Cambridge Business Association
Effective Internal Communication
Book

Effective Internal Communication

Lyn Smith
Kogan Page, 2005
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Editorial Rating

5

Qualities

  • Overview
  • Background
  • For Beginners

Recommendation

With sections on e-mail etiquette, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, communication theory, paginating a publication and running meetings, authors Lyn Smith and Pamela Mounter attempt to cover a lot of territory in the field of internal communication. Unfortunately, they end up being overly general and diffuse. In addition, they are oriented toward the United Kingdom, and their language and some of their corporate examples assume that the reader is familiar with events there. So, this book may not be terribly useful for American readers or for those who already have experience in internal corporate communication. getAbstract recommends it to anyone who needs a primer on why internal communication is increasingly important in the corporate world.

Summary

An Evolving Process

Internal communication has been called many things over the years, including "staff communication," "employee communication," "industrial relations," "leadership communication" and "change management." These name changes reflect the evolution of relationships and communication between employees and management.

Internal communication is a relatively new discipline, which has gone through three broad phases:

Phase 1

Before the 1960s, employee communication was in its infancy. It originated in industrial relations, and its goal was to enhance employee morale and increase team spirit. Its attitude was welcoming and encouraging.

Phase 2

Between the 1960s and the 1980s, newspaper reporters entered the corporate world. These reporters merged their professional values of objectivity with the corporate mandate to report on the organization and its various activities.

Phase 3

During the late 1980s, employee communication became an extension of marketing. The audience for employee communication expanded to include potential customers and suppliers in addition to employees. Communicators shaped company messages...

About the Author

Lyn Smith has worked in communication for more than 30 years, starting out in film publicity, and later moving into internal communication. She runs a public relations firm. Pamela Mounter is a senior corporate communication consultant. She has written about internal communication for academic and general publications.

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