Michael B. Goodman

Reputation management: the new face of corporate public relations?

Abstract An empirical study of Fortune 500 companies suggests that “reputation management” is gaining ground as a driving philosophy behind corporate public relations. Whether the phenomenon is a trend or a fad is not clear, given the lack of consensus in defining reputation, the instability and questionable validity of reputation measures, and unanswered questions about when and how (or even whether) reputation can be “managed.” Besides reputation management, corporate public relations departments in the study embraced a wide variety of other definitions of their function, suggesting that public relations continues to have great difficulty in defining itself. While the study did not find a strong correlation between reputation and overall spending on corporate communication activities, as had a similar study the prior year, it did find some interesting correlations between reputation and specific categories of spending.

Corporate communication practice and pedagogy at the dawn of the new millennium

Purpose – To explore the case for, and value of, corporate communication practice in professional development.Design/methodology/approach – This article, based on the findings of the Corporate Communication Institutes (CCI) Corporate Communication Practices and Trends 2005 Study, aims to offer a positive relationship between corporate communication practice and productive global relationships as the underpinning of a sustainable business strategy.Findings – Successful global businesses recognize the value of corporate communication in meeting the challenges of global business.Originality/value – Successful professional development of the next generation of corporate communication executives will focus on understanding of corporate communication functions and on strategic implementation capabilities.

Current trends in corporate communication

Explores trends in corporate communication based on the Corporate Communication Institute Benchmark Study and on the Council of Public Relations Firms Spending Study. Presents answers to five basic questions on how change has an impact on practitioners and the profession. The research register for this journal is available at http://www.mcbup.com/research_registers. The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www.emerald‐library.com/ft

Corporate communication: the American picture

Explores corporate communication as a global business practice and as an academic field of study. Presents the strategic nature of corporate communication, current practices, forces shaping it and its key functions. Discusses the issues of meeting the challenge of the future.

The role of business in public diplomacy

– The purpose of this article is to introduce the case for, and value of, the role of business in public diplomacy., – This article offers a perspective on the importance of business in developing positive and productive global relationships as the underpinning of a sustainable business strategy., – Successful global businesses recognize and act on their role as a bridge between nations. The underlying premise is that business partners are far more likely to promote positive and productive global relationships that can in the long run lead to peaceful relationships on a larger social and political scale., – This paper offers a positive strategy for sustainable global business using public diplomacy to build international and intercultural relationships.

Restoring trust in American business: the struggle to change perception

Purpose – To analyze the challenges for business posed by rising anti‐Americanism and anti‐globalism, the need to restore trust in business, and the demands of transparency. These considerable, but surmountable challenges are met by keeping pace with rapid change, through communicating and building reputation, and through modeling the concepts of “truth” and “trust” as the common currency of a robust world civilization.Design/methodology/approach – Focus on recent research into global attitudes toward business by Pew Global Attitudes Project, Edelman Annual Trust Barometer, NOP World, Global Market Insite; and on the PR Coalition White Paper, Restoring Trust in Business.Findings – Emerging best practices for combating anti‐Americanism and for restoring trust through ethical behavior, transparency, and board‐level commitment.Practical implications – Corporate development of public affairs and issues management strategies designed to mitigate the negative impact of rising anti‐Americanism and declining trus...

Communication in graduate management programs: results of a survey

A study of communication in graduate management programs sponsored by IEEE/PCS and Fairleigh Dickinson University is described. The findings indicate a clear need for more emphasis on oral and written communication and suggest that one solution to the problem is a course requirement in written and oral communication in conjunction with one or two full-time faculty dedicated to the subject. The findings also indicate that full-time faculty who teach communication courses at the graduate level have extensive business and academic experience, and their compensation is well within national guidelines. The study indicates clearly that exit requirements, when they exist, lack both an oral and written communication component, although a written term project for course work is almost universally employed. Other surveys and publications provide background information;. >

Tradition and innovation: the China business communication study

Purpose – With Chinas economic development over the last two decades, the spirit and practice of Chinese companies have been radically transformed from administrative functions in a centrally planned economy toward that of market‐oriented enterprises. As Chinese enterprises restructure, the communication function is also undergoing dramatic changes. Discussion of the CCI Corporate Communication Practices and Trends 2005 Study and the CCI Corporate Communication Practices and Trends: A China Benchmark 2006 allow some insight into the state of the art in China, and help us to infer how best to communicate with the Chinese for a successful business relationship.Design/methodology/approach – The observations in this article are based on the CCI Corporate Communication Practices and Trends: A China Benchmark Study 2006, which was underwritten by Prudential Financial, Inc., and conducted in Beijing, China, in December 2005 and July 2006 through a partnership of the Corporate Communication Institute, Beijing Ho...

Introduction to the special section-issues in corporate and organizational communication: communication and change

Corporations are changing; they are reinventing, rethinking, transforming, and reengineering themselves. And with change comes chaos, uncertainty, and renewal. For everyone involved, change represents either a threat to security or an opportunity to move forward. What are the forces at work in changing corporations? In the authors own research on corporate culture and on the forces affecting corporate communication, marketing, and advertising, five general categories of forces have emerged: a new sophistication in customers or audience; new media and technologies or communication tools; a more complex ethical environment; stronger economic factors; and new strategic alliances. >

Meeting the global challenges of the contemporary business environment

The challenges for business in a global environment include an accelerating rise in anti-Americanism, the increased negative attitudes toward multinational brands and global corporations, and the economic impact as a result of the War on Terror. Numerous scandals, beginning with the implosion of Enron in 2001, have created an additional communication challenge for corporations to restore trust in business and the capital markets through new corporate reporting and governance challenges. Plans to meet the challenge to restore trust have been endorsed by the PR Coalition, an association of more than twenty organizations dedicated to public relations, public affairs, and corporate communication; and efforts to combat anti-Americanism have been outlined by Business for Diplomatic Action.