Description:
The purpose of this session is to develop a shared understanding of the concept of 'reputation'. Participants are exposed to the underlying theoretical frameworks that can be used to deconstruct the meaning of the term, and how it relates to other constructs such as trust, respect, admiration, appeal and attractiveness. In addition to developing insight into the reputation management process, we also overview some of the major empirical traditions in reputation measurement ? and introduce participants to the RepTrak? scorecard and how it has been implemented by Reputation Institute.

Dr. Charles Fombrun is Founder and Chairman of Reputation Institute. He is a former Professor of Management at New York University's Stern School of Business where he was on the faculty from 1984 to 2004. He was also Professor of Management at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1984. Charles is the author of numerous books, including the path-breaking best-seller Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image, first released by Harvard Business School Press in 1996. Dr. Fombrun has published hundreds of articles in leading management journals, and is the creator of reputation management systems used by many companies around the world.

Description:
This session links reputation management to corporate strategy by focusing on the dual concepts of 'stakeholder relations' and 'value chain coherence'. By the end of this session, participants should have a clear understanding of the key elements that drive creation of an effective reputation platform and the processes that go into producing strategic alignment between a company and its key stakeholders.

Naomi A. Gardberg is Associate Professor of Management, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College - CUNY. Her areas of expertise include Intangible assets and firm performance, Global reputation and competitiveness, Global competition and cooperation, Organizational learning and MNCs. She has been published in numerous academic journals. Naomi has won several honors and awards including the Zicklin School of Business Teaching Excellence Award, Best Paper, Social Issues Management Division, Academy of Management, Outstanding Reviewer Award, Corporate Reputation Review and First Runner Up, Haynes Prize, Academy of International Business.

Description:
This session introduces participants to the concept of the 'corporate brand' and the importance for companies to focus on who "we" are as organizations. During the session, we describe a diagnostic framework to assess the coherence and efficiency of a company's corporate brand. The session will discuss the change processes involved in corporate brand execution, along with the active involvement of stakeholders in the branding process. The session will take a closer look at how LEGO Group generated strategic renewal by a stronger alignment of their corporate brand and willingness to include their key stakeholders in the process.

Majken Schultz is a Professor and Associate Dean at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark since 1996. Her research interests are located at the interface between organization theory, strategy and marketing and include the interplay between culture, identity and image, corporate branding and reputation management. She has received several awards, including Jorcks Foundation 2002, Danish Marketing Award 2002 and Marie L�ngaard's award 2003. Her work has been published in numerous journals, and she has authored several books including her latest co-authored with Mary Jo Hatch Taking Brand Initiative: How companies can align strategy, culture and identity through corporate branding published in February 2008 by Jossey Bass, San Francisco.

Description:
Through this session, participants gain insight into the role of employee communications in creating internal strategic alignment. We identify specific types of communication needed to build employee support and provide participants with a detailed understanding of the process through which a company can mobilize its human assets to build a more competitive position in the marketplace.

Cees B.M. van Riel is Managing Partner and co-founder of Reputation Institute; and RI Director for The Netherlands. Dr. van Riel is also a Professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam and head of its Corporate Communication Centre. His most recent book, co-authored with Charles Fombrun, is Essentials of Corporate Communication. Cees is the author of numerous books and articles, creator of the EcQ� Alignment Monitor, and co-author with Charles Fombrun of Fame & Fortune: How the World's Leading Companies Build Winning Reputations.

Description:
Participants in this session will learn to build, enhance and perfect the skills they will need to excel as general managers working in corporate communication. They will complete the session with an understanding of key areas of general management, that they will need to know as communications professionals, from analyzing a range of short cases that focus on various functional areas of management.

Paul Argenti has taught management and corporate communication for over 35 years. He currently serves as Faculty Director for the Tuck First Year Projects, Tuck's Leadership and Strategic Impact Program, and Tuck's executive programs for Novartis. Professor Argenti's has published numerous academic articles and several books including his most recent book Digital Strategies for Powerful Corporate Communications (co-authored with Courtney Barnes), Strategic Corporate Communication, published in 2007 in India by Tata/McGraw-Hill. Professor Argenti is a Fulbright Scholar and a winner of the Pathfinder Award in 2007 from the Institute for Public Relations. He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Arthur W. Page Society.

Description:
This session addresses the importance of maintaining a good reputation with present and potential investors, how companies can successfully manage their relationships with their stakeholders and what extent financial stakeholders are different from customers, employees, suppliers and other stakeholders. It will provide a wide range of conceptual and case materials that illustrate and introduce the principles of reputation management with investors.

Pietro Mazzola is Full Professor of Management at IULM University. He is also senior member of the Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management Department at SDA Bocconi. His research focuses on corporate reputation in financial markets, strategic planning, and family business. Pietro has published articles in numerous publications and is a frequent speaker at international conferences. He is member of the editorial board of Family Business Review.

Claudia Gabbioneta got her Ph.D. from IULM University. Her research interests fall mainly in the field of corporate reputation, with a specific interest in financial markets and how reputation is formed in this context. Her work has appeared in Long Range Planning and Corporate Reputation Review. Claudia is the co-author of "Corporate Reputation and Stock Market Behavior", included in Corporate Reputation Management, to be released by Springer.

Description:
This session will provide participants with an enhanced understanding of the latest thinking about the relationship between governance and risk, and a deepened understanding of best practices in reputational risk management. In the process, participants will be encouraged to embrace a more cross-functional, holistic approach and to adopt a proactive and participatory approach to governance and risk management.

Arif Zaman is author of the Financial Times "Executive Briefing on Reputational Risk" (2004). Arif is a former principle at Reputation Institute. Arif was Global Market and Industry Analyst at British Airways (1996-2005). While at BA he won several company and industry awards for his contribution to BA's Business Principles and Sustainability Policy. Arif is an advisor to the Commonwealth Business Council on corporate governance and is on the visiting faculty at Henley Business School in the School of Reputation and Relationships. He is on the Editorial Board of the US-based Journal of Business Strategy, the Advisory Panel of the Dinar Standard, and a trustee of the UK-based Strategic Planning Society.

Description:
This session on media relations provides participants with a better understanding of: Who the news media are, including how and why they operate the way they do; How the news media influences corporate reputations; The factors that influence the production of business news; How monitoring media coverage can be used to build more effective programs of corporate communication.

Craig Carroll teaches and researches in public relations. He is the Director of the Carolina Observatory on Corporate Reputation in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Dr. Carroll has published in numerous academic journals. Dr. Carroll is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the PR News' Educator of the Year (2008) and the Award for Excellence in New Communications (2007). Dr. Carroll serves as the Chair of the International Communication Association's Public Relations division. He serves on the Editorial Boards for Corporate Reputation Review, Management Communication Quarterly, Corporate Communication, Public Relations Review, and Journal of Public Relations Research.

Description:
This session focuses on the following topics: What constitutes a "crisis" and what strategies exist for dealing with them? We begin by exploring characteristics of effective crisis management efforts that include placing a high value on issues management, distinguishing "planning" from "the plan", and following best response practices, including assessment and evaluation throughout. We also explore how to create a "Crisis Response Framework", and how to monitor corporate responses.

Irv Schenkler is Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Management Communication Program at New York University's Stern School of Business for 30 years. Professor Schenkler teaches courses in management communication, corporate communication and crisis communication. Professor Schenkler has been published in many journals including SternBusiness, Human Resource Management, and Corporate Reputation Review. His book, Guide to Media Relations, was published by Prentice Hall in July, 2004. He has been a member of the editorial review board of the Journal of Business Communication.

Description:
In this session, we will discuss the steps necessary to develop a rigorous scorecard for accurately measuring reputations. Through this session you will be able identify the key components of reputation, identify and develop reputation attributes, develop reputation scales and scores, analyze techniques used to model reputation data, and explore drivers of reputation and supportive behavior.

Dr. Leonard J. Ponzi is a Managing Partner at Reputation Institute, and oversees group operations, product development, global research, and researchers who specialize in research methodology and analysis. Leonard's 20 years of multi-industry experience is a unique blend of qualitative and analytical research. Prior to joining Reputation Institute in 2006, Leonard spent several years with GfK, as a Sr. Research Director, managing clients interested in improving customer satisfaction and loyalty, entering new markets, developing new products, and conducting competitive analyses. He has conducted research in a wide range of industries such as, automotive, consumer package goods, pharmaceutical, publishing, travel, hardware and software manufacturing. Leonard holds an MBA and a Ph.D. He is a speaker at various conferences and has several publications in the area of management and statistics.

Description:
This session will provide participants with an analytical framework for social issues management that is designed to address the severity of social issues and their potential impact on corporations. It will enhance participants' understanding of the kinds of social issues companies must face, and the actions required of them by increasingly demanding publics.

Prakash Sethi is University Distinguished Professor of Management at the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, The City University of New York. He holds a Masters degree in New York. Dr. Sethi enjoys international recognition as a pre-eminent researcher and scholar in the areas of corporate social responsibility and accountability, ethical norms of business conduct, sustainable development, human rights, environmental protection, and international corporate codes of conduct and global supply-chain management.

Description:
We now live in a reputation economy, where reputation is the number one driver of value. Business success depends on stakeholders supporting you. Will your customers buy and recommend your products? Will your investors buy, hold, and recommend your stock? Will your employees deliver on your strategy? All this is tied to the level of trust, respect, and emotional connection they have with you, and that is exactly what your reputation holds.

This session explores the need for strategic reputation management and introduces the key areas on which companies differentiate themselves to build a reputation advantage: leadership, corporate branding, innovation, employee alignment, and citizenship.

Kasper Nielsen is Managing Partner of Reputation Institute responsible for North America. Kasper has been engaged in international reputation management since 2000 helping companies in a range of industries such as Pharmaceuticals, Information Technology, Food and Beverage, Public Transportation, and Financial Services. Kasper has made numerous presentations at international conferences on reputation management, as well as published a number of articles. Kasper is also the co-author of the book Introduction to Organizational Theory published in 1999.

Description:
Reputation matters. And business today lives in a fishbowl. Every action of corporations is scrutinized by many friendly and not-so-friendly critics, as well as by employees and other stakeholders. How a company is led, the integrity of its leadership, and its underlying practices from Boards to day-to-day interactions with stakeholders can be important building blocks of reputation and trust.

The purpose of this module is to explore how new ideas about leadership and governance are necessary today in order to build great companies with great reputations. The module begins with the idea that leadership in our global world is about how a company creates value and engages with its stakeholders (i.e., its customers, suppliers, employees, communities and financiers). Leadership is about getting these business partners' interests going in the same direction.

How these relationships are governed is the subject of part II of the module. We focus on the role that every executive has to play in promoting good governance practices. Throughout the module we draw on real cases to illustrate how companies can differentiate themselves, building value with stakeholders, through better leadership and governance.

Brian Moriarty is Adjunct Professor of Management Communications at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business and Director at the Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics. Moriarty leads the Project on Public Trust in Business, a joint initiative established in partnership with the Arthur W. Page Society. He authored the highly-regarded report, The Dynamics of Public Trust in Business-Emerging Opportunities for Leaders. In 2010 he was selected one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior by Trust Across America. He serves on the Advisory Panel for Ethisphere Magazine's list of the World's Most Ethical Companies and on the board of the Carson Raymond Foundation, a charitable sports-based youth development organization.

Description:
Reputation matters. And business today lives in a fishbowl. Every action of corporations is scrutinized by many friendly and not-so-friendly critics, as well as by employees and other stakeholders. How a company is led, the integrity of its leadership, and its underlying practices from Boards to day-to-day interactions with stakeholders can be important building blocks of reputation and trust.

The purpose of this module is to explore how new ideas about leadership and governance are necessary today in order to build great companies with great reputations. The module begins with the idea that leadership in our global world is about how a company creates value and engages with its stakeholders (i.e., its customers, suppliers, employees, communities and financiers). Leadership is about getting these business partners' interests going in the same direction.

How these relationships are governed is the subject of part II of the module. We focus on the role that every executive has to play in promoting good governance practices. Throughout the module we draw on real cases to illustrate how companies can differentiate themselves, building value with stakeholders, through better leadership and governance.

Brian Moriarty is Adjunct Professor of Management Communications at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business and Director at the Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics. Moriarty leads the Project on Public Trust in Business, a joint initiative established in partnership with the Arthur W. Page Society. He authored the highly-regarded report, The Dynamics of Public Trust in Business-Emerging Opportunities for Leaders. In 2010 he was selected one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior by Trust Across America. He serves on the Advisory Panel for Ethisphere Magazine's list of the World's Most Ethical Companies and on the board of the Carson Raymond Foundation, a charitable sports-based youth development organization.

Description:
Challenges to a company's reputation typically arise out of a specific business context and thus require management and execution as an integral part of business decisions. This is critically important for the prevention of reputational crises, which can arise as a result of any business decision, whether it involves product design, marketing strategy, the pricing model, the compensation process, or even market entry or M&A; activities. In many cases, the most effective way to manage reputational risk is to improve the capabilities of business leaders by helping them develop a sixth sense for reputational risks and opportunities (supported by well-designed processes) rather than adding another corporate layer.

In this session we will focus on building reputation management capabilities with an emphasis on brands and customer perception. The goal is integrate reputation management with corporate strategy. A strategic approach treats reputational difficulties as understandable and even predictable challenges that one should expect in today's business environment. As a result, companies need to learn how to manage reputational risk like any other major business issue: based on principled leadership and supported by sophisticated processes and capabilities that are integrated with the company's business strategy and culture.

We will introduce some key concept of integrated brand management and the need to defend brands and enhance customer trust. We will then deepen our understanding with an executive decision problem. The business context is a market entry challenge. The case discussion will demonstrate the need for leaders to integrate reputation management into corporate strategy and day-to-day decision making.

Daniel Diermeier is a professor of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences at the Kellogg School of Management, and Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University. He is director of the Ford Motor Company Center for Global Citizenship, where his work focuses on reputation management, political and regulatory risk, crisis management, and integrated strategy. He has been featured globally both in academic journals and popular media, and is the author of the new book Reputation Rules: Strategies for Building Your Company's Most Valuable Asset(McGraw-Hill, April 2011). An award-winning educator and scholar, Diermeier is an advisor to some of the world's leading companies and has been appointed to the FBI's Management Board and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.

Description:
Challenges to a company's reputation typically arise out of a specific business context and thus require management and execution as an integral part of business decisions. This is critically important for the prevention of reputational crises, which can arise as a result of any business decision, whether it involves product design, marketing strategy, the pricing model, the compensation process, or even market entry or M&A; activities. In many cases, the most effective way to manage reputational risk is to improve the capabilities of business leaders by helping them develop a sixth sense for reputational risks and opportunities (supported by well-designed processes) rather than adding another corporate layer.

In this session we will focus on building reputation management capabilities with an emphasis on brands and customer perception. The goal is integrate reputation management with corporate strategy. A strategic approach treats reputational difficulties as understandable and even predictable challenges that one should expect in today's business environment. As a result, companies need to learn how to manage reputational risk like any other major business issue: based on principled leadership and supported by sophisticated processes and capabilities that are integrated with the company's business strategy and culture.

We will introduce some key concept of integrated brand management and the need to defend brands and enhance customer trust. We will then deepen our understanding with an executive decision problem. The business context is a market entry challenge. The case discussion will demonstrate the need for leaders to integrate reputation management into corporate strategy and day-to-day decision making.

Daniel Diermeier is a professor of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences at the Kellogg School of Management, and Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University. He is director of the Ford Motor Company Center for Global Citizenship, where his work focuses on reputation management, political and regulatory risk, crisis management, and integrated strategy. He has been featured globally both in academic journals and popular media, and is the author of the new book Reputation Rules: Strategies for Building Your Company's Most Valuable Asset(McGraw-Hill, April 2011). An award-winning educator and scholar, Diermeier is an advisor to some of the world's leading companies and has been appointed to the FBI's Management Board and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.

Description:
Innovation requires that companies experiment, try new things, engage in trial-and-error, and tolerate high levels of failure. Even highly innovative companies like Apple expect a success rate for new products below 30%. Innovation therefore is a risky business. It is also a highly lucrative one. Innovation provides corporations with an engine for growth and for claiming larger shares of the industry's markets and profits. In its December 2009 issue, the Economist stated that innovation "is now recognized as one of the most important contributors to economic growth."

Developing stellar reputations requires that companies deliver consistent results that stakeholders value. Ability to deliver consistent results depends on well-honed routines and capabilities that ensure "failure-proof" performances. Companies that succeed in achieving such reliability in performance and quality are rewarded by hefty premia.

Can companies, however, pursue both innovation and stellar reputations? The examples of Amazon, Apple, Google, Procter & Gamble, and the like, suggest a clear "yes" for an answer. How do such companies resolve the trade-off between developing systems and capabilities geared toward the reliability that generate strong positive reputations, and developing systems and capabilities geared toward invention and discovery that generate innovation and the associated economic pay-offs? In the two sessions on "Building Reputation for Innovation" we will discuss different types of innovation and their effects on stakeholder perceptions of firms. We will understand how highly innovative companies break the reliability-innovation trade-off and reap rewards from both product innovations and stellar reputations that increase the value of their innovations.

Violina Rindova is the Ralph B. Thomas Professor of Business at the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin and a Fellow of the IC2 Institute of University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on value creation, the development of intangible assets, and the dynamics of competitive advantage in a variety of industries. Her work has been published in premier management journals. She served as an Associated Editor at the top theoretical journal in management?The Academy of Management Review 2005-2008. She is a recipient of multiple grants and awards, including recent awards for Research Excellence Award from the McCombs School of Business (2009), and for "Thought Leadership" from the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management (2009).

Description:
Innovation requires that companies experiment, try new things, engage in trial-and-error, and tolerate high levels of failure. Even highly innovative companies like Apple expect a success rate for new products below 30%. Innovation therefore is a risky business. It is also a highly lucrative one. Innovation provides corporations with an engine for growth and for claiming larger shares of the industry's markets and profits. In its December 2009 issue, the Economist stated that innovation "is now recognized as one of the most important contributors to economic growth."

Developing stellar reputations requires that companies deliver consistent results that stakeholders value. Ability to deliver consistent results depends on well-honed routines and capabilities that ensure "failure-proof" performances. Companies that succeed in achieving such reliability in performance and quality are rewarded by hefty premia.

Can companies, however, pursue both innovation and stellar reputations? The examples of Amazon, Apple, Google, Procter & Gamble, and the like, suggest a clear "yes" for an answer. How do such companies resolve the trade-off between developing systems and capabilities geared toward the reliability that generate strong positive reputations, and developing systems and capabilities geared toward invention and discovery that generate innovation and the associated economic pay-offs? In the two sessions on "Building Reputation for Innovation" we will discuss different types of innovation and their effects on stakeholder perceptions of firms. We will understand how highly innovative companies break the reliability-innovation trade-off and reap rewards from both product innovations and stellar reputations that increase the value of their innovations.

Violina Rindova is the Ralph B. Thomas Professor of Business at the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin and a Fellow of the IC2 Institute of University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on value creation, the development of intangible assets, and the dynamics of competitive advantage in a variety of industries. Her work has been published in premier management journals. She served as an Associated Editor at the top theoretical journal in management?The Academy of Management Review 2005-2008. She is a recipient of multiple grants and awards, including recent awards for Research Excellence Award from the McCombs School of Business (2009), and for "Thought Leadership" from the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management (2009).

Description:
Today business leaders have to concern themselves with serious social ills such as chronic poverty and unemployment, declining education and infrastructure in their communities, global warming and a deteriorating biosphere, worrisome demographic and consumption trends, industry-specific issues, and more ? all embodied in the heightened expectations of customers, investors, employees, regulators, and the public for accountable and socially responsible business behavior. Amidst these challenges, they still have to do what they've always had to do: produce growth, deliver results, develop their people, and innovate to meet marketplace needs and counter their competitors.

How are companies responding to this new context? By embracing a new, more encompassing definition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Many companies are revising their codes of conduct, adopting sustainable practices, and updating their community programs; others are forming Board and management level CSR committees, measuring their environmental and social performance, and issuing public reports. Select firms are striving to integrate staff functions responsible for CSR-type issues and are moving responsibility ? and accountability ? into lines of business. And a vanguard set of companies is taking CSR to market by offering products and services that aim explicitly to both make money and make a better world.

These two on-line sessions will explore the linkages between CSR and corporate reputation with attention to how to identify social issues of most relevance to companies, how to develop cutting-edge CSR practices, and how to link CSR to value creation for the business and for society.

Philip Mirvis is an organizational psychologist whose studies and private practice concerns large-scale organizational change, the character of the workforce and workplace, leadership development, and the role of business in society. An advisor to global businesses headquartered on five continents, he has authored ten books on his studies. He has convened two-year, multi-company learning forums on integrating CSR into business strategy and on corporate branding. He has led service learning journeys of senior executives from Unilever, Shell, Ford, Novo Nordisk, and 3i to study, first-hand, an array of social and environmental issues in China, India, Borneo, Dubai, Sri Lanka, and Brazil and urban areas in the U.S., France, and U. K. He is a blogger for CSR with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Writings in this area have appeared in multiple academic journals and publications. He has taught at Boston University.

Description:
Today business leaders have to concern themselves with serious social ills such as chronic poverty and unemployment, declining education and infrastructure in their communities, global warming and a deteriorating biosphere, worrisome demographic and consumption trends, industry-specific issues, and more ? all embodied in the heightened expectations of customers, investors, employees, regulators, and the public for accountable and socially responsible business behavior. Amidst these challenges, they still have to do what they've always had to do: produce growth, deliver results, develop their people, and innovate to meet marketplace needs and counter their competitors.

How are companies responding to this new context? By embracing a new, more encompassing definition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Many companies are revising their codes of conduct, adopting sustainable practices, and updating their community programs; others are forming Board and management level CSR committees, measuring their environmental and social performance, and issuing public reports. Select firms are striving to integrate staff functions responsible for CSR-type issues and are moving responsibility ? and accountability ? into lines of business. And a vanguard set of companies is taking CSR to market by offering products and services that aim explicitly to both make money and make a better world.

These two on-line sessions will explore the linkages between CSR and corporate reputation with attention to how to identify social issues of most relevance to companies, how to develop cutting-edge CSR practices, and how to link CSR to value creation for the business and for society.

Philip Mirvis is an organizational psychologist whose studies and private practice concerns large-scale organizational change, the character of the workforce and workplace, leadership development, and the role of business in society. An advisor to global businesses headquartered on five continents, he has authored ten books on his studies. He has convened two-year, multi-company learning forums on integrating CSR into business strategy and on corporate branding. He has led service learning journeys of senior executives from Unilever, Shell, Ford, Novo Nordisk, and 3i to study, first-hand, an array of social and environmental issues in China, India, Borneo, Dubai, Sri Lanka, and Brazil and urban areas in the U.S., France, and U. K. He is a blogger for CSR with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Writings in this area have appeared in multiple academic journals and publications. He has taught at Boston University.

Description:
The alignment of people with corporate reputations and strategic advantage is critical to business success. Research over the last two decades has shown that the effective management of human resources is one of the key drivers of competitive advantage and, more recently, corporate reputations. This relationship is also two-way: talented people make (or break) corporate reputations and brands; in turn, corporate reputations and brands attract and engage talented people. These two sessions explore this fundamental relationship between the management of human resources, reputations and strategic advantage using employer branding as the organizing framework.

Employer branding, extensively used in successful companies, is the application of marketing and communications techniques to manage the alignment between human resources and corporate branding. It has two key aims: the first is to attract sufficient numbers of talented people to the organization, the second is to engage staff with their work and the organization. In these two sessions, we will (a) explore the problems of attracting and managing talent, drawing on some of the latest research in international companies to shed light on some of the key issues, and (b) explore the problems of employee engagement, drawing on recent research and a new framework for understanding and evaluating the nature of employee engagement, its drivers and outcomes. Both sessions will be highly interactive, drawing on case studies and illustrations of promising practices in international companies. Two of the cases will be co-presented by a senior practitioner.

Graeme Martin (BA, MSc, MBA, PhD) is Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow Business School in Scotland, UK where he is Director of the MSc in Clinical Leadership run in conjunction with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. Following an early career in HR and labor relations management in the engineering construction industry, he became an academic in the early 1980s. Since then he has published widely in the fields of HRM, management and leadership and change management, including six books on HR and management. His most recent book is Corporate Reputation: Opportunities and Challenges (2011). Graeme has also published numerous refereed articles, book chapters and research reports for organizations. Currently he is researching into engagement and employer branding, the use of social media in HR and corporate governance and leadership.

Description:
The alignment of people with corporate reputations and strategic advantage is critical to business success. Research over the last two decades has shown that the effective management of human resources is one of the key drivers of competitive advantage and, more recently, corporate reputations. This relationship is also two-way: talented people make (or break) corporate reputations and brands; in turn, corporate reputations and brands attract and engage talented people. These two sessions explore this fundamental relationship between the management of human resources, reputations and strategic advantage using employer branding as the organizing framework.

Employer branding, extensively used in successful companies, is the application of marketing and communications techniques to manage the alignment between human resources and corporate branding. It has two key aims: the first is to attract sufficient numbers of talented people to the organization, the second is to engage staff with their work and the organization. In these two sessions, we will (a) explore the problems of attracting and managing talent, drawing on some of the latest research in international companies to shed light on some of the key issues, and (b) explore the problems of employee engagement, drawing on recent research and a new framework for understanding and evaluating the nature of employee engagement, its drivers and outcomes. Both sessions will be highly interactive, drawing on case studies and illustrations of promising practices in international companies. Two of the cases will be co-presented by a senior practitioner.

Graeme Martin (BA, MSc, MBA, PhD) is Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow Business School in Scotland, UK where he is Director of the MSc in Clinical Leadership run in conjunction with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. Following an early career in HR and labor relations management in the engineering construction industry, he became an academic in the early 1980s. Since then he has published widely in the fields of HRM, management and leadership and change management, including six books on HR and management. His most recent book is Corporate Reputation: Opportunities and Challenges (2011). Graeme has also published numerous refereed articles, book chapters and research reports for organizations. Currently he is researching into engagement and employer branding, the use of social media in HR and corporate governance and leadership.

Description:
This module examines the rise of digital media and what it means for the future of corporate communications. Drawing on a variety of case studies, the module argues that organizational reputations can now be built (and smashed) at lightning speed thanks to the new social infrastructure of the web. The result, for communicators, is arguably a moment of great opportunity.

By plotting the speed and direction of digital change, the module outlines a roadmap to online reputational success ? and suggests that corporate communications is at the dawn of a new era. Characterised by openness, speed, and participation, this new era will see companies building, extending and reinforcing their reputations in increasingly creative and innovative ways.

The class is organised into three components. The first summarises the significance of the very latest digital media trends and why these matter from a communications and reputation management viewpoint. The second explores an array of digital crises to derive key lessons about best practice in the online reputational space. The module concludes by presenting a possible roadmap to the future and the practical steps that companies can take to start that journey.

Andrew Currah is a digital communications and strategy consultant. He is a former Oxford University lecturer and an award winning researcher, best known for his work in digital media. Since 2005, he has provided independent advisory services to a variety of clients including the Bodleian Library, BBC, Guardian Media, HSBC, the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, Maitland Communications, Ofcom, Oxford Analytica, Prospect Magazine, the Reuters Institute, Royal Dutch Shell and Strategy Analytics.

Andrew's expertise is digital strategy, social media and the mobile landscape. He is also founder of Firebird Apps, a startup specializing in design and production for web and mobile apps. He holds a first class BA (Hons), MPhil and PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Description:
This final session explores how perceptions of the enterprise are perhaps more pivotal and influential than perceptions of products or services themselves in the marketplace. In the reputation economy, only 39 percent of inscripción decisions are based on product perceptions, while 61 percent are based on perceptions of the companies behind those products. Similar numbers can be found for advocacy or recommendation of products and services?perceptions of the enterprise matter more.

What does this mean? This means that companies can create actual business value through strategically managing their reputation. More and more, customers care about who's behind the curtain. They want to know that the company they do business with behaves and will continue to behave in ways that justify a relationship with them.

Through detailed best practice case studies from companies around the world, this session pulls together lessons learned from the key areas—leadership, corporate branding, innovation, employee alignment, and citizenship—to demonstrate how corporate reputation provides a potential new source of competitive advantage.

Anthony Johndrow is responsible for RI's U.S. Advisory practice. In this role as well as his previous role as COO of an international Corporate Brand consultancy, Anthony has been involved in reputation management and strategy consulting in Consumer Products, Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals, Biotech, Media, and Information Technology. Anthony has spent more than 14 years in a combination of brand management, general management, corporate communications, and public affairs roles, including stints at Procter & Gamble and The Coca-Cola Company (as founder of The Coca-Cola Think Tank). Since teaching Economics and Statistics as an undergrad at Harvard, Anthony has regularly spoken and written about Branding and Corporate Reputation.