Page 139 - Corporate Communication

Cornelissen-05.qxd 10/11/2004 5:30 PM Page 128

128 Corporate Communications in Practice

separate units or devolved to other functional areas (e.g. finance, human
resources), but the general idea here is to consolidate a sufficient number of
communications disciplines into a single department so that communications
can be strategically managed from a central corporate perspective.
2. Locating the communications department within the organizational
hierarchy with access to decision makers: a second recommendation was
to place this single communications department within easy reach of senior
managers who are members of the decision-making team, so that the strategic
input of communications into corporate strategy is secured. In practice, this
implies that the communications department is a staff function at corporate
headquarters from where it can advise the senior decision-making team, and
that the most senior communications practitioner has a direct reporting or advi-
sory relationship to the CEO or even a seat on the executive board or senior
management team.
3. Implementing cross-functional coordination mechanisms: it was also
recognized that, while a range of communications disciplines may have been
consolidated into a single department, further cross-functional integration over
and above departments (for instance, between the communications and market-
ing departments) was needed because most of the work related to communica-
tions cuts across different knowledge and skills domains. The suggestion therefore
was for companies to implement cross-functional coordination mechanisms such
as teams and council meetings between professionals working in different com-
munications disciplines and departments, which would lead to a sharing and
cross-fertilization of expertise, a greater understanding on the part of practitioners
of each others knowledge and skills, an increased ability to cope with complex,
dynamic environments,and the design of tonally and visually consistent communi-
cations programmes.

Vertical and horizontal structure

These three prescriptions point to a particular way in which communications disci-
plines can, and perhaps should, be organized within contemporary companies.They
therefore also suggest what the vertical and horizontal structure of communications
organization should look like.The vertical structure refers to the way in which tasks
and activities (and the disciplines that they represent) are divided and arranged into
departments – the departmental arrangement – and located in the hierarchy of
authority within an organization.The solid vertical lines that connect the boxes on
an organization chart depict this vertical structure and the authority relationships
involved (see Figure 5.1 below).Within such vertical lines, the occupant of the higher
position has the authority to direct and control the activities of the occupant of the
lower position.A major role of the vertical lines of authority on the organization chart
is thus to depict the way in which the work and output of specialized departments or
units are coordinated vertically; that is by authority in reporting relationships.
The first two prescriptions mentioned above refer to the vertical structure.The
third prescription, on the other hand, refers to the horizontal structure: the structures