Slide 1: Do you think Eric Prince effectively addressed criticism against Blackwater?   Considering the sensitive situation that Blackwater is in regarding the Blackwater/ Iraqi attack on September 16th, Eric Prince did an effective job of protecting the name of Blackwater and supporting the founding structure that Blackwater was built upon. When addressing the criticism against Blackwater, Prince emphasized the bigger picture of the dangerous working environment and away from the individual judgments from particular Blackwater employees.
Slide 2: Why was Prince effective in his arguments?  When asked about the employees hired at Blackwater and their potential for mistakes, Prince listed the extensive measures taken when considering employees. Some of these measures included heavy experience and training from prior positions in the military and law enforcement, thorough analysis through psychological checks, and experience with cultural sensitivity. When asked if Blackwater employees fire first against Iraqi civilians, Prince provided details of preventative measures taken before resulting to the use of guns. Some of these measures include using multi-lingual signs on Blackwater vehicles stating to keep distance from vehicles, as well as implementing hand signals and nonlethal warning shots to disable perceived threatening vehicles. When asked about the accountability of Blackwater representatives saying that they were inexperienced and unrestrained cowboys, Prince stated that employees are of a highly trained background with proven professional integrity. Blackwater employees have served in positions of military and law under the US name and continue to have pride in working for their country. Prince also mentioned the strict regulations enforced on employees and the removal of personnel that do not adhere properly to Blackwater contract and conduct.   
Slide 3: Tactics Prince should take to quell criticism of Blackwater  Blackwater as a company has proved to be successful in providing security services to its clients. By hiring extensively qualified employees, Blackwater utilizes the training of former military and law enforcement members. To quell criticism, Prince should place an emphasis on the working conditions and the constant threat to Blackwater employees. To put the working conditions in perspective, this will allow for a better understanding of certain procedures regarding defensive actions against perceived threats. 
Slide 4: Examples of how to address problems identified in the documentary  Emphasis on the working environment and the dangers involved in shuttling individuals safely across threatening terrain should be brought to attention when addressing the need to defend against attacks. Often drivers are only equipped to defend from attacks and not for offensive capabilities. To address the regulations for contractors, Prince should discuss the extensive regulations imposed by the company that employees must adhere to. He should also mention the extensive hiring process and the detailed qualifications and background experience needed to be suitable to attain a Blackwater position. 
Slide 5: Model of Public Relations Blackwater is using to deal with its crises.  Throughout the interview, when asked criticizing questions against Blackwater, Prince often resulted in creating excuses that prevent Blackwater from taking full responsibility of situations. When asked about the consequences Blackwater could face from being accused of deliberately murdering Iraqi civilians, Prince focused away from the consequences towards why his team’s actions could be justified. He painted a picture of the events that surrounded the event in question and listed the number of attacks against Blackwater employees during the week. He mentioned that because his employees work in a very dangerous environment, when they receive arm firm, they need to return fire to get out of harm’s way. When asked about the men involved in the September 16th attack, Prince stated that he was not in control of the individuals and that the state department was. That the Blackwater men were carrying state department guns and driving state department vehicles. He said that even though the security employees receive their paycheck from Blackwater that the operational control was given to the US government. Prince also stated that since Blackwater is a high profile security contractor that many false and negative actions from other security contractors are attributed to the Blackwater name. Prince said that people assume that negative occurrences involving security contractors are always Blackwater. Prince stated that in certain cases after further investigation, other security contractors were really the ones accountable for misleading actions.   