Journal of Communication Management

Susan Bornsen; Jean Ostrom‐Blonigen; Kenneth D. Plowman

2008 Journal of Communication Management

doi: 10.1108/13632540810854208

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the history and strategies used by Synthroid producers, currently Abbott Laboratories, one of the top drug companies in the world through the use of stakeholder theory. Design/methodology/approach – News releases and The Wall Street Journal from similar dates were compared and contrasted for examples of Donaldson and Preston's three typologies of stakeholder theory, which include descriptive accuracy, instrumental power, and normative validity. Findings – Illustrations of stakeholder typologies reveal that public relations messages can be used to influence stakeholders. However, the examples also illustrate that ethics may be a separate issue. Practical implications – When consumers rely on products, such as prescription drugs, for good health and even life itself, there is a fine line between product and drug product. Originality/value – This paper demonstrates the value of Donaldson and Preston's typology in evaluating the market health of organizations.

Marita Vos; Evelyn Westerhoudt

2008 Journal of Communication Management

doi: 10.1108/13632540810854217

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a current state of the art of government communication in The Netherlands which can help to promote a dialogue about how communication quality in this field can be improved further. Design/methodology/approach – In 2006 a survey was conducted for the second time to trace the communication trends in ministries, provinces, municipalities and water boards. The survey was set up in association with sector representatives and it is implemented every two years. The respondents were the top manager and the communication managers of all organisations in the four public sectors. The questionnaire was answered online and the response was 33 per cent. Findings – The paper finds that the communication budget remained reasonably intact, even in more difficult years, and is now regarded with cautious optimism. The principal goals of government communication are to make government action more transparent and to generate interaction with the outside world. The respondents saw the main tasks as: communicate from a wider societal perspective, make the organisation more communicative internally and (especially in the municipalities) do more work on citizen participation. What strengths should a communication professional possess? As in 2004, when a similar survey was conducted, the most frequently cited competencies were analytical insight and empathy. In the discipline‐specific competencies, advisory skills and knowledge of the target group were mentioned most often. Knowledge of the political environment scored slightly lower than in 2004. The section on the main developments in government communication met with a mixed response. The ministries said more unity and coordination. The provinces mentioned, amongst others, a shift from a re‐active to pro‐active approach. The municipalities stressed citizen participation and the water boards stressed staying closer to people and their living environment. As in 2004, a common denominator for all the sectors was more attention to digital communication. Now that government communication has further developed, coherence and differences in approach between the tiers of government have to be taken into account. Practical implementations – The survey provides insight into what the various public sectors (ministries, provinces, municipalities and water boards) see as the added value of communication. Originality/value – This investigation focuses on government communication and gives insight into this area of communication.

Graeme David Sterne

2008 Journal of Communication Management

doi: 10.1108/13632540810854226

Purpose – This research aims to describe business perceptions of public relations (PR) in New Zealand. It also intends to provide insights which will assist the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) to achieve its mission “to promote PR as a reputable, dynamic profession”. Design/methodology/approach – Senior management from 28 of New Zealand's top 200 companies completed a questionnaire and participated in a 45‐minute interview to explore definitions of PR and its place in their organisations. A symbolic interactionist methodology was utilised to analyse the findings. Findings – The study finds that CEOs had a low opinion of public relations practitioners. They tended to see PR as an integral part of doing business. They also saw reputation management as best conducted by themselves rather than a consultancy – except in a crisis. A clear distinction was made between PR (consultancy based) and corporate communication (in‐house). None of the companies used the term PR in their in‐house communications titles. Communications managers distanced themselves from PR, claiming instead to offer integrity‐based, transparent communication. Marketers saw PR as serving marketing. CFOs and Legal Counsel saw PR as serving strategic objectives but were sceptical about the competence of communications practitioners to deliver strategic communication. Research limitations/implications – Despite a very good response rate (66.7 per cent) the base was uneven in terms of geographic spread and category of organisation. Since this is a descriptive study links between observations and contributing factors can be suggested but do not establish causality. This study did not extend to the public sector that employs a number of PR practitioners in New Zealand especially in Wellington. Practical implications – Larger businesses in New Zealand are wary of the term PR. Should the profession abandon the name or fight for a new definition? Communication is definitely part of senior management decision making in New Zealand but PR and communication practitioners need to demonstrate their value if they want to participate at this level. PRINZ can assist the promotion of PR by professionalising the practitioners and by influencing the training of the increasing number of PR graduates who are being introduced to the industry. Originality/value – No such study has been completed in New Zealand so this study will provide a comparison with UK, US and European studies of perceptions of PR. This study aligns with the Murray and White study of CEO views of reputation management in that it gathers data from senior management.

Mary Bambacas; Margaret Patrickson

2008 Journal of Communication Management

doi: 10.1108/13632540810854235

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, to investigate the interpersonal communication skills that human resource (HR) managers expect managers in supervisory positions possess. Second, to identify which of these skills HR managers expect managers use to engender subordinate commitment to the organisation. Third, the paper aims to investigate what interpersonal communication skills that enhance employee commitment to the organisation are most lacking in managers in supervisory positions. Design/methodology/approach – The approach of the study is a series of in‐depth interviews with 32 senior HR managers in organisations with over 100 staff. Findings – The paper finds that senior HR managers expected managers to be effective in interpersonal communication focusing mainly on the clarity and frequency of the messages, their ability to actively listen and the ability to lead in a collaborative way. The way messages were sent, especially their clarity, and a leadership style that engendered trust, was of the highest importance when HR managers wanted to enhance employee commitment to the organisation. However, these skills were also the ones found most lacking. Practical implications – HR practitioners need to consider more explicitly what behaviours are important to promote organisational commitment. Originality/value – This paper highlights that the interpersonal communication skills that enhance organisational commitment and are most valued by organisations are those that are most lacking in managers. This paper also provides insight for practitioners to the interpersonal communication skills areas that managers need to develop so that their interaction with staff may enhance commitment to the organisation.

Richard D. Waters

2008 Journal of Communication Management

doi: 10.1108/13632540810854244

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to measure the relationships non‐profit organisations develop with their annual giving and major gift donors and to compare the differences between the giving levels. Design/methodology/approach – A web‐based survey of individual donors ( n =120) to a non‐profit healthcare organisation evaluated their relationships with the organisation using Hon and Grunig's four dimensions of organisation‐public relationships. Findings – To explore the dynamics of the fundraising process, donors were categorised into two different schema. First, donors were classified as either major gift donors or annual giving donors. With this classification, major gift donors were more likely to have stronger feelings of trust, satisfaction, commitment, and control mutuality with the organisation than annual gift donors did. The second classification divided the donors who have made multiple contributions to the organisation and those who had only made one donation at the time of the study. This study found that donors who gave multiple times to an organisation evaluated the relationship stronger than one‐time donors. Finally, these dimensions were also able to predict past giving behaviour 91 per cent of the time for the participants in this study. Research limitations/implications – The findings strengthen the bridge between public relations and fundraising. Additionally, they further validate the organisation‐public relationship measures created by Hon and Grunig, and they demonstrate the indices' ability to predict behaviour. Practical implications – The findings stress the importance of donor cultivation within the non‐profit organisation‐donor relationship particularly since the number of non‐profit organisations is rapidly growing and competing for donations. Additionally, the results demonstrate the growing importance of demonstrating financial and social accountability. Originality/value – The study extends the growing organisation‐public relationship paradigm into a specialisation of public relations that is rarely studied from a social scientific perspective. This study strengthens the reliability and validity of Hon and Grunig's variables as well as strengthening the connection between public relations and fundraising.

Neil H. Katz; Nancy M. Pattarini

2008 Journal of Communication Management

doi: 10.1108/13632540810854253

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the principles of interest‐based negotiation to communications professionals and provide examples of how the technique can be applied to both the business and practice of public relations. Design/methodology/approach – The paper looks at interest‐based negotiation as an approach for managing differences or overcoming obstacles for the public relations counselor. Findings – The paper finds that with an understanding of interest‐based negotiation, the public relations counselor can introduce clients to a highly valuable approach for managing differences or overcoming obstacles. Using carefully articulated principles, steps, and techniques, interest‐based negotiation can improve client's ability to establish trust and credibility with stakeholders. The approach also can play a significant role in helping strengthen rapport in the public relations consultant‐client relationship. Originality/value – The paper provides interesting information on the use of interest‐based negotiation.