Laizer Edwin n Baprm 42691

Evaluation of corporate communication activities

In the fullest sense evaluation is focused on the end user and the ultimate achievement of goals. Clients, stakeholders and publics will be the evaluators of the success of images, identities and reputations. It has been the focus of this review of information tools and processes to indicate the range of possibilities in information and knowledge management which when used will support corporate communication activities and thereby achieve the maximum positive evaluations, measured by problems solved, satisfied clients, restored reputations, favourable publics and well-focused and growing organizational capacities.

Information resources, value and technology

However important knowledge is, in the final analysis, its management is likely to be founded best on good information management. Whatever information resources are identified and used in a corporate communication context the information management task is to maximize the value of the information. Value can be conceptualized as resourcefulness and seen in terms of potential for problem solving and decision making. The corporate communicator as information man- ager has to identify and select the most potentially resourceful information or to ensure that it is provided for the task on hand. Information management has increasingly developed around the use of computers and telecommunications (the information and communication technologies: ICTs). The internet and the worldwide web represent the contemporary generation of these ICTs utilizing digitized input, hypertext, multimedia, high-speed data transmission and broad bandwidth. Within and from this environment the virtual organization has evolved. In popular terms the dot.com enterprise, the e-business engaged in e-commerce. What consequences these new organizational forms will have for corporate communication is still a matter of some debate. Is it a case of new technologies grafted on the older organizational structures and models? Or is the model of the virtual environment radically different? Some factors are becoming clearer:

• Organizations and stakeholders are becoming more connected by using common technological platforms.

• Information circulation, communication and messaging has become more rapid: good and bad news can travel more quickly to more people.

• Technological diffusion has to some extent created more players and in theory this can create a more ‘democratic’ environment for corporate communication.

 • The boundaries between corporate and personal/individual/private are being readjusted.

• Corporate society is becoming increasingly globalized by its use of new technologies.

If information technology and information management provide a catalyst for communication activity how is corporate communication to be managed in an increasingly information and communication rich environment? The strategic perspective becomes increasingly important and points towards some practical solutions for corporate communication. The development of information management strategies and policies can be seen as a response for more effective corporate communication in an informatized and globalized world.

The way forward

The impact of the information and communication technologies is shaping the development of corporate communication theory and practice in a substantial way. However, the well tried and tested means of information and communication activity will maintain their importance. The choice of media may have broadened but making the right choices to use and practise is still going to require skill and experience. Students and practitioners of corporate communication need to gain an understanding of information and communication practice in the round at the level of personal skill as well as an appreciation of its corporate significance. The kind of programme of information management and knowledge management reviewed in this chapter is a significant step towards developing a strong strand of professional information education in the corporate communication field, drawing on the established disciplines of information and knowledge management.