Media lecturer Catherine Lumby writes in today’s Herald of the content-management ‘crisis’ afflicting the free-to-air TV stations. Lumby cites the extreme criticism directed at one of the two breakfast programs as examples of micro-management of programming that fails to address the greater problem: a lack of respect for viewers.

She states that the success of programs driven by consumer participation indicates that increasingly “consumers will want to see the diversity of their tastes, values and aspirations directly represented.”

While television networks battle for audience share, organizational communicators increasingly have to struggle for share of mind. Understanding the the tastes, values and aspirations of the workforce is a key step in developing strategies that engage the whole employee.

Link
Catherine Lumby, University of Sydney
SMH Opinion Piece

Corporate social responsibility reporting is to remain voluntary, but continues to provide a source of competitive advantage through building reputation.

ABC radio today reports that the Federal government committee examining corporate social responsibility has not recommended regulatory approaches to increase the level of reporting from companies. This presents an opportunity for businesses to take a position of self-leadership. There are an increasing number of examples of Australian companies that have increased their voluntary reporting. However, the ABC quotes Latrobe University Professor Carol Adams’ claim that less than a third of companies report on impacts such as pollution.

Participation in voluntary review and rating can provide a significant boost to the reputation of organisations. As with all aspects of reputation, the benefit comes when the commitment and rhetoric from the organization is matched by consistent actions that support the public position.

At the other end of the reputation spectrum, blogger and leadership consultant AJ Schuler writes of the impact of corporate culture as a source of sustainable reutational advantage. He uses the spectacular failure of Enron as an extreme example in this article on his blog.

Links
ABC Report: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200606/s1668827.htm
AJ Schuler Article: http://whatsupdoc-aj.blogspot.com/2006/06/enron-and-corporate-culture.html

John Gerstner, CEO of Communitelligence has a fantastic summary of one of the IABC Conference sessions in which a panel of communication leaders considered the hot issues for the profession now and in 2011. His conclusion is that the role of the communicator has never been less clearly defined. Other themes he reported as concerns included the challenge of the blogosphere, communicators business acumen, and the gap between theory and practice.

Read his blog post on “What communicators are worried about”.

Gerstner’s point about the role of the communicator holds true in the Australian market. The range of roles and professional disciplines that merge at the point called ‘communications’ is broad. The importance of discussing the expectation of what the client excpects within the scope of communication is critical. As managers experience different forms of communication practiced by functions as diverse as human resources, marketing, change managers, public affairs, media managers, and organisational developers and training functions it becomes vital to work according to the outcomes required, and to form partnerships to deliver across disciplines.

The Communitelligence portal also provides excellent communication resources.

Link
http://www.communitelligence.com

The Sydney Morning Herald reported yesterday that social researcher Hugh Mackay is retiring from Ipsos Mackay to focus on writing novels.

I have seen Hugh speak on a number of occasions at writing festivals, and within a business context. The Mind and Mood survey which he pioneered is unique in terms of qualitative research projects into social trends. His voice in the area of social research will be missed.

Ipsos reported on 8 June that there will be a new voice, though, with the Mind and Mood report to be authored by Dr Rebecca Huntley, author of ‘The World According to Y”.

Qualitative research is such a fundamental part of understanding our audiences. The insights to be gained from facilitated conversations and from techniques such as appreciative inquiry can increase the ability to connect with stakeholders or employees.