A Cog in the Machine

COMMUNICATION

www.communication-director.eu

DIRECTOR

Magazine for Corporate Communications and Public Relations

04/2012

A Cog in the Machine How communication keeps organisations in motion

The company foctotum takes centre stage

How communication supports, enables and drives corporate strategy

How and when to show the yellow card at work Learn to anticipate, handle and resolve conict in the workplace

I heard it on the grapevine: harnessing innovation Making the most of formal and informal organisational networks

EDITORIAL

O

rganisational communication is central to organisation success; that much is clear. But the how and why of organisational communication is an endlessly debated topic of enquiry. Organisations are living, breathing entities, so naturally the act of communicating within them also evolves.

Current research on organisational theory and the way that the corporate communications function f its into today’s modern, complicated company represents a substantial body of work: our need to label, categorise and compartmentalise group achievement extends to the how and why we reach out and talk to one another as part of a group. But, as we all know, things that work so well in theory sometimes don’t make the grade in practice. That is why, in the Storyteller section of this issue of Communication Director, we have invited a mixture of theorists and practitioners to share their views on the form and function of corporate communications within organisations. And just as the old silo walls are being broken down by the possibilities offered by new technologies, today’s communication experts can f ind themselves wearing many different hats – professors take on consultancy roles while corporate directors give lectures at conferences. Among the authors in this issue, Anders Rendtorff explains how his company’s human resources department works together with corporate communications, and Hester de Voogd invites us to take a look at her group’s compliance communications. Dr Leandro Herrero challenges us to not just rethink but reboot the corporate communications function, and Professor Volker Witte draws a surprising and fascinating parallel between organisational communications and the natural world. It seems that the desire to organise the way individuals communicate to each other within large groups is not conf ined to us humans, after all.

Marc-Oliver Voigt Publisher marc-oliver.voigt@communication-director.eu

Photo: Moritz Vennemann

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COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR

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“Corporate communication has come to include more and more processes.”

AGENDA SETTER Communication ideas in the eyes of experts

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“Skilful leaders sense which type of energy is present in their organisation.”

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Taking the high road

Where there is discord, may you bring harmony, where there is error, truth

Andrea Broughton

When ministers attack

THE STORY OF PR

LEADERS CEOs in the eyes of the media

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Instruments of peace

CEO Stockwatch

Looking back at landmark communications

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by CARMA International

Partners and pioneers in public relations The husband and wife team that helped set the stage for public relations as we know it

Meg Lamme

The corporate and academic stand on communication

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The big picture

The evolution of Spanish public relations, from the days of Franco to now

Jordi Xifra

It may be a overfamiliar buzzword, but what exactly does it take to be a thought leader?

THE BIG INTERVIEW

Mignon van Halderen and Kym Kettler-Paddock

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On decrees, disputes and definitions

Key communicators under the spotlight

The unstoppable rise of communications An array of external factors ensures that corporate communication continues to grow in relevance

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Harold Burson Co-founder, Burson-Marsteller

Suat Özyaprak

STORY TELLER

TEAM PLAYER

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How to improve personnel management and your career

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Good and bad team leaders Positive and negative energies shape your firm’s success, so be careful which one you harness

Annette B. Czernik

04/2012

COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR

Looking at the important questions of communication

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Part of the process?

How does communication happen in your organisation? Who says what, to whom, and how?

Dafydd Phillips

Photo: wikimedia.org/ Reynold Brown (artist) Copyright assigned to Allied Artists.

STRATEGIC THINKER

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“ The people out there – co-workers as well as customers or citizens – need to be invited into communication planning.”

“This is a clear example of interventionism and censorship of freedom of expression.”

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Enabling strategy The crucial factors that enable strategic initiatives to be launched and supported

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Carsten Tilger

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Innovation networks Both formal and informal networks play their part in fostering innovation

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Hester de Voogd

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Leandro Herrero

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Photo: flickr.com/ Andres Nieto Porras

Astonishing examples of communication within complex organisations are right under our noses

COMMUNICATIONS READER Book Reviews

European Association of Communication Directors

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The latest developments in the EACD

QUESTIONS TO...

Breaking down the walls between human resources and communications

Social communication: lesson from nature

What will corporate communications look like in the not-so-distant future?

ASSOCIATION

Creating a powerful combination Anders M. Rendtorff and Morten H. Holmgård

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Your function is not needed: reboot Forget your function; instead, focus on your functionalities

View with 2020 vision Paula O’Connell and Anita van de Velde

Playing by the rules Communicating about regulatory compliance helps keep employees on the right side of the laws

Aligning strategy within the organisation is an exciting challenge for communication heads

Christopher Storck

Rick Aalbers, Wilfred Dolfsma and Otto Koppius

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Joining up the pillars

The personal side of Communication Directors

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Catherine Alexandre Vice President Internal and Sustainability Communications, Delhaize Group

Volker Witte

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When everything flows Organisational communication can no longer afford to be a closed-loop system

Jesper Falkheimer

04/2012

COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR