2,899 research outputs found
Mapping communication management competencies for European practitioners ECOPSI an EU study
No full textThis paper and its findings suggest there is little organised life-long learning in public relations and communication management in Europe. Consequently senior communication practitioners believe there are major failings in the capabilities related to our profession which if not addressed will serve as significant challenges for European organisations over the next 10 years. Longitudinal research further suggests the role of practitioners is changing and they require many more competencies to be successful in their communication roles (Zerfass et al., 2007- 2013). These are some of the observations and conclusions drawn from and supported by an extensive review of theory and practice emerging from the ECOPSI Programme (European Communication Professional Skills and Innovation), which is the largest European Union funded project of its kind to report into strategic communication until now (Tench et al 2012, 2013a, 2013b). There are on-going gaps and deficiencies in the development of the individuals as well as broad variation in how practitioners identify needs and access appropriate interventions. This presents numerous opportunities for deeper and on-going professional training and development to build consistency and support good practice in moving away from a hands-on, learning on-the-job approach to more focused knowledge acquisition and development. The ECOPSI programme is a two-year research project exploring the competencies required by communication professionals in Europe. This innovative programme is a partnership of six leading European universities in communication research and education located in Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and the UK as well as the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD). The two-year programme is led by Leeds Metropolitan University and is the first and largest to be funded by the European Union. The study provides in-depth insights into the competencies needed for four communication roles through the Communication Role Matrix: internal communication, crisis communication, social media and chief communication officer (CCO). The Communication Role Matrix captures what it is a communication professional does and the requirement necessary to perform the role successfully by identifying the knowledge, skills (hard and soft) and personal attributes for each role (Tench et al 2013a). This paper: (1) analyses the construction and perceptions about the Communication Role Matrix; (2) highlights current contemporary issues faced by the industry; and (3) presents the transference of knowledge from ECOPSI to the professional field through the Portal (for) Advancing Communication Expertise (p4ace) along with a self-diagnostic tool aimed to engage practitioners in continued professional development
A question of trust : Exploring trust concepts, experiences, and early observations from Europe
No full textIn times of global crises, such as those that originated from novel infectious diseases, people lack knowledge to understand how to cope with them. Because of potential life-threatening situations caused by these diseases, people will start seeking information to increase their knowledge on the matter and improve the quality of their decisions. Not all information is equally credible. Why, then, do people gauge some sources of information as more credible than others? Research shows that it all depends on one key factor: trust. Trust is an essential coping mechanism people use when they lack sufficient information or expertise to make an objective decision such as following health recommendations. In health crises, it has been repeatedly shown that trust in the source of risk information highly influences people’s willingness to follow public health rules and guidelines. This chapter seeks to clarify the concept of trust and the mechanisms as well as outcomes it produces. As trust is attributable to relationships at all levels of society, within and among social groups, this chapter structures the discussion of trust focussing on the micro, meso and macro levels and offers some illustrative examples from Europe of its relevance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that are both translatable and applicable in different geographical contexts as well as forms and types of crisis.peerReviewe
The good, the bad and the ugly: learning lessons from the UK’s COVID-19 communication
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact globally, affecting economies and societies as a result of the health impacts of the virus itself and also the policy decisions made amidst uncertainty (Smith et al. 2020). Attempts to control the spread of the virus have had to be carefully managed by national governments against negative impacts on economies and public freedoms (Wright et al. 2021). However, the effectiveness of such actions, assessed in terms of infection rates and public opinion, has varied. For instance, consider the variation in disease burden between New Zealand, where disease burden was low and the country was able to achieve COVID-19 elimination ( Jefferies et al. 2020), against that of the United Kingdom, which has been one of the countries hardest hit by COVID-19, as measured by infection rates, deaths and lost economic production (Worldometer 2021). Effective and timely communication and leadership are central to the suc- cessful management of the COVID-19 pandemic, playing an important role in the complex relationship between scientific knowledge and individuals’ beliefs and behaviours. In this vein, it could be argued that messaging about the COVID-19 outbreak by national governments could have played, and will continue to play, a critical role in limiting the spread of disease. However, attempts to inform and educate the public about COVID-19, and the effective prevention measures that should be followed, can be impacted by the volume of information available and the prevalence of misinformation, especially online. This is because we live in a world of information overload, whereby informa- tion is shared across multiple platforms, by numerous people and organisations, and there are multiple interpretations of the same information (Bettis-Outland 2012). Therefore, ensuring the information that the public receives is true, complete and accurate is a challenge (Wiesenberg and Tench 2020). It is also relevant to consider other factors that can affect compliance with information, such as trust and confidence in the communicator (Spiegelhalter 2017; Tur- cotte et al. 2015). To assess the UK government’s communication management of the COVID-19 crisis, and the public’s perceptions of this communication and the DOI: 10.4324/9781003184669-15 152 Ralph Tench and Gemma Bridge communications from other platforms and sources, two online surveys were developed. In this chapter, we discuss the results of both surveys. We also discuss implications of the research and highlight how communication professionals could adapt to become more effective communicators when sharing informa- tion related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and future health crises
COVID-19 communication management in Europe: A comparative analyses of the effect of information-seeking in the public’s sense making in Italy, Spain and the UK
Get PDFGovernments around the world have shown poor capabilities in responding effectively to the COVID-19 health emergency outbreaks. After the declaration of COVID-19 as an international pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the 31st of January 2020, three countries experienced the greatest initial impact in Europe. Sequentially Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom (UK) were hit by the highest numbers of contagion and death in the first few months in Europe. The aim of this paper is to assess how information channels and sources influenced the public’s evaluation of the three government’s communication response strategies. An online survey was conducted between March 14 and April 14, 2020, during the first wave of lockdowns and declarations of States of Emergency in the three countries. Findings show particularities for the different countries, but also similarities in response and reactions of the public in the three scenarios. The response strategy of the UK Government was the most untrusted and criticized by citizens. In contrast the Italian and Spanish Governments, which both chose to respond with the severest restrictions, attracted more support from citizens, especially in Italy, which was the first to close borders and impose lockdowns for the population. Despite the national differences in the preference of information channels and sources, overall, an empirical relationship between government communication assessment and media use were found in all the scenarios. This empirical study has theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, findings will add evidence of implications of the Channel Complementary Theory to the field of risk, crisis and emergency communication. The results also provide insights for communication practitioners in the public sector of how forms of information and trust in sources influence the public’s assessment of authorities’ communication. Implications for theory and empirical research about communication during a health pandemic are identified and discussed
A reputation measurement model for online stakeholders: concepts, evidence and implications
No full textIn today’s global markets, corporations are daily competing for visibility, investments, brand positioning. Reputation plays a key role in these aspects, as a favourable corporate reputation attracts investors, customers, suppliers, employers and consumers. Reputation is an exclusive and rare intangible asset and by cultivating it companies can attain competitive advantage over competitors (Peteraf &Barney, 2003), and ultimately affect financial performance (Roberts & Dowling, 2002). While reputation per se is not a controllable asset, some elements that compose it can be. Among these, communication is considered a crucial element for the development of a good reputation. Beyond informing stakeholders on institutional, strategic and market contents (Fombrun &Shanley, 1990), organizations are more and more using communication as a way to convey corporate identity and values as well as to engage and manage stakeholder relations. Van Riel and Van Halderen (2006) argue that the main functions of communication are enhancing so-called corporate expressiveness, boosting organizational transparency and sincerity, and contributing to the maintenance of coherence across corporate activities. Yet, because of the deep collective and social nature of reputation, through the use of communication, organizations can influence the collective and social definition of corporate reputation by employing specific relational cultivation strategies and stakeholder engagement processes (Romenti, 2010) . Reputation can be conceived as a meta-construct formed at a collective level through social relations, rather than a set of perceptions possessed by individuals. In other words, communications among individuals in the form of conversations construct a collective understanding of a corporate reputation.
Around the world, the increasing spread of social media for private and professional uses challenges the management of corporate reputation because corporate messages are not only generated by organizations but also by online influencers that, through the use of social media, can converse with current and potential stakeholders about corporate behaviours, products and services . The volatility of today’s markets and the presence of cyclical crises have enhanced the amount of online conversations and rumors among stakeholders, and that can rapidly lead to the formation and sharing of erroneous opinions and attitudes towards organizations which can easily spread outside digital environment. Thus online conversations can have significant impact of corporate reputations, and on companies’ performance. Most previous research on corporate reputation has focused on how offline reputation can be effectively measured. What is less known, however, is a solid framework for online reputation measurement that provides relevant indicators, sampling criteria and scales’ assessment of online reputation.
The scope of this paper is to offer a theoretical framework based on offline reputation measurement models, theories of stakeholder relations and social network analysis (SNA) with the aim of offering a practical framework for online corporate reputation measurement. Starting from a discussion on what can be learned from the offline environment for what concerns the measurement of reputation and which the crucial implications for online environment are, we discuss existing models of online reputation measurement, their strengths and weaknesses and propose stakeholders’ identification and segmentation as a pivotal element for measuring online reputation. Following this, we offer a practical approach to measure online reputation with some examples of large corporations
EU CSR Policy Co-Design: A Shopping Basket Voluntary Approach
No full textPurpose:
The chapter aims to explore the corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy domain at EU decision-making level, aiming to understand the nature of the participation shaping the CSR policy agenda co-design.
Design/methodology/approach:
Building on a conceptual framework of participation, the chapter highlights the literature and policy views around the importance of EU CSR policy and how EU envisage the framework of the CSR policy co-design. By highlighting conceptual dimensions of the participatory governance, different levels of participation that shape the policy are evidenced. In particular, a case analysis emphasising the predominant role of the consultation approach in the decision-making process of the CSR policy is undertaken.
Findings:
The findings shed light on the shift from the traditional passive participation in EU CSR policy decision making, based on purely communications towards consultation and multi-stakeholders participation. From the multi-stakeholder perspective, the EU Multi-Stakeholder Forum’s strategic relevance is observed, however, with no clear mechanisms to enforce its aims. Although the CSR policy is a core priority on the policy agenda, its voluntary approach justifies its early stages of implementation and fragmented use.
Research limitations/implications:
The research is qualitative, based on literature review and policy view. Further research directions could enrich the chapter.
Originality/value:
The research contributes to the theoretical discussion around participation in a supranational context. Our insights shed light on the levels of participation and CSR policy goals and call for a critical debate on the EU policy co-design processes. Furthermore, through the lens of a case analysis, it sheds light on how EU CSR forum fits in with the current EU structure and its ‘principle of subsidiarity’, which states that decisions must be taken close to its citizens
Letter from Ralph H. Cameron to Carl Hayden
No full textLetter from Ralph H. Cameron asking to speak to Carl Hayden concerning a matter relevant to the bill granting National Park status to the Grand Canyon
Letter from Carl Hayden to Ralph H. Cameron
No full textLetter from Carl Hayden to Ralph H. Cameron responding favorably to a request to meet in regards to the bill granting National Park status to the Grand Canyon
Letter from Ralph H. Cameron to Carl Hayden
No full textLetter from Ralph H. Cameron to Carl Hayden thanking him for forwarding Senate Bill No. 390 with the report of March 31st, 1918, and expressing interest in their upcoming meeting in Washington
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