CORPORATE CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION

Lubomir Stoykov

(Summary)

Culture, as a blend of values and communication,as the process of conveyance, reception and perceotion of messages are closely interlinked. However streamlined a corporate philosophy may be, however professional management style and methods may be, they would be rendered meaningless if the links between the individual units wuthin the company, between the employees, the various departaments and sections do not exist. Communication transmits the basic components of corporate culture: tradition and beliefs, conditioning and expectations; fundamental management functions are performed. Can any of thye business goals (as formulated by Peter Drucker): management, innovation, personnel management, financial support, productivity, social commitment and planned income be achived without communication processes?

Would it be possible to issue even the most trivial of regulations and orders without the medium and methods of communication? Wouldn't it be absurd to try to imagine planning, organization and controls without computer analyses, dynamic mail, public addresses, meetings and briefings,t elephons and fax links? Communication, however, is not merely serve culture. It too is a combination of experience, values, a positive approach and innovation in its own right.

The book has been divided into an introduction, two sections, each featuring several charters, a conclusion,a name and subject index and references. The first section deal with the principal aspects of corporate culture - values, customs, ceremonies: organizational conflicts and management, image-making and public relations; dressing for success, organisational subculture and private life. The second section of the book is devited to claryfying the nature and specific traits of business communications: the types and formats of communication within the company - verbal and non-verbal, written and by telephone. Special mention has been made of public addresses - the planning stage, efficient technique and principles.

What are the objective of this book? The author was prinarily inspired by the need to strengthen the awareness of students in particular, of cultural and communication aspects of management. Having in mind that corporate culture and business communication are essential to all business structures in principle, these issues stand as priorities especially in the area of culture, science, education, health care and at non-profit organization. It is there that compassion, care and sensitivity, coupled with social commitment and a humane attitude, are particularly important.

One of objectives of the book was to ptovide students with the basic, we may even say with rudimentary knowledge, of the key concepts of culture and communication in a corporate environment - corporate culture, rites and rituals within the organization, the nature and dynamics of conflicts, public relations, image-making; also business communicatiom, verbal and non-verbal communication, business fashion etc.

The other objective of the book was to foster effective management skills in students, to help them communicate successfully with people and to handle communications technology, to master formats and methods for debate and negotiations, written and telephone communications, and to build and maintain their image and, overall, to develop and implement an effective corporate strategy and to fulfledgedly utilize information and communications tools.

We have employed a mixture of methods, inclusive of fundamental concepts from the theory of communications, management, marketing, psychology, personality sociology, cultural anthropology and social psychology, para- and sociolinguistics and, of cource, the ever growing in popularity boigraphical approach. We have also employed the references method.

Awareness of the need for adequate corporate culture and an effective communications network are a prerequisite for the accelerated comprehensive overhaul of organizations. The lofty goals, inspired slogans, business fashions subscribing to functionality and good looks - these are the factors which enhance human potential, well-adjusted and motivated fulfilment at work. Wich are the main conclusions furnished by the book?

First, the issues tackled here do not appear in isolation from general management and marketing theory and practice. These are issues of exceptional significante for the ultimate formulation and operational success of corporate strategy and individual logistics approaches, in particular, in the most sensitive management areas.

Second, both corporate culture and communications medium need the inevitable but essential practices relevant to analises, planning, programming, coordination and control. Improvised and accidental (randomly used methods) are counterindicative and quantitave profusion does not necessarily always result in qualitative changes project a friendly, comforting, trustworthy and pleasant atmosphere.

Third, rites and rituals, the ability to manage conflict and an advanced public relations system, appropriate dress and the peculiarities of corporate subculture reflect the philosophy, beliefs and accepted style of corporate life. They are the "alloy" which strenghtens relations and contributes to the stability of the business model.

Fourth, although somewhat transformed under pressure from a number of objective and subjective factors (influenced both by pragmatism and understandable corporate goals and means) communications within the company, business relations and contacts are overwhelmingly humanitarian, psychological and moral in nature and precisely for this reason they bear most obviously the imprint of human values,

of the accumulated and rehashed wealth of human life experience, the past and present, and the sense for the future.