01_Odwalla Teaching Note.pdfVIP

Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication 99-01 Mendoza College of Business University of Notre Dame Odwalla, Inc. (A) TEACHING NOTE Purpose of Case Study 1. To enhance understanding of managing a public relations crisis. 2. To help students understand the role of media in focusing public attention on negative issues. 3. To help students understand how to restore the confidence of stakeholders after it is diminished. 4. To give students an appreciation for the importance of effective communication, both internally and publicly, to the long-term success of any business. Identify the Business Problem The business problem here is two-fold: Odwalla must regain public confidence in its products; and, Odwalla must reevaluate the production process that allowed the E. coli contamination to occur. Forecast the Most Desirable Outcome The most desirable outcome is that Odwalla will survive this crisis without losing a large portion of market share and will be able to safely produce premier natural juice products that the public will pay a premium to buy. Th is teachin g note was p repa red b y Cynthia M aciejc zyk und er the d irection of Jam es O ’Rourke, C oncurren t Professor of Managem ent, as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective hand ling of an adm inistrative situation. Copyright 2001. Revised 2002. Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, photoco