Corporate communication summary articles book lectures
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Course
Corporate Communication
Institution
Universiteit Van Amsterdam (UvA)
Book
Corporate Communication
In dit document vind je alle aantekeningen van de hoorcolleges en werkgroepen van het vak Corporate Communication. De hoofdstukken 1,4,5,10,13,8,11,9 van het boek Corporate communication van Joep Cornelissen zijn ook samengevat in het document. Ook zijn de artikelen die gelezen moesten worden voor ...
Corporate communication - week 1
What is corporate communication?
Some definitions and information
Public relations are defined as the function or activity that aims to establish and protect
the reputation of a company or brand, and to create mutual understanding between the
organization and the segments of the public with whom it needs to communicate.
Corporate communication is a management function that offers a framework for the ef-
fective coordination of all internal and external communication with the overall purpose of
establishing and maintaining favorable reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the
organization is dependent.
Organizational communication is the internal communication between management and
employees, and employees, and employees among each other.
Corporate communication is about establishing favorable corporate images and reputa-
tions with all of an organization’s stakeholder groups, so that these groups act in a way
that is conducive to the success of the organization. Management communications
focuses on small groups within the organization.
Stakeholder engagement brings new points of emphasis around interactivity, authenticity
(the quality or condition of communication being authentic, trustworthy or genuine), trans-
parency and advocacy (an attempt to try to change stakeholder expectations and public
opinions on an issue through issue campaigns and lobbying).
Features of corporate communication are
• The aim of corporate communication is to oversee and coordinate all communication of
the organization.
• It is an integrated approach, based on one mission/vision/corporate identity. This means
multiple specialties are working together.
• Corporate communication is strategic.
• Corporate communication deals with the relations outside the organization.
Important terms to know
• Mission: a general expression of the overriding purpose of the organization
• Vision: the desired future state of the organization
• Objectives: the more precise (short-term) statements of direction
• Strategy: involves actions and communications that are linked to objectives and are of-
ten specified in terms of specific organizational functions
• Corporate identity: the basic profile that an organization wants to project to all its impor-
tant stakeholder groups and how it aims to be known by these various groups in terms of
its corporate image and reputation.
Five approaches
To help understand how communication works and why organizations are communicating.
• Informative approach: Communication is information transmission from a sender to a
receiver. (How do I reach my target groups?)
• Persuasive approach: We acknowledge that communication is intended to have some
effect on people, certain perceptions need to come across, you want to have some effect
on people. (How do I cause intended effects at my target group?)
• Relational approach: Both actors are receiver and sender at the same time, relationship
between actors, mutual trust, all the different systems have to work together. (How do I
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, develop a communication system that supports lasting relationships with stakeholder
groups?)
• Interpretive approach: Devotes attention to the meanings that people contract through
communication, what we see and know about our environment is actually constructed by
our communication instead of from direct observation. (How do people in and outside
organizations construct meaning about their environment together?)
• Critical approach: What should communication look like? In the critical theory you
should really look at how communication can contribute to a society that is for example
open or egalitarian. (What are the consequences of communication management for
society?)
Stakeholder management and different stakes
Some definitions, theories and models
Stakeholder management requires that managers think strategically about their business
overall and about how they can effectively communicate with stakeholders, including cus-
tomers, investors, employees and members of the communities in which the organization
resides.
The neo-classical economic theory suggests that the purpose of organizations is to
make profits in their accountability to themselves and to shareholders, and that only by do-
ing so can business contribute to wealth for itself as well as society at large.
Input-output model of strategic management:
The socio-economic theory suggests that the question of ‘who counts’ extends to other
groups besides shareholders who are considered to be important for the continuity of the
organization and the welfare of society. The stakeholder model suggests that organiza-
tions engage with stakeholders not just for instrumental reasons but also for normative rea-
sons.
Stakeholder model of strategic management:
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,Different assumptions of different people
Freeman
Freeman defined a stakeholder as any group or individual who can affect or is affected by
the achievement of the organization’s purpose and objectives. A stake can be described
as an interest or a share in an undertaking, it can range from simply an interest in an un-
dertaking at one extreme to a legal claim of ownership at the other extreme.
Freeman considered three types of stakes: equity stakes, economic or market stakes, and
influencer stakes.
• Equity stakes are held by those who have some direct ‘ownership’ of the organization,
such as shareholders, directors or minority interest owners.
• Economic or market stakes are held by those who have an economic interest, but not an
ownership interest, in the organization, such as employees, customers, suppliers and
competitors.
• Influencer stakes are held by those who do not have either an ownership or economic in-
terest in the actions of the organization, but who have interests as consumer advocates,
environmental groups, trade organizations and government agencies.
Clarkson
Clarkson suggests thinking of primary and secondary groups of stakeholders.
• A primary stakeholder group is one without whose continuing participation the organiza-
tion cannot survive.
• Secondary stakeholder groups are defined as those who generally influence or affect, or
are influenced or affected by, the organization, but they are not engaged in financial
transactions with the organization and are not essential for its survival in strictly eco-
nomic terms.
Charkham
Charkham talked about contractual and community stakeholders.
• Contractual stakeholders are those groups who have some form of legal relationship
with the organization for the exchange of goods or services.
• Community stakeholders involve those groups whose relationship with the organization
is non-contractual and more diffuse, although their relationship is nonetheless real in
terms of its impact.
Two theories
• The stakeholder theory says that besides investors, customers, employees and
suppliers there are other parties involved such as, governments, communicates, and
political groups. The relations are two ways.
• The issue management/arena model says that there are a lot of parties interested and
involved in a topic. You have to fight or invest to defend your position or to have a say.
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, Stakeholder identification analysis
Basic
Capture the essential information for effective stakeholder communication:
• Who are the organization’s stakeholders?
• What are their stakes?
• What opportunities and challenges are presented to the organization in relation to these
stakeholders?
• What responsibilities (economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic) does the organization
have to all its stakeholders?
• In what way can the organization best communicate with and respond to these stake-
holders and address these stakeholder challenges and opportunities?
Stakeholder salience model
In this model, stakeholders are identified
and classified based on their salience to
the organization. Salience is defined as
how visible or prominent a stakeholder is
to an organization based on the stake-
holder possessing one or more of three at-
tributes: power, legitimacy and urgency.
• Latent stakeholder groups are groups
possessing only one attribute: dormant,
discretionary and demanding.
• Expectant stakeholders are groups with
two attributes present: dominant,
dangerous, dependent.
• The final group are definitive
stakeholders.
The power-interest matrix
The power-interest matrix aims to
categorize stakeholders on the basis of the
power they possess and the extent to
which they are likely to have, or show, an
interest in the organization’s activities. It
gives insight into whether stakeholders
should only be kept informed of decisions
of the organization or its stance on a par-
ticular issue, or instead whether stakehold-
ers should be actively listened to and com-
municated with on an ongoing basis.
Strategy on how to communicate based on the categories
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