Corporate Websites: Key Drivers of Communication

Corporate Websites: Key Drivers of

Communication

A Dissertation Submitted for the Partial

Fulfilment of the Programme

Post Graduate Diploma

(Media and Communication)

By

Saili Kocharekar

School of Media and Communication

Whistling Woods International

Mumbai, India

December, 2014

Research Guide:

Dr. Meenakshi Upadhyay

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Saili Kocharekar, a

management student at the School of Media and

Communication, Whistling Woods International has

completed her final semester dissertation titled

‘Corporate Websites: Key Drivers Of

Communication’.

The dissertation is submitted in partial

fulfilment of the requirements of Post Graduate

Diploma (Media and Communications) conducted by

the Department.

I have guided her on the subject and methods

during the research project.

December, 2014

Mumbai.

Dr. Meenakshi Upadhyay Mr.

Rahul Puri

Research Guide

Head of the Department

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to express my gratitude to all those who

have been a contributor to my research in all

dimensions. The contribution of each and every

respondent, faculty, family and friends holds

great importance to me.

I would also like to take this opportunity to

sincerely thank my professors without whose

valuable insights this research would not have

been possible.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Chapter

No.

Chapter Name Page

No.

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 9

3. Research Design 22

4. Observation and Analysis 26

5. Conclusion 94

6. Further Scope of Research 95

7. Bibliography 96

8. Appendix 99

ABSTRACT:

Press releases, events, media tours, major conferences,

media rounds, social media marketing etc are common

practices that PR professionals never give a miss to and

are always attentive about. However, in the bargain to

creating a hype around the campaign and in the efforts to

be there everywhere, sometimes PR professionals do tend

to overlook the nooks and cranny of the brand and thus

lose out a major chunk of business or visibility or

favorability or whatever the objective behind Public

Relations. These little mistakes comprise of updating the

websites on regular intervals and taking extra efforts to

give them an appealing and interactive look, theme or

design. In an age when everyone and everything is going

digital, we have assumed digital to be just Face book,

Twitter, Pinterest, You tube and SEO. Digital also means

nurturing the corporate website since websites are the

direct face of the company and create an image of the

company in the minds of viewers.

In this study, I'm trying to understand the role of

websites in Communications or Public Relations

activities.

INTRODUCTION:

Organizational communicators and scholars play a vital

role in the development of the World Wide Web as a

relationship building platform. Websites provide a

controlled medium through which organizations can

communicate with the stakeholder publics and the media.

On the other hand, websites provide a channel to the

community through which they can view and understand the

organizations in a better way. The body of researches

dedicated to studying the Internet is still on the rise.

The general concurrence by most public relations

practitioners is that the internet and world wide web

offer organization one more tool to reach its audience.

(Kent, Taylor, & White, 2003)

The study suggested that certain design features are

necessary in the website if an organization is keen to

using websites for building relations and that

organizations were already aware about the value of

websites. The challenge lied with the fact that companies

considered the task of web site design and maintenance to

be of second priority instead of it being an A list job.

(Kent, Taylor, & White, 2003)

Internet came to India in the early 1990s. ERNet (a

division of Department of Electronics) and NICNet

( division of statistics) are India's first internet

service providers. Then came VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam

Limited) and STPI ( Software Technology Parks of India)

whose services were restricted only to limited software

exporters. On 15th August 1995, VSNL launched Gateway

Internet Access Service in order to provide public

internet access and since then portrayed itself in the

press as India's only legitimate Internet Service

Provider. (Joseph, 2006)

Public Relations as a profession in India, is a product

of the 20th century. However, public relations as a

communications process, is as old as 5000 years of our

old civilization. It can also be traced back in the

Indian mythologies. India's 2 great epics of mythology,

Ramayan and Mahabharat, had a common character named sage

Narada, who was the first mythological public relations

personality. His job was to disseminate information

between Gods and Goddesses as well as the rulers and the

people with an aim of establishing universal peace and

prosperity. Indian public relations therefore ages back

from the mythological time with respect to origin of

public relation techniques. Later, on 04th August, 1914,

when Britain declared the First World War on Germany, the

Government of India took the press in confidence by

keeping them updated with the world war. The government

set up numerous publicity boards throughout the country

with a central publicity board headquartered in Shimla in

1914, under the then Editor of Times of India, Sir

Stanley Reed. Reed was also the head of the Central

Publicity Board and looked after the publicity and

propaganda of the first world war. This was when public

relations in India was in its infancy and did not have a

distinct identity. (Reddi, 2009)

The Public Relations scenario in India has undergone a

transformation. It was a simple world of information

display and many local PR firms strived to manage it

through relationships and quid pro quo. But now a host of

international firms have arrived on Indian banks and are

making efforts to treat public relations as a more cost

centric and assertive industry, thus giving this industry

a more strategic approach with an expensive budget. The

public relations business in India is pretty young.

(Dharmakumar, 2011)

An article in business standard claims that there is

ample opportunity in the Indian PR Industry because the

line between public relations, advertising and digital

has blurred. As result companies are investing in

creative and digital tools. PR professionals create

customized communication strategies and content on

traditional as well as new media to reach wider audiences

and monitor stakeholder sentiments. Thus the industry

needs to reposition itself from traditional public

relations deliverer to strategic communications

consultant. Meenu Handa who is the director of corporate

communications of Microsoft company, believes that PR

will be identified as a strategic tool for two reasons —

One being the implosion of digital and social media -

which includes two-way engagement, and the PR industry

has always functioned in such environment whereas the

second reason being the imperative need for organizations

as well as government, businesses and NGOs, to be

extremely transparent in their communication in order to

build and retain trust. The article forecasts digital

investments to flourish in the future and thus

implementing a social media strategy is fundamental for

any public relations campaign. (Publicis, 2012)

The US evolution of public relations at global platforms

started with Gruing and Hunt in 1984 with their

description of 4 types of public relations models: The

press agentry/publicity model, Public information model,

the two way asymmetric model, two way symmetrical model.

Based on this Western background, the evolution of public

relations in India can be classified under 3 broad

models. Like the US models, Indian models too have

definite objectives for communication but with a

difference. These models are as follows:

1. The state of propaganda (propaganda model): From 1500

BC to the end of the East India Company rule in 1858.

Public relations in India, immerged out of propaganda.

The purpose of propaganda model is to promote an ideology

or a rule with specific aims among the public. Great

religious leaders like Mahavira, Gautam Buddha, Adi

Sankara; Ancient rulers like the Mauryan and Mughal

empire; East India Company fall in this category. They

tried to influence the mindset of people in order to

instill faith in respective directions and to promote the

ruler or leader's image. However, communication here

remained one way.

2. The era of publicity (publicity and public information

model): The British India rule from 1858 to 1947. In

1858, Queen Victoria took reins of the Indian Governance

and later the British Government ruled India till 1947.

Lord Canning was appointed first Viceroy of India in 1858

and had kept the Indians in dark by refraining them from

information. However, when the British realized that they

wanted to stay in India not just for trade and money but

for eternity, they wanted to take local people into

confidence and in order to achieve this, they kept the

newspapers informed about official information so as to

woo the locals. Then came the Gandhian Era of Public

Communication in 1919. Public relations or public

communications played a major role in achieving Indian

Independence. From 1919 to 1947, Mahatma Gandhi launched

4 major mass agitations against the British Government.

Mahatma Gandhi is regarded as the Father of the nation,

Man of the 20th century and one of the greatest mass

communicator of the world. Public Relations Voice, an

Indian PR professional's journal named Mahatma Gandhi as

the Father of Indian Public Relations, in its first

inaugural issue. His communication strategy was based on

ITM theory which is a great example of two way

communication process in public relations. I represents

Interpersonal media, T consists of traditional folk and M

stands for mass media. Gandhi made excellent use of the

above combination in order to reach one and all in India.

His communication techniques are used even today.

3. The age of public relations ( two way asymmetric

public relations model): Independent India, 1947 to this

day. Public relations in India saw new light in 1958 when

a national professional body called Public Relations

Society of India (PRSI) was created to encourage

identification of public relations as a strategic

management function. On 21st April, 1968, the first ever

Public Relations Conference was held in New Delhi where

all professionals of this field assembled. This

conference had a 'Professional Approach' theme and

manifested the foundation of professional public

relations in India. The New Industrial Policy in 1991

introduced economic liberalization, privatization and

globalization in India which gave rise to global public

relations for multinational companies. (Reddi, 2009)

Definition of Public Relations:

The planned and sustained effort to establish and

maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an

organization and its publics - The Chartered Institute of

Public Relations, London.

Public Relations helps an organization to adapt mutually

to each other. It is an organization's efforts to win the

cooperation of groups of people and helps organizations

to interact and communicate effectively with their key

publics. - Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

Public relations is the management of two way

communication process between an organization and its

publics to promote the corporate mission, services,

products, reputation and gain public understanding- Dr.

C. V. Narasimha Reddi, Editor of Public Relations Voice.

Public Relations is the attempt by information,

persuasion and adjustment to engineer public support for

an activity, cause, movement or institution - Edward L.

Bernays. (Reddi, 2009)

Evolution of Internet:

The internet is central to the vision of India with

respect to the IT industry. Technologically, internet

offers a variety of platforms for person to person,

business to consumer and business to business

interactions. In most nations, the expansion of internet

presence has established a base for extensive

communications infrastructure. On a social level,

internet in its very nature, is a technology designed for

the masses. Internet penetration rates represent a symbol

of a nation's technological position. The pace of reform

fastened considerably in the latter half of 1990s with

Internet playing an integral role in the entire change of

systems. Eventually after VSNL, the competition for

internet service providers in India grew to such extent

that the nation witnessed a dramatic growth of the

internet as measured by number of users, number of ISP

presence points and number of cities served. (Wolcott,2005)

Importance of Websites:

Organizations often use the company website as a tool for

communicating with the public, disseminating information

about events, new services and other such subject areas

of public interest. Some companies have a dedicated area

for PR communication that includes all updates of press

releases, online press kits etc in digital format.

(Stark, 2014)

A website having positive press from journalists and

bloggers can distinguish itself from other competitor's.

Researchers in public relations and marketing have

proposed that internet has encouraged a new passage for

capturing specialized knowledge and insights for

developing communications between the organization and

its public. Online communications is more receptive to

two way communications and portrays a feeling that 'we

talk and we also listen'. (Grunewald, Dua, & Petrausch,2008)

Everything is changing with the advent of the online

world such that each aspect of public relations

discipline must be reconsidered. Internet mediated PR

requires a drastically different approach at strategy

level. We have entered a world of search engines and

world wide web. There is hardly any defense mechanism

behind which an organization can hide itself from the

power of internet. This has also invented more ways for

information exchange between organization and its public.

The gap is becoming porous by each day. (Phillips &Young, 2009)

1. Case Study of Ferrier Hodgson:

When the Global Financial Crisis hit in 2008, the

fortunes of Australia’s accounting industry altered as

well as their general business confidence. In most cases,

these drastic economic changes highlighted a necessity to

remain abreast in the market competition; and for

corporate accountancy group, Ferrier Hodgson, this took

the form of a rebrand.

Pernilla Linden, Research Analyst at Ferrier Hodgson in

this case stated that the company wanted to move from a

static traditional home page which considered only for

the basic needs of one-way communication towards a more

interactive and dynamic website at the same time

maintaining its core business. The new brand was about

portraying the company as specialists in a wide variety

of industry sectors, offering a broader set of services,

and making positive contributions to the industry.

While the group had a very clear strategy for its new

brand, things began to unravel when it came time to apply

their new image to the old website. Instead of looking

clean and fresh, the new website looked messy as a result

of previous patch setup of the website. The next thing

the company decided was to replace the old website with a

new one in order to do justice to the new brand.

While the firm had already been sharing industry

knowledge and insights with its email database, of more

than 15,000 subscribers, the company wanted to make this

information easily accessible on the website and

considered this to be a key priority. They also wanted to

present appealing and engaging content since variety of

people would visit the site for various reasons.

Ferrier Hodgson thus began to plan and develop the new

website in June 2012 and completed launching it in March

2013. Since its launch, the company noticed 20% increase

in mobile trafficking with many mobile users accessing

the website to hunt for contact information. Along with

promising signs of increased user engagement levels with

a whopping 15% increase in page views per visit and 10%

increase in visit duration times, the new site provided

huge time savings for internal teams managing the

website.

The new site adopted a multichannel strategy by

incorporating a twitter feed as well as social and share

options everywhere in order to encourage users to connect

with the brand on other social networking platforms. This

also led to an increase of twitter followers from 0 to

150 which includes a rich quality of people with one

third of them being industry media representatives. This

also resulted to a notable increase in the amount of PR

coverage generated through this channel. Many company

publications were picked up and quoted in the business

media as a consequence of this. The company thus geared

up for a better reputation and client base.

Ferrier Hodgson is an accounting firm, established in

1976 and specializing in Corporate Advisory, Forensics,

Corporate Recovery and Management Consulting. (Linden,2013)

This case study is a clear example of how a company paved

its way into the media limelight just with the help of

redesigning and enhancing its corporate website. Thus it

is a lesson learnt that if a company focuses well and

inculcates a strategic approach, website can act as a

crucial tool of communication with the public.

2. Case Study of Expedia:

The new home page of online travel agency Expedia was

unveiled on 25th March, 2014 which was considered to be

the world’s rapid transition to mobile web browsing and

which ditches a plethora of cluttered modules from the

old site. Expedia in its new website chose to display a

larger photography across its home page to incite

wanderlust. In the Business Week article, Expedia chose

the larger photography because it “makes people more in

the mood” to travel.

The new design also boosts the prominence of a

“scratchpad” function that saves one’s past searches and

prices. According to a study by Expedia, it says that

people search for a flight at an average of four dozen

times before they book it thus making the previous fare

and flight data more important. (Bachman, 2014)

This case study clearly indicates that companies need to

design their websites in sync with the company's need and

image and that websites are the most sought after source

of information collection for customers and viewers all

over.

3. Case Study of Next Stop Design:

This is a different case which argues the use of Internet

PR and explains how it can complicate the objective at

the same time emphasizing the wide reaching attribute of

the internet tool of website and how effective it can be

if put to use with well planned efforts. The case also

points that online PR efforts can never be reliably

targeted to specific groups.

A website named www.NextStopDesign.com was launched by

Next Stop Design, a project funded by the U.S. Federal

Transit Administration in 2009. The intention was to test

the crowd sourcing model as an alternative, online public

participation tool for a transit planning exercise. The

purpose behind Next Stop Design was to encourage people

to put forward bus stop shelter designs in order to setup

real bus stop transfer points in Salt Lake City, Utah.

There was a system where participants were able to vote

for the designs and the one with highest average scores

was declared the winner. However as the competition

proceeded, many international participants were drawn to

the project, and many were from outside the state of

Utah. The three winning designs were from designers in

Greece, India, and South Dakota.

The project needed was deliberately promoted to the local

audiences of Utah through traditional channels, new media

channels, and word of mouth keeping in mind the local

scope of the bus stop design challenge and was targeted

to the locals who were frequent travelers of bus as

opposed to architects and designers who summed up major

size of participants.

The article thus explains how practitioners of PR should

well consider the art of 'Online Community Management'—a

little-understood, rarely taught, and rapidly growing

niche in PR.

Brabham claims that PR practitioners must have a crisis

PR plan in place to manage a variety of unexpected

publics and issues that arise with online campaigns.

Unexpected publics may turn out to be beneficial to a

campaign, pushing it in unexpectedly positive directions.

Or unexpected publics may, on the whole, affect a

campaign in both good and bad ways, as in the Next Stop

Design case. (Brabham, 2012)

LITERATURE REVIEW:

The internet was originally designed just for the

distribution of information. The key to success of online

business is to build and manage reputation, communicate

information and respond favorably to the demands of

online public. Public Relations on the internet has a

much broader role to play as compared to that of the

traditional PR. Since any aspects of online community can

affect its public relations, information must be managed

with utmost care. Internet marketing is also called as e-

PR. On the internet, one directly reaches the audience

without being at the mercy of a journalist of ad space

provider, via website, email messages and discussion

group contributors. (Haig, 2000)

The Third Annual Social Media News Survey conducted by

TEK GROUP International underscores the growing

importance of consuming and sharing news on digital

platforms. According to the reports, nearly 70% of the

survey sample reported sometimes (34%), very often

(22.4%) or all the time (10%) use a corporate news

website when following or sharing news. And almost 75% of

survey respondents indicate they sometimes or frequently

visit a corporate web site after learning of a news story

through social media channels. Responses for use of press

releases for the same tasks were nearly identical.

(Momorella, 2012)

Bowman states that, a good website is the heart of any

small business marketing and online public relations

effort. All other online public relations and marketing

activity is tied to your (or your client’s) Website. Good

sites require thoughtful planning to develop a

hierarchical structure that is easy to navigate. Search

engines reward a steady flow of new content, including

specific topic pages, press releases, blog posts,

newsletters, podcasts, video and updates from social

media sites. (Bowman, 2012) Thus the author is of the

opinion that just having a website is not enough. They

need to be thought upon in a strategic and structured

manner such that they are user friendly to the viewer and

thus help to connect with the target audience.

Websites are frequently used by corporate professionals

as a tool for information dissemination. the tool

selection decision by managers of corporate

communications is made with the aim in building positive

brand structures in the minds of target group, according

to Marcos. This decision is made among corporate

communication tools, that is, all mass media identified

with the corporate brand including company owned

properties, events, exhibitions, sponsored properties or

websites or a combination of these which will help carry

creative content to the target audience. Once a decision

making model is developed, it is then applied to the

company's problem statement through a range of major

corporate communication tools like mass media

advertising, corporate design, events, exhibitions,

sponsorships and websites. All companies run corporate

websites and regularly organize and update corporate

events in them. (Ormeno, 2007)

The author of the book 'Raising the corporate umbrella"

claims that websites today are important source of

information and that they can provide valuable

forewarning of a potential takeover bid and thus are

beneficial for building and enhancing investor relations.

The investment bankers and other investors leave behind

the so called 'slug trails' when they have websites to

search for information. (Kitchen & Schultz, 2001)

The article by Peter and Elspeth, analyses 16 corporate

web sites for interactive features. The low levels of

interactivity recognized in the sites suggest that online

public relations was not utilized as much it could be or,

on the other hand, that it’s already as interactive as it

needs to be. This study establishes that, the corporate

sites of well known companies have relatively little

interactivity.

There are many categories of web sites, such as

communication/corporate, information/news, financial, e-

commerce/shopping, entertainment, educational, personal,

and governmental however, this study contains the study

of only corporate sites as they are the site category to

which PR techniques have most applicability. The primary

function of a corporate site is most likely reputation

management, via communication rather than to sell a

particular product or service. (Gustavsen & Tilley, 2003)

The author of the book 'Business Communication' talks

about a term called website press rooms as one of the few

potential tools used for invoking media relations, the

others being press kits, A/V news releases and Matte

release. He explains that while some media still prefer

hard copies for press materials, marketers are well

provided with an online press room that not just provides

company contact information but also caters to various

media needs. (Debasish, 2009)

Companies devote substantial sums of money to

establishing and updating their internet presence and

websites are now becoming a prime corporate communication

tool. Use of websites by companies has increased because

increasing number of constituencies are going online for

sourcing information and the list includes investors,

potential employees, consumers and journalists. As a

consequence of this, companies have started using

websites with a rapid growth in order to convey more

information, provide more online services, and include

personalized features and interactive content. This has

lead companies to spend increasingly on building

corporate websites. (Ormeno, Managing corporate brands,2007)

A website was chosen as an effective tool to converse

large amounts of information by making it more accessible

for an official 2020 Taupo-nui-a-Tia project in mid 2002

and the website experienced an average of around 500

visits per month. (Stewart, 2004)

David says that it doesn't matter how much you choose to

deploy web content to reach your buyers, the place that

brings everything under one roof is a content rich

website. He also states that there are many examples

where site owners are so concerned about technology and

design that totally forget that great content is the key

to the success of any website. The best of websites often

put light on content in order to bring together buyers,

market, media and products under one comprehensive roof

where Content is the King, the President and the

Pope as well. A great website is a combination of every

other online initiative like podcasts, blogs, news

releases etc. Interestingly, content rich website creates

the online image of your organization to delight,

entertain and most importantly inform all the buyers.(Scott, 2007)

A corporate website is typically an informational website

by either a business or any other private enterprise like

charity or nonprofit associations. Corporate sites are

different from ecommerce and other portals since websites

usually touch on all comprehensive aspects of the

company's business. Every company that communicates with

its audience needs to own a corporate website or at least

try to incorporate its features into other websites.

(Ogunjobi, 2009)

As per the definition provided by Online Business

Dictionary, a website is a virtual location on World Wide

Web, containing several subjects or company related web

pages and data files accessible through a browser. Each

website has its own unique web address, also called as

Uniform Resource Locator (URL), which can be reached

through an internet connection. The opening page of any

website is usually called a home page and this page

includes hyperlinks or connecting links to other pages on

either the same company site or other site(s). A single

web server may or may not support multiple websites.

(Dictionary, 2014)

Tourish and Hargie say that a corporate website should

not just be easy to navigate and provide relevant

information but also represent the company image.

Richness in graphics, sound, picture, navigational

functionalities and interactivity has given internet its

own distinctive image. Therefore, content needs to be

designed accordingly. Organizations design their websites

in one of the 3 main formats: Static, Broadcast or

Interactive. (Tourish & Hargie, 2004)

Young claims in his study that large firms are now using

their public websites to communicate with and attract not

just customers but also a more diverse set of suppliers

with an attempt to increase B2B market place. (Young,2005)

It is quintessential for any website to first define the

primary cause or purpose behind starting the web site.

This will help the website to be more effective,

efficient and usable. Many times, the sites are so

explorative of the owner's needs and choice that they

tend to neglect the needs of the site users to such an

extent that they become boring and consequently have very

few visits. (Ogunjobi, 2009)

An ideal website should have a unified look and feel or a

theme that matches its corporate identity. It usually

includes a home page, search engine, about us, contact

and address details, navigation bar, product and service

offerings, mission and vision statements, directorates or

founders, a news section, list of clients, annual

reports, a site map, a blog, a splash page, an embedded

search engine, events section, FAQ section, career

opportunities within the company, feedback form, privacy

policies, CSR activities etc. However, there is no

standardized format for a website. (Ogunjobi, 2009)

Though it is difficult task to assemble the right mix of

content for a website, it has now become much easier with

the help of websites built by competitors. Imitable goals

for a website project would be professionalism and

navigation and means of evaluating performance of all web

pages with respect to number of views. (Ogunjobi, 2009)

There is no specific business model that may be attached

to a corporate website since the basic objective is to

primarily inform about the organization than to sell a

product. The term corporate website should therefore be

strategically planned out from the purpose of the site

instead of other qualities like the business structure,

market structure, nature or design of the website.(Ogunjobi, 2009)

Website is the online face of your company and is the

foremost priority to set online reputation. E-PR strategy

directs you to your goal and how to reach the goal and

this is majorly concerned with your website, other

factors being email and social sites. (Haig, 2000)

In order to create great web content, you must understand

the discussions of site visitors wish for the company

website and then satisfy those conversations, engage them

enough to continue and return on your site and meet

business goals. Good web writing answers all questions of

the site visitor, lets the visitor grab and go where they

want, encourages further use, markets successfully to

site visitors, improves search engine optimization,

improves internal search and is accessible to all. A

content strategy means that the content put up on the

website must be planned, coordinated, updated regularly,

managed and maintained with someone in charge and taken

necessary care of when it becomes outdated. A content

strategy is essentially about messages, media, style and

tone. Content is everything that you put on your website

right from text to illustrations to charts, graphs,

tables, forms, PDFs, videos, podcasts, blogs, forums and

other social media links. (Redish, 2012)

Site visitors immediately react to the look of a website

even before reading a word. You may miss the chance to

converse with them if the first look turns them off and

thus design continues to be important throughout any

online conversation. Information design like layout,

spacing, fonts, color combination etc can either invite

or impede your site visitors. For successful

conversations, the design and content must be developed

together with universal usability. (Redish, 2012)

All the text on your web page should be alterable as per

the user's need, larger or smaller type size. All content

is important and hence every content should possess this

feature. While considering colors, always remember to

work with your brand colors, avoid using light on dark

for main content, keep the background clear and keep the

contrast high. Again, space concern is a major factor for

building websites on mobiles. With limitation of space on

the small screen, designers realize the value of letting

the words go. Typography is also a major factor to be

considered while designing content for website. (Redish,2012)

It has become an inacceptable concept these days to

imagine a reputed organization without an official

website of its own. Websites provide such immense online

interactions between the organization and its publics

that we wonder today of how companies conducted

businesses in the days sans internet. This technology

provides various options to improve public relations

mission of any organization. The strategic portrayal of

information in websites is very similar to the writing

pattern of other types of public relations. the

organization's objectives, understanding of target

audience and the message to be designed for them,

identifying influential sources, effective strategies and

an evaluation plan in hand should be known to any public

relations professional before designing the website.

Online writing needs to adopt a crisper writing style as

compared to print or broadcast writing. Public relations

writers have found that writing for websites demand more

conciseness, easy scannable design, interactive and

informal approach yet with an objective tone rather than

a promotional one. Many web users simply read just the

first sentence of a paragraph and thus effective web

pages often include carefully crafted sentences on the

subject for each paragraph. A good way to hold readers

could be by providing a short summary on the topic and a

hypertext link to the full text. (Smith, 2012)

 In the relatively brief period leading up to today,

public relations has been defined in many different ways,

the definition often evolving alongside public relations’

changing roles and technological advances. Under

the "Public Relations Defined" banner, PRSA initiated a

crowd sourcing campaign and public vote produced the

following definition:

“Public relations is a strategic communication process

that builds mutually beneficial relationships between

organizations and their publics.” (PRSA, 2011)

Some of the most common and widely accepted tools of

communication include Press Releases, Press Conferences,

Letters to the editor, media tours, banners and posters,

articles, newsletters, publications, testimonials, radio,

TV, Press Interviews, seminars or symposiums, events and

sponsorships, opinion leaders, websites, blogs, social

networks to name a few. (Pejcinova, 2009)

Public Relations Theories:

I have used two most important theories of public

relations in order to study my topic in concern. One is

the two way symmetrical model of communication and the

other being dialogic communication by Kent and Taylor.

Other models include interactivity and transparency in

communication. These models will help me derive the

importance of websites as a platform for two way

communication and the fact that this information

transferred from both ends should not just be transparent

and true in order to build a healthy and beneficial

relationship between the organization and its public, but

also the value of interactive websites.

1. Grunig's two way symmetrical model:

James E. Grunig, a renowned public relations expert and

guru, possesses around 20 years of experience in the

field of public relations. There were hardly any

communication plans, tactics, strategies or programs for

public relations in the earlier days. Grunig's theory

added various theories to the existing body of knowledge.

These theories proved to be beneficial to public

relations in many ways. Grunig introduced the four

models of Public relations, namely, publicity model,

public information model, one-way asymmetrical model and

two way symmetrical model. Out of these, I have chosen

the two-way symmetrical model of communication to study

my subject. This model uses communication to negotiate

with publics, resolve conflicts and promote mutual

understanding and respect between the organization and

its public(s).

Multiple definitions of interactivity make practical

application of the concept difficult. Particularly in the

arena of online public relations, where content is likely

to be the province of the specialist public relations

practitioner and design under the control of the web

builder, miscommunication about what constitutes

interactivity can be a real barrier to producing a

website that serves its PR objectives. Interactivity

refers (in various ways) to the levels of reciprocity

provided by a site during the process of using it. A well

designed highly interactive site may sometimes also be

more useable but the two are not synonymous. To assist

public relations practitioners and web designers to speak

the same language when discussing interactivity, this

article provides an overview of interactivity theory and

suggests a definition that both parties might find

useful.

Interactivity is the bridge to better communication on

the web as it considers another viewpoint that often

differs from the prevailing wisdom of management.

Discovering people's opinion about the organization is

becoming more important as internet has earned a

significant place in everyone's life today. (Grunewald,Dua, & Petrausch, 2008)

Interactivity is measure of convenience level or the

degree of immediate feedback, which comprises the second

component of openness. The higher interactivity of the

site, the greater is the demonstration level between

agency and its clients. Interactivity assesses the extent

to which principles of transparency are clickable for a

website visitor. Interactivity is based on the following

parameters: security and privacy; contacts and

accessibility; organizational information; issue

information; and citizen consequence or responsiveness.

Privacy and security includes information of the

organization's site and what it offers for easy clickable

email addresses or contact address or phone numbers etc.

This data helps the user or visitor to be able to reach

the company through custom mails, contact numbers,

address of head offices and branches etc.

Secondly, content information inspects the extent to

which the organization permits users to reach out to

various staff members or chat rooms and discussion

forums.

Thirdly, organizational or operational information

examines how efficiently users can find out about the

organization's structure or wider issue areas or

downloadable attributes or accessing achieved

information. This element may include downloadable

brochures or feedback forms and so on.

Fourthly, issue information checks for interactive means

to access information related to various issues

circulating inside and outside the organization,

something related to a press room or a media log in

option or something around that.

Lastly, the concept of responsiveness experiments for

interactive capacity to provide responsive services to

users like different languages, access and submit forms

or easy navigation of the website or accessing

disabilities etc. (Garson, 2005)

2. Kent and Taylor's dialogic communication theory:

This theory was invented by Michael Kent and Maureen

Taylor in the year 2002 in order to emphasize the

importance of communication flow on internet to be more

transparent and true.

An annual survey is conducted by the Cyberspace Policy

Research Group (CyPRG) since 1995, based at George Mason

university and the University of Arizona, where all

national level web operations, all over the world, in

order to assess how extensively use of web in government

organizations be made. Also, CyPRG, since 1997, has been

assessing how web technologies have been implemented in

each organization of the country. In order to conduct

this research, CyPRG team in their study explored the 3

main components of website openness, namely, website

interactivity, website transparency and website density.(Garson, 2005)

Transparency is an organization's openness towards

sharing information about how it operates. Transparency

is enhanced by using a two way responsive dialogue

system. Today, transparency extends far beyond prudent

and accurate reporting. Online sources of data have

significantly encouraged transparency in a company's

operations regardless of its desire or reluctance to

interact with its stakeholders. (Duhe, 2007)

Maximum transparency is the best PR. (Meier, 2009)

Bilateral communication is the one that takes place

between the organization and its stakeholders and is also

called as dialogue or dialogic communication. The

importance of reflecting this type of communication in

public relations has helped develop a dialogic theory of

public relations. The Kent and Taylor approach for

mounting this theory is based on the principle that

‘dialogue’ means a particular type of effect

consequential from what they call as dialogic

communication procedures. This outcome is marked by its

ethical and mutually-satisfying nature. They were later

followed by other researchers like Pearson (1989) in

presenting dialogue as an essentially honest outcome of

communication. (Lane, 2012)

Transparency in websites refers to information

accessibility for directing a large scale social system.

It is a layman's basic understanding of the organization

as portrayed in the information on the site. There are

five elements of web based transparency outlined which

reveal important information about web activities of the

organization, the depth of access it allows, the depth of

knowledge about processes and the level of attention to

citizen response it offers. These elements are ownership;

contacts and accessibility; organizational or operational

information; issue information; and citizen consequences.

The first in the list is ownership which analyzes how

engrossed the agency is with the web site. The objective

is to determine if the agency itself is customizing the

material for the site or has pushed the content related

decisions to any other party.

Secondly, contact information helps to assess if

individuals or positions inside the organization can be

easily accessible or reachable by visitors and to know if

the addresses of companies and branches are updated for

general public access.

Third one being organizational or operational

information, emphasizes on the information about the

organization's operations or its role, structure, goals,

other businesses, sister companies or parent company or

related associations etc.

Issue information tests for policy oriented information

about the organization and if users are exposed to

information on crucial issues the company is influenced

with. This information usually caters to newsletters,

brochures, press releases, events etc.

Lastly, citizen consequences helps to examine the extent

to which the organization demonstrates what rules, laws,

instructions, forms and regulations viewers are needed to

comply with in order to access information from the

websites. (Garson, 2005)

Scholars, since a long period, have been using the term

dialogue while discussing effective public relations.

Pearson’s work on dialogue as a practical public

relations strategy is the most primitive essential

accomplishment of the concept. In his 1989 doctoral

dissertation on dialogue as a tool of public relations

ethics, Pearson wrote: “It is morally right to establish

and maintain communication relationships with all publics

affected by organizational action and, by implication,

morally wrong not to do so.” Many public relations

intellectuals have referred to dialogue as “dialectic,”

“discourse,” and a “process” over the years. The idea of

dialogue has its ancestry in various disciplines like

philosophy, psychology, rhetoric and relational

communication. Philosophers and rhetoricians have always

considered dialogue as the base of all ethical forms of

communication and one of the core means of sorting out

truth from dishonesty and deception. Theologian Martin

Buber is measured by many to be the father of modern

concept of dialogue. Buber suggested that people should

view others not as objects or the "I You" but as equals,

that is, the "I Thou" in his works based on reciprocity,

mutuality, involvement and openness. In case of

relational communication, the concept of dialogue has

been worked on length as a framework while considering

ethical and fulfilling relationships.

Johannesen identified a few major characteristic features

of a dialogue, namely, genuineness, accuracy, empathetic

understanding, unconditional positive regard,

presentence, spirit of mutual equality and a supportive

psychological climate. In public relations, generally,

dialogue refers to communicating about issues with

publics. As Gruing and White suggest, public relations

may set up a dialogue between tobacco companies, smokers

and non smokers. According to Heath, dialogue includes

statement and counter statement or something close to a

debate. The concept of dialogue as a character of moral

or ethical communication exists even before the concept

of symmetrical communication by decades. A hypothetical

change from public relations emphasizing communication

management to an emphasis on communication as a tool for

negotiating relationships has been taking place for a

while. Because of the disintegration of the mass media in

an impulsive manner, by an increase in the number of

media outlets such as cable television, Internet etc,

public relations is rediscovering interpersonal channels

of communication. This is an exciting time in public

relations theory development phase since these

alterations signify tremendous opportunities for further

theory development. (Kent & Taylor, 2002)

The term transparency has been used to relate various

aspects of business management from crisis and employee

management to the role of the CEO in transparent

communications. The Merriam-Webster dictionary (2008)

has defined being transparent, as being willingly

understood and "characterized by visibility or

accessibility of information, especially concerning

business practices”. Further, Bennis et al. (2008)

described transparency as “the free flow of information

within and between the organization and its many

stakeholders, including the public”. Although advocates

of online communication claim that Internet provides the

ultimate aid to transparency and free flow of

information, where as some others suggest that the volume

of information does in no way signify the clarity of

information. On the contrary, a truly transparent

communication provides not just the information but also

communicates such information as clearly and accurately

as possible as well as seeks feedback from stakeholders.

(Auger, 2010)

It's difficult to have an operational approach to dialog

communication in public relations or to reduce it to a

series of steps, dialogue does consist of several logical

assumptions. An extensive literature review of the

concept of dialogue in communication, public relations,

philosophy, and psychology exposes five important

principles of dialogism. These principles are the first

step towards developing a public relations theory of

dialogue. Before discussing the features of dialogue in

detail, it is important to understand that dialogue is

not a universal remedy. A dialogic approach cannot

provoke an organization to behave ethically and in many

cases it also proves to be inappropriate. Also, a

dialogue can be put to both moral and immoral ends.

Gunson and Collins, for example, point out, that just

because an organization and its publics create “dialogic”

communication structures, does not mean that they are

behaving dialogically. If one partner undermines the

dialogic process through manipulation or exclusion, then

the final conclusion will not be dialogic. Dialogue is

not a process or a series of steps but a product of on-

going communication and relationship building. Since

dialogue involves “trust,” “risk” and “vulnerability,”

dialogic participants and/or publics can be manipulated

by fraudulent organizations or publics. In such cases, it

is always better to rely on strategic communications for

achieving the interests of the organization or the public

in question than consider a dialogic approach to

communication. (Kent & Taylor, 2002)

In case of independent foundations, the Internet provides

a prospective channel for dialogic communication where

consequent effectiveness can be built. However, merely

creating a web site will not aid in improving

communication. If not constructed properly, with clear,

user-friendly features and modes of interactive feedback,

the site may instead create increased frustration and

time wastage for potential customers. Organizations

should be strategic in designing their websites to

improve responsiveness to stakeholder information needs.

Yet the website itself does not provide communication,

merely information. As Kent and Taylor in 1998

explained, that technology does not create or maintain

relationships, it is how the technology is used that

enhances organizational public relationships. Supporting

this view, Hill and White’s (2000) research indicated

that the Internet was seen as complementary face-to-face

communication, particularly for its e-mail function that

facilitated communication at any time. The use of this

dialogic tool developed an existing organization-public

relationship. (Auger, 2010)

Dialogue as an orientation includes 5 features:

mutuality, or the recognition of organization or public

relationships; propinquity, or the temporality and

spontaneity of interactions with publics; empathy, or the

supportiveness and confirmation of public goals and

interests; risk, or the willingness to interact with

individuals and publics on their own terms; and lastly,

commitment, or the extent to which an organization gives

itself over to dialogue, interpretation, and

understanding in its interactions with publics. (Kent &Taylor, 2002)

In this study however, I would be focusing more on the

last feature of dialogue called commitment in order to

conduct my study. Commitment is the last principle of

dialogue. Commitment describes three characteristics of

dialogic encounters: “genuineness and authenticity,

“commitment to the conversation,” and a “commitment to

interpretation.”

Genuineness and authenticity: Dialogue is always honest

and forthright. It involves revealing one’s situation in

spite of the possible effects of fraud and deception or

nondisclosure. This is not to say that conversers are

careless, but rather that they attempt to place the

positive attributes of the relationship above the good of

the client or organization. Indeed, organizations and

publics that deal truthfully with one another come up

with better mutually helpful solutions and results.

Commitment to conversation: The second feature of

commitment is to commit to the conversation itself.

Conversations are held for acquiring mutual advantage and

understanding and not to win over the other or to exploit

their weaknesses. This assumption most precisely

represents Heath’s long time call for organizations and

publics to communicate in zones of meaning. Indeed,

sharing the same significance or working toward common

understandings is crucial to dialogic relationships.

Commitment to interpretation: Since dialogue can be very

individualistic, it requires interpretation and

understanding by all parties involved. Dialogue

necessitates that all participants are willing to work at

dialogue to understand often-diverse positions. But

commitment to interpretation also means that efforts are

made to grasp the positions, beliefs, and values of

others before their positions can be equitably evaluated.

Genuine dialogue, involves more than just a commitment to

a relationship. Dialogue occurs when individuals or

sometimes even groups agree to set their differences

aside in order to understand others’ positions. Dialogue

is not equivalent to agreement, rather, it is more

similar to inter-subjectivity where both parties attempt

to understand and appreciate the values and interests of

the other. Dialogic commitment is not new to public

relations, just like other dialogic principles noted

before. Public relations having to negotiate

relationships with publics holding diverse positions is a

common notion. Undeniably, for organizations to build

community relations needs not just commitment to

conversations and relationships but also genuineness and

authenticity, which comprises of all potencies for

ethical public relations. (Kent & Taylor, 2002)

RESEARCH DESIGN:

Research Methodology:

I would be using qualitative as well as quantitative data

analysis methods. While using the qualitative methods, I

would adopt content analysis technique for interpreting

the meaning and message in speech and text of website

content. Structure of content used, imagery and choice of

words would be considered through linguistic study and

textual analysis if possible.

Usability feature by the target audience is an essential

factor considered while conducting the website analysis

that paves the ways for creating a favorable website.

With the elevating innovation in the internet, more

attention has been focused on new technologies like

social media and fewer website usability studies are

being conducted. Other public relations practices that

use the Internet comprises regular content updates, scope

for user interactivity, and continuous developments in

website functionality and design with technological

advances. (Hilyard, Hocke, & Ryan, 2011)

Based on the readings and lessons learnt from above

literature review, I have set certain parameters on which

the list of top 10 websites are tested with respect to

Information features and Participation features .

Extracted from the study conducted by CyPRG research,

these elements or parameters are as follows:

Parameters for Transparency: Information features:

1. About the company

2. Mission

3. Vision

4. Values

5. Subsidiaries/ alliances/ parent company/ associate

companies

6. Products

7. Services

8. News room/ Media centre/ Press room/ Media gallery

9. Careers/ Recruitment/ Join Us

10. Investor/ stakeholder/vendor/shareholder relations

11. Financial Information /balance sheet/ quarterly

results/ financial performance

12. CSR/ Corporate sustainability/ Social initiatives/

Foundations

13. Annual Reports/ Corporate Presentations/

Newsletters / brochures

14. Research and Development/ Change/ Insights/

Innovation

15. Resources/ Technology/ process etc

16. Board of directors/ Employees/ Organization structure

etc

17. Awards/ Achievements/ Recognitions

18. Quick Links

19. Share Price/ Information of shares

20. Right to Information Act

Parameters for Interactivity: Participative features:

1. Registered address

2. Contact Number

3. Email address of company/ directors/ point of contact

4. Log In for Customers / Media/ Employees/ Visitors/

Investors/ Vendors

5. Feedback form/ queries section

6. FAQs/ Question and Answers

7. Official Blog

8. Social Media

9. Complaint or grievance section

10. Search Bar

11. Store Locator/ Branch Locator/ ATM Locator

12. Language options

Sampling:

The research chooses a simple random sampling method to

conduct the study. The sample size includes a list of top

10 companies listed under Bombay Stock Exchange, 2014

which has been picked up from moneycontrol.com under

market capitalization criteria as well as from Economic

Times:

1. TCS - Tata Consulting Services Limited

2. ONGC - Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited

3. RIL - Reliance Industries Limited

4. ITC - Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited

5. Infosys - Infosys Limited

6. CIL - Coal India Limited

7. HDFC Bank - HDFC Bank Limited

8. SBI - State Bank of India

9. Sun Pharma - Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited

10. ICICI Bank - ICICI Bank Ltd

The study tries to examine these companies who are the

market leaders in India, and also termed as the best in

terms of communicating their products, services, culture,

value, worth and so on to their target groups through

strategic public relations efforts. The reason behind

restricting the study to just 10 websites is majorly

because it includes detailed content analysis on the

basis of above mentioned public relations theories and

the parameters derived from them.

Research Problem:

This study examines the top BSE top 10 companies'

websites as a tool of communication for Public Relations.

Research Question:

How Websites of Top Indian Companies act as a Tool of

Communication for Public Relations activities?

Hypothesis 1:

Indian corporate websites lack dialogic communication

Hypothesis 2:

Indian corporate websites are equipped with dialogic

communication

OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS:

1. TCS:

The home page of Tata Consulting Services Limited is

loaded with heavy animated effects and so it takes a

little while to load. The page is a combination of blue,

white, black and grey colors with pinch of yellow

highlights. Though the site is loaded with heavy

information on almost each and every aspect of the

company, the words and texts chosen seem to be difficult

to understand and interpret easily. The title names don't

provide a quick gist of the content to the user and may

vary in user's opinions.

Parameters for Transparency: Information features:

1. About the company:

This section is named as 'About TCS' and talks about

power of certainty, global market place, growth

testament, years of experience, domain expertise of the

organization. This title includes a list of other

subtitles like experience certainty, TCS Advantage,

corporate facts, heritage and values, research and

corporate sustainability. Each of these subtitles again

include another list of topics that are explained below.

Experience certainty: This subtitle specifies the user to

experience results, partnership and leadership.

'Experience results' talks about their proven

dependability, maximizing your investment and customized

solutions that deliver. 'Experience partnership' talks

about their working collaboration, dedicated approach and

scaling relationship. 'Experience leadership' describes

aspects like the know-how you need, global expertise

which is applied locally and solutions for the long term.

The TCS Advantage: 'About TCS' also includes 'The TCS

Advantage' which describes the various efforts taken by

TCS to deliver best possible services to its customers

like the customer centric engagement model, global

network delivery model, full services portfolio solutions

and Innovations Labs and Co-Innovation networks to

support business objectives through research based

solutions.

Corporate facts: This title provides information on

various aspects like what the company is, what it offers,

its lineage, history, mission, values, workforce, client

industries, financial info, stock symbols, board of

directors and leadership team, alliances, subsidiaries

and so on.

Heritage and values: This section elaborates on the

history, mission and values of the company.

Research: This sections explains the various problems in

ICT that were solved by TCS Research through two step

process of invention and innovation. It also includes

information on various areas of research conducted;

academic alliance; senior researchers, scientists,

thought leaders in science and technology, TCS research

advisory board; and a list of various technology labs and

domain labs etc.

Corporate Sustainability: The 3 pillars of TCS'

Sustainability Initiatives are to provide sustainable

operations, corporate social responsibility and solutions

to the customers. The section also includes transparent

and ethical governance; awards and recognitions;

corporate social responsibility; environmental targets

and performance; sustainable operations; eco

sustainability services; and corporate sustainability

reports.

Content here seems to be directed more towards the client

than to a general site visitor.

2. Mission:

The mission reflects Tata Group's commitment to help

customers achieve their business objectives by providing

innovative, best-in-class consulting, IT solutions and

services; and to make it a joy for all stakeholders to

work with us.

3. Vision:

No vision specified on the website anywhere. However, the

second part of the mission statement is similar to the

vision statement or a long term mission statement.

4. Values:

The values adopted by Tata company are leading change,

integrity, respect for the individual, excellence,

learning and sharing.

5. Subsidiaries/ alliances/ parent company/ associate

companies etc:

Not much information is provided with this respect,

however, a small section under corporate facts specifies

information on lineage, where it is mentioned that TCS is

a part of Tata Group, one of India's largest industrial

conglomerates and most respected brands. Apart from this,

it also includes a long alphabetically arranged list of

subsidiary companies

6. Products:

This title is called software instead of products,

probably because the company majorly deals in software

solutions. TCS products include Digital Software and

solutions (DS&S) which help to achieve integrated digital

transformation; TCS BaNCS are financial service products

that provide solutions for banks, capital market firms,

insurance companies and diversified financial

institutions; TCS MasterCraft includes numerous suites to

build, sustain, transform, test, mange data, create apps,

technology and measure performance; and TCS technology

Products help to achieve operational efficiency and

optimize time, cost and energy investments.

7. Services:

Services include a wide range from Assurance Services to

Business Intelligence & Performance Services to Business

Process Services to Consulting, Digital, Eco

Sustainability, Engineering and Industrial, Enterprise

Security and Risk Management, Enterprise Solutions, Small

and Medium Businesses, IT and IT Infrastructure Services,

Platform Solutions to Supply Chain Management.

8. News room/ Media centre/ Press room:

This tab offers all latest TCS information and events

conducted across the globe, list of recent press releases

in the media, analyst reports from leading analysts

across globe and news items or latest TCS headlines

around the world.

9. Careers/ Recruitment/ Join Us:

The Career page of TCS website portrays a region wise

segmentation of nations to choose from for recruitment

interests. Once you select a region, the page provides

various information on walk in interviews, registration

forms for fresh trainees and experienced professionals,

disclaimers for and work culture, contact information and

media news. This page was pretty sorted and presented

well.

10. Investor/ stakeholder/vendor/shareholder relations:

This page provides all financial related information that

proves beneficial to the investor like financial results,

announcements, corporate strategy, corporate governance.

corporate sustainability, investor calendar, Investor

FAQ, Stock Information, Analyst coverage, Glossary and a

list of Investor contacts as well. All in all, it covers

almost everything that an investor would want to know.

11. Financial Information /balance sheet/ quarterly

results/ financial results:

They have a list of downloadable consolidated historical

financials from financial year 2004 to 2015 which

includes all income statements, balance sheet, revenue,

profits etc.

12. CSR/ Corporate sustainability/ Social initiatives

etc:

As per the 3 pillars of sustainability mentioned above,

sustainable operations being the first one aims to run

operations in a socially and environmentally sustainable

manner, example, greener infrastructure. CSR initiatives

are driven by various approaches keeping in mind a

balance between corporate economic responsibility and

corporate social responsibility in India and abroad in

areas of literacy, employment, education, health, women

empowerment, rural development, computer training etc.

And they have a dedicated eco sustainability team working

across all industry verticals to provide eco services to

next generation.

13. Annual Reports/ Corporate Presentations/

Newsletters / brochures etc:

Various company newsletters and annual reports are

arranged in chronological starting from the recent with

topic, date, and a gist of content within it. Also they

offers company brochures on the website.

14. Research and Development/ Insights/ Change/

Innovation/ etc:

Insights, here, includes divisions like: Analyze, which

has articles talking about customers and markets

understanding; Digitize, which comprises articles on

delivering digital experiences to customers; Optimize,

that includes articles on elevating business performance;

De-risk which includes articles on safeguarding the

enterprise; Sustain has articles on building sustainable

enterprises; and Perspectives, has articles such as

consulting journal, white papers and other insights.

15. Resources/ Technology/ process etc:

Resources boasts of an extensive collection of

downloadable brochures, case studies, podcasts, videos

and multimedia, newsletters and white papers for

information specific to client needs.

16. Board of directors/ Leadership/ Employees/

Organization structure etc:

TCS has a list of board of directors which is further

divided into non-executive board members which includes

hyperlinks leading to detailed explanations on each of

the designations and people in charge of the positions of

chairman, vice chairman, 8 directors, and executive

board members like the CEO and CFO.

17. Awards/ Achievements/ Recognitions:

Awards and recognitions is separate options under

Corporate Sustainability and boasts various hyperlinks

linking to key awards and accolades received by TCS in

the year 2011-2012 across the 3 pillars mentioned above.

This shows that awards are not well updated.

18. Quick Links:

No Quick Links available for easy reference.

19. Share Price/ Information of stocks:

A separate web page allotted to details on BSE as well as

NSE stock prices in INR with the help of a chart.

Information includes price in INR, Bid in INR, Offer in

INR, Change on day, percentage change, last trade date

and daily volume with respect to both BSE and NSE.

20. Right to Information Act:

No information with respect to RTI Act is available on

TCS site.

Parameters for Interactivity: Participative features:

1. Registered address:

There is no mention of any registered or postal address

on TCS website.

2. Contact Number:

There is no mention of any company specific or corporate

phone number or contact number on the website.

3. Email address of company/ directors etc:

There is a section under Contacts which has email ids of

all media contacts and investor contacts as well as a

separate email address of analyst relations, for talent

acquisitions, for job opportunities and a help desk id.

4. Log In for Customers / Media/ Employees/ Visitors/

Investors/ Vendors etc:

No consumer specific log in option available. Nor any log

in alternative available for media, employees, investors

or vendors.

5. Feedback form/ queries section:

Yes the site does have a common feedback form for all

which suggests the user to fill the form so that TCS can

contact the user later. It comes under Contact Us and the

page asks for user information like name, email, company,

country, phone number, category to consult and how the

user expects TCS to assist further.

6. FAQs/ Question and Answers:

TCS doesn't have a separate FAQ section dedicated to

clients. But they do have an investor FAQ section.

6. Official Blog:

4 major blogging options available within the 'Share'

option. And in order to connect to such apps one needs to

login through Gmail.

7. Social Media:

TCS has a huge list of social media connect under the

'Share' option of around 300 sites where the user can

connect to TCS in the virtual world as well.

9. Complaint or grievance section:

No section for grievance or complaint redresser was found

on this site.

10. Search Bar:

A search bar on the top towards the right side of the

site clearly helps the user to search for information for

easy and quick reference.

11. Store Locator/ Branch Locator/ ATM Locator etc:

No options available for locating the company branches.

12. Language options:

The site communicates only in English language and

doesn't offer to communicate in any other language.

2. ONGC:

Once you open the website of ONGC Ltd, you come across

the logo, the company name and a list of Quick Links, and

then a link at the bottom leading to the corporate

website of ONGC. This site has a very simple look and

appeal with mostly white and maroon colors. The quick

links majorly talk about recruitments, notice, offers and

so on, which hints that the company is on a look out of

urgent recruitment offers. The corporate site looks

simple and easy to navigate and displays the number of

site visitors since Jan 2013 towards the end of the site.

The corporate site also includes information on about the

profile of the company; achievements and awards;

Rajbhasha which has information related to legislation;

Right to Information; Lodge Complaint; and CSR. The Home

page also has a what's new section that displays recent

press releases or news about ONGC. Also this website

offers adjustable font size options according the

viewer's choice where the user can increase or decrease

the text size as required. The website has minor errors

in the depiction of information provided under various

tabs, however, such minor errors can verily mislead the

viewers or visitors.

Parameters for Transparency: Information features:

1. About the company:

ONGC has a tab named 'Company' which talks in detail the

profile of the company, history, vision and mission,

people, ONGC group of companies, organizational chart,

board of directors and information on MoU.

Profile of the company includes information on the global

ranking of the company, India's most valuable public

sector enterprise, energy security, competitive strength,

perspective plan 2030, equity oil abroad, frontiers of

technology, best in class infrastructure and facilities,

the road ahead, value chain integration, corporate social

responsibility, corporate governance, health safety

environment, and human resource. History provides

information about the company since its inception till

today along with a brief synopsis. Vision statement is

short and expressed in one line whereas mission is

elaborated under certain 3 dimensions to reach the top.

They have a section called 'People' which describes the

HR vision, mission, objectives, measuring HR performance,

HR parameters for MoU 2009-2010 and how they have a

motivated team at ONGC. ONGC group of companies portrays

a well designed chart showing the positions and company

logos of refinery, power, value chain, domestic, joint

venture, subsidiaries, services etc. Organization chart

is again a very well presented listed chart that clearly

depicts the company structure with CMD (Chief Managing

Director) as the highest post in the organization

followed by MD and Chief Vigilance Officer, again

followed by a list of 6 main Directors along with their

duties. Then they have a section called 'Board of

Directors' which talks about how the company is managed

and by whom and also displays a picture, the name and the

designation of all the board members. Lastly, this

section has a separate space for information on MoU with

MoPNG 2014-2015 which has just a hyperlink mentioned on

the page and this link directs to a PDF that explains

everything in detail about the MoU.

2. Mission:

The mission of ONGC is firstly to be world class through

excellence, ethics, commitment, culture of trust and

openness, customer delight; second is to be integrated in

energy business by focusing on domestic as well as

international oil and gas explorations, providing value

linkages in other sectors, and creating growth

opportunities; and third to have a dominant Indian

leadership by enhancing India's energy availability.

3. Vision:

Vision of ONGC is: To be global leader in integrated

energy business through sustainable growth, knowledge

excellence and exemplary governance practices.

4. Values:

The site does not mention any specific facts or list of

values.

5. Subsidiaries/ alliances/ parent company/ associate

companies etc:

ONGC group of companies portrays a well designed chart

showing the positions and company logos of overseas E&P,

refinery, power, value chain, domestic E&P, joint

ventures, list of subsidiaries, services, SEZ etc.

6. Products:

No information on products.

7. Services:

Detailed description of services offered by or rather the

functions of ONGC are provided under the 'Functions'

options. They have collected all the functions performed

by the company under this section. It includes HSE

(Health, Safety, Environment) like Environment clearance

efforts and compliance status, business development,

business partners, material management, human resource,

Rajbhasha, Right to Information, Vigilance, Institute of

Drilling Technology and In Touch for the retired ONGC

employees. HSE writes about the HSE policy followed by

the organization, statutory compliance, ISO

certification, corporate environment policy, Renewable

energy, green building, energy conservation, biodiversity

conservation, Mangrove Plantation, Ringal plantation,

efforts for Protection of eco-system, Risk assessment

control, campaign efforts towards maintaining healthy and

safe culture.

Business Development talks about their dynamic presence,

future possibilities and significance of BD to the

organization. Under the title of 'Business Partners',

the website portrays the list of activities and services

in the form of hyperlinks. 'Material Management' includes

a select list of important information on rules and

policies. They have a section called 'People' under

'Human Resource' which describes the HR vision, mission,

objectives, measuring of HR performance etc. A click on

'Rajbhasha' leads you to a new tab which describes the

legislative procedures and protocols in Hindi language.

'Right To Information' illustrates the policies, rule and

regulations, norms, manuals, particulars, duties of

personnel, statements, directories, budget allocation and

expenditures etc. 'Vigilance' guides you towards lodging

of complaint and grievance redresses with respect to

corruption, malpractices and misconduct. By registering

to this site, anyone can file a complaint with the

company for which they have provided a separate login or

registering online option alongside. 'Institute of

Drilling Technology' provides technical information about

the drilling school, e payment options, alliances and

functional areas. 'In Touch' is a section which speaks

about the care taken towards the elders and veterans who

dedicated their productive years for ONGC through medical

facilities and old age felicitation and similar benefits.

No separate category provided under the name of

'Services'. However, the site has mentioned about the

services provided by the board under 'Board of

Directors'. Also the profile of the company describes a

little about the services.

8. News room/ Media centre/ Press room:

A tab called 'Media' possesses 2 main sections, namely,

Press Releases and News. The main tab provides titles

such as press releases, news, media contacts, media

downloadable, gallery and media/blog. However, the

media/blog option is completely absent from the page

whereas media contacts, media downloadable, gallery are

inactive or inaccessible.

9. Careers/ Recruitment/ Join Us:

The "Career" tab provides information on career profile,

notices, results, and HR policies. The career profile

explains career opportunities, methods of recruitment,

Expertise Domains, career growth chart and similar

related information. The HR policy elaborates on the

inherent responsibility organizational transformation and

effective change management. "Notices" provides

information on important company notices and other

correspondences with respect to interview calls, call

letters, walk-in interviews, recruitment, training and

exam related issues. "Results" gives a list of

shortlisted students, results of interviews-exams-test-

and training along with the dates.

10. Investor/ stakeholder/vendor/shareholder relations:

The "Investor" tab provides information on shareholding

pattern, dividend information, AGM speech, presentations,

code of conduct, investors notice and investors contacts.

quarterly information on shareholding distribution is

given under shareholding pattern through hyperlinks.

Various tabs like dividend policy, dividend news,

unclaimed dividend and dividend paid are enlisted under

"Dividend Information". The "AGM Speech" depicts the list

of last five speeches made by CMD in AG Meetings in

transcript format. "Investor Presentation" lists various

presentations made for investors on several corporate

events and occasions with dates. "Code-of-Conduct" leads

you to a downloadable PDF which describes the company

policy for BOD such as vision, mission, ethics-and-

commitment- statement etc. "Investor Notice" has two main

hyperlinks about AGMs conducted in August and September.

"Investor Contacts" includes the contacts of

Institutional Investors and Analysts, Retail Investors,

Registrars, and Transfer Agents.

11. Financial Information /balance sheet/ quarterly

results/ financial performance:

Here, the site calls it "Performance" and includes

information about financial results i.e. audited

financial results of financial years since 1998 to 2014;

financial highlights up to 2014-2015; annual reports from

FY 2004-2005 to FY 2014-2015; and achievements and awards

again has a long list of awards and recognitions received

by ONGC on various occasions for various efforts towards

position, ranking, transparency and so on.

12. CSR/ Corporate sustainability/ Social initiatives:

They have a separate tab called 'Sustainability' under

which they have enlisted detailed reports on corporate

sustainability, CSR, Carbon Management, ONGC energy

center as well as sports. Corporate Sustainability

involves sustainability reports of last 4 years. It also

includes information on National Gas Star program ,

Sustainable Water management, and sustainable reporting

along with a clip on Corporate Sustainability Film 2013.

CSR in ONGC includes 12 focus areas like Education,

Health Care, Entrepreneurship, Infrastructure support,

Environment protection, Protection of heritage sites,

promotion of artisans, women empowerment, water

management, Initiatives for physically and mentally

challenged, sponsorships of seminars and workshops,

promoting sports or sports persons or sports promotion

agencies etc.

13. Annual Reports/ Corporate Presentations/

Newsletters / brochures etc:

They do not have any e-newsletters on the site. However,

they do have annual reports of the last 10 years as well

as Investor presentations on the website. The annual

reports are downloadable either in totality or chapter

wise.

14. Research and Development/ Insights/ Change/

Innovation/ etc:

The site doesn't display any separate information with

respect to change or insights or innovation or R&D.

15. Resources/ Technology/ process etc

They have a section called 'People' which describes the

HR vision, mission, objectives, measuring of HR

performance, HR parameters for MoU 2009-2010 and lastly a

motivated team which includes incentive schemes, training

and development, participative culture, sports, corporate

responsibility, women empowerment to name a few.

16. Board of directors/ Employees/ Organization structure

etc:

Organization chart is again a very well presented listed

chart that clearly depicts the company structure with CMD

(Chief Managing Director) as the highest post in the

organization followed by MD and Chief Vigilance Officer,

again followed by a list of 6 directors such as Offshore

Director, Onshore Director, Exploration Director, HR

Director, T&FS Director and a Finance Director. The

assets, basins, plants, services, institutes and

corporate services provided and allotted to each are

described below in the same chart. Then they have a

section called 'Board of Directors' which talks about how

the company is managed and by whom and also displays a

picture, the name and the designation of all the board

members.

17. Awards/ Achievements/ Recognitions:

Achievements and awards again has a long list of awards

and recognitions received by ONGC on various occasions

for various efforts towards position, ranking,

transparency, highest sports awards, most valuable PSU,

most internationalized Indian firm, world's greenest

company, corporate excellence award and so on in a

descending order.

18. Quick Links:

At the start of the website itself, you come across the

logo, the company name and a list of Quick Links, and

then a link at the bottom leading to the corporate

website of ONGC. However, no Quick links on the corporate

website.

19. Share Price/ Information of shares:

No information on stocks or shares. But they do have a

section called 'Dividend Information'.

20. Right to Information Act:

'Right To Information' illustrates the policies, rule and

regulations, norms, manuals, particulars, duties of

personnel, statements, directories, budget allocation and

expenditures and so on.

Parameters for Interactivity: Participative features:

1. Registered address:

The company has depicted its registered office within the

Indian map under 'Contact Us'. However, the company has

not mentioned about the exact and precise details about

the postal address anywhere in the 'Contact Us' tab.

While they have provided a 'Help Desk' address, this desk

is limited only to Post Retirement Benefit Scheme (PRBS)

Section.

2. Contact Number:

The company has not mentioned the official contact number

anywhere under the 'Contact Us' tab. However, they have

provided a 'Help Desk' telephone number and fax number

which is limited to PRBS.

3. Email address of company/ directors etc:

There is common email id of [email protected] where users can

email their queries, complaints or grievances on.

4. Log In for Customers / Media/ Employees/ Visitors/

Investors/ Vendors etc:

under vigilance

5. Feedback form/ queries section:

No feedback form as such. But a email id provided for

redressing issues through mails.

6. FAQs/ Question and Answers:

No list of FAQs given out anywhere on the website.

7. Official Blog:

There wasn't any mention of any blog found on the site.

8. Social Media:

Surprisingly enough, the site didn't have any mention of

any form of social media on their website.

9. Complaint or grievance section:

The site shows a 'Lodge Complaint' tab on the left side

of the home page where the viewer is guided out rightly

with details about the company's vigilance, of how to

lodge a complaint online, how to get registered to lodge

a complaint, on what basis can the complaint be lodged,

against whom and by whom the complaint be lodged, how to

login, where to mail in case login issues arise etc

10. Search Bar:

A search bar is catered on the home page towards the top

right side for quick reference.

11. Store Locator/ Branch Locator/ ATM Locator etc:

Branch Locating facility is not provided, although they

have portrayed a pictorial representation of all the

Headquarter, registered office, regional offices, basins,

assets, plants and institutes on the India map, naming

just the cities and no further elaboration on exact

locations of the address.

12. Language options:

The site has a lot of bold mention on 'Rajbhasha' but

fails to communicate the website in any other language

other than English.

3. RIL:

The home page of Reliance Industries Limited is simple

with mostly white and light grey colors with a logo and

tabs of blue text. It looks very sorted and all data is

well fitted within the screen where one doesn't need to

scroll down further. Also, they have a quote mentioned on

the in between the page meaning 'Growth is Life'. The

home page incorporates about us, business, investor

relations, news and media, career, Internet Sales B@B.

Other than that, it also has information on Reliance

Foundation, Stakeholder Communication, Share Price,

Vendor Registration/Franchisee, Innovation, Retail Store

Locator, Business for better life. The best part about

this website is that information is kept minimal yet

covers all important point thus excluding all lengthy

interpretation of content.

Parameters for Transparency: Information features:

1. About the company:

'About Us' consists information about the Reliance Group,

Founder chairman, BOD, commitments, innovation,

manufacturing facilities, products & brands, awards,

milestones, subsidiaries & associates. 'Reliance Group'

gives a quick glance on the entire group, its inception,

its founder, global leadership and so on. 'Founder

Chairman' includes information on Dhirubhai Ambani, his

birth anniversary, tribute paid to be, quotes by him,

awards & speeches recieved by him and his webcasts of

meetings and lectures as well as a downloadable PDF press

document with all press coverage revolving around Mr.

Ambanai. 'Board of Directors' explains the Board

Composition; the profiles of the directors; and the board

committee i.e. audit, CSR, finance, HSE, HRD and

stakeholder relationship committee. 'Commitment' includes

values and behavior and also includes quality policy, R&D

projects and innovation, HSE policy, HRD initiatives, CSR

in education, health and community areas, Sustainability

reports since 2004 which are downloadable. 'Innovation'

talks about the various principles adopted by RIL to

bring innovation in work; the council in charge of

innovation; centers in India; Reliance Technology Group

(RTG). 'Manufacturing facilities' includes a list of all

manufacturing centers and details about their plants,

facilities, production etc. 'Products & Brands' describes

in brief about the various products offered by RIL along

with a downloadable detailed product flow chart. Under

'Awards', the site explains its growth through

recognition with respect to leadership, corporate ranking

and rating, project management, energy and water

conservation, technology - patents - R&D - Innovation,

retail and sustainability as well as a downloadable

library since 2000 to 2010. The 'Milestones' title

includes major milestones made by the company since

inception plus financial milestones over the years. Then

there is section called 'Subsidiaries & Associates' where

a list of major subsidiaries is mentioned also informing

about RIIL to be the major business associate .

2. Mission:

No mission cited.

3. Vision:

No vision cited.

4. Values:

RIL has enlisted 6 values and behavior under commitment.

They are customer value, ownership mindset, respect,

integrity, one team and excellence.

5. Subsidiaries/ alliances/ parent company/ associate

companies etc:

There is section called 'Subsidiaries & Associates' where

a list of major subsidiaries is mentioned also informing

about RIIL to be the major business associate .

6. Products:

There is a section under 'About Us' called 'Products &

Brands' which describes in brief about the various

products offered by RIL along with a downloadable

detailed product flow chart.

7. Services:

Services on RIL site is given the name of 'Business' and

this includes 'Exploration and Production' that includes

facts about Indian gas market, RIL-BP partnership, RIL

gas market, RIL's E&P businesses, other domestic blocks,

international business to name a few; 'Petroleum Refining

& Marketing' explains detailed facts about average crude

oil prices, refinery capacity and utilization, demand for

petroleum products, changing trends, changing product

specification, Demand in India, gross refining margin,

production of petroleum products, performance review,

strategy and outlook with the help of tabular data at

intervals; 'Petrochemical' describes about various

benchmarks and achievements and also provides illustrate

details on Polymers, Polyester, Polyester Intermediates,

Elastomers and other such petrochemicals; 'Textile' talks

about RIL's growth through consumer products whereas

'Retail' explains the company's growth through value

creation.

8. News room/ Media centre/ Press room:

The site has a separate tab called 'News & Media' which

enlists a complete list of all press releases since Jan,

2014 to Nov, 2014 on the first page and maintains a

record since 1999.

9. Careers/ Recruitment/ Join Us:

'Careers' in RIL has been divided as Opportunities in RIL

has options for students, professionals and industry

leaders also guidelines on how to apply for a job, how to

get registered, job search criteria, reliance offices,

video gallery, why reliance and employee profiling plus a

section for recent featured jobs; Opportunities in Retail

includes a welcoming description about the company along

with job search, apply, login, register and help options;

and Reliance Accelerated Leadership Program (RALP) which

is a explanatory and inviting letter document to the

reader on behalf of Mr. Mukesh Ambani. .

10. Investor/ stakeholder/vendor/shareholder relations:

Investor relations exemplifies information on Investor

contacts for Demat and physical securities, queries on

annual reports and for analyst related queries; Online

Annual Report 2013-2014; Financials include Financial

Highlights and last 10 years comparison with respect to

highlights and key indicators; Quarterly results since

2003, Credit Ratings from top 4 rating agencies;

downloadable financial presentations, speeches and

webcasts of last 10 years; Press Releases catering to

financial information of the company; and lastly a

downloadable library of annual reports, presentations,

speeches and annual reports of subsidiary companies;

Chairman's Communication which has the chairman's

statement on the occasion of RIL AGM of last 13 years in

the form of downloadable PDFs; Scheme of Amalgamation of

(Reliance Petroleum Limited) RPL with (Reliance

Industries Limited) RIL with respect to equity

stakeholders, secured creditors and unsecured creditors;

Scheme of Demerger with specific details; Share Ownership

with relevant facts and figures in systematic tabular

representation; Investor's Handbook with rules and

policies; Insider Trading Regulations for which the site

demands an Authentication login id and password;

Corporate Announcements where the page provides just 3

main announcements; Notices for various events; and

corporate governance and the principles on which it is

based.

11. Financial Information /balance sheet/ quarterly

results/ financial performance etc:

'Financial' include Financial Highlights and last 10

years comparison with respect to highlights and key

indicators; Quarterly results since 2003, Cr-edit Ratings

from top 4 rating agencies; downloadable financial

presentations, speeches and webcasts of last 10 years;

Press Releases catering to financial information of the

company; and lastly a downloadable library of annual

reports, presentations, speeches and annual reports of

subsidiary companies.

12. CSR/ Corporate sustainability/ Social initiatives/

Foundations etc:

RIL has set up a separate foundation in 2010 as an

expression of its vision towards sustainable growth in

India, for the purpose of conducting sole philanthropic

initiatives on behalf of RIL and has named it Reliance

Foundation.

13. Annual Reports/ Corporate Presentations/

Newsletters / brochures etc:

They have section under financials which gives a detailed

list of downloadable library of annual reports,

presentations, speeches and annual reports of subsidiary

companies. The annual reports have a very interesting

appeal with a perfect mixture of text and number combined

in a factual yet attractive format. Also, they have a

separate tab on the home page stating 'Business for a

better life' which has 6 brochures in 6 colors namely,

corporate, talent, social institution, education, health

and environment starting from 9 pages minimum.

14. Research and Development/ Insights/ Change/

Innovation/ etc:

'Innovation' talks about the various principles adopted

by RIL to bring innovation in work; the council in charge

of innovation; centers in India; Reliance Technology

Group (RTG).

15. Resources/ Technology/ process etc

There is subsection under 'About Us' which includes

details about 'Manufacturing facilities' by citing a list

of all manufacturing centers and details about their

plants, facilities, production etc.

16. Board of directors/ Employees/ Organization structure

etc:

'Board of Directors' explains the Board Composition; the

profiles of the directors; and the board committee i.e.

audit, CSR, finance, HSE, HRD and stakeholder

relationship committee.

17. Awards/ Achievements/ Recognitions:

Under 'Awards', the site explains its growth through

recognition with respect to leadership, corporate ranking

and rating, project management, energy and water

conservation, technology - patents - R&D - Innovation,

retail and sustainability as well as a downloadable

library since 2000 to 2010.

18. Quick Links:

The site does represent a quick link on the right top of

the home page and incorporates 4 main subjects of Public

Notice, Vendor Login, Download and Contact Us.

19. Share Price/ Information of shares:

There is a tab on the home page of the site which says

'Share Price' and is divided as 'Current Stock Price-BSE'

and 'Current Stock Price-NSE'. A click on BSE option

directs you to the official BSE website of

www.bseindia.com and a click on NSE option leads you to

www.nseindia.com. And both the sites offer you minutes of

the share business in consideration of RIL.

20. Right to Information Act:

Not mentioned.

Parameters for Interactivity: Participative features:

1. Registered address:

'Contact Us' gives you a detailed registered or corporate

address of RIL.

2. Contact Number:

Just below the address is the contact number of RIL.

3. Email address of company/ directors etc:

Email ids in case of customer service is provided. They

have also provided an email id for vendor related issues.

4. Log In for Customers / Media/ Employees/ Visitors/

Investors/ Vendors etc:

There is a vendor login page which insists on providing

authentication email id and password for further probes.

5. Feedback form/ queries section:

Feedback form is exhaustive but promises to render quick

services or quick results to the user.

6. FAQs/ Question and Answers:

No FAQs found on the site.

7. Official Blog:

Astonishingly, no official blog on this site.

8. Social Media:

Again surprisingly, no social media connect options to be

found anywhere on the site.

9. Complaint or grievance section:

Nothing relevant cited.

10. Search Bar:

No search bar.

11. Store Locator/ Branch Locator/ ATM Locator etc:

Store Locator leads you to a different tab and portrays a

web page of the Indian map in focus. It offers easy

searchable options like location, store name and radius

in kilometers as well as store address details.

12. Language options:

No options offered. Site communicates only in English.

4. ITC:

The home page opens with a pop up ad of ITC Hotels which

will direct you to the official site of ITC Hotels. But

ITC's home page always welcomes you with a pop up

advertisement promoting various shades and associates of

ITC as a whole. Once you ignore that, you come across the

corporate website of ITC which looks nice, simple,

interesting and is well sorted. The company boasts of

being carbon positive, water positive and waste recycling

positive. The page has 7 medium sized tabs under this

with regards to latest happenings at ITC, Chairman

Speaks, Sustainability Report, ITC's Brandworld, Career,

Store Locator and Reports and Accounts. Another feature

of this site is that the company displays its Registered

address, phone number and corporate identity number on

the bottom of the home page itself. The website is seen

promoting their sustainability or CSR efforts quite

noticeably throughout the content created. Interestingly,

this company also has an App called ITC Sustainability

App.

Parameters for Transparency: Information features:

1. About the company:

About ITC includes various titles like Profile, Values,

Policies, ITC Leadership, Chairman Speaks, Exemplar in

Sustainability, Shareholder Value, ITC Life Science &

Technology and Global Honors.

'Our Profile' talks about market capitalization, drivers

of growth for company, creation of enduring values, about

them being a global exemplar in sustainability and it

also explains in depth the company's history and

evolution. 'Values' comprises of the company's vision &

mission, core values, code of conduct, corporate

strategies and corporate governance. 'Policies' enlists

various policies adopted by the company such as

Sustainability Policy, CSR Policy, IT E-Waste Policy,

Food Product Policy, Policy on Related Party

Transactions, Policy for determining Material

Subsidiaries and Privacy Policy. 'ITC Leadership'

explains about a three tiered interlinked leadership

process with the BOD at the apex, the corporate managing

committee in the middle and the executive management team

at the base. They have depicted this in the form of a

flow chart. Under 'Chairman Speaks', the site enlists all

the speeches made by Mr. Y C Deveshwar on various company

related occasions like during media interaction or during

AGMs or other such speeches along with dates of events.

'Exemplar in sustainability' talks about what the company

believes in, what the company does, sustainability

reports so far, press reports and press releases, awards

and recognition. 'Shareholder value' executes facts and

figures about market capitalization, profits, key

financial highlights, links to press releases and reports

pertaining to financial results and reports, investor

relation, reports and accounts. Then there is ITC R&D

which talks about how the company has maintained

Innovation in science and technology as their base for

their businesses. 'Global honors' include awards and

recognitions received by ITC for its work, innovation and

sustainability.

2. Mission:

ITC's mission is to enhance the wealth generating

capability of the enterprise in a globalizing

environment, delivering superior and sustainable

stakeholder value.

3. Vision:

Vision is to sustain ITC's position as one of India's

most valuable corporations through world class

performance, creating growing value for the Indian

economy and the Company's stakeholders.

4. Values:

Core values are trusteeship, customer focus, respect for

people, excellence, innovation and nation orientation.

5. Subsidiaries/ alliances/ parent company/ associate

companies etc:

There is a section under 'Businesses' called 'Group

Companies' which describes in detail, various

subsidiaries, joint ventures and associate companies

under the umbrella brand of ITC.

6. Products:

The site owns a page called 'ITC Brandworld' which shows

a pictorial list of all products and brands produced by

ITC in a moving format.

7. Services:

A tab called 'Businesses' talks about the various

services provided by ITC. The 6 main businesses adopted

by ITC are in the fields of FMCG, Hotels, Agri Business,

Paper Boards & Specialty Papers, Information Technology

and Packaging.

8. News room/ Media centre/ Press room:

The website calls it 'Media Center'. It includes all

recent articles in the news about ITC. Other than that it

also includes Press Releases, Press Reports, Media

Interviews, ITC Brand Booklet, ITC CSR Booklet.

9. Careers/ Recruitment/ Join Us:

The 'Careers' page has a pop up public notice emerging

between certain intervals alerting the user about various

fake recruitment frauds being conducted under the name of

ITC.

The 'Careers' page includes information about ITC, its

core values, corporate Governance, ITC businesses, ITC

brands, sustainability, how ITC is is different than the

rest, what ITC has to offer, ITC in a word, Learning &

development, Career choice, FAQs, ITC on campus, current

openings to name a few.

10. Investor/ stakeholder/vendor/shareholder relations:

This tab broadly includes all General Information and

Share Registration information. General Information

includes information related to company's share capital,

GDR, listing on stock exchange, AGM, Dividend, Bonus

Shares, Share Prices, Shareholding Pattern, Compliance

report on Corporate Governance. Share Registration

includes information related to Registration of Transfer

of Shares, Registration of Transmission of Shares,

National Electronic Clearing Service, Loss of Dividend

Warrant, Bank Details, Loss of Share Certificates,

Nomination Facility, Change of Address, Change in Status

from Resident to Non Resident. They also have an investor

service center (ISC) for all investor related work and

have provided the address, contact numbers, people in

charge, their email ids and designation and other related

information for the benefit of the stakeholder.

11. Financial Information /balance sheet/ quarterly

results/ financial performance etc:

'Key Financials' include Reports and Accounts and

Quarterly results of last 10 years. It also includes

financial highlights like gross income, PBIT etc, stock

prices, NSE Market Tracker, Key Ratios. It also includes

quick downloadable PDFs of Report and Accounts 2014, ITC

Corporate Presentation, Balance Sheet 2014, Statement of

P&L 2014 and Consolidated Financial Statements 2014.

12. CSR/ Corporate sustainability/ Social initiatives/

Foundations etc:

'Exemplar in Sustainability' under 'About ITC' and

'Sustainability as a separate tab directs the user to the

same page. This page has information about what ITC

believes; what ITC does like embedding sustainability in

business, investing in social development and adopting a

Low Carbon growth path and a cleaner Environment

Approach; Sustainability policies with respect to Life

cycle Sustainability, Stakeholder Engagement, Responsible

Advocacy, Product Responsibility, Responsible Sourcing,

Freedom of Association, Diversity and Equal Opportunity,

Prohibition of Child Labor and Prevention of Forced Labor

at the Workplace, Human Rights Consideration of

Stakeholders beyond the Workplace and HSE; CSR Policy

which explains the philosophy behind CSR, CSR Policies,

Implementation, Governance, CSR Expenditure;

Sustainability reports since 2004; ITC Sustainability

App; and ITC CSR Booklet.

13. Annual Reports/ Corporate Presentations/

Newsletters / brochures etc:

The company site holds a number of reports and

presentations, which are colorful, highly pictorial with

interesting yet lengthy content. The site has a separate

tab called 'ITC at a Glance' which is dedicated to all

ITC press reports, annual reports, presentations,

booklets etc.

14. Research and Development/ Insights/ Change/

Innovation/ etc:

Then there is ITC R&D which talks about how the company

has maintained Innovation in science and technology as

their base for their businesses.

15. Resources/ Technology/ process etc:

Not much information under this parameter.

16. Board of directors/ Employees/ Organization structure

etc:

'ITC Leadership' explains about a three tiered

interlinked leadership process with the BOD at the apex,

the corporate managing committee in the middle and the

executive management team at the base. They have depicted

this in the form of a flow chart. ITC Leadership also

includes detailed profiling of the members of all 3 tiers

along with their division or department of work, full

name, photo, designation and description of the person in

consideration.

17. Awards/ Achievements/ Recognitions:

'Global honors' include awards and recognitions received

by ITC for its work, innovation and sustainability.

18. Quick Links:

No quick links given.

19. Share Price/ Information of shares:

The site provides share prices under NSE, BSE and CSE

from last year to September 2014 (as well as that of last

10 years in hyperlinks) in a tabular format under

'Investor Relations'

20. Right to Information Act:

No information of RTI Act.

Parameters for Interactivity: Participative features:

1. Registered address:

Placed at the bottom of the home page itself. Also has a

separate section called ITC Addresses.

2. Contact Number:

Placed at the bottom of the home page itself.

3. Email address of company/ directors etc:

Email ids provided for investor related queries and

career related queries among few. Trade related queries

can be solved by mailing your issues to the email ids

provided in accordance to various ITC businesses.

4. Log In for Customers / Media/ Employees/ Visitors/

Investors/ Vendors etc:

No separate login for any one.

5. Feedback form/ queries section:

A click on 'Contact Us' leads you to a mid-sized Customer

Query Form directly.

6. FAQs/ Question and Answers:

The website doesn't have a FAQ section.

7. Official Blog:

Not to be found on site.

8. Social Media:

The home page has a small tab on the left top insisting

the user to follow the twitter handle of ITC through

"follow@ITCCorpCom". Other than that, it has a separate

hyperlink at the bottom of home page called 'ITC on

social media' and this portrays a pictorial

representation of brand names and their presence of

Facebook, twitter, you tube, Google+ and on Pinterest.

9. Complaint or grievance section:

There is no specific complaint or grievance redressal

section, however, they have setup an Investor Service

Center (ISC) for resolving matters related to shares and

stocks along with contact number, address and email id.

10. Search Bar:

On the home page on the conventional top right position.

11. Store Locator/ Branch Locator/ ATM Locator etc:

Store locator for FMCG products

12. Language options:

Only English.

5. Infosys:

The home page of Infosys has a serene-like appeal with a

sunset like orange color with 2 kids pointing the sky.

The background picture then changes to a blue sky with

birds flying to the right side. The first picture

representing the kids can be interpreted as a long term

vision of the company and the second picture seems to

explains an ongoing journey of a team. Both the images

are just plain images without any explanatory taglines

anywhere on the screen, thus, leaving it to the viewer

for his/her own interpretation. They have an emotional

connect which can appeal to any being. This is, however

according to me, pretty contradictory to the image of the

company who is into technology, internet related, banking

and other such businesses. Also keeping in mind that the

content on the website doesn't have much to boast on its

HSE efforts on anything on similar grounds. They have

kept the page simple with just 3 main tabs of

'Industries', 'Services' and 'Products'. Reports and

recognition boosting articles are rolling in between.

Other important tabs being, Client Speak, News & Updates,

InfyTalk (Blog), Infosys Foundation. Other important

informative tabs being on the top right position. The

content is consistently kept technical throughout and the

pictures or backgrounds anti-technical. Many or almost

all pages with information provided on them includes a

'Share on Social Media' option.

Parameters for Transparency: Information features:

1. About the company:

About Us has many subtitles. The first thing you see in

'About US' is the Infosys Story and how the company is

building tomorrow's enterprise. 'About US' gives you a

detailed overview of the company, elaborates its tagline

of "Building Tomorrow's Enterprise", information on

Alliances, Awards and sustainability and management

profile. There is a Fact File under Overview as well as

the history, locations, management, financial snapshot,

subsidiaries, annual report, corporate governance, awards

and events. 'Building Tomorrow's Enterprise' shares

information on what the clients has have say about them

through featured videos and case studies; how the company

uses innovation themes for growth and progress; their

executive blog 'InfyTalk' and recent posts from the same,

whereas Innovation Wall explains all the major

innovations acquired by Infosys on various fields and

platforms. 'Alliances' talks about global partners,

alliance partners and teaming partners of Infosys.

'Awards' explains all the recognitions, achievements,

accomplishments and credits won by Infosys in paragraph

form and also provides a hyperlink to all systematically

represented list of awards in last . 'Sustainability'

includes a sustainability report 2013-14; a diagrammatic

representation of the 3 focus areas of sustainability in

Infosys namely, social contract, resource intensity and

green innovation; diversity; tomorrow's global company;

and a blog. And lastly, 'Management Profile' of the

company. This includes information on BOD, Executive

officers, executive vice president and founders.

2. Mission:

No mission.

3. Vision:

No vision.

4. Values:

No values mentioned.

5. Subsidiaries/ alliances/ parent company/ associate

companies etc:

'Alliances' talks about global partners, alliance

partners and teaming partners of Infosys. Subsidiaries is

a title under 'Overview' of the company. The company has

8 main subsidiaries spread across various locations on

the globe. The company is involved in various spaces of

businesses like Aerospace & Defense, Airlines,

Automotive, Communication Services, Consumer packaged

goods, Education, Energy and many more to name a few and

has rendered extensive services in these fields.

6. Products:

'Products' is divided under 3 main branches. Product

categories, EdgeVerve and Infosys Finacle. Product

categories include banking suite, customer service, cloud

& big data, digital commerce and marketing, micro

commerce etc. EdgeVerve includes customer service

experience, digital marketing, distributive trade etc.

Infosys Finacle includes core banking, CRM, e-banking,

mobile banking, treasury etc.

7. Services:

'Services' includes Business Services like digital,

business applications, management consulting, oracle, SAP

and sustainability service; Technology Services include

Application Management, Cloud, Engineering Services,

Enterprise Mobility, Infrastructure Management and

Testing; and Outsourcing Services such as Application

Outsourcing, Infrastructure Outsourcing, Business

Process Outsourcing, Customer Service, Finance &

Accounting, Human Resources, Sourcing & Procurement.

8. News room/ Media centre/ Press room:

They call it 'Newsroom'. It has all press information

related to Infosys on month wise basis. It also provides

other information like press releases, features, events,

journalist resources.

9. Careers/ Recruitment/ Join Us:

The site has named this as 'Jobseekers' and provides

information on the company, why Infosys should be chosen,

Job Opportunities, Focus Areas, Internship Opportunities,

News and Updates and Employee Testimonial.

10. Investor/ stakeholder/vendor/shareholder relations:

'Investors include information on financials, shares,

reports & filings, news and events, corporate governance

and investor services.

11. Financial Information /balance sheet/ quarterly

results/ financial performance etc:

'Financials' gives you a complete 5 year overview with

highlights such as P&L data and ratios, Balance Sheet

data and ratios, Per Share data and ratios, Employee data

and complete Data Sheet. It also give information on

cash flow statement, segmental Income, Operating Metrics,

Guidance v/s Actual.

12. CSR/ Corporate sustainability/ Social initiatives/

Foundations etc:

'Sustainability' includes a sustainability report 2013-

14; a diagrammatic representation of the 3 focus areas of

sustainability in Infosys namely, social contract,

resource intensity and green innovation; diversity;

tomorrow's global company; and a blog.

Infosys also has a separate body for philanthropic

activities called 'Infosys Foundation'. Here, they have a

dedicated team who identifies programs in the areas of

health care, education, culture, destitute care and rural

development. This tab in present at the bottom of the

home page.

13. Annual Reports/ Corporate Presentations/

Newsletters / brochures etc:

The site gives you access to download all annual reports,

investor presentations, business responsibility report

and investor sheet.

14. Research and Development/ Insights/ Innovation/

Change etc:

The company uses various 'Innovation Themes' with respect

to Digital Consumers, Emerging Economies, Healthcare

Economy, New Commerce, Pervasive Computing, Smarter

Organizations and Sustainable Tomorrow for growth and

progress. They also have a section called 'Innovation

Wall' explains all the major innovations acquired by

Infosys on various fields and platforms.

15. Resources/ Technology/ process etc

Not much information found in these regards.

16. Board of directors/ Employees/ organization structure

etc:

'Management Profile' of the company. This includes

information on BOD, Executive officers, executive vice

president and founders.

17. Awards/ Achievements/ Recognitions:

'Awards' explains all the recognitions, achievements,

accomplishments and credits won by Infosys in paragraph

form and also provides a hyperlink to all systematically

represented list of awards in last .

18. Quick Links:

No Quick Links provided.

19. Share Price/ Information of shares:

They have a section called 'Shares' under 'Investors'

which reveals information about the Share Price, Share

Chart, Historic Share Price, Analyst Coverage, Share

Details and ADS Premium.

20. Right to Information Act:

No information on RTI.

Parameters for Interactivity: Participative features:

1. Registered address:

Corporate address is in Bangalore and the page mention

the exact address. After choosing India option from Asia

Pacific region, you get to view a complete view of all

the branches of Infosys in India.

2. Contact Number:

Provided along with the addresses.

3. Email address of company/ directors etc:

They have an option called 'Write to Us' which directly

connects you to your account for writing a mail to them.

4. Log In for Customers / Media/ Employees/ Visitors/

Investors/ Vendors etc:

No specific login for anyone.

5. Feedback form/ queries section:

No feedback forms. But a Request for Services form is

available in case you want services from the company.

6. FAQs/ Question and Answers:

Investor FAQs are given.

7. Official Blog:

A tab linking to their executive blog is visible on the

home page itself and is called 'InfyTalk'.

8. Social Media:

Every title, subtitle or data has a social media connect

option on the right top of the information with logos of

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and G+ along with feeds and

print option.

9. Complaint or grievance section:

No complaint section.

10. Search Bar:

On the top right position.

11. Store Locator/ Branch Locator/ ATM Locator etc:

No such options available.

12. Language options:

Only English communication.

6. CIL:

The dominant color used is green and shades of green with

white background. The site chooses to display the vision

and mission on the home page itself, unlike most

companies. As also the site shows recent news and events,

achievements, customer corner, investor center, career

with CIL, employee login and stock watch. The site is

conventional in looks and easily understandable. Tabs of

'Vigilance', 'Grievances' and 'RTI, 2005' are out up in

red font thus grabbing slight attention or invoking

importance. This website can be converted in Hindi as

well. The corporate site also lists the number of

visitors at the bottom, second in the act after ONGC.

Parameters for Transparency: Information features:

1. About the company:

The site doesn't have a tab called About Us. Instead it

has 'Company' which includes About Us as one of the

titles. Other being Board, Policies, History,

Collaboration, Structure, Achievement, and Corporate

Songs.

'About Us' explains India's Energy Scenario, CIL at a

glance, Strategic Relevance, Mission of the company,

Corporate Structure & Subsidiary companies, MoU

Excellence, Production and Growth, Acquiring assets

abroad, Transparency Initiatives, Employee Welfare & CSR

and Care for Environment. 'Board' describes the profiles

of Executive Directors, Government Nominee Directors,

Independent Directors (left empty) and Permanent

Invitees. The company has listed various policies such as

material subsidiaries policy, corporate governance

manual, sports policy, corporate environmental policy,

whistle blower policy, policy on publicity/ads, safety

policy and so on under 'Policies'. 'History' includes

factors that led to nationalization of coal industry,

formation of CIL and major events and milestones since

inception. 'Collaboration' explains various agreements,

JVs and MoU. 'Structure' explains corporate structure of

CIL in a flow chart. 'Achievement' talks about all the

awards and credits and the company has received and its

highlights since 2007. 'Corporate Songs' includes a CIL

Sugam Sangeet and a CIL corporate song.

2. Mission:

Their mission is to produce and market the planned

quantity of coal and coal products efficiently and

economically in an eco friendly manner with due regard to

safety, conservation and quality.

3. Vision:

CIL's vision is to emerge as a global player in the

primary energy sector committed to provide energy

security to the country by attaining environmentally &

socially sustainable growth through best practices from

mine to market.

4. Values:

No values given.

5. Subsidiaries/ alliances/ parent company/ associate

companies etc:

Coal India is a holding company with seven wholly owned

coal producing subsidiary companies and one mine planning

& consultancy company. It encompasses the whole gamut of

identification of coal reserves, detailed exploration

followed by design and implementation and optimizing

operations for coal extraction in its mines.

6. Products:

'Products & Services' contains coking coal, semi coking

coal, NLW coking coal, Non coking coal, washed and

beneficiated coal, middling, rejects, CIL coke, Coal

fines and Tar/heavy oil/light oil/soft pitch.

7. Services:

Services are explained as 'Our business' and gives info

on products and services, New Coal Distribution Policy,

pricing, e-Auction, Coal Videsh and construction washery.

8. News room/ Media centre/ Press room:

'News & Media' incorporates information on Events, Press

Releases, CIL in Media, Sponsorship, Photo Gallery and

Video Gallery.

9. Careers/ Recruitment/ Join Us:

Career includes data on CIL at a glance, current

openings, jobs at CIL, medical norms, career growth and

opportunities, appointments/results/interviews and

contact information.

10. Investor/ stakeholder/vendor/shareholder relations:

The 'Investor Center' is there on the home page and

provides info on Events & Announcement and Investor

Contacts.

11. Financial Information /balance sheet/ quarterly

results/ financial performance etc:

Financial Performance includes all the Quarter Results,

Annual Reports and Results, Notice of AGM, Annual Reports

of Subsidiary companies, Sustainability Reports,

Attendance slip and other info on similar grounds.

12. CSR/ Corporate sustainability/ Social initiatives/

Foundations etc:

They call it 'Safety, Environment & CSR'. This comprises

of information on Mine Safety like objectives, safety

policy, safety organizational chart, Mine Rules, Mine

Act, Explosive Rules etc; Environment gives information

on CIL's Sustainable Development, Corporate Environmental

Policy, Status of ISO, Satellite Surveillance, Key

initiatives and so on; Community explains in brief the

work done under community Development Program; and CSR

portrays details of CSR activities undertaken, CSR

Proposals, CIL scholarship scheme etc.

13. Annual Reports/ Corporate Presentations/

Newsletters / brochures etc:

The site displays a downloadable list of reports on a

subject called 'TPP-wise dispatch from CIL sources' of

November month and also includes annual reports.

14. Research and Development/ Insights/ Change /

Innovation etc:

No section allotted for this.

15. Resources/ Technology/ process etc

The 'Performance' tab is divided in 3 sections one of

them being Physical Performance which explains the Coal

Reserves and Resources of CIL, Coal Production, Manpower

etc.

16. Board of directors/ Employees/ organization structure

etc:

Board describes the profiles of Executive Directors,

Government Nominee Directors, Independent Directors (left

empty) and Permanent Invitees.

17. Awards/ Achievements/ Recognitions:

'Achievement' talks about all the awards and credits and

the company has received and its highlights since 2007.

18. Quick Links:

Quick links provided on the home page includes Ministry

of Coal, e-Auction, e-Library and EIS (Executive

Information System).

19. Share Price/ Information of shares:

They have a tab called 'Stock Watch' on the home page

which shows 2 logos, one of market tracker and one of

BSE. A click on the first directs you to NSE stock

details of CIL and the other to BSE stocks on their

official websites.

20. Right to Information Act:

RTI show the quick link list and includes various sub

sections and related sections of The Right To Information

Act, 2005 in the form of hyperlinks leading to more

detailed information.

Parameters for Interactivity: Participative features:

1. Registered address:

Corporate Office Address in provided under 'Contact Us'.

2. Contact Number:

Telephone numbers and fax numbers provided along with the

addresses.

3. Email address of company/ directors etc:

A tab called 'Customer Corner' shows you a login box

insisting the user to give the login id and password that

means it is directed not to a general viewer but

selective group of clients of the company.

The site also reveals a list of all directories , their

designation, contact numbers and emaild ids. Email id for

career related queries is also provided. Also the

official id of the company is given.

4. Log In for Customers / Media/ Employees/ Visitors/

Investors/ Vendors etc:

'Our People' is for employee login and involves CIL HR,

Careers and EIS (Executive Information System). EIS is a

new concept on CIL website. CIL HR talks about Human

Resource Development (HRD) like technical training,

management training, transformation training, general

development training. Careers offers information on

transfer order, promotion order, seniority list,

seniority list etc. EIS allows executives to view their

personal data after providing username and password.

5. Feedback form/ queries section:

No Feedback Form.

6. FAQs/ Question and Answers:

FAQs are elaborately explained and owns a small tab on

the top right of the home page.

7. Official Blog:

No blog given.

8. Social Media:

No social media presence.

9. Complaint or grievance section:

It's called Vigilance and provides

10. Search Bar:

On the conventional top right corner of the home page.

11. Store Locator/ Branch Locator/ ATM Locator etc:

No locator as such but 'Sales Office' gives information

of all office addresses, name and number of person in

charge as well as their email ids.

12. Language options:

The website gives the user the convenience of reading the

website in either English or Hindi. The home page marks a

small Hindi Option on the top right corner along with

font adjustment options.

7. HDFC Bank:

HDFC offers a different website for Personal, NRI, SME

and Wholesale related customers. The one I chose to

analyze is a Personal HDFC website which opens by default

once you click on the official HDFC site. The site looks

very complicated and unlike other company websites which

are more informative in nature, this site seeks to be

more participative and demands an action from the user's

end to respond to its various offers, schemes and buy its

products. The website is dominated with white and blue

shades. Also, the website sets 2-3 visual effects on the

same page (home page) at the same time, for grabbing the

viewer's attention. However, I feel this can be pretty

confusing and can irritate the viewer as to which

information should be given attention first and which

not. The website is cluttered with information or content

and fails to deliver a systematic sorted look and feel.

The site has lots and lots of small and big tabs on the

home screen, many of them are repetitive in titles and

titles, thus leading to slight yet easy confusion in the

viewer's psyche.

Parameters for Transparency: Information features:

1. About the company:

About Us includes information of profile of the company,

awards, news room, financial information, careers,

security, citizen's charter, corporate governance and its

regulations, regulatory disclosures, SEC filings,

shareholding in the bank, thus covering major chunk of

the website content. Profile includes when the bank was

incorporated and number of branches and ATM's in all and

other details like the company's inception. Awards talks

about all national and international recognitions and

achievements attained. The News Room gives access to all

Press Releases of 2013 & 2014; Media Kit including Senior

Management Team along with their names, designations and

their profiles, BOD, HDFC Bank profile and logos, HDFC

Bank House; Media Contact along with address, contact

number and email; Milestones since 1994 and Press

Coverage has 2 divisions of Electronic Coverage and Print

Coverage. Financial Information comprises Financial

Results, RBI Order of Amalgamation, Scheme of

Amalgamation, Annual Reports, Investor Presentations,

Table F, Postal Ballot March 2014. It also gives the

contact details for shareholder grievances and different

other issues by means of Contact Point Details like

address, contact number, fax number, email, counter

timings, depository email id, retail/mutual fund related,

loans and advances and credit card contact ids. Careers

include the overview of the company, current openings,

mission & business strategy, business employer survey,

modern banker program, professional banker program, sales

officer program, relationship manager program. Security

includes security against frauds, security tips, security

measures. Citizen's Charter offers relevant information

about the products, facilities and services the company

provides. Corporate Governance includes code of corporate

governance, composition of the board, profiles of

directors, board committee, ownership rights etc.

regulatory disclosures includes main features, capital

composition etc. SEC Filling is maintained by the U.S.

and called Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and

the link is provided for informational purposes

only. Shareholding in the Bank includes shareholding

pattern, history of share issues, bonds issue history,

view unclaimed dividend.

2. Mission:

No mission specified. However a sentence under Awards

denotes the company's mission to be a World Class Indian

Bank.

3. Vision:

No vision specified.

4. Values:

No values specified.

5. Subsidiaries/ alliances/ parent company/ associate

companies etc:

At the bottom of the home page of the company, is a

section notifying about the various groups of HDFC. The

section is called HDFC Group Websites and provides links

to HDFC Ltd, HDFC Securities, HDFC Mutual Fund, HDFC

Realty, HDFC Life, HDFC ERGO, HDFC Pension and HDB

Financial Services.

6. Products:

Products include 9 main divisions i.e. Accounts &

Deposits, Loans, Cards, Demat, Investments, Insurance,

Forex, Premium Banking and Private Banking. Each of these

product are further classified into many more sub

divisions.

7. Services:

Banking itself is a service sector business and HDFC

gives services of Wholesale Banking, Treasury and Retail

Banking.

8. News room/ Media centre/ Press room:

The News Room gives access to all Press Releases of 2013

& 2014; Media Kit including Senior Management Team along

with their names, designations and their profiles, BOD,

HDFC Bank profile and logos, HDFC Bank House; Media

Contact along with address, contact number and email;

Milestones since 1994 and Press Coverage has 2 divisions

of Electronic Coverage and Print Coverage.

9. Careers/ Recruitment/ Join Us:

Careers include the overview of the company, current

openings, mission & business strategy, business employer

survey, modern banker program, professional banker

program, sales officer program, relationship manager

program. Security includes security against frauds,

security tips, security measures.

10. Investor/ stakeholder/vendor/shareholder relations:

Investor Information is a small tab at the bottom of the

home page and includes just a detailed Investor

Presentation.

11. Financial Information /balance sheet/ quarterly

results/ financial performance etc:

Financial Information comprises Financial Results, RBI

Order of Amalgamation, Scheme of Amalgamation, Annual

Reports, Investor Presentations, Table F, Postal Ballot

March 2014. It also gives the contact details for

shareholder grievances and different other issues by

means of Contact Point Details like address, contact

number, fax number, email, counter timings, depository

email id, retail/mutual fund related, loans and advances

and credit card contact ids.

12. CSR/ Corporate sustainability/ Social initiatives/

Foundations etc:

CSR tab gives elaborated information on the commitment

policy, CSR policy CSR reports, Sustainability Reports,

CSR Committee, Key initiatives in social and environment

sustainability and a media center with news coverage on

HDFC as well as information on Partners.

13. Annual Reports/ Corporate Presentations/

Newsletters / brochures etc:

Annual Reports and Presentations are given at various

instances on the website.

14. Research and Development/ Insights/ Change/

Innovation etc:

No such tab is found with respect to Innovation or R&D.

15. Resources/ Technology/ process etc:

HDFC Bank operates in a highly automated environment in

terms of information technology and communication

systems. The Bank has made substantial efforts and

investments in acquiring the best technology available

internationally, to build the infrastructure for a world

class bank.

16. Board of directors/ Employees/ organization structure

etc:

Profiles of Directors is given in detail under corporate

governance information.

17. Awards/ Achievements/ Recognitions:

Awards talks about all national and international

recognitions and achievements attained.

18. Quick Links:

No quick links provided.

19. Share Price/ Information of shares:

Information on shares is provided but no information on

stocks of BSE and NSE was found.

20. Right to Information Act:

No RTI info.

Parameters for Interactivity: Participative features:

1. Registered address:

After searching on the search tab, corporate office

details under the private banking site which is linked to

the homage page of personal banking site.

2. Contact Number:

Astonishingly, this site does not have the tab of Contact

Us anywhere on the home page at all. Thus, finding the

corporate office address, contact details and official

corporate email id is missing. One needs to dig and

search for this info and then you find it out on other

related sites.

3. Email address of company/ directors etc:

Email id of Media contact along with other details are

given.

4. Log In for Customers / Media/ Employees/ Visitors/

Investors/ Vendors etc:

Log In for customers is available.

5. Feedback form/ queries section:

A separate tab for Feedback form is given on home page.

6. FAQs/ Question and Answers:

A separate tab for FAQs form is given on home page.

7. Official Blog:

No Blog seen.

8. Social Media:

A tab called Social Media Hub includes Facebook, twitter,

you tube, G+, Pinterest.

9. Complaint or grievance section:

Financial Information also gives the contact details for

shareholder grievances and different other issues by

means of Contact Point Details like address, contact

number, fax number, email, counter timings, depository

email id, retail/mutual fund related, loans and advances

and credit card contact ids.

10. Search Bar:

On the convention position.

11. Store Locator/ Branch Locator/ ATM Locator etc:

ATM Locator as well as Branch Locator options available.

12. Language options:

Only English.

8. SBI:

The site again shows blue as the governing color. The

site has attempted to keep the contents sorted. Again the

site has many moving images on the screen however the

movement is slightly slow and thus gives the viewer a

chance to interpret and consume the message. There is

nothing striking different on screen but successfully

promotes the motive of a website through systematic

arrangements of tabs.

Parameters for Transparency: Information features:

1. About the company:

About Us includes Mission, Vision, Value Statements;

Board of Directors (BOD); Evolution of SBI; Awards;

Computer Security; Financial Results; and Shareholder's

Information.

Mission, Vision, Value statements are written in many

points which shows that they are very clear on their

future roadmap. BOD states about List of Directors on the

Central Board of State Bank of India (As on 11th Nov,

2014) along with name and designation. Evolution of SBI

talks about its history since inception, establishment,

business, major change in the conditions, Presidency

Banks Act, Imperial Bank, First Five Year Plan. Awards

explains about Earlier Awards, List of Awards 2013-2014,

IBA Banking Technology awards 2014, Best Bank in Asia

Money FX Poll of Polls 2014. Computer Security talks

about various online transactions. Financial Results

includes RTI Act, SBI organizational structure, list of

Appellate Authority, IBI Employees Pension Guarantee

Fund, Functions & Duties, Audit Info, Disclosure Document

for Portfolio Management Services, Amalgamation of Bank

of Behar Ltd. Shareholder's Information includes share

holding pattern, lodgment of shares for transfer, proxy

form and attendance slip, notice for AGM of shareholders

on 30th Dec, 2013, Notice to shareholders Annual Report

in Electronic Form etc.

2. Mission:

The list of Mission statements is long. Company missions

are to be prompt, polite and proactive with our

customers; to speak the language of young India; to

create products and services that help our customers

achieve their goals; to go beyond the call of duty to

make our customers feel valued; to be of service even in

the remotest part of our country; to offer excellence in

services to those abroad as much as we do to those in

India; to imbibe state of the art technology to drive

excellence.

3. Vision:

The vision stated is "My SBI: First in customer

satisfaction."

4. Values:

The values enlisted are as follows:

We will always be honest, transparent and ethical.

We will respect our customers and fellow associates.

We will be knowledge driven.

We will learn and we will share our learning.

We will never take the easy way out.

We will do everything we can to contribute to the

community we work in.

We will nurture pride in India

5. Subsidiaries/ alliances/ parent company/ associatecompanies etc:

Group companies are SBI Life Insurance, SBI General

Insurance Co. Ltd, SBI Mutual Funds, UTI Mutual Funds,

Franklin Templeton Mutual Funds, Tata Mutual Funds,

Fidelity Mutual Funds, SBI Cards & Payment Services Ltd

and SBI DFHI Ltd. Affiliates include Banking

Subsidiaries, Foreign Subsidiaries, Non Banking

Subsidiaries and Joint Ventures.

6. Products:

SBI offers Working Capital Finance, Project Finance,

Deferred Payment Guarantees, Corporate Terms Loans,

Structured Finance, Dealer Financing, Channel Financing,

Equipment Leasing, Loan Syndication, Financing Indian

Firms Overseas Subsidiaries or JVs, Construction

Equipment Loan.

7. Services:

Services include Domestic Treasury, Broking Services, ATM

Services, Internet Banking, MICR Codes and Foreign Inward

Remittances.

8. News room/ Media centre/ Press room:

A section called Newsflash includes options like Press

Releases and SBI in the news. State Bank of

India publishes all its Press Releases and related

information in this section.

SBI in the News includes a long list of articles where

news related to SBI Is mentioned.

9. Careers/ Recruitment/ Join Us:

'Careers With Us' includes Central Recruitment &

Promotion Department, Job Opportunities for Probationary

Officers, Special Management Executives, Specialist Cadre

Officers and Assistants.

10. Investor/ stakeholder/vendor/shareholder relations:

Investor relations include Bank Ratings, Quarterly &

Annual Result, Composition of the Central Board, Analyst

Presentation, Webcast of FY15 and FAQs and Contact

Details. It also includes Redressal of Investor

Complaints and thank you note.

11. Financial Information /balance sheet/ quarterly

results/ financial performance etc:

Financial Results talks about all audited and unaudited

financial results in various quarters of various years.

Financial Results includes RTI Act, SBI organizational

structure, list of Appellate Authority, IBI Employees

Pension Guarantee Fund, Functions & Duties, Audit Info,

Disclosure Document for Portfolio Management Services,

Amalgamation of Bank of Behar Ltd. Shareholder's

Information includes share holding pattern, lodgment of

shares for transfer, proxy form and attendance slip,

notice for AGM of shareholders on 30th Dec, 2013, Notice

to shareholders Annual Report in Electronic Form etc.

12. CSR/ Corporate sustainability/ Social initiatives/

Foundations etc:

CSR includes CSR Philosophy. SBI owes a solemn duty to

the less fortunate and under-privileged members of the

same society by following Business Responsibility Policy.

13. Annual Reports/ Corporate Presentations/

Newsletters / brochures etc:

Annual Reports since 2004 are displayed as well as

Investor Presentations are also given.

14. Research and Development/ Insights/ Change/

Innovation/ etc:

No separate section dedicated to Insights or Innovation.

15. Resources/ Technology/ process etc:

No separate section dedicated to process or technology.

16. Board of directors/ Employees/ organization structure

etc:

Composition of central board along with their photos and

designations is given. BOD states about List of Directors

on the Central Board of State Bank of India (As on

11th Nov, 2014) along with name and designation.

17. Awards/ Achievements/ Recognitions:

Awards explains about Earlier Awards, List of Awards

2013-2014, IBA Banking Technology awards 2014, Best Bank

in Asia Money FX Poll of Polls 2014.

18. Quick Links:

Quick links for Products/Services is given inside pages

other than home page.

19. Share Price/ Information of shares:

SBI Share Quotes, a small tab at the bottom of the home

page directs you to a graphical representation of SBI BSE

Stock details.

20. Right to Information Act:

Right To Information Act, 2005 includes details like

objective of RTI, what is Information, what is RTI, who

can seek information, what is Public Authority and

Structure of RTI in the Bank.

Parameters for Interactivity: Participative features:

1. Registered address:

Provided inside Corporate Center under Contact Us.

2. Contact Number:

Provided inside Corporate Center under Contact Us.

3. Email address of company/ directors etc:

Provided inside Corporate Center under Contact Us.

4. Log In for Customers / Media/ Employees/ Visitors/

Investors/ Vendors etc:

There is a logo on the top most right corner on the home

page which specifies a sunset logo called Online SBI. A

click on this logo takes you to another home page with

information and Log In options for personal and corporate

banking.

5. Feedback form/ queries section:

Feedback/complaint/appreciation section is bestowed just

for Online or Offline feedback registration.

6. FAQs/ Question and Answers:

There are Investor FAQs as well as Customer FAQs.

7. Official Blog:

No official blog given.

8. Social Media:

Facebook, Twitter and You tube logos are provided on most

pages.

9. Complaint or grievance section:

Process flow for lodging of complaint, online complaint

form, track your complaint and offline complaint form

options are provided under Customer Care Tab.

10. Search Bar:

The usual top right position.

11. Store Locator/ Branch Locator/ ATM Locator etc:

Available in detail.

12. Language options:

English and Hindi.

9. Sun Pharma:

The home page very much looks like a medicinal site with

shades of occur and white. It is very simple and

straightforward with a no nonsense appeal. It gives

statistical figures on the markets served, manufacturing

sites, employees worldwide and marketed products. Other

than this, the site looks sophisticated yet equipped with

a conventional format.

Parameters for Transparency: Information features:

1. About the company:

'About Us' includes History, Board, Acquisitions & Joint

Ventures, Manufacturing, Awards. History gives you an

overview of the company since inception. Board portrays

the profiles of chairman, managing director, executive

directors & non-executive independent directors.

Acquisitions & Joint Ventures gives you a list of all the

companies associated with Sun Pharma. Manufacturing

explains the user about various manufacturing facilities

or locations provided by the company in India with

respect to API(Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) and

Formulations. Awards enlists all awards, recognitions and

credits received by the company since 2005.

2. Mission:

No mission specified.

3. Vision:

No vision specified.

4. Values:

No values specified.

5. Subsidiaries/ alliances/ parent company/ associate

companies etc:

Main affiliates of the company includes Taro

Pharmaceuticals Industries Limited, Sun Pharmaceutical

USA, Sun Pharmaceutical Europe and Chattem Chemicals

Inclusive.

6. Products:

It produces majorly 2 types of products i.e. API and

Formulations. It also provides a hyperlink at the bottom

of the Formulations and API which gives a list of various

products manufactured by the company. The company boasts

of 254 entries in the API list under various therapeutic

categories.

7. Services:

The doesn't mention any of its services since its

basically manufacturing company.

8. News room/ Media centre/ Press room:

Media includes press releases and their details since

1999, Sun Pharma In The News since 2009, a Media Kit

option which is a very new concept and includes the

company profile, management profiling, annual reports,

Financials, Presentations and Image Gallery. Media also

includes a Media Contact option which asks you to fill a

form with the user's details and message as well as

provides details of the person in charge for media

relations from the company like name, address, contact

number and email id.

9. Careers/ Recruitment/ Join Us:

Here the Careers page talks about the company's business,

global achievements and company culture. Later it

specifies a link to 'Current Openings or Future Openings.

It also symbolizes a recruitment fraud warning alerting

the user about fake advertisements taking place without

the company's knowledge in some places.

10. Investor/ stakeholder/vendor/shareholder relations:

Investors include information on Financials, Annual

Reports and Presentation and Shareholder's Information.

11. Financial Information /balance sheet/ quarterly

results/ financial performance etc:

Financials gives you a statistical study in a graphical

representation of the company's last financial results

like net profit, net sales, earnings per share (EPS),

sales in India, sales in US, sales in other parts of the

world. It also reveals downloadable press releases issued

with respect to financial information, Earnings Call

Transcripts and Shareholding Pattern of each Quarter of

each year.

12. CSR/ Corporate sustainability/ Social initiatives/

Foundations etc:

Surprisingly, the company has absolutely no mention of

any CSR related or philanthropic work anywhere on the

site.

13. Annual Reports/ Corporate Presentations/

Newsletters / brochures etc:

The holds a section called Annual Reports and

Presentations in Financials under 'Investors' which

include Investor Presentations in Indian Rupees as well

as US Dollars, Director's Report, Corporate Governance,

Standalone Financial Results, Consolidated Financial

Results, Subsidiary Accounts of each Financial Year.

14. Research and Development/ Insights/ Change/

Innovation etc:

Sun Pharma, along with its subsidiaries, has four state-

of-the-art R&D centers across the world with more than

800 scientists employed.

15. Resources/ Technology/ process etc:

The company site has not mentioned about its resources or

manufacturing process details.

16. Board of directors/ Employees/ staff/ executives/

organization structure etc:

Board portrays the profiles of chairman, managing

director, executive directors & non-executive independent

directors.

17. Awards/ Achievements/ Recognitions:

Acquisitions & Joint Ventures gives you a list of all the

companies associated with Sun Pharma.

18. Quick Links:

No Quick Links included.

19. Share Price/ Information of shares:

They have a section called 'Shareholder's Information'

which includes stock information, dividend history,

unclaimed dividend, statutory communications and tools.

In this, stock information provides graphical

representation of BSE &NSE details.

20. Right to Information Act:

No info on RTI Act mentioned.

Parameters for Interactivity: Participative features:

1. Registered address:

Corporate Office Address is provided under Contact.

2. Contact Number:

Telephone number and Fax number is given under Contact.

3. Email address of company/ directors etc:

Email Ids of Investor Contact, Media Contact and Adverse

Event Reporting is provided along with their names,

addresses and contact numbers.

4. Log In for Customers / Media/ Employees/ Visitors/

Investors/ Vendors etc:

The site has special Log In system for employees under

Employee Portal, a small tab located at the bottom of the

home page. Also it has another special Log In facility

for Field Staff members under Field Staff Portal, also

located below Employee Portal. The site also provides

Vendor Portal option placed with the above 2 tabs,

however the page it leads to shows Content Coming and no

furthers information.

5. Feedback form/ queries section:

The user gets to see a queries form as soon as he clicks

the contact us tab.

6. FAQs/ Question and Answers:

No FAQs

7. Official Blog:

There isn't any mention of company's blog on the website.

8. Social Media:

Yes, the site provides Facebook, Twitter and Feeds option

on almost every page.

9. Complaint or grievance section:

Nothing in this regard found.

10. Search Bar:

On the conventional top right position.

11. Store Locator/ Branch Locator/ ATM Locator etc:

No Locator info but manufacturing provides the branch

locations.

12. Language options:

No language option offered other than English.

10. ICICI Bank:

The dominant colors used for this website are shades of

orange, red, navy blue with white. The home page is too

lengthy as compared to other websites (almost triple

times the screen size). The font used is bold and clear

and big enough to easily understand and interpret. It has

a clutter free screen. Also it is well arranged and has a

clear motive of what it wants the user to view first or

pay attention to. The funny part is that About Us

includes almost all of the major company information, the

rest of the home page gives you an overview of what the

company has to offer in terms of its products, services

and business.

Parameters for Transparency: Information features:

1. About the company:

About us gives an overview with the help of history,

ICICI Group companies, BOD, Investor Relations, Career

Opportunities, Awards, News Room, Social Responsibility,

Notice Board, Contact Us, Know Us, Investor Corner, Media

Center. History talks about evolution and journey since

then. ICICI Group companies gives you a list of all group

companies along with their respective websites. BOD

explains detailed profiling of Board Members, Board

Committees and Executive Directors' Profile. Information

on Investor Relations is pretty detailed and includes

annual reports, investor presentations, Quarterly

Financial Results, Voting Results, Share Price &

Ownership, SEC Filings, International Bond Investors,

Credit Rating, Investor FAQs, Amalgamation of Bank of

Rajasthan, Investor Contact, Unpaid/ Unclaimed Dividend.

Careers include recruitment offer & notices, leadership

program, PO Recruitment, Staffing Agencies etc. Awards

page shows the awards and recognitions received in the

year 2014 and also gives options to view other year's

awards. News Room 2014 includes a list of all articles in

which the bank was cited. Social Responsibility leads you

to a different tab of ICICI Foundation, which is a

separate foundation involved in philanthropic work which

focuses on primary health, elementary education, skill

development & Sustainable Livelihoods and Financial

Inclusions. Notice Board includes notices, date of

updating, version and size of the document. Contact Us

provides contact details. Know us shows the same about us

page. Investor Corner includes Investors Relations,

Annual Results, Quarterly Financial Results, Voting

Results, Share Price & Ownership, SEC Filings,

International Bond Investors, Credit Ratings and other

such info. Media Center includes News Room, Notice Board

and Awards.

2. Mission:

No Mission.

3. Vision:

No Vision.

4. Values:

No Values.

5. Subsidiaries/ alliances/ parent company/ associate

companies etc:

ICICI Group companies gives you a list of all group

companies along with their respective websites. The bank

also has banking subsidiaries in UK, Canada and Russia.

6. Products:

The bank provides products like Accounts & Deposits,

Loans, Cards, Insurance, Investments, Agri & Rural,

Demat, My Savings Rewards and My Money.

7. Services:

Important services offered by ICICI include Current

Accounts, Business Loans, Trade Services and Cash

Management Services.

8. News room/ Media centre/ Press room:

Media Center includes News Room, Notice Board and Awards.

News Room 2014 includes a list of all articles in which

the bank was cited. Notice Board includes notices, date

of updating, version and size of the document. Awards

page shows the awards and recognitions received in the

year 2014 and also gives options to view other year's

awards.

9. Careers/ Recruitment/ Join Us:

Careers include recruitment offer & notices, leadership

program, PO Recruitment, Staffing Agencies etc.

10. Investor/ stakeholder/vendor/shareholder relations:

Investor Corner includes Investors Relations, Annual

Results, Quarterly Financial Results, Voting Results,

Share Price & Ownership, SEC Filings, International Bond

Investors, Credit Ratings and other such info. Media

Center includes News Room, Notice Board and Awards.

Information on Investor Relations is pretty detailed and

includes annual reports, investor presentations,

Quarterly Financial Results, Voting Results, Share Price

& Ownership, SEC Filings, International Bond Investors,

Credit Rating, Investor FAQs, Amalgamation of Bank of

Rajasthan, Investor Contact, Unpaid/ Unclaimed Dividend.

11. Financial Information /balance sheet/ quarterly

results/ financial performance etc:

Financial results explains Q1 and H1 quarterly reports in

PDFs for every year.

12. CSR/ Corporate sustainability/ Social initiatives/

Foundations etc:

Social Responsibility leads you to a different tab of

ICICI Foundation, which is a separate foundation involved

in philanthropic work which focuses on primary health,

elementary education, skill development & Sustainable

Livelihoods and Financial Inclusions.

13. Annual Reports/ Corporate Presentations/

Newsletters / brochures etc:

The site portrays Annual Reports and Presentations as

well as a newsletter tab on ICICI foundation site.

14. Research and Development/ Insights/ Change/

Innovation/ etc:

No R&D section found.

15. Resources/ Technology/ process etc:

No process or technology or resources section found.

16. Board of directors/ Employees/ staff/ executives/

organization structure etc:

BOD explains detailed profiling of Board Members, Board

Committees and Executive Directors' Profile.

17. Awards/ Achievements/ Recognitions:

Awards page shows the awards and recognitions received in

the year 2014 and also gives options to view other year's

awards.

18. Quick Links:

No quick links found.

19. Share Price/ Information of shares :

NSE stock price displayed on the home page in capital

letters on the top right position.

20. Right to Information Act:

No RTI details found.

Parameters for Interactivity: Participative features:

1. Registered address:

Both registered as well as corporate office addresses are

provided inside contact us.

2. Contact Number:

Telephone number of corporate office is given. Also

provided a long list of 24 hours customer care numbers in

all cities for retail bankers.

3. Email address of company/ directors/ point of contact

etc:

A queries form is given which gets automatically mailed

to relevant bank officials without actually displaying

the email id.

4. Log In for Customers / Media/ Employees/ Visitors/

Investors/ Vendors etc:

Log In for customer is a pop up tab on the home page

allows you to log in for internet banking.

5. Feedback form/ queries section:

Feedback or queries is provided under contact us.

6. FAQs/ Question and Answers:

Investor FAQs as well as Customer related FAQs is

presented.

7. Official Blog:

No official blog.

8. Social Media:

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn options available to

follow or share.

9. Complaint or grievance section:

How to submit a complaint is explained in simple 4 steps,

grievance redressal policy details, Banking Ombudsman

Scheme & Office details and Analysis of Complaints for FY

2013-2014 is also given.

10. Search Bar:

On the top right position.

11. Store Locator/ Branch Locator/ ATM Locator etc:

ATM/ Branch Locator tab is present on the home page at

the middle of the entire page (not screen).

12. Language options:

Only English Communication.

SUMMARY:

Out of the top 10 companies, 3 of them belong to the

banking sector, 2 in the public sector, 2 in the IT

sector, 1 in the medical or pharmaceutical sector and 2

in the private sector.

Transparency revealed in Websites:

1. All websites tried to include maximum information

about their respective companies within the 'About Us'

section itself.

2. Around just 50% of corporate websites made genuine

efforts to communicate the mission, vision and value

statements which is startling and states that the

companies either don't have or are reluctant to share

about their future road map.

3. All companies were forthright about mentioning their

associate businesses or alliances or subsidiaries

involved. Some gave information in depth while some

revealed information in just one line.

4. Majority companies also talked about their products

and services or functions they offered to the public with

description of each keeping their respective businesses

in mind.

5. An interesting and striking revelation in this

research is also the fact that each and every company

chose to divulge information related to Media, Career,

Investors, Awards, Shares, Employees and Financial

details by allotting separate web pages to each.

6. CSR again was done and bragged by each company except

Sun Pharma company. Reliance and Infosys had separate

foundations for conducting philanthropic work whereas the

rest had in - house departments for the same.

7. Downloadable Annual Reports or Presentations or

Newsletters or Brochures were provided in ample by almost

every site.

8. Just 50% of all companies had a separate section

dedicated towards Research and Development or Innovation

or similar types. Same was the case with Resources or

Technology used or the Processes adopted for conducting

businesses thus conveying that companies are not much

upfront to the site visitors with respect to progress in

their respective fields.

9. Quick links is an added feature provided by just 4

companies out of which 3 are public sector companies.

10. Details on RTI Act is restricted to only the public

sector businesses of ONGC, CIL and SBI.

All in all, the research discovers that maximum

transparency was shown by TCS, ONGC, ITC, CIL and SBI

whereas least transparency was portrayed by HDFC, Sun

Pharma and ICICI bank.

Transparency Table: View table on next page.

Interactivity involved in Websites:

1. Information related to corporate addresses and contact

numbers of any website is extremely crucial factor which

bridges a link between the company and the website users.

All companies except TCS have provided this information

on their websites.

2. Email ids of the respective departments or directors

or people in charge as well as accessibility through

separate log in systems for either the customers or

employees or vendors or investors should be provided so

that visitors can have easy access with the company and

communicate in a hassle free manner. 90% companies

provided emailing options whereas just 40% provided Log

In accessibilities to users.

3. Feedback forms or query forms were provided by all

companies.

4. FAQs section was given by just 60% of the companies,

however, this information is important according to me,

since it helps the company to solve various doubts and

misconceptions that may reside in the minds of viewers

about the said business in concern.

5. Only 20% companies offered links to their official or

executive blog. This symbolizes a regressive approach

considering that interactivity cannot be maintained if

communication is not updated or the site fails to share

an aspect altogether. Also with a boost in social media

market today, companies should be alert and attentive

about various information dissemination platforms and

activities.

6. Social Media Connect was encouraged by all companies

except CIL and RIL.

7. A detailed complaint section providing information on

where to complaint and how to complaint is given by most

companies.

8. A search bar has become a default factor in the

construction of a website with 90% of companies

portraying the search bar on the same top right position

in their websites.

9. Store Locator or Branch Locator or ATM Locator

facility is provided by 60% of companies in the above

study conducted.

10. Options for Language change convenience was offered

by CIL, SBI and ICICI bank which can be assumed or

predicted as the fact that these companies want to

encourage or include the non - English market or the

rural market in their online communication.

Based on this study, the most interactive websites are

SBI, ICICI, CIL and HDFC, the least interactive being RIL

and Sun Pharma.

Interactivity Table: View table on next page.

CONCLUSION:

From the above observation and analysis, it is very

implicit that Coal India Limited (CIL) and State Bank of

India (SBI) have highest transparency and interactivity

features, which means their websites are truly

informative as well as participative in nature.

Another fact reveals that all companies were very open

and frank about disseminating information based on their

associate companies, media coverage, career

opportunities, investor relations, financial information,

employee profiles, awards and achievements and

information on shares and described detailed information

on each topic. With respect to involving the customers in

companies' activities and giving easy access to them, all

websites were much open about their corporate addresses,

contact numbers, email ids, search bar and feedback forms

among other parameters.

The study discovers that TCS, ONGC, ITC, CIL and SBI

possess highly transparent websites where as SBI, ICICI,

CIL and HDFC bank own highly interactive websites. It

also states that HDFC, Sun Pharma and ICICI show low

levels of transparency in their websites and RIL and Sun

Pharma show low levels of interactivity in websites.

Therefore, Sun Pharma has a website which is least

transparent and least interactive as compared to other

corporate websites.

As stated earlier in the review, scholars, since a long

period, have been using the term dialogue while

discussing effective public relations. In his 1989

doctoral dissertation on dialogue as a tool of public

relations ethics, Pearson wrote: “It is morally right to

establish and maintain communication relationships with

all publics affected by organizational action and, by

implication, morally wrong not to do so.”

Thus, considering all above factors, and the fact that

just 45% of the companies have a strongly transparent and

interactive website, it is very apparent and clear that

Indian Corporate Websites lack Dialogic Communication.

FURTHER SCOPE OF RESEARCH:

There is ample scope for further research. This research

merely shows what content the companies have chose to

include in their corporate websites. However it is

restrictive to the content matter provided and does not

go beyond this subject to review each and every line in

detail. Therefore this research lays a path to numerous

other researches that can be conducted and carried

forward in similar arenas.

Following are some possibilities or further scope to this

study that can be considered for further researches from

here on:

1. The tone of content

2. Grammar of content

3. Length of content

4. Spaces allotted to various topics

5. Use of design and graphics in content

6. Use of colors in websites

7. Authenticity in content provided and much more.

REFERENCES:

Auger, G. Q. (2010). Using dialogic web site design to encourage

effective grantor-grantee relationships , 1-7.

Bachman, J. (2014, March 25). Expedia goes mobile with

its ew Home Page. Business Week .

Bowman, J. (2012). Basic Online Public Relations, Marketing and

Customer Relation Tools. Retrieved September 25, 2014, from The

PR Doc: http://www.theprdoc.com/online-public-relations-

tools.html

Brabham, D. C. (2012). Managing Unexpected Publics

Online: The Challenge of Targeting Specific Groups with

the Wide-Reaching Tool of the Internet . International Journal

Of Communication (6) , 1139-1154.

Characteristics of website. (2014, June). Retrieved September

25, 2014, from Corporate Website:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_website

Debasish, S. S. (2009). Media Relations. In B. Das,

Business Communication (p. 135). New Delhi: PHI Learning

Private Limited.

Dharmakumar, R. (2011, January 25). Public Relation in

India is Taking the Flack. Forbes India , p. 1.

Dictionary, B. (2014, september). websites.

Duhe, S. C. (2007). New Media Impacts on Conventional

thinking of PR. In New Media and Public Relations (pp. 57-64).

New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc.

Falkow, S. (2004, August 3). How to make your website an effective

PR tool. Retrieved September 25, 2014, from Meritus Media:

http://www.expansionplus.com/news/news.php?include=15

Garson, D. (2005). Website Attribute Evaluation system.

In Handbook of Public Information system 2nd edition (pp. 156-160).

USA: Taylor & Francis Group.

(2008). Digital Age of Public Relations. In D. Grunewald,

G. Dua, & R. J. Petrausch, Public Relations: A Primer for Business

Executives (pp. 118 - 119). USA: iUniverse.

Gustavsen, P. A., & Tilley, E. (2003). Method. Public

relations communication through corporate websites: Towards an

understanding of the role of interactivity , 1-12.

Haig, M. (2000). E-PR . Derby: Saxon Graphics Ltd.

Hilyard, K. M., Hocke, T. M., & Ryan, E. L. (2011). A

qualitative analysis of disaster preparedness websites

for children. Disaster on the web? , 1-14.

(2006). Enabling Technologies of the World Wide Web. In

P. T. Joseph, Ecommerce: An indian perspective 2nd edition (pp.

140-141).

Kent, M. L., & Taylor, M. (2002). Toward a dialogic

theory of Public Relations. Public Relations Review , 21-37.

Kent, M. L., Taylor, M., & White, W. J. (2003). The

relationship between Web site design and organizational

responsiveness to stakeholders. Public Relations Review 29 , 63-

75.

Kitchen, P. J., & Schultz, D. E. (2001). Raising the Corporate

Umbrella: Corporate Communications in the 21st century. Wales:

Creative Print and Design.

Lane, A. B. (2012). The Kent and Taylor approach to

developing this theory is founded on the precept . 1-7.

Linden, P. (2013). How Ferrier HogsonTurned its website

into an effective PR Tool. Why a Wealth of Web Content is Worth its

Weight in Gold , 1-4.

Meier, K. (2009). Transparency in journalism. The Future of

Journalism .

Momorella, S. (2012). Social Media News Survey Report, 2012. TEK

GROUP International Inc.

Ogunjobi, T. (2009). Chapter 4: Corporate Websites. In T.

Ogunjobi, Drupal Website Models (pp. 10-11). Websesame.

Ormeno, M. (2007). Managing corporate brands. Gabler Edition

Wissenschaft.

Ormeno, M. (2007). Managing corporate brands. Germany: Gabler

Edition Wissenschaft.

Pejcinova, A. (2009). Public Relations Strategy and Practice. New

York.

(2009). In D. Phillips, & P. Young, Online Public Relations

(pp. 1-9). UK.

PRSA. (2011, December). What is Public Relations? Retrieved

September 26, 2014, from PRSA:

http://www.prsa.org/aboutprsa/publicrelationsdefined/#.VC

U57PmSxF4

PTI. (2014, October 5). Three of top 10 Sensex companies

add Rs 38,768 crore to market capitalisation . Economic

Times .

Publicis, M. G. (2012, June 2). Understanding the public

relations industry in India. Business Standard .

Reddi, C. V. (2009). Effective Public Relations and Media Strategy.

New Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited.

Redish, J. (. (2012). Letting go of the words. USA: Elsevier,

Inc.

Scott, D. M. (2007). The New Rules of Marketing and PR. New

Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Smith, R. D. (2012). Becoming a public relations writer. NY:

Routledge.

Stark, D. S. (2014, March 13). PR Communication Tools.

Stewart, C. (2004). Website. In Effectiveness of communication

tools developed by the 2020 Taupo-nui-a-Tia sustainable development project

(p. 24). Taupo: Institute of Geological & Nuclear

Sciences.

Tourish, D., & Hargie, O. (2004). Website Design. In Key

Issues in Organizational Communication (p. 77). New York: Taylor

and Francis Froup.

Wolcott, P. (2005). The Provision of Internet Services in

India. In R. M. Davidson, R. W. Harris, S. Qureshi, D. R.

Vogel, & G. J. Vreede, Information Systems in developing countries.

Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Press.

Young, D. (2005). A framework for addressing minority

suppliers as an Ebusiness strategy. In N. Shin, Strategies

for generating E business return on investments (pp. 143-145). USA :

Idea Group Publishing.

APPENDIX:

1. TCS:

www.tcs.com/pages/default.aspx

2. ONGC:

http://ongcindia.ongc.co.in/wps/wcm/connect/ongcindia/

home

3. RIL:

www.ril.com

4. ITC:

www.itcportal.com

5.Infosys:

www.infosys.com

6. CIL:

www.coalindia.in

7. HDFC Bank:

www.hdfcbank.com

8. SBI:

https://www.sbi.co.in

9. Sun Pharma:

www.sunpharma.com

10. ICICI Bank:

www.icicibank.com

Thank You!