COMMUNICATION STRATEGICALLY

This chapter clearly brings to the fore, how important communication has been and will continue to be for businesses worldwide. To communicate effectively, a person must learn to communicate strategically. There are many different types of communications that happen inside a business. There is something as simple as a memo to face meeting to a companywide announcement. A business needs to clearly state its objectives and communicate this to the employees. This way everyone has the same goals and ideas moving forward. The message must be sent in a way that the receiver can understand exactly what point you are trying to get across. By creating a right communication strategy based on the time tested theories ,an organization is well on its ay to reinvent how to handle communication

COMMUNOCATION STRATEGY:

The theory of Aristotle had three parts-the speaker, the subject, and the person The new Corporate Communication Strategy framework is similar of that. The only difference is that, the first component is the organization, the second is the constituency, the third is the messages and the fourth is the feedback. Feedback is an important aspect of all communication, without which a company will not the growth of its performing


These are the question involved in communicating strategically:

1. Organization- what does the corporstion wants each consitutency to do?, what resources are avaliable? and what is the corporation's reputation?


2. Constituencies- who are the corporation's constituencies? and what is their attitude about the corporation and the topic?


3. Messages- what is the best communication channel? and how should the corporation structure the message?


4. Response- did each constituency responsd in the way the corporation wished? and should the corporation revise the message in light of the constituency reputation?.

Reference: http://www.chass.ncsu.edu/ccstm/scmh/model.html

COMMUNICATION THEORIES

Communication can be defined as information-related behaviour, a necessary life process. It is basically categorized in interpersonal, machine-assisted and mass communication. There were many types of theories proposed in the way the communication is carried.

The first modern communication originated during the middle of the 20th century, in 1948. This was Laswell's model. It surfaced after World War II during the cold war. Laswell's model was simple. It went from

This can also be broken into the speaker with a message that they want to convey to another person or audience. The speaker must choose the medium by which he to communicate their message.

http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/introductory/lasswell.html

The next model we discussed was the Shannon & Weaver model. This model was published in 1949. This model has the following steps:

The info source has a message that they transmit. This signal is sent through the channel to the receiver. The receiver gets the signal and the message is sent to the destination. This model is basically the same as the Laswell model, just a little more expanded.

http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/introductory/sw.html

Schramm had three models. The first model was published in 1954. It is similar to the two preceding models above. The first Schramm model has the following steps:

SOURCE--->ENCODER--->SIGNAL--->DECODER--->DESTINATION



Schramm's second model recognized that the source and the decoder/destination was influenced by their field of experiences. In other words, communicating to someone who has some experience or familiarity with the topic will receive the signal in a different way than someone who has not. This is true with source also. Someone who is more familiar with the subject they are "encoding" they will most likely send a clearer signal to the decoder.

Schramm's third model expands again on the first model. It keeps the same basic components but recognizes that there is feedback between the encoder and the decoder.

http://www.blogger.com/www.ciadvertising.org/.../Paper%20Lesck%20htm.htm

In 1957 Westley and MacLean's model was published. Their model was the first to specifically model the mass communication process. It recognized that there are many information sources that a sender accesses. The sender edits the information that is sent to the receiver. The receiver sends feedback to the sender

The final model we discussed was Kindcaid's Convergence Model published in 1979. This was by far the most complicated of all models. The model recognizes there is a psychological reality and a physical reality that affects the communication. There is not a black and white outcome and channel of communication. The signal is dependent on the understanding, believing, mutual agreement and social reality between the sender and the receiver

Reference: http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/theorieenoverzicht/

http://www.employee-communication.com/downward.html?gclid=CL3F4P6f3ZECFSOsGgodxUl0ew

http://uva.ulb.ac.be/cit_courseware/research/theories.htm

CHANGING ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS

Over the years the perception people have had of businesses has changed. It has gone from one of trust to one of deceit. This change has taken place due to the actions of large corporation’s fraudulent activities and also how business people are portrayed in television and the movies. The workplace is constantly changing. Leaders of businesses are learning that they can no longer run their business the same way they did before. New youth and ideas are moving forward and technology is advancing so fast that the older people need to learn to keep up or fall to the wayside. The world is also more globalized now. You can be working for an American company in London while working a business deal with Japanese business owners in Sydney. The concept of a "global village" is truer today than it has ever been before. The text discusses how businesses must keep aware of the ever changing economy and communities needs. The chapter also discusses the confidence that public has in businesses. This is another factor that businesses must overcome. A large part of business success is for them to listen to what the customers need and say. The chapter gives several examples where companies made changes to their policies, procedures or even menus to make the public have a more satisfied and positive outlook on the company.The chapter concludes with how communication is a key to a successful goal or vision being completed. The entire company (all employees) should and need to be informed of all policies and procedures so that they may represent the company in a positive manner.

Strategies to by Adopted by Businesses:In order for a business to steer clear of these problems. They have to make sure that they adopt certain strategies.

1. Recognize the changing environment: today’s business environment is a dynamic one-continuously changing, reshaping itself to current trends. Businesses need to understand that and be able adapt.
2. Adapt to the environment without compromising principles: companies should adopt similar strategies to what they would have adopted in their home countries. Companies are increasingly looking for cheaper labour, raw materials, etc, and they are willing to turn a blind on sub-standard working and living conditions in other countries. The main aim is to earn a satisfactory profit.
3. Not assume that problems will magically disappear: like Arthur Andersen did-a business cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening because it is obligated to give its constituencies a clear picture of what is happening.
4. Keep corporate communication connected to strategy: communication is the most important functions any enterprise has to undertake. It integrates all departments and levels of management. Its importance is almost always overlooked by managers. They need to realize that it has to stay connected to the company’s overall vision and strategy.
   
   A current issue that is concerning businesses today is global warming. Many businesses are adjusting their manufacturing procedures to improve our environment today and tomorrow. The following link is at Business Week article that addresses the issues and concerns that some companies are, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/toc/05_50/B39630550carbon.htm

Personal Experience: along with my growth from a kid till now, I think there has been an evolution or growth in technology and change in the environment of business. From telephone to pagers to big n heavy mobile phone to small n slick blackberry. The environment of business and communication technology will keep advancing and change to better.

Reference: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/new_economy_transition.htmlhttp://www.humorwithapurpose.com/html/survival_in_today_s_changing_b.html

http://www-au.computershare.com/content/download.asp?docId=%7B24421CA3-72B8-46C7-B373-A986AD2A1CF6%7D&cc=AU&lang=en&bhjs=1&fla=1&theme=cpu

COROPARATE COMMUNICATION RELEVANCE

The corporate view of the communication has advanced, particularly during the past 30 years or so. The public relations (PR) function was primarily meant to protect the upper management from having to interact with the press. As time went by, the role of communications staff advanced. Corporate communication was viewed to be more and more important as companies were facing more communication "disasters", and the public demanded more accountability. The Corporate Communication has expanded to encompass many issues within corporations. Corporate Communication is responsible for maintaining the organization's reputation, which has become more and more difficult with the rise of public awareness. Advocacy groups, nearly instantaneous access to information via online communications, and the call for corporate responsibility have made the Corporate Communication function vital to the success of businesses. Corporate Communication is also responsible for marketing and advertising, internal communications, investor relations, government relations, and crisis management.

Corporate communication according to our text book depends on,

• Emergence of the Corporate Communication Function.
• Centralizing or decentralizing.
• Role of pudlic relation.

The functions of corporate communication are:

1. Reputation management
2. Corporate advertising and advocacy
3. Media relation
4. Marketing communication
5. Internal communications
6. Investor relations.
   

Personal experience: The many different forms of communication that I had the experienced while taking this class and were able to determine the relevance of communication in our lifes.An on-line submission of assignments, has given us the choice and the opportunity to submit assignments whenever I wanted at my convenient. Instead of having to sit in class to submit the papers but sending them over though Web CT was a new experience. It saved me a lot of time n energy."30 Seconds of Fame" This is an interesting concept. What can you get across to someone in a short period of time so they want to contact you or your company again? I can see this being very useful for everyone. With today's busy schedules, people may only have the time they are walking from their car to the building to discuss a concept. Learning how to get someone’s attention and get your point across is very challenging to do in a few seconds.Power Point Presentation When the 21st Century Trends were presented on power point this was a great way to communicate to the class. The different ways you can create the power points to keep your audience interested was also useful and fun to watch. I must agree I had no idea what power point was capable of producing until watching the other presentations in class.Blog Getting on line to produce this blog was also a learning experience and throughout the course I can see how helpful blogs and the internet can be in the communication process.

Reference: http://www.relevantcommunications.com/

http://www.it-director.com/enterprise/content.php?cid=10030

http://www.feld.com/blog/archives/2005/02/signs_of_increa.html

IDENTITY, IMAGE AND REPUTATION

According to Wikipedia, a corporate image refers to how a corporation is perceived. It is a generally accepted image of what a company "stands for". The creation of a corporate image is an exercise in perception management. It is created primarily by marketing experts who use public relations and other forms of promotion to suggest a mental picture to the public. Typically, a corporate image is designed to be appealing to the public, so that the company can spark an interest among consumers, create share of mind, generate brand equity, and thus facilitate product sales. A corporation's image is not solely created by the company: Other contributors to a company's image could include news media, journalists, labor unions, environmental organizations, and other NGOs.
A corporate identity is the "persona" of a corporation which is designed to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives. It is usually visibly manifested by way of branding and the use of trademarks.


Corporate identity is often viewed as being composed of three parts:
Corporate design (logos, uniforms, etc.)
Corporate communication (commercials, public relations, information, etc.)
Corporate behavior (internal values, norms, etc.)

I have had a personal experience in this; Identity is very important for a company, especially in the recruitment process. Last year, I was looking for an internship and I made a lot of researches to find the company which matches the best with my personality. I surfed on their websites, inform me about their values, and even look at their ads. The image I made of them helps me in my final choice. I finally chose a company from which I shared the values and I was proud to be part of this company which is very important for me.

Corporate Identity Management Process:
1. Conduct an identity audit
2. Set up identity objectives
3. Develop designs and names
4. Develop prototypes
5. Launch and communicate
6. Implement the program.

With reference to Wikipedia , Reputation is the opinion (more technically, a social evaluation) of the public toward a person, a group of people, or an organization. It is an important factor in many fields, such as business, online communities or social status. Reputation is known to be a ubiquitous, spontaneous and highly efficient mechanism of social control in natural societies. It is a subject of study in social, management and technological sciences. Its influence ranges from competitive settings, like markets, to cooperative ones, like firms, organizations, institutions and communities. Furthermore, reputation acts on different levels of agency, individual and supra-individual. At the supra-individual level, it concerns groups, communities, collectives and abstract social entities (such as firms, corporations, organizations, countries, cultures and even civilizations). It affects phenomena of different scale, from everyday life to relationships between nations. Reputation is a fundamental instrument of social order, based upon distributed, spontaneous social control

Personal Experience: Not only do companies have an identity, image, and reputation, but so do people. When I was in high school I had an identity based on my image and reputation. I was involved in many activities such as chorus, band, art club and drama club. With those activities a certain image if me was portrayed. When I went off to college, I found a new identity, image and reputation. No one knew who I was. I had to start over. My school was very small, so when someone said my name, pretty much everyone knew who I was. Now that I was in College, no one cared what you did or didn't do in school. It was a new start and I could decide what kind of image, identity and reputation I wanted these students to have of me. I could decide to be in the college union and do a lot of service to my college. By doing this it helped to develop a new identity.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page http://valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_corporate_reputation_quotient.htmlhttp://www.referenceforbusiness.com/small/Co-Di/Corporate-Image.htmlhttp://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Con-Cos/Corporate-Identity.htmlhttp://www.mbs.ac.uk/research/corporatereputation/reputation-chain.aspx

CRISIS COMMUICATION

CRISIS : According to Wikipedia a crisis may occur on personal or societal level. It may be a traumatic or stressful change in a person's life, or an unstable and dangerous social situation, in political, social, economic, military affairs, , or a large-scale environmental event, especially one involving an impending abrupt change. More loosely, it is a term meaning 'a testing time' or 'emergency event'. The word crisis is derived from the Greek word called krisis which meaning a decision. A crisis is any situation in political, social and economical that threatens the image or the reputation of a company, usually that ends in adverse or negative media attention. A crisis is when an unexpected event occurs. Furthermore, a crisis can be caused by humans (oil spills, genetic engineering, etc.) or it can be caused by nature (Katrina, tsunami, etc.). A crisis always comes as a shock. Natural disasters cannot be avoided but there are many crises (human error, negligence, malicious intent) that planning could have prevented in the first place. Human-induced crises include cases in which the company is at fault and cases in which the company becomes a victim.

The four distinct characteristics of crisis communication are, firstly is the element of surprise, secondly insufficient information, thirdly the quick pace of the event and finally the intense scrutiny.

The meaning of crisis communication according to Wikipedia is, a sub-specialty of the public relations profession that is designed to protect and defend an individual, company, or organization facing a public challenge to its reputation. These challenges may come in the form of an investigation from a government agency, a criminal allegation, a media inquiry, a shareholders lawsuit, a violation of environmental regulations, or any of a number of other scenarios involving the legal, ethical, or financial standing of the entity. And it’s also considered a sub-specialty of the Business Continuity area of modern business. The aim of crisis communications in this context is to assist organizations to achieve continuity of critical business processes and information flows under crisis, disaster or event driven circumstances.

According to our text book the steps taken to communicate during crisis are,

1. Get control of the situation
2. Gather as much information as is possible
3. Set up a centralized management structure
4. Communicate early and often
5. Understand the media's mission during a crisis
6. Communicate directly with the affected constituents
7. Keep in mind that Business must continue
8. Make plans to avoid another crisis Immediately

Personal experience: I had two of the worst personal experiences with crisis. The first one was in 2004 when I went with my parents to Srilank for a holiday and actually experience the tsunami. The second one was when I was in the 8th standard; I was attending a NCC (national cadet cope) camp in the remote part of Bangalore. During this time a very famous Kannada actor was kidnapped and the entire state was in panic and there was a state bandh. And we stuck in the camp without food and kind of communication with the rest of the city or state.

References: http://www3.niu.edu/newsplace/crisis.html
http://www.e911.com/monos/A001.html
http://www.wku.edu/ur/crisis.html

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

Advances in technology have dramatically changed the way we communicate with each other. From writing letter to we have moved to World Wide Web (WWW). “Online” a term is been used almost every day by thousands by business people, students and the general public. Technology has expanded very rapidly in recent years. The most notable advancement has been in how we communicate. Cell phones have become so common and useful that some people are now carrying two of them. The cell phone is also now for more than just calling people. Items such as the iPhone include internet and music features that can replace our laptops and mp3 players, thus saving room and time and potentially being more efficient. Board rooms are now having company Web meetings using technology. A head office in Bangalore can talk to his subsidiaries in LA, Tokyo, Paris, and anywhere else in the orld they might be located. Technology is improving the flow of information in business and thus making it easier to have a successful company. Businesses can communicate to their employees, community and customers through many different types of media. Many companies use a blog to discuss important company issues.

Communication as advance to a great extant, but few of the old mean of communication where,

• written letters


• telegram
  
• trunk calls

The new age technology which has help and made communication to a lot easier are,

• e-mail


• blogs


• fax


• vedio conferencing


• blackberry( a new age communication device, which not only works as a phone but a mini laptop with access to internet).


• wiki (sometimes wiki wiki is a web application designed to allow multiple authors to add, remove, and edit content).

and many others communication technology.

Personal experience: I found the the usage of webct very interesting and fascinating. This communiction technology allows professors to post assignments, communications, and various other materials so that students can access it at home or at the office which in turn would save time and energy for both.

The attached link is an article about 500 companies that are adopting a social media including blogs. The article discusses the critical role of a social media and how they will help the company to be a success.( http://www.inc.com/news/articles/200702/social.html).

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iphone
http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/;jsessionid=F34HI4K22GLUYQSNDLQCKH0CJUNN2JVN

MEDIA RELATION

A Media relation can be defined as the relationship an organization and Media (Mass Media). Media are both an electorate and means through which existing and prospective stakeholders receive information about and develop images of a company. The amount of “ink” that a company receives measures success in the media relations, whether aided by internal professionals or by external consultant. Lot of ink reflects heavy articles written about a company, the articles do not fetch any value if it does not help the company achieve the communication objective through media. To be holding heavy market share in today’s business environment, companies should open-up to its constituents one effective was is through media. This vibe helps company to preserve its corporate image, enhance reputation, weather crises, and maximize organizational potential. Through research, companies should avoid information leak that does not interest the media and if it does happen then they should target the respective audience only. Response to media calls are very essential, research on the context information required by media and respond accordingly. Media professional should do a complete research on the type of interview the company representative is going to present. Media monitoring and analysis is also an important tool for maintaining healthy relationship with media. The most critical component, in media relations is developing and maintaining a network of contacts with the media. In order to build successful media relation program, the organization has to: · Involve media relations personnel in strategy · Develop in-house capabilities · Use outside counsel sparingly

We also saw how the media can affect a company thru the Coors Case. Breaking down the case and seeing how Coors handled the media to benefit the company was very interesting. This situation with Coors could have gone either way. The attention Coors was going to receive thru 60 Minutes could help or hurt them according to how they handled the situation. By doing their homework and grooming the Coors brothers, they were successful. Part of their success was determining the right spokespeople to be interviewed, which was the Coors brother. This case showed how important the media are. By the end of the segment, most people thought David Sickler had a vendetta against Coors.


Example: In 1993, when Pepsi-Cola faced a highly publicized contamination crisis it not only showed concern towards public but it skilfully leveraged two other critical constituencies i.e. Government and media. Coca Cola India quickly sprung into action, and they communicated well with the consumers to negate the allegations of containing pesticides in the soft drinks. They came back well and are right into the action.

References:
http://www.mediarelationsblog.com/
http://www.policeone.com/media-relations/articles/1270204/%20www.wikipedia.com

CORPORATE ADVERTISING

Product Advertising:
Product Advertising is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service. Many advertisements are designed to generate increased consumption of those products and services through the creation and reinforcement of "brand image" and "brand loyalty". For these purposes, advertisements sometimes embed their persuasive message with factual information. Every major medium is used to deliver these messages, including television, radio, cinema, magazines, newspapers, video games, the Internet and billboards. Advertising is often placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a company or other organization.

Corporate Advertising:
Any corporate advertising campaign should be strategic and consistent. Corporations need to know how to communicate internally and externally to be successful. Corporate advertising is the paid use of media that seeks to benefit the image of the corporation as a whole rather than its products or services alone. A company’s marketing department is responsible for all product-related advertising and pays for such ads whereas corporate advertising falls within the corporate communication area. The bigger the company, the more likely it is to have a corporate advertising program. Corporate advertising helps to increase sales, to create a stronger reputation and to recruit and retain employees.
The three broad categories in which companies choose a strategy are image advertising, financial advertising and issue advocacy. Image advertising may be used when companies merge or enter new business. Companies are analyzing the image they want their constituents to have and can apply this to their corporate advertising. Analyst must analyze hundreds of companies with the possibility of investing companies with the possibility of investing in only one. Through corporate advertising companies can emphasize the strengths and future outlook of the company. Advocacy advertising typically deals with controversial subjects. This type of advertising can have inherent risks.
Companies must maintain a reputation and a good way to do this is to have corporate advertising. BIG BAZAAR has been changing their image and they have been doing this by advertising how the company is about the home and living better. It is no longer about a cheap price, but how they can provide everything for your home and life.

Example: In the advertisement of Volvo S80 the company had described the features and price targeting the customers. Product advertising is designed to stimulate demand for a general product category. Because the aim is to increase the size of the industry as a whole, this strategy is usually adopted during the early stages of the product life cycle.

References: http://www.ana.net/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_National_Advertisers
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=867975

21st CENTURY TRENDS

Synopsis: Last class we had presentations on 21st Century Organizational Trends. The presentation topics were on globalization, diversity, flexible, flat, and networked. These topics had to answer on how they have affected communication in the 21st century. Throughout the past century our communication has changed, not only due to different channels used, but also through the way we define what communication is. There are different forms of communication. There is the physical communication in which we can use our hands, mouth, etc. to express ourselves but there is also the possibility of non-physical and non-verbal communication. In this instance different signs, logos, pictures would be another way of communicating. As Chapter 5 points out, for different companies, communicating is not just what one says, it’s also one’s logo and what one does that makes one different and more competitive than others. In Chapter 6, we will face the subject of Media Relations. This part of the company brings investors, employees, etc. closer to the entity.

Personal experience: I have personally witnessed a change in communication even during my lifetime. The best example is the ability to send messages via internet. As I grew up in the 80’s, messaging was not a norm when communicating with friends or even teachers. In today’s world, I think I spend more time typing messages than talking over the phone. Even though the flow of information is definitely faster in today’s world, the “face to face” or “phone to phone” conversations are getting fewer. Another example is the work we do in school or on a job. We don’t hand write summaries anymore, but use computer for writing and calculating. Typing takes up less time for me, than writing, therefore my communication with others is faster.

References: http://www.ncrel.org/engauge/skills/effcomm5.htm

Globalization:
As the century turned, businesses realized that they must change the way they communicate in order to be successful in the new century. Business is becoming more and more globalized and boundaries are slowly disappearing. It refers to increasing global connectivity, integration and interdependence in the economic, social, technological, cultural, political, and ecological spheres. As technology has developed, it has become easier for companies to become global. More companies are 24/7 with the help of technology. At one time a company may have thought they would just provide merchandise or services to the U.S.A. However, with the technology that we have, and as it continues to advance, it is more likely that companies that once thought U.S.A. were going to be there customers are finding out that they can provide merchandise and services around the world.

Personal experience: Globalization exists in our universities and colleges. More and more foreign and outstation students are attending schools in order to obtain a better education. The experience of working with them has been great n knowledgeable.

Diversity:
Since more companies have become global it just makes sense for them also to become more diversified. Diversity not only pertains to people from different countries, but also people who have different religious beliefs, different sexes and differences individually. It is important for a global company to make sure they have ideas from all over the world, from different cultures, and people with different values. These employees can bring different ideas to projects, therefore, coming up with better products or solutions. Diversity issues change over time, depending on local historical and dynamic conditions. Companies with diversity programs are usually national or international in scope, or are composed of large groups of workers who come from differing backgrounds. Labour market is also expanding to include the whole world and a company might not just draw resources from its own country, but the whole world. This leads to company diversity as well. Innovation will occur in the environment due to so many different types of people working together. It is an important trend that is coping with our ever diverse world.

Personal experience: During our marketing class we had case on big bazaar. To get information for my research I visited the store, where I came across many difference culture people working together. When I asked the manager about the diversity in the store, his response was that it was one of their reasons for success.

Flexibility:
As organizations continue to grow and develop, it is becoming more important for them to be flexible. As the new generation enters the work force these students have been exposed to technology all their lives. They have grown up with instant messaging, iPods, the internet and cell phones. Companies are going to have to become more flexible with how employees want to schedule their work hours, letting employees work from home if possible, providing different opportunities to these employees that we haven't seen before. The flexibility trend is a trend that deals with an increase in the diversity in the workplace especially the custom needs of employees and clients. It adjusts to meet the needs of employees such as telecommuting, job sharing, mommy tracks and paying the employee for their skills.

Personal experience: Flexibility existed in our team while working on the number group assignments with regarding to time factor, meeting deadlines, understanding one an others working abilities etc.

References: http://www.flexibility.com.au/

FLAT:
The flat trend is used typically in smaller companies. The communication among the company is direct and typically employees talk to each other on a personal level. There is a lesser need for middle management. The network trend is a strategic alliance with competitors and others. It brings your competitors into your house. There is a close coordination between firms and information sharing. The flat organization model promotes employee involvement through a decentralized decision making process. By elevating the level of responsibility of baseline employees, and by eliminating layers of middle management, comments and feedback reach all personnel involved in decisions more quickly. Since the interaction between workers is more frequent, this organizational structure generally depends upon a much more personal relationship between workers and managers. Hence the structure can be more time-consuming to build than a traditional bureaucratic/hierarchical model

References: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/organization_flat.html

Networking:
A computer network is an interconnected group of computers. Networks may be classified by the network layer at which they operate according to basic reference models considered as standards in the industry, such as the five-layer Internet Protocol Suite model. While the seven-layer Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model is better known in academia, the majority of networks use the Internet Protocol Suite (IP). Communicating computer systems constitute a computer network and these networks generally involve at least two devices capable of being networked with at least one usually being a computer. The devices can be separated by a few meters (e.g. via Bluetooth) or nearly unlimited distances (e.g. via the Internet). Computer networking is sometimes considered a sub-discipline of telecommunications, and sometimes of computer science, information technology and computer engineering. Computer networks rely heavily upon the theoretical and practical application of these scientific and engineering disciplines.

Personal experience: My term did a presentation on networking; we learnt Vodafone helps a lot of companies like HP to communicate among its clients.

References: http://www.skyrme.com/insights/1netorg.htm

http://www.12manage.com/

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

As the book has mentioned the environment for business has changed. Employees want more from their job now compared to before. Therefore, employees need to know more information. Strong internal communication is a crucial role in overall success. Internal communication (I.C) points to those “Authorized” means of communication within an organization, to mention few, internal newsletters and notice boards. Internal communication refers to interactions within among employees within an organization. Organizations must keep in mind the long-term objectives of internal communication and needs to focus on the same, identify the values of your organization, define the objectives for internal communication strategy, use the most wide-ranging and pervasive methods and be reliable in delivering message. Internal communications is an essential role in today's workplace. At one time companies didn't put a lot of value in communication. Now companies are starting to realize how much communication influences their work place. A communication audit is the best way to assess the effectiveness of a company’s internal communication. Studies show that management must provide information to employees and listen to them because it favors employees’ connection with the company’s vision and they are more willing to accept changes. Both corporate communication and the human resources departments in large corporations have someone in charge of internal communication. Some companies integrate its public relations and internal communication functions to keep messaging consistent across all the audiences. Having a two-way communication strategy is an important asset to a well-run company. People want to be able to share concerns and thoughts with management and know that management will act upon it.
Corporations should communicate strategically to create a workforce that understands the mission, goals, values and procedures of the organization, Internal communication plays an important role in the success of an organization, it’s considered more important than external communication. Strong internal communication is a crucial role in overall success.

Internal communication process consists of,
1. Developing a strategy.

2. Monitoring and evaluating the organization’s progress.

3. Taking a close look at organization includes what are the organization’s mission, goal and values.

4. What is its structure, what are the characteristics, what the communication tools are and why internal communication is needed?

Internal communication Strategies involves,
Determining goal
Defining objectives,
Identifying key messages
Defining audience
Identifying tools and tactics
Developing an implementation plan and finalizing a strategy.

Personal experience: The internal communication in PES is very poor. Being a student of PES for almost an year i could not or was not able to communicate with the top management about the difficulties that we as students face in term of easy access to internet, print out facilities and my other small but important issues.

References: http://performance-appraisals.org/Bacalsappraisalarticles/articles/comstrat.htm http://www.blogger.com/•%20http://performance-appraisals.org/Bacalsappraisalarticles/articles/comstrat.htm%20•%20http://www.keeneypr.com/en/art/?3 http://www.teamholiday.co.uk/articles/internal-communication-corporate- events-%E2%80%93-a-way-to-retain-your-employees-181.html http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?