Page 18 - Corporate Communication

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Chapter 1
Circumscribing Corporate Communications:

Theory and Practice

Central themes

Corporate communications is an area of both professional practice and theoretical inquiry;
and naturally the two domains should be linked in a way that advances both.

Different theoretical perspectives from communications and management theory have
been brought to bear upon the field of corporate communications through reflections and
research.

Seemingly in contrast with theoretical perspectives, practitioner views on the corporate
communications field place an emphasis on the vocational skills and management competen-
cies needed for the corporate communications job.

The strategic management view of corporate communications is the most relevant and use-
ful perspective for advancing our understanding of corporate communications as a profes-
sional area of practice.

Corporate communications can be distinguished from other forms of professional commu-
nications (including business communications and management communications) by the
corporate perspective on which it is based, the stakeholders that it addresses, and the
management activities that fall within its remit.

1.1 Introduction

There is a widespread belief in the management world that in today’s society the
future of any one company depends critically on how it is viewed by key stakehold-
ers such as shareholders and investors, customers and consumers, employees and
members of the community in which the company resides. Public activism, globali-
zation and recent accounting scandals have further strengthened this belief, and have
also brought the work of communications practitioners into closer orbit.
This book is about the activities that are carried out by these communications
practitioners; how these practitioners build and nurture relationships with stake-
holders; and how their activities can be strategically managed and organized. It
concentrates on strategic and management issues around corporate communications