http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/fashion/02dior.html?_r=1&ref=global
The topic of this blog relates to the above article but it also relates to many situations involving businesses and public perception. I want to talk less about the specifics of the fashion industry and focus more on the focus that companies put on their public appearance and how they navigate difficult situation when they arise.
According to this article, one of the head designers for the high-end fashion label, Dior, has been fired. His termination came after a video surfaced of the designer at a bar saying, “I love Hitler.”
I think this situation has become more prevalent in today’s society because of the ability for news and gossip to spread so fast over the internet. Obviously the head designer made a mistake. He should have understood that as a public figure every thing he does is being monitored. This is even more important now that every cell phone has a video camera and so many people are learning how to spread “news” on the internet. The internet is both powerful for marketing purposes as well as dangerous when the information is harmful to a company or person. How do you think companies should handle public relation situations like this?
Another question is, should Dior have reacted as they did? They suspended the designer immediately, and eventually terminated him after more evidence began to surface. Is firing the designer the right thing to do? What do they think this will do to their image? Does removing the designer hurt or help their image more?
I think that in today’s big business public perception has become very important. When a situation like this arises in today’s marketplace I feel like the first step is to suspend the person that is being investigated and then the second step, is usually termination. In the US the defendant is innocent until proven guilty, but many times when the situation is in the public eye, even if the defendant is innocent, he is treated as if he is guilty.
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