CBS376 Functions of Corporate Communication

The Making of Corporate Communication & the Profession

pre September 15, 2008:From an American Context

Christina M. Genest, M.I.A., M.H.S.A., M.A. & C.P.C.

Associate Director, CCI – Corporate Communication International

at Baruch College/CUNY, USA

III.Toward a Profession: Work in the Public Interest

To learn and to apply, for the benefit of mankind.

Motto: Hong Kong Polytechnic University

,

<retrieved: 27August 2009>

  1. Discussion of Code of Ethics
  2. Public Relations Society of America Member Code of Ethics 2000
  3. Arthur W. Page Society – Page Principles
  4. International Association of Business Communicators

2.It’s About Values

As a PRSA member I had the privilege to learn from Patrick Jackson, a leader in the profession. I have carried his philosophy towards the profession throughout my career. It’s all about values!

Effective organizations are at the heart of effective public relations/corporate communications:

  • Their values are expressed in their mission (leaders/founders values)
  • Their norms and practices or shared values are expressed in their organizational culture (This is how we do things around here.)
  • Their relationships with their publics or expressed values can be experienced in how they communicate and do things. (Walk the talk.)
  • What they say and do results in their reputation or understood values. (You are who you say you are.)

Effective organizations engender trust. Effective communication requires integrity and authenticity. The ultimate goal is to gain public acceptance and to build, with your stakeholders, mutuality of interests and with employees, customers and shareholders, affiliation in support of your mission. These are the organizations that we trust with our health, our families, and our consumer needs. These organizations and their spokespeople could persuade us to change our thinking, beliefs and attitudes and adopt new behaviors. They are committed “to do the right thing.”

Once again we return to Johnson & Johnson. The Johnson & Johnson Credo has served as an example of written values that inform behavior, as exemplified in the Tylenol case.

From Johnson & Johnson’s website in introducing its credo.

Our Credo Values

The values that guide our decision making are spelled out in Our Credo. Put simply, Our Credo challenges us to put the needs and well-being of the people we serve first.
Robert Wood Johnson, former chairman from 1932 to 1963 and a member of the Company’s founding family, crafted Our Credo himself in 1943, just before JohnsonJohnson became a publicly traded company. This was long before anyone ever heard the term “corporate social responsibility.” Our Credo is more than just a moral compass. We believe it’s a recipe for business success. The fact that JohnsonJohnson is one of only a handful of companies that have flourished through more than a century of change is proof of that.
View the video to learn more about Our Credo and how it lives in the JohnsonJohnson Family of Companies today. Explore its history on our blog, Kilmer House, named for Dr. Frederick Barnett Kilmer, the first scientific director of JohnsonJohnson.

<retrieved 21 August 2009>

(Our Credo Handout)

IV.Corporate Communication in the New Millennium

In 2007, the Arthur W. Page Society published a white paper titled, “The Authentic Enterprise”. Patrick Jackson would have applauded its message.

Business and institutions today are facing a rapidly changing landscape:

  • the emergence of a new digital information commons;
  • the reality of a global economy; and
  • the appearance and empowerment of myriad new stakeholders

…In such an environment, the corporation that wants to establish a distinctive brand and achieve long-term success must, more than ever before, be grounded in a sure sense of what defines it – why it exists, what it stands for and what differentiates it in a marketplace of customers, investors, and workers. Those definitions – call them values, principles, beliefs, mission, purpose or value proposition – must dictate consistent behavior and actions.

…In a word, authenticity will be the coin of the realm for successful corporations and for those who lead them. (p. 6) Available at:

CCI studies ( demonstrate the expansion of functions and responsibilities. In 2007 these were:

Functional Areas of Corporate Communication

Functional Area / Percent Responsible
Media Relations*
Public Relations*
Executive Communication*
Communication Strategy*
Internal Communication*
Crisis Communication*
Communication Policy*
Reputation Management
Annual Report
Intranet Communication
Internet Communication
Corporate Identity
Issues Management
Community Relations
Brand Strategy
Corporate Citizenship
Marketing Communications
Mission Statement
Advertising
Corporate Culture
Investor Relations
Government Relations
Ethics
Technical Communication
Labor Relations
Training & Development / 98.4%*
96.8%*
96.8%*
96.3%*
91.9%*
90.3%*
90.3%*
83.9%
80.6%
79.0%
75.8%
67.7%
66.1%
58.1%
53.2%
48.4%
45.2%
43.5%
40.0%
38.7%
21.0%
19.4%
8.1%
6.5%
4.8%
4.8%

Source: 2007 CCI Practices & Trends Study: U.S. Final Report

Figure 1 Strategic Functional Areas Managed by Corporate Communication

Roles of Corporate Communication

Percent of Respondents who RANKED the following roles #1:

35.0% - Manager of company’s reputation

22.0% - Counsel to the CEO & the Corporation

14.8% - Source of public information about the company

14.8% - Manager of relationships – co. & NON-customer constituencies

10.5% - Manager of employee relations (internal comm.)

8.6% - Advocate or “engineer of public opinion”

8.6% - Manager of the company’s image

7.5% - Manager of relationships -- co. & ALL key constituencies

6.9% - Branding & brand perception steward

6.7% - Driver of company publicity 3.7% - Support for marketing & sales

3.7% - Other

1.9% - Corporate philanthropy (citizenship) champion

Source: 2007 CCI Practices & Trends Study: U.S. Final Report

Figure 2. Role of Corporate Communication in Companies

V. WHO, WHAT, WHY, WHERE, WHEN AND HOW

Corporate communications is a worthy profession. It’s all about values. Spin-doctors need not apply.

When writing a press release the key questions are: who, what, where, when and how. To this list I would add “why.” This is the same in life and in professional work as a corporate communicator. It’s about character.

In order to be successful in any profession, and in this case in corporate communication, it’s essential you know:

  • Who you are? What are your values, beliefs, individual desires?
  • What are your interests?
  • What motivates you and why?
  • How do your beliefs motivate your behavior, your goals?
  • What are you good at? What are you not good at?
  • How do you contribute your talents and abilities to others?
  • What do you want your legacy to be in work and in life?

Answering these questions will help you identify the WHERE, WHEN and the HOW.

As a corporate communicator you will have to ask the very same questions about your organization and assess its character and integrity. You will serve as an advocate for it. In order to do so successfully you will have to do so with integrity and authenticity. Patrick Jackson is still right. It’s all about values.

Post September 15, 2008 the field requires those who thrive on change, growth, and innovation. The profession is undergoing enormous transformation. Corporations and their communicators no longer control the message. It’s all about developing relationships and alliances. Every company is now a media company. Richard Edelman, President & CEO, Edelman Public Relations, has coined the phrase “public engagement.”(“Public Engagement: The Evolution of Public Relations,” Grunig Lecture, University of Maryland, October 30, 2008)

According to Goodman and Hirsch in their upcoming book, Corporate Communication: Strategic Adaptation for Global Practice, corporate communicators will need to strive for strategic adaptation by the

  • pursuit of intellectual competence in the field
  • consistent demonstration of ethical understanding and awareness
  • use of professional expertise and knowledge of research tools and techniques
  • ability to “connect the dots,” to see patterns that others do not.
  • nurturance of leadership capabilities
  • cultivation of media and technology literacy

and by:

  • being global through strategic intercultural communication
  • being a problem-solver through strategic decision-making
  • Attaining advocacy competency – being the best advocate for your company

In a global environment corporate communicators must leverage the art of communication across cultures: home, organization, social, economic, political, ecological, scientific & artistic, local, national, intercultural, and spiritual.

It’s about authenticity: values  how (behavior)

“What you’re doing speaks so loud, I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

In a connected world, countries, governments and companies have character – how they do what they do, how they keep promises, how they make decisions, how things really happen inside, how they connect and collaborate, how they engender trust, how they relate to their customers, to the environment and to the communities in which they operate…we need to get back to collaborating the old-fashioned way. That is… thinking about how – not just how much.”

“Why How Matters”

Thomas Friedman

New York Times

October 14, 2008

VI.Questions & Discussion

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