Question 1- Wal-mart had a few public relation options after the firing of Roehm. They could have sent out a news release stating the details of her firing. That will make it clear to everyone why she was fired and will also help to persuade people that the firing was just. They could also get feedback from the groups they are targeting to see how they feel about the company. It was obvious that the company was struggling in public opinion.
Question 2- I think that Wal-mart was smart to expose the affair. It hurts her character and makes what she is saying less believable because she lied. When someone’s character is hurt it can affect everything they say. Also with a law suit of this magnatued it is important to know all the facts. Wal-mart does not want to lose this case and they are doing everything possible to win it.
Question 3- It was very interesting how Wal-mart responded to the law suit. By exposing her possible affair it takes the attention off of the company and puts in on Roehm. This can be good because it makes her look like a bad person and it gives the firing more validity. At the same time it makes it look like the company is trying to spear its opponent. It’s the same idea that politicians use in elections. They are trying to persuade the people that their opponent is worse than them.
Question 4- I do not agree that it will poison the atmosphere. I believe that Wal-mart had every right to fire Roehm. She broke the law. If that was explained to any future employees any problems will be take care of. Wal-mart is a huge corporation and people will still want to work for them. This incident does not have enough problems to discourage people from that.
Question 5-I think that Wal-mart needs to resolve the problem as soon as possible. The last thing they need is for it to drag on for months. The best thing to do is settle it out of court and get it out of the media. After awhile the public will forget about it. The more publicity it gets the worse it will get. With all the other suits that are taking place the last thing they need is for this to drag on.
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Question 3- I don’t believe that suing Roehem was something that Walmart should’ve done at all. It didn’t really take the attention off of the company it just made them seem defensive to the public and probably made people feel like why would they sue her for that. They didn’t really follow any good communication theories by being so defensive.
I disagree with you, James. What Walmart did was just plain skuzzy. Why should a huge international company lower itself to the level of office gossip? I am waiting to see how the discrimination suit against Walmart goes. I’m hoping they get hit with a huge settlement!
Dr. Schultz
Andrea,
I think your comments are right on the money!