Communication Strategy "Strategic Communication." Please respond to the following:

A) the senior vice president of your company has resigned in the midst of buyout negotiations. You do not know all of the details but have been selected as a participant in the news conference to be held that afternoon to announce his departure. The news conference will be open to questions from the media so you need to be prepared to answer any inquiries addressed to you. Please discuss the following:

The information you need to gather before the news conference.

The motivation behind the reasons for the resignation

The senior vice president's role in the buyout

How the resignation might affect shareholders

If there is any strategic information that should not be communicate to the public at this time.

How you will gather pertinent information as quickly as possible.

I would identify the individuals who have the relevant knowledge and setup a meeting as quickly as possible. If the senior vice president played a leadership role in the buyout then I would want to meet with him as well...

The senior vice president should be able to explain better than anyone what the motivations were for the resignation. However, this information should also be verified from other team members to ensure accuracy before presenting to the public. In some cases individuals may hide their true motivations to protect themselves before maintaining the organizations best interest. Knowledge about the position of the shareholders will also be a vital aspect to maintaining their confidence. Therefore, before the conference I would like to at least have a general idea of how the resignation will affect the shareholders as well as relevant information about who may replace the vice president or the process in which a predecessor will be chosen.
B) The press conference (explained above) will announce the senior vice president's resignation and field questions from the media about his decision. As the vice president of the communication department, you will need to write a memo to your company's representatives serving on the panel and senior management. Please discuss the following:

Two key messages that…