Chapter 02 – Communicating Strategically
Teaching Note
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Chapter 2
Communicating Strategically
This chapter provides an excellent bridge from the traditional material that most
management communication courses cover on communication strategy to material
that is applicable for business students who will encounter communications
challenges daily. I would strongly urge you to read Chapter One in Mary Munter’s
Guide to Managerial Communication, 9th Edition, published by Prentice-Hall in 2011,
as a companion piece to this chapter. This is a very useful book that is successful in
getting students to consider the “how” and “why” of their communications
strategies.
I think the chapter is self-explanatory, so will not go into more detail here, but Janis
Forman of UCLA and I have written a chapter called “The Communication
Advantage: A Constituency-Focused Approach to Formulating and Implementing
Strategy,” in The Expressive Organization, ed. Majken Schultz, Mary Jo Hatch, and
Mogens Holten Larsen, published by Oxford University Press in 2000. It gives more
examples and color that will help you to teach this chapter, if you are not familiar
with either Aristotle or Munter.
In my view, the most important concepts in this chapter are the notions of corporate
credibility and constituency analysis. You can give students many interesting
exercises in association with these concepts. For example, have them analyze the
credibility of a group of local companies by surveying people in the community. Or
Another possibility for the material in this chapter is to work with the faculty who
teach management or strategy at your school to discuss the connection between
corporate communication and the corporation’s mission, vision, and values. You
could organize group projects where students think about how mission and overall
strategy are connected to communication in specific companies, identifying how
particular company actions reflect (or fail to reflect) different components of their
mission. These sorts of strategic alliances with other faculty help to strengthen the
overall curriculum at your school while anchoring this subject through associating
its concepts with more familiar, established fields like strategy. Reading “The
Strategic Communication Imperative,” an article I wrote with Robert Howell and
Karen Beck, published in the Spring 2005 edition of MIT Sloan Management Review
Chapter 02 – Communicating Strategically
Teaching Note
(included), will also help illustrate the importance of connecting corporate
communications and overall corporate strategy.
Just getting students to focus on the notion of communication as something that
must be strategic, which you really have to think about and plan for, rather than
something to approach on an as-needed basis, is a huge step in the right direction.
For those of you using Corporate Communication as a module in a larger survey
course on communication, you should probably start with this chapter rather than
the first chapter in the book. You will find that the comparisons to what goes on at
the individual (or micro level) and what goes on at the macro (or corporate level) in
terms of communication strategy are not really that different.
Teaching Note
Carson Container Case
This is a case based on many others you may be familiar with. I think it is deceptive
in that students tend to think it is easy because it is so short. Instead, the case can be
an excellent focus of discussion for classes ranging from 30 to 90 minutes.
The way I teach the case is to start by getting students to discuss the first case
question: “What problems does Carson Container Company have that will affect its
communications?” for about 30 minutes. Once you have discussed these problems,
Carson Problems and Haskell’s Problems
Here are the kinds of problems you are likely to get from students.
1. Bad timing – busy season, reporting rules start immediately.
2. Weak credibility for Haskell.
3. Wrote to wrong audience.
Chapter 02 – Communicating Strategically
Teaching Note
4. Was not clear about his true objective (to centralize).
5. Didn’t listen to Gunn – visiting would have helped.
6. No motivation for managers to respond.
7. Materials managers were not positive about doing what Haskell asks.
8. Communication is one-way.
9. Board of directors irrelevant to materials managers.
10. Haskell didn’t have enough information.
Relate Back to Strategy
When you analyze the case in terms of the corporate communication strategy model
put the model up on an overhead transparency or on a PowerPoint slide and write
in students’ comments about all four parts of the model.
1. Objectives
“As a result of reading Haskell’s memo, the materials managers would notify
him of contracts over $100,000.” If this were his objective, he has failed
miserably since the case states: “. . . headquarters heard nothing from plants
about contracts being negotiated with suppliers.”
2. Resources
Students may not immediately identify the resource investments in how
Haskell’s has delivered his message to the materials managers. This is not a
major communications campaign that requires advertising, newsletters, or
other expensive materials. Haskell has simply sent out an e-mail announcing
the new guidelines for reporting contracts.
Chapter 02 – Communicating Strategically
Teaching Note
The limiting resource in this case study is time. Gunn has suggested that
Haskell meet with materials managers individually. Haskell rejects this
suggestion because he is too busy to travel. Would a greater time investment
have led to a different outcome?
3. Credibility
Students will typically point out that Haskell has “rank” credibility in that he
is a vice president. But, in fact, his rank is useless in this organization because
of its decentralized focus.
Finally, at the personal level, he should have tried to gain credibility through
Gunn, who obviously has rapport with managers in the plants. Instead, he
dismisses her advice to go visit and doesn’t ask her to help him build
relationships with plant managers and materials managers.
4. Constituency Analysis
Haskell addresses his memo to the materials managers, but perhaps he
should not have begun with this constituency. Consider the reporting system
within the company—plant managers might oversee materials managers and
their purchasing practices, but would not have the same direct connections
with local suppliers. These plant managers, therefore, may have been more
receptive to Haskell’s efforts to change procurement procedures.
The constituencies will not likely be happy about what Haskell has to say
because he challenges them in his memo: “. . . when we are finding it more
difficult to secure good deals at the local level.” In addition, he is taking
authority away from individual plants with his plan.
Finally, in terms of constituency analysis, Haskell is really an unknown
quantity, but his hidden agenda is quite clear. So, from the managers’
Chapter 02 – Communicating Strategically
Teaching Note
perspective, someone they don’t know is trying to take away their authority.
They are unlikely to be positively disposed.
5. Delivering Messages Appropriately
Haskell picked the wrong channel for his message. The one-way nature of a
written memo left little room for consultation with the materials managers.
He should have followed Gunn’s advice and met with them face–to-face.
6. Response
The response is meant to be a contrast in tone with Haskell’s memo. Notice
again that they demote him, point out that he’s an outsider (“Welcome to
Carson!”) and end with a smiley-face emoticon ( : – ) ). In all, he didn’t get the
desired response, so his communication is a failure.
Solutions
Ask students to brainstorm solutions given the problems and their strategic
analysis. Here is what you are likely to get:
1. Go out and meet the materials managers: This would have been a great
idea if he had done it when Gunn told him to do so, but it’s hard to imagine
him meeting them without talking also to the VP of Operations and the plant
managers.
2. Call materials managers in for a group meeting: This is probably not a
3. Call the managers on the phone: I like to role-play this when students
suggest a phone call. This is an example of using a bad communications
channel to solve his problems. The managers don’t know him, which makes
this less than optimal. And remember, the e-mail already demoted him; a
little bit of humor works well here.
Chapter 02 – Communicating Strategically
Teaching Note
4. Meet with the VP of Operations: This is probably the best place to start.
You can also role-play this interaction. I play the smug VP of Operations to
their Haskell. You can show how hostile the VP of Operations is likely to be
and how she now has the upper hand.
I usually end by pointing out that none of these solutions are great and that he
would have been much better off if he had thought about communications
strategically before writing and sending the memo.