Why are there so many articles on managing reputation?

Reputation comes from corporate culture, not PR or communications. If PR wants to have a real role in reputation managment it must have influence over policy; usually not the case.  Only then can it influence behavior that brings reputation damage and crisis.

Rob: My comment was generic, not specifically in reponse to your post. Finding a functional home for reputation managment is indeed a challenge.  It probably should be part of ERM, but risk managers show little interest.  The Board already is charged by the SEC with pubicly reporting on their risk oversight process, but reputation isn’t at the top of their list either. So the challenge of bringing reputation management or reputation risk management onto center stage remains despite the continuous decline of overall corporate reputation in the US.

My own feeling is that positiong reputation risk management as effective crisis prevention may be the best path forward, as that approach could gain CEO attention & I don’t see much interest from the risk management community.

Alan brings up an interesting point in that PR, IR, government relations and marketing communications are discrete functions with identified audiences and practicing professionals.  Reputation is a sum total image that includes the customer experience with the product, desirability of the workplace, and other factors that are diffuse throughout the organization with no single professional having full responsibility.  The issue is not so much if an organization wants a good reputation as much as how do you build an integrated program that supports it across all functions.

Tom has stated it well.  I would add that the new function must not replicate exsisiting disiplines and must have its own body of knowledge. Some of this content is now being developed.  Most is not around communications.  This raises the question of whether reputation management should be in the hands of PR. Too few PR people have the authority necessary to influence policy, culture and behavior, the true drivers of reputation.  Will a new profession evolve?

Rob: Do you recall where you saw any of the articles you reference in your original post?