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.