New face of media redefining acceptable corporate behaviour

“Most bloggers are protesters whose primary goal is not to harm the organisation but rather to make it change for the better,” Robinson said.

According to analysts, as government regulations of businesses tighten around the world, corporate reputation is emerging as an important asset whose depreciation can mark the collapse of a company.

In a survey of executives done two years ago by the European Commission, reputation was ranked as the second most important asset after products and services.

Big businesses are finding it hard to win the public’s hearts and minds as cynicism towards them grows, attributed to the collapse of major financial institutions, that set off the financial crisis, and exposure of mega fraud like Bernard Madoff’s.

In a bid to gain trust, firms, apart from meeting government regulations in various jurisdictions, are providing information on their websites, detailing their processes, products, and associations.

Consumers in the developed world, for example, research about products, often online, to find out about a company’s operations.

Consumer lobby groups exist to shun goods made in sweatshops abroad as a protest again workers’ oppression.

A sweatshop is a factory where the workers put in long hours for low pay, usually in uncomfortable or dangerous conditions.

Panellists agreed that the world has become a global village, with information about any organisation being accessible from smart phones and computers in a matter of seconds.

Get it right

For as long as businesses have existed, managers have been concerned about how to mange communications about their organisations.

But according to Robinson, the very word manage is a wrong starting point, since it implies defending what the organisation believes is right.

He says there is there “is no longer anywhere to hide,” thanks to a more connected world.

There are, however, four general principles to be observed.

One is that this is the age of accountability.