Corporate communication

Corporate Communication is made up of countless elements, both internal and external, which, by developing them, constitute the image projection platform in an efficient way. In this monograph, we have wanted to propose, in a thread / conductive way, from the basic concept of what communication is, to the promotional and motivational projection of an institution, wanting, in this way, to contribute to a better definition of this discipline that many claim to know, but few really know what its foundations are.

Fundamentals of Communication and Principles of Communication

What is communication:

Communication is the ability of the living being to transmit to another or others, information, feelings and experiences. In all communication there must be a sender, a message and a receiver.

How do we communicate:

When we speak of living beings, we are not referring only to humans, since insects to large mammals have this ability, man being the only being that can communicate orally; while the others do it by sounds (birds, quadrupeds, dolphins, whales), friction of elements of their body (crickets, cicadas) or by action (formation of flight of bees, position of the body of dogs or deer, formation fish swim). Mammals, including man, also have the characteristic of communicating by touch (body contact).

Types of communication

Auditory:

It is the communication developed through sounds produced by the issuer.

Visual:

It consists of the communication that the receiver perceives by sight.

Tactile:

It is considered that where the sender and the receiver enter into physical contact.

Forms of communication

Direct:

It is the communication that takes place between the sender and the receiver or receivers in a personal way, with or without the help of tools. It is also called mouth-ear communication. (Talk face to face, talks, conferences, etc.

Hint:

It is one where communication is based on a tool or instrument since the sender and the receiver are at a distance. Indirect communication can be personal or collective.

Indirect / personal:

It is developed with the help of a tool or instrument (talking on the phone, sending a printed communication, radio amateurs, email, internet chat, etc.)

Indirect / collective:

The sender communicates with a group of receivers aided by a tool or instrument (newspapers, television, radio, cinema, books, website, videos, etc.). It is also known as social or mass communication.

The message:

In all communication the sender projects a message that is received by the receiver. This is the trilogy of communication.

SENDER - MESSAGE - RECEIVER:

At the moment of receiving the message, the receiver begins a mental process by which he decodes it and takes an attitude, be it of reaction or assimilation. Here begins the great difference between the animal and the man.

The Emotional Burden:

In every message, the sender projects an emotional charge, which can be considered as nice, unpleasant, apathetic or empathetic.

Perception:

The great difference between the animal and the man as far as communication is concerned, is that the human being in addition to receiving communication, perceives and discerns it. That is to say, it assimilates it and, according to stereotypes, prejudices and emotional charges, creates an attitude towards it, after which it projects the response or provides feedback. It is the difference between seeing and looking, hearing and hearing, or touching and feeling.

Principles of Corporate Communication

Corporate Communication is the set of messages that an institution (company, foundation, university, NGO, etc.) projects to a specific audience (Public / target) in order to publicize its mission and vision, and establish an empathy between both of them.

Corporate Communication has to be dynamic, planned and concrete, becoming a synergistic management or orientation tool, based on constant feedback.

Lasswell's formula (5w / h formula):

All communication responds primarily to six questions: Who, What, When, Where, How and Why.

Communicational perception:

In corporate communication, the perception of the public / target is one of the most important aspects, since the understanding and attitude they will take depends on it, which will affect the response to the message and the form of feedback it will generate.

The paradigms:

They are the reference elements, given by the vision and mission of the company, that all workers must know, from decision-making levels to daily payroll workers, to understand what the objective, goals and objectives are. tasks they develop. For the captain of a ship, the goal is port; the paradigm, the beacon that will lead you safely to the goal.

The Communication Pyramid:

Structurally, the company is represented as a pyramid. At the top is the president; at the base, the daily payroll workers. To this, the communicational one must be superimposed, which would be represented by an inverted pyramid, since the presidency knows absolutely everything about the company, while the worker only knows that he has to sweep the floor. How to improve that communication? Establishing two-way communication channels.

The audience / target:

It is the group of people to whom the messages are directed. These can be defined as internal and external.

Internal Public:

It is the group of people that make up an institution and are directly linked to it. In the case of a company, the internal public is made up of shareholders, managers, employees, workers, contractors, suppliers, distributors, etc.

External Public:

The external public is determined by the people who have some relationship with the institution, be it geographic, product or service.

Efficient Communication

Efficient communication is based on the establishment of a bridge where the issuer has detected the correct object, language and content, previously knowing who the recipient is and anticipating what their feedback will be (doing the right things correctly).

Efficient corporate communication is based on two fundamental scenarios:

• The structure of a good communication policy, where the recognized starting points are identified, the establishment of quality standards in the projection and a coordination to integrate all the communication that is projected Specific characteristics of the campaign, where the elements related to the analysis of the problem, the development of the communication strategy, the implementation plans and the calculation of the effectiveness of the corporate communication program.

Internal Communication

Internal communication is determined by the interrelationship that develops between the institution's staff.

The organizational climate within a company can be defined as the lasting quality of the internal environment that its members have; which influences their behavior.

This environment can be measured in terms of values, based on the set of characteristics or attributes that arise, and can be oriented with the planned use of motivations (messages). (Tagiuri. 1968).

The Corporate Identity:

Corporate identity is the set of symbols, communication and behavior of a company, based on its vision and mission. That is, it is the personality of the company.

The desired Identity and the real Identity:

How can you project an image if you don't have a corporate identity?

The first thing that should be defined is who we are, what we do and why we do it and the result is compared with the mission given by the shareholders and managers of the company.

The second step is to determine the communicational reality and internal behavior (Introspection), to conclude on what the real identity is.

The felt need vs. The Real Need:

At this point it is necessary to determine the conceptualization that the internal public has about the identity of the company. Here comes the emotional load, stereotypes, tradition, communicational noises, taboos and other psycho-sociological elements that affect workers, creating the following behaviors:

• • Proactive Behavior: High recognition of the problem, high use of resources that leads to productivity.

• • Fatalistic Behavior: Low recognition of the problem, high use of restrictions that leads to demotivation.

Can identity be measured ?:

The Mannheimer Corporate Identity test can measure its internal effect. Based on his model, the concrete CI provokes identification reactions in the members of the internal and external public. At the same time, these reactions affect the culture of the organization and, therefore, have indirect consequences on its behavior.

In the test, five dimensions can be distinguished, the combination of which measures the employee's identification with the company:

1. - Employee identification skills - Performance to achieve success - Satisfaction levels with the work situation - Organizational climate. (Mix of elements of communication behavior, management style and company environment).– Example function: It measures the extent to which people believe that it is worth identifying with the company (Feedback.

It is very important to know these scenarios, not only because of the crucial role that employees have in shaping the external image, but also because of the decisive role that motivated employees play in the success of a company immersed in a national economy in crisis.

Types of Internal Communication

Personal interrelation can be classified according to its typology in:

• Formal: It is that communication whose content refers to labor aspects. In general, this communication uses writing as a medium (Communications, memoranda, etc. The speed is slow because it has to comply with all the bureaucratic formalities. Informal: It is that type of communication whose content, despite being labor aspects, uses unofficial channels (meeting around the bottle of water, meetings in the corridors, etc.). It is faster than the formal one.Vertical: It is the communication that is generated in the management areas of the company and descends using the channels In optimal corporate communication, there should be vertical upward communication.Horizontal: It develops between employees of the same corporate level.He seldom uses official channels and is totally informal. It is also known as flat communication. Rumors: It is the informal communication that runs through the institution without respecting channels and at the speed of light. It is also called balls or «radio bemba».

Forms of Internal Communication

Assertiveness in Internal Communication (proactivity vs. reactivity):

When we speak of assertiveness we are referring not only to efficiency, but also that communication is motivational; that is, that the perceiver's response is oriented towards synergy.

Scope of Internal Communication:

Internal communication is not just related to employees. Here it is necessary to include from the shareholders, through the Executive Board, reaching the distributors and points of sale of the products.

External Communication

Corporate Image

(The desired image and the actual image)

«An image is the set of meanings by which we come to know an object, and through which people describe, remember and relate it. It is the result of the interaction of beliefs, ideas, feelings and impressions that a person has about an object. (Dowling, 1996)

The company and its environment. (The impact of the crisis)

Every institution, whatever its objective (commercial, institutional, governmental, production, services, educational, etc.) is created to satisfy felt, created or real needs of a community (local, regional, national or global). That is why said institution lives by and for that community; and whatever the prevailing economic, political or social situation, the institution needs to detect which are the scenarios in which the community is moving, to create the motivational bases to project, in order to stay there in a space, a position or a productive niche.

There is only one dynamic: The institution needs to adapt to existing conditions in the community, without looking back, only towards the future.

Information as a basis for decision making

An image is formed as a result of a series of stimuli that a perceiver receives from an emitter directly or indirectly, and its interpretation or evaluation can be influenced by many psycho / social factors. To understand how that interpretation or evaluation takes place, we must study the way in which the individual processes information.

According to McGuire, information processing is divided into five phases, and as can be seen, received stimuli are only retained if all phases of information processing are completed.

The memory of the human being is made up of three elements: sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory, the latter being where the final phase of information processing by the individual takes place.

Image formation

The formation of a corporate image focuses on two areas, the endogenous one that encompasses the identity of the company (its reality) and interpersonal communication, and the exogenous one that contemplates the projection of the image through various media, whether directed or massive., and the long-term memory of the public / target. (Table «formation of the corporate image»).

The conceptualization of the message

In the conceptualization of the message, the Lasswell formula must be applied: What are we going to say, to whom are we going to say it, how are we going to say it and why are we going to say it.

It is convenient to create a template, where, through a sampling of the public / target, both internal and external, some references of the orientation of the opinion of that public are obtained. The questions have to be created based on the reality of the company.

Image Types

There are two types of corporate image, promotional and commercial.

• The promotional image is one that is developed in order to obtain the immediate reaction of the public, acquiring the products or services offered by the institution.The motivational image is one that is developed in order to guide the public's opinion towards identification goals or empathy between the institution and the public / target.

Projection

Assertiveness in Promotional and Motivational Communication

The projection of an image has to be previously planned by the person in charge of corporate communications, based on an established real identity, a clear message and the identified public / target.

Imaging tools

Means to project the promotional image

• Advertising Marketing

Means to project Motivational Communication

• Propaganda Public Relations Campaigns Community Relations

Efficiency and how to measure it

An efficient projection is developed by steps or stages that can be measured punctually, beginning with the emission of the message, penetration of the objective (knowledge), the assumed attitude, finally reaching the change of attitude or behavior.

Communication technologies

In the projection of an image, the message is disseminated through traditional means of communication, from primary to the use of the information highway. Its administration depends on the scope of the public / target.

Applied studies:

Primary: San Ignacio de Loyola School

Secondary: San Ignacio de Loyola School

Superior: Central University of Venezuela

Title Obtained: Degree in Journalism

Year: 1.969

Specialization courses:

• Columbia University (NY): Diploma in Mass Communication (1972)

Completed courses:

• Management by Objectives (Codado - Caracas) Quick Reading (Codado - Caracas) Strategic Management by Pert-CPM (Codado - Caracas) English for Oil Executives (Berlitz School - Caracas) Advanced English (British Council - Guayaquil, Ecuador) Internet: 5WH Formula (CIESPAL / Microsoft - Quito, Ecuador)

Dictated Courses and Workshops:

• Industrial Journalism in the PR functionIntrospection and communicational bases in the companyDetection and fixation of communicational paradigms within the companyThe Global Village and the Venezuelan realityProactivity versus ReactivityThe Cyber ​​message: The new technique of corporate imageEfficiency in Cybernetic CommunicationCorporate Communication in Time Crisis

Guild Experience:

• Vice-president of the Association of Public Relations of Venezuela Secretary of Organization of the National College of Journalists (Nueva Esparta Section) Vice-president of the Venezuelan Association of Executives (Nueva Esparta Section) Speaker Delegate to the IX Inter-American Conference on Public Relations (Buenos Aires - Argentina. 1970) Speaker Delegate to the X Inter-American Conference on Public Relations (Caracas - Venezuela. 1972) Delegate to the I National Convention of Journalists (Cumaná - 1970) Dean of the Consular Corps of Guayaquil (1995)

Professional experience:

• 1,963 - 1,972: Mobil Oil Co. de Venezuela 1,963 - 1,965: Minor Clerk, 1,965 - 1,967: General Services Supervisor. 1,967 - 1,972: Assistant to the Manager of Public Relations for Press and Government. 1,972 - 1,974: Government of the Federal District Director Deputy Information Officer of the Federal District Government. 1,974 - 1,977: VCG Publicidad - Aval Publicistas General Manager of VCG Publicidad - Margarita. 1,977 - 1979: Venezuelan Pulp and Paper CA - Venepal Manager of Public Relations of the largest Paper Mill in Latin America, based in Morón, Carabobo State. 1,979 - 1,986: Venezuelan Foreign Service 1,979 - 1,981: First Secretary and Charge d'Affaires of the Venezuelan Embassy in Jamaica. 1,981 - 1,984: Counselor of the Venezuelan Embassy in Colombia.

He is in charge of everything related to relations with national government authorities and in the departments where there were Venezuelan consulates (Medellín, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, Cúcuta, Río Hacha and Puerto Carreño).

In 1984 he returned to Venezuela and was designated as an International Observer by ODCA, in the political events in Panama, which ended with the overthrow of General Manuel Antonio Noriega.

• 1.987 - 1.994: Megabyte Producciones CAPresident of Megabyte Producciones CA

He returns to private activity creating the company Megabyte Producciones CA in order to develop an external consultancy in communications for Grupo Mendoza. This advice covers the cement, paper, metal-mechanical and foundational sectors of the Group, in everything related to internal and external communication, applying the latest techniques in the field, such as multimedia and digitized video production. Unfortunately, that year the economic difficulties began in Venezuela, which led to the collapse of the Group.

• 1.994 - 1.996: Venezuelan Foreign Service General Consul of Venezuela in Guayaquil, Ecuador. 1996 - 1999: Intermedios Digital Communication Managing Director. 1999: Advenezuela. Com

Upon his return to the country, he began the development of the first portal to access the world of communication in Venezuela (www.advenezuela.com), associated with the Cyberbox company for its production. Right now we are taking the first steps on the web.

• 2.000: Teaching Internet professor in the computer course of the Intranex Institute

  (Guaparo - Valencia)

Professor of the subjects Advertising Accounts and Pre / professional Seminar in the IV and VI Semester at the School of Advertising of the University Institute of New Professions - Valencia. Venezuela.

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