Public Relations Review, 22( 1): 25-42 Copyright 0 1996 by JAI Press Inc.

ISSN: 0363-8111 All rights of reproduction in any form rcsrrved.

Anders Gonstedt

Integrated Communications at America’s Leading Total Quality Management Corporations

ABSTRACT: This study examines how to create organiza- tional processes that allow communication professionals with a variety of expertise---e.g. media relations, employee communi- cations, investor relations, and advertising-to support each other through coordination and integration. It is a multi-case study of eight of America’s leading total quality management corporations: AT&T, Allen-Bradley, Eastman Chemicals, Fed- eral Express, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Saturn, and Xerox.

Because of their emphasis on systems thinking and inter- departmental integration, these companies offer an opportunity to examine innovative approaches to integration. The findings are based on face-to-face, in-depth interviews with 41 senior managers representing different communication disciplines at the eight companies. Transcripts of the interviews were analyzed with the “constant comparative method.”

The study explores how various total quality management processes, such as teamwork, research, and documentation of processes, support integration among communication depart- ments.

Dr. Anders Gronstedt is assistant professor at the University of Colorado where he teaches in the graduate program of

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integrated marketing communications. He is also a Senior Advisor to Scandinavia’s largest public relations agency, Kreab, and its American afflliatc, Kreab/Strategy XXI.

INTRODUCTION

Corporate communication responsibilities have tradition- ally been divided into separate disciplines, such as media relations, investor rela- tions, marketing communications, and employee communications. In addition, many organizations lack coordination among communication departments work- ing at different business units of the same company. Dividing a complex task like communication into fragments makes each piece more manageable, but it keeps people from seeing important interactions. The focus of this paper is on organiza- tional processes that allow communication professionals with a variety of exper- tise to work successfully together.

Corporations are increasingly recognizing that the fragmentation of the com- munication responsibility prohibits the different departments from supporting each other, at best; at worst it results in counterproductive competition or even schisms. Each department suboptimizes its own performance, instead of working for the organization as a whole.

There has been a movement in the last few years to look at corporate communi- cation in a more comprehensive way. The emerging hybrid among the communi- cation disciplines has a number of labels: “the new PR”,l “integrated market- ing”,2 L“ integrated corporate communications “,3 “integrated marketing commu- nications”,4 or “integrated communications”.5 I will use “integrated communica- tions” in this study because it connotes a broad focus of integrating commun- ications to all stakeholders.

The emergence of a more integrated approach to communications has pro- pelled the large advertising agencies to undertake aggressive acquisitions of public relations and other specialist agencies. In the early ‘9054 only two of the nation’s top ten public relations firms remain truly independent.6 Along with this trend in the industry, there has been a recent surge of scholarly interest in the topic of integrated communications. The past four annual conventions of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (AEJMC) have featured panels on integrated communications. In fact, at least four major universities in the United States have launched master’s programs in integrated communications during the last two years (Northwestern, Colorado, Duke, and Alabama).

In all of this change, a number of d&rent definitions of integrated communi- cations has emerged, ranging from superficial means like unif$ng the appearance of the logotype, to integration of the entire business organization. Caywood has identified seven stages of integrated communications, Nowak and Phelpss have developed three stages, and Duncan9 has defined four.

In this study, integrated communications is defined as the consistent manage- ment of communication to the organization’s various publics and markets, here

26 \‘ol. 22. No. 1

Integrated Communications at America’s Leading Total (LNality Management Corporations

jointly referred to as “stakeholders.” Such a comprehensive approach to manag- ing an organization’s relationships with all its various stakeholders has been developed separately in the marketing and public relations literature. In the PR literature, much attention has been focused on the (‘two-way symmetrical model”10 where there is a dialogue between the organization and all its stake- holders. Meanwhile, the field of marketing is reshaping in a similar way driven by the “relationship marketing” concept. This new paradigm focuses on long term relationships built on trust and commitment to all key stakehoiders: do~~nstre~ with suppliers, upstream with intermediate and final customers, as well as inter- nally among employees, business units and departments, and “laterally” with gov- ernment and interest groups. l l Relationship marketing encompasses many recent marketing trends, including “aftermarketing”, “internal marketing”,‘” “strate- gic alliances”, l* and “co-makership”.

Much of the academic public relations literature in the area of integrated com- munications is focused on power relationships and organizational structure. Many public relations scholars resort to the confrontational rhetoric of “advertis- ing encroachment” and “marketing imperialism”16 over a constructive discussion about how communicators can help each other do a better job. They fear that public relations is being reduced to a set of tactical tools in the hands of advertis- ers and marketers at the exclusion of comm~icatiotls with publics such as local community, activists, financial markets, etc.

The focus of this article is an aspect of integrated communications often thought to be most difficult: how to create organizational processes that allow communication professionals with a variety of expertise (e.g. media relations, employee comm~ications, advertising, and direct marketing) to work success- fully together. There is still very little literature on this topic, and what there is seems to focus on barriers rather than solutions to integration. Beard17 explores the potential for social conflict in the integrated communications team. Prensky, McCarty, and Lucas18 analyzes organizational impediments to integration, such as compensation systems, organizational cultures, and power structures. Petrison and Wang19 examine barriers in the implementation of integrated comm~ica- tions programs. Schultz, Tannenbaum, and Lauterborn20 argue that the three highest organizational barriers to integration are: (1) that marketing decisions are lower-level line functions at most companies, (2) the vertical organizational struc- ture, and (3) the functional specialization of most companies. Ehling, White, and Grunig2 l make a case for a public relations department separate from that of marketing.

The actual processes of integration are a largely ignored issue in the academic discourse. The research question of this study deals with what processes of inte- gration contribute most to improving the quality of an organization’s overall communications. It is a multi case study of leading total quality management (TQM) corporations. Because of the emphasis in TQM philosophy on processes of inter-depa~mental cooperation, leading TQM companies offer an opportunity to examine innovative processes of international coordination and standardiza- tion. The principles of total quality management (TQM) are built on a fully inte-

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grative management effort, from production and finance to marketing and public relations. One of TQM authorit)i W. Edwards Deming’s seminal “14 Points for Management” is, “Break down barriers between departments and staff areas”22 Neave23 points out that this is a recurring theme in Deming’s writing. Some liter- ature notes that TQM-driven organizations are particularly successful as inte- grated communicators.24

METHOD

This article reports on a multi-case study of eight of America’s leading total quality management corporations: AT&T, Allen-Bradley, Eastman Chemicals, Federal Express, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Saturn, and Xerox. The stud?: is based on face-to-face, in-depth interviews with 41 senior managers from drfferent communication disciplines of the corporate headyuar- ters at the eight companies. The companies and the individuals at each company constitute a “theoretical,” rather than a random, sample, i.e. they are selected on the basis of their apparent abilit\; to contribute to the research question. The pur- pose has not been to study people, but to learn from them; conseyuentlv a ran- dom selection of companies and individuals would be inappropriate.

A panel of indusq professionals and professors assisted in selecting the compa- nies. Five of the eight companies in the sample are among the 24 companies that have received this nation’s most coveted yualiq award, The Malcom Baldrige National Qualitv Award. The other three companies in the sample are not Bald- rige Award winners but have equivalent yualit)r standards.

The selected companies vary in terms of geographical location, professional focus vs. consumer focus, and service vs. product orientation. Glaser and Strauss25 argue that such a maximization of differences stimulates the generation of additional categories and theory insights and makes the findings more univer- sally applicable. Table 1 offers an overview of the eight companies in terms of sales, number of employees, and location of headquarters.

TABLE 1

Characteristics of the Eight Sampled Companies

Annual Sales

(billions) Employees

Location of

Headquarters

Allen-Bradley AT&T Eastman Federal Express Hewlett-Packard Motorola Saturn Xerox

$1.5 $63

$3.9 $7.8

$20.3 $17.0

not available) SlS.0

12,600 Milwaukee, WI 317,000 Basking Ridge, NJ

18,500 Kingsport, TN 93,000 Memphis, TN 96,200 Palo Alto, CA

120,000 Schaumburg, IL 8,400 Troy, MT

97.000 Stamford, CT 108.5

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Integrated Communications at America’s Leading Total Qualiy Management Corporations

TABLE 2

Characteristics and Distribution of Interviewees

Distribution of Interviewees by Jobjiuzctions

Corporate Communications/Public Relations:

Corporate Communications/Public Relations Directors Investor Relations Employee Communications Government Relations Media Relations Total

Marketing communications:

Marketing/Marketing Communications Advertising Sales Promotion and Sales Support Marketing Public Relations Total Corporate Public Relations/Marketing Communication Senior V.P.

Allen-Bradley AT&T Eastman Federal Express Hewlett-Packard Motorola Saturn Xerox

Distribution of Interviewees by Companies

Women 13 Men 28

Distribution of Intenriewees @y Gender

Level of Seniori

7

4

7

2

3

211

11 4 2 1

18 2

Senior V.P. One Level under Senior V.P. Two Levels under Senior V.P. Managers at Business Units Retail Managers

Total number of interviewees: 41

3 21 10

5 2

Adds up to 23 because two informants are both PR and employee communications directors.

Table 2 shows which communication disciplines the 41 managers I interviewed represent and the number of managers interviewed at each company. The table shows that there is close to an even split between the number of interviewees rep- resenting public relations/corporate communications and marketing communica- tions. There is a relatively even distribution of the number of interviewees at each company, too. The interviewees were predominantly senior level managers. In

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all, I interviewed three senior vice presidents and 31 managers one or two steps under senior V.P. level.

The Interviews

Individuals in senior managerial positions from the ke) communication staffs at the corporate headquarters were selected in cooperation with a liaison at each organization on the basis of written criteria that were out- lined in the formal request for assistance. Of the 13 companies asked to partici- pate in the study, onl\r six companies declined. They declined for lack of time or reasons of confidentiality.

The interviews took place at the interviewees’ offices and took an average of 60 minutes. The format of the interviews was the “focused interview”.26 My ques- tions were open-ended to empower the interviewees to structure the topic them- selves. This format facilitates a wide range of perspectives and takes into account the complexities of the topic. The interviews were taped and transcribed.

The Constant Comparative Method

Studying an organization in its natural context involves an array of data, most of which are difficult to quantify. Instead, a qualitative “con- stant comparative method” based on personal interviews was used. The process of using the constant comparative method has been elaborated most systemati- callv bv Glaser and Strauss.27 Thev critique social scientists for being trained in i i , the rigorous rules of verification without training in the creative process of gener- ating new theories. Glaser and Strauss describe how the constant comparative method can be used to develop new theory grounded in the perspectives of the members that are studied.

Consonant with the constant comparative method, the interview transcripts and various documents from the companies were coded into categories. By ask- ing what category each interviewee statement indicated, the data moved from an empirical to a conceptual level. These categories were flexible, such that they could be discounted or merged with others into core categories. During the course of the study, the interviews became more and more focused on areas that emerged as particularly important.

Validity and Reliability

The validity and reliability of a qualitative study of this kind can be established through “triangulation,” which is the cross checking of data and interpretations through use of multiple methods and sources. A brief summary of the efforts to build in “triangulation ” in this research follows below:

l I interviewed managers from a variety of companies: service and man- ufacturing based, consumer and business to business marketers, which were geographically spread out.

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Integrated Communicatiuns at America’s Leading Total @ality Management Golporations

* The interviewees represented different disciplines within each com-

pany.

l In addition to the interviews, I drew from books and articles about the companies and from the companies’ own information material.

Such efforts of triangulation improve the generalizability of the findings, but still do not make them generalizable in the traditional positivist sense of the word. A multi-case study research project like this does not provide rationalistic, propositional, and lawlike generalizations that are free from time and context. But it is a powerful means for building what Lincoln and Guba28 label “naturalis- tic generalizations.” Such generalizations are based on the readers direct and vicarious experiences. The judgment of generalization of this study resides with the consumers of the research rather than with the producer. It is up to the reader, based on his or her experiences, to judge what generalizes from one set- ting to another.

The findings of this study can in a later stage be verified with survey research based on random sampling, thus satisfying the traditional requirements of gener- alizability.

FINDINGS

The key processes to accomplish integration among com- munication professionab are summarized in Figure 1. This figure contrasts the traditional “segmented” organization with an “integrated” organization. The study suggests that integration needs to occur at an individual and interpersonal level, departmental and inter-departmental level, and at a corporate, inter-busi- ness unit level.

Individual Level

As the top of Figure 1 indicates, individual communica- tion professionals in segmented organizations have little appreciation for each other. However, in the integrated organizations they develop understanding and appreciation for each other through elaborate processes of recruitment, training, and job-rotation.

The interviewed managers found communication functions to be better coordi- nated if the company has a hiring process where candidates’ abilities to work in teams, to appreciate different communication functions, and to fit into the com- pany culture are predicted. Another important aspect of rec~~ent is to make communication professionals hire their own colleagues. Saturn has taken that concept further than any other company. The company does not have a personnel

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The Segmented Organization

A. Individual Level

B. Departmental Level

C. Corporate Level

c3

B~~slness units pulling In - different dlrent directions

The Integrated Organization

* Job-rot&ion

F@re 1. Summary of processes to accomplish integration

among communication professionals

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Integrated Communications at America’s Lea&H Total Qualify Management Corporations

department. It provides the authority, the processes and the training for every team-from the plant floor to the staff functions-to hire its own team members. The teams evaluate, conduct the background research, the testing and the inter- viewing, and recommend who to hire. Prospective employees undergo a thor- ough training session on the corporation’s culture, values and work processes before and after the recruitment.

I found that communication professionals who receive ongoing skills training in different communication disciplines are better able to integrate their work with people working in other communication functions. The companies in this study spend an extraordinary amount of money and time on training. Motorola invests $120 million annually on training. 29 At Saturn, 10 per cent of every Saturn employee’s salary can be held back if all employees do not complete 92 hours of training every year! Training supports integration because it gives people shared frames of reference, a shared language, and shared approaches to solve problems.

An additional mechanism to support integration among comm~ication profes- sionals is job-rotation. The benefits of rotating communication professionals among different work tasks and/or among different business units of the com- pany are increased appreciation for colleagues in other communication profes- sions, personal networks within the company, and identification with the company rather than with occupational and technical speci~ization. Job rotation was practiced from the most junior to the most senior levels. An example of rota- tion of senior communication executives is the most senior employee communi- cation director at Federal Express who worked for 12 years as a Federal Express marketing manager, and the former employee communication director who is now the senior public relations director. The employee communication director emphasized how his marketing experience made him acutely aware of the impor- tance to integrate employee communication with marketing, “I have a much bet- ter understanding of the process that they use [in marketing] and the impact they can have on employees.” The interviewed managers noted that individuals need to perceive the rotation as a growth opportunity and they need to be provided with professional training.

Training, job rotation, and described hiring processes make communication professionals committed to stay with the company over a long period of time. The interviewed managers found that communication professionals with longer experience in the same company are better able to integrate communication func- tions. Long-term commitment to the company is further encouraged at most of the companies in the study through a no-layoff policy and a well defined process for internal recruitment where even blue collar workers are recruited and trained for communication jobs.

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Departmental Level

The processes discussed above focus on what is tradition- ally defined as human resource or personnel issues. In addition, the interviewees identified a number of processes of coordination within and among communica- tion functions and departments: teamwork, process documentation, open com- munication, shared research, and agency partnership, as illustrated in the next level of Figure 1.

Teamwork

All processes of coordination and integration of communication functions are performed by multi-functional teams. The companies I interviewed distinguish between two forms of teams, the natural work team and the task force team. Both forms are necessary for coordination and need to coexist. The natural work teams are permanent and work together on an ongoing basis. Every manager is a mem- ber of one natural work team and the head of another. The senior V.P. of com- munications, for instance, is typically a member of the senior management team and the head of a natural work team with the directors of public relations, adver- tising, and marketing communications. The public relations director, in turn, might head a natural work team with the managers of employee communica- tions, media relations, and investor relations. The manager of employee commu- nications might then head a team of video production managers and publication editors. Hence, the company consists of a system of interlinked teams. In addi- tion to this permanent structure of interconnected natural work teams, communi- cation professionals are members of numerous task force teams, created on an ad hoc basis for specific projects. Most communication projects that require integra- tion and coordination across communication functions and business units are performed by task force teams.

The managers I interviewed identified a number of factors that are important to successful teamwork: selecting team members with complementary skills, training in teamwork, making consensus decisions, involving the whole team in the initial planning stages, developing communication activities concurrently rather than sequentially, following a step-by-step process to focus the work of the team, and having authority to implement suggestions.

Identi$&ag and Improvin. Processes of Integvatiun

The processes of integration need to be identified and documented in order to be improved. Many of the companies in the study use various TQM tools to docu- ment processes in visual and comprehensive formats, such as flow charts, “organi- zational maps,” PERT-diagrams, and checklists. Such process documentation creates a shared understanding among all communication professionals about the processes of integration, institutionalizes processes of integration thus making the organizations less dependent on certain individuals, facilitates continuous improvements of the processes of integration, enables communication profes-

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Inteyated Communications at America’s Leading Total Qua& Management Cmpmations

sionals to benchmark their processes against other companies, and creates oppor- tunities for cycle-time reduction.

Most communication professionals are unaccustomed to defining work tasks in terms of process steps. Many of them do not think the analytical and disciplined approach of documenting and standardizing processes is conducive to creativity. The supporters of process management argue, however, that even if the develop- ment of communication programs is a unique creative process, there are some pro- cess steps that communication professionals always follow. These steps should be identified, documented, and improved or in some instances totally “reengineered)) to improve integration and coordination among communication functions.

Open Communication

In addition to the “hardware” component to integration4ocumenting pro- cesses-there is an important “software” component to integration, creating an atmosphere of open communications among communication professionals. Much of the interaction among communication professionals takes place infor- mally, in the electronic mail system, over the phones, and in the hallways. The people I interviewed identified a number of ways in which management can facil- itate a free flow of communication in the office and among ofices: by reducing symbolic differences like separate parking lots and cafeterias, driving out fear, placing communication professionals close to each other in cubicles, establishing an infrastructure of e-mail, video-conferences, and other electronic communica- tion channels, establishing open access to senior management and exchanging priority lists.

Such measures can support integration by creating both “participative” and “reflective” openness. 30 Participative openness is the free flow of information among communication functions to keep everyone apprised about what is going on in other parts of the organization and in the external environment. Reflexive openness leads to integration in a deeper sense where communication profession- als learn from each other and challenge each other’s thinking.

Shared Research

Integration among communication functions can be supported by a comprehen- sive process of researching communication needs and communication effects of all stakeholders. A case in point of how information from customer surveys is shared broadly in the organization is Xerox’s Customer Satisfaction Measurement System. Xerox mails out a customer satisfaction survey to 55,000 customers every month! The survey rest&s are sent to the customer relations representatives at the geographical sales district who will make a call to every customer who has identi- fied any dissatisfaction. It is also shared with the design and manufacturing departments for corrective actions. In addition, Xerox and other leading TQM companies have similar processes of surveying employees, mass media, govern- ment, and investors on an ongoing basis and sharing the information in the com- pany. Eastman Chemical Company, for instance, conducts regular “customer

Spring 1996 35

satisfaction surveys” with state legislators and beneficiaries of contributions. I3is- seminating research information from stakeholders to appropriate individuals in the company is an important job responsibility of the communication managers I interviewed.

In addition to the surveys, the communication managers spend much of their time in the field, interacting with stakeholders. Federal Express’ managing direc- tors and above, for instance, are required to spend one day each month out in the field with a sales person. Xerox’ top 25 managers spend one day every five weeks taking customer complaint calls and follow through the complaints until they are resolved. In addition, they are each personally responsible for a few ciients. The corporate communications director, for instance, has client responsibi~~ for the university he graduated from and his PR agency. In addition to these programs for keeping in touch with customers, the companies go to great Iength to keep in touch with another high priority stakeholder group, their own employees. At Sat- urn, for instance, every staff member has a partner in the union. When the media relations manager gives an interview, for example, he will frequently bring his union partner. When Saturn was behind in production last year it asked all administrative staff members to work Saturdays in the plant. Many of Saturn’s retailers have experienced assembly line work as well. The day after a recent meet- ing with the retailers from the Mid-west region, the car dealers went to work on the assembly line for a day.

The managers I interviewed assured me that keeping personal contacts with stakeholders break down walls among the comm~ication departments. A Xerox public relations manager who takes customer complaint calls and who is selling copy machines to clients on a regular basis has no problems relating to his or her marketing colleagues. Similarly, a marketing communication manager who has a union worker as a partner and who has spent time on the plant floor, assembling cars, will understand the importance of integrating employee communications with marketing communications. When all communication professionals know their various stakeholders first hand, instead of just as a set of demographic vari- ables, coordination and integration across communication functions is greatly improved.

In order for outside comm~icatiotl agencies to support coordination and inte- gration, the agencies are intimately involved in almost al1 facets of communica- tions planning and execution. The agency personnel are members of the client company’s integrated communication teams and have veto power over any deci- sions; they are on their client’s electronic network; and all research findings are shared with the agencies. The outside agencies are “communication partners” which have completely integrated their processes with their client companies. Some companies in the study even offer training to their agencies’ personnel. A team of advertising managers at Saturn and its counterparts at the agency, Hal Riney & Partners, went through Saturn’s Outward Bound course in team build-

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ing. The Saturn advertising director I interviewed found that it helped to create an agency partnership when you have jumped off a 30-foot pole into the arms of your agency counterparts!

Curpurate LeveZ

The task of integrating and coordinating communications at the corporate level among semi-autonomous business units around the world is formidable. For instance, AT&T (before the break up) had over 800 public relations professionals reporting to over 20 different business units. The corporate communication man- agers in this study approach this challenge by treating communication profession- als at the business units as their “customers.” The role of the corporate communication department is to counsel, mediate, support, network, act as change agents, and add value to the business units, rather than to control and police them. Hewlett-Packard’s corporate marketing communication staff has even developed a database to profile its “customers” to better meet their needs.

Council Meetings

All companies in the study claimed that their “council meetings” are absolutely critical to coordination of communication professionals at independent business units. The companies have regularly occurring meetings where each communica- tion function-public relations, advertising, and employee communications-get together for a few days. Most of the eight companies have recently organized joint council meetings, where communication professionals from all disciplines get together. Motorola is a case in point. It has had a “Public Relations Council” for 27 years. A few years ago, similar meetings were instituted for Motorola’s advertising professionals. In addition, Motorola’s employee communication man- agers meet twice a year in a “strategy steering committee.” In the fall of 1994, Motorola hosted its first “Global Communication Forum,” which is a joint meet- ing for all advertising, marketing communication, public relations, and employee communication professionals worldwide. Similarly, Xerox’s ‘World-Wide Com- munication Council” has representatives from virtually all the communication functions around the world, including employee communications, public rela- tions, marketing communications, and advertising. The company’s communica- tion director explained that it meets four times a year to “integrate messages” and to “set a direction for the year.”

The communication councils support coordination by providing opportunities for communicators worldwide to develop personal relationships among each other, coordinating communication projects, sharing best practices, learning from each other’s mistakes, learning about the company, providing professional training, improving the status of communication in the company, and making communication professionals more committed to the organization as a whole. Increasingly, the council meetings are supplemented with electronic bulletin boards, where participants send electronic messages simultaneously to everyone else who subscribes to the same board.

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Teamwork Across Business Units

Typically, ideas for improved coordination bubble up at the council meetings, and the council assigns a team to carry them out. Some teams are permanent and some are ad hoc. One example of how such teams coordinate corporate commu- nications is AT&T’s event marketing team, which makes a needs assessment of what type of event marketing projects are appropriate for each business unit. Based on the assessment, the team analyzes the 2,000 proposals that AT&T receives every year for sponsorships of events. The team decides which proposals to turn down and distributes proposals worth consideration to appropriate busi- ness units.

Mediation and Consdtatiun

The corporate communication staff gets directly involved in coordination of busi- ness units through mediation and consultation. A case in point of the mediating role of the corporate oflice is when Hewlett-Packard’s computer division devel- oped an advertising campaign with the theme “Think Again.” The message of the campaign was that computer buyers should not just go with the market leaders, but expand their short lists of computer suppliers to include Hewlett-Packard. This campaign message contradicted the communication objectives of Hewlett- Packard’s laser and IncJet printing divisions, which are leaders of their respective markets. HP’s corporate marketing communication department brought the par- ties together and mediated a solution that was acceptable to all involved business units.

In addition, the corporate communication staff supports integration by acting as internal consultants. Motorola’s communication director explained, “One of my jobs is to go out there to consult. We help them hire people, too. Any way we can be of assistance to them and add value.” Through such consulting they trans- fer important information and experiences among business units, help business units to discover opportunities for integration with each other, and steer them away from potential conflicts.

Infiastvucture to Communicate with Employees

In addition to coordinating the business units, the corporate communication staffs I interviewed are building up infrastructure to reach all employees first hand. Federal Express, for instance, owns one of the world’s largest private satel- lite television networks. The company can reach virtually all its employees in North America through its satellite network which is down linked to 1,200 sites in U.S. and Canada, 16 sites in Europe, and it has plans to expand the network into the Far East and South America. The satellite television networks are used for daily news updates and occasional feature stories about such events as new services or new management appointments. The programs are automatically taped and re-played on television monitors in all Federal Express’ break rooms continuously throughout the day by an automatic video play back system. The

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television networks are not just used for a one-way flow of information. Federal Express occasionally airs live shows where the CEO, Fred Smith, addresses the key issues facing the corporation and employee concerns. Any employee can pick up the phone and speak live on the air to the CEO. The calls are not screened. One interviewee characterized it as a “Larry King Live-style format.”

Four other companies in the sample of eight are developing television networks modeled after Federal Express. Whenever the company needs to send a major message to customers or other external stakeholders, employees are informed first through the infrastructure.

Curpurate Vision and Plannin. Process

Finally, the entire integration process needs to be supported by a strong vision and planning process from senior management. Everyone I interviewed showed a genuine commitment to the vision of their companies, for instance to “show that Americans can beat the Japanese in the small car market” (Saturn); to “provide superior solutions for the plant floor” (Allen-Bradley); to be “the world’s pre- ferred chemical company” (Eastman); to be “the document company” (Xerox); or to deliver packages “absolutely, positively overnight” (Federal Express). The managers I interviewed pulled out cards from their shirt pockets with their vision, mission, philosophy and annual goals. These statements were prominently featured wherever I turned in the buildings. They hung as framed pictures in the lobbies, the coffee rooms, and in the offices. They were on the covers of the annual reports and the employee magazines. The vision describes how the organi- zation should be several years in the future, and needs to be long-term and broad enough to be adaptable in a changeable environment. At companies with a vision that is clearly understood and supported by everyone in the organization, the communication effort is driven by an overriding purpose.

Companies need to walk their talk by integrating the vision into the planning process. A majority of the companies I studied have recently adopted a Japanese corporate-wide planning process called “policy deployment” to integrate the departments and achieve the vision. This is a process where every unit in the organization plans how it can contribute to a small number of company-wide policies, sometimes referred to as “break through objectives,” which will move the company towards its vision. Policy deployment can be contrasted with “Man- agement By Objectives,” MBO, as it has been practiced in the U.S., where top management develops a list of maybe 30 objectives that it wants to accomplish during the year and gives different departments different and often conflicting objectives without providing any means to accomplish them. Policy deployment, on the other hand, integrates the planning of the entire business organization, including product design, manufacturing, and accounting. This is the ultimate form of integrated communications that involves the entire business organiza- tion. Integrating the work of everyone in the company, not only of communica- tion professionals, is necessary because companies communicate with everything they do. The performance of the products and services, accuracy of the billing,

Spring 1996 39

and treatment of employees, are all communicating powerful messages to the stakeholders.

CONCLUSION

It seems to be a consensus in the academic public relations literature that the various public relations functions need to be consolidated in a single department but separated from marketing.31 The findings of this study challenges this preoccupation with power relations and organizational, structural arrangements between marketing and public relations. None of the eight compa- nies I studied would be considered integrated, judged by their organizational chart. Their communication professionals are dispersed in different departments with different reporting relationships. Yet, they are closely integrated through the various process analyzed in this study.

This study re-focuses the integrated communications discourse from the con- troversial issues of, ‘who is in charge?” and “who belongs to what department?” to an emphasis on developing more knowledge about processes of integration. Integrated communication is not necessarily about putting public relations, mar- keting communications and other communications professionals into a single department, but about integrating their processes.

Acknowledgment: The author gratefully acknowledges the financial support from

Ketchum Public Relations and the Institute for Public Relations Research and Education,

and he appreciates the valuable help from Professor Clarke Caywood at Northwcstcrn University, Frank Durham, and his doctoral committee members: Esther Thorson, Mark

P. Finster, Clifton F. Conrad, Lewis Friedland, and Ivan L. Preston.

NOTES

1.

2.

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