Knowing your Audience Paper and Communication Release Essay

When a company needs to pass information to another organization or a group of people it is very important that the company knows their audience. If the information is regarding a disaster, it is even more important to make sure the company knows their audience. One example of a company needing to know their audience was the Chilean copper mine in South America. On Thursday, August 5, 2010, A collapse of one of the shafts in the Chilean copper mine left 33 workers trapped approximately 300 meters underground. At once, rescue efforts began but just two days later another collapse in the mine halted the efforts of the rescue crews for many hours (Weik, 2010). In such a disastrous circumstance, the company would need to take great care in how the world found out about the disaster. If not done properly then the companies audience, the world, would view the company is a much worse light then if they had properly released the information. There are two ways in which the company would be releasing information. The first would be to the families of the workers and the second would be to the other employees and then to the press. The representatives chosen by the company to handle these releases will have to take great care in how it is done to keep the reputation of the company intact, while making sure that all information is truthful and accurate. This disaster affected many people. Not only did the collapse affect the 33 miners that were in the mine, it also affected the families of those workers. The families were in agony while they waited to hear if their loved ones would make it out alive. It is the mining companies responsibility to make sure the family member are aware of everything that is happening and what is being done to get their loved ones rescued out of the mines safely. This communication process is more important than anything being told to the other workers or the press. Not knowing your audience in this first step could prove disastrous overall for the company. Once the families have been informed it is important to let the fellow co-workers know what is happening. Many of the men trapped would have friends who also work for the company and they would want to know what is happening. By making sure the other employees know about what is happening, the company can try to keep them from saying too much to news reporters and it will help ease their minds. Once the employees have been notified, make it clear that all information to the press needs to come from the company. When something is said to an audience that was not properly prepared for that audience, it could have disastrous results. Through the press the company will next have to handle the communication on an international level. Because the mine company was global they were on the world stage. The company owned mines in many other parts of the world, not just in South America. In a situation like this one, rumors began to fly without much hesitation and although rumor control was important with the company, it is impossible to stop. Another aspect of communication that was not very publically known was the communication with the investors, owners and stockholders of the company. It is very important to keep this audience informed with what was going on because if information was withheld then it could potentially cause a panic. Once in panic mode, the investors could damage the company more by stopping funds, dumping assets and plunge the company into bankruptcy. Money is very important to investors and when they receive news about their investments, good or bad, it weighs heavily on how they will react. For the good of the company’s future, it was very important that they inform this group personally and not let them hear it from the news organizations covering the story. There are many different ways to deliver communications like the ones previously reviewed. When speaking to the family members of the workers it is best to do so face to face so they feel important about where they stand in this type of situation. Calling with the information on the phone would seem impersonal and would give the families thoughts that they are not as important. An example of this would be when monetary damages were to be paid to the families of the workers; many family members who were not known to the company came forward looking for money (Prengaman, 2010). Whenever a company needs to approach an audience it is vitally important that the company knows who the audience will be and that they tailor their communications to that audience. In the communication should be all the details that can possibly be put in and the company needs to be as truthful as possible. Waiting a long time before a communication is released could also damage the situation further. The best possible way to assure the communication is effective is to deliver it in the best format to the audience (Cheesebro, O’Connor, & Rios, 2010).