The Game Plan: Determining the Purpose and Objectives

I have the tough job of following up Wes, but someone has to do it. I too, decided that a fun graphic was necessary to include in this post. Chapter seven was my assignment, and it was about determining purpose and objectives of risk communication. In other words, a game plan needs to be decided on, to define the purpose and objectives or the organization’s risk plan.

Two variables need to be taken into account when developing a risk communication plan according to Lundgren and McMakin, which are the purpose, and the objective. The purpose answers the “why” questions, and the objectives answer the “how” questions (2006). For example, if we were hypothetically trying to communicate the risk of drug use to high school students, we would need to answer these questions first. Why do we want to communicate the risk of drug use among this population? Well, there would be a plethora of answers for this question. Then, how are we going to get these high schoolers to listen to our message? How will we be able to measure our success?

Then, the text suggests that the answers that your group may formulate and come to a formal agreement about what you decide. This gets the group on the same page, as well as lets the upper management the game plan. But before all of this can be accomplished, the organization must consider several factors that influence the purpose and objectives that are set-up.

Factor # 1: Legal Issues

We read about the laws in chapter 3 that may influence the objectives. Legal requirements are obviously the first place to start, because if the organization does not comply with these standards it is not going very far. The text points out “many government agencies have policies regarding how risk communication will be conducted or how the public will be involved in risk management decisions” (p. 116).

Factor #2: Organizational Requirements

Now that the legal issues are taken care of, the risk management team must also make sure that they are in compliance with their own organization’s standards and policies. The text states, “you need to consider your own organization’s requirements and policies regarding the communication of risk, the involvement of the public, the release of information, and the development of communication materials and processes in general. The policies may be formal, or they may be in the form of tradition” (p. 117). Those in the class familiar with public relations theory will notice that this parallels “Grand Strategy” thinking. This is that the specific campaign strategy is in step with the organization as a whole’s mission, values, and goals.

Factor #3: The Risk Itself

Determining the communication type is important to this process. If you remember back to the beginning of the semester when we discussed care communication, consensus communication, and crisis communication, and it must be determined what kind of communication is most appropriately used.

The newness and the visibility of the risk must also be addressed. According to the text,

“If the risk is relatively new and not very visible, you will have to first
raise awareness before you can communicate more technical information, encourage
behavior changes, or build consensus. If the risk is something that has
been discussed for years and has been very visible for some time, the audience
may be apathetic, and you have to find new ways to awaken audience interest and
concern. […] If this risk is relatively new and highly visible, you may
have to deal with fear and hostility before effective risk communication can
take place. Begin by acknowledging and addressing audience concerns so
that they can move beyond the hostility to understanding the risk itself” (p.
119-120).

The factor in which the risk is new and highly visible reminds me of when the 9-11 attacks occurred. All of a sudden the U.S. had a heightened sense of terrorist risk because of the crises that took place. This was obviously highly visible, and did produce fear in the minds and hearts of most Americans. After we felt more educated, and were more protected in airports and increased security at large gatherings, we calmed down and understood the risk itself. Now this risk is part of our everyday lives, but probably do not think about it nearly as much as we did in 2001-2002.

Factor #4: Audience Requirements

The book acknowledges that this may “be the most important, because the audience’s needs and concerns heavily affect any type of risk communication. Therefore, what the audience wants from you should be among the first things you consider in determining your purpose and objectives” (p. 120). Because this is so important, chapter eight is completely devoted to it. I’m sure that our classmates will do a fabulous job explaining it to us!