Definitions
The accused party claims that the accusation is completely false.
What is Denial?
After a scandal involving former spokesperson Jared Fogle, Subway emphasized its commitment to health and distanced itself from Fogle’s actions by highlighting its positive contributions to healthy eating.
What is Bolstering?
Southwest Airlines Emergency Landing – After a tragic accident in which an engine failure led to a passenger’s death, Southwest Airlines stated that the event was an unintentional accident. The airline expressed sympathy and took corrective actions, while emphasizing the accidental nature of the incident to mitigate responsibility.
What is Accident?
After reports of unintended acceleration issues, Toyota initiated a massive recall of vehicles to replace faulty accelerator pedals and update safety protocols. The company committed to improving its manufacturing processes to prevent similar issues in the future.
What is corrective action?
The action was a response to someone else's wrongdoing.
After the slap incident at the Oscars, Will Smith suggested that he was provoked by Chris Rock’s joke about his wife, implying that his response was a reaction to provocation rather than an unprovoked act of aggression.
What is Provocation?
Faced with numerous allegations, R. Kelly’s legal team publicly questioned the credibility and motives of his accusers, suggesting they were unreliable or had ulterior motives.
What is attacking the accusers?
In the early days of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP initially minimized the scale of the spill, downplaying its responsibility and the extent of environmental damage. BP’s statements suggested that the spill was smaller than it actually was.
What is minimization?
Emphasizing positive qualities or past good deeds to offset the negative act.
What is Bolstering?
An airline facing complaints about delays emphasizes that, unlike some competitors who cancel flights, they make every effort to complete their flights with only minor delays.
What is differentiation?
After a faulty ignition switch caused multiple fatalities, GM offered millions in compensation to the families of victims as a way to make amends and address the harm caused.
What is compensation?
When it was discovered that Volkswagen had installed software to cheat emissions tests, the company initially denied any wrongdoing. Later, they shifted blame to “rogue engineers,” suggesting that higher management was unaware of the issue.
Hint: Two strategies.
What is simple denial and shifting the blame?
Framing the act within a larger, often positive context.
What is Transcendence?
Pepsi’s 2017 Ad with Kendall Jenner – Pepsi faced backlash for a commercial featuring Kendall Jenner that was seen as trivializing social justice movements. The company responded by explaining that the ad was intended to promote unity and peace, framing the action as rooted in positive intentions despite the negative reception.
What is good intention?
After reports of civilian casualties, including strikes on hospitals, the Israeli government claimed these were collateral damage in their larger defense operations, necessary for national security.
What is transcendence?
After several people died from cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules, Johnson & Johnson immediately took responsibility, recalling millions of bottles and publicly apologizing.
Hint: Comines two strategies
What are corrective action and mortification?
The accused party admits responsibility for the offense and asks for forgiveness.
What is mortification?
Facebook and the Cambridge Analytica Scandal – When it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica had improperly accessed user data, Facebook claimed that it wasn’t aware of the extent of the data misuse, attributing the incident to a lack of control and oversight rather than intentional neglect.
What is Defeasibility?
In the aftermath of the January 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol, Donald Trump downplayed the incident, describing the participants as peaceful protestors and the situation as exaggerated by the media.
What is Minimization?
In response to lawsuits over its role in the opioid crisis, Johnson & Johnson agreed to a multi-billion-dollar settlement and pledged to cease opioid sales in the United States.
Hint: combining two strategies
What is compensation and corrective action?