Page 132 - Corporate Communication

Cornelissen-04.qxd 10/9/2004 9:04 AM Page 121

Communications Strategy 121

in a craft orientation, need to change or shift somewhat in their approach to their
work. For one, rather than fencing with terms such as ‘environmental scanning’ and
quickly reporting some observed communications trends (for instance by gathering
newspaper clippings), practitioners at all times need to see the bigger picture and
work towards corporate and not merely communications-functional ends, and pro-
vide useful environmental data, counsel and tactical input for this.

Challenge 2: Senior management support. Senior managers, of course, need to allow
communications to play its strategic part, and recognize its lead or support role
within corporate and market strategies.This means, among other things, that managers
see communications as a strategic instrument, and corporate communications as a
strategic management function,rather than as a simple set of tactics.Relegating com-
munications to tactics often happens when senior managers are actually unsure what
the communications function brings to the strategic management of the organiza-
tion.This is pertinent in organizations where decision makers are uncertain about
the value of corporate communications to their decision making, as well as to the
achievement of the corporate strategy as a whole. Put differently, senior managers of
an organization need to recognize and value the input of communications practi-
tioners if the corporate communications function is to develop its strategic scope and
play its critical role in the strategic management of the organization.
Value recognition – the value placed upon corporate communications by senior
managers – appears therefore, as much research has documented, 33 to be directly
related to the input of corporate communications practitioners in strategic manage-
ment before decisions are made.Ways of achieving such value recognition for com-
munications are manifold and range from expert advice and counselling of senior
management to showing the function’s accountability in delivering communications
results with stakeholders and arranging work processes in a cost-effective manner. 34

Challenge 3: Organizational arrangements. Related to the two points mentioned that
communications practitioners should have the ability to enact a strategic role and
that senior management should support and allow them to do so, a third issue is the
need for organizational arrangements that support strategic corporate communica-
tions management.This refers to a range of organizational mechanisms and structures,
such as the inclusion of the senior communications practitioner in the organization’s
management team or executive board, consolidating different communications disci-
plines into separate and visible departments,cross-functional coordination mechanisms
(e.g. teams, networking platforms) that allow different communications practitioners
to work together, and organizing and accrediting communications at the corporate
level as a staff function, instead of placing it as a support function within the organi-
zation’s operating units.

4.5. Chapter summary

Traditional accounts of communications management have treated the subject in a
rather narrow and tactical way and have equated it with campaign planning. But
communications has additional strategic and important dimensions within the entire