Reputation management has become a necessity since the sweeping uptake of social computing. Reputation management criteria facilitate and automate the process of determining trustworthiness, a central component to all meaningful human interaction, especially interpersonal relationships.
Reputation is generally an outworking of character or behaviour, i.e., what an individual or organization is reknowned and is different from image or branding for the fact that the earlier can be created and the former is an identity that evolves. Reputation management is customarily executed in the monitoring of commentary, often derogatory, around dissatisfaction. However, true relationship management should seek to leverage the good testimonials to augment the standing and perception of a brand, person or service.
Reputation is either:
Excellent
This mean that the organization have obtain the highest position on the spectrum that makes its reputation to be impeccable and this mean that all the indices that ensure the best corporate governance are present; high quality of service/product, strong corporate compliance, strong brand values and communication, anticipate and manage risk properly, relate well with all stakeholders (internal and external) without any major friction, fulfills contractual agreements, communicate effectively, learn from others mistake and above all have clear and transparent vision, strategy, plan and be trustworthy.
Good
Organizations that belong to this category have almost everything that were mention in the excellent category but one or two of them may be missing, this is where some of the companies belong to and example are Johnson & Johnson.
Bad
Organizations that belong to this section are numerous in number this is primarily because they continuously break people trust in them and they e.g. the insurance industry.
Ugly
This is the lowest depth of reputation, it always happen as a result of a high level of deception by an organization or an individual it either ruin the organization or the individuals that surround it e.g. Enron in U.S.A.
It is possible for organization to be boxed into any of the categories that they do not necessarily belong to because of being misunderstood or the fact that they are not transparent enough in their dealings with the stakeholders and this can be disastrous for the organization, proper management is needed for a company to be properly align with its reputation and justify where and how the intervention should take place.
Identifying the state of your reputation Either excellent, good, bad or ugly every reputation requires attention, the attention require are however different from each other and in other to identify the position of an organization on the reputation spectrum there are things that can serve as pointer, here are some of them; 1. High or low employee turnover 2. Reduction or increase in market share 3. Waning or increasing shareholders confidence 4. Quality of product/service 5. Customer retention is high or low 6. Media report good or bad 7. Third party rating and award is high or non existence 8. Competitors perception of your organization 9. Host community perception
All these and other pointers that contribute to indices such as corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, organization ethics/culture and the society norm are what an organization will be measured with in other to situate its reputation. With all these it should be now be clear that reputation deals with three things and they are:
1. What you do or do not do
2. What do you stand for
3. What you say, do not say or perceive to have said
This are what the stakeholders will use in judging the pointers earlier mention in order to situate your reputation, so question such as; how do you treat your staff? How does the organization respond to crisis? What is your rating like? How much confidence do your shareholder/ bank have in you? How well do the consumers accept your product/service? It is now left for your organization to know what is being said of you and align it with your brand. Reputation management is therefore cyclic and the one to be use must fit the stage in which an organization is in.
The cost of managing the reputation of an organization will adequately reduce if your preparatory reputation level is very high, reputation management could therefore take place at any of the stages of the development of an organization.How then do we manage reputation whether excellent, good, bad or ugly or in different stages of the cycle? The organization must identify all the issue that affects its reputation (reputation audit)
It must analyses each one of the issues properly to ascertain the past, manage the present and protect the future.
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The world can seem like an unfriendly, threatening place, yet we all want safety, health, and happiness for ourselves and our loved ones. How can one ordinary person -- you or me -- make a positive difference in this world? One way is the practice "paying it forward." While the steps might be simple, the outcome could change the world.
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Workplace anger is like anger within a family given the time spent there, but a work family’s dynamic relationships positions above and below make the circumstances particularly sensitive.
Nora Femenia, Ph.D. in Conflict Resolution, is President & CEO of Creative Conflict Resolutions, an international firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which provides conflict resolution interventions and conflict resolutions skills training at all levels, from inter-personal to international disputes. She recently wrote about the sensitivity of workplace relationships during these times of radical transition and layoffs. ‘The present recession in the world is reflecting a very difficult social situation that affects everybody. The job insecurity raises a high level of anxiety in all of us…trying personal resources to the limit. How each person answers the challenge depends on several variables, and mostly it has to do with our own ability to keep calm and in control of negative emotions like anger and despair. If there is old anger, then workplace disputes can become more often and escalate faster to interpersonal violence.
There is a good resource to learn anger management techniques in the work place here.'. This video also addresses workplace anger:
How to Develop a Diffusive Workplace Environment for Anger Management — powered by eHow.com
While we wait for social conditions to improve, proven solutions like anger management techniques are necessary. We all have the right to be able to work in a safe environment…and sometimes other people’s anxiety gets in the way. It can go from exagerating differences to fueling team conflict; some workers can present behaviors from depression to the opposite: too critical, accusatory or aggressive responses.
It is crucial for us to be able to spot people with anger issues, when there are layoffs in the office. Some people more than others tend to feel rejected or badly treated, even when there is not obviously fault from their part. It’s only the desperation from a present layoff that reactivates an old feeling of inability and despair. This is the kind of people who feel not the challenge of facing a difficult situation, but the sinking feeling of not being able to overcome the challenge.
There is some consensus about what you can do to prevent anger explosions and more, to be able to deal with the situation. If people being let go are your friends, it’s no use to pretend that you don’t know them.
Here’s where your courage comes in: spend one-on-one time with the most unhappy and isolated of your co-workers. Get to hear them, ask questions, show your sympathy. It means the world for them, and for you it will help assuage the guilt of still having a job when others lost theirs.
Marcia Hall, The Reputation Pro, is the founder of Reputation Counts. She advises that to be successful in your career, you must demonstrate your competence and character. In other words, people must know they can trust you. How do you build that trust? By consistently showing others that they can count on you. You become known as the person who gets things done, or is accurate with small details, or one who is always prepared. This is your reputation. Building your reputation which, effectively, becomes your personal brand needs special care. Branding is an organic process in business as you keep on making the marks and excel on what you do. It is the belief people have to you and your product, services. Hajj E. Flemings is the author of ‘The Brand YU Life ‘. Fleming specializes in personal and corporate brand management consulting, training, and seminars. He is a dynamic, energetic speaker, author, and transformational trainer who connects with his audience to challenge them to reach their hidden potential. He has been featured on radio, TV, print, and even the internet impacting people globally with his message of brand management, brand value, success, and leadership. His presentation demonstrates the alignment of branding you:
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