module specification

This module encourages students to critically analyse the nature, value, and techniques of effective corporate relations.

The module also covers the analysis and evaluation of theories, models and issues relating to corporate strategy and more specifically the subsequent implications for corporate communications. It applies a national and international perspective to the topic and enables students to critically analyse and evaluate, emerging issues and trends in contemporary corporate relations. These include corporate strategy, leadership and management, international corporate relations, corporate social responsibility, investor relations, internal communications, communications audits, public affairs issues and crises management.

Key to the module’s focus is the examination of corporate strategy and the inter-relationships between corporate strategy, leadership and corporate communications.

Delivery           Weekly 3-hour CCT using a combination of 1.5 hour lectures, including presentations from outside speakers, and 1.5 hour seminars or 2 hour workshops depending on the learning outcomes of the sessions.

Assessment    1) Corporate Strategy Group presentation.
                          2) Individual Corporate Communications campaign recommendations with                              detailed stakeholder prioritisation and justification.

The module will cover the following aspects of both Corporate Strategy and communications:

• The relationships between public relations, corporate communications and corporate strategy. LO1
• The concept of strategy and strategic planning tools (including Porter’s five forces) LO2
• The role of stakeholders in corporate communications planning LO3
• The role of research and communications audits in planning corporate communications LO2
• Reputation and leadership to include its relationship with communications strategy LO1
• Ethics and PR strategy LO3
• Internal communications LO3
• Communications strategies for crisis and issues management LO3
• Evaluation of Corporate Communication campaigns/programmes LO3

Delivery consists of 3-hour CCT using a combination of lectures, normally 1.5 hours, (including guest speakers) and seminars, normally 1.5 hours and industrial visits. Alternatively and where appropriate 2 hour workshops will also be used for skills based activities and industrial visits.  Where 2 hours class contact is used for workshops the remaining hours will be devoted to drop-in surgeries and/or “on-line” surgery time.

The module will seek to exploit the University’s location in the heart of the Corporate Communications highly London-centric positioning. The location of LMU facilitates these important aspects of the student learning experience.

In particular, guest speakers will be invited from various sectors of the economy and in addition, PR graduates from LMU will also be invited to discuss case studies of their work for clients/employers and their career paths to-date. 

As final year students, applicants will be expected to spend a significant amount of time on all aspects of independent learning including organisational research, media monitoring, journal article analysis and engaging with various aspects of specific corporate relations communication initiatives.

On completing the module students will be able to :

1. Critically evaluate corporate strategy and leadership as well as corporate communications, particularly in regard to how a comprehensive grasp of the former analytical subject will influence the application of the latter communication discipline.
2. Research and appraise varied sources of information in order to understand and appraise an organisation’s corporate performance, corporate strategy and communications.
3. Critically assess the concept of stakeholders and publics in corporate communications strategy and understand the relationship between the two by constructing a stakeholder map for a given organisation, identifying corporate communications priorities for each group and justifying such conclusions.

Description of assessment items.

The initial coursework - Assessment 1 - is designed to add a greater sense of student community and encourage bonding within the context of carrying out specific corporate strategy/communications related tasks with the emphasis on the former element.

Assessment 2 - aims to develop the appropriate learning outcomes within the context of a tailored and real-world corporate communications proposal planning exercise. Students are given the option of designing appropriate recommendations for either a FTSE100 company or a leading NfP organisation chosen at the beginning of the module.  It is designed as a logical and appropriate follow up to the earlier group task

Core Texts:
Cornelissen, J. Corporate Communications, (2017) 5th Edition, Sage Publications
Tench, R and Yeomans, L (2017) Exploring Public Relations, 4th Edition, Pearson (E-text available)

Supporting Reading:
Cees, B, Van Riel, Fombrun, J (2007) Essentials of Corporate Communications, Routledge (E-text available)

Cutlip, S, Center, A, Broom, G, (2012) Effective Public Relations, Pearson (E-text available)

Deegan, D. (2010), Managing Activism. CIPR/Kogan Page.

Grant, R (2010), Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Wiley

Gregory, A., (2009). Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns. CIPR/Kogan Page.

Porter, M (2008), Competitive Strategy, Simon & Schuster (E-text available)

Regester, M. & Larkin, J. (2009) Risk Issues & Crisis Management. MacMillan

Journals:

Journal of Communication

Journal of Public Relations

Journal of Communication Research

International Journal of Communication

Websites:
https://www.cipr.co.uk/
https://www.prweek.com/uk
Media studies.com  http://www.mediastudies.com/international%20news.htm
AMARC (World Association of Community Radio Stations), http://www.amarc.org
Community Media Association, http://www.commedia.org.uk
The Office of Communications- www.ofcom.org.uk
http://www.radiocentre.org/

Social Media Sources:
Facebook
Instagram
Snapchat
Twitter
Flickr