Uber CEO Tries to Change His Image

After many stories of Uber's questionable practices with reporters, employees, drivers, and technology, CEO Travis Kalanick is trying to change his image. A Recode author writes, "A more cuddly Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has returned to social media."

After a Twitter hiatus in 2016, Kalanick is back on, as Recode reports, "as the nicest CEO in the whole wide world." We see pictures of Kalanick with his mom on Mother's Day, with his parents at the Kentucky Derby wearing hats, and of his grinning face while he touches his heart.

Recode reminds us this isn't the first time Kalanick has taken to social media to try to change the company's and his own image:

After the media furor around whatever scandal of the moment died down, Kalanick tried to humanize himself - and, by virtue, the company - and often turned to puppies or children to do that.

After we saw a video of Kalanick arguing with an Uber driver over declining wages, he promised to improve. But the promise was about his leadership style. This seems like a PR fix. 

Discussion:

• Assess Kalanick's approach. Who is his audience, and what are his objectives?
• Am I justified in questioning Kalanick's sincerity or too harsh?
• What else could he do to improve the company's image and his own image?

Ryan Getzlaf Calls Ref a Bad Name

NHL Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf will pay $10,000 for calling a referee a name too bad to print in BizCom in the News. People say it's homophobic, which technically it is, and it's just plain ugly. (Here's a detailed, NSFW analysis of the term, if you're so inclined.)

A statement on NHL's website, shown here, refers to " an inappropriate remark." The fine is the most allowed by the players' union.

In a statement called "luke warm," Getzlaf apologized, a little: 

"A situation like that, where I'm on the bench by myself, frustration set in," Getzlaf said, via ESPN. "There was obviously some words said, not necessarily directed at anyone in particular. It was just kind of a comment. I've got to be a little bit more responsible for the words I choose. "Definitely as a father, as somebody that takes a lot of pride in this game and the respect for it, it's tough to see somebody refer to it as (a gay slur). I didn't mean it in that manner in any way. For that to take that route was very disappointing for me. I do accept responsibility and I accept the fine."

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2017/05/ryan-getzlaf-apologizes-sort-of-after-10k-fine-for-using-gay-slur/

A situation like that, where I'm on the bench by myself, frustration set in. There was obviously some words said, not necessarily directed at anyone in particular. It was just kind of a comment. I've got to be a little bit more responsible for the words I choose.

Definitely as a father, as somebody that takes a lot of pride in this game and the respect for it, it's tough to see somebody refer to it as (a gay slur). I didn't mean it in that manner in any way. For that to take that route was very disappointing for me. I do accept responsibility and I accept the fine.

Discussion:

• "There was obviously some words said." Help: What grammar problems do you see here?
• What make this a weak apology?
• Did the league take the right action? Some say Getzlaf deserved more of a punishment.
• What else should Getzlaf do or say?

Ford Announces New CEO

Ford has appointed a new CEO to replace Mark Fields, who had been with the company for 28 years. Jim Hackett joined Ford's board in 2013 from Steelcase, and he'll have three new leaders reporting to him. A New York Times article describes Fields' less-than-stellar performance as CEO:

During Mr. Fields's three-year tenure - a period when Ford's shares dropped 40 percent - he came under fire from investors and the company's board for failing to expand the company's core auto business and for lagging in developing the high-tech cars of the future. . . .

The board's decision to change management was made on Friday, eight days after Mr. Fields had been sharply criticized during the company's annual shareholders' meeting for Ford's deteriorating financial results.

Ford has faced safety recalls and has been struggling against GM and Google to develop a self-driving car. The board said Fields' retirement decision was mutual.

The company's news release included this quote from the chairman about Fields:

Mark Fields has been an outstanding leader and deserves a lot of credit for all he has accomplished in his many roles around the globe at Ford," Bill Ford said. "His strong leadership was critical to our North American restructuring, our turnaround at the end of the last decade, and our record profits in the past two years.

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Discussion:

• Read the full press release. Describe the audience, objectives, and structure. What's the purpose of the summary bullets at the top?
• Should the company's press release have said more or something different about Fields? Does the quotation seem to reflect reality?

Dove's Shampoo Bottles Touch a Nerve

Dove's latest advertising from the "Real Beauty" campaign was mostly mocked. Shampoo bottles were designed to represent different body types, continuing with Dove's messaging about body positivity. Copy with the ad read,

From curvaceous to slender, tall to petite, and whatever your skin colour, shoe size or hair type, beauty comes in a million different shapes and sizes. Our six exclusive bottle designs represent this diversity: just like women, we wanted to show that our iconic bottle can come in all shapes and sizes, too.

Twitter responses were nasty, including Perez Hilton's round-up. (Read at your own risk.)

But an AdAge article reports little brand damage. A survey of 2,200 Americans found that 41% received a more favorable view of the brand, while only 9% felt less favorable. More people were likely to buy Dove products: 71% or 3 points higher than before seeing the ads.

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Discussion:

• What's your view of the campaign? Is it "dumb," as Perez Hilton says, or something else?
• How do you account for the disconnect between the nasty reaction (or should we say, the reports of the reaction) and the survey results about the brand?
• Even the most cynical seem to agree that Dove is trying to do a good thing. Does no good deed go unpunished?

President Trump's Coast Guard Speech

President Trump gave the commencement speech at the Coast Guard Academy. The theme was perseverance, and he gave the new graduates good advice:

Now, I want to take this opportunity to give you some advice. Over the course of your life, you will find that things are not always fair. You will find that things happen to you that you do not deserve and that are not always warranted, but you have to put your head down and fight, fight, fight. Never, ever, ever give up. Things will work out just fine.

Apparently, he then went off script:

Look at the way I've been treated lately. Especially by the media. No politician in history - and I say this with great surety - has been treated worse or more unfairly. You can't let them get you down. You can't let the critics and the naysayers get in the way of your dreams. I guess that's why, thank you, I guess that's why we won.

The speech came after a difficult week for the president: he fired FBI Director James Comey, who questioned the president's integrity in return.

Of course, reports about President Trump's speech vary according to political alignment. Conservative outlets such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News applaud his calling out the media. Limbaugh wrote, "Media Livid," and Fox's headline was "Trump Takes on Media." Compare those headlines with CNN's: "Trump's Pity Party at Coast Guard Academy Was Shameful."

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Discussion:

• What's your view of the speech? Do you agree more with the conservative media outlets or the more liberal CNN? How does your opinion align with your own political views?
• Take the other side of the argument. In what ways was the comment appropriate or inappropriate?
• How would you assess President Trump's speech overall? Consider delivery skills discussed in Chapter 11.

GM Venezuelan Employees Laid Off by Text Message

Last month, 2,700 employees at a General Motors plant in Venezuela say they were fired by a text message:

"GM informs you that social benefits will be transferred to employees' accounts due to the termination of your contracts."

Authorities took over the plant, removing vehicles and causing damage. The plant joins more than 500,000 companies in Venezuela that have been closed since 1999, when Hugo Chávez became president.

GM said they had no choice but to close operations after the seizure:

"[The plant] was unexpectedly taken by the public authorities, preventing normal operations. In addition, other assets of the company, such as vehicles, have been illegally taken from its facilities."

Understandably, employees are upset about the news:

"We don't feel happy. We will only feel happy when our plant starts operation again. We need to be sure our jobs are safe and we are going to start working again. Given the situation in Venezuela these days, it would be really hard to find another job like the one I am doing here at this plant."

Some say the government did GM a favor; car sales have been declining in Venezuela anyway.

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Discussion:

• What do you think of GM's communication? Maybe the company had little choice given the situation?
• Generally, what's your view of firing or laying off by text message? What are the benefits and downsides?

Chobani Claim Dropped and a Muddy Apology

Right-wing radio host Alex Jones admitted he "mischaracterized" Chobani when he posted negative messages to social media. Chobani had sued Jones for false and defamatory comments when Jones wouldn't remove posts or retract the comments. You may remember Jones for the "Pizzagate" hoax, which linked Hillary Clinton with a child sex ring at a restaurant.

This time, Jones posted on Twitter, "Idaho Yogurt Maker Caught Importing Migrant Rapists."

Jones issued this apology, and the case is said to be closed. @SorryWatch posted this commentary on the writing. Passive voice is useful for avoiding responsibility.

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Discussion:

• What examples of passive voice do you see in this paragraph?
• How would you rewrite Alex Jones' apology if he wanted to take responsibility?

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. 

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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?

United: It's Too Soon

United tried a fun Twitter campaign, but it failed. It's simply too soon after Dr. Dao was dragged off the plane to put themselves out there.

A 16-year-old from Nevada asked Wendy's how many retweets he would need to get free Chicken Nuggets for a year. The answer was 18 million.

Somewhere along the way, United jumped in and offered a free flight to the boy to any Wendy's in the country. It was a bold move, but people had fun at United's expense.

Discussion:

• Do you agree with my assessment that it's too soon for United? What if they wanted a few weeks? Still too soon?
• Or did the campaign backfire for other reasons?
• How do you think Wendy's feels about the association with United?
• What else should United be doing now to rebuild its brand?

Snap CEO Unconcerned About Stock Drop

For a recent IPO, Snap Inc. is taking a big hit. The stock dropped more than 20% when the company missed its first-quarter results, and few people seemed interested in picking up the shares. Analysts worry that Facebook is a fierce competitor that will usurp what's unique about Snap. Snapchat has recently introduced features for video and images to be maintained forever, which is not the original intent of Snapchat.

CEO Even Spiegel isn't helping. Jim Cramer joked, although he's against hazing, Spiegel is arrogant and needs to be hazed. Cramer suggested, on future earnings calls, Spiegel say he wants to do better and then turn it over to his CFO. Cramer said, "Humility is a fabulous thing."

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Discussion:

• This is a difficult situation for the CEO of a newly public, suddenly billion-dollar company. Spiegel has to be confident, yet Cramer suggests humility. How can he do both?
• Spiegel compares Facebook to Yahoo and Snap to Google, which is one of the reasons Cramer called him "arrogant." Do you agree with the comparison? Do you agree with Cramer's assessment?
• Read more of Spiegel's earnings call here. What does he need to improve?

Spirit Cancels Flights and Passengers Get Angry

Spirit cancelled flights, and their customers went a bit wild in the Fort Lauderdale airport. One woman says Spirit cancelled three flights in four days, and she's having trouble getting home. Customers were fighting, and some were arrested.

Spirit blames pilots, who won't take certain assignments. They have sued the Airline Pilots Association for what they're calling a work slowdown, which has caused 300 flight cancellations and affected about 20,000 customers.

In a statement, Spirit spokesperson said the company was "shocked and saddened" to see the airport chaos and said, "These pilots have put their quest for a new contract ahead of getting customers to their destinations and the safety of their fellow Spirit Team Members."

Pilots say they are working without a contract and are seeking pay increases. They deny causing a slowdown and said, "Rather, ALPA and the Spirit pilots are continuing to do everything possible to help restore the company's operations, which have experienced significant problems over the past several days."

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Discussion:

• Analyze responsibilities in this situation: airline management, the pilots, the pilot union, and customers. How could this situation have been prevented?
• How's your view of the airline's communications so far? How can they be improved?

DeVos Steps Up About Formatting Rules

Two weeks ago, Upward Bound applications to help kids get into college were rejected for formatting errors such as line spacing. To protest, 32 members of the House of Representatives signed a letter asking the Department of Education to reconsider the grants that affected approximately 2,700 students; an excerpt is below.

In response, Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, established a "new policy" that prevents program officers from using page limits and formatting as "mandatory requirements":

"Program offices may suggest page limits and formatting standards (such as font size, line spacing, and the like) but may not use ignoring these suggestions as a basis to reject grant applications."

In her letter, however, DeVos does not address the recently rejected applications.

Discussion:

• What do you think DeVos should do at this point? What should she consider in her decision?
• Assess the Representatives' letter. What principles of persuasion are used, and how could the letter be improved?

Facebook Staffs Up

Facebook is taking more action in response to criticism about fake news, offensive posts, and violent videos. The company will hire 3,000 more people to monitor videos, hoping to avoid another situation like the one when a man recorded himself murdering another man.

In a Facebook post, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote, 

"Over the last few weeks, we've seen people hurting themselves and others on Facebook - either live or in video posted later. It's heartbreaking, and I've been reflecting on how we can do better for our community.

"If we're going to build a safe community, we need to respond quickly. We're working to make these videos easier to report so we can take the right action sooner - whether that's responding quickly when someone needs help or taking a post down.

"Over the next year, we'll be adding 3,000 people to our community operations team around the world -- on top of the 4,500 we have today -- to review the millions of reports we get every week, and improve the process for doing it quickly."

COO Sheryl Sandberg commented on the post: "Keeping people safe is our top priority. We won't stop until we get it right."

Some say the move reflects Facebook's disappointment in artificial intelligence (AI). The long-term goal is to develop the technology so it can adequately identify and remove inappropriate content. But that may be a way off.

Discussion:

• Assess Zuckerberg's post. Who is the audience, and what are his communication objectives? What works well, and what could be improved?
• What else, if anything, can Facebook do to address these serious issues?

Sunny Co. Renegs on a Freebie

Be careful about offering unlimited free items. Sunny Co. Clothing company learned this lesson the hard way when it posted a message on Instagram.

Naturally, nearly "everyone" reposted the image hoping for a free suit, and people complained about their feeds being over-run with red bathing suits.

The company eventually posted some rules: "Due to the viral volume of participants, we reserve the right to cap the promotion if deemed necessary." They also warned of delays because of the "overwhelming volume of orders."

One good thing did come from the situation: Sunny Co.'s followers increased from 24.1 to 458,000. Now, whether that translates into sales is another question.

Discussion:

• The company could have had some fun with this. What ideas do you have?
• Should they have known better, or was the outcome too hard to predict?

LinkedIn's Updated Terms of Service

LinkedIn has updated its terms of service, including its privacy policy and user agreement. In an email to users and posted on its website, the company promises a shorter privacy policy that's easier to understand. Highlights follow:

• Increased visibility of your LinkedIn profile
• Easier to share accomplishments with your network
• Productivity bots and similar tools to improve communication
• Easily meet up with other members
• Keep learning new skills on Lynda

We see some problems with this bullet list. Besides a lack of clarify of what's new, the items aren't parallel.

In the post, LinkedIn reminds us that the site is part of Microsoft even though these terms are separate.

Discussion:

• Writing quiz: make the list items parallel. Also explain why this is important-or do you think it's too nitpicky?
• Read the full post. What else could be improved?

Discussion:

College Prep Denied for Failing to Double Space Applications

Dozens of colleges and organizations won't receive funding for Upward Bound programs because their grant applications failed to meet formatting requirements. The U.S. Department of Education, now led by Betsy deVos, rejected applications that would have served at least 2,400 low-income students who would have received tutoring and counseling to help prepare them for college.

Applications missed the requirements because they weren't double spaced, used the wrong font, or forgot other formatting details.

Although members of Congress have appealed to Department of Education representatives, the decision seems to stand. The acting deputy assistant secretary said, "A rule is a rule. . . . I, too, have to abide by the rules." One rule is for "no more than three lines per vertical inch." In one application, shown here, an infographic contained text spaced one-and-a-half lines apart instead of two.

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Discussion:

• What's your view of this situation? Is the Department of Education being too harsh, or is "a rule a rule"?
• How does this compare to grading of your writing assignments? Have you felt that instructors have been too nitpicky? What's the value of an instructor calling out formatting errors? 
• The Chronicle says this decision doesn't seem motivated by the Trump Administration's cost-cutting plans. Still, what could be the political fallout if the Department of Education doesn't change its mind?

Mall of America's Social Strategy

PR Daily News reports on Mall of America's successful "newsjacking," or taking advantage of news stories to promote business. Being close to the Mineapolis-St. Paul International Airport gives the mall the chance to lure travelers to shop when their flight is delayed.

Last summer, the mall wrote a blog post, "Flight delayed? 11 things to do at MOA," offering better options than wandering aimlessly like Tom Hanks in "The Terminal." Like a lot of malls these days (what's left of them), Mall of America is part amusement park.

Through social listening, the mall is responsive, but they also promote timely events, such as the mall's 25th anniversary, and greet people who announced celebrations at the mall. We can see the potential for creepiness here, but management believes people appreciate this.

The mall has a bunch of people writing posts, and manager Timothy Pate lets them have their own voice: "Mall of America happens to have a lot of quirky stories, and we aren't afraid to share those with our readers. We find when you really let your quirks shine through, readership goes up."

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Discussion:

• From Chapter 3 in the text or from your own research, how would you define social listening?
• I mentioned the concern about "creepiness." Where should social media managers draw the line? What are some examples of overstepping?

United Announces New Policies

United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz has found some strength and a way out of the situation that angered so many around the world. The company admits that dragging a man off of a flight two weeks ago wasn't the best way to make room for four United employees.

The company has published "Changes We're Making" in an email to loyalty members, in videos, on its website, in a report, and in an interview with NBC News. The website statement begins as follows:

We are making changes to ensure that we always put customers first

By United Airlines

April 27, 2017

Earlier this month, we disappointed our customers and ourselves when a passenger was forcibly removed from one of our planes. We can never say we are sorry enough for what occurred, but we also know meaningful actions will speak louder than words.

We committed to take action as a result of this incident, and today marks the first step in changing how we fly, serve and respect our customers.

 In the email with the subject line, "Actions Speak Louder than Words," United summarized its most significant policy changes:

We will increase incentives for voluntary rebooking up to $10,000 and will be eliminating the red tape on permanently lost bags with a new "no-questions-asked" $1,500 reimbursement policy. We will also be rolling out a new app for our employees that will enable them to provide on-the-spot goodwill gestures in the form of miles, travel credit and other amenities when your experience with us misses the mark. 

The $10,000 offer for re-booking is particularly clever: it's a generous amount, and it's unlikely the airline will have to pay that much.

Meanwhile, the airline settled with Dr. Dao for an undisclosed amount. Good idea to end the nightmare. The last thing United needs is more publicity about the case.

Discussion:

• How are they doing? Analyze the audience, communication objectives, content, and writing and presentation styles. Also consider the timing and policy changes.
• Read the full report. Which principles of report writing are allowed, and what could be improved?
• To what extent will these communications and policy changes affect United's image?

Heated Wells Fargo Shareholders Meeting

The annual Wells Fargo shareholders meeting was disrupted by angry shareholders wanting to understand how 2 million accounts were created without customers' knowledge and without the knowledge of senior leaders of the organization. One attendee shouted, "You did it that way and you allowed it to continue for years." Another yelled, "We elected you guys to protect us, to be our watchdogs, and you were not." Security removed three protestors.

Despite the protests, all 15 board members were re-elected, although some narrowly. The board's three newcomers, including the new CEO, Tim Sloan, won more support.

Sloan started the meeting with a promise to change:

"There is no doubt that the last seven months have been one of the most difficult periods in our company's 165-year history. I can assure you that we are facing these problems head-on and that Wells Fargo is emerging a much stronger company."

Board turnover will happen over time. Some directors are nearing the mandatory retirement age, and others may still be forced out. But for Brandon Rees, the deputy director of the A.F.L.-C.I.O.'s investment office, the change isn't coming quickly enough. The group holds 1.6 million shares of Wells Fargo, and Rees voted against all of the current board members:

"Fresh blood is needed to ensure that the board has sufficient independence. The narrow vote puts incredible pressure on some directors to reconsider their membership. I hope that by this time next year, we have a new slate."

In March, Gretchen Morgenson wrote a New York Times piece about the increasing number of online shareholders meetings. Partly for convenience, partly to skirt accountability and confrontations like this, more and more companies are holding web-based meetings. The director of an asset management group was quoted in her article:

"These are not management's meetings; they are the meetings of the owners of the company." Online-only events give company officials "tremendous power over controlling, censoring and really limiting the engagement of share owners with the board and management."

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Discussion:

• Are you surprised at the board vote? Why or why not?
• What's your view of the shareholders who spoke out? Were they inappropriately disruptive or just finding their voice?
• What do you think of online shareholder meetings. When might they be appropriate or not?

NYT Article About Uber CEO

A long New York Times article chronicles Uber CEO Travis Kalanick's rise to power and what has happened since. He certainly has built a successful company, but his leadership character is not ideal.

We have seen many reports of ignored complaints and executive departures and have seen the video altercation between Kalanick and an Uber driver. The latest report is about Uber's violation of an Apple rule against "fingerprinting." Uber was tracking iPhone users even after they deleted the Uber app.

The NYT tells of a meeting between Kalanick and Apple CEO Tim Cook in 2015. In the article, "Uber's CEO Plays with Fire," we learned that Cook summoned Kalanick to his office. Surprisingly, Kalanick "was shaken by Mr. Cook's scolding, according to a person who saw him after the meeting."

He should have been: if Apple decided to remove Uber's app from iPhones, the company could have lost millions of users.

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Discussion:

• Although Kalanick may have been "shaken" by the meeting, it doesn't seem to have affected his leadership tactics. Do you agree, or is this too harsh?
• Read the article. What else do you learn about Kalanick? How, if at all, does it change your impression of him as a leader?