Chapter 18: Issues Management

The widely used term issues management is a misnomer.

Refers to a far more modest and relevant undertaking: managing the company's responses to key public-policy issues affecting its markets, sales, profitability, and internal operations.

The Public-Policy Process
Developmental Stage
Politicization Stage
Legislative Stage
Implementation Stage

Fice basic elements provide the framework for the typical corporate issuesmanagement program:

1. Identifying public-policy issues and trends
2. Evaluating their impact and ranking them by priority to the company.
3. Establishing a company position on the high-priority issues.
4. Designing company actions and responses to help achieve the desired outcome.
5. Carrying out the planned actions


Identifying and responding to specific-publicy issues that strongly affect private business is a difficult and challenging assignment. Given the increasing globalization of business and the continuing expansion of the range of govermental interests, the likelihood that those challenges will continue, if not acclerate, is very high. Asone government affairs executive atated. "Our workload has increased through several presidencies. the next presidency will prove no different.

source: Business and Government in the Global Marketplace (7 edition Murray L. Weidenbaum)