Study blog for Session 1

The core task of corporate communication is to build and protect the reputation of the company. Corporate Communication describes how the company communicates to its internal and external stakeholders.

 

Who are your Stakeholders?

Stakeholders are a group or an individual who affect the achievement of the organization´s objectives. There are different models of Stakeholders:

 

Input – Output Model Stakeholders

 

Stakeholder model

Picture – Sources: http://istheory.byu.edu/wiki/Stakeholder_theory

 

In the Input – Output model the stakeholders of the firm are just financial interested in the firm. The Stakeholder model could also be interested in the company or in the benefits of it. The groups are affected by the operation of the organization. Stakeholders also have an intrinsic value for the company. In my source “Corporate Communication – A guide to theory and practice by Joep Cornellisen” is mentioned, that well known businesses like Wal –mart or Hewlett Packard have a deep commitment with all stakeholders of their organization like stockholder, employees, customers and suppliers.

There is also a different between the expressions “stake “ and “stakeholder”. Edward Freeman describes Stakeholder in that way: “a stakeholder is any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization´s purpose and objectives”. Therefore a stake is according Cornelissen:  an interest or a share in an undertaking can range from simplyan interest in an undertaking at one extreme to a legal claim of ownership at the other extreme”. Freeman also considered 3 types of stakes:

Equity stake: Stakes are held by those who have some “ownership” of the firm: shareholder, director

Economic or market stake: Stakes are held by those who have economic interest: employees, customers, suppliers

Influencer stake: trade organizations, environmental group,

 

How to communicate with different Stakeholders?

Various of Stakeholders need to be identified and they must be addressed for the stake that they hold. For instance, financial stakeholder or shareholder want the firm to provide financial information or the strategy of the organization (annual reports, shareholder meetings), while Customers want to know about their products and services through advertising and sales promotion. According Cornelissen it is important to gain information for an effective stakeholder communication:

1.    Who are the organization´s stakeholder?

2.    What are their stakes?

3.    What opportunities and challenges are presented to the organization in relation to these stakeholders?

4.    What responsibilities (economic, legal, ethical) does the organization have to all its stakeholder?

5.    In what way can the organization best communicate with and respond to these stakeholders and address these stakeholder challenges and opportunities?

 

Source: “Corporate Communication – A guide to Theory and Practice” by Joep Cornelissen

 

Effective Storytelling

Corporate stories are made of the vision and everyday activities of companies and their units or divisions. You have to understand your target audience and clarify your communication objectives to create the most appropriate message. For that my source recommend a special matrix with important points:

·         Target group

·         Characteristics

o   Language

o   Cultural factors

o   Line of business factors

o   Historical factors

·         Media preferences

·         Messenger preferences

·         Alternate channels

·         Key objective of communication

·         Known challenges

 

Source: “Corporate Storytelling – Planning and Creating Internal Communications” by Lecia Vonne Wood