Baidu executives' caustic remarks triggered a public relations crisis, the market value evaporated by tens of billions, and the boss's wife returned to China in anger?
The inappropriate remarks of a Baidu executive sparked a huge controversy online, leading to an unprecedented public relations crisis for the company. The executive's name is Xuan Jing and she is Baidu's vice president of public relations. She posted a series of videos on social media about her lack of empathy for her employees, with harsh and ruthless rhetoric, which immediately sparked strong dissatisfaction and criticism from netizens.
In the video, Xuan Jing shows extreme indifference and incomprehension about the employee's family life and emotional problems. She bluntly said that as a boss, she does not need to care about the private life of employees, even if employees break up with their partners due to work pressure, she "approves" employees' resignation applications in seconds. This view of using employees as mere labor immediately sparked a heated debate online.
Many netizens believe that Xuanjing's remarks highlight the company's management's disregard for the rights and interests of employees. In this era, young people pay more attention to work-life balance and expect companies to give humanized care. Xuan Jing can't understand this, and even regards the emotional needs of employees as "redundant". Some netizens bluntly said that this kind of management thinking is "outdated".
On the other hand, there were also people who defended Xuan Jing's remarks. They believe that what Xuan Jing is talking about is the law of survival in the real workplace, the relationship between enterprises and employees is a relationship of economic interests, and the goal of enterprises is to pursue efficiency and profit maximization. From this point of view, there is nothing wrong with Xuan Jing's view.
Regardless of which view is correct or not, Xuan Jing's remarks as a public relations executive have put heavy pressure on Baidu. Since the video was released, Baidu's share price has fallen, and its combined market value has evaporated by as much as 12 billion yuan. This was due in large part to investors' disappointment with Ms. Xuan's comments and Baidu's internal culture.
In the face of such a huge crisis of public opinion, Baidu finally chose to replace Xuanjing. According to reports, the decision was made by Ma Dongmin, the wife of Baidu founder Robin Li. Ma Dongmin, who was in the United States at the time, returned home angrily after hearing about the incident and personally handled the crisis.
It has been pointed out that Xuan Jing's dismissal reflects Baidu's awareness of the importance of its own cultural construction. In the Internet era, enterprises not only need to pay attention to performance and efficiency, but also need to pay attention to the rights and interests of employees and establish a good corporate image. Otherwise, once there is a similar public opinion event, it will bring a heavy blow to the enterprise.
Ms. Xuan's dismissal sparked heated discussions online. Many people believe that this is a sign that Baidu is aware of its own cultural construction problems and has made the right decision.
Some netizens said that as a technology company, Baidu should be at the forefront of the times and embrace an inclusive and diverse corporate culture. The idea that employees are used as mere labor is outdated and must be abandoned. In today's era, young people are more in pursuit of work-life balance and expect companies to give humanized care. If Baidu continues to follow the traditional management thinking, it will inevitably lose excellent talents.
"As a programmer, I worked for a company where the boss didn't care about our lives and just used us as money-making machines. A netizen said, "That kind of life was really painful, and I finally chose to leave." This view resonates with a lot of people.
On the other hand, there are also people who believe that there is nothing wrong with Tranquility's approach, and that the relationship between enterprises and employees is inherently a relationship of economic interests. "The company's goal is to maximize profits, and employees' family problems have nothing to do with the company. A netizen thought so, "Xuan Jing said it very bluntly, but there is nothing wrong with it." ＂
This view has been opposed by many more. They believe that modern enterprises should not only be a simple profit machine, but also assume certain social responsibilities. Respecting the basic rights of employees and giving humanized care is not only conducive to retaining talents, but also establishing a good corporate image, so as to gain social recognition and support.
"Baidu made the right decision this time, but it's just the beginning. A senior netizen commented, "Next, Baidu needs to fundamentally rethink its corporate culture, truly respect employees, and give humane care, rather than passively responding to the crisis." Only in this way can Baidu be invincible. ＂
This public relations crisis triggered by Xuan Jing not only reflects the problem of backward management thinking within Baidu, but also reflects the general dilemma of technology giants in cultural construction.
In recent years, with the rapid development of Internet companies, more and more technology companies have begun to fall into the dilemma of "emphasizing performance over culture". In order to maximize profits, many enterprises regard employees as mere labor, ignoring the protection and care of employees' rights and interests.
"In our company, overtime is commonplace, but the leadership is blind to it. An Internet practitioner complained, "They only care about whether the project can be completed on time, and they don't care about our physical and mental health." "This phenomenon is reflected in many technology companies.
For a long time, there has been a problem with the "996" work system in the Internet industry. Many employees have to work overtime for long periods of time, losing their work-life balance and becoming physically and mentally exhausted. The management of the company, however, seems indifferent to this and even takes overtime for granted.
"In our company, the leadership doesn't care about the lives of our employees. Another employee complained, "As long as the work is done, nothing else." Someone is divorced, someone is sick, and the leaders will not bother to say a word. ＂
To a large extent, this phenomenon stems from the excessive pursuit of profits by Internet companies. In the fierce market competition, many companies regard employees as a tool to obtain profits, ignoring the human care for employees.
"Internet companies should reflect on their own cultural construction. A veteran said, "In this day and age, excellent people are the most valuable asset of an enterprise. If the enterprise cannot give employees the respect and care they deserve, it will inevitably lose talents and fall into development difficulties. ＂