KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE PAPER AND COMMUNICATION RELEASE

William Challenor

BCom/275

9 Apr 2012

Reinaldo Fernandez

Knowing Your Audience Paper And Communication Release

Knowing your audience is a major component of communication of

any kind. By knowing the proper type of communication to use and

the proper information to include in your message, will ensure

that the recipients will understand the message being delivered.

Knowing your audience will ensure that the message is delivered

appropriately and that the audience completely understands the

message without any misunderstandings or confusion. In the event

of a disaster or other catastrophe, knowing the audience that you

will be delivering this message to is extremely vital and

important. The communications that went out to the public and

families of the Chilean miners of the copper mine collapse in

South America will reflect the importance of knowing your

audience in this essay.

On August 5, 2010, a small copper mine in northern Chile

collapsed trapping inside of it 33 miners (Weik, 2010). The 33

miners were trapped 300 meters below ground with very little

food, oxygen or water. News of the collapse spread around the

world and many feared that the miners would all perish before

being rescued (Illiano, Wade, 2010). The world held a collective

breath when after seventeen days of drilling contact was made and

all 33 miners appeared to have survived the ordeal. Initially the

miners were told that it would take up to 4 months to pull them

up to the surface (Guardian.co.uk, 2010). A total of 69 days

after the collapse, the first miner was pulled up by s

specifically designed steel capsule (Illiano, Wade, 2010). One by

one each of the 33 miners were rescued to safety. Chilean

President Sebastian Pinera stated that he would launch an

extensive investigation into the incident (Weik, 2010). When the

miners were asked how they survived such an ordeal, they stated

that they each ate about 2 teaspoons of tuna and one

biscuit/cracker along with a sip of milk every 2 days (Time.com,

2010).

Communication to employees

The small San Jose copper mine was owned by a company called

Minera San Esteban Primera. The Minera San Esteban Primera

Company does not have a good track record over the years in

regards to safety, which have included several fatal accidents at

the worksites. The person issuing a public statement regarding

the Chilean copper mine collapse must know the audience that is

receiving the message. In a case like this, the company must be

aware that this will shed a very bleak picture of their company

to the recipients. The company should understand what their

employees might need to here from them. Employees would need to

be assured that measures will be taken to improve work

conditions, which will make for a safer work environment. The

employees would also need to hear that the company is going to

compensate the workers appropriately for working in such

dangerous conditions. The company can address these issues by

establishing some type of safety or operational risk management

(ORM) program. As for the compensation, the company could tell

the employees that a workers compensation program is being

developed, which would enable the workers to be at ease if

something like this were to happen again. This would also show

the employees that the company does actually care about them and

not just the money. Also, when communicating to the employees

the company can acknowledge or accept their failures to ensure a

safe work environment.

Communication to families

Communicating with family is the difficult part for the company.

The families will require a lot more details and for the person

delivering the message to be sensitive to the families current

state of mind. As for the details, the family will want to know

what and how this happened. They will also need to be given

information about what the company is doing to save their loved

ones. By giving this information the family will be a little

less hostile toward the company, knowing that everything possible

is being done to save their family members. Now to the part

about being sensitive, the person delivering the message must

understand that the families are in a fragile state of mind at

the moment. The company spokesman could show compassion by

staying throughout the rescue and talking to each family

individually rather than in a group setting. A group setting is

too impersonal. The tone that the spokesman will go a long way

towards showing sympathy for the families and their loved ones.

The company must also keep in mind that there will be several

precautions that they will need to take prior to delivering the

messages. One is that the company has an obligation to ensure

that the family of the victims be notified before they are made

aware of this by the media. They must also keep the family

updated as the rescue progresses. Because the family members may

be emotional and distressed over the event, every communication

to them must be delivered in a compassionate and tactful manner.

The company must also be time sensitive when delivering the

message(s) to the family members. When delivering the message to

the media, the company must ensure to provide factual information

delivered in a professional manner.

Draft Communication to the Families of the Miners

Initial Communication with Miner’s Families

It is with deep regret that I most inform you of the recent

accident at the Minera San Esteban Primera Mine. At 2:00 p.m.

today, reports came into the office stating one of our mines had

collapsed. Initially the trapped miner tried to escape through a

ventilation shaft, but was unsuccessful. Rescuers are attempting

to drill holes to locate the workers (Weik, 2010). We are doing

everything to ensure the safe return of your loved ones.

Communication with Miner’s Families August 8, 2010

I regret to inform you that our recent attempt to drill holes to

the miners has had a temporary setback. As workers were trying to

descend through the ventilation shaft another cave in blocked

their way. We have come up with a plan to bore a six inch hole to

locate the exact location of the survivors.

Communication to families on August 22, 2010

I am happy to report the rescue plan was successful; the bore

hole has reached your loved ones. They have sent a message saying

they are alive and well. Food, water, and lights are being sent

down the bore hole to the survivors. Rescuers plan to widen the

hole to enable the miners to be pulled out one by one. This will

be a long process because rescue workers will have to drill

through several layers of hard rock. We need to carve out a hole

26 inches in diameter to pull out each miner. The estimated time

for drilling this hole ranges from 30 days to four months. The

reason it will take this long is that the drill can cut through

only 50 feet of rock a day and if a drill bit breaks it will slow

down the process (Parry & Rettner, 2010). The Chilean government

is consulting with National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA) on how to keep the miners mentally and physically fit

during their confinement. During their confinement the miner will

be able to send and receive messages from you through the bore

hole.

In conclusion, company must be aware of their audience. For the

employees, they must be assured that every precaution is being

made to ensure a safe work environment and that if something were

to happen to them, the company would take care of them. For the

family, they must be assured that everything is being done to

save their loved ones from this disaster. Also, the families

must be convinced that the company does not care more about money

than their employees.

Draft Communication to Employees

| Minera San Esteban Primera |

Memo

To: All Minera San Esteban Primera Employees

Date: August 9, 2010

-------------------------------------------------

Re: Copper Mine Collapse

As of August 5, 2011 there has been an unfortunate accident in

one of our copper mines in San Jose, Chile. The roof of the mine

collapsed leaving 33 of our employees trapped inside.

Officials and rescue workers were notified immediately and have

been working to locate and rescue the copper miners. The 33

survivors are believed to be trapped at a depth of 670 meters

below the surface.

Initial rescue efforts were suspended for a few hours on Saturday

because of a second cave-in during rescuers attempts to descend a

ventilation shaft. The rescue workers plan to drill a hole six

inches in diameter holes to locate the 33 trapped miners.

Despite recent questions regarding the safety practices of our

mines and organization. We are still adhering to all safety

procedures, practices, and protocol set forth by both the

Federation of Chilean Mining Workers and the Confederation of

Copper Workers. We will continue to operate the mines according

to the policies and procedures of these organizations (Parry &

Rettner, 2010).

Employees will be kept up-to-date on the rescue efforts as the

information comes in. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all

miners, families, rescue workers, and employees of Minera San

Esteban Primera.

References:

Retrieved from: Weik, J. (2010, August 6). Over 30 workers

trapped after Chilean copper mine collapse. Metal Bulletin Daily,

(224), 65.

Retrieved from:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/23/miners-trapped-alive-

chile

Retrieved from: Illiano, C. and Wade, T. (2010).

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/10/13/us-chile-miners-

idUSN0925972620101013

Retrieved from: Kraul, C. (2010).

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/14/world/la-fg-chile-miner-

rescues-20101014

Retrieved from:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2013137,00.html#ixz

z1jVHOF2zs

Parry, W., & Rettner, R. (2010). Chile Mine Collapse: Facts about

the Amazing Survival Story. Retrieved from

http://www.livescience.com