A new conceptual framework to strengthen internal corporate image: A stakeholder-inclusive perspective

The potential influence that internal stakeholders’ image of the organisation could have on external stakeholders’ image of the organisation, is strongly supported in the literature. This research project attempted to address the need for an approach that facilitates employee engagement, coupled with a leadership approach that allows collaboration, inclusion and cooperation within the organisation, to strengthen internal corporate image. This article reports on the results of the second phase of this research project, where a proposed stakeholder-inclusive conceptual framework for strengthening the internal corporate image, built from a stakeholder-inclusive perspective as depicted in the King III report on corporate governance, was explored in practice. A quantitative, self-administered web-based survey was conducted with the 2014 winners of the Deloitte Best Company to Work For (BCTWF) survey. The results not only indicated that these organisations’ practices resonate with the proposed stakeholder-inclusive framework, but also that the principles of the framework, namely stakeholder theory; integrated internal communication; peace arena; stakeholder engagement by means of the AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standard (AA1000SES) and responsible leadership and stewardship correlate with one another. The stakeholder-inclusive conceptual framework expands on the body of knowledge on corporate image and provides corporate communication professionals with a guide for strengthening their organisation’s internal corporate image, which could serve as starting point for strengthening the external corporate image and eventual corporate reputation.     

Forming “affective communities” and narrative forms of affection: Damon Galgut’s Arctic Summer

This article examines Arctic Summer (2014) by Damon Galgut, a biographical novel focused on a period in the life of British author E.M. Forster. My inquiry is concerned with narrative form and aesthetics that limn affiliations between the two authors’ creative and sexual sensibilities and struggles, and how forms of affective affiliations are forged through narration and narrative stylistics. I discuss critical responses to Galgut’s oeuvre and trends in South African literary production post-1994, to introduce ideas about his non-conformist creative impulses. I reflect on hybrid narrative form, generic ambiguities, and aesthetics to consider how affective affiliations are fashioned in Arctic Summer and beyond the boundaries of the text when compared to Galgut’s In a Strange Room (2010). Leela Gandhi’s thoughts on “affective communities” inform my argument that the representation of sexuality and bonds of affection in Arctic Summer enables formal and nonconformist affinities across temporal and spatial registers.     

Assessing and managing the threat posed by fixated persons in Australia

In July 2013, the Australian State of Queensland established the first fixated threat assessment service outside Europe to specifically assess and manage lone, fixated persons. The Queensland Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (QFTAC) is a collaboration between the Intelligence, Counter-Terrorism and Major Events Command of the Queensland Police Service and Queensland Health’s Forensic Mental Health Service. It has been modelled on the original Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC) which has been operating in the United Kingdom since 2006, with modifications to reflect local needs and differing mental health and legal practices. This paper describes the background to the development of these services, the rationale for their expansion to the Asia Pacific region, and outcome data for QFTAC’s first 12 months of operations. These findings support the efficacy of proactive FTAC-style approaches to managing the threat posed by fixated individuals to public figures and the wider community.     

An integrated crisis communication framework for strategic crisis communication with the media: A case study on a financial services provider

Abstract

In order for organisations to survive in an ever-changing milieu in the current business environment, sufficient crisis communication and management practices need to be in place. Despite this, organisational crises are often inefficiently managed, which could be ascribed to the lack of strategic management of crises (Kash & Darling 1998: 180). This article explores the lack of strategic crisis communication processes to ensure effective crisis communication with the media as stakeholder group. It is based on the premise that the media are one of the main influencers of public opinion (Pollard & Hotho 2006: 725), thereby necessitating the need for the accurate distribution of information. Furthermore, the study focuses specifically on the financial industry, which is arguably more sensitive and thus more prone to media reporting because financial services providers manage people's money (Squier 2009). A strategic crisis communication process with the media is therefore proposed, facilitated through an integrated crisis communication framework, proposing a combination of integrated communication (IC) literature, with emphasis on Grunig's theory of communication excellence, to build sustainable media relationships through two-way communication; and a crisis communication process that has proactive, reactive and post-evaluative crisis communication stages, thereby moving away from seeing crisis communication as a predominantly reactive function.     

Towards a new model to describe the organisation–stakeholder relationship-building process: A strategic corporate communication perspective

Abstract

Successful organisations depend on stakeholder perceptions to address changes in turbulent organisational environments, report on the social and environmental impact of activities, the prevalence of public activism, globalisation, emerging issues and crises, and the need to be good corporate citizens through ethical and socially responsible behaviour. Despite the current emphasis on stakeholder relations and management, a lack of research exists on how to build these relationships. This article aims to report and discuss the findings of a study that explored the lack of organisation–stakeholder relationship (OSR) building models, to emphasise the elements and development of an OSR and highlight the need for a generic, strategic, integrated approach for sustainable OSR to contribute towards organisational effectiveness. This will be done using an exploratory literature review to constitute a conceptual framework for OSR building, of which the principles of the framework will be measured among leading Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed South African organisations, by means of a quantitative web-based survey and qualitative one-on-one interviews. The dominant focus on organisational stakeholders has provided added impetus and importance to the role of corporate communication, hence, this article will simultaneously endeavour to highlight the importance of practising corporate communication strategically, by emphasising its role in OSR.     

Dispositional, Environmental, and Context-Specific Predictors of Children's Threat Perceptions in Everyday Stressful Situations

Threat appraisals are a key component of the coping process, yet little is known about the factors that influence children's perceptions of threat during stressful situations. The present study examined predictors of threat perceptions in response to everyday stressors among 215 fourth and fifth graders, and their parents and teachers. Children's internal resources, the family environment, and qualities of the stressful encounter were studied for their contributions to perceptions of threat. Children's ratings of maternal and paternal acceptance and maternal ratings of family expressiveness were associated with lower perceptions of threat; children's ratings of other-culpability were associated with higher perceptions of threat. Although threat perceptions were associated with coping behavior, threat perceptions did not mediate associations between family, contextual, or dispositional influences and coping. Results are discussed in terms of current stress and coping theory.     

Cloning and stem cell research: a critical overview of the present legislative regime in Australia and the way forward

The application of stem cell research in biomedical science has recently sparked debates similar to the calls nearly 25 years ago for a ban involving recombinant DNA. This article critically examines the present legislative framework in Australia governing stem cell research and cloning, after briefly seeking a clear understanding of what these procedures involve, as well as suggesting an ethical paradigm within which these issues can be approached. The deficiencies in the proposed legislative framework are also highlighted. Australia has a duty to future generations to pursue the benefits unlocked by this type of research and it is hoped that the next two years will lead to more insights regarding the potential of such research and hence a revision of the present legal impediments.