Page 12 - Corporate Communication

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Preface 3

communications function within organizations,communications strategy development,
and the professional development of communications managers,which have received
little attention in other books. Third, the book not only presents the latest academic
thinking and research on the subject, but also features toolkits, management briefs
and snappy cases to illustrate the concepts and themes of the book and to meet the
‘double hurdle’ of rigour and relevance.
Thus, combining theory, research and practitioner accounts on corporate com-
munications, the book provides a comprehensive, realistic and up-to-date overview
of the status and playing field of this profession. Important issues in managing and
organizing corporate communications are discussed, providing practising managers
with appropriate concepts, theories and tools to make better management and com-
munications decisions. Readers will gain a greater appreciation and a more in-depth
understanding of the range of topics covered in corporate communications manage-
ment as well as a means to organize their thoughts about those topics.

Readership of the book

A wide range of people can benefit from reading this book, including the following
groups:
• Students at the graduate level enrolled on a business, management, marketing,
corporate communications, public relations or business communications course
interested in increasing their understanding of the theory and practice of corporate
communications.
• Managers and analysts with a professional interest in the area of corporate com-
munications (and with responsibility for a slice of the corporate communications
cake), concerned with making informed decisions that maximize their day-to-
day performance.
• Senior executives looking for an understanding of corporate communications,
and what it can do for their business.
• Academics researching and reading in the areas of corporate communications,
public relations, marketing and strategic management looking for a resource
guide that circumscribes the themes and development of the corporate commu-
nications profession in a single volume.

Organization of the book

As mentioned, the purpose of this book is to present a major retrospective and
prospective overview of the academic discipline and practice of corporate communica-
tions.The distinction made between the ‘discipline’ and ‘practice’ of corporate com-
munications is intentional and implies that the book aims to draw out and integrate
conceptual and intellectual accounts of the evolution of the corporate communica-
tions field with more hands-on, practice-based insights and skills from the profession.
Mindful of the differences between academic reflections upon corporate communi-
cations and practitioner approaches to it, conceptual and practitioner accounts are