Thursday, March 22, 2012

What UWI students can learn about reputation management after Carnival

Carnival is a great time to express one's self in his/her cultural heritage. The carnival at UWI Mona is a great opportunity to party, market one's culture and just have a good old time. But with the advent of new media, there was a flood of pictures and videos on the internet on the days following the events depicting some lewd and downright disgusting behaviour. There were young ladies very scantily clad and even one topless as well as depictions of the sexual act also known as "daggering" in Jamaica. So bad was this behaviour that it made regional media with videos on Youtube receiving over 10,000 hits in 3 days.There is yet to be a response from the Guild and the administration of the University, it begs the question, what type of reputation is being built by the students, by the Guild who conducts the Carnival and the University under who it falls?
    I decided to do an online search on reputation management and came up with a link to a book that looked at the ten avoidable missteps in reputation management. Let's assess each and see if they have occurred and maybe offer a solution or two for the next few days.
1. Ignore the problem: Sometimes the problem is ignored by those in charge or they see the problem as not being serious. Head of the bands were warned to speak to revelers about the exhibition of lewd behaviour. However this was ignored even though last year, there was a flurry of comments about the behaviour exhibited at Carnival.
2. Deny the severity of the problem: A lot of persons especially UWI students who wee involved have downplayed the significance of the pictures, some have even gone as far as to justify that Carnival is non - Jamaican and that is the way that they know how to enjoy themselves so that is why they dance the way they do. Even the Guild has downplayed the significance of the event and the pictures saying that most students were having fun.
3.Compartmentalize the problem: Surprisingly when talking to members of the academic staff about the issue of the behaviour, most referred it to either the Guild or Administration to deal with it. Some did not even see it as a University issue. The problem with this step is that persons outside see the UWI not the Guild or not just Administration. So to address the issue as its a "their" problem and not an "our" problem will undermine the reputation of the institution.
4.Tell misleading half truths: We all lie at some point but to say that this behaviour is typical of all Carnivals is just such a bad half truth. Some students from a particular Hall who were very involved in the "daggering" behaviour noted that Trinidad Carnival has this type of behaviour and exhibited a picture of a young man in a compromised position with a young lady. This was the only picture they could produce showing this type of behaviour in Carnival. By doing this the guilty parties wanted to deflect attention away from them and make themselves appear not as guilt or seem as if everybody else is doing it.
5.  Lie: I expect in the coming days to hear some lies pop up. So far there are yet to have been any but just lying about the situation does not help as it is said "what is done in dark will come to light!" Imagine if some parents of UWI students or prospective students saw those pictures and inquired about them and were lied too? What would happen when the truth came out.
6. Tell only part of the story and let it  dribble out: Its quite interesting that there is little being said besides that the bands were told and that the persons still acted in that fashion. This way those who reported the story only gave part in the hope that it will eventually die out from a lack of excitement. However with what was seen last year being taught about, its very unlikely this year will be any different.
7. Assign blame: We all like to say that it wasn't us and the blame game has started. Students are saying it wasn't their fault, it was the DJs. The Guild will blame the bands and the University will blame the Guild and so the cycle of blame continues.
8. Over-confess: Although this happens in organizations, I doubt we will see that in this case as I think the entities involve will rather assign blame than confess to their "transgressions".
9. Panic and undergo paralysis: I highly doubt this will happen as although there is a flurry of media attention, the parties in volved will try to put on a brave face and they will definitely continue their work.
10. Shoot the messenger: Several persons have condemned the photographers and videographers who made the video. However it was not these entities that misbehaved and carried on. They merely showed it to the world. We should therefore deal with the problem and not those who highlighted it.

It will be interesting to see how this crisis is dealt with as there are several stakeholders including the students, the Guild and the University of the West Indies. I hope they all have a good crisis management plan or are in the process of making one now because I see this crisis as continuing to grow.

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