employee wage negotiations
7. Transport costs
8. Raw material costs
9. Competition from low-cost rivals
10.Use of old technology
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Prioritising Issues: Issues Evaluation (cont.)

Each issue is,

1. individually evaluated
2. given a score out of 10
No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Factor
Validity/importance of the cause
Momentum of issue
Extent of media interest
Strength of coalition of supporters/advocates
Strength of emotional appeal to opponents
Degree of isolation of the issue, i.e. is the organisation alone on this
issue ?
Extent of organisational exposure, i.e. possible cost
Urgency in dealing with the issue
Validity/importance of the cause
Momentum of issue
Total Score

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Score
6
8
8
6
5
7
8
8
6
8
70
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References

1.
2.

3.
4.

5.

6.

7.

Bigelow, B., Fahey, L., & Mahon, J. (1993). A typology of issue evolution. Business
& Society, 32(1), pp. 18-29.
Carroll, A., & Buchholtz, A. (2012). Business & Society, ethics, sustainability, and
stakeholder management. (8th ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage
Learning.
Coombs, W.T. (2002). Assessing online issue threats: issue contagions and their
effect on issue prioritisation. Journal of Public Affairs, 2(4), pp. 215-119.
Galloway, C., & K. Kwansah-Aidoo. (2005). Public Relations Issues and Crisis
Management. Southbank, Victoria: Thomson Social Science Press.
Harris, P. (2011). The management of public affairs in the United Kingdom. In P.
Harris & C. Fleisher (Eds.). The Handbook of Public Affairs, pp. 86-104. London:
SAGE Publications.
Heath, R., & Palenchar, M. (2009). Strategic Issues Management: organizations
and public policy challenges (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE
Publications.
Jaques, T. (2007). Issue or problem? Managing the difference and averting
crises. Journal of Business Strategy, 28(6), pp. 25-28.

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References

8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

13.

Jones, B., & Chase, W. (1979). Managing public policy issues. Public Relations
Review, 5(2), pp. 3-23.
Liebl, F. (2000). The shock of the new: creation and management of issues and
trends. Munich.
Liebl, F. (2003). Trend: paradox - about the status quo in trend management.
Thexis, 20(1), pp. 2-9
Mahon, J. (2005). Issues management: moving into the 21st century. Presentation.
Oliver, G., & Donnelly P. (2007). Effective use of a Strategic Issue Management
System (SIMS): combining tools and approach. Journal of Public Affairs, 7(4), pp.
399-406.
Watson, T., Osborne-Brown, S., & Longhurst, M. (2002). Issues negotiation
investing in stakeholders. Corporate Communication: An International Journal,
7(1), pp. 54-61.

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Course : Strategic Issues Management (1503SIM04)

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