Abstract
M.A.
Communication departments may have the core knowledge to practise excellent
communication, but senior management must also share a common understanding of the role
and function of communication and communication managers in an organisation for
communication to be excellent.
The need for this study originated from the perception that the top communicator is often not
at the table when strategic decisions are made. Yet, public relations specialists often have
expertise that can contribute to organisational decision-making. They can, amongst others,
facilitate dialogue between key publics and members of senior management in order to
enhance understanding of the vision and goals of the organisation and the needs of the
organisation's clients and stakeholders. This form of two-way symmetrical communication is
the basis of excellent communication. Most practitioners agree that the best place for the top
communicator is within an organisation's senior management - taking part in strategic
decision-making through two-way communication (Dozier, Grunig, L & Grunig, J, 1995).
The three spheres of communication excellence - as identified in the Excellence Study, the
largest and most intensive investigation ever conducted of public relations and
communication management - include the knowledge base of communication departments;
shared expectations between the top communicator and senior management; and the culture
of the organisation.
The middle sphere of shared expectations between the top communicator and semor
management, has three components which will be investigated in this study. The first
component is departmental power - the ability to influence members of senior management.
Sometimes top communicators are members of senior management, participating directly in
strategic management and planning. In other cases, they exert informal influence as
providers of information and as process facilitators to senior management. The power of the
public relations department is associated with the value members of senior management
attach to public relations as a function, as well as the strategic contribution the top
communicator and the communication department make to organisational decision-making.