This paper draws on the unique insights offered by the documents tendered to the Royal Commission into the Australian Wheat Board (AWB Limited) to examine the process for drafting an apology within a scandalized organization suffering reputational damage. The Royal Commission received an almost complete set of documents specifying the process by which AWB prepared a public apology, as well as details of the efforts of the company to suppress those documents and the testimony of key personnel not only on the scandal itself but also on how the company responded to the crisis it had caused. The documents tendered to the Australian Government's Royal Commission included the working notes, drafting edits and expert advice from an international crisis communication consultant. AWB initially sought to try and manage the impact of the United Nations Oil‐for‐Food scandal, rather than address the causes of the transgression that would then allow the company to begin the process of restoring trust and rebuilding the damaged reputation. This disingenuous response exacerbated the problems for the company and caused additional damage to its corporate reputation. The insights from the AWB case study provide invaluable guidance for organizations on how to respond effectively to a corporate scandal. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight the circumstances in which a crisis response strategy can compound a crisis, especially a corporate scandal, as evidenced by the case of AWB Limited, where the organisational damage of the “cover‐up” escalated the scandal further and caused additional damage to the company.Design/methodology/approachThe AWB case study provides a unique insight into the application of theories and research on crisis and reputation management and the specific challenges and risks of corporate scandals.FindingsAs a specific form of crisis, corporate scandals can easily descend into a secondary or “double crisis” if incorrectly managed, or even mismanaged.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper shows that the information provided to the Australian Government's Royal Commission and other documents relating to the management of the scandal by the company further embarrassed AWB and exposed the inappropriateness of the original defensive apologia crisis response strategy pursued by the company.Practical implicationsThe AWB case study provides an opportunity for alignment with the crisis response theories of Coombs and De Maria, based on the evaluation of the initial failed response strategy and the more appropriate response eventually undertaken by the company.Originality/valueThe paper offers the additional insights of the author (as a former member of the management team at the company) into the documents tendered to the Royal Commission, which have not been evaluated and studied for their contribution to crisis communication and crisis management.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the experience of a not‐for‐profit (NFP) organisation, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, as an example of an NFP organisation seeking to develop an ‘agreed’ and ‘common’ set of core corporate/organisational values. Design/methodology/approach The main approach is examine the values development process of the College against the organisational values measures of commercialism, community expectation and consensus and what impact these had on the process. Findings The finding of the research collected during the development process and the evaluation of the final set of values against the measures highlights the unique challenges that NFP organisations can experience in developing ‘common’ and ‘agreed’ core corporate organisational values. Research limitations/implications The research includes qualitative and quantitative research using interviews and surveys of the members of the organisation (the Fellows), the employees of the College and a sample of key external stakeholders. Practical implications The case study of the College provides guidance for organisations seeking to undertake a values development process, and the research contributes to the theory of internal communication and organisational development. Originality/value This paper uses the unique insights of a case study to provide practical guidance for practitioners on organisational values and their development, especially in the NFP sector. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.