Lecture 1 (6/2/2025)
Strategy theory
Classical strategy – long-term planning
Recent strategy – the continuous change; more emergent and incremental
Deliberate strategy
A top-down approach in which management specifies the strategy and the actions based on
an analysis of the situation
Emergent strategy
Learning what works in practice by testing
Integrated communication
An umbrella term for all types of goal-oriented communicated initiated by organizations to
address any kind of stakeholders and audiences
The strategic process
1) Strategy formulation and revision – strategy is not only a silent resource allocation,
but a communicative intervention that gives sense to actions
2) Strategy presentation – actors involved are made aware of the strategy and its
requirements and affordances
3) Strategy execution, implementation and operationalization – resource allocation;
committing resources to operational procedures or tactical dispositions
Strategic communication: Definitions
Strategic communication encompasses all communication that is substantial for the survival
and sustained success of an entity. It is the purposeful use of communication by an
organization or other entity to engage in conversations of strategic significance.
- Alignment between what happens internally and externally, between formal and
informal communication, between intended and unintended messages and signals
Entity
Humans and non-humans can be entities
- CEOs of companies, but also companies; Representatives, politicians; Celebrities
Entity: Criteria
1. Sphere of responsibility
2. A contested purpose
3. Limited resources - no-one has all the resources - you need to be strategic
Communication theory
The body of theories that constitute our understanding of the communication process
All communication: What is it?
An interactive process of meaning construction
- Three lenses (Van Ruler)
o One-way process
§ Communicator→Message→Medium→Receiver→Effect
§ No feedback expected
o Two-way process
§ Receivers interpret and respond to the message
§ Feedback is expected
o Omnidirectional Diachronic process
, § Definition: An interplay between social actors, related to each other in
the context of developing their meaning over time, thereby
constructing society and ideas about how organizations should
behave
• The meanings created in a narrative are interpreted
• Media publishes the issue and gives opinion
• OMNIDIRECTIONAL
o Communication is NOT an interaction between two or
more people
o Interaction with the message - BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION
• DIACHRONIC
o Not static – meaning develops over time
o Communication is never truly finished
• Seen as a helix (goes around and around)
Messaging and listening
Owned, paid and earned media
- Owned media – own media channels (most control)
- Paid media – advertising & SEO
- Earned media – organic publicity
Conversations and actions
- Actions also have meanings, not just conversations
External and internal arenas
Strategic vs. non-strategic communication
What makes an issue a strategic issue?
1. Resource-driven – does it demand allocation of high-value assets?
o Investing in AI takes a lot of money
2. Competition-driven – does it mean we are in competition with someone?
o Investing in AI can make a company more competitive and advanced
3. Environment-driven – does it challenge the organization to adapt to ecological shifts
or political disturbance?
o AI has a big impact on environment
o EU regulations
, 4. Risk-driven – does it escalate into a high-risk scenario?
o AI can be run by racist or discriminatory algorithms
5. Innovation-driven – does it introduce ground-breaking changes that disrupts existing
working ways in the company?
o AI is innovation
6. Engagement-driven – does it leverage free resources to signal priorities and
influencer stakeholders?
o AI says you want to be ahead of the market
7. Operationally-driven – does it overhaul how an organization operates?
o AI changes workflows and asks for new ways of working
Definition of AI
An AI system is a machine-based system that generates outputs from the input it receives,
such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or
virtual environments.
Definition of AI: Guzman and Lewis
AI refers to efforts to understand human intelligence by recreating a mind within a machine
and to develop technologies that perform tasks associated with some level of human
intelligence
The differences between the two definitions
- Two different perspectives:
o Definition 1: Demystification approach
§ Tries to avoid human-life comparisons
§ Focuses on AI as a system (processing inputs to outputs)
§ Treating AI as a system, rather than an intelligence entity
o Definition 2: Anthropomorphic approach
§ AI is an attempt to recreate human intelligence
§ Building a mind within technology
§ Why do this?
• Legacy of science fiction movies
o Effective motications – the fundamental human need
to control our environment
General AI
Technology that functions as humans do
- Doesn’t exist yet, only in science fiction
Narrow AI
AI that excels in only one topic of AI (Example: Face recognition)
Autonomy and adaptiveness
- Autonomy – the degree to which a system can learn or act without human
involvement
- Adaptiveness – the degree to which a system can continue to evolve after initial
deployment
Mind matters: Two dimensions of the mind
1. Agency – to act with intentions (free will)
o Thought, self-control, memory, morality etc.
2. Experience – to feel and sense
o Personality, pleasure, hunger, fear, embarrassment etc.
à Important to what we see as important
Strategy theory
Classical strategy – long-term planning
Recent strategy – the continuous change; more emergent and incremental
Deliberate strategy
A top-down approach in which management specifies the strategy and the actions based on
an analysis of the situation
Emergent strategy
Learning what works in practice by testing
Integrated communication
An umbrella term for all types of goal-oriented communicated initiated by organizations to
address any kind of stakeholders and audiences
The strategic process
1) Strategy formulation and revision – strategy is not only a silent resource allocation,
but a communicative intervention that gives sense to actions
2) Strategy presentation – actors involved are made aware of the strategy and its
requirements and affordances
3) Strategy execution, implementation and operationalization – resource allocation;
committing resources to operational procedures or tactical dispositions
Strategic communication: Definitions
Strategic communication encompasses all communication that is substantial for the survival
and sustained success of an entity. It is the purposeful use of communication by an
organization or other entity to engage in conversations of strategic significance.
- Alignment between what happens internally and externally, between formal and
informal communication, between intended and unintended messages and signals
Entity
Humans and non-humans can be entities
- CEOs of companies, but also companies; Representatives, politicians; Celebrities
Entity: Criteria
1. Sphere of responsibility
2. A contested purpose
3. Limited resources - no-one has all the resources - you need to be strategic
Communication theory
The body of theories that constitute our understanding of the communication process
All communication: What is it?
An interactive process of meaning construction
- Three lenses (Van Ruler)
o One-way process
§ Communicator→Message→Medium→Receiver→Effect
§ No feedback expected
o Two-way process
§ Receivers interpret and respond to the message
§ Feedback is expected
o Omnidirectional Diachronic process
, § Definition: An interplay between social actors, related to each other in
the context of developing their meaning over time, thereby
constructing society and ideas about how organizations should
behave
• The meanings created in a narrative are interpreted
• Media publishes the issue and gives opinion
• OMNIDIRECTIONAL
o Communication is NOT an interaction between two or
more people
o Interaction with the message - BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION
• DIACHRONIC
o Not static – meaning develops over time
o Communication is never truly finished
• Seen as a helix (goes around and around)
Messaging and listening
Owned, paid and earned media
- Owned media – own media channels (most control)
- Paid media – advertising & SEO
- Earned media – organic publicity
Conversations and actions
- Actions also have meanings, not just conversations
External and internal arenas
Strategic vs. non-strategic communication
What makes an issue a strategic issue?
1. Resource-driven – does it demand allocation of high-value assets?
o Investing in AI takes a lot of money
2. Competition-driven – does it mean we are in competition with someone?
o Investing in AI can make a company more competitive and advanced
3. Environment-driven – does it challenge the organization to adapt to ecological shifts
or political disturbance?
o AI has a big impact on environment
o EU regulations
, 4. Risk-driven – does it escalate into a high-risk scenario?
o AI can be run by racist or discriminatory algorithms
5. Innovation-driven – does it introduce ground-breaking changes that disrupts existing
working ways in the company?
o AI is innovation
6. Engagement-driven – does it leverage free resources to signal priorities and
influencer stakeholders?
o AI says you want to be ahead of the market
7. Operationally-driven – does it overhaul how an organization operates?
o AI changes workflows and asks for new ways of working
Definition of AI
An AI system is a machine-based system that generates outputs from the input it receives,
such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or
virtual environments.
Definition of AI: Guzman and Lewis
AI refers to efforts to understand human intelligence by recreating a mind within a machine
and to develop technologies that perform tasks associated with some level of human
intelligence
The differences between the two definitions
- Two different perspectives:
o Definition 1: Demystification approach
§ Tries to avoid human-life comparisons
§ Focuses on AI as a system (processing inputs to outputs)
§ Treating AI as a system, rather than an intelligence entity
o Definition 2: Anthropomorphic approach
§ AI is an attempt to recreate human intelligence
§ Building a mind within technology
§ Why do this?
• Legacy of science fiction movies
o Effective motications – the fundamental human need
to control our environment
General AI
Technology that functions as humans do
- Doesn’t exist yet, only in science fiction
Narrow AI
AI that excels in only one topic of AI (Example: Face recognition)
Autonomy and adaptiveness
- Autonomy – the degree to which a system can learn or act without human
involvement
- Adaptiveness – the degree to which a system can continue to evolve after initial
deployment
Mind matters: Two dimensions of the mind
1. Agency – to act with intentions (free will)
o Thought, self-control, memory, morality etc.
2. Experience – to feel and sense
o Personality, pleasure, hunger, fear, embarrassment etc.
à Important to what we see as important
