Goodell Skirts Anthem Issue

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell seems to be conflicted about how to handle the issue of players kneeling during the national anthem. A PR Daily writer summarizes the results of a recent news conference.

His aim was to stem backlash over players kneeling during the national anthem. However, Goodell's response didn't do much to alleviate the NFL's troubles.

This video caption reads, "Roger Goodell: 'We believe everyone should stand for the National Anthem' | NFL." But other messages aren't quite as clear. In a memo to owners, Goodell wrote, "we also care deeply about our players and respect their opinions and concerns about critical social issues. The controversy over the Anthem is a barrier to having honest conversations and making real progress on the underlying issues."

In a tweet and elsewhere, President Trump has made his perspective clear.

Image source.

Discussion:

• Assess Goodell's news conference. Consider his audience and communication objectives.
• Contrast the NFL's with the NBA's. What differences and similarities do you notice? Which league is handling the controversy better?

#MeToo Campaign

Women in every industry are showing empathy and compassion to those who have suffered from sexual harassment and assault. After exposure of Harvey Weinstein's years of sexual harassment, women are coming forward on social media to say they, too, have been victims.

Social media connects people, but often those connections are negative, with online bullying and harassment getting the most attention. Now people are showing their vulnerability and coming together in solidarity to stop what many believe is a pervasive practice.

The latest women to admit their experience are in the U.S. Senate, including Senators Claire McCaskill and Mazie Hirono. 

A writer The Washington Post commends women who speak out, but she warns that not everyone has to:

Plenty of people talk about how brave it is to speak out, and they're right. It is brave to speak out, but that doesn't make you a coward if you don't.

Image source.

Discussion:

• What is empathy, and how does it differ from compassion?
• How is the hashtag #MeToo helpful?
• To what extent do you agree with the Washington Post writer's view? Read her entire article first.

NBA Reinforces Rule: Stand for the Anthem

The NBA is speaking out about the controversy over whether players can "take a knee"-or kneel-during the national anthem, which NFL players have been criticized for doing. In a memo from deputy commissioner Mark Tatum, the message is loud and clear-but hidden towards the end:

"...players, coaches and trainers stand respectfully for the anthem. The league office will determine how to deal with any possible instance in which a player, coach or trainer does not stand for the anthem. (Teams do not have the discretion to waive this rule)."

Most of the memo avoids the issue entirely and instead encourages players to continue to be active within the community.

TO: NBA BOARD OF GOVERNORS, TEAM PRESIDENTS,GENERAL MANAGERS
FROM: MARK TATUM, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER &CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
CC: LEAGUE OFFICE
DATE: SEPTEMBER 29, 2017
RE: NEXT STEPS: BUILDING STRONGER, SAFER COMMUNITIES

As a follow-up to our discussions at this week's Board of Governors meetings, this document outlines suggested steps each team could take as we prepare for the start of the season and continue to develop impactful community programs.

I. ENGAGING PLAYERS AND SENIOR LEADERSHIP

If you have not done so already, we suggest organizing discussions between players, coaches, general managers and ownership to hear the players' perspectives.

One approach would be for team leadership to review existing team and league initiatives and encourage players to share their thoughts and ideas about them. Following those conversations, teams could develop plans prior to the start of the regular season for initiatives that players and senior leadership could participate in, such as:

- Hosting Community Conversations with youth, parents, community leaders and law enforcement about the challenges we face and our shared responsibility to create positive change.

- Creating "Building Bridges Through Basketball" programs that use the game of basketball to bring people together and deepen important bonds of trust and respect between young people, mentors, community leaders, law enforcement and other first responders.

- Highlighting the importance of mentoring with the goal of adding 50,000 new mentors to support young people through our PSA campaign.

- Engaging thought leaders and partners. A variety of experts, speakers and partner organizations are available to players and teams as you continue these conversations and develop programming.

- Establishing new and/or enhancing ongoing team initiatives and partnerships in the areas of criminal justice reform, economic empowerment and civic engagement.

II. OPENING WEEK

As we approach opening week, each team could explore ways to use their first home game as an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to the NBA's core values of equality, diversity, inclusion and serve as a unifying force in the community, including:

- A joint address to fans featuring a player or coach prior to the National Anthem. This could include a message of unity and how the team is committed to bringing the community together this season.

- A video tribute or PSA featuring players, community leaders, faith leaders and team leadership speaking about the issues they care about and photos from past community events.

III. KEY MESSAGES

- These are difficult and nuanced issues.

- We support and encourage players to express their views on matters that are important to them.

- The NBA has a rule that players, coaches and trainers stand respectfully for the anthem. The league office will determine how to deal with any possible instance in which a player, coach or trainer does not stand for the anthem. (Teams do not have the discretion to waive this rule).

- Our team's focus remains on unity and collective action that leads to meaningful change in society. The players have embraced their roles in those efforts and we are proud of the work they do in our communities.

- We believe sports are a unifier and this is an opportunity for the NBA to once again lead by its core values of equality, inclusion and unity and to bridge divides and bring people together.

In a video statement, NBA commissioner Adam Silver echoed Tatum's memo. Silver said he expected players to follow the league's rules of standing for the anthem. Although he encouraged freedom of expression, he also said, "It's my hope that our players will continue to use that as a moment of unity."

A writer for Yahoo sports argues that players should be able to take a knee. Part of his argument follows:

Let's be clear: Athletes are not possibly putting their careers at risk, opening themselves up to jeering fans in arenas and on social media, because they are anti-national anthem, anti-flag, anti-America, anti-military or any other "anti" that has been used to diffuse any honest discourse. That those arguments have distracted from the true purpose of this activism only goes to show why it is necessary. Change won't come if no one listens. It certainly won't come if a league that presents itself as progressive and forward-thinking discourages civil methods used to bring about awareness.

Image source.

Discussion:

• Analyze the NBA memo against principles of business writing. Who are the primary and secondary audiences? What are Tatum's objectives? How does he organize the memo?
• How well does the memo capture the league's perspective? How do you think players might have reacted? 
• Analyze Michael Lee's argument in the Yahoo article. What are his strongest and weakest arguments?

Ikea's Diversity Ad

Ikea Canada is making a statement with a video set to "What a Wonderful World."

The spot starts with the song lyrics, "Seems to me, it's ain't the world that's so bad, but what we are doing to it." Then, a little girl looks out the window of a car as she narrates from the song what she sees-and we see images of different people. First up are two teenage girls exchanging corsages. Next, we see someone putting up solar panels, and then laundry drying outside.

An editor for Creativity-Online analyzes the approach. As the "Editor's Pick" states, Ikea is putting its mark on what the company deems important.

But in such a divisive political time, the ad is risky. Not everyone has the positive feelings Ikea is promoting when they see refugees or a woman breastfeeding.

Discussion:

• What do you think Ikea considered before producing this video? The company took some calculated risks.
• What's your view of the ad? Do you find it heartwarming, offensive, cheesy, or something else?

Defense After Nurse Is Arrested

A nurse at a Utah hospital was arrested for disobeying an officer's request, and everyone seems to be apologizing. An officer asked Alex Wubbels to draw blood from a man who was unconscious, and she refused. Wubbels said, in order to draw blood, the patient would need to be under arrest, and she would need to see a warrant. She said she had authority from hospital administrators to maintain her position.

The police officer, Jeff L. Payne, became angry and said she would be arrested if she didn't comply. And then he followed through while Wubbels screamed for help. It seems that Officer Payne's anger may have impaired his judgment.

Statements from the Salt Lake City major and the chief of police offer apologies for the incident:

Mayor Jackie Biskupski:

"Like many of you, I watched the video of police officers interacting with University of Utah Medical Center nurse Alex Wubbles for the first time through the media late yesterday. What I saw is completely unacceptable to the values of my Administration and of the values of the Salt Lake City Police Department. I extend a personal apology to Ms. Wubbles for what she has been through for simply doing her job.

There is currently an Internal Affairs investigation examining the actions, and the Civilian Review Board is conducting a parallel investigation. I have reiterated to Chief Brown that I expect the highest level of professionalism and integrity from his team. I have also instructed Chief Brown to conduct a thorough review of all policies and trainings to ensure respect for all individuals, in all situations. Following the incident Salt Lake City Police Department command met with hospital administration. We immediately changed policies that may have been a factor in this encounter, and the officer's duties have been modified.

I take these incidences very seriously. Since I took office, I have been working with Salt Lake City Police Department to increase our use of de-escalation techniques and we have had great success, and this incident is a troubling set back to those efforts. No medical professional in Salt Lake City should be hindered from performing their duties, and certainly not be fearful of the police officers they so often partner with to save lives."

Chief Mike Brown:

"I was alarmed by what I saw in the video with our officer and Ms. Wubbles. I am sad at the rift this has caused between law-enforcement and the nurses we work so closely with. I want to be clear, we take this very seriously. Immediate steps were taken and within 12 hours, body cam footage was reviewed and an internal affairs investigation started. We've looked at the actions that took place, the policies that could have prevented it, and the training that must be done. Within 24 hours of this incident, Salt Lake City Police Department took steps to ensure this will never happen again. We met with hospital CEO and COO, Nursing Management Team, their legal representation team, and University of Utah Chief Brophy. 

Most notable of all these conversations were that we apologized for the incident and promised to find a solution. Additionally, our policy management team continues to work closely with the hospital staff on improved policies and training. 

To date, we have suspended the officer from the blood draw program. We have already replaced our blood draw policy with a new policy. All remaining officers on the blood draw program have reviewed, and are operating under the new policy and protocol.

It is my sincere desire to get back to a very cooperative, respectful, and friendly relationship with our "brothers and sisters in white" we work so closely with. Salt Lake City Police Officers have a very soft spot in our hearts for all medical professionals. We know that if we are ever hurt in the line of duty, it is their caring hands that will perhaps save our lives one day. 

I believe we can learn from mistakes and from building strong relationships with everyone we work with and serve. By doing that we become a stronger police department." 

In addition, Mayor Jackie Biskupski apologized during a news conference and announced an internal investigation. Biskupski also said they met with hospital administrators and changed some policies. Police Chief Mike Brown also apologized  and said they would put steps in place to make sure this type of incident doesn't happen again.  

Discussion:

• How effective are the apologies from the mayor and police chief? What works well, and what could be improved?
• How well did they answer questions? What were their best responses?
• In what ways did the nurse demonstrate courage? What risks did she take to stand by her position?
• How did she also demonstrate integrity?

Gender Bias in Economics

An economist's research has revealed gender bias among academics. A gutsy senior wrote her thesis at the University of California, Berkeley, based on online, informal conversations about the economics academic job market. By analyzing more than a million online comments, Alice Wu identified words associated with men and women.

Words associated with women (female pronouns) were far more sexual, while the words associated with men were more positive overall. The female list is jarring.

Wu took a big risk in doing this research and publishing her report. She was warned about facing online harassment, but she seems resolved to continue her work.

The organization hashtac compiled an extensive list of studies about gender bias in academe and conclude the following:

The studies aggregated and summarized below offer important policy implications for the traditional ways that we quantify the processes leading to hiring, promotion, and tenure. You cannot simply count "outputs" in making an evaluation of someone's worth and reputation if there is a "biased filter" at the first stage of evaluation, prejudicing judgment at the outset.

Discussion:

• What, if anything, surprises you about this research?
• How does this work relate to the concept of implicit bias discussed in Chapter 2 of the tenth edition of Business Communication?
• Wu certainly demonstrates courage. What is at risk for her personally and professionally?
• Despite several page views, I cannot find what the letters "hashtac" represent. Where on the website would be a good place for this?

Comparing CEO Statements

A writer for The New York Times doesn't condemn CEOs for leaving President Trump's business advisory councils, but she says that we should expect more, particularly from those who gave what she considers vague statements. Zoe Greenberg writes,

It's fine to thank these executives for doing the right thing. But to look to these men as brave leaders? Let's not lower our standards, both politically and morally, so far that we're cheering for the absolute bare minimum of human decency.

She gives the example of Brain Krzanich of Intel's statement:

 I resigned to call attention to the serious harm our divided political climate is causing to critical issues, including the serious need to address the decline of American manufacturing.

The Los Angeles Times rounded up 15 CEOs' statements about their decision to leave, some before the Charlottesville incident. Comparing the statements and the reasons they identified is an interesting exercise. Some executives used the opportunity to promote their companies, and some gave more specific reasons that others.

Image source.

Discussion:

• Which executives most used the opportunity to promote their company?
• Which gave the most vague and most specific reasons for leaving?
• What other differences do you notice?
• Which statements do you find most effective and why?

Many Perspectives on the Google Memo

A Google software engineer's memo has further split conservatives and liberals in the workplace. The most divisive part of the 10-page, so-called "manifesto" seems to be the argument that biology partly explains why fewer women are in technology jobs. James Damore was fired following controversy about the memo.

Here are a few highlights of the situation, particularly as they relate to communication:

The Engineer's Point of View

Damore argued in his memo that Google's diversity programs need to be reworked. Titled, "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber," the memo suggests Google de-moralize diversity, stop alienating conservatives, confront Google's biases, stop restricting programs and classes to certain genders or races, have an open and honest discussion about costs and benefits of diversity programs, focus on psychological safety instead of just race/gender diversity, de-emphasize empathy, prioritize intention, be open about the science of human nature, and reconsider making Unconscious Bias (Google's training program) mandatory for promotion committees.

His argument about empathy and claims that women are more neurotic than men seem to be perceived as most hurtful. Damore responded to his termination in a Wall Street Journal editorial.

Women in Tech's Point of View

A computer science lecturer at Stanford acknowledges that the memo cites some peer-reviewed studies. But she identifies fives reasons the memo is offensive to women in tech: fatigue (tired of hearing the arguments and feeling dismissed at work), resisting the divide-and-conquer strategy (women won't feel better if they aren't "average"), Google isn't average (yet Damore cites studies of averages), race is argued alongside gender (but Damore cites no research), and contradiction (he says he values diversity yet criticizes all of Google's programs).

In sum, women argue that technology is a challenging field filled with bias. The memo only hurts women's attempts to be valued and included in the workplace. 

Google Leadership's Response

Google leadership had a right to terminate Damore. The question is whether this was the best  decision. By posting his memo and given the subsequent conversations, Damore may have created a hostile working environment for Google. In an email to staff, CEO Sundar Pichai wrote, "portions of the memo violate our Code of Conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace." The VP of diversity, integrity, and governance-just two weeks on the job-wrote an email with her own perspective.

You can read more about Google's decision process here.

Conservatives' Point of View

Conservatives see this situation as emblematic of what Damore argues: that conservative voices are silenced. Damore called Google "cult-like" for its unwillingness to consider other points of view. Damore has filed suit against the termination. New York Times opinion writer David Brooks wrote that Pichai should resign for terminating Damore. 

Image source.

Discussion:

• From a perspective strictly of persuasion (or argumentation), what did Damore do well in his memo, and where did he fall short? What could he have done differently in this situation?
• To what extent do you agree with Damore's arguments? What are his strongest and weakest arguments?
• Did Google do the right thing in firing him? What are the arguments for and against his termination?

Microsoft Lays Off up to 4,000 Employees

Microsoft will cut thousands of sales and marketing employees in a company restructuring. Most are outside the U.S.

An internal memo describes Microsoft's new strategy for partners and customers but doesn't mention the layoffs specifically. The memo reminds me of a 2014 Microsoft layoff memo criticized for its jargon. Here's an excerpt from the recent one:

There is an enormous $4.5 trillion market opportunity across our Commercial and Consumer businesses. We are uniquely positioned to drive our customers' and partners' success by leading them through their digital transformations, and becoming their partner of choice. To help us do that, starting today, we begin to implement changes to our Commercial and Consumer models. These changes will position us to best meet the evolving needs of our customers and partners, and empower them to achieve more.

To lead this digital transformation and capture this opportunity, the changes we are announcing have been shaped on the following growth drivers, which will enable us to align the right resources for the right customer at the right time.

Research tells us that receivers prefer to hear bad news up front, although givers prefer to "ease" into it. In Microsoft's 2014 layoff memo and another in 2015, the news comes late. In this one, it doesn't come at all. 

Image source.

Discussion:

• Why do you think the email doesn't mention layoffs? What are some good reasons to avoid the decision here?
• Read the memo excerpts from Geekwire. How many jargon words do you count?
• Here's a fun activity: rewrite the memo in English.

Comey's Testimony Offers a Window

Former Director James Comey's testimony tells us-at least from his perspective-a bit about politics in the Trump Administration. A Business Insider headline reads, " 'The most shocking single document' since Watergate." However, the article quotes a good friend of Comey's.

Yet his testimony is impressive, and the media is enjoying the story. Comey describes how President Trump, at a private dinner, asked for his loyalty, and Comey stressed the importance of the FBI being independent from the White House. He reports that the President asked if he wanted to continue on as FBI director, although he had said twice previously that he did.

Comey reports about another private meeting in which the President said, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go." The question is whether the President's actions constitute obstruction of justice. A Wall Street Journal video commentary describes the President's requests of Flynn as "unusual."

Today is an interesting day to compare headlines and see the political bent of the media:

• New York Times: "Trump Pressed Comey to ‘Lift Cloud' of Russia Inquiry"
• Wall Street Journal: "Comey Says Trump Sought Loyalty"

Image source.

Discussion:

• How credible do you find Comey's testimony? What influences your opinion? Consider the word choice, writing style, and so on.
• How does what Comey describes differ from business relationships? What could be similar between and manager and an employee working in a company?
• What do you think will happen next?

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. 

Image source.

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?