As a PR practitioner, imagine you work for a large corporation that has recently launched a new product that has not lived up to company – or customer – expectations. Slow product sales will now require the layoff of a few hundred employees. Company leaders are coming to you for advice. They want to evade responsibility by telling customers “they meant well,” but aren’t culpable for the new product’s flaws. They also want to keep pending layoffs a secret until the very last minute. What do you do? As the organization’s ethical compass, what counsel and direction would you give to senior leaders? If you were tasked with writing an official statement addressing the subpar quality of the product and the subsequent layoffs, what would you say?
