Reputation Management: United Airlines Scandal

This report discusses the United Airlines scandal and how reputation management could have helped the company. It covers the nature of the crisis, individual actors, economic and social context, communication, handling of the situation, demonstration of knowledge of online context, and dealing with negative reactions.

Running head: REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
Reputation Management
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Reputation refers to a social construct that is on the basis of opinion that the other
people have regarding a person or a thing. Reputation management helps in influencing the
reputation of an individual or the group (Doorley & Garcia, 2015). The online reputation
management helps in managing the product along with the service search results within the
framework of the digital space. It helps in managing the perception of the public by making
use of clearly defined controls along with the measures. This report throws light on the nature
of the controversy that revolved around the United Airlines scandal. The report also discusses
about the individual actors along with the organizations who were involved in the crisis. The
report also talks about the social along with the economic context in relation to the
controversy. The report also elaborates on whether the organization demonstrated the
knowledge in relation to the online context after the occurrence of the controversy. The report
also elucidates on how the organizations can deal with the negative reactions in the online
platform.
Nature of crisis
The infamous incident took place in the year 2017 when a passenger of the United
Airlines was dragged off the overbooked flight that blighted the reputation of the company. It
severely tarnished the reputation of the airlines and the matter was handled in an insensitive
manner by the United Airlines. United Airlines asked the passengers to give up the seat on
the voluntary basis in return for compensation (Prdaily.com., 2019). There were four crew
members who wanted to get on the flight so that they could work and this necessitated the de-
boarding of the other passengers of the airlines. United Airlines was acting on the basis of
their rights and the policy. It was however found that the passengers were not interested in
volunteering for that of compensation. This compelled the airlines to carry out an involuntary

2REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
de-boarding situation and it weighed various kinds of factors that can help in determining the
passengers who would leave the flight (Forbes.com., 2019). The passenger refused to follow
the Department of Transportation protocol and hence the law enforcement was called so that
they would forcibly remove the passenger from that of the plane. There were two officers
who tried to carry out the talks with him in a calm manner however a third officer approached
him in a manner that was aggressive. The man got injured as he hit the head on the armrest
however he cried out that he was a doctor and he was being profiled as he was a Chinese.
Individual actors in the crisis
The individual actor who was involved in the crisis was Dr David Dao who resisted
the officers grabbing him. The passenger raised his voice and he refused to comply with that
of the instruction of the crew members. The passenger grew disruptive and he started to act in
an aggressive manner. The agents were left with no choice but they decided to call the
security officers. Dr David Dao resisted and this resulted in efforts of his removal from the
plane (News.com.au., 2019). The videos were showed that showed blood streaming down the
face of the doctor. The organization that was involved in the crisis was United Airlines and
this event destroyed the reputation of the airlines. The United Airlines came under the
criticism for the manner of handling of the situation and the people pledged that they would
boycott the airlines. Chicago Department of Aviation pointed out that the incident was not on
the basis of the standard operating procedure and actions of the security officer were not
condoned by that of the Department (Businessinsider.in., 2019).
Economic and social context of crisis
There were economic along with the social contexts in relation to the controversy.
David Dao was an Asian and his assault at the hands of the airport officials points out to the
racial bias that pervades in the society. The spectacle of the removal of David Dao can be

3REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
said to be a reminder of tenuous relationship in between the Asian racialization and that of
US carceral state that was founded on conflation of the criminality (Yang et al., 2018). It
serves as a reminder of the racial landscape that prevails where the Asians are held to be the
inferior class who are looked down upon by the Western people within the broader society.
Communication
The communication in the event of a crisis can play an important role in providing
relief to the people. It can pacify the people and make them aware about the intricate details
in relation to an incident (Kietzmann et al., 2011). The initial apology of the CEO of United
Airlines was a disappointment as he tried to dismiss that of the United Airlines incident. The
CEO did not make any kind of personal and the meaningful apology that was instrumental in
the creation of a negative impression in front of the people (Ma et al., 2019). The “tipping
point” in relation to the incident was that Munoz had exacerbated the fraught situation with
that of a robotic response that created a furore among the people.
Handling of the situation
United Airlines could have handled the situation in a better manner that could have
proved to be advantageous for the airlines. Munoz was driven by the legal along with the
internal human resource issues in the company. He did not make any kind of earnest apology
that could have been consistent with the mission along with the values of the company
(Proserpio & Zervas, 2017). David Dao had suffered the concussion along with the broken
nose and the apology from the CEO should have been driven by compassion that could have
saved the reputation of the airlines. A direct apology should have been sent to injured
passenger that could have worked to the benefit of the airlines. The airlines should have
offered the assistance and made the amends that could have helped the company in salvaging
its reputation. The company should have made it clear to the people that the incident does not

4REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
reflect the values of the company that could have helped in conducting the business of the
company in the proper manner.
Demonstration of knowledge of online context
United Airlines did not demonstrate the appropriate knowledge in relation to the
online context that had a bad effect on the company. The company could have handled the
situation in a better manner that could have helped in solving the issue in a better manner.
The CEO of the company should have sent a heartfelt apology over the platform of the social
media that could have helped in pacifying the public who were infuriated about the event
(Newburry, Deephouse & Gardberg, 2019). The social media platforms of Face Book along
with Twitter could have been used in a better manner by the company that could have helped
in solving the scandal. It was a public relations disaster on the part of the airlines as the
apology was not communicated to the people in the right manner that soiled the reputation of
the organization in the long run. The statement of the CEO was callous over the platform of
the social media that drew the wrath of the people. The incident amounted to a fiasco for the
airlines that brought about the public outrage.
Dealing with the negative reactions
The organisations should be careful about dealing with the negative situations in the
online platform as it can have a great effect on their prestige. There should be a proper
framework that can help a company in responding to the negative feedback on that of the
platform of the social media. The company should listen carefully to the problem of the
people that can prove to be useful in dealing with the negative criticism (Gaines-Ross, 2010).
The people expects the response to come within a few hours of the event that can prove to be
advantageous for the prestige of the company. The sensitive issues should be handled in a
careful manner by the people that can help in the creation of a good image of a company. The

5REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
company should be transparent regarding the news and respond in a positive manner that can
act as a positive aspect for a company. The negative reactions can be dealt with by making
the human connection with the public that can greatly benefit a company.
Conclusion
Dr David Dao was involved in the United Airlines scandal and he was instrumental in
resisting officers who were trying to grab him. The passenger did not want to abide by the
instruction of that of crew members. Initial apology of that of CEO can be said to be a
disappointment as it did not make any kind of direct apologies that could have helped in
pacifying the aggrieved parties in relation to the incident. An apology should have been
provided over that of the platform of social media that could have helped in reducing the
anger in relation to the event. The sensitive issues in relation to a company can be handled
carefully that can greatly help in the creation of a good impression before the people.

6REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
References
Businessinsider.in. (2019). 12 times United was America's most hated airline. Retrieved 11
September 2019, from https://www.businessinsider.in/12-times-United-was-
Americas-most-hated-airline/articleshow/63324258.cms
Doorley, J., & Garcia, H. F. (2015). Reputation management: The key to successful public
relations and corporate communication. Routledge.
Forbes.com. (2019). Five Lessons From United Airlines About Handling A Customer
Experience Gone Bad. Retrieved 11 September 2019, from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stanphelps/2017/04/13/five-lessons-from-united-
airlines-about-handling-a-customer-experience-gone-bad/#6ee5b7bd7bf6
Gaines-Ross, L. (2010). Reputation warfare. Harvard Business Review, 88(12), 70-76.
Kietzmann, J. H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I. P., & Silvestre, B. S. (2011). Social media?
Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business
horizons, 54(3), 241-251.
Ma, J., Tse, Y. K., Wang, X., & Zhang, M. (2019). Examining customer perception and
behaviour through social media research–An empirical study of the United Airlines
overbooking crisis. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation
Review, 127, 192-205.
Newburry, W., Deephouse, D. L., & Gardberg, N. A. (2019). Global Aspects of Reputation
and Strategic Management. In Global Aspects of Reputation and Strategic
Management (pp. 1-20). Emerald Publishing Limited.
News.com.au. (2019). How the whole world turned against this airline. Retrieved 11
September 2019, from https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/how-things-

7REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
went-from-bad-to-so-much-worse-for-worlds-third-largest-airline/news-story/
6a240f5dd5c2408cb6d4f1f322c75bc3
Prdaily.com. (2019). United offers a primer in how NOT to handle a crisis - PR Daily.
Retrieved 11 September 2019, from https://www.prdaily.com/united-offers-a-primer-
in-how-not-to-handle-a-crisis/
Proserpio, D., & Zervas, G. (2017). Online reputation management: Estimating the impact of
management responses on consumer reviews. Marketing Science, 36(5), 645-665.
Yang, B., Anzer, J., Krasniqi, M., & Zou, Y. (2018). United Airlines: With Great Power
Comes Great Responsability?. LBMG Corporate Brand Management and Reputation-
Masters Case Series.