Wells Fargo's Stiff CEO Video
Wells Fargo is still trying to rebuild trust after several scandals, including creating millions of fake accounts for customers. The company sent emails to customers and included a link to a new video featuring CEO and president Tim Sloan.
The email starts with a sort-of apology, indicating that they haven't communicated enough.
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Sloan's messages are consistent: they take responsibility, and they are trying to "make things right." But Sloan is as stiff as he was in another video, created in April.
Discussion:
- Do you agree or disagree with my criticism of the email and video? Why or why not?
- How else would you evaluate the email and video?
- Sloan also isn't giving many specifics. What else, if anything, should he say?
TripAdvisor Identifies Issues at Hotels
TripAdvisor has decided to identify hotels where issues about "healthy, safety, and discrimination" have been reported. Given the increasing conversations about sexual harassment, the company is stepping up, but the notice raises serious concerns for hotels.
Related to this move, TripAdvisor has apologized for removing a post reporting a rape by a hotel security guard. Turns out, other women posted similar reports, and there is a pattern. In a statement, the company also explained its plan to use badges:
NEEDHAM, Mass., Nov. 1, 2017
The following is the official statement from TripAdvisor concerning the article by Raquel Rutledge of the USA Today network:
"TripAdvisor's site includes more than 535 million reviews and opinions from global travelers who write about their experiences at hotels, with airlines, restaurants and local attractions. Like any other content business, we work to adhere to publishing guidelines that are in place to ensure the accuracy and integrity of those reviews.
TripAdvisor has always maintained - since our founding - a strict separation between our commerce and content businesses. Despite assertions and statements made by a recent USA Today article, there is no tie between commercial relationships with our partners and how our content guidelines are applied to reviews or forum posts published on the site.
We apologize to the sexual assault victim reported on in the article, who had her forum post removed seven years ago on TripAdvisor. At the time, we had a policy whereby we judged content to be in breach of our guidelines if it did not adhere to family-friendly language. More than seven years ago that meant all language needed to be G-rated. A few years ago, we changed that policy to allow more descriptive reviews on the site about first-hand accounts of serious incidents like rape or assault. We recognized then that our previous guidelines went too far in preventing information like this from being shared.
Over the last several years, this policy change has yielded many first-hand accounts of serious incidents being published on the platform. A simple search of TripAdvisor will show numerous reviews from travelers over the last several years who wrote about their first-hand experiences that include matters of robbery or theft, assault and rape. We believe any first-hand experience should be posted to our site as a means to communicate to other consumers looking for information on where they should travel.
When we were made aware that this post had been removed under our previous guidelines, we republished it in line with our revised policy.
We are horrified that this victim experienced this assault on her vacation in Mexico, and other travelers should be aware of this incident.
In order to better inform consumers and provide them with even more information about their travels, TripAdvisor is creating a "badge" notification to apply to businesses to alert consumers of health and safety or discrimination issues at that business reported on within the media or other credible sources of information.
We will continue to work to improve and evolve our moderation and publishing guidelines as we work to provide the most accurate information in the travel industry available online."
The new badge will read as follows:
Discussion:
- What ethical issues and communication challenges are raised by this decision? Consider perspectives of hotel guests, managers, and staff. What are the potential advantages and potential negative implications?
- If you owned a hotel that received this badge, what would you do?
- In what ways does TripAdvisor's statement demonstrate compassion? Where does it fall short?
Air Force Admits Failure
The U.S. Air Force admits it didn't properly report Devin P. Kelley's history to federal law enforcement. The error is critical because Kelley's violent past may have prevented him from buying guns he used to kill 26 people in a Texas church. Kelley spent 12 months in prison and left the Air Force with a "bad conduct" discharge after harming his wife and child.
Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said, "Initial information indicates that Kelley's domestic violence offense was not entered into the National Criminal Information Center database." This omission led to Kelley's passing the background check before he could purchase guns at a firearms retailer.
Of course, the incident raises bigger questions about how often relevant background information is not reported about former service members. U.S. Air Force Sec. Heather Wilson appeared on MSNBC's Squawk Box to admit the failings during a televised interview. When asked whether she was concerned about possible liability from victims' families, she said, "No, I'm more interested in responsibility. And we've taken responsibility, and we're going to find out what happened and fix it.”
Discussion:
The Air Force has readily admitted a critical failing, which could have led to 26 deaths. Why would the organization choose this disclosure?
Describe how Wilson is demonstrating vulnerability. What are the potential downsides?
Twitter Responds to Missing @realdonaldtrump
For what some call censorship and others call a glorious 11 minutes, President Trump's Twitter account was down. The company took some time to figure out what happened, and the results were startling.
At first, Twitter referred to the problem as "inadvertent" as "human error," but further investigation revealed that a customer service employee did the deed on his or her last day of employment. A third tweet announced new "safeguards":
Update: We have implemented safeguards to prevent this from happening again. We won't be able to share all details about our internal investigation or updates to our security measures, but we take this seriously and our teams are on it.
The incident does not reflect well on Twitter, currently questioned, along with other social sites, about its role in fake news that may have affected the 2016 election.
Discussion:
- How should Twitter have responded differently?
- The final message, "Update" above, is short. What else, if anything, should the company say at this point?
Tarantino Admits to Knowing More
As more female victims come forward to describe Harvey Weinstein's sexual harassment behavior, one male celebrity admits to knowing and doing not enough about it at the time. Director Quentin Tarantino said, "I knew enough to do more than I did," and "There was more to it than just the normal rumors, the normal gossip. It wasn't secondhand. I knew he did a couple of these things."
Tarantino cited incidents with women including his former girlfriend Mira Sorvino and also said, "I wish I had taken responsibility for what I heard," and "If I had done the work I should have done then, I would have had to not work with him."
The director regrets not seeing the larger pattern of abuse and demonstrates vulnerability when he admits, "Anything I say now will sound like a crappy excuse," and "I chalked it up to a '50s-'60s era image of a boss chasing a secretary around the desk," he said. "As if that's O.K. That's the egg on my face right now."
Unsurprisingly, Tarantino says others close to Weinstein also knew and did nothing to stop the abuse.
Above is a picture of Tarantino in the movie Pulp Fiction.
Discussion:
- What's your reaction to Tarantino's statements?
- In what ways is Tarantino demonstrating vulnerability?
- Why do you think he's coming forward now? Why haven't other Hollywood men come forward? Should they?
Harvey Weinstein's Plea
Harvey Weinstein may have worsened his case by sending emails to friends asking for their defense. After several allegations of sexual harassment and at least two charges of assault over decades, the Hollywood producer's board of directors was getting ready to fire him from the company. Not willing to go quietly, Weinstein emailed people, including Jeffrey Katzenberg, the chairman of Walt Disney Studies. But he didn't get the response he was expecting.
Weinstein's email is below. He demonstrates some vulnerability but fails to take full responsibility, instead saying "a lot of the allegations are false as you know":
My board is thinking of firing me. All I'm asking, is let me take a leave of absence and get into heavy therapy and counseling. Whether it be in a facility or somewhere else, allow me to resurrect myself with a second chance. A lot of the allegations are false as you know but given therapy and counseling as other people have done, I think I'd be able to get there.
I could really use your support or just your honesty if you can't support me.
But if you can, I need you to send a letter to my private gmail address. The letter would only go to the board and no one else. We believe what the board is trying to do is not only wrong but might be illegal and would destroy the company. If you could write this letter backing me, getting me the help and time away I need, and also stating your opposition to the board firing me, it would help me a lot. I am desperate for your help. Just give me the time to have therapy. Do not let me be fired. If the industry supports me, that is all I need.
With all due respect, I need the letter today.
Instead, Katzenberg emailed Weinstein and made his response public. In part, he says, "You have done terrible things to a number of women over a period of years," yet Katzenberg calls him a friend and offers his help.
An interesting part of this story is the criticism of men who have come forward with a preface such as, "As a father of two daughters." A writer for Vulture explains this perspective.
Discussion:
- What's your view of Weinstein's letter to his friends? What other approaches could he take knowing his board is planning to fire him?
- How do you assess Katzenberg's response and his choice to make the email public? Is he a bad friend? What is he trying to accomplish for himself and for Weinstein in his response?
- Finally, what's your view of people referencing their wives and daughters? Is the Vulture writer's perspective spot on, too harsh, or something else?
Equifax Visits Congress
Former Equifax CEO Richard Smith admitted failures during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. Smith had already apologized in a video statement, but during the hearing, he mentioned his personal accountability:
"The criminal hack happened on my watch. I am truly and deeply sorry for what happened."
Yet critics say that Equifax is still not taking full responsibility. A TechCrunch article highlights Smith's testimony blaming one person:
"The human error was that the individual who's responsible for communicating in the organization to apply the patch, did not."
The TechCrunch writer seems to think this is ridiculous:
"The notion that just one person didn't do their job and led to the biggest breach in history is quite an amazing claim and shows a fundamental lack of good security practices. But that's what Smith says led to this disaster."
Smith and Equifax's CIO retired from the company after the news became public, which took a while: executives apparently knew about a software issue back in March, but the company didn't announce the breach until September.
A Wired article cites "6 Fresh Horrors from In addition to the delayed admission, the article attack's Equifax's technology, including inadequate patching, failure to encrypt data, limited security reviews, and insufficient website capabilities.
Another twist is this case is why three top people in the company sold $1.8 million in stock around the time they would have learned of the breach. Smith denies questions of integrity:
"I've know these individual for up to 12 years. They're men of integrity. I have no indication that they had any knowledge of the breach when they made this sale."
Discussion:
- Assess Smith's testimony. What parts do you find most and least convincing?
- What else, if anything, should Equifax do now to rebuild trust?
- In what ways is this case an issue of integrity?
Wells Fargo on the Hot Seat Again
Again, Wells Fargo executives faced angry lawmakers, and again, Senator Elizabeth Warren encouraged the CEO to leave. This time, she told CEO Timothy Sloan, "You should be fired." Last year, around this time, she told former CEO John Stump, "You should resign." She also referred to Stumpf's actions as "gutless leadership."
Senator John Neely Kennedy had tough words for the CEO too:
What in God's name were you thinking? I am not against big, but with all due respect, I am against dumb. I am against a business practice that has puts Wells Fargo first and customers second.
Sloan defended the board and his leadership by saying that a "throughout, independent investigation" has been made public. He said that he's "been making change at this company for 30 years," his actions have resulted in "fundamental change at the company," and that he has "the support of 270,000 people."
Discussion:
- How convincing do you find Sloan's testimony? Should he continue at Wells Fargo or leave the company?
- Analyze Elizabeth Warren's arguments. Do you find her criticism too harsh, on point, or something else?
- From this longer video segment, do you believe Sloan is holding himself accountable? What tells you he takes responsibility, or what else would he need to do to convince you?
Updates About the Florida Nursing Home
New information has surfaced about patient deaths at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills. The toll is up to 11 residents, who died from heat exhaustion, heart failure, and other issues related to extreme heat at the facility.
Now we have new questions about accountability. Administrators at the facility made several calls to Florida Power and Light (FPL) requesting they restore power. Some parts of the facility had lost power, including a transformer needed to run the air conditioning. Although they were told that help was on the way, FPL didn't arrive for days.
Another turn in the story is about Governor Rick Scott's responsibility. Before the storm, he gave his cell number to nursing homes and encouraged them to call with emergencies.Because they didn't get a response from FPL, rehab center administrators left a message on Scott's cell phone. The call was returned, and administrators were told to call 911, which they did. When they still didn't get assistance, they called Scott's cell two more times. The governor's office released a statement:
"Every call made to the Governor from facility management was referred to the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Florida Department of Health and quickly returned."
FPL also released a statement about the case:
"The tragic and senseless loss at Hollywood Hills Rehabilitation Center is the subject of a criminal homicide investigation by law enforcement," the DOH [Department of Health] noted. "Let's be clear – this facility is located across the street from one of Florida's largest hospitals, which never lost power and had fully operating facilities. It is 100 percent the responsibility of healthcare professionals to preserve life by acting in the best interest of the health and well-being of their patients."
FPL spokesperson Peter Robbins also said, "What we know now is that a portion of the facility did, in fact, have power, that there was a hospital with power across the parking lot from this facility, and that the nursing home was required to have a permanently installed, operational generator."
The nursing home is under criminal investigation and has lost its license to operate and its ability to accept Medicare funding.
Discussion:
- How is this story an issue of accountability, integrity, and compassion? What failures contributed to the deaths?
- How well did the FPL and governor respond to criticism? How convincing do you find their statements?
- Critics say the rehab center staff should have moved residents, for example, to the hospital across the street. What's your view of their responsibility?
New Facebook Policies for Targeted Ads
Facebook is taking responsibility for ads that target audiences based on self-reported information. In their profiles, users wrote descriptions about their hatred of certain groups, and ads displayed for them based on that quality.
Identifying hate groups wasn't the original intent of targeted ads, which Facebook describes as a way to "Connect with the people who will love your business." Yet an article in Verge says the "problems were baked in from the start." The design did allow people to choose a way to identify, and the descriptors weren't monitored.
COO Sheryl Sandberg expressed her disappointment:
"Seeing those words made me disgusted and disappointed – disgusted by these sentiments and disappointed that our systems allowed this," Sandberg said in a Facebook post. "Hate has no place on Facebook – and as a Jew, as a mother, and as a human being, I know the damage that can come from hate. The fact that hateful terms were even offered as options was totally inappropriate and a fail on our part."
"We removed them and when that was not totally effective, we disabled that targeting section in our ad systems."
She also talked about how Facebook's internal systems failed:
"Such targeting has always been in violation of our policies and we are taking more steps to enforce that now," Sandberg said. "We never intended or anticipated this functionality being used this way – and that is on us. And we did not find it ourselves – and that is also on us."
Discussion:
- What responsibility does Facebook have in this situation? Should the company have been monitoring people's descriptors and how ads targeted specific groups?
- What else, if anything, should the company do now?
News Conference about Deaths at Florida Nursing Home
Eight people died in a nursing home from heat after Hurricane Irma. Local police, the medical director of a nearby hospital, and the city mayor held a news conference to describe the situation. Although the video references six people, two additional have died for a total of eight at Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills. No one was present from the facility.
Florida Governor Rick Scott called the situation "unfathomable" and "inexcusable." The facility didn't lose power, but the air conditioning wasn't working. It's not clear why people weren't transferred to another facility, for example, the hospital across the street. Patients died of heart attacks, dehydration, and other issues related to the extreme heat.
Critics say that some business in Florida, such as gas stations, are required to have backup generators, but this is not the case for nursing homes. A criminal investigation has begun. The owner of the facility has a criminal past involving kickbacks; the case was settled for $15.4 million
At this point, the facility has been evacuated, and people are being accommodated at other locations.
Discussion:
- Who should be held accountable in this situation?
- Assess the three statements in the news conference. How appropriate was each to the person's role?
- We're obviously missing someone from the rehabilitation facility. Would representation help or hurt their case?
- For the questions we hear in English, how well does the police chief respond? What strategies does he use to deflect questions he can't or won't answer?
Talking About Climate Change: Too Soon?
EPA chief Scott Priutt says it's "insensitive" to talk about climate change as people are wrestling with hurricanes. The response follows a request from Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado the Friday before Hurricane Irma hit Florida:
"This is the time to talk about climate change. This is the time that the president and the EPA and whoever makes decisions needs to talk about climate change," said Regalado, who flew back to Miami from Argentina Friday morning to be in the city during the storm. "If this isn't climate change, I don't know what is. This is a truly, truly poster child for what is to come."
Pruitt said,
"To have any kind of focus on the cause and effect of the storm versus helping people, or actually facing the effect of the storm, is misplaced," and "To use time and effort to address it at this point is very, very insensitive to this people in Florida."
Pruitt has also said that he doesn't believe that carbon dioxide emissions is a major contributor to climate change. Scientists report changing "climate change" in their documentation to other words.
In a Los Angeles Times opinion article, "Harvey and Irma say this is the right time to discuss global warming," the reporter calls Pruitt's response "patently absurd." He compares the hurricanes to shootings, when it is the right time to talk about gun control.
Discussion:
- What's your view? Should we discuss climate change as the hurricanes are happening? What are the arguments on both sides?
- How, if at all, might your opinion change if you or your family were victims of the hurricane?
- For leadership character, this could be an issue of accountability and compassion. How do you see these dimensions playing a role in the debate?
Bank of America and Other Companies Step Up
Bank of America and other companies are lending support following Hurricane Harvey. In addition, Houston-area companies have been generous in giving employees time off and resources to get their houses and lives back in order, as much as possible. A Wall Street Journal article questions how long this generosity will last, but for now, employees have some much needed help.
Airlines in Florida have capped or reduced fares for people needing to evacuate, which of course, is the right thing to do. We saw businesses practice price gouging during Harvey, and the publicity wasn't good.
During Hurricane Irma, JetBlue, for example, dropped fares to $99 or $159, and American Airlines and Delta promised to keep lower fares through September 15. This will be helpful to people returning to the area and to others traveling to help.
Delta corrected at least one issue and blamed Expedia for listing a high price. A customer tweeted, "Shame on you @delta. Jacking from $547 to over $3200 for people trying to evacute (sic) responsibly?" Delta corrected the problem for this traveler and a spokesperson told BuzzFeed, "When they reached out directly to Delta, she was given a much lower fare. We're looking into why Expedia listed that price, but it was not the correct fare. We have not increased any fares in response to the hurricane. In fact, as the storm approach we reduced the price level of our highest fare."
Discussion:
- What other positive examples have you seen from businesses?
- What do you see as the role of business during a natural disaster? What are the advantages and downsides of businesses getting involved and offering help?
Equifax Statement About Security Breaches
A cyberattack on credit reporter Equifax revealed personal information about 143 million people. What makes this breach worrying is the type of information that was stolen: Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, driver's license numbers.
On the home page of its website, Equifax has a red post directing readers to a statement for more information. They are also offering identity protection for people affected.
But the company isn't making it easy. When I entered my information, I saw a message that I may be affected, and then I saw the message at right, saying, in order to enroll, I would need to revisit in 4 days for some reason. 
The company fixed another criticism: if you signed up for their protection, there was some question about whether you were waiving rights to sue. The company clarified: "In response to consumer inquiries, we have made it clear that the arbitration clause and class action waiver included in the Equifax and TrustedID Premier terms of use does not apply to this cybersecurity incident."
Overall, the company is accepting responsibility. The Chairman and CEO Rick Smith explained the situation on a video.
Discussion:
- Assess Equifax's statement. What principles of bad news are followed, and how could it be improved.
- Now assess Rick Smith's video statement. Consider the question above as well as delivery skills.
Comms About Hurricane Harvey
As Texas prepares for Hurricane Harvey, government officials and news organizations are preparing communications to help:
- President Trump issued a statement about monitoring the storm and encouraging people to evacuate if they are in the Hurricane's path. The president is also tweeting about the storm.
- His statement points to Ready.gov, a website rich with resources for preparing families in case of flooding, hurricanes, or extreme heat.
- CNN's website shows live updates of the storm's path.
- The National Hurricane Center is posting coastal warnings and a visual of the cone.
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott was interviewed by BBC and is hosting a meeting to plan emergency operations. (His website includes a tweet but nothing else yet about the storm.)
And, of course, the media is covering the storm with bold headlines:
- "Major disaster" (BBC)
- "Monster storm" (Washington Post)
- "Could be much worse than Sandy" (NY Post)
Discussion:
- Explore Ready.gov. What do you notice about the key messages, organization, and use of visuals? How easy is it to find information?
- Ready.gov, as of now, doesn't feature Hurricane Harvey; it's generic. Should the site be updated to feature the storm? Why or why not?
- Also explore Governor Abbott's website. Does this site feature the hurricane yet? How do you think the hurricane should be positioned here?
Irvine Finds Room for Admitted Students
University of California, Irvine, is trying to do right by 800 students who accepted the college's admissions offer above the expected number. When making admissions decisions, colleges always consider their "yield," or the percentage of students who will enroll. Admissions officers admit more students than they have space for, assuming some won't come because of financial reasons or school preference.
Initially, Irvine rescinded offers from about 500 students, but it was too late for them to enroll in other schools by that time. They informed students during the summer about transcript and other issues, which happens in a few cases each year, but this is an extraordinary number.
Then university administrators began softening. They admitted that they used standards that were too strict in order to lower their enrollment numbers. The vice chancellor wrote a message to students, including this excerpt:
We heard from some students that this year's process was too stringent and our customer-service approach needs improvement. I acknowledge that we took a harder line on the terms and conditions this year and we could have managed that process with greater care, sensitivity, and clarity about available options. Also contributing to the angst many of you have experienced is our traditional communication and outdated telephone systems that did not serve us well in this circumstance. For those who felt ignored or mistreated, I sincerely apologize.
We are making every effort to do better, immediately. I have directed the admissions team to step up the personal outreach to notified students. We're bringing in more people to review appeals and answer phones. We are committed to correcting any errors swiftly and providing the help you need in an empathetic and understanding way.
A few days later, Irvine's chancellor also apologized, and the university found a way to accommodate 290 more students. His message included this excerpt:
The stories of our students whose college dreams were crushed by our decision to withdraw admissions to hundreds of students are heartbreaking. And unacceptable.
This process is not working. We are a university recognized for advancing the American Dream, not impeding it. This situation is rocking us to our core because it is fundamentally misaligned with our values.
The apology is notable because we see so few of them from university presidents. Writers for The New York Times and Insider Higher Ed commented on the rarity of apologies, partly because of the complexity of academic institutions.
Discussion:
- Analyze the chancellor's and vice chancellor's messages. What communication principles do they use? How do the messages compare in content, tone, word choice, and organization?
- What should Irvine have done differently in this situation? What are all of the touch points with students that could have been improved?
Communication Gaps Found Between Doctors and Home Health Care Nurses
The findings aren't surprising for anyone who has cared for an elderly parent (as I have). Researchers at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus identified major communication gaps when a patient is released from the hospital.
According to the study, published in Journal of General Internal Medicine, discrepancies in medication lists and a lack of accountability are key problems that cause issues for patients. Home health care agency workers also report difficulty in contacting physicians. Study authors identify the following solutions:
- Hospitals and primary care physicians could provide HHC agencies direct access to Electronic Medical Records and direct phone lines to doctors.
- Enact laws allowing nurse practitioners and physician's assistants to write HHC orders. A bill was under consideration to do this but was not acted upon by Congress.
- Clearly establishing accountability for hospital clinicians to manage HHC orders until a primary care physician can see a patient and help HHC nurses with questions.
- Create better communication methods with PCPs to ensure safer transitions
A page on the Family Caregiver Alliance website offers advice for patients when preparing for a medical appointment, meeting with a doctor, spending time in emergency rooms, and, as this study focuses on, "Transitions to Home or Facility: Communications at Discharge Time." The site offers good advice, such as keeping a medical notebook and contacting advocacy groups.
An article in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research recommends ways for doctors to improve their communication. The advice will sound very basic to students of business communication, for example, "patient listening, empathy, and paying attention."
Discussion:
- What are your positive and negative experiences when communicating with medical professionals? What improvements would you recommend?
- Communication gaps during transitions are common. What other examples can you identify (for example, transitioning from high school to college)?
Walmart Apologizes for Racist Description
Walmart blamed a seller for a racist description of a hair weaving net. The blurb included the "N-word" as an adjective with "brown" for the product color.
Walmart removed the description and issued an apology, shown here.
The seller, Jagazi in the United Kingdom, said someone was using its name to sell products on Walmart's website. Jagazi wrote a statement denying connection with the product but didn't mention the racial slur.
We woke up this morning to the news that someone has used our name, Jagazi, to list an item. Please beware that we are reporting this to as many people as we can and trying to get all the listings pulled down. The real Jagazi is a 100% black company for black people. People have often used our brand name to try and sell their products. Please be aware. Very sorry for all the distress this has caused. We are feeling the pain here as well. Most shocking!
An AOL article author criticizes Jagazi for "indicating some offense to the racial slur and much offense to someone selling fake Jagazi on Walmart's website." Do you agree or disagree?
Discussion:
- How does a mistake like this happen?
- How well did Walmart handle the apology? Should the company take more responsibility? Why or why not?
- Assess Jagazi's response. What, if anything, should Jagazi have done differently?
- The AOL article has a punctuation error. Can you find it?
YouTube Continues to Fight Extremist Videos
Google announced new policies to fight offensive and inappropriate videos on YouTube and other sites. The company is responding most recently to videos promoting terrorism.
When videos violate community guidelines, they will be immediately removed. In addition, in a blog post, the company identified four new strategies:
- Increasing technology to find terrorism-related videos
- Expanding the network of people and organizations to flag videos
- Applying restrictions to "inflammatory religious or supremacist content"
- Expanding its "role in counter-radicalization efforts"
The third point is interesting. Judging a video for removal is difficult, so Google will diminish potentially damaging content by posting a warning and not allowing comments, endorsements, or monetization (they can't accept advertising). General Counsel Kent Walker writes, "That means these videos will have less engagement and be harder to find. We think this strikes the right balance between free expression and access to information without promoting extremely offensive viewpoints."
Discussion:
- Analyze Walker's blog post. Who is the audience, and what are his communication objectives? How would you describe the writing style? What organizational strategy does he use?
- How well do you think Google is balancing freedom of expression with damage and complaints from advertisers?
- What are the potential dangers of Google's new policy? What are the benefits?
Hyundai's Whistleblower
Kim Gwang-ho took a big risk revealing safety issues at Hyundai, his employer for the past 26 years. The engineer reported failures in proper engine checks that could prevent accidents. Whistleblowing is extremely rare, as Kim describes, "I will be the first and last whistleblower in South Korea's auto industry. There are just too many things to lose." He also said, "I had a normal life and was better off, but now I'm fighting against a big conglomerate."
Hyundai denied allegations in a statement, as reported by Reuters: "The company promotes openness and transparency in all safety-related operations, and its decisions on recalls comply with both global regulators and stringent internal processes."
The company also defended its practices, arguing that they were investigating issues before Kim raised them: "Hyundai has taken appropriate steps to ensure safety, quality and compliance with applicable regulations in our markets, including all recalls Hyundai has conducted to date."
Meanwhile, investigators raided Kim's house and confiscated some documents. Kim said, "At first my wife asked me not to do it. She was worried about living costs if I'm fired. But I'm stubborn, and persuaded her that the problems will be buried forever without my confession."
But the company eventually rehired him and reimbursed him for lost work time.
Kim's complaints did inspire the South Korean government to mandate a recall-the first in the country's history. In addition to the 1.5 million cars voluntarily recalled by the Hyundai and Kia, the government requirement adds another 240,000 to the list.
Discussion:
- Analyze how Hyundai is handling this situation and the statements made so far. What could be improved?
- How believable do you find Hyundai's responses? Based on what language or other criteria are you forming your opinion?