1. B.Conway, Oct 8,2011

2.  What are issues?
 How do you manage
them?
Fact:
44 percent of all companies with an internally
recognized public affairs function have staff
members working on issues management full -time

3.  “…the idea of “managing” contentious
issues–taming them, bringing them to heel
and making them do our bidding–is
illusory, but utterly compelling.”
 http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/issues-management/
By Elizabeth Dougall, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
December 12, 2008

6.  “The
identification, monitoring
, and analysis of trends in
key publics’ opinions that
can mature into public
policy and regulative or
legislative constraint”
(Heath, 1997,p.6)
 Heath, R.L.(1997).Strategic issues management:
Organizations and public policy challenges.Thousand
Oaks,CA:Sage.

7.  Issues management argues that
organizations should adopt an
external focus and enact their
environment by attending to
relevant issues
 (Crable & Vibbert,1985;Gaunt & Ollenburger,1995;Heath & Nelson,1986;Jones
& Chase,1979).
 The “you” approach
 Identifying and communicating
about an incubating set of
organizationally relevant public
perceptions and attitudes

9.  Proactive planning
1. Predict problems
2. Anticipate threats
3. Minimize surprises
4. Resolve issues
5. Prevent crises

10. Effective Issues Management requires:
 Two-way communications
 Formal environmental
scanning
 Active sense-making
strategies

11.  “Issues Management is the
organized activity of
identifying emerging
trends, concerns or issues
likely to affect an
organization in the next
few years and developing a
wider and more positive
range of organizational
responses toward the
future.”

12. 1. Issue identification
2. Issue analysis
3. Strategy options
4. Action plan
5. Evaluation of results1
1. Wilcox,D. & Cameron,G.(2009).Public Relations Strategies & Tactics, 9th ed.Boston,MA:Pearson

13.  Crisis management is reactive
 Issues management is
proactive
 Active planning and
prevention can mean the
difference between crisis and
noncrisis
 The majority of organizational
crises are self-inflicted
because management ignored
the warning signs

14.  Alternative press
 Mainstream media
 Online chat
groups, blogs, Twitter, F
acebook, Google+ and
Google+Business, Googl
e News
 Activist groups

15.  The End