- Twitter to lose its reputation as a free speech platform?
- IIPM worried about Google Suggest, why is it so?
- Reputation Management Tip for 2012: Brands need to tap into social media search!
- Facebook Timeline and Reputation Management
- Apple Siri gender bias or glitch?
- Google+ vs Facebook – its not over yet!
- The Ethics of Self Promotion Through Charitable Causes (A Case Study)
- Google scraps sidewiki – will you miss it?
- Facebook, the trust factor
- BlackBerry Blackout- RIM’s Reputation Takes another Hit
Posts Tagged ‘National Reputation’
How WikiLeaks could damage the US reputation
July 28, 2010 | 
Author Rated by many as one of the largest intelligence leaks in U.S. History, WikiLeaks, the whistleblower website has released over 90,000 classified Pentagon documents that chronicle over six years of confidential and classified information on Afghanistan war. Founded by an Australian Internet activist, Julian Assange in 2007 , this site had earlier come up with a manual describing the military operations in the U.S. military Guantanamo Bay detention facility and also published a classified Pentagon “Rules of Engagement for Iraq.”
The leaked documents might change the concept of war and the US role in Afghanistan. While millions of dollars are being pumped into the anti terrorism operations in Afghanistan, Wikileaks could jeopardize the basic objective of the US presence in the war torn Afghanistan as these information will actually put hundreds of Afghan lives at risk because the files identify informants working with NATO forces. Experts also warn that these sensitive information could be misused by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda to identify and target informers in the war zone.
It came as a surprise for many when Admiral Mike Mullen, the most senior US Military Officer as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff posted his views in Twitter on the the leaks of Afghanistan war logs instead of holding an official press conference. While the US preferred to down play the issue of Wikileaks as something not very serious that demand a change in its war strategies in Afghanistan , the Afghan officials are taking the whole issue very seriously.
“The US is both morally and legally responsible for any harm that the leaks might cause to the individuals, particularly those who have been named. It will further limit the US/international access to the uncensored views of Afghans,” the Afghan official told a newspaper.
As the heat is fully on, the US officials have said they were working to see if the mass document release could prove harmful to the operational security or the endanger lives of informants in Afghanistan. Though the Wikileaks have opened a flood gate of questions regarding the Afghan strategy of the US and its relationship with Pakistan, the country is trying to downplay it all. However, the fact remains that the national reputation of the country is clearly at stake with these unexpected turn of events!
Posted in National Reputation, Reputation News | 
Tags: Afganistan, National Reputation, Pakistan, terrorism, Wikileaks | 
7 Comments »
CAT out of the bag- uncertainty remains at IIM !
India’s premier business school, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and the glitches that happened on its first online CAT (Common Admission Test) has put a lot of aspirants in a state of limbo. While rumours are rife that there is going to be a written re-test in January nothing is clear yet. All seven IIMs had signed a 5-year contract with Prometric to conduct online CAT tests all over the country.
The first three days of the test had problems ranging from server crashing to hours lost in finger-printing and photographing, to a few getting more time for their test while others having PCs crashing mid-way. The fourth day had lesser problems but had its share of problems as well.
A recent update on the CAT website says, “The decision to conduct computerised CAT was taken unanimously by all IIMs. The contract for delivery of computerised CAT was awarded to Prometric, a world leader in computerised test delivery. IIMs were responsible for generating questions for the tests and Prometric was responsible for conducting the test…”
IIM Lucknow director Devi Singh said: “There is a certain level of output that is expected and everything will have to be reviewed. We will evaluate the entire experience of CAT 2009 after all this is over, and if problems pile up, everything concerning the 5-year contract with Prometric will need to come back to the table afresh. We will be professionals,” he said.
The IIMs are India’s pride and the focal point for multi-nationals looking to recruit the crème of the country. So there is a global reputation at stake now for the CAT but to be fair they have never had to deal with any dent in reputation in the written tests that have been conducted all these years. So mighty is the IIM brand reputation and the national reputation it gives to India that this is an issue that need quick solving.
As for Prometric, after bagging this prestigious order itis now having to do some serious company crisis management of its own. This was the make or break deal, damage limitation should be the way ahead for them. Watch this space for updates on whether they will scrap the online tests all together or plough on with the decisions made.
Dubai’s Reputation
Dubai’s reputation for both business acumen and business honesty continues to dissolve. The request from Dubai World for a standstill on their debt is just latest evidence of the financial whirlwind that the state is reaping after a decade of profligate spending of other people’s money on increasingly hubristic projects. The decision to release the statement after the markets closed for a long holiday won’t do anything to assuage the anger of investors who will see this as another naked attempt to massage the sentiment of the market.
Default swaps on Dubai’s sovereign debt are now higher than Iceland’s which is evidence of the market’s appreciation of Dubai’s real position. Expect a dignified firesale of national assets like Emirates and Dubai Ports.
Dubai always tried to present itself as the place in the Gulf to do business, but the financial situation and the opacity of the nomenklatura is rapidly destroying Dubai’s reputation for business ethics and honesty.
Unpaid workers strike, contractors are taking principals to court and increasingly Dubai’s business enviroment is being seen as the Vegas of the Gulf. In the end all that glitters is not gold!
Dubai Can Bounce a Cheque But You Can’t
Reputation is a delicate thing and built into it at some sub-conscious level is a sense of fairness. Most good reputations are built around people or organisations being fair to others.
There is a certain irony in Dubai effectively bouncing a cheque on its creditors when ironically it is illegal to do the same in the emirate itself. Will the directors of the Dubai World get taken to court… I doubt it somehow.
What is coming out in the wash from the backwash of Dubai’s credit problems is the real state of Dubai’s economy and legal framework. If you are foreign you are low down the pecking order: lowest are the Indians and Asians doing the building work and domestic work who often enjoy very little legal protection against harsh employers.
The world credit markets may be spooked, but this embarrassment may well lead to the rulers of the emirate rethinking how they treat the people living in there.