When good companies do bad things

Business reputations have become more exposed as companies and the media have globalized. At the same time, the importance of reputation is growing. It takes a long time to build a reputation, but it can be destroyed in a single event, as shown in the case examples of Royal Dutch Shell, Unocal, Texaco, Nike, and others. Reputation must now be viewed as one of the key results of the business, not just an incidental by‐product. This article describes the ways in which business leaders can be alert to a potential crisis and form an acceptable response in order to maintain a company's reputation.