Synopsis of the topic

Communication is known as the sharing of information, thoughts, and ideas, and in a similar pattern communication technology can be thought of as the use of knowledge, tools, and skills for the purpose of facilitating communication and making it easier, more economical, and more efficient.

Internet has transformed the way society and businesses communicate. It eliminates the barrier of distance and time.

Intranet is a private organization’s network, using internet protocols, used to share information and communicate in a safe and secure mode. The use of this technology helps the organization to develop an effective internal communication.

Blogs enable people to read ideas and statements and share the same information on a common forum. These statements can help people to understand the company’s objectives, services, products, and add comments to these statements.

Voice over Internet Protocol is software that uses the internet to transmit voice and other forms of digital sounds over the internet. This technology helps organization to communicate effectively by saving on travelling costs, managing time, and sharing of strategic information in short period of time.

Pod cast is a digital media file, or a series of such files, that is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers. These are easily accessible by the Internet users and can easily be viewed. The organizations are using pod cast to inform their constituents about their actions.

Instant Messenger is a common communication tool with businesses and the common masses. It instantly helps you convey the message and get the necessary feedback in form of a reply.

Personal examples

The use of Blackberry cell phones by executives has completely changed the communication arena. It is used as a mini computer that enables a user to view and send emails, checking the appointments, making and answering calls and the most important thing communicating with the organization for updating themselves about the latest news.

My cell phone keeps me attached to my parents who in a different place than me. It helps me to be in constant touch with my friends through SMS (short messaging service). By connecting a data cable, I can even access the internet, check my mails, and reply to them.

Additional resources

- Google’s official blog provides information related to its culture and products.
Google’s official blog: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/

- Kami Huyse, (2007), Top 10 risks for corporate blogs, [blog], Communication Overtones, URL: http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com/2007/02/top-10-risks-for-corporate-blogs.html

Synopsis of the topic

Stephen P. Borgatti identified five organizational trends that influence the workplace of the 21st century. These trends also have an effect on workplace communication.

Globalization:
Companies today want to expand their operations globally. They want to have access to many different markets in different countries. The key benefit of global organizations is the ability to exploit regional differences in customers’ needs and production capabilities, such as worker expertise, costs, government aid and so forth.

Diversity:
Diversity is considered both a supporting factor of innovation, and a source of conflicts. Management and employees need to cope with different styles of interacting, dressing, presentation, and physically appearance in a multicultural company.

Flexibility:
Flexible organizations are the ones in which organization systems, processes, and people are able to respond differently to different situations. By being flexible, the corporations have fewer detailed rules, greater autonomy, and special job schedules for mothers.

Flat:
The levels in the hierarchy are disappearing. Communication is fast in flatter structures. This structure helps the company for speedy exchange of information and cost reduction. Better communication between management and workers, less bureaucracy, easier decision-making and better team worker are few of the advantages of the flat structure.

Networked:
Direct communication across unit and firm boundaries enhances the speed of decision-making. Many companies outsource activities that are not their core competencies. If they decide to offshore, they have to establish a network with their service providers in the other countries.

Personal examples

Diversity:
In the MBA program at IUP, students come from all over the world. It reflects how organizations are today: people who have to work together have different backgrounds, different cultures, and different working experiences. It is a chance to work together because we learn a lot from each others.

Networked:
To travel from France to Pittsburgh, PA, I booked a flight through Air France’s website. But I flew in a Delta Airlines plane between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh because Air France doesn’t have direct flight to Pittsburgh and doesn’t have any domestic flight inside the US. Thanks to this networked alliance, I was able to book the entire trip on the same website without worry. It has made my reservation easier.

Additional resources

- An example of diversity is Microsoft which is committed to diversity for better performance.
Microsoft’s official website: http://www.microsoft.com/about/diversity/default.mspx

- Google allows its employees to play at work. The workplace is more than a place where people work, it is also a place to meet other people and have fun.
Google’s official website: http://www.google.co.in/intl/en/plex/index.html

Synopsis of the topic

Natural disasters cannot be avoided but there are many crises (human error, negligence, malicious intent) that planning could have prevented in the first place. Human-induced crises include cases in which the company is at fault and cases in which the company becomes a victim. According to Ray O’Rauke, here are the crisis characteristics: an element of surprise, insufficient information, the quick pace of events, and an intense scrutiny.  

Crises from the past 25 years:

1982: Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol Recall. It turned a disaster into a triumph for the company. The company removed potentially deadly products from the shelves, decided to try to save the brand rather than come out with a new identity for the product, and reacted in a carrying and human way.

1990: The Perrier Benzene Scare: is an example of how not to handle a crisis. The company relied on the media to communicate its story, and there was a lack of internal communication and global coordination.

1993: The Pepsi-Cola’s Syringe Crisis. The company showed concern for the public and demonstrated resoluteness in getting to the bottom of the problem. It skillfully leveraged two other critical constituencies: the government and the media.

Crisis and the Internet:

Demonstrating genuine efforts to educate consumers and safeguard against threats is an important first step for a company to rebuild the trust many employees have lost in recent years, troubled by the potential threats of online transactions. Internet can make the voice of one individual louder than that of a major company.

How to prepare for crises:

The company must assess the risk, plan for crisis (use brainstorming), determine effect on constituencies, set communication objectives for potential crisis, analyze channel choice, assign a different team to each crisis, and plan for centralization.

Communicating during the crisis:

The company must get control of the situation, gather as much information as possible, set up a centralized crisis management center, communicate early and often, understand the media’s mission in the crisis, communicate directly with affected constituents, remember that business must continue, and make plans to avoid another crisis immediately.

Personal examples

In class we discussed the crisis of Coke India in 2003. Coke India was blamed to have pesticides in its Soft drinks. In this context we talked about how the crisis is to evaluate, how well prepared Coke India was, to deal with this crisis, and if Coke India could have avoided the crisis. Afterwards, we discussed recommendations of action, for the long- and the short-term, and which problems should be addressed first.

Another example is the Salmonella crisis at Sheetz, caused by tomatoes on the subs, in 2004. Sheetz acted really fast in searching for the cause of the Salmonella virus, and after detecting it in the tomatoes, they withdrew all tomatoes from circulation. After that they bought new tomatoes from a new supplier and the CEO in person, made himself a sandwich, put the tomato on it, and ate it in front of the press. This was a good step towards regaining the consumers trust.

Additional resources

- Hans-Juergen Bucher, (2002), Crisis communication and the Internet, [www page], First Monday, URL: http://www.firstmonday.org/Issues/issue7_4/bucher/index.html

- Bernstein Crisis Management, is a 13-year-old national consultancy providing the full range of crisis management services: vulnerability assessment, planning, training and simulations.

Website: http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

- It seems impossible to plan for crises you can’t even imagine. But a set of surprisingly simple tools can demolish mental barriers—and help managers think about the unthinkable.

Ian I. Mitroff and Murat C. Alpaslan, (2003), Preparing for Evil, [www page], Harvard business review, URL: http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/hbr/articles/article.jsp?ml_action=get-article&articleID=R0304J&ml_page=1

Synopsis of the topic

From 1970s, business coverage in the media started to change. The private sector has become much more public because the public realized that business had a tremendous effect on their lives.

“Getting lots of ink” means lots of articles written about the company.

Building better relations with the media implies conducting research for targeting media:  Press releases are overused by public relations executives, organization should reserve mass-mailed releases for stories that they are sure will have a wide audience. Find out who the right journalists are for a given story is what works better. Then it implies responding to media calls, preparing for media interviews, gauging success, and maintaining ongoing relationships.

To build a successful media relations program, companies must involve media relations personnel in strategy, develop in-house capabilities, and use outside counsel sparingly (ask them to create press or video releases).

Developing an online media strategy involve extending company’s media relations to the blogosphere (take blogs seriously, act fast, do not dismiss requests for interviews and information from bloggers), and handling negative news effectively (contact lawyers if needed).  

Personal example

I remember the scandal when the French President walks out of an interview with US CBS television news show 60 Minutes. Lesley Stahl made the mistake of asking Nicolas Sarkozy about his wife Cecilia, repeatedly, which Nicolas saw as disrespectful, so he abruptly ended the 60 Minutes interview. It illustrates a big mistake of the person in charge of the media relations for Nicolas Sarkozy. He should have made sure that any personal subjects will be getting onto and prepare Nicolas Sarkozy for this kind of questions.

NewsGuy2005, (2005), Sarkozy Walks Out On 60 Minutes, [video], YouTube, URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkapbaK32PM

Additional resources

- Here is a website in charge of coordinating the media relations of Kellogg’s company:

http://kelloggs.mediaroom.com/

- Charlene Li, (2007), New ROI of blogging report from Forrester, [www page], Groundswell, URL: http://blogs.forrester.com/charleneli/2007/01/new_roi_of_blog.html

- Paul Gillin, (2008), New Media, New Influencers, and Implications for Public Relations Profession, [pdf], Journal of New Communication Research, Vol 2, URL: http://www.instituteforpr.org/files/uploads/NewInfluencer.pdf

Synopsis of the topic

A communication audit is the best way to assess the effectiveness of a company’s internal communication. Studies show that management must provide information to employees and listen to them because it favors employees’ connection with the company’s vision and they are more willing to accept changes.

Both corporate communication and the human resources departments in large corporations have someone in charge of internal communication. Some companies integrate its public relations and internal communication functions to keep messaging consistent across all the audiences.

Implementing an effective internal communication program implies to communicate up and down, to make time for face-to-face meetings, to communicate online (notice that the use of multiple channels offers the best potential for success), to create employee-oriented publications, to communicate visually, to focus on internal branding (aimed to create emotional ties among employees), to consider the company grapevine (an informal communication network including everything from private conversations between two employees to the latest anecdotes shared in the cafeteria).

Personal examples

When I was in internship, I received a journal from the company I worked for every month. I made me feel as a part of the company. In this journal, the latest changes were explained and some articles focused on some divisions within the company. It made me understand the corporation’s strategy and the corporation’s vision.

This company used another way to communicate with us: weekly meetings. My company organized weekly meetings were people from one team expound their work in the company to all other employees in the company and the top management was always here. It created situation where we were able to communicate easily with them and raise problems or interrogations we had.

Additional resources

- Cisco, (2007), Coca-Cola Enterprise Accelerates Executive Communications, [pdf], URL: http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/wp/CCE_CS_0905.pdf

- The Center for Excellence in Communication (CEC).

CEC’s official website: http://www.comcec.com/public/intern_1.html

- Shel Holtz, (2007), Managers And Lousy Internal Communication, [www page], Managersnewz, URL : http://www.managernewz.com/managernewz-21-20070806ManagersandLousyInternalCommunication.html

Synopsis of the topic

Any corporate advertising campaign should be strategic and consistent. Corporate advertising is the paid use of media that seeks to benefit the image of the corporation as a whole rather than its products or services alone. A company’s marketing department is responsible for all product-related advertising and pays for such ads whereas corporate advertising falls within the corporate communication area.

Categories of corporate advertising are image advertising, financial advertising, and issue or advocacy advertising.

The bigger the company, the more likely it is to have a corporate advertising program. Corporate advertising helps to increase sales, to create a stronger reputation and to recruit and retain employees.

Personal examples

I agree that corporate advertising helps to recruit and retain employees: I was working in an enterprise which had a good corporate campaign (the one with Tiger Woods), and it made me very proud when friends of mine told me they liked the ad. I was also proud of the values it vehicle: high performance, quality, and professionalism.

Another example of corporate advertising, are maybe also the TV advertisements for universities in the USA. In France I have never seen any commercial for a university. In the USA universities are promoting their university, with the purpose of attracting new students.

Additional resources

- Association of National Advertisers (ANA).

The Association of National Advertisers is a representative body for the marketing community in the United States of America.

ANA’s official  website: http://www.ana.net/

Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_National_Advertisers

- (2008), GE and Cisco Systems Up for Four IR Magazine Awards 2008, [www page], IR magazine, URL: http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=867975

- About Benetton – Our Campaigns.

An interesting article which gives an overview of the advertising campaigns of Benetton, campaigns which don’t make unanimity of all.

Benetton’s official website: http://press.benettongroup.com/ben_en/about/campaigns/history/?t=print

Synopsis of the topic

The identity of a company is conveyed through the name, the logo, the motto and all others tangible assets of a company. It is something objective. On the contrary, the image of a company is the subjective perception from its constituencies. A company has one identity but can have several images. Identity and image are ways to differentiate a company from others. An inspirational corporate visual, a careful corporate branding and a consistent self-presentation contribute positively to corporate identity.

To manage its identity process, a company must conduct an identity audit, set identity objectives, develop designs and names, develop prototypes, launch and communicate on its new identity, and finally implement the program.

A corporate reputation differs from its image because it is built up over time and it is not simply a perception at a given point of time. It differs from identity because it is a product of both internal and external constituencies. Scandals have shown the importance of a good reputation.

In everything a corporation communicates, the most important thing is to be consistent.

Personal examples

Identity is very important for a company, especially in the recruitment process. Last year, I was looking for an internship and I made a lot of researches to find the company which matches the best with my personality. I surfed on their websites, inform me about their values, and even look at they ads. The image I made of them helps me in my final choice. I finally chose a company from which I shared the values and I was proud to be part of this company which is very important for me.

A reason why reputation is crucial for a company stands in the fact that it impacts hugely customers’ purchases. In my case, I was looking for a mp3 player. I was told that Apple has a very good after sale service and that its products were very competitive. That is why I chose to buy a more expensive product instead of buying a cheapest one. I wanted to be sure to make a good investment. And I was right: my device broke few days after and it was replaced immediately by a brand new one.

Additional resources

- The evolution of the NBC, coca-cola, McDonald’s logos through the years.

Killian Burns, (n.d.), Logo morph, [video], You Tube, URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c20kQzdVEcA

- MillwardBrown Optimor, (2007), 2007 Brandz – Top 100 most powerful brands, [pdf], URL: http://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/optimor/Media/Pdfs/en/BrandZ/BrandZ-2007-RankingReport.pdf

- Shelly Branch, (2001), Philip Morris’s Ad on Macaroni and Peace, [www page], Wall Street Journal, URL: http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/public/philipmorris.html

Synopsis of the topic

This chapter outlines the three components of the communication process: the organization, the constituencies, and the message. The communication process is an ongoing process. It works as a circle. Formulate the organization strategy implies the organization to set measurable objectives, resources (money, human resources, time), and diagnosing the organization’s reputation. The company must also analyze the constituencies: who they are, what they think about the organization and what they know about the communication of the organization. Employees are brand ambassadors (e.g. Nike). Analyzing the constituencies help the company to set the communication strategy. Then the organization must set the structure of the message.

Personal examples

Using the right channel to the right moment for a message is really important even in our every day life. Last time I try to reach one of my friends, I sent her a sms with my cell phone, asking her if she wanted to go out in the evening. Without any answer from her, I thought she had other plans for the evening and went out with other friends. The problem was that she did not get my message because her cell phone was broken. I should have tried to reach her with another mean of communication such as a phone call. It would have been more appropriate.

Another personal experience happened not long ago in class. We had to do an “elevator presentation”, which means that you have 30 seconds to deliver a certain message. It was not easy in such a short amount of time to deliver the message you want, make sure that you deliver the message interestingly and also structure the message in a way, that people would understand the message. I think, the biggest problem was the nervousness, and because of that I could not get across the message as confident as I wanted it to. However, I think you can get control over it by practicing.

Additional resources

- The Art of Rhetoric by Aristotle.

(n.d.), Rhetoric (Aristotle), [www page], Wikipedia, URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetoric_(Aristotle)

- Scoot Shimamoto, (1994), Why your business needs a communication strategy, [wwwpage], Los Angeles Business Journal, URL: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5072/is_n18_v16/ai_15484063

- Martin Roll, (2004), 10 steps for successful corporate branding, [www page], BizCommunity.com, URL:

http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/82/4254.html

Synopsis of the topic

Attitudes toward American business have always evolved through the years. In today society people have a negative perception of business, thinking that business do not strike a fair balance between profit and the public interest. Companies cannot ignore such thoughts because customers are more and more powerful, especially with the growing use of the new technology. Indeed, the Internet helps anti-globalization organizations to know more about companies’ practices and to organize actions such as boycotts or strikes if necessary. For these reasons companies must be really focus on today’s customers expectations.

To stay competitive, companies must recognize that the world is constantly changing, they must adapt their behavior without changing what they stand for, they have to do efforts to handle problems they encounter, and finally they must keep the corporate communication connected to their strategy.

Personal examples

As a consumer, I am concern in my everyday life to promote or not social responsibility of enterprises by buying or not their products. I pay attention to the products I buy and if the company make charitable actions. For example, if I buy a bottle of water from Nestlé, the company will give a part of what it earns to African villages which seriously lack of water or help them to improve their sanitary conditions. Acting this way, Nestlé shows that it adapts its policy to the changing environment.

Another personal experience of mine with the changing business environment is the globalization of businesses. During my internship in a company which provides consulting services in information systems, I was in a team which had 5 persons in France and 5 others persons in Maurius. Thanks to the NTIC we were able to communicate as if we shared the same desk. It was the first time I realized how far the process of globalization was.

Additional resources

- The anti-globalization movement: what is “Culture jamming”?

Culture jamming is an intriguing form of political communication that has emerged in response to the commercial isolation of public life.

Center for Communication & Civic Engagement, (n.d.), Culture jamming, [www page], URL: http://depts.washington.edu/ccce/polcommcampaigns/CultureJamming.htm

- Nike Parody, an example of culture jamming.

A group of Vienna-based artists and activists opened up an information center on the historic Karlsplatz to “inform” the public about the renaming of the plaza into Nike Plaza and the construction of a gigantic red swoosh sculpture at the adjoining park.

Website: http://nikeground.com/

- An explanation of the term “Global Village”.

(n.d), Global village (Internet), Wikipedia, [www page],

URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_village_(Internet)