Jet Blue

Jet Blue canceled many flights for a five day period following a Valentine’s Day ice storm. Numerous passengers were left waiting for more than eight hours stuck in the planes on the tarmac.
Procedure: Review the concept of strategic ambiguity. Play the following video in which David Neeleman, founder and CEO of jet Blue apologizes for a service problem (Feb 19, 2007).

Our promise to you

(Links to an external site.)

. Ask students to write down several examples of strategic ambiguity from this video.

Class Discussion:

If you didn’t know ahead of time what the situation was, would you know what Mr. Neeleman was apologizing for?
Why did Mr. Neeleman use strategically ambiguous language in this situation?
Is strategic ambiguity necessary in when companies respond to public relations fiascos?
Do you think the use of strategic ambiguity helps or hinders public relations in this s situation?
Recall a time when you had to make an apology. Write out a direct apology. Now convert your apology to strategically ambiguous language. Which do you prefer? Why?

FORMAT:

Use a title page.
Font: Use Times New Roman, 12 point.
Place your name in the upper left hand corner of the page.
Each section of your paper should be headed by the bolded, capitalized item described above.
Insert page numbers bottom right.
Papers must be original. Plagiarism will result in an F.
Paper length should be one to two double-spaced pages not including title page, references, or illustrations and tables.

Use APA citations throughout the paper. If you are not familiar with APA citation, check out the tutorial APA Guidelines for Citing Sources at Writing Resources for Student