ICRCs Internal and External Relationships and Communications - Case Study Example

Analysis of ICRC’s Internal and External Relationships and Communications 1. Introduction International Committee of Red Cross or ICRC is probably the most established and acknowledged impartial humanitarian aid organisation in the world today. ICRC has sustained and expanded successfully since its initiation in 1859 by Henri Dunante in Switzerland due to its focus on the objectives of providing humanitarian aid in conflict situations and in catastrophic situations. ICRC’s word wide operations are coordinated through three interdependent bodies which includes the ICRC, the International Federation of Red Cross and the International Red Crescent. The operations are coordinated globally through 186 national societies (Success and Longevity, 2008). ICRC is the custodian of the Geneva Convention and upholds the International Humanitarian Law. Although ICRC has been awarded the Nobel peace prize in 4 years; has global presence in almost all nations and has a well recognized image/brand presence, recent studies indicate that ICRC as an organisation is poorly understood by its public (Forsythe, 2005). While the initial focus of the organisation was to ensure the welfare of the wounded soldiers in international wars, the purviews of the Red Cross has evolved and expanded considerably today. ICRC deals with a vast number of internal and external agencies and organisations in managing its operations. This paper aims to analyse various contacts which ICRC has with internal and external agencies and identify the key areas of priority in communications and relationship building which needs to be addressed. 2. Analysis of External and Internal Agency Relationships of ICRC Agency contacts of ICRC can be seen as the most precarious and complicated which a humanitarian aid organization would face as it has to serve neutrally for the benefit of all parties involved in a conflict. Ensuring the human rights and providing relief to war torn areas can pose extremely challenging relationship issues to ICRC delegates and the agencies they deal with such as the military, the political bodies and other parties to the conflict. Similarly, as an organisation of the magnitude of ICRC movement, the need for streamlined relationships within internal agencies becomes critical for the success and effectiveness of the organisation. For these reasons, the need for identifying the key relations between both internal and external agencies in executing the key functions of protection, assistance, prevention and cooperation within the framework of humanitarian actions is essential. 2.1 Internal Agency Relationships of ICRC The internal agencies with which the ICRC is having constant dealings and contacts with are its 186 over national societies and the Federation Committee of Red Cross and Red Crescent. These bodies are interrelated in its operations and sometimes synonymous to the outside public. The communications of ICRC in terms of objectives, regional agendas and national strategies all need to be communicated effectively within these internal agencies. As there is no dominant leadership role within these three bodies of ICRC movement, the need for cooperative relationships is highly visible. Its success in expanding and executing the core missions of the ICRC movement through a web of national societies has depended to a great degree on the effectiveness of communicating the core values, objectives and strategies 2.2 External Agency Relationships of ICRC ICRC plays a key role in the world humanitarian relief and development activities and it does so with close relations with other humanitarian actors. The external agencies range from government bodies to non governmental organisations as well as NGOs and military organisations. ICRC’s special observer status of UN General Assembly demands very close association and high contact with UN Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Similarly, it also liaises closely with United Nation High Commission for Refugees. (UNHCR). Among other agencies, the World Food Program (WFP), World Health Organisation (WHO), European Union (EU) etc (Success and Longevity, 2008). The most critical of contacts are the ones ICRC has with government bodies and military parties in situations of war and conflict. While ICRC is operating as a non political, neutral body, the interest in human rights and alleviation of human suffering can cause conflicting situations, especially if they involve reconstruction and redevelopment efforts of affected areas. In some instances these agencies represent the UN peace keeping forces, the government military forces as well as terrorists and other militia. Dealings with such contacts are highlighted in Chechnya, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Haiti, Sri Lanka etc and recent hostage release activities in Sudan (ICRC 2010). The ICRC’s contacts with external agencies extend to more complicated relationships such as Israel's Magen David Adom society. After many years of cooperation, ICRC has accepted MDA as a full member society in 2006 and allows them to operate under the new symbol of Red Crystal in international arena and a modified version which carries the David’s’ star embodied within the red crystal for its internal operations (Israel's Magen David Adom…, 2005). Such compromising relationships in accommodating various views related to each national society indicate the flexibility and commitment to relationships extended by ICRC in its external dealings. Media agencies are another major contact point when it comes to ICRC activities. Media focus on catastrophic situations, military conflicts and any other situations termed as humanitarian crisis is very high and hence ICRC spokes person’s needs to maintain a high contact with the media. However, some of the activities which ICRC facilitates and mediate needs silence and confidentiality that a low media profile is required (Boegli 1998). . At the same time, media is the main source on which ICRC depends upon creating and broadening awareness of itself as an organisation and presenting the desired public image of the movement. Furthermore, the ICRC also deals in close contact with various private sector organisations to promote and execute the humanitarian activities in various countries and regions. Although ICRC’s initial dealings were focused to the States, evolutions engaged the movement with non state actors as the opposition groups, the NGOs etc. However, with the changing environment, ICRC acknowledges the key role played by the private sector in international relations. According to recent news release of ICRC, they have “adopted a comprehensive strategy to develop its relations with the private sector in a coherent and co-coordinated fashion with the chief aim to keep providing effective protection and assistance to war victims under these new circumstances” (ICRC, 2010). In addition to the above discussed operational contacts, ICRC also deals with sports bodies such as the UEFA, joining in as the official charity partner, linking humanitarian activities in to activities such as sports, reaching more effectively to a wider public audience. ICC involved itself in Euro 2008 with an online fund raiser where internet users were able to make donations towards ICRC projects. The winning teams of EURO 2008 were titled the most humanitarian teams or the series (Euro 2008). 3. Recommended Marketing Communications and Relationship Building The key success of this establishment can be identified in its long experience; the clear mandate; explicit values and the organisational cohesiveness (Success & Longevity, 2008). However, the analysis of ICRC’s key internal and external relations indicated various areas of communicational and relation building which needs to be addressed . 3.1 Relationships in Military Situations One of the most complex areas in which ICRC’s role and nutrality can become susceptible to misunderstandings is the provision of relief to affected parties in a military situation. An example of such misunderstandings can be seen in ICRC’s deployment of relief in to affected areas in situation such as a terrorist conflict. The use of military resources for transport of relief material may lead to conveyance of wrong messages on neutrality to conflicting parties. As per Struder, “if the dividing line between humanitarian and military action is blurred, the very concept of humanitarian action, which is at the heart of the ICRC’s mandate and activities, risks being undermined” (Strude, 2009). Therefore, provision of relief and aid; ensuring human rights of prisoners of war; and tending to the wounded in military conflicts are areas in which ICRC has to strike a delicate balance and diplomacy. Just as relationships are managed in normal business operations needs to be done over long term (Grönroos, 1997) with commitment to relationship building and management as per relationship management theories (Armstrong & Kotler 2000), these ICRC relations with external agencies needs to be developed over long term with commitment and trust being the central focus on an ongoing basis. 3.2 Relations and Communications with media Another agency relationship which calls for priority attention is the contacts between ICRC and media. While ICRC is highly active in the media, issuing press releases regularly and being highly accessible for media during conflict situations, there are precautions to take. There are instances where the need for silence is vital for the success of some of the confidential negotiations conducted by ICRC in mediations for hostage releases or bringing warring parties to peace keeping tables. As per Boegli (1998), there is “unfair share of media coverage devoted to humanitarian operations is its potential effect on the safety of those engaged in such endeavor and on their access to those they seek to help”. Also with the globalized real time nature of news broadcasting today, communications needs to be well planned and all ICRC field and media personnel needs to safeguard against impromptu communications that can convey the wrong message or jeopardize the neutrality image of the ICRC (Boegli 1998). Relations with Private Sector Another area meriting discussion is the ICRC’s linkages and relationships with the private sector. The aim of ICRC is to utilize the support of these private firms to strengthen the capacity to execute relief programs. A recent example is Holcim group’s 6 year support agreement with ICRC to build capacities and improve water supply conditions and related infrastructure (Holcim –ICRC relations,2010). However, managing the public relations (PR) aspect of such partnerships with private sector has to be handled carefully. PR involves the management function, which evaluates public attitude, identify the policies and procedures of an organization with the public interest and execute programs of actions to earn the public understanding and acceptance (Linton & Morley, 1995; Moor & Canfield, 1977). the communications, press releases and choice of private sector partners being chosen to support ICRC should be given deliberate consideration, given the potential damages a wrong relationship can cause to the public image of the movement. 3.4 General Communication Development With the introduction of the third symbol – the red crystal, ICRC needs to communicate and increase the awareness of the synonymous acceptance and representation of all the three symbols, the red cross, the red crescent and the red crystal. ICRC needs to utilize a highly integrated marketing communication model (IMC) to achieve awareness and establishment of this new brand symbol across its global audience. Traditionally, marketers executed their marketing mix elements in isolation. This fails in presenting and communicating a consistent image of the organisation to the targeted audience . Concept of integrated marketing communications recognizes the need for carefully planning, coordinating and executing all communicational and promotional elements to communicate the desired massage through various channels. The aim of such coordinated and integrated communication activities is to achieve a synergy through the unified massage delivered by synthesizing the “bundle of massages” the audience receives (Belch & Belch 2004). Incorporating interactive modes of direct marketing such as web based communications and email campaigns etc (Schultz & Barnes, 2001) can be useful and effective given the wide spread use of the internet. The effectiveness of all these awareness and brand establishment activities should be closely monitored and public perceptions, attitudes and reactions to the new third symbol should be assessed over a period of time in to the future. Even the variety of PR tools utilized such as publicity, involvement in community service projects, fund raising, special sponsorships and various public affairs activities needs to be well coordinated and comply with a set guideline of communications which the entire federation members adhere. This can ensure uniformity in the communications taking place across the globe. Even the selection of events to partner as official Charity partners should be well thought through as it reflect the brand image and a public outrage and damage the public trust instead of public appreciation if the wrong events are partnered with. Establishing public trust is a key requirement for any humanitarian agency including ICRC (Bryce 2007). In the complex realms of webbed diplomatic relations and political under currents, the partnerships with various organisations needs utmost care to preserve the ICRC’s neutrality image.). 4. Conclusion In conclusion, the analysis points out that a humanitarian organisation of the scale and status of ICRC has wide contact with diverse internal and external agencies. Managing the relationships and the communications involved is a key priority to preserve and enhance the ICRC’s public image as well as its effectiveness that depends on relationships it cultivate. The challenges of establishing the new red crystal image to be synonymous with the red cross requires integrated marketing communications across the globe in controlled and monitored fashion. By managing these issues, ICRC can expand and consolidate on its long history of success and move forward as the main actor in global humanitarian relief action. References Armstrong, G. & Kotler, P. (2000). 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(2009) The ICRC and civil-military relations in armed conflict Part 1 Civil-military relations in armed conflict: theory and practice. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/sede/dv/sede240410icrcarticlestuder_/sede240410icrcarticlestuder_en.pdf Schultz, D. E. and Barnes, B. E. (2001) Strategic Brand Communication Campaigns, 5th ed, Illinois: NTC Business Books. “The ICRC's relations with the private sector” (2010). http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/private_sector?opendocument Ying, L. M. (2010) ICRC delegate tells of everyday challenges working in war-torn Afghanistan. http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/5/7/central/6130427&sec=central Read More