Crisis Communications

Crisis management and business continuity professionals understand that effective communication before; during and after an incident can drastically alter the outcome of that incident.
When an organization has determined the most effective mix of communications media, i.e. the means to communicate, it should apply sufficient attention to deciding what to say and when to say it, then design and implement a sufficiently robust testing and continual improvement process.
The communications industry has created an extremely wide variety of means to communicate, but each one has a number of characteristics that should be taken into consideration when planning to communicate in a crisis. In a crisis, the normal selection criteria may not be applicable or those criteria may take different priorities. Simplicity, ease of use, reliability under heavy use and basic effectiveness take on added importance.
Chances are incredibly high that your company is going to experience a crisis of some kind in the next 5 years. It's how you handle that crisis with the media which will likely determine whether that crisis builds or seriously damages your company. That's why it is vital that you develop a crisis communications and management plan that prepares you in advance for this eventuality. In preparing this plan, keep in mind that this crisis may allow you to continue business as normal, or it may result in a situation where you aren't able to get access to the tools you normally use to do your job (natural disaster, lockout, etc.) so your crisis communications kit needs to provide the capability for you to provide the appearance of normality even in the most abnormal situations. Thus it's important for your crisis communications kit to not only be duplicated in some offsite location, but to also include information, disks, graphics, computer files, photos, etc. that are normally readily at your fingertips in your office.

The Ten Steps of Crisis Communications

1. Identify Your Crisis Communications Team
2. Identify Spokespersons
3. Spokesperson Training
4. Establish Communications Protocols
5. Identify and Know Your Audiences
6. Anticipate Crises
7. Assess the Crisis Situation
8. Identify Key Messages
9. Decide on Communications Methods
10. Riding Out the Storm
If a crisis strikes, who will the spokesperson be? What will he or she say? How timely will that response be? Will it be believable? Reassuring? Who has the key to the office after hours?
For organizations, these may well be life or death questions that point up the need for crisis planning and preparedness. Along with a responsive plan comes the requirement that it be drilled regularly, as realistically as possible.
An organization may pride itself on relating to the news media when things are going well. But if events take a dire turn and effective crisis response isn't provided, media relations can quickly sour. In good times or bad, management needs to be ready to communicate well.
The Next step in Crisis Communication is the Crisis Communication planning. This crisis communication plan will outline a generic, basic crisis communication plan. To apply it to your situation you may need to adjust some things and add your own information. It is not intended to answer all questions or fill all needs it is just a basic outline of options you might consider if and when you are in the midst of a crisis and need help.
A crisis is any situation that threatens the integrity or reputation of your company, usually brought on by adverse or negative media attention. These situations can be any kind of legal dispute, theft, accident, fire, flood or manmade disaster that could be attributed to your company. It can also be a situation where in the eyes of the media or general public your company did not react to one of the above situations in the appropriate manner. This definition is not all encompassing but rather is designed to give you an idea for the types of situations where you may need to follow this plan. If handled correctly the damage can be minimized.
In contrast, one of the worst environmental accidents in history, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, is generally regarded as one of the worst managed in history because of the lack of coordination between management, operations and communications. The extraordinary work done by the Exxon oil spill response crews in terrible weather conditions is generally not known because of the company's inept and insensitive communications with the community and government officials. It took CEO Lawrence Rawl two weeks to visit the scene and make any kind of substantive statement regarding the tragedy.
If anybody questions the importance of focusing on the financial consequences in crisis communications, consider what the lack of crisis communications cost Exxon in addition to the damage to its reputation as a leading oil company. The costs of the cleanup were approximately $1 billion, but Exxon was forced by the courts in Alaska to pay an additional $3 billion in compensatory and punitive damages. One can only speculate on how much less the punitive damages would have been if Exxon had expressed any empathy in the first days after the accident to the fishermen, local citizens and millions of TV viewers who were appalled and outraged by the damage done to Prince William Sound.
Another oil company, Texaco, had a major crisis of its own when a disgruntled employee secretly tape-recorded an inflammatory discussion about racial discrimination among several Texaco managers. When the employee gave the tape to the plaintiff's attorneys in a lawsuit alleging racial bias in Texacos personnel practices, they distributed it to the New York Times . The crisis went from Smoldering Level 1 to Sudden Level 4 in a few hours.
To its credit, Texaco responded quickly and decisively, with CEO, Peter Bijur, serving as crisis manager and principal spokesperson in the ensuing media onslaught. Texaco took action to discipline the employees involved, resolve the lawsuits and defuse a boycott called by Reverend Jesse Jackson.
The dispute was resolved for $175 million, and probably cost the company at least that much more in internal costs related to the crisis. However, it could have been far worse for Texaco's reputation and much more damaging financially if it had not been resolved so quickly. In this instance there was no business continuity plan and no time to develop one. This was crisis management and crisis communications at its best-- and it paid off.

Links:

http://www.cnbc.com/

http://www.indiatoday.com/

http://www.indiatimes.com/

21st Century Communication Trends

Stephen P. Borgatti identifies five organizational trends:

• Globalization
• Diversity
• Flexibility
• Flat
• Networked
  

Globalization means that organizations will become more and more active outside their national borders. This means that companies do not only compete nationally, but all over the world. From my point of view, a company in the 21st century can only survive if it has the ability to compete against international companies.Diversity means that companies nowadays have a more heterogeneous workforce, that they need to cope with different styles of clothing, interaction, presentations and the media... I think it is a good thing that companies diversify themselves, as this can lead to different thinking and different experiences within the company.

Flexibility means that the organization is flexible regarding processes, people, rules, procedures, autonomy etc. Flexibility is needed to stay competitive, to adapt to new situations, and to compete with other organizations.

Flat organizations enable discussions, decision making of employees and increasing motivation among employees. I think a flat organization can be more flexible and more competitive than an organization with more hierarchical levels, as communication is necessary to adapt to new situations.

Networks are necessary to deal with customers, competitors, the media and suppliers, as well as shareholders and all stakeholders included. Networks can be an important part in a company's gained success.

I will focus on globalization, and have the information that I found about Toyota and its business practices was interesting. Toyota has a globalization plan in affect since 1995. Toyota has focused on sales, manufacturing, research, and management and has improved greatly in each of these areas. They have used these areas to expand from 3 major markets, Japan, United States, and Europe, to markets all over the world, while keeping their globalization plan strong, so they can continue with their plan to reach their goals. They have used their plan, to create new vehicles, new manufacturing plants, and new sales offices. This globalization plan for Toyota has brought them up to the top of the ranks, sitting with GM and Ford.I think that globalization plays a huge role in Borgotti's theory because I think if a company sits down and creates a globalization plan; the other trends tend to fall into place. As the company sets up to follow the plan that they have paid out, diversity, flexibility, flat, and networked all become part of the plan that keeps the company rolling down the path to success.Links http://www.googleimages.com/

http://www.analytictech.com/

http://www.autointell.com/asian_companies/toyota_motor/toyota-main/toyota-globalization.htm

Internal Communications

Internal communication involves communicating messages inside a company. Internal communication is very critical piece of every company. Without internal communication organization of a company can get very difficult. Internal communication provides organization and an easy way to communicate with everyone, which helps to keep problems and confusion to a minimum. With new technology, internal communication has become a lot easier.
Through the efforts of internal communications, organizations can strengthen their relationships with employees which could drive performance and significantly contribute to financial success. The increasingly complex and highly competitive nature of today’s business environment puts greater pressure on employees and also calls for a more concentrated effort, on the part of organizations, in the area of internal communications. It is essential for managers to recognize the benefits of providing information to employees and also listening to them. It may result in those employees becoming enthusiastic about their work and connected to the company’s vision, which could allow them to further the goals of the organization.
In EMC where I was doing my internship, we used to have meetings weekly twice for all employees. It helps the managers to understand the employees. It was very useful as we had weekly report meetings once a week. Due to this meetings it made us think very differently and do all the research. In the weekly meeting, we could do the research before every meeting; it means that we could write our problems work on it. After the meeting, we can do more research with a survey about how the meeting was. I think that is a good meeting because the manager can understand what we want and they can get good feedback. The feedback would not always be positive, but all the feedback is good for the relationship between the employees and employer.A good internal communication should be based on equal situations. Before communication, if we can think about what the other people want, then we will have a good internal communication.

Grouptree is a company which creates Internal communications modules which deals with, Internal communications modules are designed specifically for communicating information to employees and internal stakeholders. Internal communications modules help staff work together more effectively and exchange ideas and information to achieve organisational goals.

www.grouptree.com/internalcommunications.htm

As i was working in EMC, any news in the corporation was projected and been flashed in the companies Intranet Website and also on the notice boards. This was my personal experience in relevance to Internal communications

Media Relations

Media Relations Definition

While many people use the terms "public relations" and "media relations" interchangeably, the definition of media relations is somewhat narrower. Media relations refer to the relationship that a company develops with journalists, while public relations extend that relationship beyond the media to the general public. Media relations are important, but it's also critical to keep in mind the end result, which is the message that's disseminated to the public.

Working with the media involves opportunities and risks. Many organizations hope to harness the media's reach and influence. Indeed, positive editorial coverage can enhance credibility in a way advertising can never accomplish. Having representatives quoted in an article or interviewed for a newscast can position your organization as an industry leader, responsible corporate citizen, product innovator or consumer advocates.

Yet bad publicity can quickly taint reputations. In business crisis management, media relations efforts often focus on minimizing coverage. Sensationalism, inaccuracies and out-of-context quotes frustrate executives, especially given the speed with which news organizations act.

Media relations is a critical aspect of crisis management to ensure stories being reported are accurate and to keep important publics informed about your organization's efforts to control and correct the situation.

Ultimately, even in a crisis, expertly managed media relations can help strengthen an organization's reputation, which can produce qualified leads, generate sales and develop new business for your company.

Media relations capabilities must include:

Editorial audits to examine past media coverage;

Message development to define what will be communicated;

Media strategy to determine what to send, to whom to send it and when to send it;

Media database development and management;

Media materials preparation, including written materials and electronic presentations;

Editorial board outreach to ensure the message is delivered to the most important gatekeepers;

Development of media-focused Web sites to ensure immediate dissemination of accurate information and to correct inaccuracies;

Personal outreach to and negotiation with journalists;

Development of op-ed pieces through which corporate leadership can express a strong point-of-view to an influential audience; and

Media monitoring to evaluate progress and change course, as appropriate.

In the Business Journal: Messages must grab audience with meaning for brand loyalty, the author Dan Keeney staes that “Too many companies confuse dissemination with communication. They crank out a steady stream of words and images, but are deaf and blind to the impact. And, their brands suffer as a result of the directionless, emotionless dreck that comes from the keyboard”. This means that a number of specific steps must be taken to help establish or strengthen a brand through communication. The steps being

Decide where the brand should be

Narrow the targets

Narrow the messages

Communicate consistently

Make “listening” a central element.

Adjust course to capitalize on what is “heard”

Link: http://www.keeneypr.com/downloads/business_journal_sept_2000.pdf

The Coors case provides an example of the importance of having the most authoritative figure respond to the media. When 60 Minutes approached Coors, the Coors Company decided to have the Coors brothers be the people on the show. Coors was facing a nationwide boycott of its products due to allegations of unfair labor practices. The Coors Company knew that this story on 60 Minutes was either going to make or break the company. The story showed Coors very positively by responding to the unfair labor practice allegations and illustrated that the nationwide boycott did not have a solid foundation. In this case, Coors used the media to its advantages and helped to repair the company’s image.

Now, watch this interview between Microsoft's chairman Bill Gates and a BBC reporter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ou-ZBGV-TQ .The reporter faces Bill Gates with the allegation that Microsoft is not so innovative like younger competitors, e. g. Google. Bill Gates is not only able to bring up arguments that his company is completely up-to-date and competitive, but also uses a supportive body language and style of argumentation. The same thing happens when the reporter confronts Bill Gates with the standpoint that Microsoft is too influential and dominant. The chairman answers that Microsoft is very successful and offers many quality products. Thus, he points out positive things, when he is questioned about negative aspects.

In the Internet Age, companies' media strategies have to go beyond TV and newspapers. They have to face a new dimension of coverage. Think of consumer forums like "Makemytrip" (http://www.makemytrip.com/), blogs, and websites that help consumers to find the cheapest price of a service for travel to many destinations http://www.makemytrip.com/. Information can be transmitted and retrieved within seconds, and a company's popularity can drop or explode within a very short time. Hence, companies need to extend their media relations to the internet, which offers great chances, but also risks.

Corporate vs. Product Advertising

Advertising is paid, one-way communication through a medium in which the sponsor is identified and the message is controlled. Variations include publicity, public relations, product placement, sponsorship, underwriting, and sales promotion. Every major medium is used to deliver these messages, including: television, radio, movies, magazines, newspapers, the Internet, and billboards. Advertisements can also be seen on the seats of grocery carts, on the walls of an airport walkway, on the sides of buses, heard in telephone hold messages and in-store PA systems. Advertisements are usually placed anywhere an audience can easily and/or frequently access visuals and/or audio, especially on clothing. Advertising clients are predominantly, but not exclusively, for-profit corporations seeking to increase demand for their products or services. Some organizations that frequently spend large sums of money on advertising but do not strictly sell a product or service to the general public include: political parties, interest groups, religion-supporting organizations, and militaries looking for new recruits. Additionally, some non-profit organizations are not typical advertising clients and rely upon free channels, such as public service announcements. For instance, a well-known exception to the use of commercial advertisements is Krispy Kreme doughnuts which relies on word-of-mouth.

Corporate Advertising

Corporate advertising is a way to show how his company is helping to solve the energy shortage, feed the world's hungry, conquer urban blight and traffic congestion, keep the streams safe for fish and the world safe for democracy. In case the corporation is also doing what corporations are for — such as upgrading resources, generating capital, and paying some dividends — these subjects can be discussed in specialized financial media. They would only confuse the layman. To ordinary people millions, billions, and trillions are just different names for the same thing. And in their eyes, if Reliance made a 10 billion profit last quarter, that would seem to mean that drivers who buy gas at the pump suffered a 10 billion loss. Not good publicity. Stockholders may feel the same way when Reliance makes 10 billion and declares a 23-cent dividend. Isn't that like running up a big restaurant bill and then leaving a three-rupee tip? A strong corporate brand can signal reliability, expertise, or commitment to a particular idea/ideology. It brings a sense of reliability to the company's individual products and brands. Once in a while, a large group or conglomerate comes out with advertisements both in print and in the electronic media where the emphasis is on the company and the range of interests it has, the number of industries it spans, its outlook, contribution to its employees, to the nation, and so on, and not on its products per se. Sometimes, the products or services these industries provide are not consumed directly by the common man, at least on a daily basis, such as shipping, or mines. For instance, the Aditya Birla group has one such commercial on air now. Who are these advertisements aimed at and what purpose do they serve, considering they are not exhorting you outright to buy their products? Why are they not seen very often? And how do they help the advertiser? advertising of the company' or corporate advertising, as it is referred to, brings to light a critical, though often under-emphasised aspect of business. While most companies pay attention to the branding and marketing aspects of the individual `brands' that they sell, few companies pay adequate attention to or indeed exploit the full potential of their `corporate' brands. IBM Corporate Advertising 1948-1954

`Corporate' brands, simply put, tell us what to expect from the company as a whole. Corporate brands (and advertising thereof) can have several audiences: Consumers of the company's products, shareholders - who could be either present or prospective shareholders/investors, stakeholders - present and prospective employees of the company, vendors and so on. In theory, people often distinguish between the vision (aimed at the shareholders of the company), mission statement (aimed at the employees of the company) and the corporate position (aimed at the consumers). However, I strongly believe that all three - vision, mission and positioning - are closely related. While corporate advertising often addresses consumers as the primary audience, I believe it can have significant impact on the other two audiences also. Companies need to, and indeed do take into account all three perspectives while developing their corporate brand positioning. Let us see how the corporate brand affects these three audiences.

Consumers: While each individual product/brand has a unique position of its own, many brands that people consume also have a `heritage', i.e., consumers have an opinion of the company that manufactures and sells the brand. In certain categories such as health services, banking, food (which may be either high-risk or high-value), the heritage of the brand may play a key role in influencing consumer choice. Across all categories, a strong corporate brand can signal any one of the following - reliability, expertise, or commitment to a particular idea/ideology. The brands we know (and recognize) are the ones we trust. A strong and recognizable corporate brand brings a sense of reliability to the company's individual products and brands. In addition, a corporate brand may signal the company's expertise in a particular area, and thereby strengthen its individual brands' claims. Over and above all this, a corporate brand often stands for a strong idea, or principle that the company would like to stand for, which can then rub off on the perceptions of their individual brands/products. Even in cases where the products may not be consumed often, or directly, corporate brands can influence decision makers. Corporate brands can even play an important role in influencing social pressure groups, policy makers or public opinion at large. For example, companies that are seen to operate in categories that are environment-unfriendly (like oil exploration, mining) try to cultivate an image of being environment-friendly. Thus they try not only to positively influence consumer perceptions about the individual brands in respective categories (e.g. automobile fuel) but also try to positively influence any policy making in this regard through public opinion.
Shareholders: Several corporate undertake advertising just before going in for a public issue of shares, in the hope of positively influencing investor confidence in them. Individual investors or even financial institutions can be influenced by what the corporate brand (and hence the company) stands for.
Stakeholders: A strong corporate brand can act as a strong guiding force for the employees of the company. This is even more critical for multi-product companies or those operating in multiple categories. A strong corporate brand can unify employees across divisions/departments and tell them what is expected of them individually and collectively. More importantly, corporate brands help instill a sense of pride in employees and can help attract and retain the best talent. A company that is consistently portrayed as an innovative front-runner will have least trouble in attracting innovative talent! In the Aditya Birla Group's case, the corporate branding exercise tries to address audiences across this wide spectrum - to signal a change from being an old-economy, family-run group to a new, professionally-run and dynamic organization. This will influence not only potential consumers (even though all its products may not be daily use products), but also potential investors and employees.

Example of Aditya Birla Commercial

THE MAKING OF AN EPIC
The Aditya Birla Commercial 2006 is a film of epic proportions. The objective of this commercial is to depict that people from various ethnicities work for the Aditya Birla Group as a team. The creative challenge was to depict the Group, as the confluence of cultures. This year’s film has it roots in last year’s film, where VGC positioned the Group as the first Indian Multinational Company.

Product Advertisement
Advertising agencies all over the globe are always in search for new ideas and innovative concepts in order to push a product towards a specific market. Advertisements target viewers by classifying the strong selling point of the product. On this same foundation, advertisements are set to promote the said product by identifying their target market. Upon classification of the product and identifying its market, advertising agencies use several techniques and resources of different forms and then later apply them to the concept of their advertisement.
Consider the advertisement for Microsoft's X-Box game which talks about graphics and contents .It discusses the advertisement's target audience and its positioning. After seeing the advertisement, I analyze the message strategy and graphics strategy used in the advertisement and the brand identification strategy.
The overall assessment of the advertisement's success in reaching its intended audience is positive. The ad is targeted at the primary MAD audience - teenagers - and through 'comic-book' styled layout of graphics and minimal text, the ad entices their market into either wanting to play the game, or investigating the game at either their local retail store or online. The ad also utilizes a single picture of teenagers playing the game. This is interlaid within the comic-book layout of scenes from the game as well as 'comic' blurbs, like "Thwack!!!"."

On a whole comparing Corporate with Product Advertisements

While corporate advertising brands a company and its image, product advertising brands a certain product. The goal of product advertising is to target a special focus group by advertising a special product and increase the sales volume of that product. For example, see this product ad which clearly focuses only on Coke Zero and not on the whole Coca Cola Corporation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1VxrT1vDwU

There are three categories of corporate advertising: image advertising, financial advertising, and issue advocacy. Image advertising has the aim to reinforce a company's identity and to enhance its reputation. Especially when structural changes occur within companies, they frequently use corporate advertising to strengthen their identities.
For example, they need to explain their new vision and strategy when they merge with other companies: the "Ask Dr. Z."-campaign was launched by DaimlerChrysler when the company was striking for a larger market share in the United States http://www.autoblog.com/media/2006/06/askdrz.jpg

In the campaign Dieter Zetsche, CEO of DaimlerChrysler, was a cartoon figure that answered questions of people. The goal was to inform constituencies about the new company and to strengthen DaimlerChrysler's image in public. Corporate advertising is an efficient tool for changing or establishing impressions about organizations if structural changes have taken place. Further, it allows companies to differentiate themselves from rivals. The users of corporate advertising are mostly larger corporations, and many of them operate in controversial industries like oil extraction and cigarette production. These companies try to improve their reputation with their corporate advertising. Other reasons for companies investing in corporate advertising are to increase sales and to recruit or retain good employees. Of course, the relationship between product advertising and sales is clearer than the one between corporate advertising and sales. However, companies try to draw out features about themselves which they think might appeal to the public and make consumers buy more products from them. Corporate advertising is also used to create a stronger reputation by letting constituencies know what a company is all about, presenting its beneficial actions, and to built credibility in public. Finally, organizations use corporate advertising also to attract and retain employees. The goal is to keep and get bright people by creating excitement among both potential and current employees. CIA's recruitment commercial is a good example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg4_MuV4MpY

With this ad, the CIA tries to convey its scientific and technological image in order to attract bright engineers and scientists as employees.

Corporate Communication Relevance

A growing number of companies recognize the value of corporate communications departments and are adapting their budgets and internal structures accordingly. Public relations (PR), the predecessor to the corporate communication function, grew out of necessity. In corporate communications the object of communications work is company/enterprise itself as opposed to marketing communications where the object of communications is product/produce or service provided by the company/enterprise. The aim of corporate communications is building company's reputation among its stakeholders (as opposed to brand building in marketing communications).Corporate communications may include: analyst relations, internal communications, investor relations, corporate governance, issue management, change management, corporate social, responsibility, litigation, and crisis communications. Like investor relations, all kinds of financial statement are channels to communicate between executive groups and shareholders.
I worked in EMC, where I had to work in two departments. As a HR I had to support two teams which dwelt with two different scenarios. The communication between the two different teams was based on the coordination between the managers and the employee relationships. These two teams did not communicate properly with one another. The lack of communication created a lot of problems within just two teams which were small compared to the entire company. Staff members did not collaborate and work together and it was not clear what proper procedures were. The employees were the ones who probably faced the greatest difficulties with this lack of communication. Each time a different staff member assigned us a task there was a different way to finish the task. Additionally, employees that came into the office did not always get the same response for the same question. The answer depended on the Manager who was asked the question. This led to inconsistency and proper actions not being taken. From my work experience in this department, I realized how relevant and important effective communication was to a business organization.

Identity, Image, Reputation

In the article, Corporate Image and Logos, the author emphasized how does corporate image is very important in an organization.The marketplace is awash with logos, repeated in television commercials, on trucks that pass us by; on packages and signs in the supermarkets; stationery and flyers. The list is endless. It is essential, then, for a logo to have meaning; to present to the subconscious mind of the consumer a message about the corporation and/or the product it represents.A logo does exactly that in a very subtle way. Part of a logo's impact comes from repetition, the very act of seeing a familiar symbol on a continual basis. Every company, every branded product or service needs a logo for this purpose.An organization’s identity is the visual manifestation of the company’s reality as conveyed through all tangible ideas or materials created by the organization and communicated to their constituents. The image is then simply a reflection of the tangible identity seen from the constituents’ perspective. These tools may be the most powerful and influential weapons organizations possess today in their efforts to differentiate themselves from competitors.
Consider the Example
EBay and Amazon.com understand the value of reputation systems. On eBay, a member’s reputation guides other users to decide whether an auction can be trusted or not. Although easy to manipulate, the reputation system is a foundation of eBay’s growth and popularity. On Amazon.com, the reputation system allows users to judge the value of other people’s reviews. It, too, provides an important tool to users to make value-based purchasing judgments.
On more traditional communities, ratings and reputation systems can take many forms. The simplest is the number of posts made to the community. The more posts a member makes, the more “senior” they become. Date of registration can also be used as an indicator of a member’s seniority. More complex systems allow members to rate one another, and some systems combine these techniques.
Most people value their ratings from others and the reputation they build in a community. It’s an investment, just like a 401(k) retirement fund. Once members are invested in a reputation, they are far less likely to abuse it.
Reputation systems can also be tied directly to a role system, so those with increasingly senior reputations can be given greater access or responsibilities within the community. Those with no or little reputation can be given little or no access to a system or service, providing them an incentive to increase their reputation. (Such a direct tie-in will not work for every site.)

Communication Technologies

"Our greatest fear is that the Internet will become a vehicle of free distribution of information." By Ken Wasch, President of the Software Publishers' Association, 5 September 1995

The use of communication technology is ever-present in modern-day public relations practice, and often there’s no choice but to adopt the most up-to-date communication technology.

Carol Kinsey Goman discusses in her article, “Communicating for a New Age,” that the younger generation is moving from the “passive” or “pushing” communications to the “active” or “pulling” communications. Goman writes, "technology has generated a shift in communications to collaborations.” Younger generations are used to using technology and being involved; therefore, communication within the workplace also needs to be updated to include more technological means of communication. You can fully read Goman’s article at the following link: http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/workforce-management/4074603-1.html

There are many forms of communication we use today. The uses of the phone, fax, and e-mail are in the entire rise. The question is which the best to use is, and what the most effective way to use it is.The use of e-mail today is becoming more and more effective form of communication. We get numerous numbers of e-mails a day and we respond only to a few; this show how un-effective this form of communication is. A company may have to use e-mail if they are spread over a large geographic area as it is the easiest way of communication. The use of phone conference is also a very popular today. Many companies have corporate meeting; given the rising cost of travel; face to face is not always accessible. In order to communicate as a group the use of phone conference is very helpful. The use of video conference is also on the rise, as this helps to know who you are speaking to. For example, even the smallest and most traditional businesses require the Web sites that their customers expect, and the submission of a simple news release to a mass medium’s electronic newsroom must satisfy the technological requirements of that medium. Organizations must continually monitor blogs, recognizing that harmful rumors can spread worldwide in minutes. The contemporary practice of public relations requires practitioners to immediately respond to emerging issues and crisis situations via Web sites, blogs and other new media. Today, the choice of communication channels is dictated by technology: a practitioner must seriously consider which message forms and channels would be best for specific publics. Often, new technological forms and channels, such as electronic pitching, podcasting and blogging, prevail over traditional news releases and media kits.

But communication is still a significant challenge. Consider you working for a company, in a single day, you probably send and receive email, make phone calls from your desktop and mobile telephones, and check messages in multiple mailboxes. You might participate in an audio conference call, use instant messaging and schedule meetings with your calendaring application. By this we can say that communication technologies play a important role in the organizations which may be large or small.

Microsoft has come up with its new technologies to communicate within the company. In the coming years, unified communications technologies will eliminate the barriers between the communications modes—email, voice, Web conferencing and more—that we use every day. They will enable us to close the gap between the devices we use to contact people when we need information and the applications and business processes where we use that information. The impact on productivity, creativity and collaboration will be profound.

With unified communications, you will be able to tell at a glance if the person you need to talk to is in the office and available to take your call. When you are on the phone, you’ll be able to move from a two-person conversation to a conference call with a click of the mouse, or switch to a video conference that includes colleagues and partners from around the world. Unified communications solutions will have the intelligence to know who is allowed to interrupt you when you are busy and automatically route phone calls, emails and instant messages to the right device when you leave the office. You’ll also be able to listen to your email or read your phone messages.

Unified communications will reduce complexity on the backend, too. Today, IT struggles to operate an unwieldy mix of disconnected systems: a PBX system for phone calls, a messaging system for voice mail, a solution for email, a system for instant messaging and more. According to one recent survey, a typical company has deployed six types of communications devices and runs five different communications software systems.

The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue. The most sophisticated satellite has no conscience. The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in the relations between human beings, and in the end, the communicator is confronted with the old problem, of what to say and how to say it.

Information from: http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/execmail/2006/06-26unifiedcomm.mspx

When I was doing my internship in EMC² as a Human Resource, I had to communicate with the manager of that respective team to know the details of that position. As EMC² is a MNC, I had to speak to managers who used to work in different parts of the globe; I would communicate with the help of email, phone conference, WEBX Calls & video Conferencing. Some times the interviews would happen with the help of phone call & video conferencing. So communication technologies play a vital role in the organizations.

Communication theories

Tell me and I`ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I`ll understand. Chinese Proverb

Organizations can not operate without communication. Communication can take various forms but all forms involve the transfer of information from one party to the other. In order for the transfer of information to qualify as communication, the recipient must understand the meaning of the information transferred to them. If the recipient does not understand the meaning of the information conveyed to them, communication has not taken place.

"Communication is the life source of organizations because organizations involve people. People cannot interact with each other without communication. In the absence of communication, everything would grind to a halt."

For example:

The workers in an organization would not know the organization’s objectives so they would not strive to achieve the organization’s objectives.

• The workers in an organization would not know what their roles and responsibilities were, so they would not be able to carry out their daily tasks and duties.
• The managers would not be able to train their workers reports so the workers would not possess the skills they needed to carry out their jobs.
• The managers would not be able to inform workers of changes
• The organization would not be aware of their competitors activities

And the list is endless……………..

On the whole people are able to communicate with each other as this is a basic human function. However successful organizations strive not only for communication but effective communication.

Different Communication Theories

Aristotle Communication Model

In the history of philosophy, Aristotle first addressed the problem of communication and attempted to work out a theory of it in The Rhetoric.In general communication often use models to try to present a simplified version of communication, containing the essential 'ingredients' only. With a bit of luck, these models should help us to tease out the factors which are common to all forms of communication. If we can do that, then we can hope to judge how effective a communication has been, find our where it went wrong if it wasn't successful and improve it next time.

In his Rhetoric, Aristotle tells us that we must consider three elements in communication:

• the speaker
• the speech
• the audience

If you just think for a moment about the variety of communication acts, you shouldn't have too much difficulty seeing those elements. In some cases, of course, Aristotle's vocabulary doesn't quite fit. In the example of you reading the newspaper, no one is actually 'speaking' as such, but if we use, say, the terms 'writer' and 'text', then Aristotle's elements can still be found.

Lasswell's communication Model

Harold Dwight Lasswell ( February 13, 1902 — December 18, 1978 ) was a leading American Political scientest and Communications theorist.
He is well known for his comment on Communications:

Who (says) what (to) Whom (in) What Channel (with) What Effect
and on Politics:
Politics is who gets what, when, where, and how.

Lasswell's model of communications is significantly different from others and his notion of channel is also different, since it includes different types of media. For example, newspapers, magazines, journals and books are all text media, but are assumed to have different distribution and readership, and hence different effects.

Shannon and Weaver Model

Shannon and Weaver suggested a linear model where a "sender encodes a message that is transmitted through a channel to be decoded by a receiver." This has become known as the SMCR model and appears as the basic model of communication in virtually every management and marketing textbook. The irony is that Shannon and Weaver were engineers at Bell Laboratories (Western Electric) and were trying to describe what happens during telephone conversations.

Schramm Model

Schramm added a very important concept. His model used the terms "source" and "destination" to describe the same entities as sender and receiver. However, his significant contribution was the concept of "frame of reference" or "sphere of experience." Messages must be encoded by the sender or source using common symbols in the frame of reference of not only the sender but also of the receiver or destination.

Shannon and Weaver’s model over the next 5 years was transformed by Schramm into what became his third model in which a message is decoded, interpreted, and then send out as a encoded message. This model in my mind raises the question similar to the chicken and the egg, which came first. Since messages in this model always begin with decoding, it begs the question are all communications simply feedback from earlier messages, a question that may never be satisfiably answered. Over the next few years both Katz and Lazarfield and Westley- MacLean developed models that were ultimately trumped by Kincaids’s convergence model in 1979.

Strategic Communications

All communication situations are different. But there are some general questions you can ask about any communication situation that will help you respond more effectively to it.

Questions for Analyzing Communication Situations

Motivation: The Why Question

Audience: The Who Question

Description: The What Question

Application: The How Question

(Information above taken from http://www.chass.ncsu.edu/ccstm/scmh/model.html)

It is important that all business have the ability to have a plan to communicate the right message to their employees, investor, and potentially the customers. It is so important that all managers, employees are able to say clearly what they have to say and in the right and effective way to get the point across. We strategically communicate everyday including in government

(Information above taken from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/scp/)
(Information from http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2004-09%20Strategic_Communication.pdf).

In today’s competitive world, time is the most important factor. Strategic Communication means getting the right message, through the right media, to the right audience at the right time. Now a days economies are global, and businesses have not only restricted themselves to one location or country but also spread their operations over seas.The main goal for any organization should be to send the message across to different constituents through the right medium without distorting the meaning. The corporations should try to establish constructive dialogue with employees and strategic partners. The businesses should be dynamic, create alliances, achieve desired actions, and achieve communication under different situations and build valuable human assets for them.

When you have to apply Strategic Communication to any business, you need to have Strategic Communication Planning. In today's fast-moving workplace, organizations' goals and objectives must evolve in order to provide the best route for success. The success of those organizations often hinges on the ability to communicate effectively with the workforce and stakeholders. Strategic communications characterizes the challenges and provides the goals, objectives, an implementation plan, and an approach to carry out purposeful and effective communication.

Examples: There are many companies like Conferenz which use Strategic Communication as the base line for there business. They have many meetings to plan their Strategic Communication. They have seminars, training programs on Strategic Communication.
Link: http://http/www.conferenz.co.nz/creating-an-effective-strategic-communications-plan-6.html
Toyota has build their employees as their assets and together they have grown to become the world’s largest manufacturer, the employees are given education, training, financial support, role-plays, demonstration and feedback nurturing them as their valuables. Toyota communicated to the world that they build fuel efficient cars, and today as the fuel prices are sky high people are buying Toyota.

From my point of view it is essential in putting together a strategy in any line of work. To be able to know what you want to communicate to the people is the key. As a business we have to be able to effectively say and portray the right message and image.

The Changing Environment of Business

The business environment has changed dramatically with the changes taking place in today’s competitive world. Only businesses those are flexible and are able to adapt to the changing environment will exploit new opportunities and avert threats more successfully than their competitors. Globalization has really affected the business environment. Technology has strengthened communication channels around the globe. The media and the Internet are powerful channels for view on business to be expressed and debated. Corporate communication must be closely linked to a company's overall vision and strategy. From my point of view, it is very important for companies that the companies must have a good representation in the media; therefore the communicator for a company has to stand for principles, missions and statements of the company. If companies communicate the new values and the mission in the right way, I am sure that they can be seen as innovators and increase their good reputation.

The changing environment of business leads to an uncertain and complex environment where businesses have to operate. Often the management of a company had to find out those former beliefs and values are no longer valid in the new environment. Those beliefs suddenly produce no longer the solution that they produced a few years ago. The patterns of the past are less likely to recur in the same format in the future. This can lead to serious problems for companies and the need to adapt quickly to the changing environments.
(Information above taken from: http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10232001-152437/unrestricted/03chapter3.pdf)

I realize that most companies have a chain of command or communication, whether that company is flat or tall structure. When I was working in Datacraft it had order of communication, you must first communicate the problem you are having to your direct supervisor, then your supervisor will communicate the problem to the assistant manager and general manager, and they would communicate the problem to the board. If the problem was not sorted by the supervisor then you could communicate to the general manager.

New technologies also bring some changes in business. Ten years ago, Internet was not popular on the world. Nowadays, people use website and e-mail to help them deal with business. Many use Internet to sell and buy products, new technologies bring more work chances for people. Goods can be sold to different countries with the help Internet. The Internet provides a great platform for the international business to communicate. Instant messenger is a fantastic tool for people to communicate at the same time on the different place. I think that the Internet system is the primary factor to effect the environment of business.