REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER ONE: A TOUR OF THE WORLD OF REPUTATION

▪    Do You Have An Agenda To Manage Your Reputation?
▪    Can We Take Precautions Before We Are Run Over By A Roller?
▪    Reputation Increases Company And Brand Value
▪    What Else Is Reputation Good For? Does It Affect Business Outcomes?
▪    Can Corporate Reputation Be Managed?
▪    Whose Job Is To Manage Reputation?
▪    Crises Threaten Reputation, And A Desire To Be Reputable Leads To Crises.
▪    Can Corporate Reputation Be Measured?
▪    Satisfying The Hunger For Reputation
▪    How Will You Manage Your Corporate Reputation?

CHAPTER TWO: ALARM BELLS FOR CORPORATE REPUTATION

▪    Unmanaged Reputation Will Be Managed By Competitors!
▪    Corporate Social Responsibility Is Not Corporate Reputation!
▪    People Who Receive An Award By Paying For It! Attention!!!
▪    May God Keep You Away From “Customer Services Hotlines”!
▪    Using Company Logos In Obituary Notices
▪    CEOs Have “Three” Jobs. CEOs With A Fourth Job Ring Alarm Bells For Reputation.
▪    Irresistible Lure Of Reading Your Notes At The Lectern!
▪    Lessons To Be Learnt

CHAPTER THREE: DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER TASKS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MANAGING YOUR REPUTATION?
(Articles)

▪    Do You Have Any Other Tasks More Important Than Managing Your Reputation?
▪    Let’s Earn Money First. Then, We Can “Be Reputable”!
▪    The Importance Of Reputation In Becoming An Admired Company
▪    Reputation And Perception Management Or “Repuception”
▪    The Rules Of The Global Game Are Changing. Reputable Corporations Can Survive
▪    Companies Should Pursue Reputation Not Profit!
▪    Why Is “Corporate Reputation” So Important For The Drug Industry?
▪    DNA Of Institutions: Reputation
▪    Sustainable Competition
▪    Communication Performance And Competition
▪    The Most Prestigious Financial Services Company Of The World
▪    Grant Can Ask What Is Going On In Coca-Cola To Tommy, The Hairdresser.
▪    How Does Sales Representatives Represent Their Companies?
▪    How Does Human Resources Affect Balance Sheets?
▪    Employee Branding
▪    We Are Responsible (How Much?) For The Next Generation!
▪    “GRI” Is On The Path To “Reputation” In Global Competition.
▪    Social Responsibility Has Almost Gone Too Far!
▪    Turning Our Responsibilities Into Irresponsibility
▪    Are You A Candidate For The “Most Irresponsible Company” Award?
▪    Crises Are Managed Through Communication!
▪    Something’s Happening to CEOs!
▪    Communication Is The Duty of CEOs
▪    Can Local Communities Be Ignored?
▪    Companies That Cannot Go Public

INTRODUCTION

It was my daughter Piril’s idea to compile all my articles on corporate reputation which have been published so far. There were articles explaining my opinions in many publications followed closely by the business world. They were my interpretations of current issues in terms of content but, in essence, they offered a path that the people who were sensitive to those issues could follow.
After reading the first draft, my dear friend, Seref Oguz, criticised it cold-heartedly. He said that articles which were published in various platforms would not be enough, and that the reader should be offered “something new”. In other words, I needed an expansion that would embrace those articles. That was how I prepared the second draft.
When I put all the articles together, I saw that some templates that could provide a basis for corporate reputation management were formed in time. These templates were associated with an issue as a reference point nearly in all the articles. For instance, the relationship between corporate reputation and business outcomes. It’s quite natural to mention business outcomes in the articles even if it is done from different points of view, because it is meaningless to manage corporate reputation which is not associated with business outcomes!
The role of CEOs in this concept is another inevitable point. We refer to CEO Capital study, which have been conducted by Burson-Marsteller for years, in relation to this point, because the study shows that CEOs have 50% responsibility for managing corporate reputation.
Today, triple reporting is a “lifebuoy “for the companies which would like to show that they are serious about managing their reputation. What this reporting is and how it is done are explained in the articles where necessary.
“Employee brand” may seem like a new concept to a certain number of us. However, it is a product of the new and modern management perception developed in 1990s. Companies which adopt a management philosophy to turn their employees into a “brand” do not have any problems with drawing qualified and promising human resources to themselves!
We will frequently see some institutions and organisations in these articles. For instance, Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), FT4GOOD, World Business Council Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which is a reporting standard that clearly reveals the relationship between sustainable development and corporate reputation although it is not an institution, and The International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF), which operates under the auspices of Prince Charles.
It is, of course, no coincidence that these concepts and reference points are mentioned in these articles in this particular way. We should have an idea about the things happening in the world in terms of corporate reputation management so that the related policies that we will develop are consistent and can trigger change. Therefore, I would like to point out that the “templates” that I adopted in my own way are the reason why you will frequently come across these concepts and reference points that seem to be repeated over and over again.
Things to be said about corporate reputation are not limited to the number of pages of this publication, of course. I personally define corporate reputation as a pleasant journey in my professional life. This concept makes us keep up with the exclusive agenda of modern management. It shows us that we can see competition and the market from a different angle. It is so not only for communication professionals but also for top managers like CEOs whose names have become brands. Once they find out about corporate reputation and understand that it is a manageable discipline, their business practices are affected.
Although the contents of this book have been compiled from the articles seen in various publications in the past, I tried to adopt an approach through which people who are interested in reputation management can explore their areas of sensitivity in terms of this subject.
November 2005, Urla, Turkey

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I started scanning resources to prepare the contents of this book in 2001. As I was not satisfied with only compiling my articles in a book, I focused on the contents that would expand corporate reputation broadly in June 2005. As of that date, many people contributed to my work on the contents of the articles and on offering “something new” to the reader. My co-workers, my clients and my friends developed these contents by bringing in different points of view. Dr Seref Oguz’s criticism of the contents not only enriched this book but also played an active role in associating the subject with the daily agenda in practical life. Contributions of a Managing Director, Mustafa Cagan, as a “client” and a “top manager” helped in making sure that the subject would be better understood in the business world. Meticulous work of Elif Gokmen, a consultant friend of mine, especially on English texts guaranteed the quality of my quotes from reference books. My ex-assistant, Dilek Ozkan, not only edited the contents but also made suggestions about contextual guidance, which especially ensured that young people were introduced to the subject at a friendlier platform.
A great number of my friends and co-workers, whose names are too many to list here, helped me in presenting this very complicated subject in an easily-understandable way through their comments and suggestions about the related parts of the book.
I thank them all.
I owe my wife, Aysen, and my daughter, Piril, a debt of gratitude as usual. The time I stole from them made me complete the fifth book of my professional life. Moral and motivational support given by my mum, Fahrunnisa Kadibesegil, and my brother, Ahmet Kadibesegil, were always my sources of power to complete this work.
I thank them and everyone else endlessly.
25^th February 2006, Urla/Izmir, Turkey

FOREWORD

These days, when global economy continues to prevail with all its might, when borders and protectionism have disappeared, when communication, transparency and openness rule, and when we have completely moved on to a market economy system, represent a new age called “the information age”.
Information shapes both the new human type and the new economy, and eventually marks all the relationships in this age.
In such a world, individuals, families, companies or non-governmental organisations operating in a multinational platform or in a specific country and all political or social organisms see “reputation” as an inseparable part of the administration mechanism.
These organisms have not just seen and identified this element, but they have also found out that it plays a role in all fields of activity which is more important than the roles of all these fields.
Salim Kadibesegil, a thinker, an author and a communication professional, grasps this truth as most communication professionals, and integrates “reputation management” into the administration discipline.
This is not a new subject for Kadibesegil. He has been bringing up this subject in the thinkers’ world and in the business world for more than a few decades.
He manages to make this basic element of reputation management and corporate identity the main subject of administration, presents them to the Turkish business world not only on the basis of national evidence and events but also from an international and multidimensional point of view. He enlightens and guides the Turkish business world.
Salim Kadibesegil’s book entitled “Do You Have Any Other Tasks More Important Than Managing Your Reputation?” establishes an entire theoretical infrastructure for “reputation management” based on his various works that have taken many years. He shows applicable theories that can be integrated into the art of modern administration through scientific classification.
Most importantly, this book is like a beacon that sheds light on the reader’s path. The book is important since it shows the behaviours and the quality of these behaviours that every individual, every employee and most importantly every boss working in administration of a company (may they be a CEO, a doorkeeper, a PR manager or a managing director) should know well and should put into practice as an “indispensable” element to achieve their business outcomes.
Undoubtedly, reputation of an institution does not only depend on its appearance today but also on its past performance, its traditional character, its social responsibility, its customer-focused internal and external behaviours and its reputation management strategies which will improve its reputation. Don’t you think so?
If so, do you have any other jobs more important than managing your reputation?
Come on then!

Tugrul Kudatgobilik;
Chairman of Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations
19^th March 2006, Moda / Istanbul, Turkey

REVIEWS
A REPUTATION FIGHTER’S BOOK
Rauf Ates Publishing Director at Capital and Economist

I am about to complete 20 years in journalism. I have known Salih for nearly all those years. I think I met him at a PR event or at a meeting held by İzmir Public Relations Association. The headquarters of Orsa Public Relations was in Izmir then. They provided PR consultancy for companies such as Izmir Elektronik Sanayi, Opel and Turyag. Then, they left Izmir and moved to Istanbul.
When I look back on those days, I see that the number of people who worked in PR then and who continues working in this industry could be counted on the fingers of one hand. If Orsa had kept working in PR, it might have been the biggest Turkish company with the most customers today. However, Salim and his company, Orsa, had already adopted differentiation, today’s ultra-fashionable approach, in those years. They positioned themselves in a different field saying that PR was becoming a “commodity”.
Before writing about that field, I would like to take a break and share our own experience. We were working on a new project at Capital when Salim entered a new field. We launched the project in 1998 although we had started working on it a long time ago. Our goal was to conduct “The Most Admired Companies” survey like outstanding publications such as Fortune and Financial Times. However, it wasn’t easy because nobody really cared about “admiration” when there were indicators such as turnover, profit, quantity, export, number of blue-collar workers and market value. It was extremely difficult to conduct a survey on “reputation management”, to work with a research company to do it and to find a sponsor. We spent a few years to manage those things.
I was very surprised to hear about the change Salih made after all the difficulties we had with the survey including subjects such as “being the most admired company” and “reputation management”. I remember saying “Turkish companies are looking for PR. Everyone wants to be in the news, to give an interview or to appear in a cover story, but you are trying to manage and measure reputation.”
However, Orsa and Salim insisted on this subject and proved that “reputation management” could be on the agenda of the companies in Turkey.
I see that the interest in “Turkey’s Most Admired Companies” survey conducted by us has been increasing, and that companies have been more eager to answer surveys in recent years. We published a survey in Capital at the beginning of 2006. We asked “Do you set targets apart from financial indicators?” A considerable number of answers said “We set reputation management targets and monitor them”. This is a great achievement made in the last 5 years. It is an enormous change.
Salim Kadibesegil struggled for this change like a “reputation fighter”. He wrote the “first” book in this field. He worked as a consultant for a great number of companies and contributed to putting the subject in the agenda of those companies. He has participated in seminars and given talks in Turkey.
He even took his fight out of the country. The last time I spoke to him asking where he was, he said “I’m in Malta, in a seminar organised by the Reputation Institute”. I was surprised by the country he was in but I was familiar with the reason why he was there, because Salim would stop everything and go to every conference, seminar and training about reputation no matter where they were held. He worked as a real “reputation fighter”.
He is the top person whose opinions can be respected, who can give a talk and provide consultancy about this subject in Turkey. Therefore, I can’t wait to read his book. I am sure that we will use this book, which has been created based on experience originating from tens of conferences, a great amount of company experience and many books, as a resource in our magazines. With Salim’s permission, I would like to say that if this book disappoints me, I will write about that in his next book.

ROI (Return of Investment) of Reputation
Prof. Dr. Acar Baltas

Salim Kadibesegil’s book is a product of vast knowledge and great work. This is a valuable work because its contents are not compiled from “information” in various resources, they are based on real-life experiences which are conceptualised, interpreted and turned into “knowledge”.
The management and employer approach shaped in the last century tends to invest in land, buildings and equipment rather than spending money on reason. Corporate communication and training are at the top of the list of expenses to be avoided.
Salim Kadibesegil explains ROI of reputation with some examples and comments based on his real-life experiences in an exceptionally easy and understandable way. The reader is introduced to a rather complicated subject like corporate reputation management with the fluidity of a novel in this book. The reader can either read the whole book at one sitting or read a chapter that he/she is interested in and skip to another one. The ability and care put into structuring the book in this way shows how competent the author is in this subject matter.

A Concept emerging from Universal Human Values
Prof. Dr. Haluk Gurgen

I don’t think anyone would doubt the importance of “reputation”. However, naturally, we find it difficult to answer questions such as “what can we do” and “how can we manage our reputation” to protect and develop it and to make it more valuable than anything else. Because we usually believe that it will be enough to be honest and reliable and to do our jobs in the right way for reputation, and that it will emerge and develop by itself. In fact, we, as everyone else, have recently found out that reputation is a subject related to communication and something which should be managed.
Reputation is the most important value for people and institutions. When we lose our reputation, our money and property collapse like a tower made of playing cards. Regaining lost reputation is a very challenging process which takes a long time. We can learn many lessons about this subject from the crises, numerous tragic events and consequent loss of reputation experienced recently in our country. Therefore, the importance of reputation and how to manage it are subjects that everyone, especially company managers, should carefully focus on.
We know that corporate reputation is directly related to universal human values above all. In other words, no decision or practice can build reputation unless it corresponds with indispensable human values such as legal equality, personal freedom and safety. On the other hand, institutions that cannot meet their society’s expectations will have difficulty in ensuring safety of their social partners, especially their employees, customers and investors. Therefore, corporate reputation should be associated with business outcomes and managed based on corporate foundations of companies, which consist of their mission, vision, values and culture and which do not contradict with social values. Concepts such as “good corporate management principles”, “corporate social responsibility” and “unconditional internal and external customer happiness” become very important at this point. CEOs are at the top of the list of elements building reputation, and they are very significant since they are responsible for managing all these reputation components.

In order to be able to build corporate reputation, communication between reputation components should be managed. One of the top discussion topics is whether corporate reputation is a study area within the public relations discipline or whether it has a different independent position. Some people think that public relations cannot meet expectations and cannot institutionalise and actualise itself especially as a management function. Thus, multi-layered corporate reputation related primarily to management should be considered separate from public relations. Other people think that there are artificial differences between concepts such as corporate reputation and perception or subject management. They believe that they are created by public relations companies in order to show themselves different in the competitive environment of the communication industry. They say that these jobs are in fact all public relations no matter what they are called. We should focus on this opinion considering that we are all experts in wearing out concepts in a very short time in Turkey just because they are fashionable or we have commercial concerns without finding out and understanding the facts about them and without doing the required work.

Salim Kadibesegil is a professional who has undertaken highly significant projects in public relations in Turkey for many years. He has done some very important work so that this profession can be developed in the right way by the right people. He contributed to expanding authentic knowledge in his field and to training young people both as a successful practitioner and through his books and articles. Salim Kadibesegil’s book, Do You Have Any Other Tasks More Important Than Managing Your Reputation?, discusses the subject of corporate reputation management with very meaningful and informative examples from Turkey and abroad. The book is a masterpiece since it includes international information about the subject and initiates significant new discussions. Behind every piece of information, every opinion and every word in this book, there is knowledge and great experience accumulated by a highly reputable communication worker only by doing his job for years. Therefore, I thank my friend Kadibesegil for his efforts to produce and share information with no negligence. I believe that this book will guide new work on corporate reputation both in an academic sense and in practice in Turkey.

On Decisiveness of Method
Dr Seref Oguz

Do you have any other tasks more important than managing your reputation?
What kind of added value does Salim Kadibesegil create with this book which looks for an answer to the right question at the right time?
Our reputation has never been tested more than it is in this period when everybody can reach each other everywhere.
In fact, things were easier in the past. Our reputation area was “limited” and threats to our reputation that we had to protect were “numerable”.
However, it seems like this situation has changed for good.
Building reputation is defined as an independent skill area in this environment where the entire world has become a “market” and your land has become “the market of the world” according to your company.
Building reputation sounds good. It is also convincing in terms of what we need to do. However, “how” we can gain reputation is still a field on which theses are produced. As for protecting our reputation that we built somehow, we have to find more advanced methods.
I am one of those people who has been watching closely how Salim Kadibesegil tried to put together universal knowledge, local behaviours and moral reflex concerning reputation that he included in his area of knowledge and interest years ago.
It seems to me that reputation is nothing like a word you see in a book or in a language.
When we look at the contents of this book, we can easily understand that we need to start off with many “right” examples as well as intellectual pain. We can understand it, but we always get confused about what we need to do make this “understanding” work.
Reputation has been one of the biggest problems of our ancestors, too. Many tribes or people even defined their reputation as a “way of existence”. We see that history is actually made of “reputation” war stories. Alexander the Great had a problem with his reputation that he had to carry into the future. So did Attila. Not only kings but also viziers and jesters who lost their reputation in a palace were beheaded. Many commanders who could not explain a lost battle through right communication experienced a disreputable end, didn’t they? Who knows how many lovers created love stories which are still respected in order to protect their “honour” in the old jargon or “reputation” as we say today?
Ok, we got it. Reputation is a crucial subject. However, how will we manage this subject? If I go back to the question I asked in the beginning and consider where the added value of this book originates from, my observations about the question “What is it supposed to do for me?” is below:
If you don’t measure something, you cannot know it. If you don’t know it, you cannot manage it.
A better book will surely be written in years, but this book gives us a scale that we can at least use now. We should all applaud Kadibesegil’s efforts to find an answer to “how” we will manage reputation rather than “what” reputation is.
As Al-Jazari says “Every unpractised piece of information stands somewhere between right and wrong”.
In this world where there is so much information but so little quality information, the most important question may be how we can involve the things we know in our lives.
Every person, institution and country that care about their reputation use every means to be able to manage it. Some of them polish up their image by using “fake reputation”. However, when its polish comes off, “synthetic reputation” leaves a “disaster” behind it.
Some of them have realised that they can only protect the value of their reputation “by managing it”.
Reputation may be “everything”, but it has never been a method”.“Everything” without a method is bound to be ground in the mill of time eventually.In fact, that is why “method requirement” for “sustainable reputation” stands out in this globe where “reputation we cannot manage is managed by our competitors”. I think the book creates added value just at this point with the method it recommends.

A Book To Read At One Sitting!
Cem Topcuoglu

This book shows ways of ensuring that your “reputation” stays with you for a lifetime. Reputation is such a difficult thing to acquire. You spend years on it and then you realise that it’s gone. I guess you wouldn’t even want to think about where loss of reputation would make you end up. Decreasing stock exchange values, market loss, loss of qualified employees etc.
This book reveals how important it is to invest in people indeed, because people are the ones who build reputation and cause loss of it. Some managers succeed in retaining and increasing corporate reputation against all odds whereas some of them make it reach rock bottom with their inefficiency and negligence. The book includes some colourful and tragicomic examples from around the world and from Turkey.
Some books repeat what you already know and some of them look down on you saying “I will tell you things that you do not know”. Salim Kadibesegil has managed to turn his area of expertise, reputation management, into a book that you will read at one sitting, that you will think about and that you will scan again and again, and it’s great to see that he has done it.