Here’s Rosie’s apology. And let’s tie this more directly into business and your communications course with Dr. Whitaker, your law course with Dr. Anderson, your (Winter) marketing course with Dr. Swartz, your (Winter) negotiations course with Dr. Peach (as in how to negotiate forgiveness!), your (Spring) strategy course with Dr. Leary, your (Spring) ethics course with Dr. Anderson , etc. One day, your time will come — your firm will make a poor decision and it will find itself in the unenviable position of having to decide whether/when/how to issue a public apology.

When a corporation/firm gets into public trouble a number of issues are raised:

Should an apology be issued?

What legal issues does issuing a public apology present to the firm?

What type of an apology should be given (a half-hearted one like Rosie, or, a full-blown apology)?

From an ethics standpoint, when, if at all, should a firm issue a public apology?

Discuss, and what other factors come into play that you should consider? Also, if YOU were Rosie’s business manager, what would YOU have counseled her to do, AND WHY (defend your strategy and recommendation)?

Remember that “Rosie” is a brand and client you have to manage. It seems to me that she issued an apology that was half-hearted, yet, probably enough to get her out from under the heat and spotlight. Whether it was the “right” thing to do may be the more interesting question …