"...public tolerance of tobacco companies' commercial activities has declined to a point where both smokers and companies are in danger of becoming social pariahs."In this document, PM admits that they've tried to deal with the health issue by using "high-level lobbying," by "focussing amongst other things on economic criteria," and that their "Corporate Affairs professionals have sought to switch the debate from health to social issues...for instance, to the issue of individual and commercial freedoms....." However, apparently none of this helped their employees deal with their feelings about working for PM, and even PM knows that a demoralized employee is a less productive employee.
Philip Morris is one of the most successful companies in the world today...This record provides employees with a great deal of pride in the company they work for...
However, there is probably one area where many employees will have some degree of reticence about the company they work for and that is the product itself -- tobacco and the alarming claims made about it and about the companies which market tobacco products.
Public awareness of the health and social issues surrounding smoking is very high. This is mainly due to what they see and hear in the media.
Most members of the public will be familiar with the following claims made by critics of smoking:
--Smoking is dangerous to health and causes cancer and other diseases. --Environmental tobacco smoke...is dangerous to non-smokers and causes cancer.
Unfortunately for the tobacco industry, most people are not only familiar with these statements but also believe them to be irrefutably true. As a result of these popular beliefs, public tolerance of smoking and tobacco companies' commercial activities have declined to a point where both smokers and companies are in danger of becoming social pariahs. The generally hostile atmosphere has been one of the anti-smoking activists' most powerful weapons for forcing the introduction of legislation and restrictions. ...
Counter-action by tobacco companies has for the most part taken the shape of high-level lobbying focussing amongst other things on economic criteria and the effect such legislation would have on the economy of a country. More recently, with some success, Corporate Affairs professionals have sought to switch the debate from health to social issues...for instance, to the issue of individual and commercial freedoms.....
...A well-constructed, carefully implemented communcations programme on these issues demonstrating to employees that the case against smoking is not "open and shut" that what they read and hear in the paper about the ...mortal dangers of ETS, about hundreds of thousands of deaths is not necessarily gospel truth would have a number of beneficial effects:
1. Education
2. Reassurance and comfort
3. Motivation
...If the job is done well, then instead of being completely in the dark with no idea of his company's position on smoking issues the employee's attitude would change for the better. Instead of knowing nothing the reaction we should aim to engender in our employees may be something like this:
"These are complex issues but since joining PM I've learnt that there is another side to the story."
...A full briefing on the social and health issues surrounding smoking would be beneficial for both the sales force confidence and for helping them to handle objections in a more professional, informed manner. The principle was to turn a problem into an opportunity and use the smoking debate to give PM a "competitive advantage."
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