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CONCEPTUALIZACIN DE REPUTACIN CORPORATIVA
Aunque la reputacin corporativa (RC) es un concepto complejo de definir, desde
nuestro punto de vista es el conjunto de expectativas, percepciones y opiniones que los
clientes, empleados, proveedores, inversores y el pblico en general desarrollan
respecto a una organizacin, basndose en la experiencia personal, los rumores o la
observacin de las acciones pasadas de dicha organizacin. Por lo tanto, esta definicin
seala que seala que:
a) no existe una sola reputacin, de hecho, es un concepto multidimensional
que difiere segn el grupo de inters que se estudie;
b) la reputacin se construye con el tiempo;
c) la reputacin corporativa se basa en el comportamiento de las empresas y de
las actividades realizadas;
d) la reputacin corporativa se ve influenciada por la experiencia de las partes
interesadas en la empresa.
Para la psicologa, la reputacin es bsicamente el sistema que las personas utilizan
para evaluar el riesgo de una interaccin. En cambio, a nivel organizacional, la
reputacin corporativa es el medio que permite a las partes interesadas (del ingls
stakeholders cualquier persona o entidad que se ve afectada o concernida por las
actividades o la marcha de una organizacin: clientes, empleados, etc. ) evaluar el
riesgo de interactuar con la empresa.
Desde una perspectiva econmica se asocia la reputacin corporativa a las
caractersticas distintivas de la firma (habilidades, recursos, etc.) que hacen a la empresa
nica y le permiten mantener las ventajas competitivas. En esta lnea, la reputacin es
una de las mayores ventajas competitivas para la empresa.
Desde la perspectiva contable, la reputacin es un activo que puede ser considerado
como un efectivo conductor de las ventas y de la rentabilidad. En este sentido la
reputacin se puede con siderar como una parte del fondo de comercio de la
organizacin, un activo intangible que los contables utilizan para calcular el precio de
venta de una empresa. Existen infinidad de mtodos para el clculo del fondo de
comercio, pero con el propsito de ilustrar, puede ser entendido como la diferencia,expresada en trminos monetarios, entre el valor contable de los activos de la empresa
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menos sus pasivos y su valor de mercado. Las reglas contables a menudo recomiendan
que el fondo de comercio sea tratado al igual que un activo fsico (tangible) y que por lo
tanto tambin est sujeto a depreciacin.
Este hecho resalta un aspecto crucial de la reputacin corporativa: puede, a lo largodel tiempo, depreciarse hasta cero, e incluso, por debajo de cero. Esto significa que la
reputacin corporativa puede, y de hecho en ocasiones as ocurre, convertirse en algo
negativo. La reputacin corporativa podra pues convertirse, a travs de un proceso
prolongado de mala gestin, en algo que puede ser denominado desreputacin; dejado
as de ser un activo para convertirse en un pasivo.
Por su parte, para la disciplina del marketing que se centra en un grupo de inters
concreto, los clientes, la reputacin es una fuerza que tiene el potencial de atraer a los
clientes e influir en los procesos de compra-venta.
Un enfoque ms sofisticado incluye el papel clave de la relacin entre la empresa y
partes interesadas (los stakeholders). Este punto de vista pone de relieve la importancia
de las expectativas de las partes interesadas y de nuevo nos permiten vincular la
reputacin al valor econmico de la empresa.
Todas estas formas de entender la reputacin corporativa dan una idea la
importancia que est cobrando en la era de la economa globalizada. De lo dicho hasta
el momento consideramos oportuno resaltar el riesgo que para la empresa supone la
desreputacin, haciendo hincapi en el concepto de confianza de las partes interesadas
por su relevancia para el desarrollo de una gestin prctica en lo que a riesgo
reputacional se refiere.
Finalizamos este bloque resumiendo que la reputacin corporativa es un concepto de
extraordinaria riqueza multidisciplinar y sus diferentes interpretaciones varan entre las
disciplinas acadmicas. Sin embargo, es posible distinguir que la reputacin corporativa
se asocia con las caractersticas nicas de una firma (cultura, ubicacin, productos,
resultados financieros y econmicos) y depende en gran medida de la percepcin de los
observadores de y de las expectativas de las partes interesadas de la empresa.
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CMO SE CREA Y PRESERVA LA REPUTACIN CORPORATIVA
La RC, por lo general, se crea lentamente a travs de la innovacin, de la provisin
de un excelente servicio o productos, y de un servicio post-venta de primera calidad. La
forma ms obvia de incremento y propagacin de la RC es va boca a boca entre
clientes que han adquirido productos o servicios y que estn completamente satisfechos
con ellos. Incrementar las ventas mediante las recomendaciones de los clientes
contribuye sin lugar a dudas a la futura propagacin de la RC. La reputacin del
producto es un componente vital de la RC que, como consecuencia, est ntimamente
ligada a la calidad de los productos/servicios que una organizacin ofrece, el
establecimiento de marcas y la singularidad y carcter innovativo de esos productos. La
estrecha relacin entre los productos y marcas de una organizacin y su nombrecomercial puede entenderse fcilmente considerando el ejemplo de la empresa
multinacional Apple y uno de sus productos estrella: el iPhone. Hoy en da es habitual
que se usara la palabra iPhone como sinnimo de telfono mvil. Se dira pues se
ha comprado un iPhone dando a entender que se ha comprado un telfono mvil de
gama alta.
Una forma muy potente de de establecer marcas (y de aumentar la CR) es a travs
de anuncios en los medios de comunicacin: televisin, radio, revistas especializadas y
peridicos son los principales. Estos anuncios, cuyo fin es el establecer una nueva
marca en el mercado, no deben slo divulgar informacin acerca del producto, sino que
su objetivo principal debera ser el conectar los productos de la empresa con emociones
positivas.
La RC de una organizacin tambin podra, claro est, beneficiarse de las
emociones positivas asociadas a las marcas/productos dada la estrecha relacin entre la
marca y su reputacin.
Hay sin embargo otro componente de la RC. Este est relacionado con el
comportamiento general de la empresa y su poltica comercial. Es la nocin de
responsabilidad corporativa, un concepto altamente considerado en la actualidad por
las organizaciones que, bsicamente, impulsa una gestin responsable y una valoracin
del impacto que sobre la sociedad y el medio ambiente tienen sus actividades. Hoy en
da la responsabilidad corporativa est estrechamente conectada la reputacincorporativa. Por ejemplo, una compaa que limite sus emisiones de efecto invernadero
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ganar en reputacin corporativa, siempre cuando se informe de este dato a los posibles
consumidores. En este contexto, es nuevo social media, como las redes sociales
Twitter y Facebook, las que dan a las compaas la posibilidad de interactuar con un
pblico amplio para explicar sus polticas comerciales y as aumentar su RC.
Por ltimo, la RC es indisociable de la habilidad de la organizacin, y sus
antecedentes, para proporcionar un rendimiento consistente y dividendos a sus
accionistas.
BENEFICIOS TANGIBLES DE UNA BUENA REPUTACINCORPORATIVA
Las compaas que disfrutan de una buena RC encontraran fcil obtener crdito
en trminos preferenciales. Dichos fondos permitirn inversiones, expansin y la
oportunidad de invertir en el continuo desarrollo de su RC.
Por lo general la RC permite a la co rporacin cargar un precio premium por
sus productos, obteniendo por lo tanto buenos mrgenes de beneficio. Como
consecuencia es probable que una excelente RC se convierta en un importante factor
que contribuya a la viabilidad a largo plazo de la corporacin. Las compaas quedisfrutan de buena RC encontraran ms fcil encontrar socios para estableces
operaciones en el extranjero.
Por ltimo, es sabido que las grandes corporaciones son capaces de influir sobre
los polticos. Por ello, grandes corporaciones con una buena reputacin corporativa
pueden ser capaces de crear marcos legislativos que sean favorables para sus
operaciones. Un ejemplo de ello es la modificacin de la Ley Antitabaco que la
compaa estadounidense Las Vegas Sands ha conseguido para su EuroVegas Madrid,un complejo un complejo turstico y de ocio que se pretende ubicar en Alcorcn.
DESVENTAJAS DE UNA REPUTACIN CORPORATIVA NEGATIVA
La desreputacin, como pasivo, tiene exactamente el efecto opuesto a la positiva
reputacin corporativa. Una compaa que tenga mala reputacin encontrar difcil
obtener crdito. Es probable que las ventas declinen conforme los clientes pierdan la
confianza en los productos o servicios que la compaa ofrece. La disminucin de las
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ganancias asociada al colapso en ventas puede causar serios problemas financieros y
finalmente forzar la compaa a la liquidacin.
En conclusin, como factor positivo, una excelente RC puede constituir una
ventaja competitiva y un activo indispensable en el mundo competitivo de hoy en da.Es un medio para salvaguardar mrgenes de beneficio, una herramienta de influencia,
una garanta para el acceso a crdito y un contribuidor del xito corporativo y de su
longevidad.
TELEFNICA ANDREPSOL : TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES TOMANAGING CORPORATE REPUTATION
This part of the report examines how two big multinational companies manage
Corporate Reputation. It is divided into four subsections and a conclusion. The
corporations chosen for this purpose are Telefnica and Repsol. As there is more public
information available on how Telefnica manages its Corporate Reputation the report
will primarily concentrate on that company in describing how Corporate Reputation is
dealt with by big corporations.
ABOUT TELEFNICA:Telefnica is indeed large and international. According to a report by IE
Business School, from which much of this information is taken, in 2003 Telefnica had
89 million clients; 14 000 suppliers; 18 million shareholders and 150 000 employees.
The company is active in 50 countries. Telefnica concentrates its operations on the
telecommunications business: broadband, internet, mobile services and fixed telephony
in Latin America. Being active in so many different countries there is plenty of
opportunity for things to go wrong that can potentially hurt the reputation of thecompany. This makes the active management of Corporate Reputation especially
important. Csar Alierta, the chief operating officer of Telefnica, has recognized this
explicitly when he said:
I am convinced that our reputation is an asset we must manage and improve on
a daily basis, referencing it to a vision and to values. That is our challenge doing as we
say to built trust in the long term.
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Csar Aierta also said that the goal of Telefnica was to become an operator that
can be trusted by all those associate with it and that 'trust' became the main value that
the 'Corporate Reputation Project' (CRP) of Telefnica.
From this it can be seen that Telefnia considers trust a principal tool and valuein the management of Corporate Reputation. How Telefnica set about to manage
Corporate Reputation is explained under the next heading.
THE CORPORATE REPUTATION PROJECT OF TELEFNICA:
Telefnica, being aware of the potential risks to its reputation, created the
'Corporate Reputation Project A' (CRP) in December 20001. There is also a 'Corporate
Reputation Project B', but this program deals specifically with the social alarm caused by mobile telephone antennas and is not of particular interest for this report. A major
objective of the CRP was to establish points of contact with stakeholders and to manage
those contacts in an efficient and systematic way, so that the group could share
methodologies for all its lines of business and major countries in which it operates. To
understand this objective it is useful to appreciate that companies are in a position to
influence the groups of people with whom they are in constant contact. Such contacts
therefore are an excellent opportunity to promote Corporate Reputation. It is also
interesting that Telefnica includes a very wide range of people and agents in its
definition of 'stakeholders'. The concept 'stakeholders' usually refers to any group of
people who have an interest in, or are affected by, the decisions and operations of a
company. Telefnica considers these groups of people as its stakeholders: clients,
employees, investors, society, legislators, government and public opinion. The IE
Business School report mentions that the following principles were used in order to
guide the development of CPR:
To define and implant the public profile of the group as a player in an open
society, paying particular attention to the definition of the groups values and codes of
conduct with regards to society .
This leads back to the importance of the values that Csar Alierta mentioned (see
quote at the beginning) and highlights the role that values have in promoting a
Corporate Reputation. The principles also show that a code of conduct is another
important tool that companies can use to create trust.
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Mr. Alberto Andreu, who was involved in developing CRP, highlighted another
important factor in managing Corporate Reputation in this statement:
Telefnica had sufficient vision to anticipate the fact that the way ahead for a
company in the future would be based on its capacity for managing its reputation ontwo levels: as a risk related to the business of a company and as an opportunity for
bringing out a good part of the value companies normally have hidden away .
The factor that Mr. Andreu emphasized in relation to Corporate Reputation is
risk:
- In relation to clients the risks to corporate reputation are obvious. They consist
of a breakdown in services or other aspects that affect the decisions of clients. Inthis context a breakdown in the internet connection provided by Telefnica
comes to mind.
- In relation to shareholders an obvious risk exists in the price of shares that may
be adversely affected by unwise decisions taken by the company.
- In relation to employees the reputational risk is for the company not being
perceived as fair or as not providing adequate prospects for the future.
- In relation to suppliers the risk is that purchasing decisions are perceived as not
being transparent or objective.
Operating the CRP, Telefnica learnt that risks primarily arose from the
continuous contacts with clients and other stakeholders and understood that reputation
could be managed effectively via these contacts. In this context, soft skills related to
corporate culture, emotional appeal of the brand name, responsibility, ethics, and
communication were found to be important.
TELEFNICA AND THE INTEGRATED CORPORATE REPUTATIONMODEL (ICRM):
Telefnica identified the following dimensions of Corporate Reputation:
- Emotional perception . The extent to which the company is admired,
appreciated and respected.
- Products and services . Perceptions of quality, innovation, value and reliability
of the companys products/services.
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- Financial realization . Perception of its competitiveness, profitability, growth
expectations and risks.
- Vision and leadership . Companys ca pacity for recognizing and capitalizing
market opportunities.
- Work environment . Perceptions of employees and their work and what
working in the company is like.
- Social responsibility . Perception of the way in which the company deals with
people, social causes and the environment.
It is worth noting that almost all of the above factors are related to intangible aspects
of management. The objective of the ICRM was to integrate the variables affecting
reputation into a coherent model. It was based and structured around questions on three
different levels: what we are; what we do; and what we say. This led to the
integration the following aspects: business ethics, values, mission and vision, corporate
social responsibility, corporate identity, corporate governance and communication. This
shows that Corporate Reputation touches almost all aspects of business activity in one
way or another.
ABOUT REPSOL:
Repsol is an integrated energy company that undertakes exploration and
production of hydrocarbons as well as downstream refining activities. The company
posted a net income of 2,060 million in 2012 and employs people in over 30 countries.By any standards, Repsol can therefore be described as an international corporation.
REPSOL'S APPROACH TO CORPORATE REPUTATION:
The information that follows has been taken from the Repsol's annual report for
2012.
In the report one can read that soli d fi nancial resul ts depend heavil y on winni ng
the tru st of an organization's most significant stakeholders. Another paragraph states
that building trust involves having strong and differentiated brands, capable of meeting
stakeholders' expectations through excellent corporate conduct and timely and relevant
communications. From this it can be seen that Repsol like Telefnica identifies 'trust' as
a key component in the management of Corporate Reputation.
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We can further read that a brand defines the company's commitment to
stakeholders, while reputation is the value judgment stakeholders have in the company
'honouring' this pledge. This coincides with Telefnica's insistence on a 'code of
conduct' which also has the practical effect of the company honouring it's pledges.
Repsol has an 'Intangible Assets Department' which is responsible for Corporate
Reputation. Here a difference arises as Telefnica has a department especially dedicated
for the promotion of corporate responsibility. The difference becomes more obvious
when one looks at Repsol's website. The website emphasizes 'Corporate Responsibil ity'
rather than Corporate Reputation. When one considers the risks inherent in oil
exploration, particularly considering the Deepwater Horizon oils spill for which BP
was responsible, then it becomes clear that the public must be primarily interested in
the 'responsible behaviour' of oil companies. Of course, Corporate Responsibility and
Corporate Reputation are very closely related. Another difference in the approach to
managing Corporate Reputation is that Telefnica used a strategy by creating and
implementing a 'Corporate Reputation Program' through which it learnt practical
approaches of managing corporate reputation. In contrast Repsol primarily sets out
general principal and values as an approach to Corporate Responsibility.
IN CONCLUSION:
In conclusion it can be seen that Telefnica used the creation of a special
program, the CRP, to develop an effective approach to managing corporate reputation.
Repsol relies primarily on principles and values for managing Corporate Reputation.
Another difference arises because of the different nature of the business of
telecommunications and oil exploration. As can be seen when looking at Repsol's
website, the company does not emphasize Corporate Reputation but rather concentrates
on Corporate Responsibility.