Career Opportunities in Corporate Communication

Career Opportunities in Corporate Communication

Globalization of economy is the basic trend of 21st century. In this age of globalization, most of the academic discussions concentrating on communication management. This is important in the application of marketing techniques and overall development in the industry. The purpose of communication management is the accessibility of information flow from top management to bottom and vice-versa. It will be effective only when all parties (both internal groups as well as stakeholders) in the organization should be communicate and transfer the necessary information meaningfully and resourcefully. Communication is the cornerstone function of every organization to build up its status in the corporate world as well as its stakeholders. Communications is one of the most important link between an organization and the public. Communication generating from an organization and going out of its various audiences­­ – whether within or beyond – is termed as corporate communication.

Communication is the key factor in the creation, implementation, monitoring and reporting on all corporate activities. Through communication, stakeholders understand company’s purpose, goals and values. Communication also aimed to influence employee’s attitude toward the workplace loyalty and pride in the company in which they are working.

Major companies are considered communication as an effective tool to intensifying its scope and rationalizing its service. They have renewed their communication strategy to expand their business empire. Leading organizations have their own communication team with efficient communicators who are responsible for communication function with various national and international organizations.

What is Corporate communication?

Theoretically speaking, Corporate Communication plays a critical role in building and maintaining relationships with the stakeholders of a corporation. Media communications are an essential channel through which all stakeholders receive information and develop perceptions of a company. Corporate communications are effective in the successful business and its effects identified by the leading companies. It is equally important as technology since application of technology need to communicate effectively in the corporate world. Without effective communication corporate relationship will be impossible.

Corporate Communications is the processes; a company uses to communicate all its messages to key constituencies. It encodes and promotes a strong corporate culture, a coherent corporate identity, an appropriate and professional relationship with the media, and quick, responsible ways of communicating in a crisis. It also defines how an organization communicates with its stakeholders and how that brings a company's values to life. Corporate Communications are often defined as the products of communications, memos, letters, reports, Web sites, community engagement, social and environmental initiatives or programs. These make up most importantly an aggregate of messages that a company sends to its audience whether internal or external.

To put it simply, corporate communication is an umbrella that encompasses fields like advertising, public relations, internal communications, investor relations, crisis management, brand management, events and in some cases can extend to marketing as well.

Communication in changing corporate sector

Just until a few years ago, companies communicated with their consumers via press releases, and with their employees through internal bulletins. Today however, the importance of communication has gone up manifold.

Now-a-days information technology and management are the recent trend in the career field. Most of the company is looking for the people who are able to make some changes. Communication skill is an essential element in this new generation job. Also employees should be able to take new challenges and to perform the job responsibility effectively. In this competitive world, employees should be able to understand the situation and to communicate the meaningful information in time.
The field of corporate communication serves as an excellent example of the evolution of corporate functions and its subsequent impact in terms of career prospects. The field has undergone radical developments over the years and has become a full-fledged career option today. The number of job openings has increased what with more companies taking notice of its importance in business objectives, and a rise in competition.

As competition grows and as reputation becomes more important, any company serious about its image will always have a need for corporate communication. This is one among a few areas where career opportunity is going upwards.

Till about a decade ago, one would have never ordinarily followed a career in corporate communication. However, the influx of multinational companies (MNCs) has brought in new trends that are followed in developed countries. Several large, medium and even small sized companies now employ a full time executive dedicated to image building. With companies realising the potential benefits from corporate communication, there is no looking back for professionals in this field. In fact even NGOs have started hiring communication professionals to look at their ‘corporate image’.

Duties of Corporate Communicator

As a corporate communicator, an individual becomes the face of the organisation. The skill sets required in corporate communications are an ability to articulate ideas, ability to write lucidly and above all… being a people’s person. The corporate communicators are involved in internal communication with employees and are responsible to effectively transmit information originating from the management. For a stock market listed company, the communication department within the organisation is responsible for channelling investor queries as well as ensuring a constant flow of information between various stakeholders. In large organisations, the advertising and PR strategies also fall within the ambit of corporate communication.

Corporate Communication experts are the advocates for organisations in managing the complex communications that take places between organisations and their external and internal audiences. These specialist communicators are representing the organisation and make the organisation to aware of public views and attitudes. Other responsibilities of corporate communicators include media contacts, drafting press release, arrange and conduct programmes of internal and external communications. Corporate communication is responsible for creating and maintaining the brand and looking after the organisation's reputation. It works towards projecting an excellent image at all times. The positive image a company projects helps in moulding public opinion in its favour in times of an actual crisis.

Specific responsibilities of a corporate communicator include:

Supervise the status of the organization
Develop, execute and evaluate communications strategies
Ensuring effective two-way internal communications
Taking the lead on media handling, proactively placing good news stories, dealing with enquiries and producing media releases
Developing links with other departments, which enhances the smooth functioning.
Planning proactive communications
Leading public relations, including customer services
Playing a key role in issue management and planning
Ensuring that other health organizations are kept fully briefed on developments, plans and any incidents in your organization
Producing high quality information service
Advising senior colleagues on strategic communications and related issues
Engaging in business promotion campaigns

Typically, the following skills would be necessary for a communications role:

Ability to work equally well both on your own and within a team
Ability to write, speak and brief others clearly
Ability to assess and select appropriate communications routes for different messages and audiences
Ability to remain calm under pressure
Ability to recognize sensitive situations and act appropriately
Negotiating and influencing skills
Ability to work well with others at all levels both within and outside your company
Ability to gain the trust and respect of senior colleagues
Ability to provide creative input to projects
Ability to think strategically

Above all, corporate communicator represents the corporation's voice, its reputation, integrity and the images it projects of itself on a global and regional stage populated by its various audiences and stakeholders.

What do aspirants need for it?

There are no defined qualifications for entering this field. Those with the gift of the gab and the ability to write have an edge. Soft skills like networking, inquisitiveness and time consciousness are also important. Graduates in English literature and mass communication with some hands-on experience are preferred at the entry level, so are MBAs.

A degree or diploma in mass communication helps for a career in corporate communication. However, many professionals agree that more than the degree, it is your personal skills that matter the most. "It helps to have a degree in communication, but it is not essential. What matters is being able to understand issues related to your organisation, an understanding of current affairs, and an eye for any development that could affect the organisation. A degree or diploma in communication, no doubt, helps get an entry into the field. Also, language skills and the ability to see opportunities are important qualities.

Ideally before getting into this field one should have a relevant degree in communication. A formal degree in journalism & mass communication can help you get an easier access into this sector. Communication education gives you an understanding and helps to grasp things faster.” Armed with degrees job seekers can directly consider entering the sector. In today’s a job market students can easily start a rewarding career in this field.

A degree would not give you the strategic thinking and the ability to make and maintain contacts that matter a lot in corporate communication. You also need an ability to understand the business, ability to network within and outside the organisation and the ability to make people believe you as well as believe in you. It is only after that your audiences trust you.

Future prospect in the field

There is enormous scope for corporate communication in India. Industries are expanding and need to recognise the importance of having to communicate with the public that matters to the most. With the kind of development we are witnessing in India and abroad, corporate communication is here to stay. Prospects in the field are plentiful for more than one reason. Firstly, competition has grown. The need to maintain the brand has grown considerably, with regard to Indian as well as global consumers, as more foreign companies are coming to India than never before. Secondly, the need to communicate has exploded. Even the target audiences have expanded radically. We have come to use more and developed tools of communication to reach out to them. Finally, the external scenario has become extremely dynamic.
More variables affect the image of the company now than before. Also, the number of tools of communication has increased significantly. Television and internet have changed the communication scenario. What would reach the public in 24 hours in case of newspapers or 12-14 days in case of magazines earlier, now reaches them in a matter of seconds. The tasks formerly being taken care of with a couple of press releases are now being handled by entire departments.

The size of the corporate communication department is dependent upon the size of the company. Large organisations have a full fledged department that works on their communication objectives. While small companies may have just one individual managing the entire show. In such a scenario, fresh talent is always welcome. A fresher can earn anything between three to five lakhs per annum. And from there, the sky is the limit.

The pay package

The pay scales in the sector vary based on the organisation and experience on part of the candidate. A candidate with a relevant degree and good communication skills can also get remuneration in the range of Rs 3.5 lakhs per annum. Once you have relevant experience of 4-5 years in the field, the annual remuneration can easily go up to Rs 5-6 lakhs. While talented people can make their way up to the level of vice-president in a company, at the entry level, corporate communicators usually draw salary of Rs 15,000-20,000.

The demand from organisations is only going to increase given the growth we are witnessing. If you feel that communication is your strength and have an ability to understand businesses then this is the career for you. After all, like finance and marketing professionals, a corporate communication professional too is not restricted to a specific industry.

Persuasion Theory Definition & Description.

Persuasion Theory Definition & Description.

Persuasion Theory is a mass communication theory that deals with messages aimed at subtly changing the attitudes of receivers.

The concept of Persuasion has been developed between the 1940s and 1950s after studies aimed at defining the optimal persuasive effectiveness of Propaganda, being it political or an advertising campaign. Like the Hypodermic Needle Theory, it considered audiences passive although the scope of a campaign switched from manipulation into persuasion. Researches on Limited Effects of mass communication demonstrated that messages are successful only if they embed the same opinions of their receivers. Therefore, the focus of any campaign has to be on individual psychological factors.

Unlike the Hypodermic Needle Theory, Persuasion Theory considers the Stimulus-Response model as interposed by a filter: individual’s specificities, i.e. psychological characteristics of an individual. In this perspective, persuasive messages are thus able to activate an attitude change that can modify behaviors of consumers, voters and individuals in general.

According to Persuasion Theory, the communication process consists of a three phase model: Communication-Attitudes-Behavior. See also the communication process of: Limited Effects Theory and the Two-Step Flow Model. Unlike the Play Theory of Mass Communication, the concept underlying persuasion is that information is provided to influence receivers’ behaviors. Once they had developed the concept of persuasion, researchers on Persuasion Theory focused on the audiences and the content of messages.



Audiences in Persuasion Theory

4 psychological factors of audiences have been identified: An audience is interested in getting information. To reach a bigger audience (including those who seem to be not interested in certain
information at that moment) the message has to be designed to capture people’s attention.

Selective exposure. People are more interested in a message if it supports the same opinions and ideas that they already have. Selective perception. Audiences select information that is right for them, and a message can be voluntarily misunderstood or simply not caught if audiences haven’t chosen to receive that piece of information. A receiver perceives opinions embedded in a message according to

variable assimilation effects depending upon:

Lack of big difference between the opinion delivered by a message and the receiver’s one. Level of involvement of a receiver in the communication process. A receiver’s attitude towards the message producer.

See also: Balance Theory, Congruity Theory, Cognitive Dissonance, Social Judgment Theory.

Selective memorization. Opinions transmitted by a message will be better memorized if they are coherent with those of receivers’. There is also a link between the message length and its memorization in a receiver's mind: the longer a message is, the more effective the persuasion on the receiver will be. This statement, in media literature, is supported by 2 thesis: A) Bartlett’s Effect: a longer message requires more time for a receiver to research and select opinions coherent with his mindset. B) Latent Effect: as time goes by from the reception of a message, receivers tend to forget the source and remember only the content of the message. Latent effect is exploited in case of communicators with low credibility. Compare with: Sleeper Effect.

Messages in Persuasion Theory

Regarding the message, Persuasion Theory identified 4 factors that facilitate and reinforce the persuasion process:

The credibility and reputation of the communicator. It implies the acceptance of the message by a receiver: the level of persuasion is low if the producer of the message is considered not credible or reliable. The order of statements. In this respect there are two different schools
of thought: some consider it more effective to put opinions supporting a defined position at the beginning of the message transmitted (primacy effect); others sustain the opposite (regency effect). Completeness of statements. If receivers are not in favor of a certain opinion, the persuasion increases when a message contains both supporting and contrasting statements regarding the opinion.

If receivers agree on a certain opinion or are not knowledgeable or educated, it is better a message includes only pros of the opinion supported. In any case, it has negative effect in terms of persuasion if any relevant topic about an opinion is omitted in the content of the message. Announcement of conclusions. If a receiver is interested in a message it is better not to barely state the conclusions of the message, but to leave them implicit.

Persuasion Formula

Following a rational approach to persuasion a scientific formula has been identified. Values, Beliefs and Motivation are key generators of people’s attitudes; while attitudes influence behaviors. Value + Beliefs + Motives = Attitudes è Behavior

Application of Persuasion Theory

Persuasion Theory can be applied in:

Politics: to promote certain candidates, persuade voters to switch their preference, convince masses about needed changes or about the validity of certain political commitment for society.

Business: in advertising, to position products or services in consumers’ mind, to persuade prospects to switch supplier, to create a need for new products, to sustain sales of cash cows businesses, to change organizational culture, to support or implement a change project. Conflicts and negotiations.

Steps in Persuasion Theory. Process

The first phase of the application of Persuasion Theory requires an audience analysis to determine beliefs, values, motives and attitudes on a selected topic. It is common in this phase to make use of surveys, interviews, or applied knowledge of the audience. The second phase requires the communicator or the message (if that is the purpose of the communication) to change an attitude. There are possible two ways: 1) Try to change a belief. 2) Modify values or
motives that drive an audience to mature a belief. This is much more difficult then changing a belief as values and motives play a key role in a individual's identity. What can be more easily done is the attempt to add a new value or motive.


Purposes of Persuasion

It has been proven that persuasion works well only if its purposes are realistic, taking into account an audience values, beliefs, motives and attitudes. Persuasion can be effective to achieve the following 5 main purposes.

Creating Uncertainty. In case a communicator is faced with an audience who is strongly opposed to her view, the most viable way is to destroy some certainties in the audience mind. This scenario is typical of audience with closed mentality. What is achievable in such situation is a decrease of comfort with a defined audience attitude. Reducing Resistance. When an audience opposition to the communicator’s view is moderate it is possible to move an audience from a negative position to a neutral one. This is often achieved by asking only to accept the validity of the communicator’s opinion, even if audience doesn’t endorse it.

Change Attitude. If a communicator is faced with a neutral and open-minded audience, not strongly committed to any attitude, this goal is accomplishable.

Amplify Attitude. This applies in situations where an audience is already moderately favorable to the persuader's view. It would be adequate to design a message aimed at reinforcing the validity of an opinion to sustain the current attitude and prevent competitor persuaders to influence an audience already conquered.

Gain Behavior. In the presence of an audience strongly favorable to a persuader's position, the goal is to get those people to take actions in line with the shared attitude. Typical examples are brainwash to militaries and sales people: even though they already are convinced on an attitude, it is needed to reinforce their commitment in order to make them act. It is can be expected from such audiences that they will persuade less convinced or weaker individuals via word-of-mouth.

Strengths of Persuasion Theory. Benefits

The main advantage of Persuasion Theory is that it offers cost-effective approaches for various uses. It can help in many different kind of situations: from resolution of conflicts to solve organizational, advertising, sales and marketing issues, but can also help in interpersonal relationships.

Limitations of Persuasion Theory. Disadvantages

An authoritative source of limitations of Persuasion Theory is a book "Power and Persuasion: Ideology and Rhetoric in Communist Yugoslavia: 1944-1953" from Carol S. Lilly. The author analyzed the most frequently used Persuasive Techniques to sustain a long-term cultural transformation of society. Lilly’s conclusions are: 1) Persuasion is most effective when a communicator builds on existing values and beliefs. The attempt to change people's values or create new ones has proven to be highly ineffective. It is often impossible to radically transform an existing culture. 2) Since persuasion is predominantly utilized in newspapers, radio, television, education and arts, those who don’t enjoy these tools are less likely to be persuaded.

10 Commandments for Media Consumers

Definition 10 Commandments for Media Consumers. Description.

10 Commandments for Media Consumers is a checklist that provides media consumers the awareness needed to correctly evaluate mass media communications.

The Ten Commandments for Media Consumers is a checklist developed by Cees Hamelink in his article “Ethics for Media Users”, published in the European Journal of Communication, December 1995. Hamelink, active in the field of ethical journalism and media accountability, suggests awareness to three categories of media consumers: viewers, readers and listeners. He
argues consumers must severely question the freedom, quality and responsibility of media. They must not only beware of the nature and scope of media messages, but also take on proactive behavior when called to respond to persuasive messages. For this reason he developed the following

Ten Commandments:

Be an attentive and discriminating media consumer.

Actively fight against any form of censorship.

Do not obstruct editorial independence.

Do not accept or endorse any form of racism and sexist behaviors

undertaken by media.

Always look for alternative sources of information.

Claim multiple supplies of information.

Protect your own privacy.

Be yourself a reliable source of information, in order to provide an
accountable Word-of-Mouth.

Do not involve yourself in mercenary, corrupted or biased journalism.

Demand accountability from media producers.

The author recognizes a lack of flexibility and intuitiveness as a main limitation in the use of his 10 Commandments. He argues that his framework must be contextualized and adapted to each situation. The primary goal of Hamelink’s Ten Commandments is to provide general guidelines to media consumers and not strict rules. Consumers’ responsiveness to media can depend upon demographic variables, culture, values and lifestyles.