Strategic Business - Rider University Outbreak - Case Study Example

Communication Plan: Rider University Outbreak Case Student’s Name Institution Table of Contents Executive Summary……..………………………………………………………………………3 1.0 Analysis of Communication Issues & Objectives...................................................................4 1.1 Communication of the Issues At Hand........................................................................4 1.2 Objectives at Hand......................................................................................................4 2.0 Analysis of Target Audiences & Required Communication Methods...................................5 2.1 Identification of Target Audience..............................................................................5 2.2 Required Communication Methods...........................................................................6 2.2.1 Communication Methods for the Primary Audience...........................................6 2.2.2 Communication Methods for the Secondary Audience.......................................7 3.0 Outline of Time for Communication Plan............................................................................10 4.0 Strategically Written Business Communication...................................................................12 Executive Summary The underlying issues are related to an outbreak of fever and gastrointestinal distress amongst students in Rider University. At least 158 students have been affected from all the three main University dormitories; Conover, Gee and the West Village. The exact cause of the distress has not be clearly established by the institution and seems to also have affected other notable institutions including; Monmouth University, TCNJ and Princeton University. Out of the 158, at least 91 of them have been hospitalised while 44 of them are still admitted in the hospital. The communication plan involves providing different sets of information to different target audiences that include; freshman students that should receive communication through different social media pages and student meetings; international students that should receive updates through their social media pages and campus-based cultural newspapers due to the language barrier; senior students that should be reached through direct messaging given that the authority has their telephone contacts; media that should receive updates through letters to the editors and by-line articles in newspapers; parents that will need to understand the existing situation through press releases and meetings for those that reside in close proximity to the institution; surrounding community that should be able to receive updates through a series of community forums and op-ed articles and relevant government health agencies that should be able to access firsthand information through direct board meetings and daily health reports from the advisory team. 3.0 Analysis of Communication Issues & Objectives 3.1 Communication of the Issues At Hand The underlying issues are related to an outbreak of fever and gastrointestinal distress amongst students in Rider University. At least 158 students have been affected from all the three main University dormitories; Conover, Gee and the West Village. The exact cause of the distress has not be clearly established by the institution and seems to also have affected other notable institutions including; Monmouth University, TCNJ and Princeton University. Out of the 158, at least 91 of them have been hospitalised while 44 of them are still admitted in the hospital. 1.2 Objectives at Hand Considering that the outbreak has been able to affect a substantial number of students and thus, attracting the attention of different stakeholders, there is a need to identify and formulate the objectives and goals to be achieved; these objectives are listed as below; To ensure that different audiences or rather stakeholders are able to access the details of the outbreak at large and are provided with information relating to whether they have been affected at all. To ensure that immediate feedback is provided to any possible inquiries that might arise and especially the media to avoid misinforming the public at larger about the situation at hand. To bring to the attention the occurrence of the outbreak to the immediate primary audiences; students in the different dormitories in order to avoid possible panic and speculations. To communicate to the unaffected lot about the possible ways of avoiding being affected by the distress and thus, prevent possible rise in the cases of those affected. To make necessary arrangements in securing the services of a qualified health personnel for the purpose of assuring the entire student and administrative lot of the efforts to contain the situation at hand. To develop an advisory team that should be able to coordinate with its counterpart in the other Universities for purposes of ensuring that efforts are made to cut down on possible transmission to the nearby communities. The coordination should also be able to help with the cutting down on costs related to informing the public through the different media platforms. To develop a platform where new cases of the outbreak are reported for immediate response and assistance provided to the affected. 4.0 Analysis of Target Audiences & Required Communication Methods 2.1 Identification of Target Audience For this case, there are two types of audiences that will be affected by the situation at hand. These two types of audiences involve the primary and secondary stakeholders. Primary audiences are those that have been directly affected by the fever and gastrointestinal distress. They mainly include the students located in the three dormitories. On the other hand, secondary audiences include the media, the surrounding community, and the health government agencies amongst others. These secondary audiences are affected indirectly by the unfolding of the situation and thus, are fundamental influencers on the manner for which the entire communication plan should be executed. 2.2 Required Communication Methods 2.2.1 Communication Methods for the Primary Audience For Conover Dormitory; that houses freshman students, the most viable manner of communication will be through the University Facebook page. By now, these students should have been encouraged to join the page for immediate updates. It is assumed that most of these freshman have access to both smartphones and internet; the latter being provided for free within the facility. Using this Facebook page, important information will be disseminated especially in regards to possible ways of tackling the distress and fever. Other social media platforms that can also be sued in this case include; Twitter and Instagram. Another crucial approach will be to set up meetings at different entertainment halls within the facility to allow these students access the necessary information pertaining to how the distress is transmitted as well as act as n immediate centre for reporting new cases of the distress and fever. These meeting halls should be strategically placed and sufficient in number in order to ensure that most of not all of the students are able to access them at any given time. For the Gee dormitory; which provides housing to international students, the most viable way of communicating to this group will be through common campus-based cultural newsletters. This is an effective way especially since the lot is faced with great levels of challenges in regards to language barriers. The newsletters will be distributed to these students through their respective email addresses. These newsletters will constitute detailed information relating to the distress at hand and possible progress made in relation to situation at hand. It should also contain information on when next they will receive similar updates and how to report in case of such incidences occurring to them. In most cases, the group is also fairly-coordinated using different social media pages where they are able to interact and put forward their objection. The administration of these pages should provided detailed information regarding the outbreak so that they can go ahead and share with their respective members. The University advisory team will be expected to maintain contact with these social-based administrations in order to receive any form of information in real-time. For the senior students; staying in West Village, they can be reached at using different social media pages meant for them. They can also be communicated at using different newsletters that are produced by different heads of students and circulated within their place or residency. It is assumed that the administration, by now, would have secured an official telephone contacts list database as well as their email addresses for these students for future interaction hence forming a perfect platform for messaging them directly regarding the issue at hand. It is important to understand that given the level of outbreak, it is expected that most students would have sought accommodation elsewhere as a result of panic and chaos hence direct messaging these senior students will be effective in ensuring that they also are alerted of the events as the unfold. 2.2.2 Communication Methods for the Secondary Audience There are a significant number of secondary audiences that the communication plan seeks to address. These audiences are discussed as follows; Media; is the very first audience that seeks to understand the underlying situation and in fact, it has already named the distress as “Valentine Vomit Vortex”, which can likely result to intensive confusion and misinformation on the clear and concise nature of the condition at hand. The advisory team is expected to generate a series of newsletters that are aimed at informing the media fraternity on the exact nature of the situation to avoid possible misrepresentation. Through the use of by-line articles, the local newspaper agencies can get information relating to the correct facts and figures of affected students and efforts being made by the facility to contain further spread. Subsequently, the team should also formulate letters to the editors, where sufficient information is provided to all interested local newspapers about the issue at hand. It therefore means that the advisory team will be required to establish and sustain contacts with the different newspaper editors for the purpose of frequent updates regarding the outbreak. Parents; the parents to both the affected and unaffected students should be reached by way of arranging for a one-one meeting with them at specific places within the University. The advisory team should understand that by providing parents with firsthand information on the outbreak will help to calm them and improve on their involvement in ensuring that the distress is contained. In fact, it is important to meet with them since there is a higher possibility that they will called by the local and international media for their reaction and thus, it is crucial to brief them before such calls are made to ensure correct and accurate information is passed to the public domain. There should also be use of press releases especially on a good number of news announcements or even trending stories. The team should ensure that the release has newsworthy information regarding the number of students affected, hospitalised and those still in the care of health institutions as well as their immediate names and contacts for easier analysis and dissemination of their data. For the purpose of ensuring that feedback is provided at all times, the advisory team should ensure to avail their direct contact information that should include name, telephone number and email as well as website address. In essence, the most viable press release at this moment in time should be in form of announcement. Through this release, the team will be positioned in a fair position to talk about the details of the outbreak and especially when the very first case was reported to the relevant authorities within the institution. It should also focus on assuring the public and the parents for that matter of the committed put forth to contain the situation and the expected timeframe needed for updating on the issue. The surrounding communities; are the other significant audience that should be targeted for communication process. This is because they are certainly unconformable and confused about the nature of the outbreak since there is a possibility that might it spread far and wide. To contain their worries and confusion, the advisory team should make sure to provide immediate communication using such platforms as op-ed articles and holding community forums. Op-ed articles are placed in the newspapers besides the editorial page and provide an opportunity to comment on challenges affecting the entire community as a whole. Through these articles, the advisory team should be able to share, emphasises and also reiterate on the already developed key messages related to the common symptoms that the people should look out for. The message should be devised in a way that will allow the affected members of the community to report possible spread. Hosting community forums is also another important platform for which the advisory team should consider. It is within these forums should be conducted somewhere within the facility that the community at larger will be able to inform on possible effects of the outbreak on their daily activities and immediate course of actions that should be adhered to in case the spread has been reported. It is also used to build trust among them since they will likely be receiving information from a senior administrative authority like the University Deputy Vice-Chancellor or even the Chancellor. Relevant government health agencies; are an audience that will likely need to understand that exact details of the outbreak in order to come up with a plan to contain it. Their main goal is to find an immediate solution to the distress and ensure that everything goes back to normal. They will require direct form of communication from the facility administration personnel in order to figure out the real causes of the outbreak and thus, they will require such information as daily diet being subjected to the students, and the immediate health conditions of the student’s accommodation. Considering that this audience require firsthand information from authority then the advisory should organise for board meetings in order to present the exact and concise details so that a proper recovery plan can be formulated ready for implementation. Another form of communication technique will be through constant daily reports to inform these health agencies on possibility of new cases of the fever being reported. They will also come up with strategies to ensure that the rest of the unaffected student lot is protected from contamination and recommendations might range from testing all students to establish possible infection to closing the facility for a period of time to ensure that recovery process is implemented effectively before the students can resume with their learning again. 3.0 Outline of Time for Communication Plan Dates Audiences Method February, 14, 2016 Freshman Students (Conover Dormitory) -Social Media Pages like Facebook, Twitter - Arrange student meeting February, 14, 2016 International Students (Gee Dormitory) - Campus-based cultural newsletters - Social Media Pages February, 14, 2016 Senior Students (West Village) -Direct messaging using telephone contacts February, 14, 2016- February, 16, 2016 Media Letters to the Editors By-line articles in local newspapers February, 14, 2016- February, 15, 2016 Parents Press (announcement) releases. Arrange meetings February, 15, 2016- February, 16, 2016 Surrounding Community Hosting community forums Op-ed articles in local newspapers February, 14, 2016- February, 20, 2016 Relevant government health agencies Daily health reports Board meetings 5.0 Strategically Written Business Communication February 18, 2016 Rider University, 2083 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, United States Dear, All This release is to inform you that there has been an unknown outbreak in the institution that has also been reported in other facilities; Monmouth University, TCNJ and Princeton University, that is characterised by intense fever and gastrointestinal distress. Presently, at least 158 students have been reported to be already affected by the outbreak with 91 of them having been determined to require immediate hospitalisation. As of today, 44 students out of the 91 hospitalised are still receiving care in the hospital. The cause of the outbreak has not been yet established but the administration is working with different relevant stakeholders to ensure that operations are normalised again. Efforts are being made to communicate the details of the condition to all interested parties in relation to the affected people and the best possible ways of preventing further spread. Kindly, note that the administration has put effective structures in place to contain the situation at hand and thus, there is no need for alarm. In case of further inquiries, kindly, do not hesitate to contact the advisory team using the address provided to you at any given moment in time. Yours Sincere, Associate Vice President-Communications Read More