Taco Bell Communication

In the past five years, the ways in which organizations inform their stakeholders, about various things, has changed dramatically. In the past, organizations would use news stations, radio, newspapers, and fliers. Today, those traditional methods are still used; however, with the advancement in technology, more ways to communicate have emerged. Such ways to communicate are through social media (Facebook, YouTube,Twitter, etc.) and blogging. Considering social media and blogging are popular ways for individuals to communicate and voice their opinions, there is a greater need for leaders to be even more cognizant of what is said about their organization in the online environment (Crandall, Parnell, & Spillan, 2014). With these additional forms

Like every other organization, Taco Bell was facing a lawsuit filed by a disgruntled customer. The customer argued that the meat Taco Bell used in their tacos contained more filler meat than actual beef (Crandall et al., 2014). Filler meat is lean finely textured beef that is created by running the scraps of the meat through a process that eliminates the fat. It is also treated with ammonia to kill bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella. It is then used as a filler for other meats such as ground beef, low fat hot dogs, pepperoni, frozen meat entrees like meatballs and canned food (Crandall et al., 2014). Until, 2012 Taco Bell as well as other major fast food chains like McDonald’s and Burger King, used lean finely textured beef until 2012. During Taco Bell's use of the product, and even prior to, there has never been a health-related incident associated with the product. In addition, the product had been out for two decades and was considered safe by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Crandall et al., 2014). Nevertheless, Taco Bell was still being sued and accused of using the product. The news of the lawsuit was made advent to the public was on January 25, 2011. The news of the lawsuit was not only an impending crisis but it was also a potential social media fiasco. Since similar allegations had already been made about the company, and were circulating throughout the internet, Taco Bell decided to speak out the day the lawsuit hit the tabloids (Crandall et al.,