ABSTRACT
A company does not have a corporate image or reputation-it has many of
them. These are both stakeholder-based constructs
Different sets of factors in Figure 10.2 combine to create the images that
each stakeholder group has of a company
Corporate reputations are formed when a person compares their image of a
company with their values and expectations about its appropriate behavior
Companies are judged against the performance of their peers
The management imperative is to build a company that creates social,
emotional, and economic value for its key stakeholders
Boards of directors can play a key role in enhancing or destroying their
company’s images and reputations
In recent years Australia like most other western countries has suffered its share of major corporate crises. They have included the complete collapse of companies (e.g., Ansett Airlines and HIH Insurance), the implosion of one of Australia’s most respected boards of directors (viz., NAB bank), a poorly handled case of product contamination (Pan Pharmaceuticals), and numerous cases of poor strategic judgments by CEOs. These disasters have been in addition to the usual number of minor crises arising from the everyday operations of companies, such as: union disputes, accidents, breakdowns, and the backlash from competitive excess. These corporate crises have tarnished the reputation of Corporate Australia and this has resulted in a loss of trust and support by many of its constituents. For example, in 2004 the advertising agency Grey Worldwide conducted a survey of Australians (consumers and employees) who gave companies a grade of C− (quoted in Lloyd 2004). They were considered to be greedy, selfish, untrustworthy, and lacked leadership and innovation.
