3 Upper-Intermediate Essays - Ethics, Professional Studies

3 Upper-Intermediate Essays - Ethics, Professional Studies 3 Upper-Intermediate Corporate image Progress Test Part 1 Reading Task 1 Read the article below about creating a strong corporate image. Choose the correct word or phrase to fill each gap. There is an example at the beginning, (0). Creating a strong corporate image A corporate image is the public's perception of what your company (0) _____ B _____. It is essentially the personality' of your organization and it is what differentiat es you from the competition and establishes you in the business world. Developing a good corporate imag e doesn't just happen, it takes years and sometimes decades to promote. It is a s eries of proactive choices that (1 ) _ _ __ D ____ an end result.' It should go without saying that you need, first and f oremost, to ensure they your company product or service is something to be proud of, since is the primary generator of your image. However, beyond this, there are several key components to creating and maintaining a good corporate image. Ethics Whatever the company does should have an ethical underpinning fr om top to bottom. This requires more than simply creating a series of ethical policies and proced ures. Your ethics need to be an (2) ___ _ C ____ part of the company culture: the company will do the ri ght thing regardless of the result. Key to (3) _____ B _____ this ethical framework is esta blishing a system of checks and balances and reporting mechanisms that clearly lay out the (4) _ ___ A ____ of breaking these rules. Communication and consistency The (5) ____ C _____ to effectively establishing an ethical c ulture, and to every element of developing a good corporate image, is good communication. This part of image development (6 ) _ ___ D ____ not only to a company's management and lower level e mployees, but also to external stakeholders (such as customers, vendors, shareholders, etc.) an d the public in general. Strong consideration should be given to developing a separate strategic communication plan to (7 )_ ____ C _____ this task. However, in order for communication t o be successful, your corporate image must be clear and consistent with the products and services you have to offer, the benefits you provide to your target audience and how you (8) _____ B _____ them. If your positioning statemen t indicates that your products are aimed at retirees, for example then you must make sure you are communicating with retirees : your corporate image must (9 ) _ ____ A ____ on this audience. Maintaining credibility It is essential at all costs to (10) ___ C ___ your credibility in the market and in minds of your customers by demonstrating that you do what you say you will do. If you are a charitable organization, for example, then spending thousands of dollars on elaborate confere nces and high- end salaries will end up discrediting your image. Similarly, if you are trying to c reate an image of environmental concern, you will need to invest in ensuring that your products or se rvices have (11) _____ D _____ environmental credentials. Advertising and the media You need to align your advertising strategy with the image you want t o create. If you are focused on an image of caring and compassionate healthcare, for example, then focusing on the technology for delivery of healthcare services will distract from the image of compassio n. It sounds obvious, but it is surprising how often companies (12) _____ B _____ with such an an omalies. In addition to its own advertising, an organization should set up a permanent structure for m onitoring the various media and gathering information about how it is portrayed. A company has to know where it stands in the eyes of its beholders in order to respond to any given situation. Alignment with similar values Finally, it is important that you partner or align yourself with oth er organizations and people who share your corporate values. The saying that We are judged by the company we keep' is especially true in creating a corporate image. The people, partnerships, and other businesses you deal with will either help