In this course we explored a variety of possible theoretical foundations for public relations/strategic communication and found that, while no single theory works to explain this area, a number of theories do apply and are useful in enlightening aspects of the field.
Theorists we studied: Berger’s social construction of reality informs as it shows the subjectivity of communications and the requirement for agency in the face of pluralism and the crisis of meaning; Giddons adds structuration theory; Goffman’s interpersonal communications theory highlights impression management and the impacts of framing, footing and face on the influence of human agency in strategic communications; Habermas brings theory pertaining to the public sphere, focusing on the importance of public discourse, rational debate and consensus in creating understanding; Burkhard extends Habermas’s theories by applying them to organizations and looks at trust issues between organizations and their publics; Bourdieu deals with power and who gets to impose their point of view on others; Foucault’s ideas on discursive practices inform from a social structural dimension; Beck addresses risk in dialog; Weber brings ideas of charisma and domination to strategic communications; Mahew looks at persuasion; Luhmann focuses on how organizations create legitimacy; Benoit adds value with ideas on crisis communications and image restoration; Putnam addressed issues of corporate reputation and corporate social responsibility by highlighting the benefits of community building, the development of social capital and the benefits to organizations of these efforts in a crisis; Dorothy Smith’s feminist approach suggested the validity of gender as an issue to use when viewing strategic communication; Spivak ‘post-colonialist perspective suggests that there is no such thing as neutral communication, from a there are dominant discourses and quiet others that impact messaging.
From a practical standpoint, strategic communication is a field of tactics. One of our key learnings in this class was to get involved with social media. Social media, and Twitter specifically, is a relatively new tool that we explored and which I have added to my toolbox of strategic communications mediums and methods.
I initially struggled with how and why to "use" Twitter. I was unsure of what my ultimate motivation for using Twitter would be - tweeting about personal or class-related things interests certain people and creates a different sense of who I am than if my tweets are all about job hunting tips or social media how-to's. It took me until after the semester was over to find my strategic use for Twitter and social media; I now use it to share what I believe is valuable information about using social media effectively. I tweet, retweet and follow people (people who convey knowledge in business, social media, and who strike me as thought leaders in areas I'm interested in) with purpose as I work to develop my brand. As a result of this course I recognize that I will have to use a variety of communications tools to build my credibility and flesh out my new workplace identity.
As I have also discovered in my use of social media, a focus on content is extremely important. All of the clever branding ideas will come to nothing if no one is interested in what I say. The quality of a message and its purposeful direction to appropriate stakeholders is foundational in the quest for communication that resonates.
In summary, it is the combination of message, medium and targeted delivery that will advance the mission of strategic communication.
I've included information and assignments relevant to the course:
The course syllabus: COMM 605 Syllabus
Case Study Facilitation: I led class discussion with a partner on the strategic communications surrounding the healthcare reform debate in Spring, 2010. We showed the contrasting styles and tone that affected the debate by showcasing Fox News and MSNBC. Strategic Messaging Healthcare Reform
I wrote several observation reflections on ads or pictures that conveyed strategic messaging: #1 - Religious Bus, #2 Joan of Arc, #3 Miscommunication by Email, #4 Cultural Translations
A research paper using Bourdieu's theory entitled "Language is Power", which explored where his theory of field, capital, habitus, and power works when applied to strategic communications today, and where it does not work. Bourdieu - Language is Power
In conjunction with my research paper I created a short movie which incorporated the YouTube hit "United Breaks Guitars" to demonstrate my research paper in an applied way - unfortunately I couldn't get the upload to work.
We also had an online response to questions that we posted on Moodle as one of our assignments Online Response
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