Week 1 – What is corporate communication?
Corpus: to form into a body; what or who somebody is
Corporate communication: A management function that offers a framework for the
effective 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.
• If the goal is to create one distinct identity for a company, it is essential to combine all
aspects in the company (Public relations, marketing, human resources)
• Communication professionals exercise all the efforts to ensure a single identity for a
company
o This is vital in order to stand out within this saturated media environment
• Aim to maintain favorable reputations with stakeholders, but also the general public
o This can aid in attracting wealthy/helpful people and investors
Aim for Corporate communication: to oversee & coordinate all communication of
employees and departments
• Corporate communication creates a mission and vision for how the company should
become
o Usually is the "About us" section of a company's website
o This should steer communication effort
• CorpCom is strategic as the department of CorpCom contributes to an organizational
goal
Historically, CorpCom was not strategic in the sense that they didn't have a say in what the
positioning within the company was (that was saved for the CEO)
Corporate reputation: the collective evaluation of an organization established over time
• Relates closely to image
• Induced through either communication or past experiences
• This is a collective effort as it takes multiple evaluations into consideration to make a
decision
• This is established over time because it can take a while for a company's reputation to
be built up
o But can also happen quickly in the case of unethical measures
Why are rankings important?
• It attracts people (f.e. with UvA being ranked number 1 uni for Media
studies/Communication makes people believe the school is a good place)
• Not only organizations but sectors and people (public figures, CEO) can also have
reputations
Parents of Corporate communication: Public relations
• Heavy dependence on marketing but required additional free publicity to gain public
opinion
,Organization: a group of people working together to reach a common goal
• Organizations exist mainly because the goal cannot be achieved individually
• Need to form a collaboration between multiple people
• Communication allows for collaboration
Organizations are seen as containers that puts people together to achieve a goal.
• Organization exists apart from communication
• People identify with the organization, but even if they didn't communicate they would
still be part of the organization
Communication is really at the essence of what an organization is; without communication,
there wouldn't be an organization.
• F.e. with a store: if the employees don’t communicate, they wouldn't be able to know
how to function within the organization
Organization AS Communication:
• When people communicate, they form decisions, interpretations, symbols,
negotations etc. (YouTube video under Week 1 required readings)
• All of these aspects summarize what an organization is
• It's a more organic way of understanding what an organization is
• Organizations CONSIST of communication
CCO: Communicative Constitution of Organizations
Approaches to understand how communication works/reason why organizations
communicate:
• Informative approach: simple information transmission between a sender and receiver
o Easiest way of communicating
o Who says what to whom through what channel? (Shannon & Weaver model)
o Aim to assess which channels you need to reach your target audience
o How do you devise a message that your target audience will understand?
o Create a package of information and throw it to another
o Sometimes called a conduit
• Persuasive approach: acknowledge that communication is intended to have an effect
on people
o Want certain perceptions to get across
, • F.e. a company wants to be seen as high-tech
o Has a certain goal
• NGO want to persuade people to eat healthier
o Aim to get an effect with people (F.e. Marketing industry)
o Ensure that this has an effect on people
• Relational approach:
o No sender and receiver
o Rooted in sociological theories: system theories
o Society consists of systems and subsystems (media, organization, law)
o Systems need to collaborate with each other to reach their goal
o Systems theory: communication can be established between and within systems
• Interpretative approach:
o Based on social constructivism: people construct through communication
o A construction of the mind
o What we know and see is constructed through communication
o Information is not received through direct information but rather collected
through communication
o Every individual has different interpretations of a specific organization through
different outlets of information they've collected
o Constructing images of reality
o Sense-making is an interactive process
• Critical approach: what should communication of an organization look like
o Normative theory: the other four stated what it should look like
o Communication can also establish power (get support from other people)
o Really look at how communication can contribute to an open/egalitarian society
o Aim to create a society that is free of power inequalities
Corpus: to form into a body; what or who somebody is
Corporate communication: A management function that offers a framework for the
effective 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.
• If the goal is to create one distinct identity for a company, it is essential to combine all
aspects in the company (Public relations, marketing, human resources)
• Communication professionals exercise all the efforts to ensure a single identity for a
company
o This is vital in order to stand out within this saturated media environment
• Aim to maintain favorable reputations with stakeholders, but also the general public
o This can aid in attracting wealthy/helpful people and investors
Aim for Corporate communication: to oversee & coordinate all communication of
employees and departments
• Corporate communication creates a mission and vision for how the company should
become
o Usually is the "About us" section of a company's website
o This should steer communication effort
• CorpCom is strategic as the department of CorpCom contributes to an organizational
goal
Historically, CorpCom was not strategic in the sense that they didn't have a say in what the
positioning within the company was (that was saved for the CEO)
Corporate reputation: the collective evaluation of an organization established over time
• Relates closely to image
• Induced through either communication or past experiences
• This is a collective effort as it takes multiple evaluations into consideration to make a
decision
• This is established over time because it can take a while for a company's reputation to
be built up
o But can also happen quickly in the case of unethical measures
Why are rankings important?
• It attracts people (f.e. with UvA being ranked number 1 uni for Media
studies/Communication makes people believe the school is a good place)
• Not only organizations but sectors and people (public figures, CEO) can also have
reputations
Parents of Corporate communication: Public relations
• Heavy dependence on marketing but required additional free publicity to gain public
opinion
,Organization: a group of people working together to reach a common goal
• Organizations exist mainly because the goal cannot be achieved individually
• Need to form a collaboration between multiple people
• Communication allows for collaboration
Organizations are seen as containers that puts people together to achieve a goal.
• Organization exists apart from communication
• People identify with the organization, but even if they didn't communicate they would
still be part of the organization
Communication is really at the essence of what an organization is; without communication,
there wouldn't be an organization.
• F.e. with a store: if the employees don’t communicate, they wouldn't be able to know
how to function within the organization
Organization AS Communication:
• When people communicate, they form decisions, interpretations, symbols,
negotations etc. (YouTube video under Week 1 required readings)
• All of these aspects summarize what an organization is
• It's a more organic way of understanding what an organization is
• Organizations CONSIST of communication
CCO: Communicative Constitution of Organizations
Approaches to understand how communication works/reason why organizations
communicate:
• Informative approach: simple information transmission between a sender and receiver
o Easiest way of communicating
o Who says what to whom through what channel? (Shannon & Weaver model)
o Aim to assess which channels you need to reach your target audience
o How do you devise a message that your target audience will understand?
o Create a package of information and throw it to another
o Sometimes called a conduit
• Persuasive approach: acknowledge that communication is intended to have an effect
on people
o Want certain perceptions to get across
, • F.e. a company wants to be seen as high-tech
o Has a certain goal
• NGO want to persuade people to eat healthier
o Aim to get an effect with people (F.e. Marketing industry)
o Ensure that this has an effect on people
• Relational approach:
o No sender and receiver
o Rooted in sociological theories: system theories
o Society consists of systems and subsystems (media, organization, law)
o Systems need to collaborate with each other to reach their goal
o Systems theory: communication can be established between and within systems
• Interpretative approach:
o Based on social constructivism: people construct through communication
o A construction of the mind
o What we know and see is constructed through communication
o Information is not received through direct information but rather collected
through communication
o Every individual has different interpretations of a specific organization through
different outlets of information they've collected
o Constructing images of reality
o Sense-making is an interactive process
• Critical approach: what should communication of an organization look like
o Normative theory: the other four stated what it should look like
o Communication can also establish power (get support from other people)
o Really look at how communication can contribute to an open/egalitarian society
o Aim to create a society that is free of power inequalities
