Significant choice and crisis decision making: MeritCare's public communication in the fen-phen case

Citation

Streifel, R.A. (2007), "Significant choice and crisis decision making: MeritCare's public communication in the fen-phen case", Strategic Direction, Vol. 23 No. 11. https://doi.org/10.1108/sd.2007.05623kad.008

Significant choice and crisis decision making: MeritCare's public communication in the fen-phen case

Significant choice and crisis decision making: MeritCare’s public communication in the fen-phen case

Streifel R.A., Beebe B.L., Veil S.R., Sellnow T.L. Journal of Business Ethics, December (III) 2007, Vol. 69 No. 4, Start page: 389, No. of pages: 9

Purpose – To examine, from the perspective of the ethic of significant choice, the communication strategies employed by MeritCare Health System public relations staff following an announcement in July 1977 that it had found a relationship between the phenomenally successful diet drug, fen-phen (marketed by American Home Products), and valvular heart disease. Design/methodology/approach – Explains the ethic of significant choice and its appropriateness for analyzing the MeritCare case: significant choice is founded on the principle that when a group has vital information the public needs in order to make important decisions, that information must be disseminated as completely and accurately as possible. Uses data obtained from extended interviews with the three people responsible for MeritCare’s public communication strategy to consider the extent to which the MeritCare public relations staff were able to address the elements of significant choice (bias, ambiguity, emotionalized language that could distort meaning or create panic, and marketplace of ideas) in the hospital’s public communication. Findings – MeritCare staff perceived that the biases held by staff helped maintain the public’s safety as the primary issue during the crisis; they believed that their communication strategies avoided ambiguity and emotionalized language; and they felt that turning to a reputable national facility, the Mayo Clinic, to support their findings enabled them to influence the marketplace of ideas. Research limitations/implications – Suggests that further investigation into the influence of reputation in the market place of ideas is needed. Originality/value – Demonstrates how the lens of significant choice provides appropriate principles for the dissemination of vital public information.ISSN: 0167-4544Reference: 36AF090DOI: 10.1007/s10551-006-9097-2

Keywords: Corporate communications, Ethics, Health and safety, Public health, Public relations