Organizational Reputation Management

(Elective Course)

Organizational Reputation Management will teach students how strategic communications can help organizations navigate challenging issues and contexts in a manner that will garner trust from diverse stakeholders and help organizations achieve various goals. Through this course students will learn drivers of organizational reputation, data-driven strategies to bolster trust and authority, and approaches to environmental scanning that aid in identifying reputational threats. Students will apply these different frameworks to analyze how organizations might address both emergent issues (i.e., crises, disasters), and ongoing challenges (i.e., activist movements, political turmoil). Emphasis will be placed on how organizations can develop and enact a meaningful Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy. At the conclusion of this course, students will have knowledge of evidence-based strategies and tactics to help organizations both proactively guard against reputational threats (known and unknown), and reactively manage issues (planned and unplanned) effectively. This course is designed to build directly upon theories, concepts, and frameworks introduced in previous classes, as well as integrate the diverse situated experiences of individuals. Focus will be placed on critical thinking and application, with the primary learning approaches consisting of interactive discussions, case studies, and team-based strategic planning.