Communications management
Encyclopedia
Communications management is the systematic plan
ning, implementing, monitoring, and revision of all the channels of communication
within an organization
, and between organizations; it also includes the organization
and dissemination of new communication directives connected with an organization, network
, or communications technology. Aspects of communications management include developing corporate communication strategies
, designing internal and external communications directives, and managing the flow of information
, including online
communication. New technology forces constant innovation on the part of communications managers.
As a manager, one must take a contingency approach to communicating with their employees and communicate on a personal level. It’s the manager’s responsibility to determine if their employee’s personality falls under the following: Reactors, Workaholics, Persisters, Dreamers, Rebels, or Promoters.
report, once a week, including information on their activities in the preceding week, their plans for the following week, and any other information deemed relevant to the larger group, bearing in mind length considerations. Reports are sent to managers, who summarize and report to their own managers, eventually leading to an overall summary led by the CEO
, which is then sent to the board of directors
. The CEO then sends the board's summary back down the ladder, where each manager can append an additional summary or note before referring it to their employees.
Eventually, each employee will receive a long e-mail, containing many or all of the above-mentioned summaries, from every level of management; reading the full result is rarely a requirement. Curious or ambitious employees are considered more likely to read the result; task-centered employees, however, are not.
Plan
A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with timing and resources, used to achieve an objective. See also strategy. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions, through which one expects to achieve a goal...
ning, implementing, monitoring, and revision of all the channels of communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
within an organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
, and between organizations; it also includes the organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
and dissemination of new communication directives connected with an organization, network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
, or communications technology. Aspects of communications management include developing corporate communication strategies
Strategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
, designing internal and external communications directives, and managing the flow of information
Information flow
In discourse-based grammatical theory, information flow is any tracking of referential information by speakers. Information may be new, just introduced into the conversation; given, already active in the speakers' consciousness; or old, no longer active...
, including online
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
communication. New technology forces constant innovation on the part of communications managers.
As a manager, one must take a contingency approach to communicating with their employees and communicate on a personal level. It’s the manager’s responsibility to determine if their employee’s personality falls under the following: Reactors, Workaholics, Persisters, Dreamers, Rebels, or Promoters.
Communication management and project management
In project management, communication management must address the following questions:- What information needs to flow in and out of the project?
- Who needs what information?
- When is the information needed?
- What is the format of the information?
- Who will be responsible for transmitting and providing the information?
The weekly reporting method
One simple and popular communications method is called the weekly reporting method: every employee composes an e-mailE-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
report, once a week, including information on their activities in the preceding week, their plans for the following week, and any other information deemed relevant to the larger group, bearing in mind length considerations. Reports are sent to managers, who summarize and report to their own managers, eventually leading to an overall summary led by the CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
, which is then sent to the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
. The CEO then sends the board's summary back down the ladder, where each manager can append an additional summary or note before referring it to their employees.
Eventually, each employee will receive a long e-mail, containing many or all of the above-mentioned summaries, from every level of management; reading the full result is rarely a requirement. Curious or ambitious employees are considered more likely to read the result; task-centered employees, however, are not.
See also
- Strategic CommunicationStrategic CommunicationStrategic Communication can mean either communicating a concept, a process, or data that satisfies a long term strategic goal of an organization by allowing facilitation of advanced planning, or communicating over long distances usually using international telecommunications or dedicated global...
- Communication planningCommunication planningCommunication planning is the art and science of reaching target audiences using marketing communication channels such as advertising, public relations, experiences or direct mail for example...
- Call accountingCall accountingA Call Accounting System is a telecommunications software or hardware application that captures, records, and costs telephone usage events. Internationally call accounting systems may be referred to as call logging systems...
- Communication management system
- Organizational CommunicationOrganizational communicationOrganizational communication is a subfield of the larger discipline of communication studies. Organizational communication, as a field, is the consideration, analysis, and criticism of the role of communication in organizational contexts....