Corporate Communication
Before 1970 referred to as “Public Relations”. In this period it was used mainly to
communicate with the press and as a tactical instrument.
1970 now:
Growth into „corporate communications‟, corporations were starting to focus on the
organization as a whole.
Definition:
Corporate communication is „an instrument of management by means of which all
consciously used forms of internal and external communication are harmonized as effectively
and efficiently as possible‟, with the overall objective of creating „a favorable basis for
relationships with groups upon which the company is dependent‟.
Key concepts:
MISSION: Overriding purpose in line with the values or expectations of the stakeholders.
VISION: Desired future state. The aspiration of the organization.
CORPORATE OBJECTIVES AND GOALS: (Precise) statement of aims or purpose.
STRATEGIES: The ways or means in which the corporate objectives are to be achieved and
put into effect.
CORPORATE IDENTITY: The profile and values communicated by an organization. For
example Google: Don‟t be evil
CORPORATE IMAGE: (WHAT I THINK) The immediate set of associations of an individual in
response to one or more signals or messages from or about a particular organization at a
single point in time.
CORPORATE REPUTATION: (IMAGES BUILT UP) An individuals collective representation
of past images of an organization (induced through either communication or past
experiences) established over time.
STAKEHOLDER: Any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of
the organization‟s objectives.
PUBLIC: People who mobilize themselves against the organization on the basis of some
common issue or concern to them.
MARKET: A defined group for whom a product is or may be in demand (and for whom an
organization creates and maintains products and services).
ISSUE: An unsettled matter (which is ready for a decision) or a point of conflict between an
organization and one or more publics.
COMMUNICATION: The tactics and media that are used to communicate with internal and
external groups.
INTEGRATION: The act of coordinating all communications so that the corporate identity is
effectively and consistently communicated to internal and external groups.
All organizations, of all sizes and operating in different sectors and societies, must find ways
to successfully establish and nurture relationships with their stakeholders, upon which they
are economically and socially dependent. The management function that has emerged to
deal with this task is corporate communication.
, Drivers for integration:
MARKET AND ENVIRONMENT BASED DRIVERS:
1. Stakeholder roles – needs and overlap
2. Demand for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and greater transparency
3. Audience fragmentation
COMMUNICATION BASED DRIVERS:
1. Greater amounts of message clutter
2. Increased message effectiveness through consistency and reinforcement of core
messages
3. Complementarity of media and media cost inflation
4. Media multiplication requires control of communication channels
ORGANIZATIONAL DRIVERS
1. Improved efficiency
2. Increased accountability
3. Provision of strategic direction and purpose though consolidation
4. Organizational positioning
Vertical Structures:
Way in which tasks and activities are divided and arranged into departments, and located in
the hierarchy of authority within an organization.
Vertical structures divide each organization‟s primary tasks into smaller tasks and activities.
Horizontal Structures:
Ensures that tasks and activities, while spread out over departments, are combined into the
basic functions.
Horizontal structures allow for cross-functional team-work and flexibility and can take various
forms including:
- Multi-disciplinary task or project teams
- Standardized work processes
- Council meetings
Stakeholder management:
Neo-classical theory: purpose of organizations is to make profits in their accountability to
themselves and shareholders.
Socio-economic theory: accountability extends to groups considered to be important for the
continuity of the organization and the welfare of society.
Instead of considering organizations as immune from government or public opinion, the
stakeholder management model recognizes the mutual dependencies between organizations
and various stakeholder groups – groups that are affected by the operations of the
organization, but can equally affect the organization, its operations and performance.
One significant feature of the stakeholder model is that it suggests that an organization needs
to be considered „legitimate‟ by both „market‟ and „non-market‟ stakeholder groups. This
notion of legitimacy stretches beyond financial accountability to include accountability for the
firm‟s performance in social and environmental terms.
Framing accountability through this concept of legitimacy also means that organizations
engage with stakeholders not just for instrumental reasons, but also for normative reasons.
Instrumental reasons point to a connection between stakeholder management and corporate
performance.
Before 1970 referred to as “Public Relations”. In this period it was used mainly to
communicate with the press and as a tactical instrument.
1970 now:
Growth into „corporate communications‟, corporations were starting to focus on the
organization as a whole.
Definition:
Corporate communication is „an instrument of management by means of which all
consciously used forms of internal and external communication are harmonized as effectively
and efficiently as possible‟, with the overall objective of creating „a favorable basis for
relationships with groups upon which the company is dependent‟.
Key concepts:
MISSION: Overriding purpose in line with the values or expectations of the stakeholders.
VISION: Desired future state. The aspiration of the organization.
CORPORATE OBJECTIVES AND GOALS: (Precise) statement of aims or purpose.
STRATEGIES: The ways or means in which the corporate objectives are to be achieved and
put into effect.
CORPORATE IDENTITY: The profile and values communicated by an organization. For
example Google: Don‟t be evil
CORPORATE IMAGE: (WHAT I THINK) The immediate set of associations of an individual in
response to one or more signals or messages from or about a particular organization at a
single point in time.
CORPORATE REPUTATION: (IMAGES BUILT UP) An individuals collective representation
of past images of an organization (induced through either communication or past
experiences) established over time.
STAKEHOLDER: Any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of
the organization‟s objectives.
PUBLIC: People who mobilize themselves against the organization on the basis of some
common issue or concern to them.
MARKET: A defined group for whom a product is or may be in demand (and for whom an
organization creates and maintains products and services).
ISSUE: An unsettled matter (which is ready for a decision) or a point of conflict between an
organization and one or more publics.
COMMUNICATION: The tactics and media that are used to communicate with internal and
external groups.
INTEGRATION: The act of coordinating all communications so that the corporate identity is
effectively and consistently communicated to internal and external groups.
All organizations, of all sizes and operating in different sectors and societies, must find ways
to successfully establish and nurture relationships with their stakeholders, upon which they
are economically and socially dependent. The management function that has emerged to
deal with this task is corporate communication.
, Drivers for integration:
MARKET AND ENVIRONMENT BASED DRIVERS:
1. Stakeholder roles – needs and overlap
2. Demand for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and greater transparency
3. Audience fragmentation
COMMUNICATION BASED DRIVERS:
1. Greater amounts of message clutter
2. Increased message effectiveness through consistency and reinforcement of core
messages
3. Complementarity of media and media cost inflation
4. Media multiplication requires control of communication channels
ORGANIZATIONAL DRIVERS
1. Improved efficiency
2. Increased accountability
3. Provision of strategic direction and purpose though consolidation
4. Organizational positioning
Vertical Structures:
Way in which tasks and activities are divided and arranged into departments, and located in
the hierarchy of authority within an organization.
Vertical structures divide each organization‟s primary tasks into smaller tasks and activities.
Horizontal Structures:
Ensures that tasks and activities, while spread out over departments, are combined into the
basic functions.
Horizontal structures allow for cross-functional team-work and flexibility and can take various
forms including:
- Multi-disciplinary task or project teams
- Standardized work processes
- Council meetings
Stakeholder management:
Neo-classical theory: purpose of organizations is to make profits in their accountability to
themselves and shareholders.
Socio-economic theory: accountability extends to groups considered to be important for the
continuity of the organization and the welfare of society.
Instead of considering organizations as immune from government or public opinion, the
stakeholder management model recognizes the mutual dependencies between organizations
and various stakeholder groups – groups that are affected by the operations of the
organization, but can equally affect the organization, its operations and performance.
One significant feature of the stakeholder model is that it suggests that an organization needs
to be considered „legitimate‟ by both „market‟ and „non-market‟ stakeholder groups. This
notion of legitimacy stretches beyond financial accountability to include accountability for the
firm‟s performance in social and environmental terms.
Framing accountability through this concept of legitimacy also means that organizations
engage with stakeholders not just for instrumental reasons, but also for normative reasons.
Instrumental reasons point to a connection between stakeholder management and corporate
performance.
