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Before you read b
Think about the biggest company in your country. What is its reputation? z
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Reading e
Read the articte from the Financiol Times by PauI Argenti and do the exercises that follow.
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t to move towards centre stage

Paul Argenti
1 !

The last few years have seen the big-
gest collapse in confidence in
- to the
business in almost a century
point where probably the least
trusted spokespeople on the planet
today are corporate executives.
When intense mistrust prevails,
whatever a company does saYs
i
something about it, everything com-
,1
r1l 10 municates, and communication
affects everything.
This is changing the definition of
communication. Communication
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today is more of a two-way dialogue
L5 and this has been aided by the rise of
social media like Facebook and
Twitter and the explosion of infor-
mation-sharing online. TodaY's
best-in-class companies, such as
2U Dell in the US and Philips in EuroPe,
do notjust engage in dialogue. They
use the latest technology as a source
of ideas, opinions and competitive
intelligence, for product develop-
ment, employee engagement and
media monitoring.
In addition to rethinking the defl-
nition of communication, the best
companies are rethinking its struc-
ture. There is a greater need for
,,i 30
774
integration, collaboration and part-
nership among colporate leadership,
human capital, finance, sales and
legal teams.
3s Another change in communica-
tion by leading comPanies is the
rethinking of key themes. This was
the main finding of research bY the
Tuck School of Business at Dart-
+o mouth, conducted with Doremus, a
business-to-business commun ica-
tions agency. It found that the
best-in-class companies have been
4s
guided by six themes:
a Focus on value and values
Stakeholders demand value for
money when buying goods and ser-
vices, but theY also expect to see a
strong set of cotporate values in the
so companies with which they do busi-
ness. Walmaft, Hyundai and BMW
have used this theme in their adver-
tising and communications.
b Evolve a sense of resPonsibil-
ss ity Corporate responsibility today is
not just about philanthropy or being
green. It is about comPanies being
responsible across all business prac-
tices. NGOs, consumers, emPloYees
investors are ready to punish
oo and
@ Pearson Education Limited
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companies that ignore evolving c
social values. JPMorgan Chase has
done a fabulous job reflecting its €
corporate responsibility initiatives
a
;s on its website and in advertising. U
c Strategy must drive communi-
cation As Jon Iwata, IBM's senior
vice-president for marketing and €
communications, puts it: "Lincoln
ro said, 'Character is the tree; reputa- €
tion is the shadow.' I'm afraid too
many people in PR, marketing and €
advertising spend more time manip-
ulating the shadow than tending to
rs the tree."
€
. d Shifting from the Problem to
the solution Stakeholders are most €
receptive to realistic and optimistic
plans, and are often readY to PaY €
so less attention to problems of the
past year.
e Not communicating is a com-
€
munication in itself You either tell
your story or have it told for You. €
85 f Re-evaluate Positioning The
crisis has led to disruption in how €
companies are thought of bY con-
stituencies, which provides a
c
tremendous opportunity to reposi-
eo tion, rebrand and redeveloP.
€
e
€
c
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2011 PHorocoPIABtE
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E
€ Find words from the article (lines 1Jr4), and 4 lmagine company board meetings where
E related words, to complete the table. directors say these things (t-6). Which
- Verb Noun
point a-f (lines 45-90) is each director most
E closely referring to?
{ col[aborate
collapse
1 'We have to have a press conference and be open
E
{ define
about our quatity problems - if we don't talk
about it and journalists get on to the story, we're
E engage
{ in big trouble!'

ET
explode
2 'Our customers are getting real value for money
{ find when they buy our products, and they also have
prevalence the reassurance of knowing they are deating with
E
{ research a socially responsible organisation!'

E. 3 'We mustn't let this crisis go to waste! lt gives us

{ True or false? (lines t-44). the chance to reposition ourselves as the most
IT environmentally aware energy company in the
{ a) There is great mistrust of companies at the
world.'
moment.
E
{ b) When there is mistrust, everything that
4 'Corporate social responsibility isn't something
we can just [eave to the CSR people - it involves
companies do is misunderstood.
E a[[ of us!'
4 c) Corporate communication is seen as increasingly
two-way.
5 'Let's not keep talking about our past problems.
E.
{ d) The best companies have just continued to use
Instead, let's look forward to the exciting new
possibitities that exist for the future!'
E their traditional pubtic relations departments in
5 'There's too much emphasis here on public
- order to communicate.
relations and slick advertising. lf we behave
E
{ e) In their new approach to communication,
responsibly, our corporate image wit[ take care
companies have been paying attention to five
of itself.'
E. things in particular.
{
5 Choose the best summary for the whole
e Find expressions (lines
the following:
4i-65) that refer to article.
E a) Corporate communication is a speciality that is
€ a) that can be used in different forms
a subject
best teft to the PR department and advertising
E of communication (S letters)) agencies.
{ b) what people expect when they buy a company's b) Everything a company does communicates
e c)
products (5 tetters)
what they expect to see as guiding a company's
something about it, and executives are becoming
increasingly aware of this.
e d)
behaviour (6 tetters)
emptoyees, shareholders, suppliers and, above
c) Whatever a company does, peopte wiltalways
misinterpret its actions, and companies just have
h
{ all in this context, customers (12 tetters) to try to timit the damage.
E e) giving money to charity (12 tetters)

- f) having good environmental poticies (5 letters, Over to you 1

3 5 letters)

c) things that society as a whole thinks are

"Lincoln said,'Character is the tree; reputation is the
shadow.'l'm afraid too many people in PR, marketing
ET important (6 letters, 6 tetters) and advertising spend more time manipulating the
{ shadow than tending to the tree." How fai is it possibte
h) actions that have not been taken before (11
I} letters) to 'manipulate'the truth about an organisation's
character?

e Over to you 2
it Think about your organisation or one you would like to
work for. In what ways can each department show that it
e is responsible? How can this be communicated?

e
e
e
D
U pHorocoprABlr @ Pearson Education Limited 2011 175