Corporate Communications

Book excerpt: The field of corporate communications describes the practices organizations use to communicate as coherent corporate `bodies′. Drawing on the metaphor of the body and on a variety of theories and disciplines the text challenges the idealized notion that organizations can and should communicate as unified wholes. The authors pose important questions such as: - Where does the central idea of corporate communications come from? - What are the underlying assumptions of most corporate communications practices? - What are the organizational and ethical challenges of attempting truly `corporate′ communication? Clearly written with international vignettes and executive briefings, this book shows that in a complex world the management of communication needs to embrace multiple opinions and voices. Rewarding readers with a deeper understanding of corporate communications, the text will be a `must read′ for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars, in the arenas of corporate communications, organizational communication, employee relations, marketing, public relations and corporate identity management. Practitioners in these areas will be provoked to re-examine their assumptions and habits.