Crisis Management By Apology: Corporate Response to Allegations of Wrongdoing (Routledge Communication Series)

This volume examines the role of apologia and apology in response to public attack. Author Keith Michael Hearit provides an introduction to these common components of public life, and considers a diverse list of subjects, from public figures and individuals to corporations and institutions. He explores the motivations and rationales behind apologies, and considers the ethics and legal liabilities of these actions. Hearit provides case studies throughout the volume, with many familiar examples from recent events in the United States, as well as an international apology-making case from Japan. The broad-perspective approach of this volume makes the content relevant and appealing to practitioners and scholars in public relations, business communications, and management. It is a valuable text for courses that take a discursive approach to public relations, and it also appeals to readers in business management, examining apology as a response strategy to corporate crises.

Hearit (communication, Western Michigan U.) examines the ways in which individuals, organizations, and institutions seek to respond to criticism of an ethical nature. The author argues that, due to today's multimediated environment, apologia has changed from a private matter to a public one, and from an exchange between individuals to a social matrix that includes companies and institutions. Apologetic exchanges are seen as "secular remediation rituals" which are less a way to repair social relationships than they are a means of completing "the typical wrongdoing, guilt, and restoration drama" in order to get the individual or organization off the front page. Hearit incorporates case studies throughout the text, including many recent examples from the U.S. For practitioners, scholars, and students in public relations, business communications, and management. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Book Cover Title Copyright Contents Preface About the Author/About the Contributor 1 Introduction 2 Apologia, Social Drama, and Public Ritual 3 Legality and Liability 4 Apologetic Ethics 5 Apologia and Individuals: Politicians, Sports Figures, and Media Celebrities 6 Apologia and Organizations: Retail, Manufacturing, and Not-for-Profits 7 Institutional Apologies: Institutional, Religious, and Governmental 8 Conclusions: Corporate Apologia, Ideology, and Ethical Responses to Criticism References Author Index Subject Index Examines the role of apology in response to public attack. It considers topics, from public figures and individuals to corporations and government. This book explores the ethics and the legal liabilities of apologies. Case studies are featured, includingan international example for apology making from Japan