Internal Communications

Internal communications is an extremely important concept for effective overall communication. If a company is not functioning internally, then how can it function to its fullest potential? This link( http://www.managementhelp.org/mrktng/org_cmm.htm ) is some good information as to why internal communications fail. It states these key points as reason for failure:
1. If I know it, then everyone must know it.
2.We hate bureaucracy -- we're "lean and mean."
3. I told everyone, or some people, or ...?
4.Did you hear what I meant for you to hear?
5.Our problems are too big to have to listen to each other!
6.If I need your opinion, I'll tell it to you.
ect. the rest of the list is in the link. I feel these are great examples of why internal communication fails.
I also found this interesting blog on why internal communication is important and what the benefits that come with effective internal communication. http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2002/08/19/focus7.html
"Without effective internal communications, the crisis of confidence in businesses and corporate leadership could hurt sincere efforts to build a positive corporate culture and to enhance employee morale and productivity, and devastate the overall image of an organization.
("Courtesy of the Business Review")
I know this example of a real life situation is off the wall. But, yesterday I went to Dave and Busters and one of the game machines ran out of tickets. I went to the bar and asked them to page a game technician because I had looked and could not find one. They paged a technician and told me they would be there shortly. After about 10 minutes of waiting; there was still not technician. The bartender said, "Well I paiged someone." Then, finally a bus boy came and noticed that I had been standing there for about 10 minutes and said he would go look for a technician in the kitchen. He came out with one.
In my opinion this is an example of a level of organization communication that failed. Just because the bartender sent out the message over his radio he assumed that someone heard it and was coming. Just as the game technicians assumed that someone else would handle it. In the end the customer ends up paying the price of standing around for 10 minutes or more. This could end up costing the company customer satisfaction.

Crisis Communication

Crisis communication is designed to help a company or individual which is facing a challenge of defending their reputation. A crisis is any situation that threatens the reputation of your company. This can be brough through negative media attention. Situations can include: legal dispute, theft, accident, fire, flood or manmade disaster that could be attributed to your company. It could 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 correct manner. This is a more detailed description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_communications

A companys reputation is one of their most valuable assets. When the image of a company is tarnished sometimes it is hard to get it back. This link describes a "Blue Print Plan" for acting in a crisis. http://www3.niu.edu/newsplace/crisis.html It is important to select a media spokesperson.

In IUP's case they have Michelle Fryling, who came to speak to our class. I already discussed this topic in the Media Relations portion of my blogs. It is important for media to have this one reliable source to get their information from, because then they know it is true and do not have to root around for any bit of information they can get. It is also important to counteract negative press with positive press. For example, leak stories of social awareness acts. By doing this the media will have positive stories to discuss instead of focusing on the negatives.

21st Century Communication Trends

Here is a picture of Stephen Borgatti

In order to demonstrate 21st Century Organizational Trends in Communication, our class was assigned a group project. In this project we would portray 1 of the 5 key organizational trends of Stephen P. Borgatti.
1.Globalization- increasing global sales, manufacturing, research and management
2. Diversity- workforce getting more heterogeneous
3. Flexibility-people that can respond differently to different situations
4.Flat- fewer levels of management
5. Networked- direct communication across unit
*** these ideas are portrayed more clearly here: http://www.analytictech.com/mb021/trendsin.htm
Our group was assigned Networked. We were asked to portray this through picture slides and were not able to use works. I feel that my group in our communications utilized all 5 of the organizational trends. We communicated with flexibility via telephone and email. We were a diverse group of individuals; all from different countries. We had a flat level of management.
We were asked to discuss the issue of Networked. We used three leading computer industries to portray our ideas. What we found is that computer industries are focused on making the environment a better place. For example, here is a the website that talks about Dells efforts http://i.dell.com/images/global/products/flash/red/index.html?dgc=JP&cid=27413&lid=622319
Overall what I took away from this project was a sense of understanding that organizations are changing. Even though they need to make a profit, that is not all they are about. They are focused on uniting a diverse work force and being socially aware as well.

Media Relations

We had a speaker that represents our college come to class and discuss media relations. She gave us some great pointers. The most important aspect of media relations is building a strong and truthful public image. First, there should be a select few (preferably 1 person) that relays messages with the media. Second, that person needs to become a truthful and reliable source so that newspapers and other media sources do not go digging around for information. Third, focus on the positive. If there is a negative story released, media relations should release a positive story, for example, community service stories.
If I can think of the worst public relations I think of Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise had branded himself, therefore he is an empire, and he is the product. When he first met Katie Holmes and told the world he was obsessed with her, he hurt his image. Now when people hear of Tom Cruise, they do not think, "Wow, he's a great actor". They think "Out of control, jumping on Oprahs couch". When he went on Oprah to spread the news of a new movie and uplift his image, he completely turned people the opposite direction of his initial reasoning. He is the prime example of hurting your public image http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5883772879840922003

Corporate Advertising

Here are some different images of advertising that I found interesting. I chose these images because corporations did not advertise them in magazine or online, they put them right out where the general public would see them, doing their daily activities. These images prove that there are many different ways of corporate advertising. Think of how many times you are watching a movie and the lead actor picks up a can of Pepsi? Most of the time it is so unnoticed because it has become a part of our culture. Advertising has become so prevelent that the audience corporations are trying to target do not even have to turn a television on to be reached. The audience is everywhere, walking down the street, driving to work, and watching sports events.

How important is corporate advertising? Not only is it extremely important in attracting customers and clients; but in attracting prospective employees as well. A company with a reputation for being a good employer will have an easier time recruiting new employees. Also, new ways of advertising are appearing everyday. With new technology being born, more interesting and attention grabbing ways of advertising are popping up. Take for example the simple billboard. Once just a large poster image with a few words to get the point across, the billboard has come a long way. Digital billboards consist of flashy attention grabbing images. Businesses as large as McDonalds and as small as an individual real estate agent are reaping the benefits of this new way of advertising.Here is a link to an article on digital billboard advertising http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080301/bright-lights-big-impact.html .

Another way that businesses are starting to advertise is through relations websites. Facebook and Myspace are examples that hubs of people of all ages have access to visit. By posting and adding corporations now have a gateway to anywhere and anyone they want to get to. Since these websites appeal most to college students, it is a great tool to recruit fresh new students to a company. I thought this article was interesting and it shows how much of an impact Myspace really has on its viewers.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_50/b3963001.htm

Identity, Image, Reputation

When I mention the Enron, what comes to mind? Most likely the word scandal pops into your head. After the scandal of Enron, its identity, image and reputation were tarnished. The average person had no idea what Enron was, and some still don't, but they know that there was a scandal with it. It only takes a handful of employees to ruin the reputation of a company. No matter how many great events or deeds a corporation does, it only takes one to ruin its public image.

As individuals we covet our reputation. In our younger years we went to extremes to have the nicest clothes, to have the best things said about us. Much like it high school it only takes a few mistakes to ruin a corporations outter views.

Here is a link to a book, which you can read online, about the importance of reputation:
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=m_4Cbz5f5uUC&oi=fnd&pg=PP13&dq=importance+of+reputation,+image+and+identity&ots=jYXfRrRrOT&sig=YkyPtfqaOQdL20rx9ZKnKpq27SE#PPA1,M1

Corporate Communication Relevance

There is a huge need for corporate communications. Whether a corporation is communicaing its image or strategy, both need to be communicated to the public and employees. It is in my opinion that employee communication goes hand in hand with employee satisfaction. I can think of so many times where I have said "Don't shop at Walmart, they do not treat their employees well." It is a trickle down effect. If employees are not happy, trust me they are going to spread the word about it.

Here is a link on the treatment of Walmart employees:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2003-02-09-wal-mart-cov2_x.htm

For example, case 6-1 in our text books is about the Coors industry. Lawsuits and unsatisfied employees led to the boycott of their products. Think about how many people just 1 employee knows. For every 1 unsatisfied employee, they could spread the word of poor employee treatment to dozens of people. Pretty soon everyone around that employee is not purchasing that companies product. Even worse, if you are black listed as a bad employer, you will have issues retaining and even gaining employees. It is always important to think about communication of your corporate image to the public.

Here is a link of someones opinion of the Coors Corporation, think of how this could hurt its public image:

http://www.bamn.com/boycott-coors/coors-myths-facts.asp

Communication Technologies

Communication has become a huge topic. There are so many aspects to it. Technology has let the work force grow and communicate in ways that have never been thought out before. Web cameras, chat rooms, telephones, email and computers are all ways of communicating that are non traditional.

This week in class we did a chat room instead of attending class. I liked that I did not have to show up to class, but I found myself losing interest really fast. Some of the topics we discussed were how employers can recruit and maintain their employees. We thought that working at home instead of in the office was a good non traditional way to accomodate employees. This made me think... would this really be a good idea for most employees? I mean sure most people would want to do their work when it suits them. You can take a lunch break whenever you want, talk on the phone whenever you want and sit at your computer in your pajamas if you feel like it. But does this working situation cut down on employee unity and morale? When there is no contact with co-workers on a day to day basis, does the synergy of the company die?

This article lists the advantages and disadvantages of working at home...food for thought:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Advantages-and-Disadvantages-Working-From-A-Home-Office&id=849368

This article looks at the financial benefits of working at home VERY INTERESTING VIEWS:

http://www.nfib.com/object/1583865.html

When I work at my fast food joint over breaks, I feel left out when I return and do n0t know the gossip of the place. When my co-workers now have a new favorite person to work with and it is not me I feel left out. I think that it is very important to maintain contact on a regular basis with co-workers and managers.

Communication Theories

Today in class we talked about communication theories. Communication theories have evolved extensively from Lasswell's Model in 1948. The first model was merely a horizontal line with 5 simple components. Communication models are important because they provide a graphical checklist for options as to why communication is or isn't effective.

Have you ever tried an elevator speech? Well I had not until today in class. Let me tell you I was more excited than nervous. Ever since I created my own elevator speech I find myself watching commercials and thinking how they are just like elevator speeches. It was a fun class period. My classmates were very creative in their thinking and selling concepts.

I read some more information on 21st Century Organizational Trends, this deals mostly with the Bogatti structure:

http://www.analytictech.com/

I also read a good article on IBM called "How IBM Positioned for Business Growth Using Integrated Business Communications". This article is only available on WebCt. If you can look it up it is very interesting.

Communicating Strategically

How does a company set an effective organization strategy? By determining its objectives, deciding what resources are available and diagnosing the organizations reputation. It is important for an organization to know its audience. Are they speaking to employees, customers, shareholders? Or are they speaking to the media, suppliers, creditors or the government? An organization must be in constant awareness of who they are speaking to and what their actions are showing to the outside. What the audience already thinks of the corporation is very important. Sometimes actions speak louder than words.

There is some really good information on strategic communication here:
http://www.cba.uni.edu/buscomm/buscomcourse/ReadingsSummer07/CommunicatingStrategically.pdf


For example: I work at a fast food restaurant that has 3 locations all within 3 miles of eachother. A customer came through the drive thru one day and had a complaint about the food and service that he had recieved at another location; which the owner of my restaurant also owned. He said that on several occassions the food and service was poor. He had already formed an opinion of the restaurant at that location. No matter how hard the owner tried to convince him that he would look into the problem, and even offered the next meal for free, the customer would not return to that location. Now, with regards to communication; that customer already had formed a bad opinion about that location, which he would probably tell his friends about and deter them from going. It was almost impossible to change the view of that restaurant in his eyes. This is why it is important for owners/managers to communicate with the outside public before an image is tarnished beyond repair.

I thought this picture went well with my story. It says "Build Credibility/ Share Knowledge"

Changing Environment of Business

It is very important that communication is strongly linked with a company's overall vision and strategy. No matter if a company has 2 people or 2000 people, communication is demanded. Due to the fact that business environments are constantly changing today; effective communication must take place in order for a business to be successful.

Here is a funny comic that pertains to email use: http://www.nvcc.edu/home/mwendell/Images/comic.png

Effective Business Communication:

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/effective-business-communication.html

In class today we discussed the different types of communication. Everything from word of mouth to chat rooms are being used the business environment. It is important for companies to explain these new ways of communication. For example, my father is 54 years old. About 3 years ago he moved from a blue-collar, hands on job, to a similar job only instead he was office based and corporate. They needed him to be able to email, chat and use various components of the computer. My dad had never used a computer in his life; nor did he know how to email. So they trained him on this. If the company had not trained him, they would have lost a great addition to their work force; and if he had not been willing to learn he would have lost out on a great opportunity.