CEOs Take The Heat
According to a new survey released by Weber Shandwick and KRC Research, CEOs carry the lion's share of blame when their company's reputation is damaged in a crisis. The study,
which surveyed 950 global business executives in 11 countries, found that nearly 60% of blame is directly attributed to a CEO after a crisis strikes. In addition, it identified
the following key triggers for reputation failure. If you catch these problems early, you can reduce the blame factor:
* 72% cited financial irregularities;
* 68% cited unethical behavior;
* 64% cited executive misconduct;
* 62% cited security breaches; and
* 60% cited environmental violations and product recalls.
The findings also suggest that global business executives underestimate the severity of significant reputation threats:
* Approximately 33% place CEO compensation, online attacks or rumors and top executive departures low on the list of triggers.
These findings reiterate the communication suite's role in protecting corporate reputation against attacks. This can be done through aggressive CSR efforts, careful monitoring
of CEO and financial conduct, and open lines of communications with C-suite executives to stay abreast of all goings-on, be they positive or negative.
Dysfunctional Relationships
The results of a new study by Strativity Group demonstrate that dysfunctional relationships are not confined to one's personal life. Rather, the survey respondents admit that a
majority of companies fail to deliver differentiated value to customers, and, in turn, fail to maintain those customers' loyalty. Among the results:
* 60% of senior executives claim they do not deserve their customer's loyalty; and
* 51% claim that their company does not deliver unique and beneficial products or services.
* However, 56% agree that their company's products or services are worth the price they charge;
* Only 34% say they have the tools and authority to serve their customers;
* 75% do not know the cost of a new customer; and
* 70% indicate that customer strategies are more important now than in the past.
In terms of corporations' investment in their employees, who are ultimately charged with executing customer relations, the following insights point to a downward trend:
* Only 29% of respondents said that their compensation emphasizes the quality of service and not just productivity;
* 34% claimed that employees have the tools and authority to solve customer problems; and
* 30% of respondents agreed that their company invests in people more than in technology.
Social Media Invades
We know that social media are all the rage in communication portfolios, but here are some statistics to back it up for all the doubters out there.
A new study by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's Center for Marketing Research surveyed Inc. magazine's Inc. 500 list for 2006 and found that:
* 33% of respondents' companies use message/bulletin boards;
* 27% use social networking;
* 24% use online video;
* 19% use blogging;
* 17% use wikis; and
* 11% use podcasting.
In terms of the importance of social media to overall business/marketing strategies:
* 26% say it's very important;
* 40% say it's somewhat important;
* 19% sat it's somewhat unimportant; and
* 13% say it's very unimportant.
Top 10 Largest Global Corporations
A new study released by My Global Career ranked global corporations based on number of employees and found these results, in descending order:
1. Wal-Mart Stores, United States
2. Deutsche Post, Germany
3. Siemens Group, Germany
4. McDonald's, United States
5. Carrefour, France
6. Compass Group, United Kingdom
7. United Parcel Service, United States
8. Gazprom, Russia
9. DaimlerChrysler, Germany
10. Hitachi, Japan