Reputation Management: United Airlines Scandal

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

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT1
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

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT2
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