Discussion: The Strategic Management of Corporate Communication (Steyn and Puth – Chapter 3) Steyn and Puth quote Tibble who postulates the difficulty in the application of a strategy in a communication context or within the corporate communication function. He says that strategy in particular to PR do not seem to go together. This is informed by the rarity of a strong sustained and effective communication strategy that does not implicit a brand strategy, a marketing strategy or an advertising strategy. The authors add that corporate communicators oft misuse strategy for something important such as strategic messages or direction and also as an activity such as a communication strategy. In their view, an effective strategy should provide Leadership of thought and activity process for all communication programmes The context and guiding principle for all communication activities The link between the why and how that is the logic that binds both objective and tactics together It is therefore important to note that a strategy is the product of a well researched and thought through process which takes the whole picture into account- the qualitative aspects of the organization and the environment it faces. This forms part of the strategic thinking. The importance of a strategy is that it:
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Discussion: The Strategic Management of Corporate Communication
(Steyn and Puth – Chapter 3)
Steyn and Puth quote Tibble who postulates the difficulty in the application of a strategy in a
communication context or within the corporate communication function. He says that strategy in
particular to PR do not seem to go together. This is informed by the rarity of a strong sustained
and effective communication strategy that does not implicit a brand strategy, a marketing
strategy or an advertising strategy.
The authors add that corporate communicators oft misuse strategy for something important such
as strategic messages or direction and also as an activity such as a communication strategy. In
their view, an effective strategy should provide
Leadership of thought and activity process for all communication programmes
The context and guiding principle for all communication activities
The link between the why and how that is the logic that binds both objective and tactics
together
It is therefore important to note that a strategy is the product of a well researched and thought
through process which takes the whole picture into account- the qualitative aspects of the
organization and the environment it faces. This forms part of the strategic thinking.
The importance of a strategy is that it:
establishes a framework in which ongoing communication are tested
helps in reviewing and questioning the decisions and direction taken by the corporate
communication function
aids in creating a profile that helps identify the right problems to solve and priorities
issues to which communication plans are programmes are developed.
Provides a framework for the strategic communication plan and operational plan. They
also help to choose how it should be communicated.
Determines what the corporate communication function should be doing in support of the
enterprise and corporate strategies
Strategy creation and implementation model
How it must be communicated
Analysis
SynthesisWhat to be communicated
The Corporate Environment in Strategy Development
Media
Employee communication Plan
Investor plan
Crisis communication Plan
Strategic communication plan
Implication of issues on Stakeholders
Internal issues
Identify key Strategic issues
Policies
External environment
Internal environment enterprise
Priorities issues
Specific communication plan/campaigns/programmes
Action plan
Environment is defined as the sum total of all conditions and forces that affect strategic opinions
of an organization and define its competitive situation but are typically beyond its ability to
control. The environment is important for corporate communication policy/strategy must exist
within it.
The environment comprises facets both internal and external. Internal environment entail issues
such as corporate profile, mission, vision, values, culture, philosophy, policies etc. The external
environment consists of stakeholders and other cultural and economic conditions.
Internal Environment
i. Corporate Profile: In this context, the financial status, repute, products and services
are considered. The marketing and legal functions in light of information e.g. reports
at different functional levels are considered. The location, size and nature of
ownership of an organization also build to its profile. Such factors in a sort of
boomerang further determine the location, size and nature of supplies, customers,
competitors and shareholders. Further, corporate profile comprises the staff
component and key management in terms of formal and informal structures of
communication.
ii. Vision: It is a representation of realistic-futuristic state of expectations. It defines an
organization’s direction and intended achievement in terms of goals and objectives. It
is an organization’s ‘big picture’ – that which makes it stand out from the rest.
iii. Mission: It is the purpose or role of an organization in society and economy. It
trickles down from the intentions of stakeholders, the public, government etc. It
identifies ambition and describes the nature of work done by an organization. It is
therefore an organization’s timeless and common cause. [Vision is about goals
whereas mission is about behaviour/emotional feeling of commitment].
iv. Corporate Values: They are sets of principles that determine standards of practice.
They emphasize the commitment of the workers of an organization. Corporate values
elicit codes of ethics that guide decision making and ensure congruity between
messages for internal and external consumption.
v. Corporate Philosophy: It is a system of concepts that determine motivation and are
derived from corporate values. Corporate philosophy bears an orientation on the
mission statement; and is a guiding principle for organizational behaviour, employee
engagement, empowerment, customer service, quality control, change, community
etc.
vi. Corporate Culture: It is a way of doing tings that is peculiar to an organization. It is a
set of shared values conveyed through symbols. Corporate culture is often a non-
written account of assumptions about what is acceptable (and otherwise) – an
intangible theme that defines overall conduct just like persona.
vii. Corporate Policy: It is an expression of strategies and plans. It comprises principles
for behaviour that define continuing basis for specific actions. It further defines
philosophy and, provides direction and guidelines. It is normally non-detailed and
exists as a set of tenets for conducting business. [Policies differ from procedures and
rules. Procedures - a detailed series of tasks for accomplishing an activity. Rules –
detailed specific requirements that relate to an employee’s conduct].
External Environment
It comprises four main categories namely remote, industry, operating and functional internal
environments.
i. Remote environment: It is also referred to as the macro or societal environment. It is
referent to sectors that affect organizations indirectly by influencing its long-term
decisions. It is a conception larger than any particular organization. It exposes
organizations to opportunities, threats and constraints against which organizations
pose no challenges in reciprocity.
Factors under the macro environment include:
Social factors: beliefs, values, attitudes, opinions and lifestyles of people,
emanating from cultural, ecological, demographic, educational, ethnic (etc)
conditioning. They are dynamic and subject to change.
Economic factors: They exist at national and international level. They include
availability of credit, level of disposable income, people’s propensity towards
spending, prime interest rates, inflation rates and trends in the growth of the
gross national product.
Political factors: These define legal and regulatory parameters through
organizations must operate.
Technological factors: They involve rapid change or sudden breakthroughs –
factors considered paramount in avoidance of redundancy; and, promotion of
innovations and inventions.
Ecological factors: These are relationships between humans and other living
things; and patterns of utilization of natural resources.
ii. Industry environment: It may be global or domestic. It describes an assortment of
organizations that offer (real or perceived) similar products or services. The five
forces at play in this environment are:
Threat of new entrants
The bargaining power of customers
The bargaining power of suppliers
The threat of substitute products or services
The interplay amongst current contestants
iii. Operating/task environment: There are segments that have carry out direct
transactions with the organization thereby bearing directly on its daily operations and
goal attainment. It comprises groups such as customers, suppliers, competitors,
creditors etc. the organization has more control over the task as opposed to remote
environment because it is more susceptible to scanning, timing and predictability.
Through scanning, an organization is able to competitively strategize to market its
goods or services profitably. Factors affecting profitability of an organization in this
environment include its:
competitive position
composition of its customers
reputation amongst creditors and suppliers
ability to attract capable employees
However issues such as consumerism, government regulations, environmental
pollution, energy costs and/or availability, inflation fed wage demands, heavy foreign
competition etc may place immediate pressure on the task environment.
iv. Functional internal environment: refers to areas of specialization within an
organization for instance finance, human resources, operations, administration,
corporate communication etc. Information from this environment is not often
emphatically sought in scanning per chance it bears strategically minimally in task
environment analysis.
Issues in the Definition of Environment
Definition of the term environment in corporate communication is elusive as it is perceived
differently by different scholars. The existing definitions include the following issues:
The micro, macro and task environments as part of the core decision making process.
Members therefore have rights and ability determinate of the success of the organization
The environment as a non-physical source of information. This defines environment in
terms of messages and meaning (how they react to it). Organizations in this case survive
through arbitrary intervention - not necessarily through laid down policy or procedure but
subscription to social norms and responsibilities.
The environment as a patterning of strategic issues quite different from environment as a
set of general components, cognitive maps or a collection of stakeholders.
Components of the macro, industry and task environment may neither be easily identified
or mutually exclusive. The impact of one element therefore affects one or more elements
in different ways.
Such deviations are however important for understanding the strategic decision process.
Boundary Spanning
It is the continuous activity of scanning the external environment to seek information pertinent
for strategic organizational decision making. It is carried out by boundary spanners and is
considered fundamental in understanding external environment. Boundary spanners bear the
ability to recognize changes in the external environment for information needed for
organizational survival. Organizations therefore develop strategies and align their resources and
competencies with the environment to survive. The boundary spanning roles involve:
i. Input: information acquisition, processing and control; also referred to as the
mirror function.
ii. Output: external representation in which information is disseminated to the
external environment to create favourable image for organizational thrive.
Boundary spanning is not hierarchical thus can be carried out by different entities at different
levels in the organizational structure. Boundary spanners make critical decisions for the
organization. They must therefore beware of different scopes of contextual information and be
able to translate feedback across communication boundaries, oversee internal distribution and
creation of important links.
Representational boundary spanning does not mediate critical resources and is non-powerful, a
reflection of roles of most corporate communicators. Further, citing the rigidity of formal
information media and limited encoding capabilities of formal systems, boundary spanning is an
effective mode of timely acquisition and interpretation of information. Boundary spanners also
offer consultancy at higher decision making levels.
It has however been observed that many authors discuss how organizations should scan the
environment or who they should observe in the environment. Fewer scholars have addressed the
role of corporate communication in helping organizations identify the most important aspects of
the environment; and even fewer scholars in strategic management have mentioned it.
Model for Developing a Corporate Communication Strategy
1.1.1 Steps in the Process
Analyze the internal environment
Identify strategic stakeholders and publics in the internal and external environment
Identify and describe key strategic issues in the internal and external environment(differentiate between types of strategic issues)
Identify the implications of each strategic issue (for each of the strategic stakeholders)
Decide on the corporate communication strategy(what must be communicated to solve the problem/capitalize on the opportunity)
Set communication goals(based on the corporate communication strategy)
Conduct an overall corporate communication media analysis(which kinds of media best suit the organization)
Develop communication policy(who is allowed to communicate what to who)
Draft to top management
Develop a strategic communication planCommunication programmes, campaigns or plans
1.1.2 Analyze the internal environment
- To make communication relevant in formulation of organization’s strategy, intimately
familiarize with organization’s internal environment.
1.1.3 Identify strategic stakeholders and publics
Draw up stakeholder map (organizational linkages, public relations audit).
Identify organizational consequences on Stakeholders or Publics (social audit).
Identify Stakeholder Perceptions, Attitudes or Concerns (public relations audit).
Identify Stakeholder familiarity with organization (corporate image studies).
Identify key stakeholder issues (both organizational and communication).
- Key component of stakeholder’s communication function – anchored around
organization’s stakeholders.
- Organization’s environment consist of different groupings of stakeholders, with each
stakeholder having significant different set of values, needs, desires, wants, goals and
objectives.
- Management of relationships in an organization is the responsibility of corporate
communication department. To manage these relationships, the organization must first
identify different stakeholder.
- Ways of identifying strategic stakeholders: research, focus groups and surveys.
Analyze the internal environmentCorporate profile/Vision/Mission/Corporate