An Introduction To Strategic Communication Analysis

The article An introduction to strategic communication, by Gail Fann Thomas and Kimberle J. Stephens, discusses the emerging style of communication known as strategic communication. This is a relatively new branch that is being studied, lying somewhere on the crossroads of management strategies and communication. There is much disagreement on the definition and boundaries of this field of study, so the article instead chooses to explore it by using three lenses: strategy, communication theory, and research methods. Unfortunately, these lenses are also loosely defined. Management strategy is defined along the lines of “organization making,” that is to create and maintain systems of shared actions that will facilitate later action. Key concepts …show more content…
The third article argues that sensemaking must be a convergent activity among stakeholders in a company, or to rephrase, diverging paths of strategy will lead to failed initiative. The most perspectives must be taken into account at the beginning of the process for the highest rate of success. The fourth article discusses motivating language and that developing a sense of urgency increases the effectiveness of strategic communication. The fifth article argues that ambiguity and even deception could be a necessary strategy to further business depending on strategic intent. It challenges researchers to view ambiguity as a more neutral concept and evaluate the part it can play in accomplishing goals. The final article argues that combining all large scale methods of networking is a strategic change that will largely benefit all companies, allowing them to access more data faster than ever before, hence becoming far more efficient. Then key themes were drawn between the articles. One commonality was that power is not concentrated at the top of the organization. All members are “stakeholders,” meaning they all will affect the implementation of strategies and their success in some …show more content…
In our class, we do not approach this level of complexity, nor do I think that we need to. So I’m going to simplify these ideas down to their bare bones - because deep down - these are concepts we’ve already discussed and seen in action around us. Communication is heavily related to strategy, or as we normally put it, communication must be effective. We must adapt in real time to the needs of our audience and discover how to best convey our information and get our point across, and beyond that, to have people agree with us (or in the words of this article, to “align” with us). We’re in a constant state of evaluating our surroundings and others. Any sort of audience adaptation plan is pure strategy. Furthermore, strategic communication argues that everyone is a stakeholder, and that they all share equal responsibility in the overall effectiveness of communication. To boil that aspect down, it is just a portrayal of the communication-as-transaction model we have for modern communication. We cannot just give with communication, nor can we just take. Everyone is involved in the cycle whether we like it or not, and we must play our role in order to create effective communication. Strategic communication also addresses the potential use of ambiguity. One of our key aspects of communication is that it must be ethical. This article called for ambiguity to be viewed as neutral, which was necessary as typically withholding