Internal Communication

Chapter 7 of our book discusses effective internal communication. According to the text the most effective was to have effective internal communication is to have the following practices. First, Communicate across all levels. Management should communicate with all employees (even the newest or lowest ones) and employees should communicate with management. Secondly, making the meetings face-to-face seems to be an important aspect of effective communication. Thirdly, the chapter highlight the effectiveness of using the internet or intranet to communicate within i nthe company. The chapter goes on to highlight additional strategies for effective internal communication such as creating internal publications and taking into account the company grapevine when posting internal memos.
I have worked for a resort who i think does an excellent job of internal communication. The resort is family owned( 3 members) and rather large (about 1000 employees over several sites miles apart). The family's goal was to have as much exposure to all of the employees as possible on a daily basis. Everyday that I worked there were several times everyday when I had the opportunity to speak to upper management, and many times when they spoke to individual employees directly. I think this has been very successful for them because it helps keep the companies image in the minds of all employees. Additionally, if you have ever worked in the hospitality business you understand that there is a huge importance on the impression given to guest. By the management always being around and stressing this I think the resort was capable of producing a better product and kept their employees happy in the process.
To highlight the need for this type of hands-on communication I am sharing a link to a video that discusses some of the practices that the book highlights and the resort uses. To me the most interesting thing that the video, book and my resort did was too take into account employee opinions and make them feel as though they are a part of the decision making process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ni1N_guvxA

Media Relations

In chapter six our author discusses media relations. Media relations have become an increasingly important issue for businesses since the beginning of the computer/internet age. The chapter gives background information comparing the traditional method of media relations to the method that is used nowadays. The chapter discuses dealing with the media, gauging your successes with media relations, and planning a positive long term relationship with the media. There is a reoccuring focus on the importance of technology in media relations today. This was also evident in the speech yesterday by IUP representative Michelle Fryling.
When reading the chapter and hearing the discussion yesterday i was intrigued by the difficulties that are presented in protecting the reputation and image of the organization in the technological world we live in today.When the rampant use of blogs and other online forums a business must be careful that their message is the one potential clients read and not the image presented by blogger and others in cyberspace.
A common example of some of the dangers of this are sites like Angie's list. Angie's list allows anyone to post a comment about a business for future potential clients to read and evaluate the business before choosing them. While it's premise is admirable, sometimes the effect of such a service can be disastrous. A company may not be able to recover from a very unfavorable review or it may be very difficult to do. To illustrate how difficult this can be i have listed a link below to an article which gives some examples of how you can re-achieve your previous image or at least diminish the negative views. The article also discusses some other similar sites, such as epinnions and the ebay rating feature.

http://www.cuttingedgepr.com/articles/coming-to-grips-online-reputation.asp

Corporate Responsibility

Our author highlights corporate responsibility in chapter 5. Corporate responsibility has become more important for companies in all industries over the past few years. Corporations are making efforts to do the extra things that would make them appear socially conscious to their constituents. These corporations must be sure to conduct business ethically and lawfully. A negative public viewpoint of a company could affect their reputation and potentially cause them to lose valuable business. Therefore, even if it’s the last thing they would prefer, a company has to be socially responsible to survive in their industry.
The Go Green campaign is a prime example of companies being socially responsible. Taking care of our environment and being less wasteful as a nation is the goal of this campaign. Corporations are taking the lead role in the movement by manufacturing products that are environmentally friendly. Companies are going paperless and conducting business electronically. Companies are also getting more involved in the community and starting fundraisers and foundations like the JP Morgan Chase foundation that donated 2% of its $4.5 billion dollar income in 2004.
Corporate responsibility protects the environment as well as the consumers. As long as corporations have the public keeping an eye on everything they do, they will continue to handle their business ethically and lawfully. This here is a link that gives us the details of what companies have to do to be socially responsible.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-corporate-responsibility.htm