Corporate Communication Exam
Week 1: Introduction - What is corporate communication?
Chapter 1. Defining Corporate Communication
What is corporate communication?
Corporate communication is a management function that (1) focuses on an organization as a
whole and (2) offers a framework for the effective coordination of all internal and external
communication (3) with the overall purpose of establishing and maintaining favorable
reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the organization is dependent.
The sustainability and success of a company depends on how it is viewed by key stakeholders.
Communication is a critical part of building, maintaining and protecting such reputation.
Key concept Definition
Mission A clear overriding purpose (what it wants to do). It explains in
general terms what the business is trying to achieve and outlines
the organization's values.
Vision Desired future state: aspiration (where/what it wants to be in the
distant future).
Corporate objectives Statement of overall aims in line with overall purpose (what an
organization needs to achieve in order to get what they want).
Strategy The overall plan of actions that facilitate an organization to meet its
objectives; the way or means in which the corporate objectives are
to be achieved.
Corporate identity The profile and values communicated by an organization.
Corporate image The immediate set of associations of an individual in response to
one or more messages from and about a particular organization at
a single point in time.
Corporate reputation An individual's collective representation of past images of an
organization established over time.
Stakeholders Any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the
achievement of the organization's objectives; any group or
individual with an interest or concern in the decisions made by that
company.
,Market A defined group for whom a product is or may be in demand (and
for whom an organization creates and maintains products or
services).
Communication The tactics and media that are used to communicate with internal
and external groups.
Integration The act of coordination all communication so that the corporate
identity is effectively and consistently communicated to external
and internal groups.
What are the trends in corporate communication?
Corporate communication demands an integrated approach to managing communication to
harness the strategic interest of the organization at large. There has been a development in
integrated communication disciplines (e.g. media relations, advertising, sales promotion etc.) on
an organization-wide basis.
● Fragmentation of communication disciplines has proven to be counterproductive. The
spreading out of communication responsibilities lead to a process of sub-optimization
where each department optimizes its own performance instead of working for the
organization as a whole.
● There was a realization that communication had to be used more strategically to
'position' the organization in the minds of important stakeholders.
○ But this reinforced the assumption that stakeholders are passive agents. And
that communication is a linear model. However, communication is a joint activity
and stakeholders are active agents (who empowered by new media to voice
their opinions and expectations)
Constitute view of communication
Organizations are a collection of people working together in a coordinated and structured
fashion to achieve one or more goals.
Conventional view
Organizational communication is communication within organizations
● Physical shape
● Symbolic shape
Organization exists separately from communication
Alternative view
Organization AS communication
,The communicative constitution of organizations (CCO) perspective is broadly characterized by
the claim that communication is not something that happens within organizations or between
organizational members; instead, communication is the process whereby organizations are
constituted. Specifically, this view contends: “organization is an effect of communication not its
predecessor."
Organization are not neutral structures that exist apart from human activity, they are the visible
manifestation of human activity. At the core they are communicative. An ongoing collection of
interaction, decisions, agreement, contracts, relationships, symbols etc. The other materials
have no inherent meaning apart from human interaction.
It is not merely the transfer of information, but the fundamental process that shapes our social
reality. A complex process of continually creating and negotiating the meaning and
interpretation that shape our lives → c onstitute view of communication
What do we gain with this alternative approach?
The mere transmission information inadequate to successfully accomplishing goals.
Constitute view of organizations as communication enables us to question and investigate key
organizational realities, not just accept them as given.
● Understand how certain patterns of interaction give rise to conflict resolution, how it
shapes the practice of leadership, how to be more productive etc.
It provides a much stronger explanatory framework → communicative approach (exploring
organizations through the lens of communication) to study the fundamental social processes
that create and sustain the dominant structures of our society.
Chapter 4. Stakeholder Management and Communication
Stakeholder theory/ perspective
The stakeholder perspective in business marks a move away from a neoclassical economic
theory of organization to a socio-economic theory.
➔ Neo-classical economic theory suggest that the purpose of organizations is to make
profit in their accountability for themselves and shareholders.
➔ Socio-economic theory s uggest 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 welfare of society.
, Stakeholder theory
All persons or groups who hold legitimate interests or 'stakes' in the organization are
recognized and the relationship of the organization with these persons/ groups is not linear but
one of interdependency/ mutual dependencies (they obtain benefits). And there is, in principle,
no priority for one set of interests and benefits over another.
This notion of 'legitimacy' stretches beyond financial accountability. This means that
organizations engage with stakeholders not just for i nstrumental reasons but also n
ormative
reasons.
➔ Instrumental reasons points to a connection between stakeholder management and
corporate performance (increase revenues)
➔ Normative reasons appeal to underlying concepts such as individual or group rights,
morality and so on.
Type of stakes and stakeholders
Stakeholders Any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the
achievement of the organization's objectives; any group or
individual with an interest or concern in the decisions made by that
company.
Stakes of different individuals and groups are thus varied and may be at odds with one another,
putting pressure on the organization to balance stakeholder interests.
Freeman's three 1. Equity stakes held by those who have some direct 'ownership'
types of stake of the organization (e.g. shareholders, directors)
2. Economic/ market stakes held by those who have an economic
interest but do not have ownership interest (e.g. employees,
suppliers)
Week 1: Introduction - What is corporate communication?
Chapter 1. Defining Corporate Communication
What is corporate communication?
Corporate communication is a management function that (1) focuses on an organization as a
whole and (2) offers a framework for the effective coordination of all internal and external
communication (3) with the overall purpose of establishing and maintaining favorable
reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the organization is dependent.
The sustainability and success of a company depends on how it is viewed by key stakeholders.
Communication is a critical part of building, maintaining and protecting such reputation.
Key concept Definition
Mission A clear overriding purpose (what it wants to do). It explains in
general terms what the business is trying to achieve and outlines
the organization's values.
Vision Desired future state: aspiration (where/what it wants to be in the
distant future).
Corporate objectives Statement of overall aims in line with overall purpose (what an
organization needs to achieve in order to get what they want).
Strategy The overall plan of actions that facilitate an organization to meet its
objectives; the way or means in which the corporate objectives are
to be achieved.
Corporate identity The profile and values communicated by an organization.
Corporate image The immediate set of associations of an individual in response to
one or more messages from and about a particular organization at
a single point in time.
Corporate reputation An individual's collective representation of past images of an
organization established over time.
Stakeholders Any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the
achievement of the organization's objectives; any group or
individual with an interest or concern in the decisions made by that
company.
,Market A defined group for whom a product is or may be in demand (and
for whom an organization creates and maintains products or
services).
Communication The tactics and media that are used to communicate with internal
and external groups.
Integration The act of coordination all communication so that the corporate
identity is effectively and consistently communicated to external
and internal groups.
What are the trends in corporate communication?
Corporate communication demands an integrated approach to managing communication to
harness the strategic interest of the organization at large. There has been a development in
integrated communication disciplines (e.g. media relations, advertising, sales promotion etc.) on
an organization-wide basis.
● Fragmentation of communication disciplines has proven to be counterproductive. The
spreading out of communication responsibilities lead to a process of sub-optimization
where each department optimizes its own performance instead of working for the
organization as a whole.
● There was a realization that communication had to be used more strategically to
'position' the organization in the minds of important stakeholders.
○ But this reinforced the assumption that stakeholders are passive agents. And
that communication is a linear model. However, communication is a joint activity
and stakeholders are active agents (who empowered by new media to voice
their opinions and expectations)
Constitute view of communication
Organizations are a collection of people working together in a coordinated and structured
fashion to achieve one or more goals.
Conventional view
Organizational communication is communication within organizations
● Physical shape
● Symbolic shape
Organization exists separately from communication
Alternative view
Organization AS communication
,The communicative constitution of organizations (CCO) perspective is broadly characterized by
the claim that communication is not something that happens within organizations or between
organizational members; instead, communication is the process whereby organizations are
constituted. Specifically, this view contends: “organization is an effect of communication not its
predecessor."
Organization are not neutral structures that exist apart from human activity, they are the visible
manifestation of human activity. At the core they are communicative. An ongoing collection of
interaction, decisions, agreement, contracts, relationships, symbols etc. The other materials
have no inherent meaning apart from human interaction.
It is not merely the transfer of information, but the fundamental process that shapes our social
reality. A complex process of continually creating and negotiating the meaning and
interpretation that shape our lives → c onstitute view of communication
What do we gain with this alternative approach?
The mere transmission information inadequate to successfully accomplishing goals.
Constitute view of organizations as communication enables us to question and investigate key
organizational realities, not just accept them as given.
● Understand how certain patterns of interaction give rise to conflict resolution, how it
shapes the practice of leadership, how to be more productive etc.
It provides a much stronger explanatory framework → communicative approach (exploring
organizations through the lens of communication) to study the fundamental social processes
that create and sustain the dominant structures of our society.
Chapter 4. Stakeholder Management and Communication
Stakeholder theory/ perspective
The stakeholder perspective in business marks a move away from a neoclassical economic
theory of organization to a socio-economic theory.
➔ Neo-classical economic theory suggest that the purpose of organizations is to make
profit in their accountability for themselves and shareholders.
➔ Socio-economic theory s uggest 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 welfare of society.
, Stakeholder theory
All persons or groups who hold legitimate interests or 'stakes' in the organization are
recognized and the relationship of the organization with these persons/ groups is not linear but
one of interdependency/ mutual dependencies (they obtain benefits). And there is, in principle,
no priority for one set of interests and benefits over another.
This notion of 'legitimacy' stretches beyond financial accountability. This means that
organizations engage with stakeholders not just for i nstrumental reasons but also n
ormative
reasons.
➔ Instrumental reasons points to a connection between stakeholder management and
corporate performance (increase revenues)
➔ Normative reasons appeal to underlying concepts such as individual or group rights,
morality and so on.
Type of stakes and stakeholders
Stakeholders Any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the
achievement of the organization's objectives; any group or
individual with an interest or concern in the decisions made by that
company.
Stakes of different individuals and groups are thus varied and may be at odds with one another,
putting pressure on the organization to balance stakeholder interests.
Freeman's three 1. Equity stakes held by those who have some direct 'ownership'
types of stake of the organization (e.g. shareholders, directors)
2. Economic/ market stakes held by those who have an economic
interest but do not have ownership interest (e.g. employees,
suppliers)
