The Corporate Communication Strategy

The collective intercourse StrategyThis report aims to deprecatively evaluate and analyse the coordinated confabulation dodging, fabric and main(prenominal) issues influencing a corporation. The company that I own chosen to examine and apply the knowledge of corporate talk is Microsoft passel.Communication schema of Microsoft Corporation applies or follows which enabled it to expand and grow its business with such(prenominal) an immense efficiency.How does the memorial tablet incorporates main issues of corporate chat such as, communicating with outside(a) and cozy stakeholders, maintaining its individuality, image and reputation to reflect its cheekal behaviour, the organisations attitude towards cultural influence, the role and contact of applied science, and lastly, the role of serviceman Re microbe Management in contribution of its impressive talks and overall action in global context.(Cornelissen J, 2004) states that corporate communication is a function of corporate individuality, corporate image, corporate note and corporate reputation for the goodwill of the organization and its ongoing concern which is making profit. Corporate communication is a modern term of Public Relations. The term corporate communication is increasingly being phthisisd in practice to describe the management function that is still referred to as public relations in academician literature (Groenewald, 1998).According to surveys, over half of the heads of corporate communication departments administer communication functions. They are as followsExternal and internal communicationsManaging corporate reputation and brandRecruiting and retainingProduct launchesDeveloping company strategyCorporate social responsibilityBoosting investor or analyst perceptionManaging crisesCorporate communication is simply the assist of exchanging information within and outside of any organisation with concern of the above menti wholenessd functions to run it effectively and efficiently. It is taken as an important aspect for any organisation to develop and flourish its capability at its surmount. However, it is to a greater extent crucial to organisations that operate globally. Most of the successful organisation has used corporate communication as the manner of success because it helps to formulate their distinctiveness, their status and mark their existence in the mind of their customers.Background of the organisationMicrosoft Corporation was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in USA. It is a multinational company with headquarter in Redmond, WA, United States, and its subsidiaries in 110 countries. With 182,884 employees in USA and worldwide and annual revenue of USD 62.48 billion, it give the bounce be said that it is ane of the worlds largest and dominant software companies. It provides software, go and solutions to hatful and businesses world-wide. The company focuses on research and developing, manufacturing, licensing, and fi nancial support wide range of software products and services for dissimilar types of computing devices. The major software products and services it provides are operating systems for servers, personal computers, and intelligent devices, contrasting types of personal and business applications, software development tools, online services platform, and games pickings into consideration and benefiting all range of people from business, students, workforce to households.*According to the Microsoft Corporation, The Microsoft mission is to help people and businesses rough the world realize their full potential. We work to accomplish this mission through the development of innovative products and services that help people harness the creator, opportunities, and benefits of technology.http//www.microsoft.com/ round/corporatecitizenship/en-us/our-commitments/reporting/about-microsoft/The communication strategy and its framework in the organisationAn effective corporate communication stra tegy is very important for any organisation to overpower todays super competitive and information driven business environment. It protects an organisation from negative publicities and limits misleading steps of the corporate.Strategy requires choices deciding what particular kind of value an organisation wants to deliver and to whom (Porter, in Gibson, 1997). Implementation of proper and practical strategies can bring equal opportunity to people resulting in distribution of innovative information, resolution of conflict and coordination in organisation.X-Border communication strategy issues include degree of adaptation and standardisation, consistency, internal vs external, corporate identity and reputation, costs, role of technology. As a multinational organisation, Microsoft Corporation adapts al close all of the x-border communication strategy to stay on tallness of the market. (see Appendix)Steve A. Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft Corporation, states that they see their citizenship strategies and business strategies as complementary, creating shared value for Microsoft shareholders, employees, stakeholders, and society.http//www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/our-commitments/reporting/ceo-intro-letter/Neil Holloway, President of Microsoft Europe, Middle eastmost and Africa (EMEA), focused on the balanced objectives of driving customer satisfaction, improving integration across Microsoft business units, addressing the incomparable technology needs of diverse markets, and growing the software business in the region. http//www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/neilho/default.mspxThe statement of Neil Holloway and Steve A. Ballmer clearly implements the communication model (shown below) in Microsoft. Keeping in mind of their identity and image, they deliver messages to their shareholders, employees, stakeholders, and society by the use of Management communication, Organisational communication, and Marketing communication. (see Appendix 1) inscribe 1 C ommunication model, Strategy of the organisation (M. Welch and P. Jackson, 2007)Communication frameworkIn all organisations, communication flows verti chew the faty and horizontally, internally and externally, formally and informally linking employees internally to each otherwise and to various layers of management, and to the many external resource holder of the organisation (Fombrun and Riel, 2006).There are three main types of structures of the company and they are as followsFunctionalMatrixProjectMicrosoft follows the matrix structure to perform communication (see Appendix 3). It has horizontal divisions for international operations and vertical divisions for product groups. Mike Love, senior director of corporate communications at Microsoft EMEA says that Microsofts matrix of management decision-making and the challenge to communicate through this matrix is very complex. He in like manner adds that Internal and External communicators each soak up geographical, functional and product-area responsibilities as their direct focus (see Figure 2, below).http//www.melcrum.com/articles/clutter_at_microsoft.shtmlFigure 2 Areas of responsibility at MicrosoftMicrosofts governing form is the annual Meeting of Shareholders and the executive body is the Board of Directors (see Appendix 4). Microsoft adapts a centralized and functional area accompanied by a interlock of decentralized structure for adapting the function to the special needs of the independent business units.The main issues relating to corporate communicationExternal and Internal communicationExternal communicationExternal communication refers to communicating with external parties of an organisation which includes customers and business partners, suppliers, media, and competitors.Communication with customersCustomers are the most influential part for any organisation to exist in business environment. Microsoft claims that the success of their company is based on their ability to listen and respond to customer feedback about their products, programs, and services, and to increase customer satisfaction with all of the possible ways. They continually engage with their customers and partners through third-party surveys and feedback mechanisms within their products, and community-based websites (see Appendix). However, Microsoft has not institutionalised mesh topology of external stakeholders in corporate decision-making.Their customer and partner experience (CPE) strategy is sponsored by their chief operating officer and president of the Microsoft Business Division.Communication with mediaMedia is one of the most powerful and critical areas of any corporate communication function. According to Argenti (2009), the media are both a constituency and a conduit through which investors, employees, and consumers play information about and form images of a company. It has the ability to turn a business up or down in a matter of seconds. It is very essential for corporation to understan d this matter and arrive a good relationship with media.Microsoft has good understanding on this matter. Hence, they have included media as one of the areas of responsibilities (see Figure 2). They have a separate section in their company site called Microsoft News mettle where it provides latest updates and information on company. For media, it has a section called Press Tools with Press Releases, Analyst Reports and many more(prenominal). It has also established number of air-traffic control tools to avoid misleading and misinterpreting messages to media (see Appendix).Communication with competitorsThe main competitors of Microsoft are Google, Apple, VMware, Oracle, and Open source (Linux and Firefox). However, Google is seen to be the prior competitor of Microsoft. Microsoft keeps up-to-date information about its competitors.Microsoft had some problem with its competitors in early(prenominal) and was accused for its unhealthy competition (see Appendix). This had a negative im pact on the reputation and image of Microsoft. Since then, Microsoft has been property healthy relationship and healthy competition with its competitors through flip-flops in its products and services, filtering words when having conversation on their competitors.http//blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/ narrative/208984.aspCommunication with GovernmentGovernment is involved in all stages of business development. As Microsoft operates in various regions and areas globally, it makes sure to follow the national, regional, and local bylaws and legislation of the country.Microsoft also sense importance of collaboration among the internationally recognized groups. Its Citizenship and reporting strategies are guided by those laid out in the world(prenominal) Reporting Initiative, the Global Network Initiative the United Nations Global Compact, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, and the Carbon Disclosure Project.Communication with shareholdersHowever, the company does not provi de training to staff on stakeholder engagement, nor do they disseminate the principles through more than one medium or translate them into other languages. Microsoft has also not institutionalised external stakeholder engagement in corporate decision-making.****Internal communicationStrong internal communications- fostering increased workforce inscription and productivity will thus continue to play a pivotal role in a companys employee relation and overall success (Argenti, 2009).Microsoft fully realise the role of employees and vendors for its overall success. It is also aware that with change in culture and business environment, employees and their attitudes, beliefs are changing and they need to be treated in different ways. To understand the values and attitudes of employees to gain their loyalty and productivity, effective communication among and with employees is very crucial.Communication with employeesOne of their most important developments during the past year has been t he establishment of an Internal Communicator Community (see Appendix). They have also developed a new approach to the annual planning process by creating a forum for sharing internal and external communication plans across all business disciplines to build a one company approach.They have also established a regular quarterly meeting and monthly Live Meeting1/conference call for all Public Relations leads in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regardless of their areas of responsibility. This has pose a clear house for communication plans and has helped establish the discipline of air-traffic control.Communication with vendorshttp//www.itworldcanada.com/news/microsoft-adds-human-element-to-corporate-communications/110453 individualism, Image, and ReputationThe concept of corporate identity is traced by organisations marks or logos, name, motto, products, services, and any other possessions of the organisation that is visible and tangible to differentiate themselves from thei r competitors and instill their image in the minds of consumers (Argenti, 2009). Image is shaped by the identity of an organisation, it is the way internal and external constituents grasp the organisations identity get fulfilled. Finally, strong reputation of an organisation is achieved when identity and image align with each other.Microsofts identity is majorly reflected by its name, products and services, market capitalisation, market capture, and Bill Gates, former CEO, Microsoft Corporation (see Appendix).Microsofts image has been problematic since its establishment. It has been accusedMicrosofts holds a highly valued reputationRead moreCorporate Identity http//www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Con-Cos/Corporate-Identity.htmlixzz18qO7ytiLCorporate IdentityNames, Brands, Symbols, Self-presentationis perceived by .Employee ImageInvestor ImageCommunity ImageCustomer ImageThe sum of theirCorporate Reputation perceptions equals Figure 3 Reputation Framework (Argenti, 2009)C ulture and its influence in corporate communicationAny organisations culture is reflected by the behaviours, attitudes, beliefs, norms and values of its employee working with each other towards attaining a common goal. It has become a serious issue with prevalence of globalisation (see Appendix).Hofstede (1980, 1982, 1987) has outlined five dimensions of cultural impact in an organisation. They are as followsPower distanceIndividualism Vs CollectivismUncertainty avoidanceMasculinity or FeminityLong term or Short termMicrosoft believes that the following listed values guide their behaviours and it is reflected in their employees in their interaction with each other and their stakeholders.Integrity and honestyPassion for customers, partners, and technologyOpen and respectful with others and sacred to making them betterWillingness to take on big challenges and see them throughSelf-critical, questioning, and committed to personal faithfulness and self-improvementAccountable for commit ments, results, and quality to customers, shareholders, partners, and employees(see Appendix 5)The above statements by Microsoft shows that it follows collectivism idea, there is no power distance as employees believe in open and respectful relation with each other. They believe in one company approach.We should communicate with and not at our internal audiences, engaging in a dialogue not a monologue. Such an approach fits well with Microsofts corporate culture, which strives to be devoid of hierarchy.http//www.melcrum.com/articles/clutter_at_microsoft.shtmlThe role of technologyThe role of technology in carrying on communication effectively has been immense. With rapid development of technologies nowadays, it is almost unachievable to have a thought of communication without technologies.Microsoft Corporation itself is a leader in developing and distributing innovative technologies world-wide. There are numerous software products and services produced by Microsoft for communicatio n use. However, technologies that they use for internal and external communication are e-mails, video conferencing, teleconferencing, telephones, webcasts, podcasts, blogs, internal intranet site, air-traffic control tools, and integrated communication planning.The role of Human imagery in corporate communicationHRM is a strategic and coherent approach to the managers of the organisation. The most valued assets, the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievements of its objectives. (Armstrong, 2003).According to Ulrich (1997), there are four roles of Human Resource Management in an organisation. They are as followsAdministrative expertEmployee championChange performerStrategic partnerhttp//www.stw.de/typo3temp/pics/c98097d6bc.jpgFigure 4 The HR Business Partner (based on an idea by Dave Ulrich, 1997)Conclusion and recommendationIn conclusion, Microsoft practices a very good and practical corporate communication strategy and framework. Microsof t follows the matrix structure with strongly centralized and wholly decentralized framework for communication. They understand the importance of effective communication between their internal and external stakeholders for their success. Microsoft has implemented various communication tools and plans, such as, air-traffic control tools and integrated communication planning specially for effective communication with employees and media. The use of technologies for communication are e-mails, telephones, video conferencing, blogs, webcasts, podcasts, Annual Report, Press Releases, internal intranet site.Their identity is basically its name, products and services, and Bill Gates, former Chairman of Microsoft who is known as one of the wealthiest people alive. Their image and reputation were frequently in stake and problematic with different kinds of accuses. However, they are doing their best in overcoming and maintaining a superior image.Microsoft practices open and respectful culture w ith equal opportunities for all employees. They practicesThis invariably style they work within communication silos roles rather than taking a broader view of the company as a whole.