Student name: YING ZUO (Bonnie)

Student number: n101822501

AMB263
Assessment 3
Workbook

Student name: YING ZUO (Bonnie）

Student number: n101822501
Tutor: Jane Burtenshaw
Toturial: 12pm in Room Z308.

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 Student name: YING ZUO (Bonnie)
Student number: n101822501

The week 10 of the simulated public relations crisis was mainly to analyze

the current situation of the virtual organization Lala Convenience and to solve

the public relations problems that occurred. Lala Convenience is an Australian

private company with nearly 700 stores that affect the daily lives of tens of

thousands of Australians every day. Recently, a consumer advocate

contacted an investigative reporter who reported that there was widespread

wage abuse in the Lala Convenience store and threatened employees and

had direct evidence through investigation. It has aroused the attention of

people from all walks of life. This has had a huge negative impact on Lala

Convenience and a collapse of public opinion. The PR team needs to help

Lala Convenience respond and restore its corporate image. My colleagues

have proposed some solutions.

• Identify PPR or OPR problem

The PR team believes this is a PPR issue. LALA Convenience has a problem

of wage abuse and has been reported by journalists and the media. PR

interventions need to reduce people's problem perception and motivation.

Public relations need to address this issue and change the public who may be

angry with the issue. As much as possible to meet the public's requirements

for the solution.

• Identify the key publics

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 Student name: YING ZUO (Bonnie)
Student number: n101822501

The public relations company mentioned that the employees of the company

are the key public of the incident. The company must guarantee 100% of the

workers' normal wages and provide a better platform for the employees. In

addition, the media also occupied a leading position in this incident. The

company allowed employees and the public to supervise through the media

platform to restore corporate reputation and brand image. At the same time,

Lala Convenience should respond to politicians, lawyers and regulators by

communicating to reduce negative public sentiment.

• Solutions

The key message is that LALA Convenience needs to restore its business

image, solve employee problems, and regain public trust. LALA Convenience

communicates face-to-face with employees, apologizing to employees and

ensuring that similar incidents do not occur in the future. In addition, the CEO

gave a speech to clarify the entire process of the incident to the public. At the

same time, using social media channels, such as Twitter and Facebook, to

communicate with the public and answer questions. In the entire PR process,

facing employees and the public with honesty and sincerity, without evading

any doubts, LALA Convenience assumes all responsibility.

• How address the PR problem and support the organization

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 Student name: YING ZUO (Bonnie)
Student number: n101822501

For LALA Convenience, the PR team pointed out that there are several ways

to solve PR problems and support organizations. First, communicate

effectively and directly with the media to let the media understand the

company's attitude toward issues. In addition, provide comments open,

communicate with employees, and re-establish trust between employees and

businesses. At the same time, to ensure which country the employee is from,

and how old it is, LALA Convenience will provide additional benefits.

In terms of public relations solutions, there are some similar views in the

virtual reality and actual cases. First, the public relations team chose to issue

an immediate statement to the public and the franchisee's employees. The

statement includes ensuring education and support in the future to assist the

company in fulfilling all of its legal obligations to the franchisee, including their

obligations as shop assistants. Second, reaffirm its high level of concern

about accusations and encourage relevant personnel to contact professional

agencies for advice and support (Commonwealth of Australia, 2016). Zero

tolerance for franchisees who fail to fulfill their employer’s obligations will take

any appropriate action in accordance with the law and the franchise

agreement. In addition, the public relations team has chosen to cooperate

with the law enforcement agencies to assist in the adjustment. At the same

time, choose to use social media channels to communicate with the public.

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 Student name: YING ZUO (Bonnie)
Student number: n101822501

The franchisee's employees are the specific public of the public relations

team's solutions, ensuring that employees enjoy the benefits they deserve in

their future work and expressing their apologies through statements, and

calming employee dissatisfaction.

There are also some differences between the virtual scene and the actual

case. In the actual case, 7-Eleven established the Fels Pay Equity Panel,

which will process and consider the claims of 7-Eleven franchisees. As of

June 2017, 7-Eleven compensated an average of $39,089 per person for

2,832 workers who were underpaid in the franchise system (Anna &

Workplace Editor, 2017). How56ever, in the virtual situation, there is no

mention of how companies should take practical measures to compensate

franchisees. In addition, in addition to the law enforcement agencies'

investigations in the actual case, 7-Eleven also cooperated with FWO. For

example, increase employer penalties. Any legislative and regulatory

framework should be in the production of labor relations to protect workers. In

this case, 7-Eleven supports increasing penalties for employers violating the

“fair work law” to ensure effective deterrence (7-Eleven, 2016).

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 Student name: YING ZUO (Bonnie)
Student number: n101822501

The solution for evaluating 7-Eleven PR will be applied to the PRIA

evaluation framework. In the first time of the crisis, the PR identified a specific

public relations plan and conducted media contact and distribution. The media

reported and published two instant media statements detailing the work of 7-

Eleven at the time, including details of the court's actions and executable

commitments (James, 2016). It also regrets and disappoints the occurrence of

such incidents, ensuring that education and support are provided in the future

to assist 7-Eleven franchisees in fulfilling all their legal obligations, including

their obligations as shop assistants. In addition, 7-Eleven announced in a

statement to the franchisee's employees that an independent team was

formed to handle the franchisee's claims and to correct the outstanding

payments. As much as possible to compensate employees, employees

should be able to communicate with the company, 7-Eleven attitude and

position to help all emploees recover money from franchisee. At the same

time, 7-Eleven has been actively communicating with the public on social

media, and most of the public can get messages and feedback after asking

questions. For example, Tejinder Singh Lahoria's Facebook (2016.6.15) post

stated that he hopes that 7-Eleven resume the independent wage team and

compensate all workers, 7-Eleven pays workers the appropriate living wages

and provides all legal conditions for employees. 7-Eleven's official account

below replies believe that Deloitte's payroll reimbursement program puts the

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 Student name: YING ZUO (Bonnie)
Student number: n101822501

interests of franchisees first, and also meets our own standards of conduct

and community expectations. The pay repayment plan has the same ultimate

goal as before, ensuring that employees receive fair compensation and pay

legal claims quickly. Tejinder Singh Lahoria then replied with an

understanding below the post, which saved the public image as much as

possible. 7-Eleven PR has been successful in short-term work, but there are

flaws in long-term work. In May 2016, after the new CEO of 7-Eleven was

appointed, the Fels team was disbanded, which received intense attention

and controversy (Adele & Sarah, 2016). This move was under tremendous

pressure from public opinion, and 7-Eleven’s issue of integrity was again

questioned by the public. I recommend that the 7-Eleven PR team maintain

value and monitor changes within the company over the long term. 

Morality must be at the heart of PR practice (Walle, 2003). In addition to

selfish persuasion strategies, modern public relations also required a

combination of sincere care initiatives (Murphy, 1991). In order to develop

public trust in businesses and organizations, public relations practitioners

must adhere to ethical principles. The Code of Ethics and the Code of

Professional Conduct are the basic guidelines for the PR industry (AHMAD &

HAQUE, 2017). It includes propaganda, honesty, professionalism,

independence, loyalty and fairness (PRSA, 2016). In dealing with this crisis,

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 Student name: YING ZUO (Bonnie)
Student number: n101822501

7-Eleven honestly issued an immediate statement acknowledging mistakes

and taking responsibility in accordance with the professional ethics

framework, avoiding false or misleading information affecting the public while

maintaining high standards of authenticity. It calms the anger of franchisee

employees and the public, and alleviates the tensions that may arise between

the organization and the public. In addition, because this incident is mainly

related to the interests of international employees, there is no clan

discrimination in the process of public relations incidents. This maximum

represents 7-Eleven's good completion of ethical considerations. Reputation

is very important in public relations (AHMAD & HAQUE, 2017).

 Word count: 1367

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 Student name: YING ZUO (Bonnie)
Student number: n101822501

Reference
Anna, P. & Workplace Editor. (2017). 7-Eleven compensation bill climbs over
$110 million. Retrieved from
https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/7eleven-compensation-bill-
climbs-over-110-million-20170612-gwpdfx.html?js-chunk-not-found-
refresh=true

Adele, F. & Sarah, D. (2016). 7-Eleven kills independent wage panel.

Retrieved from
https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/7eleven-kills-independent-wage-
panel-20160511-goslwi.html

AHMAD, J., & HAQUE S. (2017). Ethics in Public Relations and Responsible
Advocacy Theory. Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/RegisterToDownload#Download

Commonwealth of Australia. (2016). Identifying and addressing the drivers of

non-compliance in the 7-Eleven network. Retrieved from
https://ris.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/posts/2017/03/fair_work_ombudsman
_report_into_7-eleven.pdf

James, N. (2016). Statement on 7-Eleven. Retrieved from

https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/archived-
media-releases/2016-media-releases/april-2016/20160409-7-eleven-presser

Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA). (2016).

Professional Charter and Codes of Conduct. Retrieved from
http://www.prca.org.uk/about-us/pr- standards/professional-charter-and-
codes-conduct

Murphy, P. (1991). The limits of symmetry: A game to symmetric and

asymmetric public relations. Public Relations Research Annual, 3, 115–132.

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 Student name: YING ZUO (Bonnie)
Student number: n101822501

Walle, M. (2003). Commentary: What happened to public responsibility? The

lack of society in public relations codes of ethics. PRism 1: 1-5.

7-Eleven. (2016). REGULATORY REFORM POSITION PAPER. Retried from

https://www.7eleven.com.au/uploads/shared/assets/files/7-ELEVEN
%20REGULATORY%20REFORM%20POSITION.pdf

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