The case for ‘face-time’ in a computer-mediated global economy

Abstract

The structuring of marketing and communication management within key organisations in South Africa is changing. These changes are affecting the relationship between marketing and communication practitioners, as well as the key tasks they are responsible for within the organisation. Globally, companies are downsizing, restructuring and eliminating hierarchy. This article investigates how key South African companies have responded to these changes, by looking at how the marketing and communication functions are structured within the organisation. Marketing and communication managers from top South African companies were interviewed telephonically. Findings from the study indicate that the two functions are progressively moving towards an integrated approach. However, a commonly agreed organisational structure is still not pervasive. Each organisation structured the marketing and communication functions differently, and various perspectives existed on the key tasks of both marketing and communication managers. From these findings, it is evident that the relationship between marketing and communication, as well as the role and tasks of marketing and communication managers, is still very diverse in the South African context.     

Cultural dimensions of South African employees and internal organisational communication satisfaction

Abstract

This article aims to help communication practitioners know which cultural dimensions are associated with communication satisfaction. The meta-theoretical framework is the Excellence Theory of Public Relations and Communication Management (Dozier, Grunig and Grunig 1995, 35). The conceptual theoretical framework; cultural dimensions by Geert Hofstede (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 39) and communication satisfaction by Downs and Hazen (1977, 68) and Gray and Laidlaw (2004, 427) fit into the Excellence Theory of Public Relations and Communication Management. The research design was a quantitative survey with an online questionnaire as a data collection method distributed among a random sample. Validity was improved through pilot tests and the sampling technique. In terms of reliability this survey's scores sufficed as accurate and consistent, scoring above the acceptable score of 0.7 (Van Heerden 2001); 0.72 for national culture and 0.83 for communication satisfaction. Regression analysis was used to analyse the relationship between cultural dimensions (independent variables) and communication satisfaction (dependent variable). The findings clearly showed that national cultural dimensions have significant relationships with communication satisfaction. The implication was that internal communication practitioners could now be informed about the dynamics of the interaction between the cultural dimensions prevalent amongst South African employees and internal organisational communication satisfaction.     

Innovation in Communication and Media Studies: Reflections from South African Academics

Abstract

This article discusses the possibility of a discipline of communication and media studies that is innovative, pluralistic and open in ways that conduce to development. Based on a set of in-depth interviews with a select group of South African communication and media studies scholars, the article discusses critically how, and if, communication and media studies as a field is innovative. Innovation here talks to a discipline that is imaginatively open to a myriad of different, diverse and divergent contributions relevant to the human endeavour of understanding the world in ways that better humanity. In doing this, the authors critically explore how the discipline is perceived variously by the scholars interviewed as enabling, encompassing and embodying innovation in research, teaching, curricula, theory, methodology, resourcing, and community outreach. As such the article addresses a span of issues that either support or inhibit innovation.     

Empowering families as an alternative to foster care for street children in Brazil

Although the emphasis in current thinking about work with street children has changed from aid-dependency towards youth protagonism, many organisations ignore the role of the children's families in their interventions. In so doing, they reproduce obsolete welfare traditions and also violate rights guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and national legislation. This article illustrates the importance of child–family ties for both children and families, and argues that interventions that lack the involvement of parents and families serve to reproduce images of failed families and inadequate mothers. The author presents an alternative approach from Brazil which respects the rights and needs of children and families through family empowerment.     

The story of the larger grain borer: Communicating Science to Rural Communities

Abstract

Although the democratisation of science was prioritised after the South African democratic elections of 1994, thus, promoting dialogue, transparency and consultation, communication with rural communities remains a challenge in South Africa. Because of the diverse cultural landscape of the country, aspects such as language, traditions and poverty impact significantly on the facilitation of communication and the dissemination of information, particularly in rural communities.

The South African government's quest to build a better future for all South Africans places renewed emphasis on the role of ‘development’ and the use of communication to meet the future challenges of ‘development for all’.

The purpose of this article is, firstly, to explore the development communication media used in the community awareness programme of the National Department of Agriculture of South Africa in the town of Makutu, Mpumalanga Province, and, secondly, to investigate and offer an assessment of the communication approach followed by the National Department of Agriculture. In this article the scene is set with a brief overview of development communication models and a discussion of different types of media and methods available for communicating with rural communities. A case study on an awareness project launched by the National Department of Agriculture is presented and the article concludes with an assessment of the case study against the theoretical overview presented in the first section of this article to determine the communication approach followed, and communication media and methods used.

A case study on The Larger Grain Borer (LGB), a quarantine insect pest of maize that has left a path of destruction through Africa, forms the basis of this article. The Directorate: Plant Health and Quality of the National Department of Agriculture of South Africa initiated this awareness project to empower farmers through awareness and education to prevent the spread, and to manage the impact, of the pest. It is believed that the key to rural food security lies in the country's ability to effectively disseminate information to rural communities.     

Action research with children and adolescents working on the streets of Athens,Greece

In fieldwork with children and adolescents working on the streets of Athens, Greece, the authors applied a multidisciplinary methodology, through which participants were empowered to articulate their own voice. This article discusses some indicant themes which emerged through participants' narrations and through their active engagement in Theatre-for-Development: (1) the role of family attachment and social networks promoting the continuity of children's cultural identity; (2) their perception of working on the streets as a vital need to contribute to family income; and (3) the way young subjects resituated themselves both in their relation with the mainstream culture and within their own culture.     

Suid-Afrikaanse "alternatiewe" rolprente en die Suid-Afrikaanse sosio-politieke werklikheid. 'n Historiese,teoretiese en analitiese verkenning (Deel 1)

SUMMARY

The "alternative" film originated in South Africa because people or groups outside the apartheid establishment were unable to communicate through existing mass media structures, and their own communication channel had to be established.

The key question addressed in this article is whether the "alternative" South African film actually succeeds in making a contribution, on an intercultural level of communication, to the socio-political reality of South African society, and to what extent the film as communication medium succeeds in establishing positive intercultural communication? A study of four films is undertaken, according to Pieter J. Fourie's theoretical model (1983), whereby the content and shaping aspects of film images are examined from a contextual as well as an analytical point of view.

The value of the "alternative" film lies in the fact that the South African reality is seen from the perspective of the "black" or "coloured" person. For many years "whites", on account of their ethnocentric attitude and the absolutization of their values and norms, were never really aware of other race groups' values and norms, and were not interested in how these people experienced reality. In this regard the "alternative" film has a dual function significant to intercultural communication: on the one hand it offers self-expression – an important principle and starting point for intercultural communication – to people outside the apartheid establishment, and on the other hand, it gives whites within this establishment the opportunity to become acquainted with the worlds of other cultural and ideological groups.

If the South African film wants to present a model for reality, it will have to take into account the complexity of multicultural diversity without absolutizing certain people's cultural values and ideological perspectives. Communication should rather take the form of "dialogue".     

China's expanding influence in Africa: projection,perception and prospects in Southern African countries

China's multi-faceted endeavour to expand its influence in Africa has attracted worldwide scholarly and media attention. This article examines the different moments of China's soft power endeavour, from projection through its state media to representation and lived experiences in South Africa and Zimbabwe, two African countries which receive a significant level of attention in China's policymaking. Through interdisciplinary methodologies such as content analysis, online questionnaires and in-depth interviews conducted in China, South Africa and Zimbabwe, the authors found that China's state-engineered soft power initiatives have resulted in partial success in the two countries. The conclusions indicate that China faces many challenges in fully accomplishing its intended goal. The findings provide new insight into China's political impact in Africa within the context of Beijing's growing influence on Africa's political and economic future.     

Mass media advertisements: Responses to selected advertisements in semi-urban Limpopo

Abstract

This article developed from pilot research in a coursework Master's module in African Languages into combined outcomes of persuasive messages and visual literacy based on semiotics. It tested assertions by various writers about mass media, as applicable to a semi-urban or rural group of (black) South Africans with educational levels ranging from Grade 10 to Honours level. Owing to the fact that interviewees are financially constrained (and therefore cannot always afford television access or the acquisition of magazines), the focus of ‘persuasive messages’ was on billboard advertising in their living and work contexts. It was found that the consumers (respondents to the questionnaire) reacted positively to billboards that supported products on which they have been relying; that once they have been introduced to a product and found it efficient, competitive campaigns do not impinge on their stance; but also that – in this particular semi-urban area – traditional values folklore and usages have to be taken into consideration by advertisers for effective communication.     

A computational text analysis of the South African banking sector's representation of its core values: A corpus-driven approach

Abstract

This article uses corpus linguistics (CL) to computationally quantify and qualitatively explain how meaning is represented vis-à-vis core values in the text of the 2009 annual reports of the South African banking sector. Core values prescribe the behaviour, attitude and character of an organisation and may be indicative of an organisation's ideologies. This article draws on the work of Fox (2006a and b), who advances the new development of merging linguistics and corporate communication, and in so doing adopting a transdisciplinary perspective on language. Written text is an ideal method with which to capture an organisation's ideologies through corporate public discourse (CPD) such as annual reports, because the organisation can control the content and distribution. However, as corporate messages are generally written by the ‘entity’ and not by the individual, writers essentially accept the banks’ practicing power through consent. The results illustrate how the repeated use of content words may skilfully position the reader of the text positively towards the South African banking sector's core values represented in the text. Researching language in organisations not only facilitates strategic competence in comprehending communication processes, but can also be beneficial in terms of more credible CPD.     

Online crisis communication response: A case study of fraudulent banking transactions in South Africa

Abstract

The emergence and advancement of information technology – specifically the replacement of face-toface services with innovative self-service technology, such as banking transactions on the Internet – is forcing companies to adopt a proactive approach to online crisis communication response, and to combine the management and control of online messages during a crisis. In the financial services industry, deregulation and the rapid growth in technology have removed entry barriers in the online environment, forcing financial institutions to transform from the traditional brick-and-mortar to click-and-mortar service delivery, while at the same time allaying customers’ fears (and the perceived risk) of fraudulent online transactions. Although studies have been conducted on the adoption, use, perceived risk and purchase intention of self-service technology, limited research has examined the knowledge management of an online crisis communication response. Knowledge management, which focuses on the acquisition, transfer and assimilation of information, is one way in which to manage messages effectively before, during and after an online crisis communication response situation. The main aim of this article is to identify and characterise typologies of the management and control of messages in an online crisis communication response, through an interpretative and critical analysis of fraudulent websites, based on the main premises of the knowledge management approach. This is done through a case study approach: the website of one of the top ten banks in South Africa was studied in terms of it dealt with fraudulent banking transactions, specifically from the knowledge management paradigm.     

Die bindende rol van die nasionale pers in die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing

SUMMARY

Although “science” involves both theory and practice the significance of theory is often questioned in the field of communication studies. Some practitioners, for example, maintain that they need very little, if any, theory since their publics demand “results” and are not interested in theoretical debates. In similar vein it is argued that university students do not know how “to do the job” when they enter the field of communication practice. This article sets out to clarify some of the misunderstandings concerning the nature and role of theory in scientific practice and to show the need for a better understanding and closer cooperation between theorists and practitioners. Apart from suggesting a useful definition of theory for the purposes of the discussion, some common misconceptions concerning theory are addressed. It is argued that communicologists will only succeed in playing a meaningful role in a new South Africa if theorists and practitioners critically assess their own as well as each other's contributions and actively seek ways to cooperate in addressing critical issues in communication within the South African context. The article concludes with a discussion of some pressing problems currently experienced in the teaching of communication theory and offers some guidelines for selecting and presenting theory curricula relevant to communication and communication practice within the changing South African context.     

Introduction: South Africa's multiple languages in a shifting media environment

Abstract

The global South, as the collective for the peripheries of mainstream development is known, is often regarded as merely a beneficiary of Northern-borne notions in the field of organisational communication. The problem is that the Southern context and circumstance do not always mirror those of the North, meaning that these dominant, revered theories are not necessarily applicable. One Southern context is that of the South African mining and construction industries, which is seen as notoriously dangerous, plagued by various obstacles to internal organisational communication (such as illiteracy and diversity), and what Le Roux and Naudé (2009, 29) refer to as ‘historical baggage’. The research question of this article is whether congenital Northern communication theories can be adequately incorporated into the unique global South, in order to fulfil the important task of communicating safety information to employees. The article explores the appropriate implementation of the principles of the excellence theory, the stakeholder theory as well as the relationship management theory, and the research methodology includes interviews, focus groups and quantitative questionnaires at two organisations. The result of the empirical research is the amalgamation and reworking of these theories’ principles into a model for internal safety communication applicable to the South.     

Non-verbal and paralinguistic political communication in sport: an analysis of images of Springbok rugby

Non-verbal communication as a subfield of communication sciences has received increased attention in scholarly publications over the past few decades. Various scholars in the field, such as Real (1975), Ekman (1993), Lunenburg (2010), Garber (2011) and Krauss, Chen and Chawla (2015), emphasise the importance of non-verbal communication in generating, processing and channelling information. Not only facial expressions but also gestures and body language are deemed important. Studies by Real (1975) found that sport plays a crucial role in identity formation and the transmission of meaning and values. In South African sport, rugby-football in particular was used to reflect Afrikaner political prowess and masculinity, and the Afrikaner’s growing influence and dominance. As Salah, Sebe and Gevers (2012) indicate, non-verbal communication should be studied within the context that frames such communication; therefore, their multi-modal approach, used in conjunction with non-verbal communication, is vital for this discussion. In this article, the broader, more inclusive contextual approaches of Salah, Sebe and Gevers (2012) and Lunenburg (2010) are employed to analyse seven iconic photographic images which are steeped in the political dynamics of the period. After focusing on the theoretical aspects of non-verbal communication underpinning the study, the photographs are analysed as examples of impactful non-verbal communication.     

Identity and culture in theorising African perspectives of communication: The case of an African cinematic model

Abstract

Since communication refers to the sharing of information by any effective means, there is no doubt it entails the ability to make meaning of realities. In this sense, communication is cultural as much as it is human. Since that is the case, its theories cannot be fabricated in the abstract, but must be anchored in people's everyday lifestyles and cultures. Hence, like every other discipline, Africanising communication science is as much a possibility as theorising its perspectives from African contexts and experiences. Focusing on the negative challenges confronting the continent might make scholars see only the difficulties that problematise the application of theories to Africa's reality, which only betrays the Anglo-American stereotypical views of the continent. The argument is made here that the starting point of any theory of communication has to lie with the identity and culture of those involved in the communication process. Specifically by using selected films from Africa, this author considers the exploration of African identity and culture (from a bottom-up paradigm) as the primary starting point to tease out relevant theories of communication for and from an African cultural context.     

The meaning of post-apartheid Zulu media

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between certain South African media corporations, growing post-apartheid Zulu media platforms, the size and diversity of Zulu-speaking media consumers, and the historical socio-cultural construction of ‘Zuluness’. This relationship, this author observes, manifests largely through media corporations’ increasing recognition of Zulu people's pride in Zulu (i.e. the language) and ‘Zuluness’ – all of which are historical products of various forms of socialisation. Coopting this pride, profit-driven media corporations are commodifying Zulu and ‘Zuluness’. This commodification via the establishment of Zulu media outlets is paradoxical: 1) it is a transformation of a public and open Zulu cultural sense of ‘being’ into institutionally determined commodities exchangeable for revenue, for the ultimate benefit of media owners other than the masses of Zulus themselves; 2) it is a form of commoditisation that gives Zulu a linguistic profile that has historically been accorded only to English and Afrikaans. This article's argument is further briefly articulated through various intellectual frames: Graham Murdoch and Peter Golding's conceptualisation of critical political economy of communications and culture (2005); John and Jean Comaroff's anthropological analysis of commercialisation of ethnicity (2009); and, for South African specificity and precedent, through Herman Wasserman's reading of Afrikaans media corporations’ commercialisation of Afrikaans language and identity. Then the question is: What does the explored relationship mean for South Africa's multilingualism?     

Who is (South) African? A re-reading of Thabo Mbeki's ‘I am an African’ speech in the context of the banned (later unbanned) Nando's ‘diversity’ television commercial

Abstract

In 2012 flame-grilled chicken company, Nando's, released a 52-second advert showing people of various races and ethnicities vaporising into thin air, one after the other, leaving a lone San Bushman wearing a xai who declares: ‘I'm not going anywhere. You f*#@ng found us here.’ Broadcasters SABC, DStv and etv initially banned the advert, citing fears of a xenophobic backlash. In 1996, former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, who was deputy president at the time, delivered what has become known as the ‘I am an African’ speech at the adoption of the South Africa Constitution Bill. In the speech Mbeki appears to codify ‘Africanness’ into a consciousness not just of history, but a shared history. The conceptual reach of his speech seems to imply that everyone who may share South Africa's history is somehow South African and African. This article argues that the Mbeki speech and the Nando's advert, taken together, draw attention to the simultaneous richness and poverty of citizenship in South Africa, and the potential benefits and contradictions of claiming citizenship in the sense preferred by the two texts. The context is supplied by a sampling of 22 randomly selected online comments centering on the censored advert.     

Russia's African Toolkit: Digital Influence and Entrepreneurs of Influence

Today, Russian influence on the African continent is still anecdotic compared to the People's Republic of China, the United States, and former colonial powers, such as France. Yet, Moscow has committed to reasserting itself as an alternative pole of influence to China and Western countries in the eyes of some African elites. This article analyzes two key components of Russia's African toolkit: its media outlets such as RT and Sputnik, which have managed to impose themselves on the African media landscape, and its entrepreneurs of influence, in charge of influence campaigns of different scopes. The article contends that Russia's media success relies more on the appropriation of its informational content by African actors with their own political agendas than on Moscow convincing African audiences of the legitimacy of its foreign policy or political model, and that entrepreneurs of influence may play a useful, but limited, role in testing new parameters of influence.     

Speak ill of me … but speak,or How to be Afrikaans on the SABC

Abstract

The elections of 1994 marked the beginning of a full-scale restructuring of the broadcasting sector in South Africa. Apart from changes related to ownership, editorial content, the media's position within society at large and its relationship to the government of the day, South African media have also undergone massive changes in terms of their languages of communication and the faces that are seen and heard. These changes were steered, in part, by debates on language equity and identity in South Africa. The politics of language equity in broadcasting reform has been shaped by conflicts over the legitimacy of who is represented, by what means, by whom and for what purposes. Afrikaans especially came under fire because of its privileged position before 1994. While the transition of South Africa to an inclusive democracy in 1994 freed Afrikaans from its apartheid shackles, it also made it one of only 11 official languages (Giliomee 2004: 25). The resultant debates about the position and status of Afrikaans – including that of speakers of Afrikaans – have intensified during the almost two decades post-apartheid. This article explores these discourses to establish the position of Afrikaans and its speakers as far as the South African Broadcasting Corporation is concerned.     

Using the personal influence model to guide theory building for participatory communication in Africa

Abstract

This article argues that the personal influence model (PIM) be used strategically to resolve conflicts and social crises in Africa. It presents PIM as a complementary, analytic discourse to participatory communication, a development paradigm commonly used globally in a variety of social programs. That discourse, as a framework for theory building, is grounded in Africa's emerging and enduring realities: (a) the growing interest of the international community to assist Africa to meet the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, whose focus is to reduce extreme poverty by 2015; (b) the ephemeral nature of Africa's political and social stability that necessitates reducing fear, improving community security, nurturing public trust, and building inter-group relationships, all as preconditions for attaining social development, and for using a community-agency- contracts-partnerships approach to deliver development services; and (c) the palpable congruence of PIM with Africa's extensive social networks, which are typically used as communication tools for social development. Those realities guide four propositions that serve as a heuristic template for testing and refining the participatory approach, thereby guiding theory building in participatory communication in African communities. That template identifies an expansive three-concept research agenda – culture, community governance and rule of law, and economic freedom – that raises questions, defines concepts, measures key variables, and assesses outcomes.