Introduction
The Ghomeshi’s case has affected the image and credibility of CBC radio. While the case has is under the authorities, the Board needs to take some measures to avoid any negative consequences y that the company may suffer from. The Board needs to ensure that there a strong internal control, but be cognizant of the fact that Ghomeshi has a right to privacy. While investigating the case further, the must avoid instances where Ghomeshi’s private information maybe leaked to the media. The internal investigations as stated in the press release must be professional and legal. This will require them to go through the country’s laws of rights to privacy and information access laws. The board will then be able to know the negative consequences of spying on employees and using the information gathered about Ghomeshi’s case for other purposes that may be illegal and unethical. They need to hire a lawyer with experience in ICT laws. The lawyers can get information on how to handle cases involving employee monitoring. Some of the steps of action to take include;
Gather more information
It will be vital for the Board to look at ethical practices in information gathering and the underling legal issues. They need to carry out more information search and carry out parallel investigations to the one set up by the management. According to Ball, there is evidence that many people have been afraid to speak out. Inability to speak implies that many people are still not able to come out in fear of ridicule, rebuke or shame. A persuasive approach must be undertaken to make the share the relevant information they have.
Suspend Ghomeshi
Cooperate with the police
The board must be very cooperative with the police and other investigators. The level of cooperation must be professional, objective and mutually beneficial. The company’s board must not try to cover up any information that may incriminate Ghomeshi. Any attempt to do so would be punishable under the Canadian laws. The Board would be assumed to be covering up the case and abetting crime. All the information asked for by the police must be given in entirety without any prejudice or attempts of forgery or editing. The board must create a good endowment that will make the officers feel free to conduct their searches. For example, any logs relating to the email addresses used by Ghomeshi must be provided.
Hire a lawyer
The company’s Board must hire a lawyer to represent in the case and all the proceedings. A sound legal advice would ensure that the company does not suffer any legal injury. Since the Radio station is an interested party in the case, it must have a representation in the court.
Deployment of diplomatic public relations
The company’s image is already dented. Because of Ghomeshi’s case, many clients, listeners, and the general public have in one or the other showed some outcry. To deal with the issue, the board must take the right step to restore public confidence and inform the public that the company and Ghomeshi are separate entities and the law must be followed to the latter. However, the Board must be careful not to use the tactics of the conventional spin doctor whose work is to circumvent the truth and tell lies, intelligently. Such public relations mechanism is short lived and would backfire. The board should employ contemporary public relations strategies. The approach must focus on matters ethics and integrity on Ghomeshi case, other than open propaganda. The public relations execute require anchoring of the message on honesty and fusion with the intercultural diplomacy and objective convincing communication. The board must ensure that messages regarding the case only come from one source and be free from rhetoric. In the messages, the public relations process must take into account the cultural and anthropological features of the Canadian audience and come up with symmetrical information. all the information given to the public in terms of press releases, interviews or postings must be thoroughly researched, be accurate and meet the stakeholders’ expectations
Come up with whistleblowing policy
Lastly, the board needs to come up with a whistle blowing policy. This will help the company to detect similar cases in advance and deter their spread. This will require cooperation with the staff. Through employee’s involvement, the board can get to know the gaps in the surveillance policies and how to amend or enforce them. The board needs to ensure that there is effective management of information in the company and protection of staff from sexual harassment. The Ghomeshi’s case calls for effective ways to use technology to gather information in work. They process must be ethical, moral and not based on witch-hunting.
References
Chris Ball. “A public statement by Hubert T. Lacroix, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-
Canada, regarding the Jian Ghomeshi situation.” October 31, 201. http://www.cbc.radio-canada.ca/en/media-centre/2014/10/31/.
L’Etang, Paul. “Making it Real: anthropological reflections on public relations diplomacy and
Rhetoric”. London: Sage. 2010. Print
Moye Jeniffer. “Ethics and Public Relations.” 2011.
http://www.instituteforpr.org/ethics-and-public-relations/
