Gillette Ad Gets Mixed Reviews

Gillette took a risk with its new ad campaign. Spinning its 30-year slogan, “The Best a Man Can Get,” the company introduced, “The Best a Man Can Be.” A new video references sexual harassment, challenges the expression “boys will be boys,” and encourages men to “hold other men accountable.”

Gillette explains the rationale in a press release. In addition, the URL thebestamancanbe.org redirects to https://gillette.com/en-us/the-best-men-can-be, where the company explains the campaign:

Thirty years ago, we launched our The Best A Man Can Get tagline.

Since then, it has been an aspirational statement, reflecting standards that many men strive to achieve.

But turn on the news today and it’s easy to believe that men are not at their best. Many find themselves at a crossroads, caught between the past and a new era of masculinity. While it is clear that changes are needed, where and how we can start to effect that change is less obvious for many. And when the changes needed seem so monumental, it can feel daunting to begin. So, let’s do it together.

It’s time we acknowledge that brands, like ours, play a role in influencing culture. And as a company that encourages men to be their best, we have a responsibility to make sure we are promoting positive, attainable, inclusive and healthy versions of what it means to be a man. With that in mind, we have spent the last few months taking a hard look at our past and coming communication and reflecting on the types of men and behaviors we want to celebrate. We’re inviting all men along this journey with us – to strive to be better, to make us better, and to help each other be better.

From today on, we pledge to actively challenge the stereotypes and expectations of what it means to be a man everywhere you see Gillette. In the ads we run, the images we publish to social media, the words we choose, and so much more.

As part of The Best Men Can Be campaign, Gillette is committing to donate $1 million per year for the next three years to non-profit organizations executing programs in the United States designed to inspire, educate and help men of all ages achieve their personal “best” and become role models for the next generation.

Our tagline needs to continue to inspire us all to be better every day, and to help create a new standard for boys to admire and for men to achieve… Because the boys of today are the men of tomorrow.

We’ve all got work to do. And it starts today.

Not everyone appreciates the new campaign. The YouTube video received 582,000 likes and 1 million dislikes. Some feel that the video unfairly accuses all men of not doing better.

A Gillette spokesperson said the campaign “is much more than a video—it is a commitment to spark and contribute to positive change through our voice as an advertiser and our actions as a brand and a company.” Analysts say the current boycotts probably won’t last long and will have little bottom-line effect on the company.

Discussion:

• What’s your view of the video? Do you appreciate the message, find it offensive, or something else?

• What else, if anything, should the company say in response to the controversy?

• Which leadership character dimensions are illustrated by this story?

Lawsuit Charges Purdue Pharma Family with Instigating Opioid Crisis

In a 312-page complaint, Massachusetts lawyers detail how members of the Purdue Pharma family contributed to the opioid epidemic. The complaint shows the company’s aggressive marketing strategy, including how it convinced doctors to over-prescribe drugs.

One argument in the documentation shows how representatives were trained to encourage doctors to prescribe medication to what the company called “opioid-naive” patients:

Purdue also promoted its drugs for opioid-naive patients using the receptive term “first line opioid.” “First line” is a medical term for the preferred first step in treating a patient. Opioids are not an appropriate first line therapy. Nevertheless, Purdue’s internal documents and testimony from sales reps shows that Purdue repeatedly promoted OxyContin as “first line” — “the first thing they would take to treat pain.” (Sic: “first-time opioid” should include a hyphen.)

A 2001 email written by Richard Sackler, whose family owns OxyContin, blames victims:

“We have to hammer on abusers in every way possible. They are the culprits and the problem. They are reckless criminals.”

The lawsuit also charges the family with claiming that opioids are addictive to only one percent of the population, although they had no evidence for that claim.

This lawsuit follows others in Washington, Ohio, and Alabama. Last year, the company did stop promoting opioids.

Purdue image source.

Discussion:

• Read more in the legal complaint. According to the documentation, how did the company wrongfully use persuasive communication?

• In some of the documentation, we see ads and tactics that any company might use. Which do you find to be typical examples, and which cross an ethical line?

MSU Gets Another New Interim President

Michigan State University hired a second interim president. First, President Lou Anna Simon resigned after 13 years following criticism that she didn’t do enough to stop Dr. Larry Nassar from abusing girls. John Engler replaced her as interim president in 2018, but he, too, faced criticism for insensitivity to Nassar’s victims.

Most recently, Engler commented after a $425 million fund was approved for 332 current claimants and another $75 million was approved for additional victims. Engler said, “The people who got the $425 million are probably OK." Engler said he was thinking more about the potential additional victims who haven’t been part of the process yet. He made things worse when he said more:

"You’ve got people, they are hanging on and this has been … there are a lot of people who are touched by this, survivors who haven’t been in the spotlight. In some ways they have been able to deal with this better than the ones who’ve been in the spotlight who are still enjoying that moment at times, you know, the awards and recognition. And it’s ending. It’s almost done.”

People took great offense to his implication that the earlier claimants have “enjoyed the spotlight.” So now, MSU has a new interim president, Satish Udpa.

MSU image source.

Udpa image source.

Discussion:

• Try to see Engler’s point of view. What was he trying to convey with his comments?

• We might say that Engler’s comments lacked compassion. What else is problematic about his comments?

• What’s your view? Was forcing Engler’s resignation the right thing to do? Why or why not?

Starbucks CEO Draws His Own Path

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson is identifying his own vision for the company—apart from Howard Schultz’s plan. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Johnson said that the previous plan to open about 1,000 Reserve cafes will be piloted with just a few stores. Reserve stores deliver a higher-end experience, selling artisanal products and cocktails.

The change is one example of how Johnson is distinguishing himself from Schultz, who was the company CEO for about 30 years. According to the article, Johnson often started meetings with, “I’m not Howard. I’m Kevin.” A couple of weeks after Schultz left, Johnson said about the business strategy, “Certainly, I tend to bring a much more disciplined approach to picking the priorities.”

Starbucks Reserve image source.
Kevin Johnson image source.

Discussion:

• Is it important for Johnson to distinguish himself from Schultz? Why or why not?

• Read more about Johnson as the new CEO. How well is he handling the transition? What, if anything, should he do differently? He’s in a tough spot, wanting to create his own path but needing to be respectful to the previous leadership.

T-Mobile Replaces Automated Systems with People

In a new marketing campaign, T-Mobile promises more personal service: “Real customer service takes real people.” By introducing a “team of experts,” the company wants customers to reach actual people instead of spending too much time waiting for voice prompts and replies.

The message is clear on T-Mobile’s website and in the results. The company acquired 2.4 million new customers in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to Verizon’s 600,000.

Humor is one strategy the company is using to steal rivals’ business. A 4.5-minute commercial shows actor Rainn Wilson trying to navigate a company’s voice response system. We can all relate: the system doesn’t understand us, we get transferred around—and then our phone battery dies. The video ends with this message:

“Calling customer service is the worst. The best customer service in wireless just got better. No bots. No bouncing. No BS.”

Discussion:

• What are the risks of using humor for persuasive messages? How well do you think it works in this case? Why or why not?

• What is your experience with voice response systems? When have you received exceptional service via the phone?

• To what extent would the ability to reach a person right away influence your decision to do business with a company?

Congresswoman Responds to Criticism

Some Republicans are having a tough time with newly appointed NY Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and she is firing back. Ocasio-Cortez complained about being unable to afford housing in D.C. until her salary went into effect, and critics commented on her expensive-looking clothing. When she stood up to vote for Nancy Pelosi as house speaker, Ocasio-Cortez was booed.

A Twitter user posted a video of her dancing at Boston University. Although the account has seen been deleted, the video went viral with the text, “Here is America’s favorite commie know-it-all acting like a clueless nitwit she is.” Ocasio-Cortez shot back a new video of her dancing to a couple of bars of the 1969 song “War.” Reactions have been mostly positive, with some conservative groups saying they thought the original video was “cute” and that negative reactions were overstated.

As the youngest woman elected to Congress, Ocasio-Cortez has a few hurdles to pass. She is 29 years old, represents the Queens-Bronx section of NY, and is an advocate for the working class.

Image source.

Discussion:

• What’s your view of Ocasio-Cortez’s initial video and her response?

• In what ways is the congresswoman demonstrating authenticity? Or do you see it as something else?

• Review several of Ocasio-Cortez’s tweets. How do you assess her social media use? What advice would you offer her?

Robots Screen Candidates' Social Media

A Wall Street Journal video explains how DeepSense uses artificial intelligence to analyze a job candidate’s personality. When companies post a job, recruiters or hiring managers identify what is most important for success; for example, how important is teamwork or project management? DeepSense then looks at a candidate’s social media profile to assess personality.

Founder Amarpreet Kalkat explains that the system may review a social media profile for only six seconds and will generate a report about the applicant’s DISC profile (a personality assessment) and “Big Five” personality traits. Using psycholinguistics, the computer analyzes language the candidate uses.

Kalkat says their results are 75% accurate, while traditional personality tests are 82% accurate.

Discussion:

• What’s your view of using AI in this way? How confident would you be applying for a job that uses this technology?

• How relevant is personality to a position? What are the advantages to a company of using such a system, and what are the potential disadvantages?

• The video refers to “DeepSense,” but the website shows “DeeperSense.” How do you explain the discrepancy?

Marriott Breach Involved Passports

Although fewer people were affected by the Marriott data breach than originally expected, millions of passport numbers have been stolen. Marriott representatives have clarified that the breach happened at Starwood before the acquisition was completed. In its latest statement, Marriott confirmed that the following were stolen:

• There were approximately 8.6 million unique payment card numbers, all of which were encrypted

• There were approximately 5.25 million unique unencrypted passport numbers and approximately 20.3 million encrypted passport numbers.

Officials say it’s unlikely that someone could create a fake passport based on only a number. But the breach is worrying because passport numbers provide intelligence agencies with information about where people go, particularly when they cross borders. The U.S. hasn’t charged China with the breach, but experts say tactics are similar to those used in other breaches.

Marriott is offering new passports for guests whose documentation was used for fraudulent purposes.

Marriott image source. Passport image source.

Discussion:

• Analyze Marriott’s communication so far: the audience, objectives, organization, tone, and so on. What works and what could be improved?

• Compare the communication to how other companies handled a data breach.

• Should Marriott offer new passports to all affected guests—not just those whose documentation was used for fraud? Why or why not?

McKinsey PPT Slide Causes Problems

Back in 2006, Boeing hired management consultancy McKinsey to help the company launch its 787 Dreamliner despite rising titanium prices. According to a New York Times article, McKinsey evaluated a proposal for Boeing “to mine titanium in India through a foreign partnership financed by an influential Ukrainian oligarch.”

On a PowerPoint slide, the consultancy suggested that Boeing “respect traditional bureaucratic process including use of bribes.” Included on the slide were names of eight “key Indian officials.” As the article notes, “Nowhere in the slide did McKinsey advise that such a scheme would be illegal or unwise.”

McKinsey admitted authoring the report only after learning that the Times had a copy. Details are fuzzy, and McKinsey isn’t offering more explanation.

Discussion:

• What’s your view of McKinsey’s responsibility in this situation? Do you believe they encouraged illegal activity, were just doing the job of management consultant firm and considering cultural realities, or something else?

• The PPT slide seems to have implicated McKinsey. Should the consultants have been more careful about what was documented? Why or why not?

• What character issues may be at play in this situation?

• The NYT author wrote, “Nowhere in the slide…” I would say, “Nowhere on the slide…” Which is correct—or are both acceptable?

Graphics of 2018

Business Insider has identified the “best original photos and graphics of the year”—by Business Insider. The news site does create some impressive charts to help us understand data.

The list includes graphics to explain Kim Jong Un's family tree, how the solstice works, radiation levels for Mars colonists, and when business leaders became millionaires and billionaires.

Discussion:

• Which one or two from the article are most compelling to you? How does the visual convey the point well?

• Which one or two do you find least compelling or effective? Why? How could they be improved?

Acting Attorney General's Credentials Questioned

Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker seems to have inflated his self-description as an “Academic All-American.” The title appeared on a bio for his previous law firm’s website, on an application for a judge position in 2010, and on a resume discovered from 2014.

Whitaker played football at the University of Iowa for two years, but he didn’t receive the official honor, according to the organization that grants the title. In 1992, the title went to another Iowa player.

Part of the confusion may be caused by a media guide produced by the university. An assistant athletic director admitted to describing Whitaker as “District VII academic All-American,” which is not correct.

Whitaker image source. Resume icon image.

Discussion:

• The Wall Street Journal report doesn’t include a quotation from Whitaker. What, if anything, should Whitaker say to defend himself?

• What on your resume could be called into question? Have you exaggerated any of your experience that could be discovered? Should you change anything to be more accurate?

• How is this situation an issue of integrity? What other character dimensions could be at play here?

Facebook's Rules for Managing Political Speech

A New York Times article describes a complex rulebook to help employees decide whether to address political speech on the site. The decision process is daunting, and guidelines include extensive examples of content—text and visuals—that may indicate hate or inspire violence.

The author questions whether Facebook employees are making rational, consistent decisions:

The guidelines for identifying hate speech, a problem that has bedeviled Facebook, run to 200 jargon-filled, head-spinning pages. Moderators must sort a post into one of three “tiers” of severity. They must bear in mind lists like the six “designated dehumanizing comparisons,” among them comparing Jews to rats.

Others say Facebook has too much power because the company controls speech in international political situations. For example, before an election in Pakistan, during a 24-hour media blackout, Facebook may have been the go-to source. Before this time, Facebook distributed 40 pages of “political parties, expected trends, and guidelines” to its employees. But guidelines sometimes contradict each other, and Facebook relies of Google Translate, which may not be accurate or precise enough.

Cover image source.

Discussion:

• When Facebook faced criticism about sharing information with technology partners, company leaders responded in a blog post. If they were to do something similar in this case, what should they say to rebuild confidence in the site?

• Although the rules can be a “bit baffling,” as the author says, Facebook is trying to address other criticism about its response to hate and violence on the site. What, if anything, can the company do differently to accept accountability?

Juul Employees Can't Juul at Work

The e-cigarette company has decided to follow the law and prohibit its employees from Juuling at work. The law isn’t new: The California law against vaping in the workplace has been on the books since 2016.

A Wall Street Journal article describes vaping etiquette from the American Vaping Association:

There is etiquette for in-office vaping, says Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association. Foremost: Don’t blow clouds. Take a puff and hold your breath for three to five seconds, and the vapor evaporates in your mouth. “If it’s 10 degrees outside and I want a single puff, I just take a puff and hold my breath” when indoors, he says. “Ninety-nine percent of people don’t care so long as they don’t see anything.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Surgeon General just released a warning against vaping. Experts say e-cigarettes have toxic chemicals, and users are at higher risk for a heart attack. Studies indicate that teens who vape are more likely to smoke cigarettes later on.

Discussion:

• The situation is a confusing issue of integrity. Some might question why employees were allowed to Juul, against the 2016 law. What’s your view of their decision?

• Juul is popular among young people even though the product is intended for people 21-and-over. To what extent is that the company’s responsibility?

Facebook Defends Sharing Information with Partners

Facebook is responding to new criticism about how it shares users’ information. A New York Times report identified a few examples of how Facebook allowed other technology companies to access private information:

Facebook allowed Microsoft’s Bing search engine to see the names of virtually all Facebook users’ friends without consent, the records show, and gave Netflix and Spotify the ability to read Facebook users’ private messages.

The social network permitted Amazon to obtain users’ names and contact information through their friends, and it let Yahoo view streams of friends’ posts as recently as this summer, despite public statements that it had stopped that type of sharing years earlier.

In a blog post, Facebook’s Director of Developer Platforms and Programs, Konstantinos Papamiltiadis, explained the reason for about 150 companies to have such access:

Today, we’re facing questions about whether Facebook gave large tech companies access to people’s information and, if so, why we did this.

To put it simply, this work was about helping people do two things. First, people could access their Facebook accounts or specific Facebook features on devices and platforms built by other companies like Apple, Amazon, Blackberry and Yahoo. These are known as integration partners. Second, people could have more social experiences—like seeing recommendations from their Facebook friends—on other popular apps and websites, like Netflix, The New York Times, Pandora and Spotify.

To be clear: none of these partnerships or features gave companies access to information without people’s permission, nor did they violate our 2012 settlement with the FTC.

The post goes on to explain the value to Facebook users of having their information shared.

Discussion:

• Read the full blog post. How well does the company defend its practices? Analyze the audience, communication objectives, writing style, and so on.

• How well does the company accept responsibility for sharing information?

• What else, if anything, should Facebook do to rebuild its image? The company has faced increased criticism and regulatory interest in the past few months.

NIH Changes Funding Practices

Following criticism in May, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ended a study aiming to understand whether drinking alcohol every day could have health benefits. The study received $67 million in funding from six alcohol companies.

Now, the NIH is sharpening its guidelines for how employees of its eight institutes seek donations. The NIH director said, “We have to do everything we can to ensure the integrity of the NIH grants process and the quality of our research is above reproach, which means worrying about conflicts.” In addition, the NIH is planning for consistency across its institutes.

Some wonder why the NIH wasn’t already practicing due diligence and preventing conflicts of interest. Critics say the NIH isn’t doing enough and should accept private funding only for general use—not for specific research.

Discussion:

• What’s your view of the NIH’s practices? How is this situation an issue of integrity for the organization?

• The NIH’s credibility has taken a hit. What can the leaders do to recover the organization’s image?

Report on Larry Nassar

A new report on the former Olympics coach and doctor, Larry Nassar, blames officials at Michigan State University, the U.S. Olympics Committee (USOC), and USA Gymnastics for allowing his abuse of hundreds of girls over decades. The investigators concluded, “Numerous institutions and individuals enabled his abuse and failed to stop him.”

In some cases when officials learned of an abuse allegation against Nassar, they waited weeks or months to report to; in other cases, officials reported claims but didn’t do enough to follow up. In still other cases, officials did nothing at all.

Nassar was finally convicted and sentenced to what will be life in prison. With the report results, some hope the USOC will now be investigated.

The report aligns with an NPR podcast, Believed, tracing claims against Nassar and his medical defense, which was accepted by too many for too long.

Image source.

Discussion:

• How do you think the abuse continued for so long? If you listen to the podcast Believed, you’ll hear Nassar’s defense during police interviews.

• Analyze the report. What business communication principles are followed, and in what ways could the report be improved?

Google CEO Faces Congress

Google CEO Sundar Pichai responded to U.S. lawmakers’ concerns about misinformation, bias, and other issues resulting from Google search algorithms.

Pichai answered questions about how Google search works. For example, Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California asked why bias exists is search results: when you type in “idiot,” he said, you get images of President Trump. Here is Pichai’s response:

"We provide search today for — anytime you type in a keyword, we as Google, we have gone out and crawled and stored copies of billions of webpages in our index. We take the keyword and match it against webpages and rank them based on over 200 signals, things like relevance, freshness, popularity, how other people are using it. And based on that, at any given time, we try to rank and find the best results for that query. Then we evaluate them with external raters to make sure, and they evaluate it to objective guidelines, and that's how we make sure the process is working."

Pichai then assured lawmakers, “We don't manually intervene on any particular search result." He also confirmed their attempts to improve information credibility:

"We are constantly undertaking efforts to deal with misinformation. We have clearly stated policies and we have made lots of progress in many of the areas . . . over the past year — so, for example, in areas like terrorism, child safety, and so on.”

As we saw when Mark Zuckerberg testified to lawmakers earlier this year, some representatives had fairly basic questions and misunderstandings about technology. At one point, a representative asked why certain images appeared on his granddaughter’s iPhone, and Pichai had to clarify, “Congressman, iPhone is made by a different company."

Image source.

Discussion:

• How well did Pichai address the search result question about President Trump?

• When Pichai said that Apple made the iPhone, laughter erupted. Should he have handled this question differently?

• Watch excerpts of Pichai’s testimony. Assess his delivery skills, persuasive strategies, and so on.

Cheesecake's Failed Promotion

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Cheesecake Factory offered free cheesecake delivery, but stores ran out and deliveries were slow.

Through the app DoorDash, customers ordered a free slice of the cake. The company said 40,000 slices were available, and people who didn’t get their promised piece got angry. Drivers were put in uncomfortable positions, sometimes waiting hours for orders to be ready for delivery. A flight between drivers broke out in Arlington, VA, and one got arrested.

The company responded by expressing gratitude for the tremendous interest and by complimenting themselves for delivering 60,000 slides—but no apology came. DoorDash tweeted, “A huge shoutout to all of the hardworking Dashers who made this exciting day possible! You’re the real MVPs.” A Cheesecake Factory spokesperson said, “Our Day of 40,000 Slices promotion had such a tremendous response from our guests that we extended it and delivered more than 60,000 complimentary slices. We were truly humbled by the popularity of the offer and by how quickly our fans responded as all of the 60,000 complimentary slices were ordered within an hour of the promotion's start time."

Discussion:

• How could Cheesecake Factory have done a better job planning the promotion?

• Should the company response be different? Do you think the leaders should apologize? Why or why not? If so, what would be an appropriate apology?

Google Translate Decreases Bias

In the past, if you entered “o bir doktor” in Turkish into Google Translate, you would get the result: “He is a doctor.” In a blog post, the company explained that translations were based on common usage, so “it would skew masculine for words like strong or doctor, and feminine for other words, like nurse or beautiful.”

Now, Google Translate will offer both a masculine and a feminine possible translation. The company plans more changes: “We're already thinking about how to address non-binary gender in translations, though it’s not part of this initial launch.”

A Gmail product manager identified the gender-bias problem in the Smart Compose technology, which is used to predict what users will type. Computer-generated follow-up questions to “I am meeting an investor next week,” included “Do you want to meet him?”

Gender pronouns is one issue AI programmers want to solve to improve natural language generation (NLG), which finishes our sentences for us.

Discussion:

• What’s your experience with NLG? For example, how helpful do you find Gmail’s suggestions for finishing your sentences in email?

• What’s your view of Google’s attempt to decrease gender bias? Is this a worthy goal? Why or why not?

Trump Undocumented Workers Speak Out

Employees of Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, NJ, say they are undocumented in the U.S. and express disappointment at the president’s comments about immigrants. For five years, Victorina Morales has worked at the property, and her responsibilities sometimes include providing housekeeping services for the president’s private quarters.

Although the president may not have known about their status, Morales and a former employee say several within the housekeeping, maintenance, and landscaping crews don’t have papers to work legally in the U.S.

Morales said her status is known at the club, and she was hurt when she heard the president comparing recent immigrants to criminals:

“We are tired of the abuse, the insults, the way he talks about us when he knows that we are here helping him make money. We sweat it out to attend to his every need and have to put up with his humiliation.”

During the presidential campaign, President Trump said of his businesses, “We didn’t have one illegal immigrant on the job.”

Image source.

Discussion:

• What risks does Morales take by speaking out? Why might she forge ahead and not be deterred by those risks?

• How is this a potential issue of integrity for President Trump?

• Should President Trump be held accountable for undocumented workers on his properties? Why or why not?