Issues Management

• About planning, monitoriing, analysing and communicating
• Close relationship with crisis management
• Not all issues become a crisis
• Positive issues can be turned to organiastional advantage
• Early identification critical
  • Intensity of issue
  • Origin of issue
  • Evolution
• Tipping Point - Gladwell
  • Moment when a debate which has been evolving enters the public domain and ultimately leads to change

• Tipping point for a public policy perspective
  • Initiate - Specialist domain > slow burn
  • Interpret
  • Implicate
  • Ingites (Tipping point)
  • Influence
  • Impose (Public domain > high impact)
• Two concerns critical explain why some issues ignite
  • Political, social, economic, and cultural context
  • Dominant power broker

• Tipping point for a public policy perspective
  • Initiate - Specialist domain > slow burn
  • Interpret
  • Implicate
  • Ingites (Tipping point)
  • Influence
  • Impose (Public domain > high impact)
• Two concerns critical explain why some issues ignite
  • Political, social, economic, and cultural context
  • Dominant power broker

• Thinking and planning
  • Get focused
  • List key players
  • Assess momentum
  • Check reality
  • Assess pace
• Action
  • Clarify the part you want to play
  • Be realistic
  • Build the case
  • Commit action
  • Make it make sense

• Monitoring many communication channels
• Assessing the momentum of an issue - an issue may seem to reced but then come back
• The number of organisations that have interests in specific issues can make it difficult for any one organisation to manage the issue
• You may not want to stand out with your stance on an issue if it is unpopular yet you may wish to influence the debate

• An organisations position on an issure can affect their reputation
• Most commercial companies do not want to be further regulated by the state
  • Can affect sales
• Issues can gather momentum and become crises

'Identification, monitoring and analysis of trends in key publics' opinions that can mature into public policy and regulatory or legislative constraint of the public sector'

• Robert Heath - 4 Functions
  • Anticipate and analyse issues
  • Develop organisational positions
  • Identify key publics whose support is vital to the public policy issue
  • Identify desired behaviours of key publics
• Regester Larkin - 5 Functions
  • Identifying key issues and trends
  • Evaluating their impact and setting priorities
  • Establishing a company position
  • Designing company action and response
  • Implementing agreed plans

Enforcement --> Emergence --> Debate --> Codification 

(See mind map for diagram)

'An issue represents a gap between corporte practice and stakeholder expectation'

'An unsettled matter which is ready for decision'

Regester Larkin

'An emerging issue is a condition or event, either internal or external to the organisation that if it continues will have a significant effect on the functioning or performance of the organisation or on its future interests'

• Demographic
• Economic
• Environmental
• Governmental
• International
• Public attitudes
• Resources
• Technological
• Values
• Lifestyles

• Violence and anti-social behaviour associated with alochol 
• Price of gas and electricity
• Animal testing
• Global warming
• Costs of obesity
• Size zero models

Issues in fashion industry

• Racism
• Sexism
• Mental illness
• Size and look of models
• Child labour
• Environmental
• Counterfeit
• Celebrities who get bad press
• Financial issues and crises