com510 week 3 paper

The main overall objective of a strategic communication plan is integrating all the firm's programs, advocacy, and public education efforts. The strategic plan is critically important in effective and strategic resource deployment. Besides, the strategic plan highlights shared opportunities and synergies in various communication programs and work environments. This paper will analyze two articles that discuss different theories applied in strategic communication planning.

"Stakeholder Communication in Service Implementation Networks”: “Expanding Relationship Management Theory to the Nonprofit Sector through Organizational Network Analysis” (Maxwell & Carboni, 2014). The research aimed at examining communication with different groups of stakeholders outside and within SINs (‘Service Implementation Networks’). The SINs are used in the delivery of services funded by the government.

To achieve the objective, the study adopted the ‘relationship management theory’. The theory focuses on managing similar interests and common goals to achieve common understanding for the client, such as stakeholders and the public, as well as the tasked organization. Stakeholders refer to individuals whose role impacts on a project. In the context of the study, SINs relationship the relationship is organization-public (Maxwell & Carboni, 2014). This is because the relationship between the two parties determines the success or failure of the organization. Effective communication between the organization and it requires powerful communication. Social media platforms are often adopted by nonprofit organizations to communicate with stakeholders. These platforms include Facebook and Twitter.

The researchers adopted network surveys and used semi-structured interviews to obtain data with individuals from two SINs organizations that had common structural characteristics. The networks selected operate under the, US Justice Grant, provide mentorship to youths at risk. The main firm (Network organization) in the grant program coordinates the network (Maxwell & Carboni, 2014). Semi-structured interviews were conducted via forty-five minutes of calls. The questions covered the frequency of communication between the network and the stakeholders.

The finding of the study was that there were both internal and external communication patterns. The networks adopted both traditional communication fir example phones and face-to-face and social media communication (Maxwell & Carboni, 2014). The article has clearly explained the role of a strategic communication plan. The activities of the networks run smoothly, and no conflicts between the organization and the stakeholders. From the article, we can learn that strategic communication planning is critically important, especially when undertaking public programs.

"Organizational Disruptions and Triggers for Divergent Sensemaking." (Weber, Thomas & Stephens, 2015). The researchers aimed at developing a better understanding of “the interactions that developed between internal and external stakeholders in response to a post-9/11 change in the Maritime Transportation Security Act” (Weber, Thomas & Stephens, 2015). The article conducted an in-depth examination of an incident that occurred at MWN (Midwest District) headquarters of the USCG (United States Coast Guard).

To better understand the interactions, the researchers employed the theory of sensemaking and sense giving. The theory is useful in explaining both the divergent and convergent actions that organizational stakeholders may demonstrate as a response to change in and organization as well as the strategy implementation. Sensemaking is applied when members of an organization trying to develop an understanding of past enactments with the aim of acquiring guidance to push the organization forward. The sensemaking activity involves both internal and external stakeholders (Weber, Thomas & Stephens, 2015). On the other hand, organizations engage in a sense-giving with the aim of influencing other individuals’ meaning development and sensemaking. Sensegiving process is developed through communicative behavior.

The research employed an inductive research approach to analyze the circumstances under which the incident occurred as well as the subsequent actions. The analysis concentrated on the chain of incidents. Data was collected through onsite interviews with six major internal stakeholders (Weber, Thomas & Stephens, 2015). The interview questions were semi-structured, and each session lasted for one hour. Secondary sources of data included newspaper articles written during and after the interruptive period. Coders were used to examining newspaper articles, public comment, and public comments rating.

After conducting an in-depth analysis of the event, the research unearthed factors that led to a communication failure. The first cause was parsimonious and unidirectional communication. Secondly, there emerged inter-organizational sensemaking (Weber, Thomas & Stephens, 2015). Besides, there were misaligned cues and varying organizational identities understandings.

The article clearly demonstrates the relevance of having broader stakeholders' engagement in sensemaking. Despite that, sensemaking is critically important in adapting to change, communication exchanges between stakeholders play a vital role in the process. From the article, we can learn that the communicator should establish communication goals, understand the audience as well as the message.

References

Maxwell, S. P., & Carboni, J. L. (2014). Stakeholder communication in service implementation networks: expanding relationship management theory to the nonprofit sector through organizational network analysis. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 19(4).

Weber, M. S., Thomas, G. F., & Stephens, K. J. (2015). Organizational disruptions and triggers for divergent sensemaking. International Journal of Business Communication, 52(1), 68-96.