2. We would like to thank our Public Relations
Teacher, Dr. Nomita Sharma for giving us such
an interesting topic to work on. It was only with
the help of her guidance that we could
complete this project.

3. • Issue Management: What is it?
• What is an Issue?
• Benchmark for Evaluation
• Types of Issues
• Who makes issues?
• Life Cycle of a Public Issue
• Dimensions of an Issue
• Steps of Issue Management
• California’s Children Obesity Crisis: A Case Study
o SUMMARY
o SITUATION ANALSYIS
o RESEARCH
o PLANNING
 Goal
 Target Audiences
 Objectives
 Strategies
oEXECUTION
oEVALUATION

4. Issues management is a process that ensures the
monitoring and information processing ability of an
organization and thus to deal with uncertainty and risk
contributing. With the early identification of critical issues
and demands of stakeholders, could prejudice the action of
an enterprise, which creates issues management, the
requirement for an active engagement with these issues.
"The basic aim here is to
avoid the one hand
unpleasant surprises or
conflicts that would
otherwise be associated with
these issues, and on the
other hand it can also bring rewards Issues with them
to use is."
Issue management refers to the systematic examination
of an organization (usually companies, public
authorities, political parties, associations, etc.), with their
environmental concerns. The aim is, in the public spot
emerging, organization-related issues early on and
respond accordingly. This may be through participation in
the public opinion formation process happen or by
adapting the organization policy. In addition, an
organization also includes measures to bring issues to
himself in the public debate, the issue management.

5. An issue is a trend or condition, either internal or
external, which will, if continued, significantly affect a
company’s operations over the period of its business
plan.
Any issues may present either a threat to the corporation
or an opportunity to shape the issue to an advantage.
Evaluation of whether the issue promises to bee threat or
opportunity determines the nature and timing of the
response.
Today’s impossibilities
are tomorrow’s miracles.
— Dr. Robert H Schuller
In the context of corporate issues management, issues are
controversial inconsistencies caused by gaps between the
expectations of corporations and those of their publics.
These gaps lead to a contestable point of difference, the
resolution of which can have important consequences for
an organization.
-Heath, 1997; Wartick & Mahon, 1994

6. Benchmark for Evaluation
Opportunity Threat
Benchmark Benchmark
As mentioned earlier, issues may present to be an opportunity
or a threat.
Opportunity Benchmark: Threat Benchmark:
The point before which a The level of loss beyond which
corporation must take action the survival of the firm, a
to control the issue. Beyond division, or a product will be
that point, the cost of acting endangered(beyond which the
late can no longer be firm will not be able to control
recovered through profit. the issue).

7. Types of Issues
Current Emerging Societal
Three broad categories of issues/trends must be identified
and considered in issue management:
Current:
Public questions currently being acted on, or deformulated
by, government bodies. Such issues, having already been
formulated, generally are subject only to reactive public
affairs responses.
Emerging:
Issues of public policy that are likely to be the subject of
legislation in the two-to five-year period ahead, but that
have not yet been fully formulated, nor the positions
defined. It is in this evolving stage that issues can best be
influenced or controlled.
Societal:
These involve changing attitudes and human behaviour and
are the most difficult to influence or reverse. They include
demographic, social, resource-related, and technology-
related trends, all of which may have political or economic
effects. Early evaluation of the nature and direction of these
trends, as they may affect the company, is critical in any issue
management problem.

8. Who makes Issues?
General Elected
Public officials
Pressure Government
Groups Bureaucracies
News
Media
General Public:
generally plays a very insignificant role in creating an issue. Even
when there is a strong public concern the concerned authorities
may decide not take any action, particularly when it is convinced
that such action is impractical or that necessary tradeoffs, which
the public doesn’t understand, are unacceptable. The greatest
power that the public has is the PASSIVE VETO - the non
acceptance of laws and regulations.
Pressure Groups:
are the most important element in creation of issues. The size of
the group does not matter, what matters more is its ability to
capture media attention, the effectiveness of political
operations, and the alliances it can make beyond its membership.
Groups which focus on a single issue are more effective than
groups focusing on various issues because their impact is
diffused.
News Media:
do not create or formulate any issues, they basically gather
attention to the issue, informing people about it. The media can
build pressure on one side or another or drop the issue if they
feel the interest is minimal.

9. From the issue management point of view , careful evaluation of
media activity is essential. Corporations tend to enter panic
mode when they see media taking a hostile position towards
them on a given issue. Sometimes, special issue groups will get
together with media to promote specific issues. The media
holds a strong position in shaping public opinion.
Government Bureaucracies:
are conventionally supposed to regulate the laws passed by the
government. In real life, as most businessmen can testify , the
regulatory agencies own the issues, which they control by rules
and regulations, after legislative bodies have laid down the
general framework. The agencies, as specialists, also help draft
the legislations. Issue often originate with, or are stirred up by, a
triangle of bureaucrats, activists and congressional staff
employees. The influence of each of these elements on the
other tends to create an impression that public is concerned or
excited about an issue, when it may actually be uninterested or
bored with it.
Elected Officials:
While an issue is developing and positions being
taken, legislative bodies will generally lie low to see which way
things will go. The response of an individual legislature will
depend on
a. The relevance of the issue to his constituency
b. The relevance to his committees
c. The pressure groups supporting him
d. The horse trading that may be involved
e. His deep routed personal convictions
Often a congressman or local legislator will pick up an issue
just to get attention. If it is not really relevant to his
district, he can generally be fought on that ground.

10. An
unidentified
problem is
here
Formerly non The issue is
–existent or identified and
unnoticed given a name
problems
Life Cycle of a
Public Issue
Adjustments
are made, via Ideas begin
judicial to crystallize
review
Legislation is Solutions
introduced emerge
and enacted

11. The path that a developing issue takes is important in issue
management. Because the extent of control can be exercised
depends on the stage of its evolution. Different issues will follow
different courses, but a prototype life cycle will be similar to
this:
1. An Undefined Problem :There is a general sense of unease
and frustration, and recognition that a problem exists, but
the issue cannot be defined.
2. The Issue Is Identified And Given A Name: A company that
can first identify and name an emerging issue that affects it
has a major opportunity at this stage.
3. Issues Begin To Crystallize: on the nature and causes of the
problem, and public attitudes begin to form with attention
from the media. Again, leadership in evaluating the issue
can help a company shape the solution.
4. Solutions Emerge: On an issue of some importance,
hundreds of solutions may be proposed, eventually reduced
to a few. If the issue is relevant to the company, the issue
management plan must provide for action to influence the
ultimate solution.
5. Legislation Is Introduced And Enacted: At this age the
company can only react. Some influence on the legislation
may be effected but control is no longer possible.
6. Adjustments Are Made, Via Regulations Or Judicial Review:
Here also the company’s position is one to simply of
reacting, although it may affect the interpretation of
regulations. Court action is often an effective issue
management technique.
7. Formerly Non-Existant Or Unnoticed Problems: often
arise after an issue has completed its life cycle, perpetuating
the cycle in a new context.

12. Technical Broad Impact
Issues Issues
Dimensions
of the Issue
Broad
Impact, but
Narrow
Relatively
Impact Issues
Abstract
Issues

13. Issues vary by two dimensions:
(1) How broad is the impact ( how many people are being
affected)
(2) How central it is to the lives of those being affected
These dimensions are significant in determining the plan of
action.
• Broad Impact Issues: directly affecting a large segment of
people like inflation, rise in prices of kerosene. Generally
such issues are highlighted by media and activists. The
political leadership may lag because it recognized the issue
as a part of a wider range of problems. But when public
support level reaches 40% or more for a particular
solution, political pressures can be convinced that the
tradeoffs involved are unacceptable.
• Broad Impact, But Relatively Abstract Issues: are felt by a
few people directly, although many may be aware that they
may be potentially affected. Identification and crystallization
of this type of issue depend generally on the leadership
group, because solutions are usually very complex. The
public does not exert much pressure and is likely to accept
whatever solution the leaders decide.
• Narrow Impact Issues: generally impact an identifiable
minority or a geographical area. The majority of the public
have no experience with the issue and no vulnerability.
These issues are generally identified by pressure
groups, who operate by influencing the political leadership.
• Technical Issues: are identified and crystallized by the
leadership. They are complex, distant from life of individuals
and usually involve a distribution of political and economic
power.

14. A formal process for managing issues will ensure that the
problems are identified and resolved as quickly and
effectively as possible. Consider the following process as a
way to formally manage these project issues.
 Solicit potential issues from any project
stakeholder, including the project
team, clients, sponsors, etc. The issue can be surfaced
through verbal or written means, but it must be formally
documented using an Issues Form.
(This may seem a burden, but an issue must be formally
defined before it can be communicated and resolved
effectively. If an issue cannot be documented, there is no
way it can be resolved.)
 The manager determines
whether the problem can be
resolved without outside help
or whether it should be
classified as a formal issue.
 Enter the issue into the Issues Log. The Issues Log contains
one entry per issue and is used for tracking purposes.

15.  Assign the issue to a team member for investigation. (The
manager could assign it to himself/herself.) The project manager
should also determine who needs to be involved in the decision
making process.
The team member will investigate options that are available to
resolve the issue. For each option, she should also estimate the
impact to the project in terms of budget, schedule and scope.
 The various alternatives and impacts on schedule and budget
are documented on the Issues Form. The project manager should
take the issue, alternatives and project impact to the people that
need to be involved in the issue resolution (from step 4).
 If resolving the issue will involve changing the scope of the
project, close the issue now and use the scope change
management procedures instead to manage the resolution.

16.  Document the resolution or course of action on the Issues
Form.
 Document the issue resolution briefly on the Issues Log.
 Add the appropriate corrective activities to the work plan to
ensure the issue is resolved.
 If the resolution of an issue causes the budget or duration of
the project to change, the current Project Definition should be
updated.
 Communicate issue status and resolutions to project team
members and other appropriate stakeholders through the
project Status Report, status meetings and other appropriate
communication means.
Having this type of issues resolution process defined ahead of
time will allow you to calmly and effectively work through a
problem resolution process whenever issues arise.

22. • Public Relations: Moore & Kalupa
• Public Relations Cases: Jerry Hendrix. Darrell
Hayes
• http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/ne
wPPM_69.htm
• http://issuemanagement.org/
• http://www.method123.com/issue-
management.php
• http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/Papers/SE-
22.pdf
• http://www.management-issues.com/
• http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/as
ehelp/v8r0m0/index.jsp
• http://books.google.co.in/books?id=1TkC8r1I
3asC&pg=PA199&lpg=PA199&dq=california's
+childhood+obesity+crisis+legislators