How Leaders Use Communication for Strategy Execution: MNG81001 Report

This report, prepared for the Director of Communications at Company ABC, examines the evolving role of strategic communication in the 21st-century business environment. It analyzes how leaders use communication to execute strategy. The report includes an executive summary and article analyses of Argenti's work on C-suite communication and two additional articles focusing on employee identification, organizational identity, and internal communication consulting. It highlights key findings, recommendations, conclusions, and implications from each article, emphasizing the importance of strategic alignment, teamwork, and the integration of communication into the decision-making process. The report also considers the impact of technological advancements on communication channels and the need for leaders to build trustworthy relationships with employees and stakeholders to achieve organizational excellence.

Running head: STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION
Strategic Communication
Name of the university
Name of the student
Author note

1STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION
Executive summery
The purpose of writing this assignment is to present the contemporary scenario of
business environment where business communicators have a versatile job
specification, which includes not only to maintain communication among the
employees and superiors yet to participate in the process of decision-making and to
maintain relationship with the stakeholders. Communication is a mode of progressing
towards the next level. Therefore, the selecting of channels is more important than the
content of interaction. Technology has introduced several innovative channels to
communicate within and outside organization. effective communication serves
various purposes including provides exposure to team resources, explores global
opportunities, successfully handles virtual teams and establishes an environment of
collaborative sharing of knowledge.
According to Argenti, (2017), it has been understood how C-suite employees
function within a business scenario as a communicator to execute various strategies
for accomplishing goals. The theme revolves around the 21st century business
environment and its competitive nature. The central focus is on the changing methods
leadership communication to enhance organizational excellence.
As per the theory of Henderson, Cheney and Weaver, (2015), readers have an
insight about the role of employee recognition and organizational identity in the
procedure of strategic communication. Moreover, how the above mentioned two
factors influence organizational issues management about genetic modification. This
article also examines policy positions of organizational members, internal designation
holders such as managers of various departments and the communication process with
the external stakeholders like government. This article has a theoretical contribution
towards analyses of multiple levels where identification is exposed. Organizational
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identity is built by maintain relationship with both the internal and external
stakeholders. Practically, it contributes on understanding strategic communication in
order to decide a position for the organization keeping the controversial genetic
modification technologies and practices in mind.
Further, the study of Zerfass and Franke, (2013), presents a theoretical
framework for conducting internal communication in organizational purposes. The
communication process involves enabling various opportunities, advising strategies,
supporting the organization and executing versatile roles. Communication managers
have to strengthen their competence in broader sense, handling various job roles and
challenges like maintaining relationship with both the internal and external
stakeholders and participating in decision-making process. Even communication
managers can take part in communication related discussions with employees to
develop interpersonal competency of resolving communication and task related
issues.
The shift, which has been noticed as the 21st century approaches, it is for the
high technological development. Companies are growing globally and coupling with
that the necessity of maintaining undisturbed chain of interaction is important whether
it is by physically or virtually. Therefore, in order to face all the challenges of
professional communication initiative must be strategy oriented, integrating the
process of decision-making and stakeholders’ perspective.
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Article Analysis One
Title of Article: Strategic Communication in the C-Suite
Author (s): Paul A. Argenti
Publication Information: International Journal of Business Communication 2017, Vol.
54(2) 146–160
What is the thesis of this article?
The central theme or thesis of this article is to focus on the transformation of
business communication to execute strategies in the 21st century.
What is the blueprint of this article?
This article deals with different methods of strategic implications of business
communication, practiced by C-suite executives.
What recommendations (if any) are provided?
Acknowledging the global presence of business organisations C-level leaders
must encourage employees to act together both strategically and culturally. Teamwork
is important in terms of executing strategic plans.
There is a trend among leaders to be omnipresent and hyper communicators.
However, physical presence of leader is more necessary than managing a team
virtually.
Employees will feel valued and engaged with the organizational objectives
more than before, if a trustworthy relationship can be built between leaders and
employees. An organizational culture of shared value and vision is healthier than
other practices.
What conclusions are drawn?
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Conclusion says that this study will be helpful for future researchers who are
interested to conduct studies over dynamic practices of strategic communication
among C-suite executives. Several academics are interested to initiate quantitative
research to determine the number of successful executives who have implemented
strategies ways of communication. Invention of advanced measurement tools will be
able to generate successful outcome of communication in future.
What implications (if any) are provided?
A global study conducted by Weber Shandwick in 2012, suggests that 86% of
chief executives have reported, their companies have initiated increased effort to
establish a better reputation by development of integrated communication.
What quote will you use from this article?
Academic articles prior to this one used to define strategic communication as
which is “aligned with the company’s overall strategy, to enhance its strategic
positioning”.
Article Analysis Two
Title of Article: The Role of Employee Identification and Organizational Identity in
Strategic Communication and Organizational Issues Management about Genetic
Modification.
Author(s): Alison Henderson, George Cheney and C. Kay Weaver.
Publication Information: International Journal of Business Communication 2015, Vol.
52(1) 12–41
What is the thesis of this article?
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This article intends to examine organization related identities and strategic
communication of two export companies as they have managed to raise a public
discussion about the impact of genetic modification.
What is the blueprint of this article?
This research had been conducted in order to find out how ‘organizational
voice’ has been used in issue management and employee selection and what the role
of strategic communication is to develop such aspects.
What recommendations (if any) are provided?
No such recommendations has been provided, although, strong conclusion and
implication of founded theories has been identified.
What conclusions are drawn?
There is a difference between ideal and real, strategic organizational rhetoric is
material condition and organizational environment. It can be considered as important
theoretical context for various methods in which there is a major role of
organizational identification in strategic communication.
What implications (if any) are provided?
Fonterra performed a rhetorical U-turn on its value positions related to
advanced GM technology for attaining consistent stakeholders’ support and its
relevance with the values.
What quote will you use from this article?
Several terms have been used instead of a whole quotation about the
organization practice of strategic communication. Like in this sentence from the
paper, quotations can be found. At a national level, strategic communication that
represents New Zealand’s identity as “clean and green” has both economic and
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political implications. It has been highly successful, for instance, in marketing New
Zealand as a tourism destination with the campaign “100% pure New Zealand”.
Article Analysis Three
Title of Article: Enabling, advising, supporting, executing: A theoretical framework
for internal communication consulting within organizations
Author(s): Ansgar Zerfass, Neele Franke.
Publication Information: International Journal of Strategic Communication,
7(2013)2:118-135, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2013.765438
What is the thesis of this article?
The thesis of this paper is to analyze role of communication managers and
their competency of consulting and enabling functions with the help of a theoretical
framework for maintaining internal communication.
What is the blueprint of this article?
The theoretical framework not only elaborates the communication process but
also it will highlight several aspects of internal communication consulting which have
not yet elaborated until now.
What recommendations (if any) are provided?
Communication professional can be supportive in terms of helping in
decision-making process. Departments must address necessities of stakeholders;
communicate with media persons, and develop their way of interactions by consulting
experts. This kind of consulting process add critical dimensions over the process of
communication management.
What conclusions are drawn?
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Overall role of communication managers is versatile. This might help to
develop both competences and assertiveness among them. It will help the managers to
confront with challenges in broader scale and more practical approach.
What implications (if any) are provided?
Today’s business environment requires maintaining high quality internal
communication for handling the complexity and dynamic nature of business
environment. Critical consequences of communication can be found when it helps in
decision-making process of a certain organization. Awareness can be built by
communicative implication of decisions, which are imposing a strategic characteristic.
Managers also give advice on how communication can be executed with various
activities and how it can be implemented in decision-making. Apart from this to meet
stakeholders requirements and to maintain an interactive relationship with every
members of organization strategic communication is essential.
What quote will you use from this article?
In order to highlight the role of expert communicator a quotation can be found
which has been collected from another study by Hamrefors, “The contextual leader
also has the task of assisting others in developing their communications. The task
comprises both helping others to improve in conveying the organisation’s ideology
and their own contextual communication”.
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References
Argenti, P. A. (2017). Strategic communication in the c-suite. International Journal
of Business Communication, 54(2), 146-160.
Henderson, A., Cheney, G. and Weaver, C.K., (2015). The role of employee
identification and organizational identity in strategic communication and
organizational issues management about genetic modification. International Journal
of Business Communication, 52(1), pp.12-41.
Zerfass, A. and Franke, N., 2013. Enabling, advising, supporting, executing: A
theoretical framework for internal communication consulting within
organizations. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 7(2), pp.118-135.
MNG81001 Assessment 1 Session 1 2018