Internal corporate communication

Internal corporate communication

The concept of internal corporate communication and discussed below based on Welch and

Jackson’s definitions (2006, 186-194). Firstly, the four arrows in Figure 8 emitting from the

center represent corporate messages (e.g. safety-related messages) and the tips represent the

goals of internal corporate communication (awareness, understanding, belonging and

commitment). The dotted circle represents all employees in the organization. When looking at

the internal communication goals, commitment can be seen as a type of loyalty to the

organization and described as a positive attitude among employees, and defined in terms of

individual identification and involvement with an organization (Welch & Jackson,

of motivation. Internal communication is suggested to affect the degree of identification

employees feel with their organization and their attitude to support it. Identification is also seen

as a persuasive strategy organizations use to influence internal stakeholders, and the ethical

dimension needs to be kept in mind. By this, Welch and Jackson mean that organizations need to

be cautious so that their actions are not construed as being manipulative toward stakeholders.

Awareness and understanding of change, strategic direction and the organization’s evolving aims

are seen as important goals as they are seen to help building employee commitment. Welch and

Jackson point out that all these above-mentioned goals are interrelated. Referring to DeRidder,

they suggest that good quality, effective task-related communication is crucial to creating

commitment, while good quality non-task communication (i.e. internal corporate

environment consists of macro-environment (political, economic, social, technological,

environment and legal) forces and the micro-environment consists of e.g. customers, suppliers,

intermediaries and competitors. The internal environment is the focus of this paper and is of

interest as it, according to Welch and Jackson (2006, 191), generates the atmosphere or climate

in which communication occurs. Welch and Jackson note themselves that the model can be

criticized due to the fact that it assumes communication is predominantly one-way, from

managers to employees. However, they point out that it is unrealistic to assume that internal

corporate communication could be primarily face-to-face dialog and that mediated

communication is needed. Employees’ preferences for channel and content need to be taken into

account so that internal corporate communication meets employees’ needs. A combination of

communication channels or media. The point is rather that internal and external stakeholders are

offered information that is relevant and interesting for them, and that communication involves

stakeholders and matches their expectations. Workplace safety is one example of this: safety is

of high importance mainly for internal stakeholders and for some external stakeholders

(contractors, customers), but is usually less important and relevant for other external

stakeholders. Thus in this subsection I cover internal communication channels that I find relevant

in communicating safety issues with internal stakeholders.

Cornelissen (2011, 165) reminds us that manager communication and corporate information and

communication systems (equal to internal line management communication and corporate

policies) (Cornelissen, 2011, 165). Downward communication involves information from

employees that is sent upward toward managers within the organization and consists of

employee-related information (information about the employee, coworkers, organizational

practices and policies, what needs to be done and how). Downward and upward communication

are linked to each other in different communication channels and practices. Usually upward

communication is organized so that managers stimulate employees’ to voice concerns in

interpersonal face-to-face meetings and provide them with feedback on practices procedures and

organizational changes (Cornelissen, 2011, 167). Simultaneously, corporate level communication

systems include e.g. message boards on the intranet and informal meetings at sites that allow

upward communication toward senior management and a possibility to ask questions and obtain

perceived as reliable, employees are more likely to identify with their organization. Identification

is impacted also by the degree to which employees feel that they are listened to and are involved

by managers when decisions are made (Cornelissen, 2011). Thus good internal communication

combines upward and downward communication so that employees are informed and allowed to

participate.

Cornelissen links stakeholder communication strategies (introduced in subsection 2.2.4) with

communication tactics (channels or media) and stakeholder effects, as presented in Table 3. As

shown in Table 3, the informational strategy aiming to create awareness consists of mostly mass

media channels (called lean media by Lengel & Daft, 1988). When moving toward

informational, persuasive and finally dialogue strategy, more face-to-face and participatory

face and mediated communication channels in relation to internal corporate communication.

Mediated communication can involve controlled (top managers sending messages straight to

employees using e.g. newsletter, video speeches, informal meetings) and uncontrolled media

(messages mediated by “gate keepers”, i.e. line managers) that can filter or distort strategic

messages.