Lecture + Reading notes for Corporate Communication (Communication Science) Y

Week 1
Chapter 1- Defining Corporate communication


DICTIONARY
- Corporate reputation: the collective evaluation of an organization induced through
communication or past experiences, established over time. (COLLECTIVE)
- Corporate image: associations people have with an organization (INDIVIDUAL)
- Corporate identity: values, communication and behaviour that corporation reveals to the outside
world (what the organization reveals to the external world)
- External
- Organizational identity: (COGNITIVE) self-definition of who they are as an organization, what
individuals think the organization is
- Internal
- Social identity: using social categories and memberships to describe who you/ others are, using
organization identity for social identity. (Doesn’t describe the organization, it describes people)
(Ex. performance, trust, loyalty in organization/ good reputation, do you want to be affiliated with
the organisation?)
- Corporate communication: management function focused on overseeing and coordinating
communication work done by professionals in different areas (Ex. Media relations, PA, internal
communication)
- Purpose: establishing and maintaining favorable reputation with SH which the
organization is dependent on
- Organizational communication: (internal) 1) communication management with employees 2)
communication of employees with each other
- Organization: group of people working together to reach a goal (shares culture and idea of
identity)
- Stakeholders: anyone with a stake in the organization
- Mission: overriding purpose in li with values and experience of stakeholders
- Vision: desired future state, aspiration of company
- Corporate objectives: statement of overall aims in like with overall purpose
- Corporate identity: profile and values communicated by and organization
- Corporate image: immediate association of individual response to 1+ signals/ messages from/
about an organization at a point in time.

, - Corporate reputation: invidiuals'collective representation of past images of an organization
established over time
- Communication: tactics and media used to communicate with internal and external groups
- Business communication: (focuses on skills) writing and looks towards individual manager/
professionals (Corp communication focuses on the entire company and function of management)
- Joint-activity: non-linear conduit, (vs. conduit, wich is linear and assumes 1-way communication
trying to persuade sh that the rep of org is good for them to invest) no sender to receiver (this is
interactive and dynamic, 2-way communication), joint, activity views stakeholders as active
actors in the decision-making process, not only as the money behind the organization
- Issues: a public topic that people are involved in (may/not involve conflict) // unsettled matters
- A problem becomes an issue when it moves from a private concern to a publicly
discussed one (can also be seen as new opportunities)
- Risk: threat that may occur with a lesser or greater degree of probability
- Greenwashing: the act of misleading consumers regarding environmental practices of the
organization (CSR communication dishonesty!)
SENIOR MANAGEMENT LOGICS (type of logic determines which and how stakeholders to engage
with)
1. Commercial logic: economic consideration where stakeholders collaboration comes at expense of
economic return
2. Collaboration for competitive gain: collab with stakeholders to gain value and comparative
advantage reputation and capacity for innovation
3. "Joint value creation" logic: joint social and corporate well being (MOST TAXING LOGIC)


OUTCOMES OF GOOD REPUTATION
- Customers buy products and services
- Community members appreciate organization in its environment
- Investors will grant financial resources


Chapter 4 - Stakeholder Management and Communication
DICTIONARY
- Neo-classical economic theory: purpose of organization is to make profit for themselves and
stakeholders, then to contribute to society after
- Socio-economic theory: stakeholders are not the only ones who coin in regards to welfare of
society and continuity of organization

, - Salience: how prominent or visible a stakeholder is judged by three attributes; 1)legitimacy,
2)power, 3) urgency (comes from stakeholder salience model)




LEGITIMACY

INSTRUMENTAL REASONS NORMATIVE REASONS

- More sales - g/ individual "rights"
- More investors - "Social contracts"
- Increases transactions with stakeholders - Morality
- Reputational buffer is created for potential - Stakeholder value = intrinsic value
crisis


TYPES OF STAKES (3)
1. Equity stake: held by those who have some direct "ownership" of organization. (ex. Shareholders,
minority)
2. Economic/ market stake: held by those who have economic interest but no ownership interest n
the organization (ex. Employees, customers, suppliers)
3. Influencers stake: help by those with interest as consumers, advocates, environment group, trade
organization, government agencies (no ownership of economic interest)


TYPES OF STAKEHOLDERS
1. (primary stakeholder) Contractual (1,2 above) have legal relationship with organization for the
exhcange of good and services. Without primary stekholeders, the organization cannot survive (in
economics terms)


2. (Secondary stakeholder) community: (3 above) groups whose relation is non-contractual and
more diffuse (usually have moral or normative interest in organization)




Stakeholder Management Stakeholder engagement