PGA Commissioner Address Criticism Directly
Golf tournaments PGA and LIV, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, announced a merger and faced backlash. Part of the controversy is how the decision was communicated: primarily during a CNBC interview of LIV Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan.
Players complained openly, shown here. As we teach business communication students, a thoughtful communication plan could prevent negative reactions—at least about how the news is delivered. Players should have been informed before any public announcement was made. Even in the CNBC video title, the news is called a “surprise deal.”
Monahan addressed personal criticism directly. In his statements, he demonstrates courage by acknowledging a perceived lack of integrity:
I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite, Anytime I said anything, I said it with the information that I had at that moment, and I said it based on someone that's trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players. I accept those criticisms. But circumstances do change. I think that in looking at the big picture and looking at it this way, that's what got us to this point.
Monahan loosely acknowledged the impact on tour players, but he could have demonstrated more compassion, particularly for those who had turned down generous Saudi money to stick with the PGA:
This is an awful lot to ask them to digest, and this is a significant change for us in the direction that we were going down. We just realized that we were better off together than we were fighting or apart, and by thinking about the game at large and eliminating a lot of the friction that's been out there and doing this in a way where we can move forward and grow the PGA Tour.
Of course, Monahan’s explanation didn’t convince everyone that the merger is the right decision. A news release on the PGA website, which claims that the merger is “for the benefit of all stakeholders,” is another example for students to analyze.
AI Risk Communications
Two new messages about risks associated with AI are good examples for students to analyze.
Center for AI Safety published a short, joint statement about AI risks. The introduction, which explains the statement, is longer than the 22-word message itself. Unlike a longer statement published two months ago to encouraged a pause, this one is bold and focused:
Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.
The authors use analogies as emotional appeal to persuade their audiences. They also rely credibility, with more than 350 distinguished signatories, including current AI leaders and two Turing Award AI pioneers.
The second message is a blog post written by OpenAI founders to provide guidance for regulators and others wanting to mitigate risk. Titled, Governance of Superintelligence, the post distinguishes between current AI technology and the next generation. The authors’ strategy is to create a sense of urgency about an “existential” threat but prevent overregulation of current technology (like OpenAI, of course). In this statement, they use the analogies of nuclear energy and synthetic biology. The latter might be a better parallel than the pandemic, although a pandemic is more current and may be more universally understood.
Students can edit the governance post for clarity and conciseness. They’ll find overuse of “there is/are” and an abundance of “it,” for example, in this last sentence:
Second, we believe it would be unintuitively risky and difficult to stop the creation of superintelligence. Because the upsides are so tremendous, the cost to build it decreases each year, the number of actors building it is rapidly increasing, and it’s inherently part of the technological path we are on, stopping it would require something like a global surveillance regime, and even that isn’t guaranteed to work. So we have to get it right.
Employees Protest RTO Policies
As companies push for employees to return to the office after working remotely during the pandemic, employees are pushing back. In their arguments, we see different approaches—some more effective than others.
Here are a few employee messages against return to office (RTO) plans:
Apple: This powerful message directly argues against points the executive team made to inspire people back to work. It’s a compelling persuasive example. One of the strongest arguments is that the RTO policy “will make Apple younger, whiter, more male dominated, more neuro-normative, more able-bodied, in short, it will lead to privileges deciding who can work for Apple, not who’d be the best fit.” Although the writers don’t provide a lot of evidence, the potential impact reflects reasons employees give for refusing to go back to an office. Less diversity as a result of RTO is clearly inconsistent with Apple’s inclusion and diversity mission, but the employees don’t mention that. This is a good lesson for our students who cite a company’s mission in their presentations; this approach may be too obvious and pedantic for internal arguments.
Starbucks: This message also disputes claims made by senior management and more explicitly identifies contradictions with the company mission, “One cup, one person, and one neighborhood at a time.” The logic is loose, and it sounds shallow. Later, employees hit hard: “Morale is at an all-time low, and the brand reputation and financial value of this publicly traded company are at risk.” Those are big, bold statements that might cause executives to be less, instead or more, sympathetic.
Black & Veatch: Writers of this petition for a construction engineering company use survey data as their primary source of evidence. The message cites the “Working in New Ways” policy that allowed for remote work. Employees use criteria reasoning (and question the executives’ integrity): “Positions were advertised and professionals hired with the expectation their positions would remain permanently virtual.” Sadly, this message highlights the dangers of an employee survey: the data could be used against the company.
I can’t find an employee statement, but Amazon made news this week when they resisted CEO Andy Jassey’s RTO message. Jassey makes the usual arguments about culture, collaboration, learning, and connection, relying on what he and the rest of the “s-team” (senior management team) has observed. Students can analyze his argument and may find weak evidence.
At Amazon, employee walkouts may or may not influence the decision, but solidarity among corporate and warehouse employees is refreshing. Although warehouse employees never had remote work options, they seem to support the corporate staff’s flexibility, with one explaining, “It’s just showing us that Amazon has a problem with workers and listening to us.”
ChatGPT's Legal Trouble
ChatGPT might pass the bar exam, but it created havoc in a lawsuit. As we tell our business communication students, authors are responsible for their content, and that applies to lawyers who submit legal briefs.
In his documentation against Avianca Airlines, Steven Schwartz included six previous court decisions that didn’t exist. As we know, ChatGPT is a large language model and cannot be trusted to, for example, cite legal cases; it “hallucinates.”
Schwartz now faces sanctions. The American Bar Association requires competence, which includes supervising other lawyers’ and nonlawyers’ (including nonhuman) work. Another issue is confidentiality. Although some legal AI tools keep client data confidential, ChatGPT does not. In a court response, Schwartz apologized, saying he didn’t realize ChatGPT could give false information (!) and that he “had no intent to deceive this Court nor the defendant.”
Despite ChatGPT’s failings in this situation, AI can benefit law firms, as the Bar Association explains. And yet, law remains one of the top fields expected to be impacted by AI, as this NY Times article describes:
One new study, by researchers at Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and New York University, concluded that the industry most exposed to the new A.I. was “legal services.” Another research report, by economists at Goldman Sachs, estimated that 44 percent of legal work could be automated. Only the work of office and administrative support jobs, at 46 percent, was higher.
This case is a good example for students to know—a lesson in accountability for their own work.
{Random: I’m surprised to see that the NY Times include periods after “A” and “I.” This seems to be a conversative approach losing ground. “AI” is easily recognized these days. Then again, the Times was a slow in dropping the hyphen in email, in my opinion.)
Netflix Anti-Sharing Message
On its website and in an email, Netflix communicated what people already know: sharing passwords is not OK. Business communication faculty would consider these messages bad news, although users must have known this was coming, so the approach is straightforward and direct. On its website, under a clever, intentionally misleading heading, “Share Netflix with someone who doesn’t live with you,” the company says, actually, you can’t, even though sharing has been an open secret for years.
Netflix sent an email to people who share accounts outside their household, which tells us that they knew all the time and didn’t take action. In the message, the company offers alternatives. You can transfer your account, which is a nice way of saying boot someone off your plan and tell them how to get their own for full price. Or you can buy an extra member, which might be a good solution for family and close friends, who have been seeing each other’s lists for years. For $7.99, you can add one member, but that’s only if you pay $15.49/month for the standard plan; you can add two members if you pay $19.99 for the premium plan.
The “Plans and Pricing” page could be clearer. Compare that page to Max’s “Choose Your Plan” table (formerly HBO Max). Why have a separate category for prices? The language is an obvious sales tactic: the “standard” plan is now the third highest of four levels. Like other streaming services, what used to be the regular plan without ads is now sub-standard with ads. The 99-cent strategy is well worn, giving the impression that people are paying significantly less. However, this USA Today article rounded up.
For many years, Netflix has been losing subscriber revenue, an estimated 100 million use shared accounts. With increasing competition among streaming companies, this move isn’t surprising—and shouldn’t be to those who have benefited for so long.
Showing Donation Amounts Increases Giving
A recent study confirms what fundraisers typically do: writing a list of possible donation amounts increases what people give. According to the study, “Giving Suggestions: Using Quantity Requests to Increase Donations,” published in the Journal of Consumer Research, fundraising letters or web pages with “donate” buttons will bring in more if they include specific amounts. This is relevant to students developing campaigns for nonprofit organizations and other ventures.
Alice Moon, the first author and an assistant professor of operations, information, and decisions at The Wharton School, explains the phenomenon: “They might just not want to appear stingy by giving a lower amount than they should. But unlike the other types of requests, [quantity requests] clarify those amounts by providing some norm about how much to give.” Other types of requests include offering a list of organizations.
This research parallels tipping research in restaurants, which suggests that servers receive higher tips when customers have higher tip options. But too much inflation could affect online reviews negatively. We could expect the same for donation requests.
Shell Protester and Company Comms
Protester and Shell Oil communications illustrate rhetorical devices, reasoning, and evidence. Dutch activist investor Follow This, which owns Shell stock, pushed for a shareholder resolution to reduce carbon emissions by 2030. As protesters stormed the annual meeting, they illustrated rhetorical devices communication faculty might teach as a way to appeal to emotion and make speech more memorable. “Hit the Road Jack,” and “Go to hell, Shell, and don’t you come back no more” illustrate an allusion to a popular song and assonance, or vowel rhyming.
On page 8 of the annual investor meeting notice, Shell executives explain three reasons for shareholders to reject the resolution:
Against shareholders’ interests: The company claims it would give up profits, but protesters say the company has had record profits (and, I suppose, can give some up?). The company argues that the proposition “would not help to mitigate global warming,” but evidence is not provided.
Against good governance: The company argues that the proposition is “unclear, generic, and would create confusion as to Board and shareholder accountabilities.” With criteria reasoning, executives say that Shell already has a shareholder-approved strategy in place, so this new guidance would conflict. They also claim that any change is merely advisory and that “the legal responsibility for approving or objecting to Shell’s strategy lies with the Board and Executive Committee.”
Negative consequences for customers: This section includes causal reasoning that hasty shifts “could cause disruptions to the world’s energy system, with the risk of shortages and high energy prices.” Skeptics might say this is a slippery slope fallacy. Then, the next two confusing paragraphs have footnotes to Shell's own site (not an external source):
As an energy user, Shell has set a bold target to reduce absolute emissions from its operations (Scope 1 and 2), by 50% by 2030, compared with its 2016 reference year. Shell delivered a 30% reduction at the end of 2022, compared with 2016 on a net basis. Global energy-related carbon emissions increased by around 4% in the same period. [A]
As an energy provider, Shell has set a target to reduce the net carbon intensity of the energy products it sells by 20% by 2030. It has achieved a 3.8% reduction since 2016. Our analysis, using data from the International Energy Agency, shows the net carbon intensity of the global energy system fell by around 2% over that same time. [B]
On its website, Follow This announces that the proposition was voted down. However, in a press release, the group emphasizes a relatively high percentage of supporting votes: “One-fifth of Shell shareholders maintain demand for emissions reductions to meet Paris by voting for Follow This climate resolution.” The group founder puts this figure in context, a common persuasive tactic: “Considering that up to 99% of shareholders voted along with the board on the other 25 resolutions, 20% of support and a significant number of abstentions in spite of a negative board recommendation clearly indicates shareholder discontent.” As an example of synecdoche, the group refers to “Paris,” meaning the U.N. Paris Agreement to limit average temperature increases.
Students will find other examples of rhetorical devices and methods used to persuade in both organizations’ communications.
OpenAI CEO Sets a Different Tone
In contrast to how SVB's former CEO handled his U.S. government testimony this week, OpenAI's CEO demonstrated humility, a willingness to learn and an acknowledgment that he doesn’t know everything. Sam Altman talked about the incredible potential of large language models, yet admitted risks. He asked for "regulatory intervention," which, to be fair, Mark Zuckerberg mentioned when he testified, but the tone of this US Senate committee hearing was entirely different from previous tech companies' interactions with regulators.
In his opening statement (starting at 20:45), Altman said, "But as this technology advances, we understand that people are anxious about how it could change the way we live." Later, Altman said, "I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong . . . we want to be vocal about that," and, "We want to work with the government to prevent that from happening."
Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chaired the committee panel, also demonstrated humility by admitting “mistakes of the past”:
"Our goal is to demystify and hold accountable those new technologies to avoid some of the mistakes of the past. Congress failed to meet the moment on social media.”
Unlike the E.U., which has already proposed AI legislation, skeptics say U.S. government officials’ limited knowledge makes moving quickly unlikely. But admission of their failings and current risks could inspire action, although it’s unclear how that might happen.
SVB's Former CEO Deflects Blame for Bank Failure
Silicon Valley Bank’s former CEO, Gregory Becker, testified before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee (starting at 18:55). As the New York Times reported, Becker “pointed the finger at pretty much everybody but himself.”
Becker blamed the bank’s demise on regulators for failing to manage inflation and interest rates, the media for raising questions about the bank’s financials, and depositers for withdrawing money in a panic. Critics blame SVB management for the high percentage of uninsured deposits, the lack of client diversification, and the lack of liquidity because of overinvestment in long-term bonds and other government securities.
In his opening statement, Becker gave a nonapology; he didn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing. Notice the subject of the following sentence and the pronoun reference for “this”:
"The takeover of SVB has been personally and professionally devastating, and I am truly sorry for how this has impacted SVB’s employees, clients and shareholders."
In other words, he apologizes for how the takeover—the regulators’ actions—affected people. The Wall Street Journal ran this headline: “'I'm Truly Sorry': Former Silicon Valley Bank CEO Apologizes for Failure.” But he didn’t apologize for his failure.
The word of the day—and of the past three years—is “unprecendented,” which Becker used three times in his 5.5-minute speech. His strategy was to persuade senators that the failure was out of his control. In his written statement, we see “unprecendented” six times.
Senators were unforgiving, and we’re left to wonder whether they would have been more sympathetic if Becker had taken any responsibility for the damage. A CNN article reported harsh critism from both Republicans and Democrats, with one saying, “It sounds a lot like my dog ate my homework.”
Becker’s testimony is a good example for students to see a lack of accountability and humility, or learning from mistakes. He uses crisis communication strategies, such as distancing himself from the failure, but his testimony didn’t reflect well on the bank or on himself.
Opting Out of Mother's Day Ads
Mother’s Day is a painful reminder for some people, and companies are letting customers opt out of ads. The holiday can exacerbate grief for people who have lost mothers or children or have other reasons to avoid the day. Some messages, particularly, seem to jab at the heart, for example, the subject line, “Laura, your mum is waiting for her surprise . . .”
Several companies send messages before the holiday to give customers options. For example, Canva sent the email shown here. The global head of communications explained, "Our core values are about being a force for good, and we, in this instance, prioritize being a good human and showing sensitivity to our community. Mother's Day seemed like one that really does have a lot of emotions around it, and so we started with that holiday, but have expanded into other areas as well." Company leaders and customers call the move “sensitive” and “inclusive” and emphasize “empowering” customers to chose which messages they receive.
For some, an email about opting out of Mother’s Day emails is, in itself, triggering, and a few critics say these messages are anti-family. But most are favorable about the approach.
Students could compare company messages. Every one of those below mentions the “difficult time.”
These diverge only slightly with “sensitive time,” which sounds odd to me.
OpenTable got really creative with “difficult holiday.” Perhaps “difficult time” and these slight variations are best. The language is general enough and doesn’t label feelings too much. No points for originality; simple and clear is best—the least amount of time people need to engage with holiday reminders, the better.
Comms About Starbucks Unions and Store Closures
Three stores in my hometown, Ithaca, NY, have closed, about a year after they unionized, but Starbucks denies retaliation charges. Communications illustrate principles of persuasion.
The union filed a complaint citing a causal effect:
Ithaca was the first city in the United States with 100 percent unionized Starbucks locations, after the union won elections at all three locations by a combined total of 47-3 on April 8, 2022. On May 27, 2023, Ithaca will have no Starbucks locations due to the Employer’s heinous conduct in response to the union campaign.
In response, according to a local report, Starbucks cited “staffing, worker turnover, inability to retain management and worker absence” as the reasons for closing. When the Collegetown location closed, which was the first to unionize and the first to close, management cited maintenance issues. For the two additional stores, a company representative pointed to a quarterly results report that included this hollow, jargony explanation: “In support of our Reinvention Plan, and as part of our ongoing efforts to transform our store portfolio, we continue to open, close and evolve our stores as we assess, reposition and strengthen our store portfolio.”
The “optics,” as PR and crisis communicators say, are bad, and Starbucks may have an uphill climb to avoid a causal link between union efforts and store closings. Context also matters: a college town, Ithaca is a “very liberal” community, with the School of Industrial Labor Relations at Cornell University. Large corporations are not always appreciated locally.
Our local news came less than two weeks after Howard Schultz testified at a U.S. Senate hearing, “No Company Is Above the Law: The Need to End Illegal Union Busting at Starbucks.” His testimony began, as we might expect, with his humble upbringing, raised by a veteran father and without “adequate benefits.” He said he respects workers’ rights to unionize but describes unions as an impediment and criticizes their tactics. Most of his statement focuses on the good Starbucks has done in the world. Students will find a good mix of logical arguments, emotional appeals, and credibility throughout the statement.
Cornell students are taking action with a petition for Starbucks coffee to be removed on campus. The statement uses a few rhetorical devices that students can spot (e.g., anaphora, chiasmus, rhyming). They’ll also see emotional, accusatorial language typical for a student petition.
Companies Reconsider Alcohol
Companies are finding alternatives to alcohol at social gatherings. The news raises issues of inclusion, and students who live on campus may find this topic relevant to their own experience.
U.K. organization Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is warning companies about the dangers of alcohol at work parties. The group’s recent survey of 1,000 managers shows that people often experience alcohol-fueled inappropriate behavior and harassment. Although work events are important for team building, particularly since the pandemic and the rise of remote work, 42% of respondents said parties “should be organised around activities that don't involve alcohol.” Companies that serve alcohol at events also open themselves up to liability because of drunk driving in addition to behavioral transgressions.
In addition to these issues, some employees don’t drink, and events designed around alcohol can be awkward. Some people choose not to drink, while others can’t because of medications, addictions, or other issues. Some people find it difficult to be around alcohol at all. What is management’s responsibility to these employees? If a company touts DEI values and belonging at work, then shouldn’t all employees be considered when planning parties?
A few companies have banned alcohol entirely. For example, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff wrote to employees, “Alcohol is a drug, and having alcohol on a Salesforce premise is simply unfair to the Ohana [employees] who either do not want it or are intolerant of it.” He included drinking during work hours, which was more common at tech companies in the past.
Students may have a lot of opinions on this topic. Some universities are increasing “late-night programming,” alternatives for students looking for something to do without alcohol. How do students believe alcohol affects feelings of belonging on campus?
Darden and Ruth’s Chris Acquisition Announcement
Darden’s announcement about buying the parent company of Ruth’s Chris Steak House is a typical acquisition press release. The news is good for Darden, prompting in a 10% stock jump. With unnecessarily large type and an exceedingly long first sentence, the statement describes the news and the value of the restaurant chain to the company. Standard quotes are included from both CEOs.
Because Darden is less well known, mainstream news articles include the more recognizable “Olive Garden” in headlines. For example, CNBC posts, “Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants buys Ruth’s Chris Steak House for $715 million,” and The Wall Street Journal posts, “Olive Garden Owner to Buy Ruth’s Hospitality Group.” Yet, appropriately, Olive Garden’s website includes no announcement.
Ruth’s Chris’s website also includes no announcement, which makes sense because it’s a consumer-focused site and Darden is acquiring the entire company. The parent company, Ruth’s Hospitality Group, which includes only the one brand, includes a short statement that mirrors Darden’s.
Students can explore Ruth’s March 2023 deck as a related communication example. The deck follows principles we teach for creating decks, particularly balancing text and graphics and using clear, descriptive message titles (although they are not all parallel).
Boarding School Admits Responsibility in Suicide
In a written statement one year after a student’s death by suicide, a New Jersey boarding school took responsibility for its role and committed to action. Some call the admission “rare,” which is true, and “courageous,” or taking action despite risks, and I disagree. The statement announces a settlement with Jack Reid’s parents, so its liability is already determined. In other words, administrators suffer few risks by confessing what is obvious.
Statements at the time of his death are typical. After a trigger warning pop-up, we see condolences, vigils, counseling, and other support, and a separate message to alumni.
The recent message, under a tab labeled “Anniversary Statement,” describes a clearer picture about the circumstances surrounding Reid’s death. He was bullied, the victim of a false rumor. News reports say he was called a rapist and was subjected to cruelty as a result.
Providing specific examples of how the school failed Reid and the community is rare in settlement messages and a big step forward. Although the statement isn’t signed by anyone in particular, which would have been a nice touch, the school identifies specific missed opportunities in the third and fourth paragraphs.
The statement is a good model. During the bullying, school officials lacked both accountability and compassion for what was happening to Reid, and they admit this failure. The school is already vulnerable, so why not allow leaders to admit vulnerability. The statement also expresses humility by identifying wrongdoings and the willingness to learn from mistakes.
But is it courageous? The specific examples may open opportunities for more criticism, which is a risk, but the lack of action at the time is fairly obvious. Despite Reid’s complaints, little or nothing was done. A lead bully was suspended but for unrelated reasons. Then, all students saw him return to school—back to Reid’s same dorm. Reid died by suicide that night.
We experienced the tragic loss of Jack Reid on April 30, 2022 and through great sorrow, came together in meaningful ways as a community. The Special Oversight Committee of the Board of Trustees conducted a five-month review of the circumstances surrounding Jack’s death by suicide, and produced a summary of findings that were shared with the community in December 2022.
April 30, 2023
The Lawrenceville School and William and Elizabeth Reid, parents of Jack Reid, have reached an agreement in the wake of the tragic loss of Jack, a Fourth Former in Dickinson House, who died by suicide on April 30, 2022. Jack was universally regarded as an extremely kind and good-hearted young man, with an unwavering sense of social and civic responsibility and a bright future. We continue to mourn this loss.
As we seek to improve as a community, we have examined our role and take responsibility for what we could have done differently. Lawrenceville’s top priority is the physical, social, and emotional health, safety, and wellbeing of our students. We recognize that in Jack’s case, we fell tragically short of these expectations.
Jack was a victim of bullying and other forms of cruel behavior at Lawrenceville over the course of a year, including in the form of false rumors in person and online. When these behaviors were brought to the attention of the School, there were steps that the School should in hindsight have taken but did not, including the fact that the School did not make a public or private statement that it investigated and found rumors about Jack that were untrue. There also were circumstances in which the involvement of an adult would have made a difference.
In addition, on April 30, when the student who previously had been disciplined for bullying Jack was expelled for an unrelated violation of School rules, the School allowed him to return to Dickinson House largely unsupervised where students gathered, including some who said harsh words about Jack. School administrators did not notify or check on Jack. That night, Jack took his life, telling a friend that he could not go through this again. The School acknowledges that bullying and unkind behavior, and actions taken or not taken by the School, likely contributed to Jack’s death.
In the ensuing months, the School undertook an investigation of the circumstances leading up to Jack's death. Reflecting on those findings, and discussing them with the Reid family, we acknowledge that more should have been done to protect Jack.
Today's multi-faceted settlement with the Reids is aimed at honoring Jack, taking appropriate responsibility, and instituting meaningful changes that will support the School’s aspirations of becoming a model for anti-bullying and student mental health.
Over the past year, we have focused on four broad lines of action: training and educational programs, House culture and healthy socializing, the structure of our Dean of Students office and disciplinary protocols, and general health and wellness. In addition to efforts undertaken over the past 12 months, we are planning the following:
Lawrenceville will contract with a specialist on school bullying to help construct policies and training to identify and effectively address the behaviors that lead to bullying and cyberbullying.
Lawrenceville will contribute to the Jack Reid Foundation, a foundation established by the Reid family focused on education and prevention of bullying.
Lawrenceville will hire a Dean of Campus Wellbeing. This will be an endowed position focused on the variety of student mental health issues educational institutions face.
Lawrenceville faculty, professional staff, and students will participate in trainings and workshops to raise awareness and promote better understanding of adolescent mental health.
Consulting with outside experts as needed, Lawrenceville will continue to review and make improvements to its emergency response protocols and crisis response plans; it similarly will review the safety training it provides to faculty and staff to assure it aligns with best practices.
Lawrenceville will make a recurring gift to a mental health organization to support research and best practices for suicide prevention in school environments.
There is, of course, nothing that will ever make up for the tragedy of losing this promising and beloved young man. But it is the hope of all of us that Jack's memory is honored.
Example for Creating a Graphic from Text
A Business Insider article about U.S. airline rankings could make a useful class assignment. Each airline is presented in a separate paragraph with data, like this list about Southwest, the lowest ranked airline:
Delays: 3.49/18
Denied boardings: 2.95/15
Price: 2.79/10
Total score: 23.39/100
Students can get creative in how they visualize the data. With your instructions about what to include, they can create an at-a-glance chart or interactive graphic, maybe incorporating it into a short deck or slide for a defined audience.
Related topics could be how the ranking is determined and how customer communication factors into the list. The source, WalletHub, provides additional data to include. Unlike Business Insider, WalletHub drew charts, some of which are interactive, so data is more easily parsed, but I still find them cramped, like the one I posted here.
Tense NBA Player Interview About "Failure"
A reporter asked NBA Milwaukee Bucks pro Giannis Antetokounmpo whether he considers the season a “failure,” and his response offers lessons for business presentations. First, Antetokounmpo said the reporter asked the same “odd question” the previous year. He pushed back, asking the reporter whether he gets a promotion every year and drawing an analogy to Michael Jordan’s success: “Michael Jordan played 15 years, won six championships. The other nine years was a failure?” Antetokounmpo put the losses in greater context, as crisis communicators do.
Reactions to his response are generally positive, and some are debating whether the question, also asked of another player, was “fair.” Generally, public reaction approved of the question, although some viewed it as “unprofessional” or a “gotcha.” This raises a good discussion topic for class: what is an “unfair” question?
Students might think about questions for business presentations. What questions do they consider out of bounds for their own topics, and what would they avoid asking of others? At the same time, how can they prepare for the inevitable “unfair” question? For bad-news presentations, I have planted and encouraged a few from class. Although difficult to address, students gained confidence with more practice.
Antetokounmpo’s response is also emotional, and students will have opinions on what’s “appropriate” for business presentations. When I Googled to find his interview, this video appeared from 2019, titled, “Giannis Antetokounmpo EMOTIONAL SPEECH.”
Bed Bath & Beyond Communicates Bankruptcy
After years of closing stores, Bed Bath & Beyond communicated its decision to file for bankruptcy and what it means for customers. Messages follow typical bad-news announcements.
A short message on its website, shown here, thanks loyal customers. Perhaps the most important part is that stores are still open: the company needs to sell its remaining inventory.
An email to customers, below, conveys the news upfront, expresses appreciation, and answers questions customers might have. In three of the four bullets, we see “we expect,” communicating uncertainty that might be off-putting to customers with outstanding merchandise, gift cards, or orders. But bullets are clear (use those coupons fast!), and the separate section for registries make sense for worried brides and grooms and shower planners.
This is a sad ending for a former Fortune 500 company with 1,530 stores in 2019. Despite changing consumer preferences and other issues, critics say the company’s demise was caused, in part, by bad management decisions. But none of that matters now; the time for accountability is long gone. Instead, as they should, messages focus on the nostalgia that, for better or worse, kept Bed Bath afloat longer than some expected.
To Our Valued Customers:
Earlier today, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. filed for voluntary Chapter 11 protection.
We appreciate that our customers have trusted us through the most important milestones in their lives – from going to college, to getting married, to settling into a new home, to having a baby – and we wanted to reach out to you to explain what this means.
Our stores are open and serving customers. However, we have initiated a process to wind down operations.
What This Means for Our Customers
We wanted to make you aware that several of our programs and policies may be changing soon. As of today:
• We expect to process returns and exchanges in accordance with our usual policies until May 24, 2023, for items purchased prior to April 23, 2023
• We expect Gift Cards, Gift Certificates, and Loyalty Certificates will be accepted through May 8, 2023
• We will no longer accept coupons or Welcome Rewards+ discounts beginning April 26, 2023
• We expect all in-stock orders placed online both prior and after our bankruptcy filing to be fulfilled at this time
Registry
Your registry data is safe. You can still view your registry at this time. We expect to partner with an alternative platform where you will be able to transfer your data and complete your registry. We will provide details in the coming days.
We Are Here for You
For Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and additional information, please visit
https://restructuring.ra.kroll.com/bbby. Stakeholders with questions can email
BBBYInfo@ra.kroll.com or call at (833) 570-5355 or (646) 440-4806 if calling from outside the U.S. or Canada.
Thank you for your loyalty and support.
Bed Bath & Beyond | buybuy BABY
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Clearlink CEO Compliments Employee Who Sold Dog
During a town hall meeting, Clearlink CEO James Clarke expressed some curious ideas about employees’ work habits. In a video Vice referred to as “bizarre,” Clarke called remote employees back to the office, citing about 30 who hadn’t opened their laptops in a month. He also complimented an employee who sold his dog, presumably because he couldn’t care for it given his aggressive work schedule.
In addition to raising ethical questions about pets and work-life balance, the video could start a conversation with students about management’s responsibilities. If employees aren’t working, how is performance being tracked? Students also might consider whether Clarke’s talk is motivating. What’s the best way to inspire people to improve performance (assuming output is tracked in some objective, meaningful way, and managers are also held accountable)?
Without evidence, Clarke offered his opinions about caretakers, saying the data would support his point of view “in time”: “I do believe that only the rarest of full-time caregivers can also be productive and full-time employees at the same time.”
The Vice article says that Clarke noted “for unclear reasons, that he went to Oxford and Harvard,” adding, “two universities of which I'm an alum, but which were also founded and operated under the Judeo-Christian ethic.” Clarke attended Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management program. Students can discuss whether attendance makes him a “alum” and whether including this point increased or decreased his credibility.
After the backlash, the company issued a statement:
James Clarke could not be more excited about the future of the company that he founded over 20 years ago, to which he returned in 2022 as CEO. We look forward to having these team members join us at our new world-class Global Headquarters in Draper, UT and appreciate the efforts of all of our committed team members–which includes those who work in office and those who will continue to work remotely–as we accomplish our best work together.
On its website, Clearlink boasts winning workplace awards, shown here. Would students want to work for this company?
Southwest Comms and Disruption
After technical issues that caused outsized delays in December, Southwest communicated little, trying to downplay more service disruptions yesterday. The first tweet, shown here, responded to a customer complaint. The second tweet accurately describes the issue as a “pause,” a term a New York Times article repeats, based on the time period. But the impact on passengers was significant: 1,820 flights (43% of the airline’s daily flights) were delayed. A silly gif with moving clip art appeared in the second message for no reason.
On the Southwest website, a short “Operational Update” tries to shift blame to a supplier: “a vendor-supplied firewall went down and connection to some operational data was unexpectedly lost.” Later, a “Travel Advisory” apologized to customers and gave options for no-fee rebooking and standing by—and a list of phone numbers for assistance.
Critics say Southwest’s “outdated” technology might cause more problems until a systemwide upgrade is possible. One communication strategy is to manage customer expectations in the meantime. Telling people to expect delays might ease some pain; of course, that could lead to fewer bookings, but that may likely happen anyway. Passengers will need to be reminded about other benefits of traveling with Southwest.
Fox News Takes Little Responsibility in Settlement Statement
Before the trial began, Fox News settled the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit and published the vaguest possible statement, below. In few words, the company made no apology and took little responsibility for making false statements about Dominion’s role in rigging machines during the 2020 election.
The settlement doesn’t require an apology or admission of making false claims, but a PBS NewsHour reporter said that the settlement amount, $787.5 million, might convey both. A large sum for a defamation case, the amount is just under half the ask, presumably so Fox can report that the company settled for “less than half.”
Fox’s statement refers to “this dispute with Dominion,” as if the two companies simply disagreed, and Fox wasn’t the one sued. The company also emphasizes the public value of the settlement: “instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, [it] allows the country to move forward from these issues.” Maybe, but companies settle lawsuits for one primary reason: they believe they will lose.
By this evening, the Fox News website showed no sign of the decision—only the stories shown here. One short news story focused on the agreement and the judge’s positive comments about the attorneys. I found a statement at the bottom of the website under links for About, Media Relations, Press Releases. Overall, the company scarcely demonstrates accountability and humility—or learning from its mistakes. One interpretation of its “continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards” is that nothing will change.
Students might be interested in this story and can discuss whether Fox should have done anything differently from an ethical perspective or, perhaps, from a PR perspective.
Although far from perfect, one comparison is McKinsey’s statement about its involvement with Purdue Pharma and the opioid crisis.
NEW YORK – April 18, 2023 — FOX News Media announced today that a settlement was reached in the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit.
In making the announcement, the network said, “We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems. We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects FOX’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.”
FOX News Media operates the FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX News Digital, FOX News Audio, FOX News Books, the direct-to-consumer streaming services FOX Nation and FOX News International and the free ad-supported television service FOX Weather. Currently the number one network in all of cable, FNC has also been the most watched television news channel for more than 21 consecutive years, while FBN ranks among the top business channels on cable. Owned by Fox Corporation, FOX News Media reaches nearly 200 million people each month.
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