A PR Ethical Case Study ： Edel-Mart’s blogging program Xi Luo PUR6934

The Ethical Event  Background  Criticism of Wal-Mart  Low wages, poor working conditions, inadequate health care and Wal-Mart anti-union policies.  Criticism was being amplified by two union-backed groups, Wal-Mart Watch and Wake Up Wal-Mart.  To fight the negative news, Wal-Mart hired Edelman and started to use bloggers in its PR campaign since late 2005.

The Ethical Event  Media coverage March 7, 2006 —”Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in P.R. Campaign” by Michael Barbaro in New York Times  Edelman did not encourage bloggers to be transparent.  Edelman is to blame for propagating Pro-Wal-Mart information. October 9, 2006 —”Wal-Mart's Jim and Laura: The Real Story” by Pallavi Gogoi in Business Week  The Wal-Mart Across America blog is a fake grass-roots blog.  The bloggers were paid by Working Families for Wal-Mart, a fake grass- roots advocacy group organized by Edelman.

PRSA Codes of Ethics  Honesty: “We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those we represent and in communicating with the public.”  Disclosure of Information  Edelman hid the purpose in the s contacting bloggers.  Created corporate-financed blog and used it as grass-roots support for Wal-Mart.  Fairness: “We respect all opinions and support the right of free expression.”  Free flow of accurate and truthful information  Rather than participating in an equal dialogue, Edelman intended to “control conversation by manufacturing it.”

Ethical Theories  Egoism: Self-Interest  Use “positive” information to divert the publics’ attention on Wal-Mart’s misdeed.  The questionable PR campaign made the relationship between Wal-Mart and its stakeholders more tense.  Dialogic Ethics: Communication based on mutual respect and compromise  Wal-Mart needs to, at least, respond directly to labor unions, and let its stakeholders know that their voice has been heard.  Edelman should first ensure the transparency of the public relations information and help Wal-Mart set up an effective online feedback system.

Social responsibility program “ CSR is the voluntary actions that a corporation implements as it pursues its mission and fulfills its perceived obligations to stakeholders, including employees, communities, the environment, and society as a whole. (Coombs & Holladay, 2012) ”  In line with the definition of CSR, a corporation is obligated to respond to the expectations of stakeholders.  If there are conflicting interests… "I pay low wages. I can take advantage of that. We're going to be successful, but the basis is a very low-wage, low-benefit model of employment.”—Sam Walton, Wal-Mart founder  Stakeholder Salience

CSR suggestions  Stop pretending to be someone else:  Be clear, saying “I am working for Wal-Mart.”  CSR activities: Satisfy stakeholders’ expectations in an alternative way  Contribute a part of its sales to employees in need as a subsidy.  Financial support for health screening and work-related stress management programs.  Promote communication during organizational changes

CSR progress model  1.Scanning and monitoring : Blogs and other social media have the potential to gather information and do environmental scanning.  2.Conducting formative research: Select CSR concerns, identify expectation gap, cultivate dialogue.  3.Creating the CSR initiative: Contact the employees to arrange a meeting about their concerns.  4.Communicating the CSR initiative: Conduct SOSC analysis and TARES test to satisfy professional code of conduct.  5.Conducting an evaluation and providing feedback: Reach the objectives and bring benefits to society as well as the corporation itself.

Evaluation  Determine whether the CSR process and outcome objectives are met.  Determine Process objectives: CSR activities  Determine Outcome objectives: Return on Investment  Financial Benefits of Wal-Mart  Job satisfaction of employees  Amount of positive stories from mainstream media and social networking website  Amount of positive response from labor unions  Amount of annual lawsuits

Reference  Barbaro, M. (2006, March 7). Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in P.R. Campaign. Retrieved fromhttp:// all&_r=1& all&_r=1&  Coombs, W. T., & Holladay, S. J. (2012) Managing corporate social responsibility: A communication approach. (2012). Marketing Weekly News, 7-8, 21, 47-48, 91, 103  Gower, K. K. (2008). Legal and ethical considerations for public relations. Long Grove, Ill: Waveland Press,  Gogoi, P. (2006, October 9). Wal-Mart's Jim and Laura: The Real Story. Retrieved fromhttp:// the-real-storybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advicehttp:// the-real-storybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice  Is Wal-Mart good for America?. Retrieved from