BCCS: UNIT-II CORPORATE COMMUNICATION 1

CHAPTER – II

CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

1) Corporate communication:
Introduction
Organizations are striving to develop internal managerial expertise in corporate communication and
learn to use the outside expertise of Public Relations (PR) agencies well.
Corporate communication has to be paid attention because:
• missed opportunities and serious threats to business are costly alternatives
• variety of constituencies - employees, customers, competitors, partners- current and potential,
special interest groups, governments and the media are hounding businesses

Organizations therefore have become extremely sensitive towards society at large and consider
corporate communication as a very strong tool to effectively build their reputation and image in the
society. Successful corporate management in the new millennium is essentially about managing the
accelerated pace of change. Companies develop strategies for responding to the changes but often
overlook the importance of communicating the change initiatives to employees. If a strategy must
succeed, it is imperative that the entire organization understands it and works in tandem for achieving
corporate goals.

2) What is Corporate Communication?

Corporate communication means a corporation’s voice and the image it projects of itself to the world.
It is defined as the product of communication; it could be memos, letters, reports, websites, emails,
speeches or news releases. The aggregate of these messages is what a company sends to it
constituencies, whether internal or external. It includes areas like:
• Corporate reputation
• Corporate advertising and advocacy
• Employee communication
• Investor relations
• Government relations
• Media management
• Crisis communication.

Corporate communication is viewed from several vantage points like:

1. Function: A function that can be centralized or dispersed across company’s units. Majority of
the companies have corporate communication departments along with traditional functions like
marketing, accounting in their organizational chart.
2. Process: It is also a process a company uses to communicate all its messages to key
constituencies, a combination of meetings, interviews, speeches, reports image advertising and
online communication.
3. Attitude: Ideally it is an attitude towards communication or set of mental habits that employees
internalize. As a result good communication practices permeate an organization and are present
in all its communication with its constituencies.
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Corporate communication encodes and promotes:

• A coherent corporate identity
• A reasonable corporate philosophy
• A genuine sense of corporate citizenship
• An appropriate and professional relationship with the press
• Quick and responsible ways of communicating in a crisis
• An understanding of communication tools and technologies and
• Sophisticated approaches to global communication

3) Corporate Citizenship and Social Responsibility

“Corporate Citizenship is recognition that a business, corporation or business-like organization, has
social, cultural and environmental responsibilities to the community in which it seeks a license to
operate, as well as economic and financial ones to its shareholders or immediate stakeholders.

Corporate citizenship involves the social responsibility of businesses, and the extent to which they
meet legal, ethical and economic responsibilities, as established by shareholders. Corporate citizenship
refers to a company’s responsibilities toward society. The goal is to produce higher standards of living
and quality of life for the communities that surround them and still maintain profitability for
stakeholders. All businesses have basic ethical and legal responsibilities; however the most successful
businesses establish a strong foundation of corporate citizenship, showing a commitment to ethical
behavior by creating a balance between the needs of shareholders and the needs of the community and
environment in the surrounding area. These practices help bring in consumers and establish brand and
company loyalty.

The five stages of corporate citizenship are elementary, engaged, innovative, integrated and
transforming. In the elementary stage, a company’s citizenship activities are basic. They are able to
comply with the standard health, safety and environmental laws, but they do not have the time or the
resources to fully develop greater community involvement. In the engagement stage, citizenship
policies become more comprehensive in the innovative stage, with increased meetings and
consultations with shareholders and through participation in forums and other outlets that promote
innovative corporate citizenship policies. In the integrated stage, Performance in community activities
is monitored, and these activities are driven into the lines of a business. Once companies reach the
transforming stage, they understand that corporate citizenship plays a strategic part in fueling sales
growth and expansion to new markets. Corporate citizenship could influence consumer opinion and
behavior, and essentially turn consumers into brand champions. Respondents indicated that good
corporate citizenship by a company would inspire them to consider the following actions (in ranking
order):
1. Be willing to try the company’s products for the first time.
2. Welcome the company into their community.
3. Recommend the company’s products and services to friends and family.
4. Improve the overall trust for the company, its people, and its products.
5. Improve the overall opinion of the company’s reputation.
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Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a self-regulating business model that helps a company be
socially accountable — to itself, its stakeholders, and the public. By practicing corporate social
responsibility, also called corporate citizenship, companies can be conscious of the kind of impact they
are having on all aspects of society including economic, social, and environmental. To engage in CSR
means that, in the normal course of business, a company is operating in ways that enhances society
and the environment, instead of contributing negatively to it.

In its simplest terms, many equate corporate social responsibility (CSR) with being a good corporate
citizenship by supporting worthwhile community causes. CSR is a concept whereby companies
integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interactions with
their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. Corporate social responsibility is being increasingly linked to
core business objectives.

How does CSR fit with PR

I earlier days PR was seen as helping corporations to communicate that they were ‘doing the right
thing’, and this was often perceived as ‘buying goodwill’. Today, much CSR strategy is developed in
its purest sense to encompass environmental and social impacts, workplace practices, and corporate
governance. However, PR continues to have a role in the communication of the chosen CSR initiatives
to various stakeholders.

Reasons for a business being more socially responsible

1. Taking a leadership position through CSR can help differentiate the business and give it a
competitive advantage.
2. Community involvement can help bring more unity to a business, win the support of staff, and
help foster a better corporate culture.
3. Adopting a CSR-driven philosophy can lead to efficiencies in energy and materials use and
often lower costs.
4. Government and key stakeholders can often view more sympathetically a company that
incorporates CSR into its everyday business.
5. Evidence of a company that abides by CSR principles can help attract employees.

Corporate Reputation – A benefit to organizations

Reputation is no longer a ‘nice thing to have’. It is now a business asset. A good reputation helps a
company sell its products, recruit the best and the brightest, and attract the most desirable business
partners. Not just reputation, but intellectual capital, employee commitment, public trust, and corporate
brands are corporate assets that must be developed and preserved for success in business. The
reputation management challenge is to build, maintain, enhance, and defend an organization’s
reputation. Building relationships that preserve company reputation in both good and bad times
requires proactive communication.

Benefits of a better reputation

Companies with a good corporate reputation enjoy benefits such as word-of-mouth endorsement,
market dominance, and the ability to charge premium prices. (Example: Rolls-Royce, Microsoft, etc,)

Specifically, a better reputation is likely to……

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1. Increase the likelihood of products or services being recommended or bought.

2. Assist in obtaining premium prices for products or services.
3. Help attract and retain better employees and management.
4. Make it easier to do business with suppliers, retailers, or joint venture partners.
5. Help you attract investors or raise capital.
6. Protect from unfair criticism if the organization should come under any pressure.

The communication specialist helps build a reputation by

1. Getting management agree to standard messages that reflect the vision, values, and actuality of
the organization.
2. Identify and using key and influential channels of communication to reach stakeholders.
3. Ensuring that communication to key stakeholders and audiences is not haphazaed but is
planned and committed throughout the year.

4) Corporate Communication Strategy

Corporate communication strategy is the strategic management of the issues and relationships between
an organization and its various audiences. It has to have the following traits embedded into

Macro-level orientation
The Micro-Level Perspective
The micro-level perspective focuses on small details and daily interactions. It's the perspective you
gain when you closely home in on an individual problem and try to establish the elements of your
business practices that contribute to that problem. When you track an individual worker's performance,
examine the interactions between a worker and customer or offer training on a specific task, you're
focusing on micro-level processes.
The Macro-Level Perspective
The macro-level perspective considers the full panorama of the business. Macro-level issues typically
incorporate several smaller micro-level issues. When you notice that your business's profits have
diminished, that you're getting negative reviews online or that employee morale seems low, you're
taking a macro-level perspective.

Goal setting
If you want to succeed, you need to set goals. Without goals you lack focus and direction. Goal setting
not only allows you to take control of your life's direction; it also provides you a benchmark for
determining whether you are actually succeeding. To accomplish your goals, however, you need to
know how to set them. You can't simply say, "I want" and expect it to happen. Goal setting is a process
that starts with careful consideration of what you want to achieve, and ends with a lot of hard work to
actually do it. In between, there are some very well-defined steps that transcend the specifics of each
goal. Knowing these steps will allow you to formulate goals that you can accomplish.

Anticipating other’s reactions

The Ability to Anticipate: A Secret Weapon for Strategic Thinking and Influence. Qualities that you
can learn and apply to expand your impact as well. One that I reflect on often isn’t really talked about
a lot but I believe it’s a secret weapon for strategic thinking and maximizing influence. It’s the ability
to Anticipate, to predict or expect. Each of these “influencers” is able to foresee what’s ahead and to
predict an outcome. They understand the relationship between cause and effect and know how to
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leverage their understanding and experience to think things through. They anticipate outcomes based
on each situation so that they can respond strategically to get the results they wish to achieve.

Serving as a basis for action

A strategy can also be seen as an approach, design, scheme or system that directs the course of action
in a specific situation. Linear strategy, "focuses on planning, and consists of integrated decisions,
actions, or plans that will set and achieve viable organizational goals". Interpretive strategy, which
views the organisation as a "collection of co-operative agreements entered into by individuals with
free will. The organisation's existence relies on its ability to attract enough individuals to co-operate
in mutually beneficial exchange". The focus is on desired relationships, symbolic actions and
communication.

Links to organizational goals

Strategic management theory differentiates between enterprise, corporate, business, functional and
operational strategy. Corporate communication strategy is conceptualized as a functional strategy,
providing focus and direction to the corporate communication function. Acting as a framework for the
communication plans developed to implement the strategy, it makes the corporate communication
function relevant in the strategic management process by providing the link between key strategic
issues facing the organization and communication plans.

Legitimizing some issues/ de-legitimizing others

There is an increasing concern about the value contributed by firms to the society as a whole.
Transnational companies are particularly being questioned; therefore, legitimation for this kind of
corporations is demanded. Four delegitimizing factors: negative added value, negative equity, tax
evasion and moral hazard associated to potential situations of bankruptcy. Three legitimizing factors:
added value distributed to stakeholders, value distributed by “non-market” mechanisms and emotional
value generated to different stakeholders of the entity. Lack of legitimation affects large companies to
a greater degree.

Shaping memory
Memory works in tandem with symbolism to help tell and preserve organizational stories and histories,
as well as help shape our understanding of our organizational lives. Thus, if organizations are
composed of individuals and both organizations and individuals compose society, then studying the
intersection of individual and collective memory via autoethnographic investigation of corporate
culture should provide insights that better inform our understanding of corporate life and its
contributions to society. Second, we argue that having a better understanding of collective
organizational memories could provide an insider’s lens into the management practices that are taking
place within an organization as well as how those practices can be used to shape and influence
organizational culture and the messages organizations disseminate externally and internally (that is
their production of cultural artifacts). Third, we argue that because organizational cultures emerge
from members of an organization’s individual and collective memories, their narratives, (including
how they choose to remember, forget, and/or retell events), as well as their symbol using practices,
studying and understanding culture and its subsidiary organizational memory can provide valuable
insight into ways business is practiced.
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Making sense out of the confusing and ambiguous

Ambiguity can in addition also be perceived as vague, for example lack of clarity. Equivocality and
vagueness are subjective terms, as they depend on the person who is given the cue. A vague cue for
example can make sense to someone if that person already has a solid frame for it, and an equivocal
cue is equivocal first if the person already has a cue that is contradicting or inconsistent with the new
cue.

Providing point of identity

A corporate brand is the perception of a company that unites a group of products or services for the
public under a single name, a shared visual identity, and a common set of symbols. The process of
corporate branding consists creating favourable associations and positive reputation with both internal
and external stakeholders. The purpose of a corporate branding initiative is to generate a positive halo
over the products and businesses of the company, imparting more favourable impressions of those
products and businesses.

Evolving
Corporate communication represents an evolving area of study within the increasing puzzle of global
growth in the twenty-first century. The focus is to contribute to the development of a new theory of
corporate constructs of identity, image and reputation, formulating competitive advantage with
strategy formulation, within the framework of the new political economy – these economies do not
and cannot operate in a vacuum; the economies of scale are directly interrelated as a global society.

5) Crisis Management / Communication:

Any collective crisis situation is handled by three establishments – the government, media and
politicians. They tend to blame each other for any inefficiency of crisis management. As a result the
three establishments act independently without addressing the core issues of crises. Only the
peripherals are addressed. In contrast to the crisis management of the Kandhahar episode, the
11September 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre was handled more efficiently. Media created a
conducive atmosphere and prepared the public to fight against the terrorist and didn’t sensationalize
the event. The coordination among the government, media and politician was significant from the point
of crisis management. Prevention as well as preparation exercises can reduce the magnitude of the
crisis. Ex: Bhopal Gas Tragedy.

A crisis in a business scenario is any situation that threatens the integrity or reputation of a company,
usually brought on by adverse or negative media attention. It can involve; legal dispute, theft, accident,
fire, flood or manmade disaster. If handled correctly the damage can be minimized. One crucial thing
to remember in crisis is to tell it all, tell it fast and tell the truth. This can minimize the repercussions.
The first thing to do in a crisis is to contact the CEO and the chief of the public relations department.

In crisis situations:
1. Pace of the conflict accelerates dramatically and the parties have to react very quickly.
2. Increase levels of fear, anger and hostility complicate the crisis.
3. Communication is distorted or cut off entirely. As a result rumours and assumptions spread
fast.
4. The parties try to keep their real interest, strategies and tactics secret and use disruptive
strategies to try to increase their relative power.
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5. The parties’ ability to make rapid and sound decision is largely dependent on their ability to
quickly obtain reliable information. So communication needs to be increased during crises.
6. Communication involves efforts to prevent and halt violent confrontations.

Crisis Preparedness: Corporations are vulnerable to a crisis that can hurt their business, damage
consumers, investor and employee confidence, and in worst cases even threaten their very existence.
Corporate crises can occur due to:
• Intense scrutiny from variety of interests groups or media
• Product defects or contamination
• Disputes in industrial relations
• Accidents,
• Takeover bids
• Boardroom battles
• Family separation
• Litigation
• Government investigation or major disasters.

The best strategy is to be prepared for potential crisis situations.

Two main requirements for successfully managing crises are:
1. Company must work towards resolving the issues that created the crisis.
2. It must act fast to manage the perception of the problem among its key stakeholders for its
reputation and business sake.

Knee-jerk responses or thinking that crisis will blow over will only complicate the situation. Besides
identifying the problem and resolving it, the company must reach out to win the hearts and minds of
the public in general and its direct stakeholders in particular.
It must act decisively to:
• Maintain its credibility
• Sustain the loyalty of its customers
• The morale of his employees and the commitment of its investors

Communication challenges are faced by the companies which face litigation and investigation by
government. Crisis communicating plan – organizing and completing a plan that works

Need for Crisis Communication Plan:

Every company must have a crisis communication plan. Many aspects of a crisis are not worth
preparing for in advance, but all crises have a consistent element which can, and must be planned for
in advance. The plan concerns how a company will communicate with the media during and after the
crisis.

The plan determines whether a company gets hurt or grows as a result of the crisis.
The two key elements of any crisis plan are:
1. The crisis plan itself to deal with issue at hand, to minimize the loss and downtime and
2. The communication plan to communicate with the press and public about the crisis.
Media Release in Crisis Situation:
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One individual should be designated as a primary spokesperson to represent the company, make
official statement and answer media questions throughout the crisis. A backup spokesperson should
also be identified to fill the position in case of primary spokesperson’s unavailability. Individuals
serving as technical experts or advisors should be designated; they may be a financial expert, an
engineer, a leader in the community or any such person necessary during a specific kind of crisis. The
authority or technical expert in the field should be available to supplement the knowledge of the
spokesperson. The spokesperson will take some brainstorming by crisis communication team before
communicating with the media.

The criteria for spokesperson, backup spokesperson and crisis communication expert are they
should be:
• comfortable in front of the camera and with reporters
• skilled in handling media and in directing responses to another topic
• identifying the key points
• speak without using jargon
• respectful to the role of the reporter
• knowledgeable about the organization and the crisis at hand
• able to establish credibility with the media
• able to project confidence in the audience
• suitable in regard to diction, appearance and charisma
• accessible to media and internal communication personnel
• remain calm in stressful situations
• sincere, straightforward and believable

Media Policies and Procedures:

Locations for interviews and press briefings must be decided by crisis communication team. It should
be some distance from the office of the crisis communication team, company spokesperson and
emergency operations centre. Rules already established for media should not be changed at the times
of crisis. Ex: escorting the media personnel. It is best to restrict all interviews to the primary or backup
spokesperson or technical expert. Controlling the interview process is vital to manage crisis. All media
should be treated equally and what is given to one reporter should be available to all.

Practicing Tough Questions:

During crisis, tough questions will be asked by the media, therefore rehearsals are necessary to help
the spokesperson prepare. Time must be spent by the team rehearsing the prepared statements and
answers to the possible ‘tough’ questions. Similar rehearsals are to be conducted before each media
interview, briefing news conference. It is also important to anticipate and prepare for new questions as
story evolves. Public Relations staff should prepare questions and answers for internal use.

Prepared Statements:
Failure to communicate immediately during a crisis may lead to the loss if the greatest opportunity to
control the event. A fill- in the-blank news release can be used with little or no preparation as the first
news releases. The first release should include at the minimum the, who, what, when and where of the
crisis situation.

While giving statements to the media:

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1. Give facts gathered from the reliable sources and are confirmed ought to be shared.
2. Do not overreach yourself or speculate.
3. Limit the role, exceeding the limit is a mistake.
4. Show concern for the public and your employees, it will help secure the loyalty of your
customers and employees by taking the initiative to share information with them.
5. Have prepared statements in hand to make initial general response to the media.
6. Develop prepared statements to be made by the spokesperson at the onset of any media
interaction.
7. Statements can be read over telephone to reporters who call to request for information but are
not represented at news conference or briefings.
8. Statements can be sent by fax or email on request.
9. Definitive time must be allotted for next news conference or release of information to buy time
to add information.

Key audience:
In a crisis situation, the most effective method of communication to reach the group of people is to be
chosen. Ensure that communication reaches each group of the audience. The people served by public
affairs or communication departments include employees, customers, industrial groups, academia
etc…

6) Cross-cultural Communication:
Introduction: Culture refers to a group or community with which we share common experiences that
shape the way we understand the world. It includes:

• Groups we are born into like gender, race or nation

• Groups that we join or become a part of like moving to a new region/change in economic status
and
• Historical experiences.

The all- inclusive manner of defining culture reveals that an individual belongs to many cultures at
once. Culture influences the way, the problems are approached, and how the communication takes
place in groups and communities.

Culture and communication go hand in hand. Not acknowledging cross-cultural similarities and
intercultural variations may lead to stereotyping people from different backgrounds, exaggerating and
caricaturing other cultures and judging their specific ways of communication as fundamentally
different and implicitly wrong. On the other hand, understanding cultural differences will pave way
for effective communication at various workplaces. This will in turn lead to organizational
effectiveness and subsequent progress.

It is virtually impossible to say or convey anything which does not have any linkages to a cultural
context:
• Direct or indirect
• Written or spoken
• Action or gesture
Concept of Cross-cultural Communication
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There are three main concepts to any communication, they are:

Subject matter
• Medium of delivery and
• Cultural consideration.

Although cultural aspect of communication clouds even the simplest of delicate interactions, not many
people feel the need to truly face it. As a result fashionable phrases which are uttered appear to be
exercises in politically correct language or attempts at controlling personal irritation.

Cross-cultural communication:
• Looks at establishing and understanding how people from different cultures communicate with
each other.
• Tries to bring together unrelated areas like cultural anthropology and other established areas of
communication.
• Produces guidelines with which people from different cultures can better communicate with
each other.
• Identifies ‘culture’ as the root of communication challenge and misunderstandings and
misinterpretations as the most common problem people face.

Different Communication Styles:

Communication style refers to the way people communicate between and within cultures. It varies
widely between and even within cultures.
Aspects of Communication Style are:
1. Language usage: Across cultures some words and phrases are used in different ways. Ex: ‘yes’
may mean ‘maybe’, ‘I will consider’ and ‘definitely so’ with many shades in between.
2. Degree of importance given to non-verbal communication: It not only includes facial
expressions and gestures but also involves seating arrangements, personal distance, and sense
of time.
3. Degree of assertiveness: Different norms regarding the appropriate degree of assertiveness in
communication add to cultural misunderstanding.

Communication styles differ from culture to culture in numerous ways.

The two main distinctions identified by interculturalists are:
1. Indirect - Direct: Indirect and direct communication refers to the extent to which the words
or gestures convey the main theme in the process of communication.
2. High- Low Context: Context implies the innate and shared understanding people are expected
to bring into a particular communication setting, or shared nuances of language. Ex: shared
meanings attached with physical gesture.

High Context Low Context

People are homogenous and collectivist
Ex: Japan, Thailand and Russia
People will have reasonably good idea
about how a particular interaction
People are heterogenous and more
individualistic in nature
Ex: US
People have lesser assumptions about other’s
reactions.
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discussion would progress and how other

person will probably react to a comment
Many things remain unsaid as they are
assumed to be understood.
People may talk at length about things
which may apparently have no direct
relation to the issue at hand.
It is more direct and literal meaning of words
are more important, blunt questions are not
avoided
People prefer to discuss the main issue
directly.

The differences between these two contexts can be experienced during business meetings and sales
negotiations here people from different context meet. Ex: In Japan the senior most managers would
enter a room first. If someone from the low context culture who is not aware of this enters the room
first they will offend their Japanese manager.

Cross-Cultural Communication Strategies:

At time same word or gesture conveys different meaning to people belonging to different cultures.
Sensitivity and knowledge of all this is integral to a successful cross-cultural business communication.
Knowledge about potential problems of cross-cultural communication along with conscious effort to
overcome the problems is required for effective cross- cultural communication.

Precautions to deal with such problems are:

1. Active listening and understanding: Understanding the interaction completely before reacting
or jumping to conclusions. Active listening and repeating to check understanding can confirm
that one understands the communication accurately.
2. Knowledge of different Connotation of words in different language or culture can help evade
misunderstanding.
3. Taking the aid of intermediaries who are familiar with both the cultures can be helpful in cross-
cultural communication.
4. Sensitivity to cultural nuances will help one in winning the trust or establish a rapport smoothly.
Ex: in some cultures people move to the point quickly, while others talk about other things long
enough to establish rapport smoothly.
5. Direct Experience: access to the sources that cater to the members of the target group can be
helpful ways to understand any culture.
6. Tendency to overlook similarities and notice only differences has to be considered. It should
be understood that the standards of interpretation that are used in one culture cannot be applied
to interpret the behavior of another culture.
7. Stereotyping due to overgeneralization should be avoided.
8. One should be sensitive to variation within groups as well as among them. There may be similar
people in terms of personality and attitudes in different groups and dissimilar people within a
group.
9. Our own cultural identities become apparent on interacting with people from different cultures.
10. Cultures change with passage of time. So one’s knowledge of different culture is crucial.

Potential Hotspots in cross-cultural Communication:

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Opening and Closing Conversations: Knowledge regarding modes of address, salutations, levels
of deference to age, or social position, gender differences, acceptable ways to conclude gracefully
etc is required. These are artificial customs, to a certain degree, and there is probably no universally
right or wrong way to go about these things.

Taking turns during conversations: In some cultures it is appropriate to take turns in an

interactive way and in others it is more important to listen thoroughly, without immediate response,
lest it is taken as a challenge or humiliation. This depends on the context of the conversation, the
audience, and the levels of personal knowledge relationship between people interacting. Ex:
Western pair of executives may feel comfortable interacting in a give and take way in a public
market but if the market is in a place where such public display is considered to be in bad taste,
and then they may be giving offense without even realizing it.

Interrupting: In some cultures, interruptions (vocal, physical, or emotional) are considered default
conversational styles but for people from Northern Europe or the US it can be mistaken for
argument and hostility.

Use of Silence: Silence before a response is considered as a sign of thoughtfulness, yet at times it
may is perceived as a sign of hostility.

Appropriate topics of conversation: In some places talking of family issues and money is
considered vulgar but such topics are basis of afternoon television talk in the West. Businessmen
should learn the customs that are relevant to the deals, transaction of commerce, and the degree to
which details are specified in advance and enumerated in writing across cultures.

Use of humor: Use of humor is seen as a sign of disrespect by some but in the West, people often
try to build rapport through humor.

Knowing how much to say: In some places brevity is appreciated (Westerners) in other places it
is better to explain a rather small point using a longer preamble. There are occasions however the
Westerners say too much and lose the ability to communicate well based on the context.

Sequencing elements during conversation: the appropriate time to touch a sensitive issue in a
conversation or negotiation is a matter of concern. The sequencing is also important. Right question
should be asked in the right way and also at the right time.

***
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What is a communication strategy?

A communication strategy is a single, coherent narrative that describes a communications solution to
a problem or bundle of problems.

Objective
The purpose of this communication strategy is to ensure that communication is well coordinated,
effectively managed and responsive to the information needs of employees, the public etc. With the
arrival on the stage of sophisticated smart phones, ipads, laptops, tablets, etc., there is no question that
the manner of communication has been dramatically shaped by such explosion of online networks. On
the other hand, society is demanding transparency and involvement in policy formulation matters
making it imperative that clear, effective and flexible internal and external communication strategies
and skills are designed and implemented by organizations.

The role of corporate communications in an organization

Corporate Communications, which is an aspect of Public Relations, is a term that encompasses all
forms of communications that an organization uses to win the goodwill, support, confidence and trust
of its publics. This is a vital function of organization management. Integral to Corporate
Communications, is the influencing of public opinion. This is crucial if an organization is to gain a
favorable corporate image, especially if its image has been tamted by a senes of loss making scandals,
mismanagement and unprofessional business practices.

Corporate Communications’ decisions affect the credibility and indeed the viability of every
organization, either for the better or for the worse Organizations are relying more and more on
corporate communications practitioners to help them win public support, trust, goodwill and
confidence. Without the critical support of its publics, an organization’s very existence is doomed.
Corporate Communications department in any organization should act as the corporate antenna that
quivers to every shift in the social, economic, technological and political breeze.

In corporate work, the task of corporate communications personnel is to interpret the goals, methods,
products and services of commerce and industry to the public and simultaneously to help their
employers operate in a socially responsible manner. Such practitioners indeed function as bridges.
Broadly speaking, an organization has two publics, the internal publics who are the employees and the
external publics who include the organization’s stockholders, security analysts, investors, clients, and
suppliers, among others. The corporate Communications department in an organization must device
strategies of communicating to each of these diverse publics also called concerns as above, if the
organization is to effectively meet its goals.

Corporate sponsorships of special events like sports, philanthropic activities, road shows, a television
program funded by an organization, institutional facilities and staff brochures and grand opening
ceremonies are also done on basis of research Organizations make use of these events and publications
to promote their corporate image, products and services. A communication strategy is the critical
piece bridging the situation analysis and the implementation of a social and behavior change
communication (SBCC) program. It is a written plan that details how an SBCC program will
reach its vision, given the current situation. Effective communication strategies use a
systematic process and behavioral theory to design and implement communication activities
that encourage sustainable social and behavior change.
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Most communication strategies include the following elements:

• Brief summary of the situation analysis
• Audience segmentation
• Program theory to inform strategy development
• Communication objectives
• Approaches for achieving objectives
• Positioning for the desired change
• Benefits and messages to encourage desired change
• Communication channels to disseminate messages
• Implementation plan
• Monitoring and evaluation plan
• Budgets

Internal Communications
All organizations aspire to create better work places with open employee communications, high morale
and retention rates. Through effective communications, employees are better able to understand,
appreciate, contribute to and support organization's goals and objectives, and be motivated to achieve
maximum performance and superior customer service. Communication among staff members must be
open, timely and collaborative to achieve organization's goals and to ensure quality communication.

The following elements serve to enhance our internal communications:

• Regular staff meetings – Emphasis on person-to-person communication, opportunities for
immediate feedback and encourage a common understanding.
• Updates through: Newsletters – internally and externally
• Quarterly/Annual Reports –Learning and Development Portal (LDP) - Intranet site

Informing our staff of matters before informing the public enhances employee morale, strengthens the
“team” approach and provides for a better level of customer service.

External Communications
External communications are central to the success of the organization. As a function of good
organization, open and proactive communications ensure that the public receives clear, relevant and
timely information from the organization.
✓ What must be known (ex.by-laws and regulations)
✓ What should be known
✓ What is nice to know

Communication Channels and Media

In order to reach the widest audience while at the same time keeping the implementation of the strategy
modest, other languages of communication in the regions will have to be identified and used.

Social Media
Traditional methods of communication still have their role, however social media – engaged
conversation supported by on-line tools - has fundamentally changed the way our stakeholders
discover, consume and share information and it has enabled millions of people and organizations
worldwide to connect and communicate in new and innovative ways. We are in the age of social media
 BCCS: UNIT-II CORPORATE COMMUNICATION 15

and it is dramatically altering the way we communicate. It has created a new world. Social media is
not just a rich source of information; it enables organizations to become proactive, influence
perceptions, and address the needs and interests of their audiences.

Social media is a nebulous term to define, but basically refers to online communication tools that have
more to do with networking and conversations. Examples of social media sites include Facebook,
YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter to name a few. An added benefit of social media in comparison to
traditional media is that it is easily measured and provides a mechanism for response. The social media
strategy takes the approach of starting small, doing a few things well, and growing from there.
Used correctly, social media can greatly enhance our organization’s brand and can facilitate business
development, job growth and community pride.

Media Relations
Purpose
✓ To ensure all communication with the media is consistent, well-informed, timely and
appropriate.
✓ To clearly indicate authorized spokespersons.
✓ To maintain positive relations with the media by providing them with accurate, timely
information.
✓ To improve communication with internal and external stakeholders and enhance public image.
✓ To establish protocols and consistent methods of managing communications to the media to
ensure relevant and approved comments.
✓ To limit the possibility of miscommunication and to maximize the effectiveness of staff by
ensuring that comments to the media are made only through authorized staff.
✓ To establish guidelines for effectively communicating and publicizing news about the
organization with the media.

Authorized Spokespersons
The CAO may nominate other staff to act as spokespeople for the organization or where it is most
appropriate to address specific departmentally focused items. It is essential that authorized
spokespeople for the organization employ best practices to ensure that the organization speaks with
one voice and presents clear and concise information.

Advertising
A corporate identity and branding program should encompass vehicles and equipment, employee
uniforms, signs, advertisements, correspondence, email signatures, publications and business cards.

COMMUNICATION METHODS
Annual Reports
The report will be published and made available during the last quarter of every financial year. It will
address the main problems and challenges encountered in executing projects, programmes and
activities. Furthermore, the publication will be of Professional quality and layout.

Public Events
The organization will annually present itself to the public at trade fairs/ business expo held at national
level country wide. This will help to provide and explain information on various
 BCCS: UNIT-II CORPORATE COMMUNICATION 16

Programmes offered by the ministry.

Public Relations
To improve the image of the organization all documents will have to be the same in appearance (font
face and size; paper layout, alignment, indentation and spacing). There has to be consistence in the
design and style of the ministry’s publications to exhibit corporate branding.

Newsletter
A newsletter will be released every quarter to serve as an instrument that facilitates both internal and
external information sharing with the staff and stakeholders. It will be necessary to print hardcopies in
addition to circulating softcopies via email.

Press Releases/News Conferences

A press release is the most convenient and cost saving means to reach the public. It is the basic format
to effectively disseminate useful information about very important events to the public. Events or news
of major relevance will be announced/ made public through press releases/news/conferences to allow
a wider coverage to enhance public transparency and accountability.

Website
Website should enhance professionalism and effectiveness in information sharing with the latest and
updated information. The webmaster is tasked to maintain and upload information onto the site, while
the general upkeep such as constant updates and feeding relevant information to the site remains with
the Corporate Communications Office. Information for update from all units will be communicated to
the Communications Unit via Intranet which will then do the update. Facebook account will be created
and utilized fully to create an interactive platform offering the public an opportunity to communicate.

Communication Strategy Principles

✓ All communication will have to be easily understood, non-discriminatory; up-to-date and
available in formats that can meet the needs of the respective audience;
✓ All communication will have to conform to legal requirements, unified corporate identity and
only strive to promote the reputation of the ministry;
✓ Timely and positive responses to genuine media/corporate/individual queries;
✓ All press releases are to be checked by a dedicated member of management for accuracy, style,
quality and conformance with ministerial policies.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE STRATEGY

The monitoring and evaluation phase will comprise activities such as events monitoring, events
management, performance reviews and surveys.

The detailed description of the activities is given below:

a. Events Monitoring: The strategy will deliver many activities at the same time. It will therefore be
necessary to put in place a framework for ensuring that all the activities are delivered as designed.
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b. Events Management: Given that the delivery of the activities of the strategy in an efficient and
professional manner would require a fulltime focus, the ministry will need to strengthen the public
relations function to have enough human power to manage the implementation of the activities.
c. Performance Reviews: On a six monthly basis, management with the support of an
external consultant will prepare and host a performance review of the strategy.
d. Impact Assessment: Towards the end of the yearly communication strategy implementation period,
an impact assessment will be carried out. This will include the execution of a survey to assess the
impact of the implementation of the strategy.

Why develop a communication strategy?

A communication strategy guides an entire program or intervention. It sets the tone and direction so
that all communication activities, products and materials work in harmony to achieve the desired
change. Strategic activities and materials are more likely to promote change. A communication
strategy also enables stakeholders and partners to provide input and agree upon the best way forward
so that actions are unified. With an agreed-upon communication strategy, staff and partners have a
map they can refer to through the various program development stages.

Communication strategies - step by step

As with most communication disciplines, there are a number of approaches to developing strategies.
However, there are certain common elements that should always be present. This section includes ten
key things for you to consider.

Context
Before you get into the detail of what is new in a strategy, it is important to recognize the context in
which it is being created. Crucially, this includes linking the strategy to the departmental business
objectives or strategic priorities. Setting communications in the context of a departmental business
case is crucial in making the case for them. A second crucial area of context is an assessment of what
we already know, whether this is about the audience, the product, the service, the initiative or previous
attempts at communication.

Vision, aim and objectives

A crucial role of a communication strategy is to define the ultimate outcomes desired. These can be
expressed at several different levels:
• Vision. The vision is the ultimate goal of the strategy. It can be helpful to express this in
colloquial terms - answering the question 'What does success look like?', for example. The
vision sets the context for the objectives rather than providing a structure for evaluation, and
therefore does not need to conform to SMART. Nonetheless, it should still consider the
audience - which behaviors and attitudes are you trying to develop?
• Aim. An optional second step is to define an aim. An aim can be useful in providing a focus
for the more detailed communications objectives.
• Communications objectives. Communications objectives are distinct from the business
objectives, which will already have been set out. They are a crucial part of any strategy, as they
will drive the strategic decision-making process and provide the focus for evaluation.
Communications objectives should be SMART.

Insight
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Insight is a deep truth based on behaviour, experiences, attitudes, emotions or beliefs that is powerful
enough to effect change. The four key sources of insight are data, research, and
environment/technology and people closeness.

Strategic options
The crux of the strategy should show the strategic options that have been considered and the choice
that has ultimately been settled on. It should be founded on audience insight, and linked back to the
context in which you are operating. It is important to demonstrate consideration of a number of
alternatives here, and the factors that drove the eventual choice.

Stakeholders
The strategy should consider the various audiences and the relationships between them. In addition to
a description of the end customer or citizen, this should include:
• Partners;
• Delivery agents;
• Interested bodies and individuals; and
• Staff (in the department and/or agency).
This is also the stage at which consideration needs to be given to the internal communications aspects
of the project.

Proposition and top-line messaging

Creating detailed, audience-specific messaging is part of the creative process of delivering the project.
However, at the strategic level it is important to consider the proposition or propositions you will make
to the audience (a proposition is a key promise or trade-off made to an audience). The proposition may
be supported by the top-line messages - the most important points you wish to get across to the
audience.

Outline of approach
The detailed elements of communication media and channels are generally presented in a separate
plan. However, the strategy should present an outline of how the ideas will be put into practice.
Crucially, it should identify the role of each medium and the communications milestones, and present
a timeline. This is also the point at which full consideration should be given to the diversity of the
audiences.

Resources
Having established what we are going to do and for whom, the strategy now needs to set out the budget
and resources required, and how much of these are already secured.
This is also a good place to set out roles and responsibilities.

Interdependencies
Depending on the range of the initiative covered by the strategy, it might be useful to set out a series
of interdependencies. If, for example, the strategy addresses only part of a strategic priority, is there
activity planned to complete the rest of the work? This is also an opportunity to identify and mitigate
against potential clashes/duplication and identify synergies.
Risks and assumptions
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Whatever the recommendations of the strategy, there is certain to be an element of risk. This may be
associated with:
• unknowable reactions from stakeholders or other audiences;
• Uncosted elements of the strategy; or
• The evolving nature of many of the policy areas being worked in.
A complete strategy should identify the key risks associated with the recommended strategic approach,
their likelihood of occurring/potential impact and top-line mitigation plans. The assumptions that will
have necessarily been made to complete this document should be identified, and the impact of mistaken
assumptions acknowledged.

While the headings above serve as a guide, it is important to note that the communication strategy is a
living document. Key sections should be added as they are developed, e.g. the core script, role of
media, creative idea, creative guidelines, budget breakdown, stakeholder plan, etc.

Unit-II: CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

Define the importance of corporate communication. 14 CO1

Explain corporate citizenship and social responsibility. 14 CO6

Explain the traits of corporate communication strategy. 14 CO1, CO4

Illustrate the crisis management. 14 CO2

Explain the role of communication in crisis management. 14 CO 1, CO3

Define cross-cultural communication. 14 CO1

Outline the need for a crisis communication plan. 14 CO3

“Media release in crisis situations play a significant role”. Explain. 14 CO2, CO6

“Corporate reputation: A benefit to organizations”. Justify. 14 CO2

Explain the concept of cross-cultural communication. 14 CO1