Corporate Communication

The world of business is constantly changing. Since the previous edition
of the book, there have been a number of high-profile scandals in the
corporate world and we have been through an economic downturn in
most parts of the globe. These conditions have created a very difficult
trading environment for many companies, and equally many
organizations have also had a rough time in communication and
reputation terms. Companies that previously were the darling of the
stock-market or the preferred choice of customers may have seen the
tables turned on them and may no longer enjoy strong reputations.
Stakeholders for their part also increasingly demand insight and
information from companies in a quest for more transparency. The new
media landscape has added further pressures in this respect, with
citizens and customers blogging and tweeting about companies and with
critical journalists zealously looking for gaps, contradictions and
discrepancies in corporate messages. The decisions and actions of
companies are increasingly put under the microscope.
Whilst the environment for companies is constantly changing and has
perhaps become more challenging in recent years, the central message
across these trends is clear: executives and practitioners within
organizations need to be empowered with a way of thinking and with
tools that can help them navigate the current corporate landscape in
which reputations have become more fragile and stakeholders have
become more demanding. The basic idea underlying the book, therefore,
is to equip the reader with an understanding of the concepts and tools of
corporate communication.