Lexis Nexis site catalogues court cases

Public relations professionals and legal practitioners are no strangers to a crisis meeting. Often the first two resources sought by management in the midst of chaos are these two “opposing” forces. The legal department is looking to protect the company from adversity in the court of law, while the PR department is looking to salvage the company’s reputation from the wrath of public opinion.

Though it may not be easy for PR and legal professionals to line-up their points of view, there’s no doubt that the two must work together to overcome a crisis situation – something that’s much easier to do if you have more time to react. Additional time affords a company time to contact it’s most important publics: employees and stockholders.

Lexis Nexis’s CourtLink site provides online access to all current cases in state and federal courts, allowing both PR and legal personnel to keep tabs on issues pertaining to their own company as well competitors. Early indication of court room trouble has the potential to save a company hundreds of thousands of dollars.

One of the most useful features of CourtLink is its email alert system. As advertised on the site, “CourtLink® Alerts automatically notify you of newly filed court cases of interest to you – often before the party is served.”

Though you may think that these alerts should be sent directly to the legal department, incorporating the PR department is an essential piece of protecting the company’s image. Not only do alerts give a company more time to react to the issue at hand (AKA, fix the problem), but it also gives the PR department time to prepare statements for potential media interest.

From a financial stand point, the small price of subscribing to the service could potentially save a company thousands in court costs and millions in reputational damages. For publicly held companies, this is even more true, as potential legal trouble could translate directly into decreased stock value.

Microsoft positioned to capitalize on financial spotlight

Investors are watching closely this week, anticipating the release of Microsoft’s quarterly earnings report on Thursday. The world’s largest software company hasn’t enjoyed recent success like other companies in the technology sector – an industry that has been able to earn marginal success in the struggling economy – but it’s report will be examined for more than its reported financial figures.

Although analyst predict that Microsoft will report low first quarter revenues due to decreased computer sales, they’re also interested in the company’s future projections. Major technology company Intel has projected that PC sales have bottomed out, signifying that the worst of the economic troubles are behind us. A concurring opinion on behalf of Microsoft would send a strong positive signal regarding the state of the economy.

Needless to say, there is a bright spotlight on Microsoft’s finances and great anticipation for Thursday’s report.  The key for Microsoft, from a PR perspective is to use this financial spotlight to its advantage.
In the last six months, Microsoft has been dealing with a PR nightmare brought on by the release of its new operating system, Vista. Lacking in popularity and subject to ridicule, Vista has been a thorn in the technology giant’s side. With a new operating system on the horizon, an all eyes on its earnings report (including financial and main-stream media), Microsoft needs to use this communications tool as a catalyst for changing investor and consumer opinions of the company.

Although the release date for Windows 7, the new operating system, is still being debated, focusing the company’s forward looking statements on the potential success of this project would show that the company is moving in the right direction to correct the mistake it made with Vista. Without avoiding talk about Vista, Microsoft should report on the success of Windows 7 in Beta testing and projected success in financial markets when it is released.

As a piece of crisis prevention though, Microsoft should be careful of bumping the release date of the product up solely to boost company sales as mentioned in a Reuters article. Though this decision may appease investors, releasing another bug-filled operating system to the consumer market would cast a shadow of incompetence over the software giant and create seemingly irreparable damages.

Growth in technology sector spurs B2B mending

Despite the global economic slump, analysts of the technology sector are expecting an increase of smartphone and netbook sales in 2009. Increased production of these small mobile Internet devices also means increased revenue for computer chipmakers such as Intel and Freescale.

Netbooks — small, light, inexpensive notebooks — and smartphones have seen tremendous growth in the past year due to their ability to facilitate fast and easy Web browsing on the go.

An article by Reuters says Freescale, formerly a part of Motorola, anticipates netbook sales to double in 2009. Likewise, Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, expects to sell 50 percent more of its Atom chips, which are specially made for small mobile Internet devices.

Needles to say, competition in this market is fierce. Dwindling cell phone sales only intensifies competition for smartphone market share. The dynamics of the industry has even spurred a reconciliation of sorts between two quarrelling companies.

Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, and Qualcomm, a San Diego-based chipmaker, announced a collaboration to produce smartphones for the North American market. A Surprising act, considering the past between these tow companies. Starting with a lawsuit in April 2007, the two companies were engaged in legal battles in several countries around the world before settling in July 2008.

CEO of the Finnish phone company Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo is quoted in another article saying, “We need to be open to change. We have to work with competitors and our partners in different ways…”

Back in July, Kallasvuo also said this of the relationship with Qualcomm, “We believe that this agreement is positive for the industry, enabling the market to benefit from innovation and new technologies.”

While the inter-workings of the business-to-business negotiations are left only to speculation, I think the end result shows that good B2B PR was involved. Qualcomm and Nokia are faced with an opportunity for growth in difficult economic times. Both companies are sure to face intense competition in the smartphone market and could benefit from a corporate relationship — a corporate relationship that has worked in the past, despite how it might have end the first time around.

Whoever is working on the B2B relations side of things with both of these companies likely dealt with a whole lot more than was shared with the media, but in the end they managed to mend a relationship that makes good business sense. I’d like to hear more from either of these companies about how to mend a dysfunctional busniess relationship. Do you think it’ll last?

*handshake Image courtesy of slashgear.com

Miami University (OH) is open with students about finances

Facing financial duress, Miami University has begun to implement changes as part of a $22 million budget cut planned for the next fiscal year. Because the institution is one of Ohio’s premier public universities, Miami administrators have made a point to make their financial decisions in a manner that least affects the academics of the institution as well as student life.

Vice President of Finance and Business Services David Creamer is quoted in the student newspaper, saying “We’re focusing the cuts as far away from students and academic priorities as we can.”

Creamer has announced several controversial cutbacks including the elimination of $100,000 from the graduate assistantship program and 200 job cuts to occur in the next few months. Although a full list of the cuts has not yet been announced, Creamer was quoted in another article saying “We’re doing this in a way that will have a low impact on students and be as transparent for them as we can make it.”

On Feb. 2, Miami administrators held a forum giving students and faculty the chance to ask administrators about the state of the universities troubled finances and the reasons behind the decisions that have been made thus far. Among the panel of administrators were Creamer, President David Hodge and Provost Jeffrey Herbst, all integral decision makers at the university as far as financial decisions are concerned.

There are a number of things that Miami is doing right in this situation from a public relations standpoint, but it starts with a concern for its major key public: the students. By focusing financial cuts away from the student experience (especially academics), Miami is acting in accordance to its mission as an institution for higher education.

Administrators are also being open with the students about why the decisions are being made, and have targeted the student newspaper (The Miami Student) as a key source in communicating with this key public. While holding the forum is more of a good faith effort on the part of the administration, the symbol it sends off means a lot. The President and VP of Finances are working with the students in mind.

It is important to note that the communications and media relations efforts would mean nothing if the institution wasn’t truly acting in the best interest of the students. I’m glad to see my alma mater is doing it right.

Microscope on bank CEOs in times of economic crisis

Wall St. CEOs traveled thriftily on their way to face Congress earlier this month, where they explained what banks have been doing with over $175 billion of taxpayers’ money over the last four months. Efforts to travel economically were likely a response to the commotion created when CEOs from the automakers industry arrived in D.C. on luxurious private jets in early November.

Reports of irresponsible spending on lavish bonuses, expensive travel and hoarding cash have already put the banks under the magnifying glass of American taxpayers. There are few who fully understand what has happened to the money, including watchdog groups assigned to monitor the use of bailout funds. CEOs representing eight separate banks attempted to shed some light on the spending in Congress on Feb. 11, 2009.

Travel plans of all the CEOs were reported prior to the visit, to make it clear to shareholders and taxpayers that the banks are not over-spending on executive luxuries. Goldman Sachs’s CEO Lloyd Blankfein even went as far as taking public transportation on his way to Congress.

In congruence with the global recession, four of the top British bankers testified in front of a parliamentary committee hearing one day prior to the meeting of their U.S. counterparts. The bankers apologized “profoundly and unreservedly“ for the turn of events leading to turmoil in the UK.

From a PR perspective, these small steps are important but not entirely significant. It’s important for bank executives to spend prudently and apologize sincerely, but in the end, forming a good relationship with the public is based on actions not words. While I acknowledge that revising travel plans is indeed an action, the action of American bankers following their visit to Congress will carry much more weight. If the CEOs of banks receiving federal assistance cannot prove they have been acting this way throughout the four-month bailout period, their last minute attempts to look good will be of no avail.

*image courtesy of www.travelonline.co.nz

Eaton Corp. cuts 5,200 jobs on Inauguration Day

On Jan. 21, Eaton Corp., an industrial parts and systems manufacturer based in Cleveland, announced it is cutting 5,200 jobs due to declining customer demand in the global economic downturn. This announcement came two weeks after Eaton’s CEO Sandy Cutler appeared on MSNBC’s “Mad Money” to speak with host Jim Cramer about a 27 percent increase in stock value, an un-heard of accomplishment for an industrial company during an economic recession.

Combined with 3,400 jobs cuts in December of last year, Eaton has reduced its workforce by 10 percent in the last two months, down from about 80,000. Although its stock did take a small hit after the January 21 announcement of job cuts, Eaton is still estimating a full-year operating profit around $4.70 per share, according to an announcement of quarterly earnings on Jan. 26. In this announcement, Cutler said that further cost cuts may have to be made as conditions change throughout the year.

Eaton’s situation has several public relations ramifications, two of which I will discuss below.

Corporate disclosure of news online – While a Google search of “Eaton Corp” returns links to numerous sites reporting on Eaton’s recent job cuts, Eaton’s corporate web site fails to mention the news. For obvious reasons the job cuts are not mentioned anywhere in the “News List” section of press releases or the “Eaton in the News” section (which could pick from a plethora of stories to link to). But despite not providing  a direct link  on the company Web site, and an in-depth review of the situation has lead me to believe that Eaton has been fairly transparent with its economic information, especially in regards to cost cutting that effects the lives of people.

Timing of the announcement – Eaton Corp.’s major announcement of job cuts came on what will arguably the most significant news day of the year for the United States, marking the first ever induction of a black president. President Obama’s inauguration overshadowed what would otherwise be an important announcement in the U.S. and in Cleveland, where 60 jobs will be cut. Weather the timing of the announcement was strategically planned to coincide with the inauguration or not borders on an ethical discussion.

What do you think? Was the timing planned out (at least in the short-term)? Is Eaton making an honest effort to be transparent? Is an honest effort enough?