Organizational Communication Commons^™

The Art Of The Rebrand: Utilizing Strategic Communications To Obtain Employee Buy-In During A Rebrand, Samantha Azizo

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify how organizations can effectively communicate with employees during a rebrand in order to obtain their acceptance of the changes, otherwise known as employee buy-in. Prior research has found that employee acceptance of a rebrand is a contributing factor towards a successful rebrand; however, prior research fails to determine how the rebrand can be best communicated to employees to obtain their buy-in. The research performed for the study took place in two parts. First, 142 online surveys probing employee and consumer perception about rebranding were performed. Secondly, three semi-structured interviews with professionals who …

Engaging High School Students Towards A Career In Cybersecurity, Caroline Rose Ster

Journalism

The following study acknowledges the numerous jobs available in cybersecurity and searches for ways to use public relations efforts to engage high school students towards a career in cybersecurity. While the field of cybersecurity is growing and the amount of jobs are increasing, there is currently not enough people pursuing a career in cybersecurity. This lack of professionals is dangerous because there are simply not enough professionals that are seeking to progress the field, and there’s not enough people to fight the increasing number of cyberattacks. The main goal for this project was to discover public relations tactics that can …

Illness And The American Workplace: Issues And Implications For Employers And Employees, Victoria R. Dolan

Student Theses and Dissertations

This project aims to identify American employee experiences and existing workplace policies and cultures surrounding illness, disability, and sick leave. This approach was taken in order to closely examine what looks to be working well for companies and workers, and what could benefit from a more human centric approach in regards to workplace policy and employee support programs. The study of employee experiences in particular represents a gap in the current scholarly literature regarding illness and illness policy in the American workplace, and more accurately represents the experiences for both employees and employers. Furthermore, it assists with distinguishing the types …

Together Apart: Influences And Barriers To Engagement Among Remote Workers, Stacey-Robin H. Johnson

Student Theses and Dissertations

Organizations recognize the importance of having employees who do more than 'show up' for work. Rather, the goal is to have employees who will adapt to, embody, and promote the values, agenda, and strategic purposes of the organization beyond their work life. In the efforts around engagement, there are key influences in the organizational lifespan of an employee that can inspire or discourage engagement attitudes and behaviors.

Remote workers (defined here as those who work outside of a central, collective work setting) present unique challenges, the most pressing being maintaining a sense of connection and inclusion among the group in …

Collaboration In Social Hobby Groups: Transferring Qualities Of Teamwork From The Social Sphere To The Professional Sphere, Emily M. Mccormick

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Workplace collaboration has been the subject of much research and writing. Social collaboration can help inform our understanding of how people prefer to work together and should be studied for its aspects that could be transferred to the professional sphere. This research examines how members in social hobby groups collaborate with each other and what aspects of that collaboration can be applied to the workplace. I observed and surveyed five local hobby groups to better understand how the members worked together and what made this type of socializing appealing to members. One of the primary aspects of this social collaboration …

Supervisor-Subordinate Conflict Negotiation: Examining The Core Concerns In Light Of Communication Accommodation And Gender Roles, Piyawan Charoensap-Kelly

Dissertations

This quasi-experimental study examined a supervisor-subordinate negotiation of an emotion-laden conflict from the lens of the core concerns framework, communication accommodation theory, and gender roles research. Results empirically support CCF that, by accommodating or attending to the employees’ core concerns, managers can stimulate employees’ positive emotion and integrative intention. However, under- and overaccommodating the core concerns can lead to distributive intention. Additionally, the employees’ perception of manager goodwill can strengthen or attenuate the positive effect of core concerns accommodativeness on outcome variables especially for male managers. Thus, moderate accommodation is recommended for male managers. For female managers, the results show …

Using The Theory Of Emotional Stakeholders To Experimentally Test The Influence Of Proxy Communicators About Organizational Crises In Digital News Reports, Alicia Mason, Elizabeth Spencer, Kelley Macek, Alison Smith, Stephanie Potter

Faculty Submissions

The emergence of new and social media has transformed the way that stakeholders and organizations interact between and amongst each other. Online news consumers are now able to directly respond to crisis news reports by offering their own interpretation, thus expanding the diversity of viewpoints audiences are exposed to (Carpenter, 2010; Springer, 2014). Using the Theory of Emotional Stakeholders framework our study aims (1) to understand how positive and negative user-generated comments in response to online news reports of crisis events impacts audience perceptions of organizational blame; (2) to examine the persuasive effects of user comments when expert or official …

Crisis Communications: How Businesses Respond In The Wake Of Tragedy, Sarah Blow

Senior Honors Theses

Crisis communication is an ever-evolving form of communication that is integral to a business’s success. When tragedy strikes, businesses must have a thorough plan of response that manages the situation and protects their brand. This paper discusses the definition of crisis communication, its history, and how modern trends like social media, have revolutionized it. This study is important because it influences a business’s public perception, and sustainability. Thorough knowledge of crisis communication is critical to a business student’s education and will prepare them for working in fast-paced communication and business environments. An analysis of this topic should yield an understanding …

Secondary Crisis Communication. A Question Of Actual Or Perceived Credibility?, Bengt Johansson

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

An important aspect of crisis communication is secondary crisis communication, which focuses on how people communicate during a crisis. This study seeks to explore the mechanism of credibility in secondary crisis communication. Respondents in a large-scale experiment (N=2382) were exposed to a fictional news story about a terrorist attack and asked to what degree they would share the news story on social media. The design made it possible to test if the sharing of news stories was determined by its actual credibility (through the use of semiotic disclaimers in the news story), or by perceived credibility (the perceived credibility of …

2019 Icrcc Proceedings Table Of Contents, Conference Organizers

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

These proceedings are a representative sample of the presentations given by professional practitioners and academic scholars at the 2019 International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference (ICRCC) held March 11-13, 2019. The ICRCC is an annual event that takes place the second week in March in beautiful sunny Orlando, Florida. The conference hosts are faculty and staff from the Nicholson School of Communication. The goal of the ICRCC is to bring together prominent professional practitioners and academic scholars that work directly with crisis and risk communication on a daily basis. We define crisis and risk broadly to include, for example, natural …

Do Not Bank On Us! Taking Stock Of Transparency And Accountability During Crises In Uganda: The Case Of Crane Bank Collapse, Angella Napakol, Ann Mugunga

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

This study examined transparency and accountability as bridges to the interpretative and sense making capabilities of the public following the collapse of Crane Bank, Uganda. Content and critical discourse analysis methods were used to: investigate the nature of communication, the information shared; review honesty and responsibility in communication, and also analyze how accountability and transparency are constructed during crisis situations in the South. Assessment of 120 newspaper articles showed that both Crane Bank and Bank of Uganda mainly left it to the media to create and give meaning to stakeholders. Initial communication from both institutions was delayed and subsequent communication …

A Rhetorical Analysis Of President Bill Clinton's First Term Presidential Rhetoric, Ireland Hill

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Bill Clinton was the United States of America’s (U.S.) 42nd President, and his rhetoric set the tone of U.S. political climate for years following his presidency. Due to the power that a president possesses, a president’s presence and statements are frequently analyzed. It is clear, however, that there is a lack of research completed on presidential rhetoric. Upon this realization, I reflected on my previous areas of research; one of those areas was the first term presidential rhetoric of Clinton. As a result, I decided that a rhetorical analysis of some of the major rhetoric that contributed to Clinton’s first …

Retaining Millennials: Values-Based Communication Tactics Employers Can Use To Appeal To A Supposed Risk-Adverse Generation, Erica Santillo

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Millennials are growing within the workforce, but they are becoming difficult to attract and retain for longer than two years at a time. In addition, Millennials have generational-specific values that are different than their predecessors. Identifying and applying these workplace expectations to organizational policies have made it challenging for leaders to appeal to this generation. Millennials desire five aspects from their workplace: work with a purpose, to be their own boss or work for a boss that is a mentor, a collaborative work environment, flexible work schedules, and work-life integration and/or work-life balance. Using a survey research method, this thesis …

Government Intervention In Corporate Crises: An Asian Perspective, Augustine Pang, Paige Pei-Hua Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Governments are expected to intervene in national crises like natural disasters (Rosenthal & Kouzmin, 1997). Less clear are corporate crises. In recent years, there have been several corporate crises in Asia where governments have intervened to restore confidence. The paper seeks to examine the roles and extent of Asian governmental intervention in corporate crises, particularly it examines the impact Asian governments – described as paternalistic (Shin & Sin, 2012) – have on corporate crises. Five high profile Asian corporate crises were analyzed through Winkler’s (1977) Theory of Corporatism. Impact was analyzed through Boin and ’t Hart’s (2010) nine crisis response …

Authentically Disney, Distinctly Chinese: A Case Study Of Glocalization Through Shanghai Disneyland’S Brand Narrative, Chelsea Michelle Galvez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In 2016, the Walt Disney Company launched Shanghai Disneyland--the company’s first theme park in mainland China. Entering mainland China poses significant political and cultural challenges for American companies. To address these challenges, Disney pursued a “glocalization” strategy -- it accounted for local norms and values in launching Shanghai Disneyland. This paper examines how Shanghai Disneyland constructed its brand narrative to negotiate tensions in this glocalization process. A semiotic analysis of two Shanghai Disneyland commercials illustrates the ways in which Disney tapped into culturally meaningful themes of harmonic balance and collective identity to produce the park’s brand narrative--“China’s Disneyland.” A thematic …

Cultural Challenges When Memorializing Tragedies, Kjell Brataas

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

After a tragedy, victims and survivors often desire to memorialize what happened. This can take many forms, and finding the right way often involves a number of challenges. There will usually be differences of opinion among the bereaved, the injured and the uninjured survivors, and cultural aspects and differences play a major role. This presentation provides examples from around the world and hints on bridging the culture gap when memorializing a tragedy.

Building Bridges To Connect With Stakeholders: A Template For Success, Kimberly A. Reed

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

The modern age of communication, with the 24x7 news cycle and "information overload," can impact our ability to connect with stakeholders. Kimberly Reed, a Washington professional who has built bridges for more than 20 years both across the aisle and around the globe with non-profits, trade associations, government officials, and risk and crisis communication professionals, presented a case study on Expo Milano 2015: "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life" (the "World's Fair," which was the world's largest gathering and discussion on the topic of food). She shared best practices that featured Drs. Deanna and Tim Sellnow and provided practical resources …

A Close Look At The Role Of Regulatory Fit In Consumers’ Responses To Unethical Firms, Kwansik Mun, Ilgi Shin

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

Our knowledge is not enough to clearly explain how consumers respond to unethical firms, thereby forming attitudes toward unethical firms’ brand and buying their products. In this sense, we conduct a one-way experimental design to test regulatory focus theory when it comes to attitudes toward unethical firms’ brand and the purchase intention. Our findings reveal that promotion-oriented participants were more negative toward Mitsubishi, which violates achievement (e.g. fuel efficiency), than prevention-oriented participants. More importantly, promotion-oriented people were less likely to buy Mitsubishi automobiles than prevention-oriented people. In contrast, prevention-oriented consumers are negative toward Volkswagen which violates protection (e.g. carbon dioxide …

Ua25/3 Newsletter: The Fraud Issue, Issue 8, Wku Internal Auditor

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about the WKU Internal Auditor.

The Indigenization Of Crisis Response Strategies In The Context Of China, Augustine Pang, Yang Hu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Crisis communication, which has been dominated by a practical perspective, has become a nexus where theory meets application. Despite mounting interest in theoretical studies, crisis communication lacks cultural contextualization. Asian communication researchers have advocated for the need to indigenize communication, drawing relevance to cultural influences. In this study, the authors explored indigenous corporate crisis response strategies in the context of China through nine cases. Three Chinese indigenous strategies were identified through qualitative content analysis of corporate crisis responses. These strategies are “barnacle,” “third-party endorsement,” and “setting up new topics.” The differences with Western frameworks were also discussed.

What Happens At Camp Does Not Stay At Camp: A Rhetorical Analysis On The American Camp Association's 'Mission And Vision' Page, Abigail W. Fiege

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

Research on mission statements as a genre of rhetoric and evaluation of the American Camp Association's mission and vision webpage based on found criteria.

Talking The Talk: The Effect Of Vocalics In An Interview, Marilena Phillips

Honors Projects in Communication

Our voices carry more than just content. People continuously make assumptions of one’s intelligence, credibility, personality, and other characteristics merely based on the way we talk. As the diversity of individuals in the workplace increases, so too do the differences in how those individuals talk. It is important that we understand how these different ways of speaking are being perceived in the workplace. More specifically, how are individuals being perceived prior to being hired via the interview process? This Honors Capstone project aims to understand the impact that vocal characteristics in an individual have on the interviewer’s perception of the …

How To Conduct A Mini-Ethnographic Case Study: A Guide For Novice Researchers, Patricia I. Fusch Ph.D., Gene E. Fusch, Lawrence R. Ness

The Qualitative Report

The authors present how to construct a mini-ethnographic case study design with the benefit of an ethnographic approach bounded within a case study protocol that is more feasible for a student researcher with limited time and finances. The novice researcher should choose a design that enables one to best answer the research question. Secondly, one should choose the design that assists the researcher in reaching data saturation. Finally, the novice researcher must choose the design in which one can complete the study within a reasonable time frame with minimal cost. This is particularly important for student researchers. One can blend …

Incorporating Experiential Theory Into Virtual Strategic Planning Processes, Chris Perkins

Capstone Collection

Experiential learning theories, such as David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (2015) contribute to more than just learning environments. In this Training Course Linked Capstone I facilitated a six-week strategic planning workshop for the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group (DIAG) of AFS-USA, an intercultural youth exchange organization. Kolb’s cycle acted as framework for the workshop. The DIAG operates as a virtual team, with members across the United States, therefore I designed the workshop for implementation via the internet and telephone conversation. I consulted research on virtual team structure and participatory practices in strategic planning in order to design a program which …

Using Relationship Theory To Improve Stem Outreach To Corporations: A Case Study For Starbase Los Alamitos, Mark Gibson

Journalism

The goal of this study was to improve corporate outreach efforts for an educational program called Starbase Los Alamitos. This Starbase program is part of a larger effort by the Department of Defense to improve STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in the United States.

This study was guided by the following research question: How can STEM programs use relationship management theory to improve corporate outreach? A review of the literature was performed and this study used relationship theory to design eight questions for a four person focus group. Control and treatment websites were identified. Participants were shown the …

Did Bp Atone For Its Transgressions? Expanding Theory Of “Ethical Apology In Crisis Communication, Audra Diers-Lawson, Augustine Pang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Ethical communication during crisis response is often assessed by external perceptions of the organization's intentions, rather than an assessment of the organization's communicative behaviors. This can easily lead researchers to draw editorial conclusions about an organization's ethics in crisis response rather than accurately describing its communicative behaviors. The case of BP's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico provides a prime example for the importance of accurately assessing the ethical content of an organization's crisis response because the ethics of BP's response have been discussed in news and academic sources; yet little direct examination of the ethical content in …

Social Media Information And Analyst Forecasts, Mahfuja Malik, Rajib Hasan, Abu S. Amin

WCBT Faculty Publications

In the past decade, social networking has changed the landscape of information dissemination. The rapid diffusion of social media services such as Facebook and Twitter is unprecedented and offers immense possibilities for corporations to communicate with, and engage core stakeholders in, various business decisions. In this study, we investigate whether social media play any role as a source of information for financial analysts. We specifically focus on information revealed on the official Facebook pages of S&P 500 firms. We define information content on a Facebook page as the total number of posts by the corporations and the comments, likes and …

Public Relations Practitioners’ Perceptions Of The Use Of Crisis Response Strategies In China, Yang Hu, Augustine Pang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study seeks to solicit Chinese PR practitioners’ views on the veracity of identified indigenous crisis response strategies (CRSs) and examine the underpinning socio-contextual factors that contribute to the employment of these strategies. Through 20 interviews, the authors found that political power, cultural backgrounds, media nature, public idiosyncrasies, and companies’ problematic status contributed to the use of indigenous strategies of “Barnacle”, “Third-party endorsement” and “Setting up new topics”.

The Corporate Social Responsibility In Lidl’S Communication Campaigns In Croatia And The Uk, Martina Topic, Ralph Tench

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of the paper was to investigate whether Lidl uses CSR communication in their Advertising and Communication Campaigns in two different business contexts, and if so, how. The paper built upon existing analyses of CSR Communication by analysing Lidl’s websites in both countries, and went step forward and analysed TV adverts of the company in both countries as well. The analysis discovered importance of the social context in using CSR to promote business, as well as a different communication management strategy where Lidl does not communicate with UK public as extensively as with the Croatian public due to different …

Informational Efficiency And The Reaction To Terrorism: A Financial Perspective, Nicholas Roland

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this study is to measure the message terror organizations hope to convey using the financial markets as a proxy of measurement to determine patterns within the marketplace and the effects on the terrorists’ ability to deliver a desired message due to the increased use of digital devices and access to instantaneous news, seen over the past decade. Using death count, geographic location, and event type, this study identified 109 attacks between 1985 and 2015 to be analyzed against 5 market indices and 5 securities. Measuring the effects within a 10-day sample window from the time of the …