final dissertation pambuka

The place of corporate communication in the governance of higher institutions of learning in Zimbabwe: The Case of Midlands State University.

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Table of ContentsCHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................1

1.0 Introduction...................................................................................................................................1

1.1 Background to the study................................................................................................................3

1.3. Statement of the Problem............................................................................................................6

1.4. Research questions.......................................................................................................................7

1.5. Justification of the study...............................................................................................................7

1.6. Research objectives......................................................................................................................7

1.7. Assumptions.................................................................................................................................8

1.8. Delimitation of the study..............................................................................................................8

1.8. Limitations of the study................................................................................................................9

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK...................................................10

2.0. Introduction............................................................................................................................10

2.1. Definition of corporate communication.....................................................................................10

2.2. Corporate communication or corporate communication(s).......................................................13

2.3. The roots of corporate communication......................................................................................14

2.4. Roles, place and organisation of the corporate communication function..................................19

2.4.1. Roles and skills for corporate communication in organizations...............................................20

2.5. Themes associated with corporate communication...................................................................23

2.5.3. Corporate reputation...............................................................................................................24

2.7. Theoretical framework............................................................................................................27

2.7.1. Agenda setting and gate-keeping theories..............................................................................27

2.7.2. Strategic management role and the excellence model of public relations..............................29

2.7.3. The Press Agentry Model.........................................................................................................31

2.7.4. Two-way asymmetrical............................................................................................................31

2.7.5. The Two-way symmetrical model............................................................................................32

2.7.6. Lasswell’s model of communication........................................................................................33

Takesure Pambuka R0825436H BSc (Hons) Media & Society Studies – May 2012


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2.7.7. Two-step flow theory of communication.................................................................................33

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS AND METHODOLOGY....................................................................36

3.1. Introduction............................................................................................................................36

3.2. Research design.......................................................................................................................37

3.2.1. Case study as research design.................................................................................................37

3.3. Sampling techniques...................................................................................................................38

3.3.1. Convenience Sampling.............................................................................................................39

3.3.2. Purposeful Sampling................................................................................................................40

3.3.3. Population...............................................................................................................................40

3.4. Research Methodology............................................................................................................41

3.4.1. Qualitative and quantitative paradigms...................................................................................41

3.4.2. Quantitative Research.............................................................................................................41

3.4.3. Qualitative Research................................................................................................................42

3.4.4. Triangulation............................................................................................................................43

3.5. Data collection techniques.......................................................................................................44

3.5.1. Interviews................................................................................................................................44

3.5.2. Questionnaires.........................................................................................................................46

3.5.3. Participant Observation...........................................................................................................46

3.5.4. Document analysis...................................................................................................................47

3.5.5. Descriptive Survey...................................................................................................................49

3.6. Data analysis...........................................................................................................................50

3.6.1. Content Analysis......................................................................................................................50

3.6.2. Thematic analysis.....................................................................................................................50

3.6.3. Discourse Analysis....................................................................................................................51

3.7. Conclusion..................................................................................................................................51

CHAPTER 4: ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS...........................................................................................52

4.0. Introduction............................................................................................................................52

4.1. Background of MSU.................................................................................................................52



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4.1.2. Location and campuses............................................................................................................53

4.2. The University Vision, Mission, Core Values and symbols.........................................................53

4.2.2. Mission Statement...................................................................................................................53

4.3. Organogram/ Organizational Structure....................................................................................54

4.3. Linking communication to governance.......................................................................................58

4.4. How departments link to meet organizational goals..................................................................60

4.4. Conclusion..................................................................................................................................61

CHAPTER 5: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA.........................................................................62

5.1. Introduction............................................................................................................................62

5.2. Response rate and nature of questions......................................................................................62

5.3. Organization of the communication function.............................................................................64

5.3.1. Existing communication management activities......................................................................65

5.3.2. Degree of centralization of communications...........................................................................68

5.4. IPR as the corporate communication function/department.......................................................69

5.5. Management values the IPR as the corporate communication department..............................72

5.6. Corporate communication has a place in the governance of MSU.............................................73

5.7. The need for quality assurance in communication taken for granted........................................75

5.8. Conclusion..................................................................................................................................77

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................78

6.1. Introduction............................................................................................................................78

6.2. The context of Corporate Communication at MSU.....................................................................78

6.3. Summary of Findings/Conclusions..............................................................................................79

6.4. Recommendations......................................................................................................................81

6.5. Recommendations for further research.....................................................................................82

6.7. Conclusion..................................................................................................................................82

REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................83

Appendix 1......................................................................................................................................xi

Appendix 2....................................................................................................................................xiii



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Appendix 3....................................................................................................................................xiv



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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.0 IntroductionCommunication has become the cornerstone of the success of many organisations in today’s

business world. This study contextualises the importance of communication to higher institutions

of learning in Zimbabwe. Corporate communication has been defined variously by different

scholars to describe a process whereby an organisation encodes, sends, receives and decodes

messages within its internal and external environment. This is because corporate communication

is grounded in communication theories. It is therefore imperative for this introduction to define

what communication is. ‘Communicate’ is closely related to the word ‘common.’

‘Communicate’ has its roots in the Latin verb ‘communicare’ which means ‘to share’, ‘to make

common’ which is also related to another Latin word, ‘communis’ meaning community

(Rosengren, 2000). So communicating is sharing or making things common in a community.

Community was described by Jankowski (2006) as relationships (ties) established between

individuals, groups or institutions. This view of community was echoed by Ledwith (2005: 32),

who calls it “a complex system of interrelationships woven across social differences, diverse

histories and cultures, and determined in the present by political and social trends.”

Baran (2008; 5) defines communication as “the process of creating shared meaning” which

suggests that communication is reciprocal as it involves all parties involved in creating and

sharing meaning. So communication is some kind of interaction that exists through exchange of

messages arising from the need for survival, co-operation, relationships and persuasion (Burton

and Dimbleby, 2007: 41). In this context, sharing implies an equitable division of what is being

shared, which is why communication should almost be naturally associated with a balanced, two-

way flow of information. This is in line with Watson and Hill’s (2006) view of communication

as a process which starts when:a message is conceived by a sender, encoded [translated into a signal], transmitted via a particular

medium or channel to a receiver who then decodes it and interprets the message, returning a signal

in some way the message has or has not been understood.



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This is the nature of corporate communication which has been defined by various scholars to

refer to a function and a process of managing communication between an organisation and its

stakeholders.

Franklin, et al, (2009; 61), view ‘corporate communication’ as “the umbrella expression to

describe how an organisation talks to itself and to the outside world.” Argenti and Forman (2002;

4) also see corporate communication as a collection of the “corporation’s voice and the images it

projects of itself on a world populated by its various audiences.” This ‘corporation’s voice’

encompasses corporate reputation, corporate advertising and advocacy, employee

communications, investor relations, government relations, media management and crisis

communication. When defining corporate communication as, “ a framework in which various

communications specialists - working from a mutually established strategic framework – can

integrate their own communications effort”, van Riel (1992; xi) also talk of the organisation of

corporate communication as demarcating:

who should do what, and how to organize the communication processes and integrate all corporate

messages from a variety of specialized sources (marketing, public relations, investor relations,

CEO communications, etc).

The above definitions concur with Herle and Rustema’s definition of corporate communication

as “the management function within an organisation (profit or non-profit) which is responsible

for communication processes that are initiated from within the organisation and trying to

promote a sustainable interaction between the organisation and groups of the public in the

internal and external environment” (2005; 17).

It is Cornelisen’s (2004: 23) definition of corporate communication that combines all the above

definitions. He sees corporate communication as:

a management function that offers a framework and vocabulary for the effective coordination of all means of communications with the overall purpose of establishing and maintaining favourable reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the organization is dependent.



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This study looks into the ways corporate communication is understood and how it is applied at

the Midlands State University (MSU). It is a study into how planning, organization and

execution of strategic communication decisions are done at MSU. Major questions that this study

addresses are: Is communication at MSU considered a management function; Is there a

framework that clarifies roles of communication at the university; and if it exists what is the

vocabulary (manual/policy) is it based on and how are communications organized; how and from

which level of management are they coordinated. The purpose of this study is to locate where

corporate communication stands in the university system by looking at how it is organized.

1.1 Background to the studyAs a fourth year student; in coming up with a dissertation topic as a requirement for the

fulfilment of the Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Media and Society Studies, the

researcher has been looking at the competition that exists between institutions of higher

education in Zimbabwe and identified corporate communication as the means through which

universities in Zimbabwe articulate and express their corporate stories.

There has been a mushrooming of higher education institutions in Zimbabwe since 1990, be they

private or public. MSU joined a myriad of other tertiary education institutions that include long

established universities like the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) in Harare, National University of

Science and Technology (NUST) in Bulawayo, Solusi University in Bulawayo and Africa

University in Mutare. The establishment of MSU in 2000 was met with government economic

incapacities to fund public education due to economic structural adjustment programmes that

advocated reduction of government expenditure towards public education. Other universities that

were established contemporaneously with MSU are Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU),

Chinhoyi University of Technology, Catholic University, Women’s University of Africa and

more recently Lupane State University.

Such mushrooming of public and private universities, colleges and vocational training centres

took place amidst dire economic challenges facing the country which entails negative economic

and socio-political impact on the nation’s education sector (MSU Strategic Plan 2001-2015).



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Having considered this background, the researcher was prompted to investigate how these

institutions strive for continued existence given that there must be some competition for

recognition, donors, financial resources and best students, investors, affiliate colleges, and best

lecturers. Holmes (2003:14) says, “Though competition is now occurring on a widespread scale

between education providers, the concept of competition remains unacceptable for many

educators.” Holmes prefers the concept of differentiation on the basis of organisational culture.

The call for differentiation calls for these institutions to engage in some sort of talk, advocacy

and rhetoric. Thus the study is inspired to look at how one of these institutions is employing

communication in differentiating itself from the rest; be it with external environment or in its day

to day handling of stakeholders.

As one of many universities that has joined or has been joined by other universities, MSU

needed to strive for, and demonstrate, a differentiation to stakeholders; a sustainable

differentiation that sticks to people’s minds and this must be a result of a continuous process of

communicating with the university’s stakeholders.

Having worked for Midlands State University’s Information and Public Relations department for

a full year, the researcher learnt that the university system is run differently from small

companies because the structure of authority is formally decentralized to various academic and

administrative units and departments. Governance of the university rests on the authority of

committees. This means that governance of universities is more democratic. This structure of

governance prompted the researcher to dig deeper into the ways in which corporate

communication is organized in the whole governance structure of universities in Zimbabwe in

general and at Midlands State University in particular. It is therefore imperative for the

researcher to provide background insights into the governance system of the university as

practiced at MSU.

Universities carry out large amount of business through channels of communication and power is

decentralized. The committee system as an administrative tool has contributed to the



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effectiveness of the university system through promoting all the four elements of management: -

planning, control, motivation and coordination. Citing Eno-Ibanga’s article in Wilolud Online

Journals, (2008), Moodie and Eustance (1974), identified the uses of committees as (i)

exchanging views and information; (ii) recommending action; (iii) generating ideas; (iv) making

policy decisions. Given that the university system is diverse, and without a central system of

control, the study is motivated to find out how communication is harmonised within the whole

system to produce consistent messages. The study is inspired by the need to ascertain the design

and approach of the communication function and its contribution to strategic management of the

university.

The growing recognition of communication in organisational effectiveness has seen many

organisations internalising the communication function. In other organisations this is manifesting

through the setting up of marketing departments, public affairs departments, public relations and

corporate affairs (Cornelissen 2004). This has also seen the rise of Marketing Directors, PR

directors and managers as specialists appointed to represent organisations’ communications at

different levels. Corporate communication function is an attempt to integrate and co-ordinate all

communications of an organisation. In this case there should be an agreed stand towards

communication, between various sources of information in an organisation in order to come up

with a comprehensive communication strategy that produces consistent messages (van Riel

1992). The role of public relations and marketing will be considered. However, communication

at the institution takes place at various levels of management which do not necessarily involve

the IPR. So the major question that arises here is that; is there a communication manual or

training available to all staff to spell out how they should communicate in line with overall

communication strategy of the university.

According to Franklin (2009), the success of corporate communication rests in its integration

with the rest of business putting it on an equal footing with other lead departments. This means

establishing a department of communication at an organisation is not enough unless it commands

enough power to contribute to strategic decision making. Franklin (2009), argued, “The success



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of corporate communications strategy depends on where the communication function sits within

the organisation,” thus this study on the place of corporate communication in the governance of

education institutions with particular focus on higher institutions in Zimbabwe.

Upon joining the IPR in June 2010, the researcher and his colleagues drafted the communication

policy for MSU. The policy would provide grounds of communication by staff members. This policy

would act as a communication manual to staff at MSU. The purpose of the communication policy

was to advice all staff members on their roles in the corporate communication effort, because it spelt

out who should say what, to whom, when and how in order to achieve consistency in the institution’s

communication strategy. However, the policy took long to pass and until now (2012) it has not been

passed. Without a communications policy, the researcher wonders how the institution is linking its

communication objectives to corporate objectives. The need to look into this area of study was

reinforced when there existed inconsistencies in communication between the Registrar’s office and

the university security department regarding the use of laptops during lectures by students. In such a

situation one naturally wonders if the need for consistent communication has ever been taken

seriously by the management team if such instances of discord in communication arise.

1.3. Statement of the ProblemThis study investigates how the corporate communication of higher education institutions is

organised within the governance system of universities. In this case, the study looks into the

treatment of Midlands State University integral communications at all levels of management and

how it contributes to strategies and activities of management. The value of corporate

communication depends on its place within the management of an organisation. How

communication is organised and qualifications of communication specialists, their roles and their

reporting relationship to management varies from organisation to organisation. This depends on

the size and nature of business an organisation is involved in. The university system is formally

organized and coordinated to meet academic and administrative goals and objectives. Therefore

the study of corporate communication at MSU is an effort to establish whether what is

happening in their communication function is ideal or it falls far short. Whether staff members are



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guided in their communications or they simply communicate the way they deem necessary at any

point of delivery especially, is what this study seeks to establish.

1.4. Research questions1. What role in information dissemination and communication management is assigned to

the IPR department?

2. Does management value the importance of corporate communication?

3. Who are tasked to monitor corporate communication?

4. For the purposes of information regulation is there a communication manual/policy or

orientation or some sort of training to guide the day to day communication delivery of

MSU staff?

1.5. Justification of the studyThis study will add knowledge to the field of corporate communication as an academic area in

that students and researchers may be interested in understanding how relevant are

communication theories to everyday business of an education institution. This study opens up

room for further research in the area of corporate communication for higher education in a Third

World country like Zimbabwe. The research is also worthy taking in that it outlines the need for

organisations to integrate their communications as well as carving communication policies to

avoid contradictions of information dissemination at different levels of management. In this case

the research is going to benefit communication specialists especially in universities. The

researcher who developed an interest in corporate communication is about to get into the world

of work, so the study provides room for him to understand more on corporate communication as

well as enlightening him with relevant information and skills of managing the communication

function of an organisation.

1.6. Research objectivesBy the end of the study, the researcher must be able to:

Show how the communication function is organized within the system of governance of

the university affairs.



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Identify the contribution of corporate communication in the achievement of corporate

objectives at MSU

Establish perceptions of the role and importance of corporate communication by the

university management team.

Establish elements of existing communication practices at the institution.

1.7. Assumptions Education institutions do not have clear communication management policies that can

produce consistent rhetoric when communicating.

The communication function is fragmented not integrated such that there is no co-

ordination of how and what to communicate at different levels of management.

The role and contribution of corporate communication is not fully realized in higher

education.

Communication practitioners and communication as a strategic management function are

undervalued, under-budgeted for, their input in decision making compromised.

1.8. Delimitation of the studyThough corporate communication is a broad topic in business, the study focuses on the place of

corporate communication in the management of a higher education institution in Zimbabwe

using the case of the Midlands State University. The intention of the study is to gain an

understanding of the contribution of corporate communication in the decision making process

and the general appreciation of its role by key decision makers at MSU. To demonstrate the link

between corporate communication and governance of the university, Information and Public

Relations department personnel are respondents to interviews together with the Registrar, the

Bursar, and the Librarian. Administrators of faculties and non-teaching units, Deans, Directors,

and heads of administrative units like Human Resources, Exams, Admissions, Central Records

and Registration as well as chairpersons, were also interviewed particularly focusing on the way

communication at all these levels is handled. Data was collected by analysing hard copy

documents like annual reports, magazines, brochures and manuals, speeches and events as well



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as electronic content on the website and Facebook generated between June 2010 and March

2012.

1.8. Limitations of the studySince the study is being undertaken during the final semester of the researcher, his attention was

being swayed by three modules done at the same time with the study. The researcher is only a

beginner, so may not be experienced in research. Moreover the researcher is constrained due to the

lack of financial resources for necessary travelling. One more challenge may come up when the

researcher fails to get all the information from the research population. Principal Officers and the

administrative staff who are the best people able to provide the researcher with relevant information,

are always in meetings and may not be readily available to provide the necessary information in

time. The official procedure that exists in collecting some of the information is a major difficulty

especially in collecting data from administrators and secretaries.

1.9. Chapter summary

This chapter has laid the basis of this study by giving a general understanding of what

communication is, its nature and its importance when it becomes a recognized activity at corporate

level. The chapter has also outlined the general boundaries of this study by clearly stating its focus,

assumptions, research questions and objectives. Further details on the definitions of key terms and

other major areas of this study are captured in the chapters that follow.



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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.0. Introduction

This chapter introduces the concept of corporate communication as it was defined and

understood by various authors. It is a review of scholarly articles, books, dissertations,

conference proceedings and other sources relevant to the field of corporate communication. A

summary and evaluation of the historical basis of corporate communication will be given. This

chapter also outlines and defines major concepts related to corporate communication. This will

be done through an overview of relevant literature.

2.1. Definition of corporate communication.

Corporate communication refers to the ways and processes in which an organisation creates its

messages for best possible interaction with its environment. Argenti and Forman (2002) define

corporate communication from three standpoints:

a) The voice and the images an organisation projects of itself to its various audiences.

b) A means and function of crafting an organisation’s messages. An organisation can get its

messages across to its stakeholders by means of meetings, interviews, speeches, reports,

image advertising and online communications to mention just but a few. The function in

many organisations appears in organisational charts as Corporate Communication

departments, Public Relations departments.

c) An attitude toward communication or a set of mental habits that employees internalize

for purposes of dealing with customers. (Argenti and Forman, 2002).

According to Argenti and Forman, corporate communication is made up of various elements that

include corporate reputation, corporate advertising and advocacy, employee communications,

investor relations, government relations, media management and crisis communications. It is

this collection of elements of corporate communication that Franklin, et al. (2009: 61) see as the

‘umbrella’ term that describes how an organisation “talks to itself and to the outside world.” The



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definition and characteristics of corporate communication as outlined by Argenti and Forman

shows that communication of an organisation can either be spread out or unified as long as there

exist an attitude of communication that establishes rapport between an organisation and its

audiences. In this case, if an organisation talks and presents images about itself, there is

corporate communication; if there is a unit or department set aside for the purposes of

communication as a function that appears on the organogram (organisational) structure, then

there is corporate communication and if an organisation imparts to its employees a defined

attitude of communicating and dealing with customers, then that organisation has corporate

communication.

Van Riel (1992) categorized corporate communication into three forms of communication by

organisations and these are: management communication, marketing communication and

organisational communication. Management communication involves the communication of

senior management with the internal and external stakeholders. According to van Riel,

management communication is necessary to create and maintain a shared vision of the

organisation, to establish and maintain trust in the organisation’s leadership, to initiate and

manage the process of change as well as to win support of external stakeholders. Marketing

communication, van Riel said, is a general expression describing, paid forms of “advertising,

sales promotions, direct mail, sponsorship, personal selling and other communications in the

promotional mix” of mainstream marketing. Organisational communication ranges from “public

relations, public affairs, investor relations, labour market communication, corporate advertising,

environmental and internal communication.” Though Argenti and Forman (2002) and van Riel

(1992) agree that corporate communication is made up of various aspects of communication

relevant to the running of organisations, it is important to note that most elements of what

Argenti and Forman referred to as corporate communication fall into the category of van Riel’s

‘organisational communication’. Moreover, van Riel includes Public relations as an element of

corporate communication, which is absent in Argenti and Forman’s characterisation of corporate

communication.



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Van Riel argued that corporate communication of an organisation is put in place if

communication specialists for the above forms and elements of communication establish ‘a

framework’ in which they work from ‘a mutually established strategic framework and ‘integrate

their communications input.’ In van Riel’s words, corporate communication is “an instrument of

management by means of which all consciously used forms of internal and external

communication are harmonised as effectively and efficiently as possible, so as to create a

favourable basis for relationships with the groups upon which the company is dependent” (1992:

26).

Van Riel’s definition calls for ‘an instrument’ of managing all communications by various

communicators of an organisation. This definition, though it recognizes that communication of

an organisation takes place at various levels, it denies a fragmented approach to communication

such that it calls for a well coordinated management framework of all communications. Very

much in line with van Riel’s definition are the definitions of Cornelissen (2004) and Herle and

Rustema (2005):

Corporate communication is a management function that offers a framework and vocabulary for

effective coordination of all means of communications with the overall purpose of establishing

and maintaining favourable reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the organisation is

dependent (Cornelissen 2004:23).

Herle and Rustema (2005) provide the following definition:

Corporate communication is the management function within an organisation (profit or non-profit)

which is responsible for communication processes that are initiated from within the organisation

and trying to promote a sustainable interaction between the organisation and groups of the public

in the internal and external environment, (Herle and Rustema 2005; 17).

There are important elements in the above definitions. Corporate communication needs to be a

management function enabled to analyse and advise properly. This means that the

communication director or manager should know what is happening at an organisation.

Communication is a process; a multi-layered set of measures and steps necessarily taken to



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formulate the vocabulary and policy of communication within and outside the organisation. It

involves several steps; it is not an event but a process (Windahl, et al, 2009). Herle and Rustema

(2005) observed that corporate communication is initiated by an organisation which means that

an organisation should take a leading role in starting a communication activity. Therefore

communication initiated by the press without the input of communicators at the organisation

cannot be regarded as corporate communication. However, this is not to suggest that

communication is one-way because organisations often respond to events taking place in their

environments whenever they communicate.

The current study makes use of the term corporate communication to cover definitions by van

Riel (1992), Argenti & Forman’s (2002) and Cornelissen’s (2004) as well as Herle and Rustema

(2005) to establish how MSU has considered corporate communication as a management tool

and how the function is treated within management ranks. So products of communication at the

institution will be studied to try and establish the existence of management vocabulary as well as

determining whether the function contributes to decision making within the framework of

university governance.

Scholarship on corporate communication as outlined above has tried to emphasise the

importance of corporate communication in the successful running of organisations. However,

this need for a deeper understanding of corporate communication by different scholars has not

been complimented to demonstrate practical relevance for higher education institutions, which is

why it is necessary to focus research towards this direction.

2.2. Corporate communication or corporate communication(s)Luontama (2009) sees the difference between ‘corporate communication’ and ‘corporate

communications’ not only as a matter of pronunciation but also as a conceptual difference.

Argenti & Forman (2002:4) provide definitions for both. They posit that ‘corporate

communication’ is a function, the processes and a theoretical basis upon which the overall

attitude toward communication within an organisation takes form. On the other hand they define

‘corporate communications as “...the products of communication; be they memos, letters,



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reports, Web sites, e-mails, speeches, or news releases” (Argenti & Forman 2002: 4).

Cornelissen (2004) used the term “communications” for the specific communications, which

Argenti & Forman (2002) preferred to call “corporate communications” or products of

communication. Van Riel also prefers to use corporate communication without an ‘s’ because it

is the one that denotes an integrated communication function while the one with an ‘s’ refers to

communication methods. Jackson (1987) as cited in van Riel, (1992) also goes for the one

without the final ‘s’ because it is associated with telecommunications specialists. This study

adopted corporate communication without an ‘s’ for the sake of clarity.

The same confusion is also characteristic in the use of ‘corporate’ communication when referring

to public and non-for-profit institutions. This is because the word ‘corporate’ has been

understood as the adjective linked to ‘corporations’. This created a tendency of associating

corporate communication with enterprises. However, the term ‘corporate’ should be taken in

connection to the Latin word, ‘corpus’, meaning ‘body’ or ‘relating to the whole’ corporare,

which emphasize a unified way of looking at ‘internal’ and ‘external’ communication disciplines

(Cornelissen (2004). This means that institutions; private enterprises, public organizations and

government institutions should communicate after strict analysis of the whole organisations’

situations.

2.3. The roots of corporate communication.Harvard Business School Press (2006:4) cites Argenti referring to corporate communication as

“a new field of study”. Corporate communication is still an evolving concept and terminology

that is emerging prior to the “growing recognition by top management of communication as a

strategic resource in determining and achieving corporate goals and objectives” (Harvard

Business School Press, 2006:4). This new field of study is concerned with analysing the ways of

harnessing and coordinating various sources/elements of communication in an organisation so

that messages can be managed and consistency achieved (http://factoidz.com/corporate-

communication). Harvard Business School Press (2006:4) postulated that “what is today most

commonly called the corporate communication department has been in the past more often


http://factoidz.com/corporate-communication



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referred to as public relations or public affairs.” Thus (Steyn 2002) sees corporate

communication as a concept and a term used in practice to describe the management role of

‘public relations.’ It is against this background that a brief account of public relations is given in

order to show how it evolved in to corporate communication. A historical account of public

relations is provided in this study because in its history there are issues that concern us today in

corporate communication.

The origins, growth and development of public relations into corporate communication are

credited to Arthur Page, Paul Garrett, Ivy Ledbetter Lee and Edward L Bernays. These have been

described as fathers of corporate communication. Paul Garrett who was Vice President for Public

Relations at General Motors in 1931 believed that employees should come first in the

communication line of information and that communication with the public involves the use of

words and deeds with meanings they understand. The 1927 Vice President of Public Relations at

AT&T Arthur Page believed that communication is a management function with a voice in

senior executive team. Page also developed an ethical code for PR which still concerns corporate

communicators today. The ethical code includes:

a) Tell the truth

b) Prove it with your actions

c) Conduct public relations as if the company depends on it

d) Manage for tomorrow

e) Remain calm, patient and good humoured

Ivy Ledbetter Lee who died in 1934 is known for his contribution to corporate communication

and public relations management when he proposed the following:

Business and industry alignment with the public interest is acting in a socially

responsible manner

Counselling top management directly and only developing communication programs

supported by senior executives



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Building a network of news contacts to maintain effective media relations

Bringing internal and external communications to a ‘human level’ for all audiences.

(http://www.slideshare.net/9924927019/corporate-communication-2444333) accessed

on 11/02/2012.

Cornelissen (2004) argues that the best way to study corporate communication is to look at the

way in which the function has developed in companies. He said that in the 1970s,

communication practitioners employed the term public relations to describe communication with

stakeholders. The public relations function largely consisted of communication with the press.

When other stakeholders, internal and external to the company, started to demand more

information from the company, practitioners subsequently started to look at communication as

being more than just ‘public relations’. This is when the roots of the new corporate

communication function started to take hold. This new function came to incorporate a whole

range of specialized disciplines, including corporate design, corporate advertising, internal

communication to employees, issues and crisis management, media relations, investor relations,

change communication and public affairs (Cornelissen 2004). An important characteristic of the

new function is that it focuses on the organization as a whole and on the important task of how

an organization presents itself to all its key stakeholders, both internal and external. This

relationship is therefore based on the following definitions of ‘public relations’:

Public relations is a communication function of management through which organisations adapt

to, alter, or maintain their environment for the purpose of achieving organisational goals, (Long &

Hazelton 1987:6).

The Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA, 2000:41) defines public relations as:

The management, through communication, of perceptions and strategic relationships between an

organisation and its internal and external stakeholders.

There is a growing trend among university students to use corporate communication and public

relations interchangeably. Dolphin (2000) observed that emphasis of nomenclature varies with


http://www.slideshare.net/9924927019/corporate-communication-2444333


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the country of origin. In the United Kingdom, but not in the United States, PR has become

debased. What used to trade under the name of PR is now known variously as: corporate affairs,

corporate communications, and public affairs. In line with this Herle and Rustema (2005) stated

that, it is ‘not done’ to talk about public relations especially in the northern, north western and

Central European countries because there, the term ‘conjures’ up images of ‘wheeling and

dealing’ or ‘spin doctoring’, influencing people instead of entering into an honest dialogue with

them.

In Zimbabwe, the politics of nomenclature is not serious as both public relations and corporate

communication are used to label departments responsible for communication within

organisations. This may be a result of the nature and development of the public relations

profession in Zimbabwe. Public relations companies are registered under the Zimbabwe Institute

of Public Relations (ZIPR), a professional body that is responsible for ethical conduct of

registered partners.

The major public relations consultants comprise MHPR Public Relations Consultants and Network

Public Relations. All are based in the capital city in Harare and ownership is still limited to a few

white people. Although this can be accredited to the political economy of Zimbabwe, the other

reason is that expertise in the field of public relations campaigns is still very low amongst the

blacks (Moyo, 2005).

Most studies conducted by Media and Society Studies students at the Midlands State University

focus on public relations in organisations, and most of them do not concentrate on the

communication aspect of education institutions but that of various companies. While these

studies have not used corporate communication as the basis of their studies, most of them used

the term in defining and examining the communication aspect as contained in the practice of PR.

Munemo (2009) looks at the role of PR and how it is being employed by Kadoma City Council

in establishing “cordial relations with Kadoma residents.” Munemo’s study aimed at “pointing

out that, the core aspect of all operations of an organization, are governed by effective public

relations” (2009:4).



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Shoko (2010:4), was motivated by the need to “explore the effectiveness of public relations

departments of universities in performing the roles they were established to carry out.” In his

study, Shoko considered public relations departments of MSU and Africa University as

“effective or not effective on the basis of how closely they align their objectives to the goals of

the entire institution.” While Shoko’s study gives a foundation to this current research regarding

the roles set for the Information and Public Relations department at MSU, the current study goes

further to investigate the value attached to these roles by senior management at the University.

Moreover this study will not only look at Public Relations, but will look at corporate

communication which is an emerging management function that integrates and provides the basis

for the coordination of all communications; a resource which if properly harnessed leads to the

success of corporate strategies (Steyn 2002).

Mbofana (2009) investigated the effectiveness of public relations department in the conduct of

corporate social responsibility (CSR) at Redcliff Municipality. Mbofana’s preoccupation urged

him to study CSR as an element of public relations, upon which, its successful conduct can be

useful in ascertaining the effectiveness of public relations. This study is not about public

relations as PR is one of the elements of corporate communication. The studies reviewed above

used the term public relations to express the communication function of organisations studied.

These studies and many others focused on elements of corporate communication like CSR, crisis

communication and media relations among many forms of human communication. The literature

reviewed also revealed that while an attempt on the role of public relations departments was

made, communication that took place outside public relations offices could not be investigated.

For the current study to thrive, the researcher decided to digress from the commonplace usage of

public relations to the use of corporate communication which according to Argenti (2006) should

be ‘pulled out’ of the tradition and be placed in the management studies. This study makes use of

the term corporate communication, fully aware of the historical links it shares with public

relations. It is in this vein that theoretical underpinnings for public relations are still relevant in

the study and practice of corporate communication. However one must note that corporate



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communication seeks to “upgrade public relations, organizational communication and

advertising into the level of scientific discipline quite removed from the level of a technical

function” where PR practitioners are seen as technicians and sometimes labelled as journalists

within organisations. Therefore the term and concept of ‘corporate communication’ is not a

rehash of public relations.

Moreover to simply look at the roles and effectiveness of public relations and its elements

without focusing on the attitudes with which the communication function and its personnel

confront from management teams within organisations, will be looking at the end of

communication without enough expression of the forces and contexts within which

communication takes place. Thus the current study will consider the roles and attitudes of

corporate communication as expressed by communicators and attitudes of both key management

and staff towards the communication function and how these attitudes are manifest in

communication output. In short the study seeks to establish the relationship between

communicators and management teams at MSU.

2.4. Roles, place and organisation of the corporate communication function

Corporate communication as understood by van Riel (1992) is the total of marketing

communication, organizational communication and management communication. However it is

important to state that these forms of communication make an ideal corporate communication

framework if the various people who communicate at each level begin to work from a mutual

strategy adopted to streamline their communication activities. Corporate communication should

be corporate; that is to say all who communicate, no matter from which level, should focus, first

and foremost, on the problems of the organization as whole (corpus) and “only subsequently

should they look at implicit and explicit functions of communication with respect to contributing

to the achievement of the company’s objectives” (Van Riel 1992:21).



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2.4.1. Roles and skills for corporate communication in organizations.

Van Riel summarised the responsibilities of corporate communication as follows:

To develop initiatives in order to minimise non-function discrepancies between the

desired identity and the desired image, taking into account the interaction of ‘strategy-

image-identity’

To flesh out the profile of the organisation behind the brand

To indicate who should perform which tasks in the field of communication, to formulate

and execute effective procedures in order to facilitate decision making about matters

concerning communication.

Corporate communication is not just about drawing up advertisements and writing propaganda

but Dolphin (2000) suggests that the role of corporate communication departments in

organizations includes being a “planner, watchdog, catalyst, communicator, savant, stimulant,

advisor and confidant” to management. The corporate communicator is often described as a

boundary spanner, implying that he or she must have one leg in the organisation and the other

among the publics. He or she identifies the needs, interests and concerns of each stakeholder,

which he then uses to segment the various audiences. Further, the corporate communicator has to

represent the various interests of the publics to the organisation, and at the same time carry the

organisation’s message to the publics through lobbying, advocacy, community relations and

corporate citizenship. Seen from this perspective, the function of a corporate communicator is

necessary in strategy formulation and implementation of decisions.

As Cornelissen (2004) observes, corporate communication transcends the specialties of

individual communication practitioners (e.g., branding, media relations, investor relations, public

affairs, internal communication, etc.) and crosses these specialist boundaries to harness the

strategic interests of the organization at large. This means that communication is the organizing

principle behind many business decisions. After strategy formulation, it is the corporate



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communicator who disseminates the organisational ‘strategic intent’ to the stakeholders

Cornelissen (2004). This can be done through posters, speeches, annual reports, intranet, and

press releases, among others. For the corporate communicator to effectively pass on such

information, he or she must have writing, editing, presentation, public speaking and listening

skills.

In the following section theoretical framework, the various models and theories of

communication will be discussed to spell out some of the key roles and skills that may be handy

in the practice of corporate communication. However it is important to mention here that a

communication practitioner has to be aware of various types of communication each with its

dynamics and theories. The communication of an organisation is not only performed by the

communication officer, but also done by other people who deal with the public, from the

receptionist to the CEO. Therefore the corporate communicator has at his or her disposal a

number of communication models through which he or she can pass on information about the

organisation’s strategy.

2.4.2. How other universities apply corporate communication

According to Paola Catenaccio (2011), corporate communication for higher education

institutions covers roles in relationships with alumni, faculty and administration, students, and

the general public promoting the college image, recruiting students, and raising funds.

(

http://www.lincom.unimi.it/deposito/02_a_linguistic_approach_to_corporate_communication.pd

f, accessed on 12/02/2012). The University of Liverpool defined the role of corporate

communication at the university as to provide “a range of communications, marketing,

fundraising and alumni relations support services designed to help the University to achieve its

strategic goals” (http://www.liv.ac.uk/corpcomms/). The website also states that the department

responsible for communication is involved in raising the profile of the University internally and

externally, developing communication and media strategies that promote core University


http://www.liv.ac.uk/corpcomms/

http://www.lincom.unimi.it/deposito/02_a_linguistic_approach_to_corporate_communication.pdf

http://www.lincom.unimi.it/deposito/02_a_linguistic_approach_to_corporate_communication.pdf


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activities. This includes management of corporate events and marketing communications

activities in order to build strong relationships with key institutional stakeholders.

The department of Corporate Communication and Marketing (CC&M) at the University of

Pretoria (http://web.up.ac.za/default.asp?ipkCategoryID=5836) is responsible for the “marketing

of the University of Pretoria, as well as for internal and external communication with

stakeholders in support of the University’s endeavours of becoming a world-class teaching and

research tertiary institution”. The department is also responsible for creating and managing a

comprehensive and integrated strategic marketing communications programme that includes:

advertising, function and event-management, internal communication strategies, media liaison,

production of promotional materials and university-wide publications and stakeholder

relationship management.

It is the organisation of the corporate communication function at the Heriot-Watt University that

has most striking features (http://www.hw.ac.uk/ppr/index.htm). At Heriot-Watt University the

Corporate Communication Office is a division of Corporate Affairs and Management Services. It

is responsible for media management and public relations, university publications, monitoring

and commissioning University photography, providing general information and up-to-date news

about Heriot-Watt University, managing the corporate University website, and taking a leading

role in developing University web strategy, managing the University’s visual identity and brand.

Its role also involves co-ordinating major university events, co-ordinating community relations

activities, developing effective internal communications including distributing Heriot-Watt news

via the News and Events electronic Newsletter and staff magazine Network. Staff in this office

are also responsible for “providing professional support and guidance to members of the

University in their marketing, promotional and everyday workplace communications”, managing

corporate resources including exhibition, display, information and publicity materials. The

department has a comprehensive communication policy for staff members to communicate

effectively. Their communication policy outlines the following:


http://www.hw.ac.uk/ppr/index.htm

http://web.up.ac.za/default.asp?ipkCategoryID=5836


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a) General complaints procedures providing a platform for members of the public to voice

their concerns about the university

b) Corporate identity guidelines for members of the staff to know how best to engage and

respond to media services

c) Web guidelines

d) Visual identity procedures

e) The university brand guidelines which act as a communication toolkit to members of the

university staff providing the house style in all communications. The University Brand

Guidelines describe key themes, specific messaging guidelines and target audiences. The

policy also outlines best practices when communicating at and for the university by staff

members and students: tone of voice in verbal communication, effective words, writing

the brand, style guide including the use of brand elements like the logo, positioning of the

logo, corporate palette for staff and students, typefaces, photography guidelines, image

library, image use, web design and interface (http://www.hw.ac.uk).

2.5. Themes associated with corporate communication

Central to corporate communication are the following themes: corporate identity, corporate

strategy, corporate image, corporate reputation and communication strategy, mission, vision and

values of an organisation.

2.5.1 Corporate identity

Corporate identity refers to the profile and values communicated by an organization over time

(Cornelissen 2004). Van Riel (1992:30) identified a number of definitions of corporate identity

by various scholars. Below are three of them:

Corporate identity is the strategically planned and operationally applied internal and external self-

presentation and behaviour of a company. It is based on an agreed company philosophy, long-term

company goals, and a particular desired image, combined with the will to utilise all instruments of

the company as one unit, both internally and externally, Birkigt and Stadler (1986)


http://www.hw.ac.uk/


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The definition above emphasises an ‘agreed’ organisational philosophy which suggests a strategy

of using all communication tools as a single unit to project an organisation to its stakeholders.

This definition concurs with the one given below:

Corporate identity is the sum of all methods of portrayal which the company uses to present itself

to [stakeholders] (Antonoff, 1985).

For most organisations, communication is that which they say to their environments through

spoken and written methods. However, corporate identity communications goes beyond that, it

includes non-verbal and other extra linguistic communications:

Corporate identity embodies, besides all visual expressions, also all non-visual expressions and

behaviour in the social, economic and political field (Henrion, 1980).

2.5.2. Corporate image

This is the immediate set of associations of an individual in response to one or more signals or

messages from or about a particular organization at a single point in time. Healy (1969) contends

that the corporate image is not a possession of the company but rather the impression which exists in

the minds of other people.

Broomley (2001) defined a firm’s image as ‘the internal collective state of mind that underlies its

corporate communications efforts (successful or not) to present itself to others’. In contrast of

perspective and understanding, Whetten and Mackey (2002: 401) observe that an image is “that

organizational agents want their external stakeholders to understand and is most central, enduring

and distinctive about their organization.” Therefore image can be understood as an external not

internal element of the organization. It manifests itself through other people’s reactions to what the

organization does.

2.5.3. Corporate reputation

An individual’s collective representation of past images of an organization (induced through

either communication or past experiences) established over time. Companies have become very



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sensitive about their reputation. Reputation has more depth and is more involving, it is a

judgment from the market which needs to be preserved. Reputation signals that although the

company has many different stakeholders, each one reacting to a specific facet of the company

(as employee, as supplier, as financial investor, as client), they are all sensitive to the ability of

the company to meet the expectations of all its stakeholders. Marketing the reputation of the

name among other methods, the communication of the corporate brand is aimed at making the

company their first choice.

2.5.4. Stakeholders/ Publics

This refers to any group or individuals who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the

organization’s objectives. The word stakeholders can be interchangeably used as publics.

Cornelissen (2004) defines stakeholders as “persons or groups with legitimate interests in aspects

of corporate activity; and they are identified by these interests whether the corporation has any

direct economic interests in them or not.” In the same vein, Freeman cited in Cornelissen (2004),

identify stakeholders as “any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the

achievement of the organization’s purpose and objectives.” Grunig J.E (1992) who contends

that, “publics can refer to any group, with some common characteristics with which an

organization needs to communicate with.” Business Dictionary, (2007) defines a stakeholder as

“a person, group or organization that has direct or indirect stake in an organization because it can

affect or be affected by the organization's actions, objectives, and policies”. For universities these

are students, government, captains of industry and commerce, other universities and affiliate

colleges.

2.5.5. Mission

This is an overriding purpose in line with the values or expectations of stakeholders. Philip

Kotler (1972:291) defines a company’s mission statement as “a broad statement that explains the

reason for the existence of the organization and should form the strategic plan.” In the vein

Cornelissen (ibid) points out that a mission is “a general expression of the overriding purpose of



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the organization, which, ideally, is in line with the values and expectations of major stakeholders

and concerned with the scope and boundaries of the organization.” For MSU these are provided

in chapter four.

2.5.6. Vision

Desired future state: the aspiration of the organization. A vision or a strategic intent is, as

Cornelissen (2004) notes, “the desired future state of the organization.” In other words a vision

espouses an overall aspiration and a general direction in which an organization wants to go as set

by senior management (dominant alliance). As a result it deserves the energies and commitment

of the members of an organization to actively work towards the same direction. (see chapter

four).

2.5.7. Corporate objectives and goals

This refers to a precise statement of aims or purpose of a company. Strategies involve actions

and communications that are linked to objectives, and are often specified in terms of specific

organizational functions (e.g., finance operations, human resources, etc.).

2.5.8. Strategy

These are the ways or means in which the corporate objectives are to be achieved and put into

effect. Ac cited in Steyn (2002), Robert (1997:22) strategy could be seen as the thinking, the

logic behind the actions. Drucker (1954) as cited in Steyn (2002) sees it as an indication of an

organisation’s positioning for the future, deciding what should be done rather than how it should

be done. Strategy requires choices—deciding what particular kind of value an organisation wants

to deliver to whom. Communication strategies are planned efforts undertaken by corporate

communicators and management to address specific objectives of the organisations.



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2.6. Governance of institutions of learning

Merriam Webster dictionary describes governance as made up of “persons (or committees or

departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering...” The United Negro

College Fund (www. uncf .org ) says governance:

is the manner in which institutions organize themselves to manage and distribute their resources,

to resolve conflicts among competing actors and to effectively achieve their mission.

This concept is linked to corporate governance which is defined in the OECD Principles of

Corporate Governance which states that:

Corporate governance involves a set of relationships between a company’s management, its board,

its shareholders and other stakeholders. Corporate governance also provides the structure through

which the objectives of the company are set, and the means of attaining those objectives and

monitoring performance are determined.

Though governance and management are different with regard to private corporations, this

research will refer to governance of higher education to mean the organization of internal

governance composed of a council, a governing board, the university executive team,

administrative staff, senate, academic deans, department chairpersons, administrative and

specific committees and student representation as well as staff who are responsible for meeting

the organization’s objectives through delivery. Management and governance in post-secondary

institutions refers to the manner in which colleges and universities are organized and managed.

This involves developing and sustaining key relationships with multiple actors and stakeholders

and channelling everyone’s efforts towards a common goal. Though Kezar and Eckel (2004) see

university governance as a broader term that goes beyond internal management of campus this

research will treat governance as internal management and organization of university affairs

aiming at satisfying its various stakeholders.


http://www.uncf.org/


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2.7. Theoretical framework

2.7.1. Agenda setting and gate-keeping theories

Agenda setting describes a powerful influence of the media; their ability to influence audiences

on what issues are important for discussion. David Manning White (1950) submits that agenda

setting refers to the power to give or withhold access of information to different voices in

society. Primary sketches of the theory were outlined by Walter Lippmann in his 1922

archetypical topic, Public Opinion, with a chapter, “The World Outside and the Pictures in Our

Heads” in which he stressed the power of the media to present images to the public. McCombs

and Shaw who investigated presidential campaigns in USA in 1968, 1972 and 1976 focused on

two elements: awareness and information. Agenda-setting is the creation of public awareness

and concern of salient issues by the media where the media agenda becomes the agenda for the

public.

In line with agenda setting there comes the gate keeping theory, priming and framing of issues in

communication media. In this case it can be argued that the press and the media do not reflect

reality; they filter information through ‘gates’ and shape it in line with control and ownership as

well as contexts of communication resources. At the same time media concentration on some

issues and subjects while relegating others leads the public to perceive those issues as more

important than other issues. Cohen (1963: 45) stated “The press may not be successful much of

the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what

to think about.” Lazarsfield (1948) suggested that the theory describes the power of the media to

structure issues.

Using the agenda setting theory, corporate communication will enable an organization to define

and communicate who they are and what they believe in. It will enable them to honestly spot and

work to close the gaps between their beliefs and their performance. Corporate communicators

can use this theory to set the agenda for stakeholders while at the same time, mobilising their

opinions for strategic innovations. In the end, this makes an organization a better, more



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successful one. Reputation is not an ‘asset’ in the traditional sense but an invaluable intangible

asset which cannot be owned by an organization. Reputation resides in the minds of a varied

collections of stakeholders and ‘influencers’ whose influence is based on direct customer

experiences, employee advocacy, direct and indirect communication (Eisenmann, 2005). An

institution can make use of the theories of agenda setting and gate keeping by giving priority to

information that best serve the corporate goals.

This can only happen if the corporate communication function is part of the executive team so as

to come up with strategic messages that toe the line of strategic decisions. Simpson (2004) noted

that corporate communication is part of the ‘warp and weft of [an organization’s] life and who

we are.’ On university life, Simpson (2004:24) says:

Communication issues surround every discussion or decision that a university takes and obvious

problems arise when the agenda forgets to respect or understand its omnipresence.

Communications are much about what not to say as what to say, what to defer as much as what to

publicise, what to lobby for, and when to hold one’s tongue.

In this case communication is not a separate subject to be tacked on at the end as a tool but

should be included when setting the agenda or strategic decisions of an institution.

Communication goes with business; it manages the corporate story (Larse, 2000) as cited in

Gutierrez-Garcia (2008). Gutierrez-Garcia (2008) argues that corporate communication

practitioners help to shape the reality of an organization by influencing public opinion. This is

because an organization and stakeholders share a common public sphere (Gutierrez-Garcia,

2008). The company’s success depends, as a result, on adjustment to the expectation and

demands of publics.

2.7.2. Strategic management role and the excellence model of public relations

As cited by Steyn (2002) Greene, Adam & Ebert (1985:536) define strategic management as:



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a continuous process of thinking through the current mission of the organisation,

thinking through the current environmental conditions, and then combining these

elements by setting forth a guide for tomorrow’s decisions and results.

Strategic management focuses on strategic decisions which deal with the determination of

strategy, provide the definition of the business and the general relationship between the

organisation and its environment. A key concept in this process is ‘strategy’, the organisation’s

pre-selected means or approach to achieving its goals and objectives while coping with current

and future external conditions (Digman 1990 cited in Steyn 2002).The question of how relevant

corporate communication is to the achievement of organizational goals is answered by Grunig’s

Excellence model of public relations. The model is made up of a number of elements such as

strategic management, the situational theory of publics, practitioner roles, the organisation of the

public relations function, and internal communication.

Strategic management perspective focuses on the participation of public relations executives in

strategic decision-making so that they can help manage the behaviour of organisations. While

strategic management theorists may treat strategic constituencies as a threat to organisational

performance, Van den Bosch and Van Riel, (1998) in Hubner (2007) view public relations as a

bridging, rather than a buffering, function—between stakeholders and the organisation by

linking them to management. The strategic management paradigm emphasises two-way

communication of many kinds to provide publics a voice in management decisions and to

facilitate dialogue between management and publics both before and after decisions are made.

This refers to a process of an organisation listening to its strategic environment through

environmental scanning. Some theorists argue that the problem with PR is its failure to prove

effectiveness and its value to top management; therefore PR practitioners need to engage in

research both to diagnose issues in the environment as well as monitoring and evaluating their

activities through continuous research. Corporate communication according to this perspective

refers to the process of mediation between top management or ‘dominant coalition’ (Grunig

2001) and stakeholders.



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Cited in Hubner, (2007: 12), Grunig et al, (2002:11) states that “for public relations to be

excellent, public relations must be viewed as symmetrical, idealistic and critical, and

managerial.’ Writing on public relations strategic role Grunig (2002: 11) explains:

To be symmetrical means that organisations have the worldview that public relations practitioners

serve the interests of both sides of relationships while still advocating the interests of the

organisations.... To be idealistic and critical means that public relations practitioners have the

freedom to advocate the interests of publics to management and to criticize management decisions

that affect publics adversely. To be managerial means that public relations fulfils the managerial

role of negotiating and mediating the conflict that occurs between management and strategic

publics.

This suggests a considerable autonomy for corporate communication departments.

Gerstein (2008) cites Girsky who says “If you want to know how a company communicates,

understand how it manages. If you want to know how a company manages, understand how it

communicates.” This suggests that the relationships of management and employees are central to

the organization’s ability to authentically tell its story and that internal communications are

external. The research is pinned on the assumption that brand communication must be consistent

and that management and its employees apart from products and services are the brand, thus the

institution’s values must find expression through service delivery which entails the use of

strategic communications.

2.7.3. The Press Agentry Model

The Press Agentry model was propounded in the 1850’s by Barnum. He stated that PR activities

seek to attract the attention of the media and advocate for positive publicity for the organisation. In

this model, practice of corporate communication is done through seeking of media attention in

almost any way possible. It describes the propaganda element of PR. It is almost in line with the

propaganda model that seeks to persuade people’s personal opinions. Grunig (1989) observed that

those who practice the press agentry model believe that truth is not essential and the sole purpose is

to get favourable publicity from the media. It employs Agenda-Setting to make people focus on the



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positive aspects of the organisation only and to influence the people’s personal opinions which

collectively amount to public opinion. Corporate communicators in organisations approach their

work using this model by way of press briefings and writing press releases to media outlets.

2.7.4. Two-way asymmetrical

The two-way asymmetrical model uses research to develop messages that are likely to persuade

strategic publics to behave as the organization wants. The organization itself does not change its own

behaviour. This model has an element of feedback but is largely one way. Thus the model sees

public relations as a dialogue dominated by the organization. As a result of the fact that the two-way

asymmetrical model uses scientific research on the attitudes of publics, it more often achieves its

objectives than do press agentry or public information models. This model works well with Herle &

Rustema’s definition of corporate communication as provided in the literature review above, which

puts the organisation as the sole initiator of communication. It also falls in the effects tradition of

communication and media theories.

2.7.5. The Two-way symmetrical model

Grunig, 2002 suggests that excellent communication programs are anchored on two-way

symmetrical model of communication instead of press agentry, public information, or two-way

asymmetrical models. Two-way symmetrical model emphasises that corporate communicators try to

balance the interests of the organisation with those of the stakeholders through research. Research in

this case becomes an instrument of listening to stakeholders and communication with management

to manage issues and conflicts with strategic stakeholders. It uses the dialogical form of

communication. Apart from it being a better communication model that establishes sustainable

long-term relationships with stakeholders, Grunig argues that “symmetrical programmes generally

are conducted ethically than are other models.”

Basing on this model, corporate communicators engage in dialogue and negotiation with

stakeholders and management for the benefit of all. Unlike in other models mentioned above,

corporate communicators who operate within the parameters of two-way symmetrical models



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become excellent in that they do not only function as information sources to the public, but also act

as a bridge that brings together stakeholders and management. Instead of telling the organisation’s

story only, this model provides that corporate communicators be responsible to stakeholders by not

manipulating them through pervasive organization-centric communication only, but to ethically and

socially seek their acceptance of the organisation’s innovations.

Guided by this model, this study will be effective as it seeks to establish if two-way communication

exists in activities of IPR at MSU in meeting communication objectives as well as contributing to the

university’s effectiveness in both decision formulation and delivery. Two-way model will help the

researcher identify the importance of corporate communication and the nature of communication

strategies employed by corporate communicators at the institution. Existence of two-way

communication corroborates the link that is necessarily important between corporate communication

activities and management in organisations as (Grunig, Grunig and Dozier 2002: 4-5) contends:

Public relations managers who are part of the dominant coalition communicate the views of

publics to other senior managers, and they must communicate with publics to be able to do so.

They also communicate to other senior managers the likely consequences of policy decisions after

communicating with publics affected by the potential policy.

2.7.6. Lasswell’s model of communication

The model stresses that a source (sender) transmits information (a message) through a channel

(medium) to an audience on whom the message can have an effect. Lasswell’s model is

summarized in the question; who says what in which channel to whom with what effect. This

perspective on communication falls in the sender-message-channel-receiver paradigm. For the

purposes of this study, the model becomes handy in that, the researcher is enabled to study the

nature and status of the communicators at MSU, the type of messages they disseminate, the tools

or channels they use to get their messages across, the relevance of stakeholders addressed by

corporate communicators at each given time they communicate. While the model goes on to the

effects of communication, this study will only focus on the four first elements of the model.



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2.7.7. Two-step flow theory of communication

Cited in Windahl, Signitzer & Oslon ( 2009: 80) Rodgers 1987: 79 defines communication as “a

process in which participants create and share information with one another to reach a mutual

understanding.” The two step flow theory of communication was formulated by Lazarsfeld and

Kartz (1955) to explain how individuals receive information from the mass media and how

information moves from one point to the other within a communication context. The model

describes the process messages spread through the media and interpersonal channels from source

to receiver. Rodgers (1983) cited in Windahl (1996) identifies the two steps as composed of

firstly the transfer of information from the source to the opinion leader and secondly as the

transfer of influence from the opinion leader to the opinion followers. The model posits that

audiences are social beings who communicate among themselves and are more or less influential

in many contexts. The theory informs this research in that corporate communication is a form of

planned communication which requires communication planners to take advantage of this model

by actively identifying the two steps and enlists support of opinion leaders who capture

messages, process them and disseminate them to opinion followers.

Cited in Windahl (1996) McCombs and Becker (1979) view the interaction between

interpersonal discussions and reception of mediated communication as cyclic in that people learn

about events or issues from the media and this stimulates them to discuss it with other people. De

Fleur (1962:262) as cited in Windahl, Signitzer & Oslon (2009: 83) describes the social context

in which such a model can work. He says:

An important information content or subject matter exists to which the opinion leader has greater

access than other [members in a social context]. By controlling the transmission and interpretation

of this information to the group he can influence decisions and consensus within the group

regarding the content.

What is important here is the communicator’s manipulation of the trust the audiences have in the

opinion leader. So the communication planner in most cases needs to strive for control over the

process by identifying and reaching opinion leaders. This theory also implies that the opinion



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follower must be motivated to seek information from the opinion leader while the opinion leader

must find it worthwhile to provide such information. In the case of corporate communication, the

corporate communication department or PR Director may engage management staff to come up

with communication content, he/she identifies and gathers together opinion leaders representing

different sections of the organization; in a more interpersonal or face to face context and

provides information and urge them to spread it to colleagues and or their constituencies. The

point here is that at a university staff representing different units, faculties, divisions and

departments may be influenced with the institution’s brand values which they can use to

influence their fellow, students, parents and even their friends when they discuss about work in

different settings. In an organizational setting the mass media refers to newsletters, pamphlets,

reports, websites, prospectuses, social media platforms, intranet facility, notice boards, memos,

emails and speeches among many other internal communications that seek to establish the

institutional brand image. The organization’s communications practitioners may use this to

inform opinion leaders (staff and management) and motivate them to further the University

communications.

Conclusion

This chapter defined corporate communication and laid boundaries of the usage of the term and

practice of corporate communication. The chapter also focused on the theories that explain the

factors that impact on the practice of corporate communication. Both the theoretical framework

and literature review helped to show how corporate communication theories and practice meet.

While the theoretical framework has outlined how corporate communication works, the literature

review has provided examples of the practice in other organisations including universities at

international and regional levels.



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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS AND METHODOLOGY

3.1. IntroductionThis chapter presents and discusses the means, methods and tools used in this study to achieve

research objectives and answer the questions raised in chapter one. It also explains how the data

presented herein was gathered. To get down to the practice of corporate communication at MSU,

the researcher had to work within a framework of research methodology and techniques. Some

of the objectives of this study were to show how the communication function is organized within

the system of governance of the university affairs and to establish perceptions of the role and

importance of corporate communication by the University management team.

Achieving these objectives and answering research questions was not just a theoretical exercise.

As much as there are a number of theoretical standpoints from which to approach corporate

communication, there is also a variety of research tools available to communication researchers.

Hilde Van den Bulck (2002: 55) observed, “using these tools...requires a certain methodological

rigour.” It is also important to note that different research topics require different research

methodologies and techniques and that “every research method has its own rules of the game,

which the ... researcher is required to follow” (Hilde Van den Bulck, 2002: 55). For this study to

produce acceptable data, this chapter provides the main tools central to communication research

stating their main approaches in respect to best practices and importance to the study.



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Research can be approached from various paradigms depending on the field of research.

Scientific studies emphasise on empirical evidence and accuracy since the scientific paradigm

“aims at the best description of characteristics (ontology), methods and practices (praxiology),

and causes and consequences (epistemology) of phenomena for the purpose of prediction,

control and understanding” so as to benefit humanity and society (Hilde Van den Bulck (2002:

58). With particular regard to communication research, Melody and Mansell (1983) cited in

Hilde Van den Bulck (2002: 58), argue that emphasis “lie not with empirical evidence as such

but with decision as to what questions will be asked, what kind of data will be sought, how it will

be gathered, and to what use it will be put.” This shows differences in paradigms researchers can

adopt for enquiry in particular fields of study. A paradigm according to Kuhn (1996) is

universally recognized scientific achievements that, for a time, provide model problems and

solutions for a community of researchers.” In other words it is a “worldview or conceptual model

shared by members of a scholarly community that determines how enquiry within the

community should be conducted” (Hilde Van den Bulck (2002: 58). Therefore paradigms serve

to provide the basis of how and what questions are worth asking as well as what kind of data are

required to provide ‘acceptable’ answers to research questions. This study considers a number of

paradigms that are relevant to communication research especially to understanding how

corporate communication works in higher institutions of learning in Zimbabwe.

3.2. Research designGray (2009:131) defines a research design as “the overarching plan for the collection,

measurement and analysis of data”. A research design therefore describes the purpose of the

study and the kinds of questions the research is addressing, the techniques to be used for

collecting data and the ways the data are going to be analysed. Green and Tull (2010) note that,

“a research design is the specification of methods and procedures for acquiring the information

needed. It is the over-all operational pattern or framework of the project that stipulates what

information is to be collected from which source by what procedures”

(www.managementparadise.com/forums/marketing-research/206790-definiton accessed on 26

February 2012). Research objectives and questions have been provided in chapter one.


http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/marketing-research/206790-definiton


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3.2.1. Case study as research designIn trying to understand and establish the place of corporate communication in the governance of

institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe, the researcher used the case study of the Midlands

State University. A case study presents the analysis of a single unit which can be an event, an

organisation or an aspect of organisational function (Polonsky and Waller 2005). Yin (2003: 13)

defines the case study as:

...an empirical inquiry that:

Investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when

The boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident

Yin (1994: 2-3) as cited in Polonsky and Waller (2005: 13) argues that the case study like the

current study “allows an investigation to retain holistic and meaningful characteristics of real-life

events such as ....organisational and managerial processes”. This type of study can use single

research methods or combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Taking the case study

of the Midlands State University in understanding how corporate communication is organised,

constituted and placed in universities is a powerful way of examining and “understanding the

dynamics present within single setting” (Eisenhardt 1989: 534) for the benefit of other

universities on whom the study can be generalized. Research involving a case study like this one

is built on in-depth interviews and document based analysis.

Case studies have been criticised for “rarely allowing generalizations to be made from specific cases

to the general population” and that they generate huge piles of data which allow researchers to make

interpretations they want (Jackson et al.; 2008). Yin (2002) cited in Jackson et al.; (2008:97)

suggests that to be overcome, shortcomings associated with case studies require, “clear designs

produced before any data is collected, and these designs should cover: the main questions or

propositions, the unit of analysis...and procedures of data interpretation” which this study has

already done in chapter one. A case study is a type of an exploratory research which involves

intensive study of related activities happening in real life contexts. Robson (1993) suggested that a

case study can be a way of developing detailed and intense knowledge of a single case or a number



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of related cases. Its greatest strength is that it allows the researcher to concentrate on specific

situations. In this research the researcher looks at Midlands State University as the context of

corporate communication. A case study allows research findings to focus on a real setting and offers

solutions for the purpose of improving similar contexts elsewhere.

3.3. Sampling techniquesSampling can generally be seen as the inclusion and exclusion of items and variables necessary for

studying a research population. This can be done randomly or purposively to test a hypotheses using

a section or sections of the population under study. Adams (1989: 46) notes that sampling is done to

create a “miniature replica of the population, reflecting the range of its characteristics” so as to

generate representative results with great accuracy, focus and at reduced costs. A sample is made up

of subjects who participate in the study representing the overall population. Best and Khan (1993)

argue that sampling is not a haphazard process but rather a deliberate way and means of selecting

subjects for the research. There are a number of sampling methods that can be employed to create a

representative population and results and these include snowballing, availability, convenience,

purposive, random and quota sampling. To get an understanding of how management groups and

operatives organize and treat overall communication in university the researcher needed to select a

case study (sample) organization and groups (samples) of employees and managers to interview. As

a result an understanding of techniques for selecting samples was necessary.

3.3.1. Convenience SamplingConvenience sampling is sometimes called accidental or opportunistic sampling. Higginbottom,

(2004: 15) cited in Koerber and Lonie McMichael (2008: 463) defined the convenience sample as

consisting of “participants who are readily available and easy to contact”. Saunders (2009: 241) call

it haphazard sampling because it involves selecting “haphazardly those cases that are easiest to

obtain” for a sample. This definition stresses ready availability such that it is “prone to bias and

influences...as the cases appear in the sample only because they are easy to obtain” Saunders (2009:

241). According to Koerber and Lonie McMichael (2008), the major “pitfall in using this technique

is that because the subject matter or population being studied is likely to be quite familiar, the

researcher might be tempted to generalize beyond this narrow population; a researcher using a



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convenience sample, then, should be especially careful not to over-generalize.” For this study

convenient sampling has been particularly useful in that, the same close relationship between

researcher and research context that makes a sample convenient often grants the researcher a level of

access to and familiarity with the sample that guarantees a richness of data that could not be attained

if the sample were less familiar, and therefore less convenient, to the researcher Koerber and Lonie

McMichael (2008).

3.3.2. Purposeful SamplingThis method involves the researcher selecting participants who possess certain traits or qualities. In

this sampling method the researcher uses own judgement to select cases that will best enable the

researcher to answer research questions and objectives. The guiding principle here is maximum

variation where researchers should seek to include people who represent the widest variety of

perspectives possible within the range specified by their purpose (Higginbottom, 2004: 17). The

disadvantage of purposeful sampling appears when the researcher come up with a sample that is

“not diverse enough to represent the variation known to exist in the population or phenomenon

being studied” Koerber and Lonie McMichael (2008:464).

In this case, to design a qualitative study to shed new light on the relationships of management

with corporate communicators and the organisational context in which interaction takes place, a

valid purposeful sample would include participants from both of these groups in order to draw

conclusions about interactions or relationships between them. Therefore, this study purposefully

tried to recruit both management and non-management employees with varying job descriptions,

levels of education and experience.

3.3.3. PopulationSaunders et al. (2009: 212) note, “the full set of cases from which a sample is taken is called a

population.” Thus as Kumar (2011: 193) notes, sampling is “the process of selecting a few (a

sample) from a bigger group (the sampling population) to become the basis for estimating or

predicting the prevalence of an unknown piece of information, situation or outcome regarding the

bigger group.” This therefore means that a sample is a subgroup of the population the study is



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interested in. In this case the target population are universities in Zimbabwe and MSU is the sample

in which management teams from top management to middle management, line management and

operatives will be interviewed to solicit their understanding and attitudes regarding corporate

communication of their institution. Public relations and human resources personnel were considered

separately as they are closely related to the roles of organisational communication and employee

communication.

3.4. Research MethodologySince this study “explores people’s experiences and their views or perspectives of these experiences”

(Gray 2009: 36), it is interpretive in that its aim is to understand the context of corporate

communication as a phenomenon in educational institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe. This is

because “context is what defines the situation and makes what it is”; therefore this study is

predominantly qualitative. However, both qualitative and quantitative methods will be used in

gathering, presenting, analyzing and interpreting data. This means that the study will employ

triangulation. Borg and Gall (1989) argue that triangulation “refers to the strategy of using several

different kinds of data collection instruments such as tests, direct observation, interview and content

analysis to explore a single issue or problem.” Triangulation would be useful in this study since it is

a way of striding over the shortcomings of the qualitative and quantitative research dichotomy.

These designs were specifically chosen because they produce in-depth and comprehensive

information.

3.4.1. Qualitative and quantitative paradigms‘Good’ communication research became a debate on whether quantitative or qualitative research

yields the best results. Arguments between scholars on this topic show stark differences between the

two paradigms. Hilde Van den Bulck (2002: 59) observe that the “differences can be situated at a

conceptual-theoretical, methodological and analytical level.” As is explained below, it is not the

differences that are important, but that these two paradigms can complement each other in yielding

best results of a single study.



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3.4.2. Quantitative ResearchQuantitative research paradigm falls into the positivist perspective which postulates that there is

“objective reality (social facts) out there that can be observed, measured, analysed and thus

understood” Hilde Van den Bulck (2002: 59). McNabb (2010: 16) notes that the basic “tenet of

positivism is that science must be objective, or value free: scientific knowledge should be based

upon what is observed, not on the opinion of the researcher.” This perspective emphasise on

“precise quantitative data” that are collected and analysed using surveys and statistics and

“rigorous, exact measures by carefully analysing numbers from measures” (Neumann, 2000: 66

cited in McNabb 2010: 16). De-contextualization of social phenomena from socially specific

situations is central since outside variables are attributable to causal relations. The chief activity

of quantitative research is counting because researchers are convinced that facts can be measured

as accurately as possible. This is why quantitative research paradigm strongly follows

mathematical character with “black and white validity.” So there is heavy reliance on numerical

data and analysis whose tools are expected to “provide an exact value for anything we might

want to measure – a number we could all agree on” (Priest, 1996: 6 cited in Hilde Van den Bulck

(2002: 59).

The tools used in counting are obtrusive and controlled measurements, with data gathered

through surveys, case-control studies, statistical records, structured observations, content

analysis and other quantitative techniques (Oakley 2002: 26-27 as cited in McNabb 2010: 16).

Objectives of quantitative research as this study shows are “generalization, explanation and

prediction” which are also analysed quantitatively. Analysis of data is by means of statistical

analysis and the results can be shown on charts, trends and correlations graphs, pie charts and

tables.

3.4.3. Qualitative ResearchQualitative research is premised in the interpretative perspective which argues that reality is

socially and culturally constructed. Its concern is grounded on meaning attribution and how the

social world is produced, experienced and interpreted. Qualitative methods, according to Hilde

Van den Bulck (2002, are meant to investigate and assess phenomena that can be easily



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summarised. Qualitative methods were necessary in that the study aimed to explore, interpret,

and obtain a deeper understanding of corporate communication within the framework of

governance of an educational institution. Qualitative methods seek an understanding of a deeper

truth. They aim to "study things in their natural setting, attempting to make sense of, or interpret,

phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them," and they use "a holistic perspective

which preserves the complexities of human behaviour (Black 1994 and Denkin 1994). The tools

used to collect data through qualitative method are flexible and consider context in which data

are generated aiming to produce ‘rich’ data (Manson 1996: 4 as cited in Hilde Van den Bulck,

2002: 59). Qualitative data analysis relies on interpretation and investigation of what “people do

and say without making heavy use of measurement or numerical analysis” (Hilde Van den

Bulck, ibid). Qualitative research, as this study seeks to achieve, “look for conclusions in the

form of consistent descriptions of how something works” (Hilde Van den Bulck 200: 59).

Qualitative research in communication studies like this borrow from different qualitative

paradigms like phenomenology, ethnography, cognitive anthropology, symbolic interactionism,

linguistic discourse analysis and semiotics while its tools of data collection are participant

observation, in-depth interviews, document analysis and semiotic analysis or content among

others.

3.4.4. Triangulation As has already been alluded to earlier in this chapter, triangulation calls for the combination of

qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate, collect and analyze data in a single study.

Holborn (2004) notes that the two methods should not be seen as contradictory, but their

different approaches to data collection and analysis should be exploited and bring them together

to shed more light on any research topic. This meaning of triangulation is taken to include the

combined use of quantitative research and qualitative research to determine how far they arrive

at convergent findings. Triangulation is sometimes used to refer to all instances in which two or

more research methods are employed. Thus, it might be used to refer to multimethod research in

which a quantitative and a qualitative research method are combined to provide a more complete



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set of findings than could be arrived at through the administration of one of the methods alone.

Triangulation also becomes handy in situations where researchers seek to ascertain validity and

reliability of their findings by cross-checking them with another method. Triangulation is an

attempt to stride over shortcomings associated with relying on one method.

3.5. Data collection techniques

3.5.1. Interviews This research made use of in-depth face-to-face interviews. David Dooley (2003) asserts that an

interview is the use of questions (structured and semi structured) to get answers. These have been

employed to gather data from senior management. Interviews with top executives seek to extract

their perceptions and attitudes towards the role of corporate communication on their activities and

the organization as a whole. Bayes (1983) found that interviews provide the researcher a chance to

dig deeper into the phenomenon and discover new and open new dimension of a problem under

study. Interviews enable the researcher to adjust or rephrase some of the questions to seek clarity.

Also this method was a faster method of data collection. Interviews were used to complement the

questionnaire. This is because there are some questions that needed to be clarified or answers that

needed more information from the respondent.

Though the use of interviews has been criticised for its potential to introduce the bias of the

researcher through the framing of questions and interpretation of responses, it is also crucial to note

that interviews have been useful for their appropriateness in “studying complex and sensitive areas

as the interviewer has the opportunity to prepare a respondent before asking sensitive questions and

to explain complex ones to respondents in person” (Kumar 2011, 149- 50). Through interviews it is

possible to “obtain in-depth information by probing.” So interviews become a preferred method of

data collection because this study requires in-depth information, which can be supplemented with

non-verbal reactions (Kumar 2011).

Elite interviews were conducted, in which the researcher sought out principal officers and executive

level management including head of public relations department. These were interviewed



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individually. Interview guides were semi-structured seeking unanticipated attitudes, perceptions and

ideas. To justify this approach Rubin and Rubin (2005:134) as cited in Bowen (2008: 277) posit that

“richness means that your interviews contain many ideas and different themes, often including those

you did not anticipate when you began the study.” Topics included job responsibilities, experience,

reporting structure, communication within academic and administrative units, communication

dilemmas, and decision making, marketing, financial reporting, communicating decisions, crisis

communication and change management. Participants were encouraged to use their own taxonomy

and experience in answering questions which in a way allowed the researcher to observe tone,

values and nomenclature used by participants.

Due to the time constraints of top management, elite interviews would not be easy to obtain but

produced valuable data addressing policy decisions including communication policy. Though there

are a lot of contestations over the category of “elite,” elite interviewees, as defined by Hertz and

Imber (1995), were deemed as such due to the executive status of management and in reporting to the

principal officers in the university. These interviews could take place in seminar rooms or in the

office at the participant’s place of employment. The researcher observed that most participants were

not interested in being recorded hence extensive note-taking by the researcher. Some participants

within the elite category used the opportunity to discuss the university’s commitment to media

relations given the amount of negative and unofficial communication that has in the past attracted

media attention surrounding scandals involving students and members of the university staff.

This study considered the in-depth interviewing approach, which, according to Johnson (2001: 106)

can generate “deep information and understanding”. As suggested by Hirsch (1995) cited in Bowen

(2008: 279), the interview guide was sent to participants before meeting to conduct the interview.

Sending questions ahead of time provided participants an opportunity to gain a level of comfort with

talking about decision making and governance issues. Moreover participants could think about their

answers and supporting examples before hand, thereby making the most of the interview time

(Yeager & Kram, 1995) cited in Bowen (2008).



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The study purposively employs in-depth face to face interviews with principal officers; Registrar,

Librarian and the Bursar and other key management staff at the Midlands State University. The

interviews took the form of conversations. Open ended questions gave the researcher room to follow

up on answers left hanging in the Questionnaires.

3.5.2. Questionnaires Gray (2009) identifies questionnaires as “research tools through which people are asked to respond

to the same set of questions in a predetermined order.” These are used to collect primary data.

Collection of data using this method will see questions administered to the MSU management team,

from deans, directors, administrators and chairpersons of departments. Moreover, this also seeks to

find out overall treatment of communications in everyday service delivery to stakeholders. This

approach was taken on the premise that leadership and staff are considered as the epitome of the

university brand, who should have the correct knowledge, skills and organizational support to

deliver in line with the university culture and functional brand values. Thus they are better placed

for the researcher to establish the real value corporate communication commands at the institution.

In line with the two-step flow theory, staff members are opinion leaders who can relay information

about the university to workmates, subordinates, friends and relatives.

3.5.3. Participant ObservationThis method involves the researcher "getting to know" the audience being studied by entering their

world and participating - either openly or secretly - in that world. This means you put yourself “in

the shoes" of the people you're studying in an attempt to experience events in the way they

experience them (www.sociology.org.uk 2003). Since organisations can be viewed as societies with

their own peculiar customs and practices, participant observation has become increasingly popular

in organisational research. Evered and Louis (2001) identify two different paradigms of

organisational research, the ‘inquiry from the outside’ and the ‘inquiry from the inside’, whereby the

former is characterised by the researcher’s detachment from the organizational setting, and the latter

is characterised by the personal involvement of the investigator in the setting under investigation.



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The study makes use of this method to observe students and staff interacting in a natural setting. As

Meyers (2009: 139) points participant observation is “when you not only observe people doing

things, but you participate to some extent in these activities as well”. The researcher made use of the

experiences obtained and observed during a one year period spent as MSU PR practitioner and the

experiences as a student exposed to various university management structures. The data obtained

through this method will be interpreted to understand the value internal communication strategy to

students and how this can impact on the organization’s reputation. Participant observation has been

useful to understand, through interaction and non-verbal communication, the commitment by

members of staff to communicate in line with standard communication strategy of the university.

This approach was particularly employed to observe secretaries, security officers and other

supporting staff interactions with students and visitors.

There are a number of disadvantages associated with participant observation. According to Saunders

et al., (2009: 299), “there can be high levels of role conflict for the researcher” for example,

workmate versus the researcher roles. Moreover closeness of the researcher to the situation being

observed can lead significant observer bias. However, it has also been noted that participant

observation is “good at explaining ‘what is going on’ in particular social situations (Saunders et al.,

2009: 299). Saunders (ibid) also noted that for research in organisations, participant observation is

particularly useful because it “affords the opportunity for the researcher to experience ‘for real’ the

emotions of those who are being researched.”

3.5.4. Document analysisAltheide (1996: 2) as cited in Hilde Van den Bulck (2002: 92) notes that document analysis refers to

“an integrated and conceptually informed method, procedure, and technique for locating,

identifying, retrieving and analysing documents for their relevance, significance and meaning.” This

method collects data by the use of texts and documents as source materials. There are primary and

secondary sources of data. Primary sources are those that the researcher witnessed being delivered

for example speeches. Secondary sources are publications like newsletters, brochures, notice boards,

memos, emails, reports, journals, video, painting, pictures and press releases as well as other written,



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visual and pictorial sources in print, electronic, or other `hard copy' form (Meyer 2009). In a

university setting apart from the ones mentioned above, documents studied include Yearbooks, End

of Year Reports; Vice Chancellor’s Update, Human Resources Staff Handbook, Strategic Business

Plans, The Varsity Updates and various other publications found in different departments and units.

This study used this method to collect data from across the university management communication

done through documents in archives including speeches. Documents studied served more than just

historical record of the institution’s thoughts and actions, but also as independent expressions of

what corporate communication means and involves in a university context. Altheide (1996:2) cited

in Meyer (2009) argue in favour of use of documents in research by defining documents as “any

symbolic representation that can be recorded or retrieved for analysis”. One of the assumptions of

this study is: education institutions do not have clear communication management policies that can

produce consistent rhetoric when communicating. This study seeks to understand how

communication policy is expressed in documents produced at the university. As Tosh (1984: 56)

explains, documents are the staple diet of historical and policy research which can be looked at from

two standpoints:

First, how did the institution which generated the documents and records evolve over time, and what was its function in the body politic? And second, how were these policies formulated and executed?

As Hansen et al (1998), research on communication policies in organisations seeks to examine the

ways in which policies about communication are generated and implemented as well as how

communication as a whole is handled. For this study to thrive using documents, it is important to

describe a document as:

One which is drawn up or used in the course of an administrative or executive transaction (whether public or private) of which itself formed a part; and subsequently preserved in their own custody for their information by the person or persons responsible for that transaction and their legitimate successors (Seldon and Pappworth, 1983: 234 as cited in Hilde Van den Bulck (2002: 91).



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In short, documents are materials that that were produced as part of organisational communication.

These material provide a “rich source of (quasi-) direct information about policy direction on

communication. These include memos internal reports, background papers, annual reports, general

messages” like letters, directives and priorities between people within the institution and from

outside the institution (Hilde Van den Bulck 2002:91).

This method was used to find out the house styling of communications at the university through

written expressions in terms of recurring themes, important terms, and tone of messages, visual

display and use of images. At the same time the method will apply to the study of the agenda setting

processes involved in the production of such documents. What are the key messages communicated

in the documents produced by the IPR and by other units? How and how often key management

voices appear in them? Were the messages consistent? Were they reinforcing same themes as those

in the institution’s mission, goals and its strategic constituencies? This method sought to interpret

the role of communication through the study of documents.

3.5.5. Descriptive SurveyA survey of the number of employees responsible for communication, their qualifications,

designations and roles would be done to establish the extent of commitment to corporate

communication. Descriptive surveys according to Gray (2009: 220) are designed to “measure the

characteristics of particular phenomena, either at a fixed point in time, or comparatively over time.”

This method was employed to measure ‘what is happening other than why it is happening’ in order

to identify the scale (rating) and nature of corporate communication as an instrument of management

at the Midlands State University. The survey was undertaken to “ascertain attitudes, values and

opinions by examining staff views on working practices.

While it is true that surveys take an inductive approach Gray (2009) argues that it would be wrong to

say that they are devoid of theory because reference to theories is necessary before the study is

embarked on. De Vaus (2002) cited in Gray (2009:220) argues that a good descriptive survey is built

on a sound theory. This study used a survey basing on the principal agent theory. This theory is an

integral component of the theory of the firm, and has been a particularly useful tool for



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understanding the behaviour of individuals within the hierarch of organizations (Jensen & Meckling,

1991). Jensen and Meckling (1976: 308) cited in Napoli (2010: 208) describe the principal– agent

relationship as:We define an agency relationship as a contract under which one or more persons (the principal[s]) engage another person (the agent) to perform some service on their behalf which involves delegating some decision making authority to the agent. If both parties to the relationship are utility maximizers there is good reason to believe that the agent will not always act in the best interests of the principal. The principal can limit divergences from his interest by establishing appropriate incentives for the agent and by incurring monitoring costs designed to limit the aberrant activities of the agent.

Napoli (2010) observes that in a hierarchical organization, agency problems can exist at any stage,

whether between management and employee or owners and management. The most important point

of the principal agent theory is that the principal will always seek to employ people who are

congruent to the purposes of their job descriptions and will always institute measures to guard

against divergence between his interest and those of the outside shareholders. The greatest agency

losses arise when the interests or values of the principal and agent diverge substantially and

information monitoring is costly. A survey to identify the work of communicators, their

qualifications and incentives and values, their number and how they are spread at the university

helped the researcher to understand how the university avoids ‘recruitment errors’ for the people

responsible for organising and managing corporate communication. This survey also targets

supporting staff like faculty and administrative administrators, secretaries, and the human resources

department because staffing decisions should be linked to organisational culture. As Cascio (1998)

notes staffing decisions are made after “employees have internalised the strategic intent and core

values of the enterprise,” which has far reaching implications for corporate communication.

3.6. Data analysisThis is the assembling, cleaning and examining of the data (Polonsky and Waller, 2005). This study

made use of content analysis, thematic analysis and discourse analysis. These are discussed below

but they will be used later in analysing data in chapter five.



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3.6.1. Content AnalysisContent analysis is generally “text or visually based and focuses on analysing the frequency of

particular words or phrases or images” in documents, speech, adverts and other publications

(Polonsky and Waller 2005).

3.6.2. Thematic analysisThis is where the researcher develops an idiosyncratic coding protocol (Polonsky and Waller 2005).

Coding the data thematically is useful in engaging with the collected material and seeks meanings,

connections and insights.

3.6.3. Discourse AnalysisDiscourse analysis focuses on how both spoken and written language is used in social settings.

Emphasis is on structure and organisation of language with particular attention on how participant’s

versions of events are constructed. Gray (2009) observes that unlike content analysis, discourse

analysis rejects the view that language is an innocent channel which simply reflects ‘reality’. This

study therefore analysed data collected through this method on the premise that language constructs

“do not emanate from the individuals as such, but are embedded in culturally and socially

constructed situations” inherent and inculcated through the institution’s culture. Studying the

usefulness of discourse analysis in communication research, Hilde Van den Bulck (2002: 85) cited

Fiske (1995: 14) who defines discourse as:

a language or system of representation that has developed socially in order to make and circulate a coherent set of meanings about an important topic or area. These meanings serve the interests of that section of society within which the discourse originates and which works ideological to naturalize those meanings into common sense.

In the case of corporate communication, discourse becomes the story of reality as presented to us

through communication channels and messages send by an organisation. Discourse analysis comes

into play in the realisation that language in organisational reports and publications as well as

speeches on events shape communication in certain ways that are inevitable. This ‘constructedness’

of discourse comes with certain versions of reality that become institutionalised. This is what this

study; through discourse analysis tries to lay bare (Hilde Van den Bulck 2002).



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3.7. Conclusion The chapter highlighted the different techniques that were used by the researcher to gather

information for the study, determined to establish the place, organization, and importance of

corporate communication to an education institution like a university by paying attention to the roles

and practices of communication at MSU and the perceptions of management towards corporate

communication.

CHAPTER 4: ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS

4.0. IntroductionThe chapter explores the organisation of Midlands State University (MSU). The chapter gives an

analysis of the institution’s background from the time it was established in 2000. An analysis of

the university’s visions, missions and objectives will be provided in order to locate them to the

study of corporate communication. The organisational structure and governance of the university

are done to find if the structure has influence on the way communication at the University is

handled. This will be done by linking corporate governance concepts to corporate

communication.

4.1. Background of MSU Midlands State University is a state university established by the Midlands Sate University Act

of April 1999 (Chapter 25.21). The University was established as result of political lobbying by

the ZANU PF leaderships in the Midlands Province. Established in a developing nation, and in

2000 where political, social and economic challenges faced the country, MSU could require to

gain a competitive edge to penetrate the market so as to respond to the “rising need of skilled and

professional human resource capital” (MSU Strategic and Business Plan 2001-2015). Corporate

communication is one of the ways organisations consider for the realisation of organisational

goals such as Midlands State University’s Strategic Goal:



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to build a university with ten faculties, 18 000 students, 900 teaching and 550 supporting staff,

with the requisite services and infrastructure by 2015 (Vice Chancellor’s Annual Report, 2011:7).

This Strategic Goal of the University meant the creation of employment to the nation and to the

Midlands Province and would contribute to national development as espoused in its Missions

Statement part of which reads, “to improve the performance of the economy through the

promotion of managerial skills and generation, dissemination and application of knowledge.”

Such an environment provides to the MSU, stakeholders and circumstances that need articulation

of goals, strategies, and achievements and challenges so as remain relevant in the public domain

and corporate communication becomes handy.

4.1.2. Location and campusesMSU is located in Gweru City in the Midlands Province operating on three other campuses, apart

from the former Gweru Teacher’s College, Batanai Campus and the former Tel-One Learning

Centre complex now Faculty of Commerce, Graduate School of Business and Faculty of Law

Campus. In 2010 MSU acquired Tel-One Training Centre which measures 188.6 hectares in

extent. Construction work for the expansion of the university to meet necessary requisite

physical structures started in 2004 with the Administration Block which was completed in 2011

and officially opened on the 2nd of December 2011. Construction work of the University,

according to the university leadership, “started against the background of the most crippling and

daunting economic environment which called for extraordinary initiatives” including effective

communication and marketing activities adopted for fundraising programmes of the University

(Vice Chancellor’s Annual Report, 2011: 10).

4.2. The University Vision, Mission, Core Values and symbols.

4.2.1. Vision

To be a unique, development oriented pace-setting and stakeholder driven University that

produces innovative and enterprising graduates.



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4.2.2. Mission Statement

Committed to a culture of problem solving through quality research, teaching and training by a

means of flexible packaging, Work Related Learning and strategic partnerships with the

University stakeholders for the immediate and ultimate benefit of humanity.

Commitment to the recruitment, motivation and retention of staff in an environment of a caring

institution.

Commitment to the use of (ICT) Information Communication Technology and the virtual

classroom, as principal teaching and training modes of delivery and research.

Commitment to gender equality in student admissions and staff recruitment policies.

Commitment to enhance the quality of people’s lives through new ideas and skills for sustainable

utilization of resources.

Commitment to promotion of equality research through both taught and research post graduate

studies as means of generating new knowledge.

4.2.3. Core Values

Driven by honesty, integrity, hard work and passion for excellence tempered by self discipline

and care for others;

Driven by sensitivity to gender equality and equity, needs of the disadvantaged, African culture

and devotion to self-sufficiency and professionalism.

(Adapted from the Midlands State University Strategic and Business Plans 2006)

In organisational communication these become principles upon which corporate communicators

formulate and direct communication strategies and policies that can be harmonised with the

strategic intent.

4.3. Organogram/ Organizational Structure

An Organogram, according to Arnold (1996), is “a description of a company’s structure; it is

presumably a truncation of an organization’s diagram.” At the same time Appleby (1982:6)

defines an organization as:



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the framework of the management process whose purpose is to create an arrangement of positions

and responsibilities, through and by means of which an enterprise can carry out its work.

Therefore, an organizational structure can be defined as a drawing that gives the names and job

designations of all the staff in an organization or section, unit or a department showing how they

are connected to each other in an endeavour to achieve its overall objectives.

According to an online dictionary, the Business Dictionary.com, an organisational structure is:

a framework, typically hierarchical, within which an organization arranges its lines of authority

and communications, and allocates rights and duties. Organizational structure determines the

manner and extent to which roles, power, and responsibilities are delegated, controlled, and

coordinated, and how information flows between levels of management.

Any structure depends entirely on the organization's objectives and the strategy chosen to

achieve them. In a centralized structure, the decision making power is concentrated in the top

layer of the management and tight control is exercised over departments and divisions. In a

decentralized structure, the decision making power is distributed and the departments and

divisions have varying degrees of autonomy. An organizational chart illustrates the

organizational structure (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organizational-

structure.html ).

MSU is a state institution that like other state universities is headed by the Head of State, the

President of the Republic of Zimbabwe as the Chancellor who is deputized by the Vice-

Chancellor. Bellow the Vice-Chancellor, is the Pro-Vice Chancellor. Though the members of the

University Council and Senate are not indicated in the diagram below, they come in handy in the

governance of the institution. Two separate departments, the teaching and the non-teaching

sections also come in as represented by heads of faculties, divisions and units as shown in the

organogram below. Down the corporate ladder are chairpersons of academic departments and

directors of non-academic departments. From directors and heads of departments, there come


http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organizational-structure.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organizational-structure.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/chart.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/autonomy.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/degree.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/division.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/department.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/control.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/management.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/decision-making.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/achieve.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/strategy.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/objective.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organization.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/levels-of-management.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/information-flow.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/responsibility.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/power.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/roles.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/structure.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organizational.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/duty.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/right.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/allocate.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/communications.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/authority.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/lines.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/hierarchical.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/framework.html


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administrators. Then the secretaries come in for both teaching and non-teaching units

departments.

In short, the university management consists of:

a) The Vice Chancellor

b) One or more Pro-Vice Chancellors

c) Members of the University Council

d) The Senate

e) Teaching and non-teaching units

f) Students



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Organogram/Organizational structure of MSU


Teaching Units

Non-teaching Units

Registrar Bursar Librarian

Dean of Students Dean- Science & Technology

Dean-Faculty of Arts

Dean Commerce

Dean- Social Sciences

Dean-NRM & Agric

Dean Law

Dean-Education

Director-WRL

Director-Information & PR

Director-Works & Estates

Chief Security Officer

Director - ITS

Administrators

Secretaries

Chairpersons of Departments

VICE-CHANCELLOR

PRO-VICE CHANCELLOR

Director-Graduate School of Business

Assistant to the VC

Director – Cleaning Services

Fig 4.1


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The Senate is the highest academic body with the Vice-Chancellor as its chairperson.

Authority of senate covers all academic affairs, though powers to appoint committees are

shared with Council. The Senate under the university’s charter has the formal power to make

academic policy. To take meaningful decisions, the Senate creates certain committees.

Council is the governing body of the university. It is the official employer of all university

staff. Council has the authority to control and superintend policy decisions regarding finance

and property of the university. Employees at the university are expected to carry out Council

policies under the leadership of the Vice-Chancellor (MSU, University Governance 2011,

p17). According to the MSU University Governance the Chancellor shall be the President of

Zimbabwe who is the “head of the University” and appoints the Vice-Chancellor who is the

“Chief Executive” and “the Chief Academic Officer” of the University. The Midlands State

University Act [Chapter 25:21] states that the Chancellor has the authority:

a) To preside over any assembly or meeting held by or under the authority of the University, and

b) Upon the recommendation of the Council and the Senate, to confer degrees, diplomas, certificates

and other awards and distinctions of the University and to withdraw or restore such awards.

The Chancellor is responsible for capping and conferring degrees of the MSU to graduates of

the University. Vice-Chancellor is responsible for the management of the University. Under

the Vice-Chancellor’s office is the office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor responsible for

administration and academic affairs. The PVC is supported by the Registrar who is the chief

administrative officer of the university and is responsible to the Vice-chancellor for the day to

day administrative and academic work of the university. The Registrar is secretary to the

Council, Senate, congregation and convocation. Other principal officers are the Bursar and

the Librarian. The bursar is the chief financial officer of the university responsible to the

Vice-Chancellor for the day to day administration and control of financial affairs of the

university. The Librarian is responsible to the Vice-Chancellor for the administration of the

university library and the coordination of the Library services in the university. These

Principal Officers including the Executive Dean of Students fall into the non-teaching units

which are mainly administrative. Others falling into this category are directors except for the

Director of Graduate School of Business Leadership (GSBL) who leads a teaching unit. In

the non-teaching units, there are other several functions that fall under registry, the bursar’s

department, library and the VC that do not appear in the organogram.

Takesure Pambuka R0825436H BSc Media & Society Studies – May 2012 58


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Executive deans of faculties are followed by chairpersons in the teaching units. Faculties and

departments are involved in the actual teaching of students. Deans and chairpersons lead

lecturers in their respective areas and are also supposed to review curricula through

stakeholder engagement and necessary governing boards like the Academic Board, Faculty

and Departmental boards. Academic decisions are also executed through relevant

committees. Below the non-teaching and teaching units there are Administrators who are the

supporting staff and they are involved in the governance through servicing of respective

committees. Secretaries are also spread out in the university and mostly they are involved in

delivery of services to students as well as working for the ‘bosses’ for everyday contacts in

business.

It is important to state that most decisions from departments to faculties to Senate and

Council are made by committees. Ndu (1993) cited in Ebi G. Eno-Ibanga (Wilolud Online

Journals, 2008), observed that tertiary institutions like other formal organizations need human

beings to implement their programmes and achieve set goals. The university system is a

complex organization that requires participation through the committee system. MSU

Strategic and Business Plans document (2006) states:

The University is governed and administered through the committee system. This is a democratic

form of management that fosters the participation and involvement of all citizens of the University

community in their own governance.

4.3. Linking communication to governance

Gutierrez-Garcia (2008:4) notes that “both management and corporate communication fields,

scholars seem to converge on one idea: how to manage mutually beneficial relationships

between the company and its constituencies.” This concept relates to the need by

organisations to operate in the realm of “stakeholders’ expectations and necessities in order to

gain competitive advantage and to adapt to a demanding environment” (Gutierrez-Garcia

2008:4). As at MSU being “stakeholder-driven” means the need to consider the business

environment in relation to the nature of stakeholders, their information needs, views and

input all of which constitute what Sparkes, (2003: 3) as cited in Gutierrez-Garcia (2008:4)

calls “the economics of reputation”. It is in line with this view that organisations need to

manage the public dimension for the sake of establishing sustaining relations (Bowen 1997,

www.emeraldinsight.com/1363-254X.htm).


http://www.emeraldinsight.com/1363-254X.htm


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In a university principal officers and several other managing staff like deans and directors

would need to deal with specific and various stakeholder demands by including them into the

management decision making process. Each member of the University management team is

supposed to perform duties that are separate and different from each other. The Admissions

Department for example is involved in the admission of students; who are the major

customers of the University. This specific type of stakeholders also becomes relevant to

chairpersons and deans who are involved in the selection process.

As an illustration of corporate communication in terms of communication line, the

Admissions department falls under the Registry. It is the Admissions department that

communicates to prospective students by advertising vacancies in various programmes. The

information regarding programmes on offer in specific departments and faculties comes from

deans to chairpersons and lastly to the Admissions department for external communication.

The admissions office receives feedback from stakeholders in terms of applications. The

Admissions department forwards applications to deans through departmental Chairpersons

for short-listing. Selection is done through selection committees in faculties and departments

who do the short-listing of students. As shown in the organogram, deans get the

communication on the number of students to be enrolled from the Registrar who would have

communication from the Vice-Chancellor. After the short-listing the names are sent to the

Admissions department who then communicate with successful applicants through the media.

Consequently as suggested by Post & Carroll, (2006: 133) cited in Gutierrez-Garcia (2008:4)

“taken as a whole, this network of relationships constitutes a ‘governance system’ for the

modern corporation.” What becomes important to management in organisations are

“reputational risks and opportunities that corporate responsibility brings, and for these

companies aligning corporate behaviour with stakeholder expectations is an ongoing business

priority” (Dawkins, 2004: 108).

Corporate communication becomes a critical component of a governance system in engaging

stakeholders for social support and trust in business (Bandsuch, 2008). In this case what

becomes crucial is the institutionalization of the communication practice at MSU in the name

of the Information and Public Relations (IPR) department. However, the institutionalisation

of the communication practice alone is not enough especially in a big and a democratically

run organisation like MSU where communication takes place at every stage of business and

service delivery. What becomes striking to study therefore is the link that exists in such a



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situation where management is spread out. As shown in the organogram above, the line of

command of the IPR is linked with the Vice-Chancellor’s Office. But it is not the only one

that carries out business with the University’s stakeholders; thus the need to explore the place

of corporate communication in the governance of an institution of higher learning; which

may be a different case if theoretical underpinnings of corporate communication were to be

applied.

4.4. How departments link to meet organizational goalsAll departments and divisions at the Midlands State University are dependent on each other.

This means that their work has been separated according to functions in a whole premise of

achieving the overall common goal of the MSU; achievement academic excellence through

the pursuit of the objectives set in the vision, missions and strategic plan of the institution.

While the academic units are directly in the business of delivery and dissemination of

knowledge to the students, that is the main reason for the existence of MSU, they cannot do

this without the insurmountable complimentary roles played by the non-teaching units. The

IPR, the ITS department, the Work Related Learning office, the Works and Estates

department all work directly with VC to inform and advice in the management and

governance of the institution through provision of requisite functions about and around the

institution.

The Bursar’s department is very handy to all other functionaries in the university in the sense

that students pay their tuition fees and ancillaries through this department. At the same time

money for research, books, projects and programs of all other departments is obtained from

the bursary. Registry recruits students, register students and superintend the provision of

necessary modules by coming up with regulations that guide students’ academic conduct. The

library make sure that research and acquisition of knowledge and dissemination is possible

through acquiring necessary reading material both hard copies and electronic. Thus the

management of the knowledge base contributes to the very goal of any academic setting like

MSU. Division of Student Affairs comes in handy in the management of students’ welfare at

the institution. The division provides health services, accommodation, food and development

projects to students. This division ensures that students are incorporated into management

committees of the university and that of the Zimbabwean and international communities.



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All these units further meet and discuss issues in various committees that run day to day

affairs at the institution. Both academic and non-academic functionaries meet in Council and

Senate meetings that look into both governance of the institution and delivery of services to

stakeholders. Academic Board meetings also provide a strategic platform for dialogue of

various faculties and departments.

To communicate in order to achieve goals MSU uses memorandums, intranet and notices as

tools of internal communication.

Functions of these units are separated and defined as Key Result Areas that are reviewed and

measured from time to time Result Based Management meetings.

4.4. ConclusionThe chapter has analysed MSU as an organisation where corporate communication as a

phenomenon has been investigated to ascertain its nature, status or place in the management

of an education institution. Organisations vary and communication theories cannot be applied

wholesomely which is why it is necessary to look at ways it is taking shape in education

sector.



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CHAPTER 5: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

5.1. Introduction

This chapter presents the data that has been generated to establish the place and status of

corporate communication in the governance of an institution of higher learning in Zimbabwe.

Following the link between corporate governance and corporate communication as

demonstrated in chapter four, the data gathered and presented herein was an attempt to

establish elements of existing communication practices at the Midlands State University, to

show how communication as a function of management is organized within the system of

governance of the University and to identify the contribution of corporate communication in

strategic planning at MSU as well as to establish perceptions of the role and importance of

the corporate communication function by the University management team.

As has already been alluded to in chapter three, the data presented herein was gathered

through a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methods. These include face to face

interviews, use of questionnaires, document study and observations. As such triangulation has

been employed in presenting and analysing data through, content analysis and discourse

analysis. Quantitative visual representations of findings in the form of tables, graphs, pie

charts and other illustrations have been supported by qualitative ‘thick descriptions’ that have

been directly quoted from the interviews, documents and observations.

5.2. Response rate and nature of questions

One set of questionnaire was used and thirty (30) were administered across top administrative

and academic management staff. The rate of return of survey questionnaires was 86.7 per

cent. Respondents, as indicated in chapter three were MSU top management staff including

three out of five principal officers, heads of PR and HR, Deans, Directors, Chairpersons of

departments and other heads of non-teaching staff. The majority of respondents identified

themselves as ‘senior’ responsible for communication in one way or the other and that most

of them were responsible to the most senior management like the VC and the PVC. Table 5.1

below is a representation of the population sample breakdown and response rate to each

category.



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Table 5.1: Shows the sampled population and the return rate of questionnaires

Description of respondent Number of questionnaires

administered

Number of questionnaires

returned

Return rate

Registry 4 3 75%

Assistant to the VC 1 1 100%

Librarian 1 1 100%

Bursary 3 2 67%

Public Relations 2 2 100%

Students Affairs 3 3 100%

International students 1 1 100%

Deans 5 5 100%

Chairpersons 10 8 80%

TOTAL 30 26 86.66

These respondents were relevant as this study also set out to identify which internal and

external stakeholders top management staff thought were relevant, for the purposes of

building the institution's reputation through service delivery in their domains.

To solicit relevant information, the questionnaire focused on communication activities, nature

of responsibilities and distribution of communication roles of each management unit,

communication management, and attitudes and perceptions towards corporate

communications by the management team. In a bid to establish the place/status of corporate

communication in the management of the university, this study considered examining the

coordination and integration of communication activities.



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5.3. Organization of the communication function

This study also sought to frame the basic organization of corporate communication by

understanding the structure of the communications function by examining the breadth and

width of involvement of different units of management in their communications. General

communication activities (elements) of various units in the university were sought so as to

understand who does what in the communication functions. Corporate communication

involves three main forms of communication: management communication, marketing and

organisational communication, so functional management domains as indicated in table 5.1

above were asked to indicate which ones are they responsible for. Figure 5.1 below

summarises responses.

0%

20%

40%

60%61.50%

30.80%

7.70%

Fig 5.1: Distribution of communication roles

Most units agreed that they are involved in communication in one way or the other. Most of

them said that they communicate directly in the university through memos, emails and

notices as well as meetings mainly directed to staff within and sometimes across departments

or units. Of the 26 questionnaires returned sixteen (62%) respondents indicated that they are

responsible for management communication with respect to running their units. This is done

for every day running of the University to announce events, developments, to follow up on

progress reports and to announce new policies and operations. Director of Works and Estates

for example said:My work requires me to communicate every time with workers in my department, service

suppliers and engineers who perform infrastructural maintenance and construction on behalf of the

University.



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This shows a great flexibility in terms of communication of units in the university.

Eight (30.8%) responses have shown that some heads of units are responsible for both

management and marketing communication. Falling into this category are the registry units

like Academic Affairs, University Secretariat, Human Resources and Admissions. The

Librarian, Deans, Student Affairs and chairpersons said that their jobs require them to involve

in both management and marketing communication. The Dean of the faculty of Natural

Resources Management and Agriculture said that he is responsible for communication as

dean to control, direct and manage staff in the faculty. This therefore shows that almost all

heads of departments are responsible for employee relations. The MSU University

Governance (2011:46) suggests the marketing communication role of deans in the university

by way of:

developing and maintaining relations with alumni of his Faculty and with other organizations and

persons, with a view to enriching the academic programmes offered by his Faculty; establish links

and partnerships with industry, commerce, professional establishment and informal sectors in

order to support student internships, sandwich modules and work related learning; undertaking

fundraising to support teaching and research in the Faculty; co-operating with other Faculties,

agencies and entities to further the programmes and projects of his Faculty; maintain an overview

of the Faculty’s quality assurance.

Only the Registrar and the Information and Public Relations Office indicated that they are

responsible for organisational communication together with marketing and management

communication. These units indicated that they work in cohort with the Vice Chancellor’s

office to harmonise communication of the whole institution to both internal and external

stakeholders. However, the researcher observed that the varied nature of management

domains within the university creates a situation where various management personnel are

communicators who communicate with external and internal target groups, which is taking

place outside the scope of ‘conventional’ and ‘institutionalised’ communication departments.

5.3.1. Existing communication management activities

Respondents were also asked to indicate the elements and activities of communication where

the University strives to manage. This study also sought to establish existing elements of

corporate communication and this would be established by examining how top management

teams are dividing communication activities so as to achieve corporate objectives as well as

building the reputation of the university. Respondents were asked to indicate communication



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areas they are responsible for from the following; Media Monitoring, Media Relations, Social

Responsibility, Government Relations, Employee Relations, Investor Relations, Event PR

Management, Financial Reporting, Alumni Relations, Students Experience, International

Students Relations, Fundraising, Internal Relations, External Relations, University

Publications, Risk or Crisis Communication, Student Recruitment, Donor Relations

(Sponsorship), Investor Relations, Affiliates Relations, Event Management, Supplier

Communications, Switchboard, University directions and labelling.

As has been summarised in the table 5.2 below, responses suggest that the university’s

communications activities are complex with 92 per cent respondents indicating that they are

involved in one or more possible communication areas listed below. Responses have also

shown that there are zero percent of responses responsible for social responsibility

communications and government relations. The weak presence of the two becomes a striking

finding in that it suggests their relegation from the communication portfolios. However, one

respondent interviewed stated that these communication activities take place but not as stated

in the list.

Despite the diverse nature of functional management units/domains, only 3.8 per cent of the

respondents report that they are responsible for supplier communication. The 3.8 per cent

distribution of respondents has also been reported in such communication areas as Media

Monitoring, Media Relations, Financial Reporting, Fundraising, Internal Relations, External

Relations, Donor Relations (Sponsorship), and Affiliates Relations, Event Management,

Switchboard, University directions and labelling. This serves to show that the university has

tried to create organizational structures responsible for these communication activities.

However these communications are placed in different units with IPR responsible for media

relations and monitoring, fundraising communications, advertising, internal and external

relations as well as event management.

The study has also shown that Affiliate/Associate relations are located under the Registrar

with financial reporting under the Bursar while the Chaplain under Student Affairs manages

student donor relations. The Works and Estates Department is responsible for

communications to do with university signposting. The University Secretariat takes care of

the reception areas and switchboard. Though heads of units have direct command on human



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resources in their domains, it has been indicated that the Human Resources department which

falls under the Registry is responsible for employee relations.

Table 5.2: Showing communication activities and how they are distributed at MSU

Communication activity No. of units responsible Extent of distribution

among respondents

Media Monitoring 1 3.8%

Media Relations 1 3.8%

Social Responsibility 0 0%

Government Relations 0 0%

Employee Relations 1 1

Investor Relations 2 7.7%

Event Management 1 3.8%

Financial Reporting 1 3.8%

Alumni Relations 2 7.7%

Students Experience 18 69.2%

International Students Relations 3 11.5%

Fundraising 1 3.8%

Internal Relations 1 3.8%

External Relations 1 3.8%

University Publications 3 11.5%

Risk or Crisis Communication 2 7.7%

Student Recruitment 2 7.7%

Donor Relations (Sponsorship) 1 3.8%

Affiliates Relations 1 3.8%

Supplier Communications 26 100%

Switchboard 1 3.8%

University directions and labelling 1 3.8%

The remaining communication areas are variously shared by units. Communication to do

with students’ experience is spread out in the university as indicated by 69.2 per cent of

respondents. Indications of communication activities done by more than one unit suggest a



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considerable fragmentation of communication responsibilities within the University. The

consistent appearance of the IPR and Registrar’s departments in most responses is a logical

indication of their involvement in most communications in the University. As has been

indicated in table 5.2 above, persistence of the IPR and the Registrar’s office corroborate

their existence in the three forms of corporate communication; management communication,

marketing communication and organisational communication (van Riel 1992).

5.3.2. Degree of centralization of communications

Narrowing down to establishing the nature of and place where corporate communication at

MSU is managed, the researcher asked respondents to indicate if there is a department that

manages the University’s communications. Figure 5.2 below is a visual representation of

responses.

Yes No0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Coordination of Communications

Fig 5.2 shows the extent of centralization of Communications

25 respondents (96%) contended that there is a department that has a responsibility of

managing all communications in the university; however with slight variances in naming the

department. 4 percent indicated that there is no department that manages all communications

in the university, stating that “communication responsibility is dispersed throughout offices

of the university.” Respondents were divided as to which department is responsible for

managing the University’s communications. Four different responses arose as shown by the

graph below.



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11%

23%

4%

62%

RegistarPR and RegistarVC and PRInfor and PR

Fig 5.3: Variations in the nature of coordinating department

Referring to the department that manages all communications 4 percent of the respondents

stated that “ideally the VC’s office does that through the IPR office.” 11 percent pointed out

that the Registrar’s is the place where communications of the whole institution are controlled.

However 23 percent favoured the combination of the Registrar’s office and IPR department

as the centre of the University’s control of all expressions. The IPR department has been

mentioned by 62 percent of respondents as the department that manages communication in

the University. Though the variations illustrated above show inconsistencies of

management’s knowledge of how corporate communication is placed as a management

function, it is important to note that the appearance of the IPR in the other two variations and

its association with the VC and the Registrar shows that it is near the levers of power which

makes it possible for the IPR to be able to manage the communication portfolio of the

university using an integrated approach.

5.4. IPR as the corporate communication function/department

As indicated above 62 percent of respondents suggested that the IPR is the department that

specifically exists for the communication portfolio in the university. The data presented

above has also shown that communication at MSU is not restricted to the IPR department.

Other functional management areas like the human resources management (HRM)

department for example, engage in communication as a tool for recruitment and retention of



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valuable personnel and employee relations through articulation of labour market values. The

Staff Handbook by MSU HRM department,

seeks to improve communication links between policy makers and the users at the functional

levels (p7).

The HRM example shows a general acceptance of the importance of communication in the

governance of the University by both non-teaching and teaching managers, who have also

indicated that they have embraced, full responsibility of management communication in their

domains. As one Director has indicated:

there is no way I can do my job without communication; I communicate every day the things

that are relevant with my job.

It is however important to note that these managers are specialists in other areas and not

communication; that is why the majority of respondents indicated that IPR department are

professional communicators at an organisational level.

The corporate communication domain of the IPR is spelt as one of key result areas of Result

Based Management under effective communication and marketing activities. The 2011 RBM

report stated the communication role of the IPR as to “Market the university as well as to

establish and maintain the goodwill and mutual understanding between Midlands State

University and its customers, partners and stakeholders through responsible communication.”

This character of the IPR suggests that marketing and public relations activities are carried

out, under one roof. The IPR is headed by the Director who reports to the Vice-Chancellor

(equivalent to CEO). The senior position of the head of corporate communications clearly

indicates the strategic importance of communications in the University. In an interview, the

director indicated that, in the IPR department, there are three full time administrators who

were recruited on the basis of their qualifications’ relevance to corporate communication.

Two administrators are graduates in Bachelor of Science in Media and Society Studies and

one is a graduate in English and Communications graduate. A close look at the recruitment of

the IPR personnel suggests a positive attitude of senior management towards communication

since all of them including interns have communication credentials.

Document analysis has shown that the job descriptions of the administrators in the IPR are

more of the same responsibilities with all of them expected to gather news for internal and



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external publications, conduct interviews for university publications and for journalists’

questions, write, and proofread and editing news articles for the Newsletter as well as

designing the University marketing tools like brochures, fliers, posters and creation of adverts

and providing editorial advice to most publications including promotional materials like

folders, t-shirts, compliment cards and Christmas cards among many others. Their work

becomes more of a routine media department.

A study of RBM reports has shown that the IPR is responsible for the following functions:

The functions of the IPR at MSU are interdepartmental, which means that it works with all

departments in different ways as summarized by the list of responsibilities below:

To market the University in its entirety

To promote the visibility of the institution by representing and organizing university

functions

To organize, represent and showcase the institution’s degree programmes, products

and services at exhibitions and educational fairs.

Work with the admissions department and faculty representatives in the recruitment

of undergraduate and post graduate students through attending career fairs and most

importantly by calling schools in the country to the Open day organized by the IPR.

Thus creating the institutions market presence as a degree awarding institution.

Informs the public on events, achievements and upcoming events through the

university’s fortnightly Newsletter; that is management of the entire communication

portfolio at MSU.

Media relations; that is working with the media and manage all print, electronic and

online media.

Working in cohort with the Fundraising Committee to fundraise for the university’s

expansion projects.

Working with the Information Technology Services Department on the continuous

review of the webpage content to facilitate access of updated information to

stakeholders as well as promoting feedback from them.

Partnering the Students Affairs Division, Work-Related Department and Students

Records and Registration to organize the Professional Network.

Establish and run the university promotional material shop as a viable Strategic

Business Unit that will be cost effective. (RBM Reports 2011 Key Result Area 11)



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In an interview, one of the senior staff member under the Bursar’s department has indicated

that; “we budget and allocate resources for communication purposes like we do to every

function in the university.”

However, observations have shown that some certain functions like Business Projects,

Cleaning Services have university vehicles while the IPR director does not have one. This is

non-verbal communication that expresses a certain attitude towards the head of the university

communication department. During his internship in the IPR from June 2010 to August 2011,

the researcher who was in contact with some members of management, observed that

allocation of resources to the IPR department was done grudgingly. What could be easily

allocated the was money for adverts managing a shop for selling souvenir and promotional

materials like jerseys, t-shirts and ball point pens with university symbols. This meant that

you would have to fight and convince them to understand the contribution and role of

communication. This attitude towards the IPR can be explained by one respondent’s view

that, “communication brings intangible results to the university, whose profit cannot be

measured like what can be done in other units.”

5.5. Management values the IPR as the corporate communication department

Respondents were also asked to state the value of the department they mentioned as the

manager of all communications in the university and the responses were varied. The

following were some of them:

I am not allowed to ‘talk’ directly with the external world but can only “communicate our

messages through the University spokesperson who is the director of Information and Public

Relations.

Another one said; “it is not done to ‘talk’ to the press, unless through the Information and

Public Relations department- that is the university policy.”

This portrays the IPR as press agents (Grunig 1992) for the university management team.

This view has been expressed by another respondent under Registry who said; in terms of

advertising for example; “we can flight adverts in the media without the input of the IPR

unless we need them to help us in terms of design.”

He went further to state that, “we cannot be quoted in the media on behalf of the University

unless the Registrar and the IPR director know.”



2012

Respondents also expressed that this is done to ensure accuracy and consistence as well as

avoiding contradictions that may arise when some members of the university express their

personal opinions rather than the university’s perspective. One respondent said that the IPR is

there “for consistency of messages sent into the public domain as well as image management.”

The use of such terms as ‘image management’ by this particular respondent suggests the

valuable nature of corporate communication theories in the university’s governance. This is

what Cornellissen (2004:15) referred to as the ‘symbolic use’ of corporate communication

theory in the practice of communication management. Another respondent indicated that IPR

“maintains the good image of the University with the outside world.” Though at face value this

statement seems to relegate the corporate communication to external affairs; it can be noted

that every activity of an organisation intends to create value on the ‘outside world’ on which

the good image should be maintained. One faculty dean argued that the place of IPR in the

university governance is, “linking and informing internally and externally on vital university

activities.” The point of linking is vital at this moment as it is congruent with the concept of

‘boundary spanning’ role of corporate communicators. Moreover the ‘informing’ part of this

quotation treats the corporate communication function as the information conduit responsible

for establishing an informed public for decision makers.

We need a conscious inclusion of the professional use of communication by senior and line

managers as a tool for functional management and the PR director is responsible for that”, said

one respondent.

A Critical analysis of this statement suggests that those that are in other management functions

are not necessarily ‘professional’ communicators, but they need to know through IPR director,

its use as an instrument to direct their communications when they execute their duties. Below

the study shows how the IPR is involved in the governance of the university and their

involvement in decision making. This goes in hand with Dolphin’s (2000) conception of

corporate communication which suggests that the role of corporate communication

departments in organizations includes being a “planner, watchdog, catalyst, communicator,

savant, stimulant, advisor and confidant” to management

5.6. Corporate communication has a place in the governance of MSU

As has been mentioned in chapter four, the University is run democratically and power is

decentralized to committees that service various management units including the



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communication portfolio. Midlands State University 2012 University Diary outlines a number

of committees that run the university and for communication there is the Marketing and Public

Relations Committee, the Open Day Committee and Alumni Committee as well as Website

Committee.

The Marketing and Public Relations Committee, is a committee formed to direct

communication efforts by the IPR director. Its composition consists of the Marketing

Management Chairperson, Media and Society Studies Chairperson. Inclusion of these

chairpersons is a deliberate effort to fuse theoretical underpinnings of marketing and

communication into the practice of corporate communication at the university. This may be the

reason why they are expected to advise the IPR director on:

How to gather and disseminate information about the university both within and outside the

university and how to market the university locally, regional and internationally (MSU 2012

University Diary: 74).

The Registrar, Librarian, Bursar, Assistant to Vice-Chancellor and the director of IPR are other

members in the committee. The inclusion of principal officers in the committee shows a

commitment of top management to corporate communication.

Under the Marketing and Public Relations, there is the Branding Committee as a subcommittee

responsible for carrying out research of the university valuations by its different stakeholders.

In an interview, the IPR director said, “Research findings will help us direct our marketing and

communications efforts in line with expectations of the university stakeholders.” This is in line

with Grunig’s (2001) excellence model which states that excellent communication uses

research. In other words effective corporate communication is informed, guided and concluded

by research. Funding of the research by the University, also suggests their commitment to

include views of the stakeholders in strategic decision making which concurs with Grunig’s

(1992) strategic management model as outlined in chapter two.

According to the MSU 2012 University Diary, Alumni Committee is made up of the Registrar,

faculty representatives, Directors of IPR and ITS who are supposed:

To create a forum for building a foundation and sense of origin that fosters belonging and

confidence with the university as an institution of higher learning.



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This places identity at the centre of alumni relations which would help to;

Strengthen the reputation of the University through a market strategy of reputable market

performance for excellence by the University’s graduates (University Diary; 62).

Alumni relations would be supported by the publication of a regular Alumni Magazine. An

analysis of the above statements would show that reputation of the university is based on the

quality of its products (graduates) whose excellence and sense of belonging to the university

can help corporate communicators to establish a market competitive advantage.

The IPR director also sits in the following committees: the Associate/Affiliate, Community

Engagement through Scientific and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (CESKI), Gender

Committee, Sports and Recreation Fundraising Committee, Public Private Partnership (PPP)

Committee and Quality Assurance Committee. The IPR as the corporate communication

department has a place in the governance in the university as the director’s role in these

committees are spelt out for example in the PPP committee, there is need to “convince all

stakeholders that the PPP projects are viable in the social services sector.” The director of IPR

believes that her department is a recognizable force in decision making and strategy

formulation of the university in that:

We are involved in strategic planning team as we sit in the Council which is the supreme

governing board, Senate and Academic Board; moreover we are part of the Result Based

Management (RBM) that shapes and reviews university strategy. The RBM is made up of top

management, the VC, PVC, Deans, and all heads of teaching and non-teaching units.

5.7. The need for quality assurance in communication taken for granted

The researcher also inquired of respondents the mechanisms available to the university for the

control and management of communication in different functions and service delivery to

customers. The study focused in particular on four types of mechanisms: communication

policy; control by committees; training workshops and each department and employee

communicate according to situation at hand. Of the 26 questionnaires returned only two (2)

indicated the existence of a communication policy while five (5) mentioned training

workshops. 14 respondents indicated management by committees arguing that “no one makes

unilateral decisions.” Two (2) said employees are free to deal with customers as they deem



2012

necessary and three (3) respondents indicated both training workshops and committees as

management frameworks for communication. Below is a pie chart, figure 5.3 summarising

these responses.

12%

19%

8%54%

8%

Training Workshops and Commi-tees Training Workshops Communications policyCommiittees Freewill

Figure 5.3: Mechanisms of ensuring communication quality in service delivery

Interviews were used to follow up on the findings indicated in Fig 5.3 and respondents stated

there is no written or formal document for communication guidelines to members of the

university staff but “they know that every university business is done through written

communication.” One respondent hinted that the communication policy was drafted in 2010

but argued that “progress on the communication policy is being stalled by those who fear that

their wings will be clipped.” An analysis of this statement suggests that there are clashes of

interests regarding communication roles in the University. This may be the problem facing

the passing of the communication policy. This situation suggests a lack of understanding of

what corporate communication entails in the University, or that some members of the

University management want to take advantage of the blurred definition of communication

roles that thrives in the absence of a communication policy.

Committees have predominated as ways of ensuring quality in communication. However, it is

important to state that not everyone sits in committees; only ‘bosses’ have access which

means those who are at service delivery level are left out. Director of the Graduate School of

Business Leadership said, “Sometime in 2010 we carried a Customer Care Workshop for

Administrative staff”, which may explain the 19 percent indication of training workshops.



2012

This means that the workshop did not cover all staff members who may at times be involved

in some communication with the university’s customers; that is; students and other

stakeholders. The 8 percent who indicated each department and employees communicate as

per situation may be to parallels with what the researcher observed during the study;

secretaries and security officers sometimes have ‘attitudes’ towards students, sometimes

treating them like they are not of value to the university. These are the people who are in

contact with students and visitors in the university most of the times; which means their

communications behaviour should not be in conflict with what professional communicators

want to project of the university. “If it is not checked”, one student who spent three days to

collect a transcript said, “they get us pissed off, the reason why people don’t want to join the

convocation; these are some bad experiences about this place.”

Observation has also shown that directions in the University are not clearly indicated with the

University reception areas difficult to locate especially for visitors. Asked about the attitudes

towards visitors to the University when there is no vehicle parking space reserved for them,

one respondent highlighted that, “we only cater for our principal officers and members of the

University Council; visitors park their cars on general car parks where our students and staff

members park their cars.”

Clear labels, maps and directions in an organisation are ‘communications’ (Cornelissen

2004), the lack of which indicates a negative attitude towards corporate communication.

5.8. Conclusion

The findings presented in this chapter were a result of data gathered through interviews,

questionnaires, institutional documents and observations. The findings were presented and

analysed thematically and through visual representations of pie charts, graphs and tables.



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CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1. Introduction

In chapter two of this study some theoretical underpinnings and factors influencing corporate

communication were outlined. This study has also shown the link between corporate

communication and good corporate governance. An overview of the main ideas in the literature

review, as well as the main findings in chapter five, provides the framework for conclusions

and recommendations. This chapter puts into context the concept of corporate communication

to the Midlands State University as a corporate entity.

6.2. The context of Corporate Communication at MSU

MSU is a degree awarding institution whose strategic vision between 2001 and 2015 is to

establish “a unique, pace setting and development oriented University” with the capacity to

“produce innovative and enterprising graduates.” To be able to do this the university has to be

“stakeholder driven.” To be stakeholder driven means the ability to deal with publics or

stakeholders. Dealing with stakeholders calls for a strategic model of corporate communication

which emphasises on the two-way communication model (Grunig, 1992). To be relevant to its

vision and several other missions and objectives as outlined in chapter four, communication

that is consistently nurtured in line with corporate identity values. This entails the need to

integrate all “communications from brochures to websites in tone, themes, visuals and logos”

(Cornellissen 2004: 24). As has been alluded to in chapter one the success of professional

corporate communicators depends on the place they have in the governance of an organisation.

The reputation of MSU is created by those who manage it through their behaviour towards the

expectations of stakeholders. In light of this, corporate communicators, could place themselves

as planners, organizers and facilitators- the eyes and ears and the voice; an additional voice to

that of the Vice-Chancellor and other senior managers.

Like individuals, organisations have distinct personalities, corporate personalities that

Haywood (2003:20) sees as “brand personality”:

Just as the personality of an individual can be defined and put in writing, in a curriculum vitae for

example, the personality of an organization should be capable of definition and description with

relevant aspects of the personalities, attributes and contributions of the senior managers clearly

supporting this corporate personality (Haywood (2003:20).



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Central to a university is the identification, presentation and management of communication

issues affecting management decision making about stakeholders; that is students, government,

students donors, prospective students, other universities, alumni, the community and investors

as well as captains of industry and commerce among many others.

In face of these stakeholders, the University needs to position itself as the centre of excellence

and this requires effective corporate communication especially through what management does

and says. This means that there is no future for professional communicators trying to promote

the brand if the bosses do not believe in it. This being the context in which corporate

communication finds itself at MSU, it is now important to turn to the purpose of this chapter;

conclusions on the place of corporate communication in the governance of MSU. Its place

could be established by the identification of people who communicate on behalf of the

University; their location in the governance structure; their reporting structure, responsibilities

and the value attached to it by the management staff. Another way of looking at the place of

corporate communication in the running of MSU was to establish its current status in terms of

practices, coordination and control mechanisms as well as looking at the resources and

specialties available to corporate communicators in the university.

6.3. Summary of Findings/Conclusions

A university is made up of various units of management; among them non-teaching and

teaching units. These engage in communication of different types to address respective

stakeholders relevant to their functions. That is why the majority of the sampled management

claimed certain responsibilities over management and marketing communications. This makes

communication management complex because each one of them communicates differently to

suit departmental objectives. The study has shown that of the communication activities are not

run on a central level per se, but they are run by different divisions; for example the Division of

Student Affairs runs the Orientation of first year, first level students. Orientation is a corporate

event that invites students’ parents; which entails an articulate event management by

professional communicators. The Switchboard and the Reception areas for example are in

custody of the University Secretariat while students’ donors handled by the university

Chaplaincy. Thus it can be concluded corporate communication activities in the university are

complex, spread out and fragmented.



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Though, the study has indicated a fragmented approach to corporate communication at the

University, findings have also shown that MSU coordinates its communication in that it has a

department that manages communications at an organisational level. However, there were

differences in naming the responsible as suggestions indicated the Vice Chancellor’s office

through Information and Public Relations department as responsible. Others mentioned the

Registrar’s office as responsible while others favoured a combination of the IPR and the

Registrar. A majority of respondents indicated the IPR as the responsible department. Thus the

researcher concluded that the IPR department is the corporate communication department in

the university working under the Vice-Chancellor while working in cohort with the Registrar.

This means that the IPR is part of the ‘dominant alliance’ (Grunig, 2001). In this case this

researcher concluded that corporate communication is placed as a managerial framework for

managing all communications used by the University management to “build reputations

and relationships with stakeholders in its environment” (Cornelissen, 2004: 23). Despite the

existence of different divisions being responsible for certain communications activities, the

IPR which is the coordinating department of corporate communication at MSU exists as a

“managerial framework that goes above and beyond departmental boundaries” (Cornelissen,

2004: 23).

Staffing of the IPR has also shown that top management values corporate communication as it

is being led by a director with strategic management and corporate governance qualifications.

Under the Director, there are administrators; three of them with communication qualifications.

This makes the IPR important as other management functions like the HRM which is a positive

attitude towards corporate communication. An analysis of this leads to the conclusion that

corporate communication at MSU is treated as a specialist area that requires qualified

personnel; which nullifies the anyone-can-do-it attitude that normally characterise an attitude

towards corporate communication in other organisations.

It has also been established that currently MSU does not have a written communication policy

that could guide communication activities of management, administrators, secretaries and

security guards who are at liberty to use words of their choice when dealing with customers.

They have also not received customer care training from their respective departments and not

even from the IPR. Only management staff are being catered for which leads the researcher to

conclude that; the university views corporate communication from an elitist perspective

whereby quality of what can be said or cannot be said to students is not considered.



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6.4. Recommendations

The researcher also asked respondents ways that can be used to improve corporate

communication in the university and basing on the above findings and conclusions the

following were taken:

Development of a corporate communications committee and policy that is clear and

elaborate to be able to stride all types of communication in the university.

Ideally it should be under one domain for consistency sake. A situation where each

department entertains queries from outside can jeopardize and defeat the whole purpose

of corporate communication; to build reputable valuations of the university. Along with

this it may bring better platform of corporate communication if the IPR department is

fused with the office of the Assistant to the VC which is situated in the VC’s office.

This may help corporate communicators to access and ensure quality of communication

coming from the VC’s office.

There is need to empower and ensure the autonomy of the corporate communication

function (IPR) for it to be able to the counsel of the management team. This enables the

corporate communication function to advise management to include views of

stakeholders in decision making.

There is need to aligning strategic goals with communication goals. Since corporate

communication goes with business; it manages the corporate story (Holten Larse, 2000

as cited in Gutierrez-Garcia, 2008. Practitioners help to shape the reality of the

company. Company and stakeholders share a common public sphere. The company’s

success depends, as a result, on adjustment to the expectation and demands of publics,

not only in commercial sense, but in a general one.

Related to the above, good corporate governance requires the management of complex

elements and, in the end, exact knowledge about what is taking place in the

environment. Communication managers become a catalyst that enables an

organisation’s executives to take stakeholder demands into account and adapt company

service to its publics. This calls for research to guide the formulation of communication

strategy, control, monitoring and evaluation of communication campaigns.



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Since corporate communication is still growing and that its return on investment is not

measurable in terms of profit, practitioners need to prove through monitoring and

evaluation reports that they are the best manners of their departments in such a way that

the whole university depends on them.

6.5. Recommendations for further research

This research focussed on establishing the place of corporate communication in the governance

of an education institution and it constrained to MSU. It is recommended for researchers

intending to study corporate communication to carry a research of a similar nature looking at

more than two educational institutions with different commands of governance for example a

privately owned institution and a government owned institution. It may also interest

researchers to study the relationship between training and the development of the corporate

communication field in Zimbabwe. Another area of further research may be the need to

understand brand management techniques employed by universities and colleges in Zimbabwe.

6.7. Conclusion

This chapter provided conclusions and recommendations drawn from theoretical reflections of

corporate communication and from research findings. The call for the autonomy of the

corporate communication departments has been made. Like in profit making companies

corporate communication for higher education, is crucial to good governance of a university.



2012

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Watson, J. and Hill, A. (1996), A Dictionary of Communication, and Media Studies,

England, Edward Arnold Publishers

Windahl, S. Signtzer, B. Oslon, J.T. (2009), Using Communication Theory: An Introduction to Planned Communication, London, Sage Publications.

JOURNALS AND RESEARCH PAPERS

Dolphin, R.R., Ying Fan, (2000), "Is corporate communications a strategic function?", In

Management Decision, Vol. 38 Iss: 2, pp.99 – 107, UK, Lincoln School of Management

available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=865126&show

Ebi, G. Eno-Ibanga, (2008), Leadership for Quality Decision Making in the University

System: The Perspective of an Administrative Secretary, Wilolud Online Journals,

Nasarawa State University- Nigeria, available at http://www.wiloludjournal.com/pdf/

edures/2008/1-5.pdf

Gutierrez-Garcia, (2008), “Corporate Communication in Corporate Governance: Why Should

It Be Managed Strategically? The Spanish Case”, EUPRERA 2008 Congress,

Institutionalizing Public Relations and Corporate Communications, Milan, 16-18 October

2008, accessible at http://www.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/Elena_Gutierrez-

Garcia.pdf

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Higher Education: vol. 75, no. 4: 371-398, Ohio State University Press available at

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3838739 , accessed on 24 January 2012.

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Marketing Society, (http://www.jstor.org/stable/1250080)

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/105846097199443

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1250080

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3838739

http://www.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/Elena_Gutierrez-Garcia.pdf

http://www.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/Elena_Gutierrez-Garcia.pdf

http://www.wiloludjournal.com/pdf/%20edures/2008/1-5.pdf

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Appendix 1

QUESTIONNAIRE TO MANAGEMENT

My name is Takesure Pambuka, a Midlands State University student (R0825436H) writing a

dissertation study in line with corporate communication of higher education institutions using the

Midlands State University as a case study. This research has been approved by the Registrar and the

Media and Society Studies department at Midlands State University.

Information collected will be confidentially treated and used for the purpose of this study only.

Instructions

Fill or tick where applicable.

1.0. Section A: General Information

1.1. Department : …………………………………………………………………………

1.2. Period on Job :………………………………………………………………………….

2.0. Section B: Roles and Communication Activities

2.1. What is your role in information dissemination in your job? Tick the box with appropriate

response.

Management communication Marketing Communication Organisational Communication

2.2. The following are communication management activities. Which ones are you responsible

for as a department? Indicate by ticking appropriate boxes.

Employee Relations Financial Reporting Alumni Relations Students

Experience International Students Relations Fundraising Governments

Relations Media Relations Internal Relations External Relations

University Publications Social Responsibility Communication Risk or Crisis

Communication Student Recruitment Donor Relations(Sponsorship) Investor

Relations Affiliates Relations Event Management Advertising

Supplier Communications Switchboard University directions and labelling

Takesure Pambuka R0825436H BSc Media & Society Studies – May 2012 xi


2012

2.3. Is there a department that manage all communication in the university?

Yes No

If yes name the department or office

......................................................................................................................................................

Do you think the department you mentioned above is valuable? Yes No

Why? ........................................................................................................................................... ..

....................................................................................................................................................

2.4. Which communication areas are organized on a centralized level?

Employee Relations Financial Reporting Alumni Relations Students

Experience International Students Relations Fundraising Governments

Relations Media Relations Internal Relations External Relations

University Publications Social Responsibility Communication Risk or Crisis

Communication Student Recruitment Donor Relations(Sponsorship) Investor

Relations Affiliates Relations Event Management Advertising

Supplier Communications Switchboard University directions and labelling

2.5. How are communication activities managed in the university? Indicate by ticking

appropriate boxes below.

Communication policy/ manual Through committees Training workshops

Each department and employee communicate according to situation at hand

2.6. Given any chance what can you suggest be changed in the way communication of the

university is handled to make it more satisfying, please indicate how.

………………………………………………………………………………............................

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………......................................................

End of Questionnaire

Takesure Pambuka R0825436H BSc Media & Society Studies – May 2012 xii


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Appendix 2

INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR MANAGEMENT

1. Your job involves a lot of communication with people whom you deal with, how do

you send messages to and receive messages from them.

2. To who are your communications directed.

3. Do you communicate with the external stakeholders? If yes who are these.

4. Where in the university is your communication with the external stakeholders managed.

5. Are communications within the university are guided by a policy or a communication

manual.

6. How often do you receive training on effective communication as a manager?

7. How often do you provide for workshops to administrators and secretaries in your

department to communicate effectively with stakeholders within your domain as a

department?

8. What value is communication to your discharge of duties?

9. What is the role of the Information and Public Relations office in managing

communication in your department?

Takesure Pambuka R0825436H BSc Media & Society Studies – May 2012 xiii


2012

Appendix 34059 Mkoba 10 Gwaai Street Gweru ZimbabweCell: +263 773 739972Email: [email protected]

19 March 2012

The Registrar

Midlands State University

P Bag 9055, Gweru

Dear Sir

RE: REQUEST TO CONDUCT RESEARCH STUDY

My name is Takesure Pambuka (R0825436H), a 4 th year Media and Society Studies student. I

am a bona fide student interested in carrying out a research study at the Midlands State

University in line with the topic: The place of corporate communication in the governance of

higher institutions of learning in Zimbabwe.

I therefore seek your permission to administer a research questionnaire and to interview

members of the university management and staff. Information collected will be treated

confidentially and will be strictly used for academic purposes only.

I am looking forward to your consideration.

Yours sincerely

……………………………

Takesure Pambuka

Takesure Pambuka R0825436H BSc Media & Society Studies – May 2012 xiv

mailto:[email protected]