Through good time and bad, few companies have been so prominently and constantly in the public eye as AT&T. As the company’s executive vice president of public relations, Dick…
Abstract
Through good time and bad, few companies have been so prominently and constantly in the public eye as AT&T. As the company’s executive vice president of public relations, Dick Martin was not simply a fly on the wall in the company’s most senior counsels, but a full participant in their deliberations. He draws from his experience to debunk some of the popular wisdom surrounding “big‐time public relations.” Foremost among these myths is the broadly held notion that “perception is reality” followed closely by the advice that “a strong offense is the best defense.” On the contrary, Martin uses examples from AT&T’s recent history to demonstrate that companies are better served by addressing the reality underlying their perceptual problems. Further, he shows how responding to attacks in kind can give criticism greater traction and invite greater scrutiny. Martin dispels popular misconceptions regarding the practice of public relations, arguing it is not word‐smithing, glad‐handing or do‐gooding. It’s not pitching or spinning. It’s a function of general management and, in turbulent times, it’s an especially critical component of the strategic choices CEOs and boards must make.
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– To remind readers of the importance of communications in the design, approval, and implementation of business strategy.
Abstract
Purpose
To remind readers of the importance of communications in the design, approval, and implementation of business strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
Personal essay.
Findings
Communications is an essential element of strategy.
Originality/value
Personal viewpoint.
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The case includes theoretical references to family business, organizational culture, resource-based value and leadership.
Abstract
Theoretical basis
The case includes theoretical references to family business, organizational culture, resource-based value and leadership.
Research methodology
The case combines primary and secondary data. There is ample public information about Martin Guitar including histories of the company and its instruments. These were used for background. Primary data were provided by the company in the form of customized data and interviews.. The case writer has served Martin Guitar as a consultant and also plays Martin instruments. The case writer had numerous opportunities to interview Chris and his key lieutenants.
Case overview/synopsis
In 2019, C.F. Martin IV (Chris) was in his fourth decade leading one of the America’s oldest family-owned companies, C.F. Martin & Co., Inc. Martin Guitar is a globally known maker of fine guitars that are prized by collectors, working musicians and amateur musicians. Chris was raised in the family business and took on the CEO’s position at the age of 30. The case describes the company’s management practices and the culture that has emerged from them. In 2019, at age 64, Chris confronted issues faced by his predecessors over multiple generations: how to prepare the company for succession, and maintain its strong performance as a family-owned company in a dynamic industry environment.
Complexity academic level
The case is designed for a management course for upper-level undergraduates.
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Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
Scans the top 400 management publications in the world to identify the most topical issues and latest concepts. These are presented in an easy‐to‐digest briefing of no more than 1,500 words.
Findings
At the beginning of 1996 AT&T's market cap increased $6 billion in two days. It was actually not great news. To achieve such a steep jump in the share price, top management cut 40,000 jobs, hoping that they'd be announcing the biggest downsizing in corporate history. Though the city reacted well, the executives at AT&T clearly failed to consider how the press might report the news.
Practical implications
Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.
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Discusses the use of software tools to support qualitative informationsystems research, and provides a practical example of how one tool,NUDIST, was used in a recent empirical…
Abstract
Discusses the use of software tools to support qualitative information systems research, and provides a practical example of how one tool, NUDIST, was used in a recent empirical study. Argues that greatest benefit can be gained from software tools when their use is based on sound theory of qualitative research. The analysis for the study was built on the concept of grounded theory, which was developed in 1967 and extended in 1984. Describes the processes involved in the particular research, and the way NUDIST was used to support these processes. Aims to illustrate how tools like NUDIST enhance the researcher′s capabilities, and allow much deeper, and more reflective analysis of the qualitative material generated by the research.
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– To increase understanding of communications role in business strategy.
Abstract
Purpose
To increase understanding of communications role in business strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
Viewpoint.
Findings
Pay greater attention to listening and analysis.
Originality/value
Personal viewpoint.
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This article aims to hypothesize a model of trust in both senses of the word – a model, as in something to emulate, and a model as in a structural framework that describes its…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to hypothesize a model of trust in both senses of the word – a model, as in something to emulate, and a model as in a structural framework that describes its components. Almost all business people agree that winning and keeping the trust of customers, investors, employees and other stakeholders is critical to business success. There is also broad agreement that trust in business and government has been in serious decline over the past few decades, as documented in a number of studies. Ironically, however, there is little agreement on the nature of trust. Researchers and strategists use the word loosely, without a common definition of its components and with no clear understanding of the process by which it is built, nurtured – and lost.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on syndicated research and the more than three-decades experience in public relations, the author suggests that trust has both rational and emotional components that arise from stakeholders’ perception of their own affinity with a brand, company or individual, as well as their judgments of its competencies and purpose. Stakeholder perceptions along these dimensions can be displayed within a three-dimensional matrix, which can explain a range of rational/emotional reactions ranging from simple disappointment and begrudging respect to complete distrust and unquestioned trust.
Findings
The model of trust is useful for analyzing a brand, company or individual’s present trust position. It will also enable strategists to design a thoughtful, balanced approach to maintaining or improving stakeholder trust. The model allows strategists to articulate a set of actions and behaviors that will build on strengths, fill voids and correct past errors.
Research limitations/implications
This is a theoretical hypothesis that still needs to be tested, but it appears to present a useful approach to considering issues of trust.
Originality/value
The new model builds on existing research to address an issue that has become even more critical to organizations and individuals in a world of instant communication and everyman publishing. Applying the model to business decision-making will protect firms from inadvertently losing stakeholder trust and enhance their ability to build even stronger stakeholder relationships.
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Business strategists can easily become slaves to their inbox or to the passing enthusiasm of the times, their supervisors or outside influencers, ranging from social activists to…
Abstract
Purpose
Business strategists can easily become slaves to their inbox or to the passing enthusiasm of the times, their supervisors or outside influencers, ranging from social activists to securities analysts and investment bankers. This article seeks to put their work in historical context and to encourage them to engage in meta-cognition – a deep consideration of their role in helping to shape their business’s response to its current environment and challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
The article reviews the history of modern business strategy and divides it into three major phases, centered on the theories and practices of three strategists: Frederick Taylor, Peter Drucker and Michael Porter. The author suggests that each of these strategists was addressing the key business questions of their time and influenced the thinking of others who built on – and in many cases improved on – their theories and models. He suggests that a business strategist’s thinking should build on the work of those who came before in responding to contemporary questions of importance to their firm.
Findings
Business strategy is fundamentally an exercise in understanding and improving business performance and growth. It requires a depth of sophisticated thought that can be sharpened and focused through meta-cognition – thinking about thinking, i.e. a thoughtful consideration of what dominates our thinking and why.
Practical implications
This article invites practicing strategists to find their own place on that arc.
Originality/value
The article presents the history of business strategy as an arc of inquiry that has forward direction, moving inexorably outward, from time–motion studies on the shop floor, to the human beings who occupied it, and to the larger society in which they and the firm live. It invites practicing strategists to find their own place on that arc.