Issue Management

Issues management is the term used to describe strategic moves by organizations to influence public policy around an issue that is disputed by society. Issues management helps organizations take a more proactive rather than reactive stance on important political issues, such as concerns over the environment or rising energy costs. Although scholars Richard Crable and Stephen Vibbert pointed out that the government possesses the actual authority to determine public policy or legislation that could become regulation, organizations use issue management to advocate for particular resolutions. By targeting those who have the authority to make legal, economic, and political changes, organizations need not wait passively for policy to be determined. Issues management anticipates developing issues and helps determine whether organizations should comply with social norms or attempt to modify them. Organizations can employ issues management to resolve an area of concern in their favor by responding to public interest, changing organizational policy, and/or shaping legislation. Should an organization not exercise public sensitivity on issues of concern, however, they can face federal or state regulation that forces them to adopt more socially responsible practices.

W. Howard Chase coined the term issue management in 1976 to answer the question of how management should respond to the criticism being heaped on corporate America by activists during the 1960s and '70s. In 1977, Chase designed issue management as a “new science.” Along with coauthors Barry Jones and Teresa Yancey Crane, he stressed the proactive position on issues that companies should adopt in order to participate meaningfully in the creation of public policy. Early on, issue management took the form of issue advocacy advertising, where organizations would use advertising to head off controversial issues through skillfully designed messages. Mobil Oil Corporation, for example, famously argued for openness in the heated 1970s energy debate in its aggressive op-ed campaign. While early issue management discussions did not recognize that organizations might need to adapt their internal cultures to successfully manage an issue and forestall regulation, today organizations recognize they may need to change to foster mutual interests in the public policy arena. Issues management may present an organization's case to the public, but its efforts can unite groups instead of pitting them against each other. Organizations and their publics can be helped to share the same perspective about a given topic through issues management.

Although originally designed to help corporations respond to their critics, issues management is practiced as a management function that helps a variety of organizations integrate public relations, government and legal affairs, and strategic planning. Issue management is responsible for guiding managerial decisions affecting corporations, activist groups, issue-identified nonprofits, and government agencies. Its focus on an organization's long-term goals and developing policy on issues of concern extends issues management's decision-making function beyond technician-based public relations activities and public affairs. Shannon Bowen points out that a range of experts, including scientists, legal counsel, financial managers, and product managers, in addition to public relations experts, help identify developing issues and their implications for an organization's business plan.

Robert Heath identified four common functions of issues management. Issue managers (1) anticipate and analyze potentially troublesome issues by scanning the environment, monitoring public opinion and values, and predicting how they might affect an organization. They also (2) develop organizational stances on areas of concern, engaging in public policy planning that is responsive to societal trends. Issue managers then (3) identify key constituencies whose support is important on an issue and (4) choose the behaviors they wish them to adopt. These publics are reached through issue management campaigns frequently employing advocacy advertising, public speeches, media relations, and working with lobbying groups and PACs.

...