Understanding Corporate Communications For Objectives Is Essential For Writing An Essay. (70 Characters)

Corporate missions, purpose, and objectives

Discuss about the Understanding Corporate Communications for Objectives.

Corporate communications is an integrated communication approach between an enterprise and its key internal and external stakeholders. Typically, every company has a set of missions, visions, and goals, which it means to pursue[1]. It is the role of the corporate communications department to understand the company’s intended strategic direction and create synergy by communicating clearly to the various stakeholders in order to achieve success[2]. This essay will thus explore the functions of corporate communication and how it could very well define the success of an organization using British airways reorganization in 1987 as a case study. It will explain the relationship between a firm’s mission, vision, and goals to its communications strategy. More to this, the paper will go on further to expound on the various internal and external stakeholders of a company; their roles and impact on the firm. Lastly, it will look at the various disciplines in corporate communications such as corporate social responsibility and public relations and mention real examples.

Organizations develop an individualistic foundation of plausible values demonstrated by a vision to be undertaken by the firm’s mission statement[3]. The former coupled with goals setting is particularly significant in the strategic direction of a company. Therefore, the corporate communications practitioners must familiarize with these three important aspects in order for it to carry out its task. Goals are generally guiding principles not only for management but also for employees in terms of establishing precise direction and coordination of activities within the firm. On a competitive viewpoint goals help in distinguishing a company from its rivals[4]. It provides motivation and understanding of what employees should be working towards achieving. According to Kokemuller (2009), goals also drive innovation, research, and development, marketing strategy as well as service delivery. This in turn gives the organization an upper hand in the market position.

The mission statement, on the other hand, defines the fundamental objectives of the organization[5]. In brief, it summarizes what the company is about, the way of operation, its core values and how the organizations intend to achieve its vision. Therein, the vision narrates the future of organizations in fulfillment of its mission. Comprehensively, the mission, vision and goals of a company in essences describe a company to its employees, management, shareholders let alone the public[6]. A well-fabricated statement of these three aspects would, however, be purposeless if not properly conveyed to the stakeholder, hence, the need for corporate communications department in a company. For that reason, corporate communications has to work hand in hand with the senior management to deliver the company’s objectives effectively.

The role of corporate communications in modern organizations

British Airways is the largest airline in the UK formed in 1974 and currently operating a fleet of 270 aircrafts (Britishairways.com, 2018). During the 1970’s oil crisis, British Airways experienced massive financial losses as it struggled to maintain it’s large workforce. It developed poor services that led to a decrease in customer base. When Lord King, was brought in as the new chairpersons in 1981 he restructured the entire organization. He reduced the workforce, eliminated routes that were unprofitable and modernized fleet. This lead to massive increase in profits to $284 million 10 years later, recorded as the largest profits during that time. This success can be attributed to the ability of lord king to communicate effectively to all shareholders of the company. He clearly explained the new vision of the company while making clear his reasons for restructuring and layoffs in a transparent way. From this illustration, it is clear that communication is a key factor for any strategy an organization chooses to undertake.

As mentioned earlier, importance is accorded to the various stakeholders of a company due to their ability to shape the company’s operations[7]. Internal stakeholders include, employees, managers and shareholders. There have been rapid changes in the work force over the last century whereby the new generation of employees demands more than just monetary gain from their workplace[8]. Whilst previously, money was a motivator for most people, recent developments are that satisfaction of employees can be linked to the company values and culture. Other factors leading to employee satisfaction include, leadership, opportunities for career advancement, security, fair treatment and welfare (Chamberlain 2017).  Poor organizational communication could be detrimental to an organization as it could lead to a breakdown in trust between workers and management, low productivity, inefficiency and ultimately high turnover. Corporate practitioners are obliged to take into account the various need of these employees and communicate the same to managers.

Every stakeholder has certain needs with regards to the corporation. All these need should be well articulated by the corporate communications department for the advancement and success of the company.

Shareholders, including individual, institutional and general investors have a right to be provided with information concerning the company on a timely, equal and comprehensible manner. Information to be provided to shareholders includes financial information, strategic direction, performance, corporate governance and risk management measures. The corporate communications department has a responsibility to ensure that shareholders are provided with information in order for them to make informed decisions about their investment in the company. Communications could be via any channel accessible to the shareholders such as the annual reports, annual general meeting or any other meeting necessary to them. Notably, constant sharing of information with the shareholder leads to transparency and better working relationships with the organization.

Crisis management

External stakeholders include, the customers, the media, the general public, labor unions. The world has changed and the whole media matrix has changed too. The media has always works as an important catalyst in communication to external stakeholders. It can either serves as a platform to advertise a brand or as a tool to convey important information to the public (Frederick 2018). Undoubtedly though the media is an instrument for growth of a firm, it could be the means to the downfall of a company. In truth, yet unfortunate, the media thrives on the negative news. A media house may jump at an opportunity to publicize “bad new” since it “sells more.” The corporate communications personnel in a company has a role to play in managing what the media covers about the organization to maintain the reputation of the company. Media could be in the form of print media, televised media or social media. Functions of corporate communications personnel in this case extends over to organizing for news conferences, planning for banners, logistic and overall content to be sent out to the press. Media relations also involve organizing for a spokesperson for a televised program or radio program[9].

In crisis management, the way in which an organization deals with crisis could be the very indication of its survival and profitability in the future or the thread line by which the company crumbles. Corporate communication though a relatively new mantra in the corporate world is meant to assist the organization in times of crisis[10]. Labor related unrest is the most crisis faced by organizations across the globe. Some other forms of crisis would include pollution of environment by the firm, critical accidents at work, violence and layoffs. It encompasses strikes, violence or picketing by the public, labor unions or employees. Crisis is brought about by a breakdown in communication and should be addressed immediately but with caution. The corporate communication provides content and training to staff throughout out the organization on how to handle crisis. They also provide content for delivery in media coverage. In crisis involving employee strikes, for instance, it would be advisable for communication to not be on sided. Communication should reflect the standpoint of not only the management but the employees as well. Crisis management strategy laid out by the communication personnel should be quick, honest, transparent and non- biased. Further more, communication to management on crisis should be a continuous regular process and not a one-time action for it to be effective.

Corporate social responsibility refers to business practice that surpasses making profits. It requires that an organist ion should be socially and environmentally responsible in their operations. While corporate social responsibility should be an independent function, it can be leveraged for corporate communication gains. Pursuing Corporate social responsibility could have extensive benefits for a firm in branding it self. Corporate social responsibility necessitates the need for an organization to understand the implications of its operations on the environment. It appreciates preventative measures and technologies that are environmental friendly. Moreover a company’s participations in community projects wins over the societies loyalty towards the corporation. Other than actively engaging in community projects and environment conservation movements’ Corporate social responsibility involves shinning light on inclusivity. A move aimed at appreciating diversity in gender identities and sexual orientations, variations in culture and translating the same in recruitment of the workforce. It is a strategic movement that involves the firm spending part of its revenue in non- income generating activities which eventually through loyalty of customers translates into more revenue.

Ultimately for a company to thrive it must establish a good reputation with the customers, workforce, employees, shareholders, media and the public[11]. They are the opinion makers and shapers. Framing of the reputation is works do the public relations department. Public relations are about earning the respect of the media and public and are very different form advertising. Whereas advertising involves payment for exposure, Public relations entails a strategic approach in publicizing the organization in tactics that draw positive attention[12]. Companies need to have long term indicators of their success instead of short term revenue gains. Public relations contribute to the perceptions that are shaped by media and opinion makers, socio-cultural publics and public affairs, that is government relations[13]. Since public relations involve communication it is also a function integrated within the corporate communications task.

Corporate governance is a system by which a company is directed and controlled. The objective of corporate governance is to make superior decisions that make a corporation more competitive and successful in the long run[14]. One of the key issues that drive a company to success is the establishment of a systematic functional flow of information. It is there essential for there to be proper communications channels for information flow that is accurately and timely delivered. Prosperity in the end for corporate governance can be looked at in whether it was able to achieve what it set out to do and the effectiveness of the strategy. Good corporate governance gives investors confidence and encourages them to invest more capital in the firm. Moreover, it saves on cost and leads to efficiency and effectiveness which consequently translates into more revenue for the corporation[15].

Corporations are designed to create profit while at the same time deliver value to the shareholders. In so doing they drive economic growth. As a corporation grows, they attract investors that provide capital for the continued development while giving the investors an opportunity to make profit[16]. There are three principal groups that govern corporations, these are; management, shareholders, and board of directors. The relationships of the three groups are defined in a corporation’s own charter and bylaws. Each company is different but they all have government superintendence. The management is tasked with the responsibility to plan, control, organize and monitor day-to-day activities of a company. Board of directors has the obligation to hire the CEO of a company as well as the managers. More over, they are responsible in assessing the overall direction and strategy set by the managers selected and ensure that the decisions made are in the best interest of the shareholders. They also set the company’s vision, mission and goals. Shareholders are also known as owners of the company, this is because they invest in the corporation by buying stock. They are the body responsible for electing the board of directors[17].

Conclusion

In conclusion, the corporate communications department is commissioned to bring together all the different aspects and functions of a company into a single workforce via communication. The communication practitioners in conjunction with the management have an opportunity to recognize and diagnosed communication related issues and develop strategies to solve them.  It is through clear divulgence of information to the various stakeholders that the company will be able to achieve synergy in working towards the actualization of goals it has set. Finally, the structure of an organization gives grounding for take off. This means that the core structure of the organization has a direct effect on the future performance of the company. Therefore, selection of board members, CEO’s as well as management of a company should be weighed upon heavily as they could be the reason for success or failure of a company. 

References

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Chamberlain, Andrew. 2017. "What Matters More To Your Workforce Than Money". Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2017/01/what-matters-more-to-your-workforce-than-money.

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Cornelissen, Joep. 2004. Corporate Communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Frederick, Ann. 2018. "What Are The Functions Of A Corporate Communication Department?". Smallbusiness.Chron.Com. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/functions-corporate-communication-department-23716.html.

Friedman, Benjamin M. 2009. Corporate Capital Structures In The United States. University of Chicago Press.

Drucker, Poel. 1994. The theory of the business, Harvard Business Review, Sep. Oct, pp. 95 – 104 

Wright, Joel. 2002. Mission and reality and why not?, Journal of Change Management, 3, 1, pp. 30-44 

Keasey, Kevin. 2007. Corporate Governance. 9th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Kokemuller, Neil. 2009. "Why Is Goal Setting Important In Organizations?". Yourbusiness.Azcentral.Com. https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/goal-setting-important-organizations-9317.html.

Perera, Shalini. 2011. Corporate Ownership And Control. 6th ed. Singapore: World Scientific.

Riel, Cees B. M. van. 2011. Principles Of Corporate Communication. London: Prentice Hall.

"Roles And Responsibilities Of Board Directors". 2013. Brefigroup.Co.Uk. https://www.brefigroup.co.uk/directors/directors_roles_and_responsibilities.html.

Sabrautzki, Stefan. 2010. Strategies, Mission, Vision, Goals. Mu?nchen: GRIN Verlag GmbH.

Shani, Abraham B, Debra A Noumair, and W. Warner Burke. n.d. Research In Organizational Change And Development.

Tallant, James. 2011. Importance Of Vision, Mission, And Values In Strategic Direction. Munich: GRIN Verlag.

Ushanov, P. V. 2015. "Crisis Management As A New Management Paradigm". Effective Crisis Management, no. 1: 66. doi:10.17747/2078-8886-2010-1-66-79.

References

Britishairways.com. (2018). History and heritage | Information | British Airways. [online] Available at: https://www.britishairways.com/es-es/information/about-ba/history-and-heritage [Accessed 15 Apr. 2018].