Véritable outil de dialogue, la responsabilité sociale des entreprises (RSE) s’est longuement inscrite dans une approche fonctionnaliste d’échange et de partage d’informations, visant à assurer la bonne réputation d’une entreprise. Plus récemment, ce type d’engagement organisationnel a commencé à s’orienter selon une dynamique plus interactionnelle, visant à réduire les frontières entre l’entreprise et ses parties prenantes internes et externes, dans l’optique de créer une vision partagée. Cette vision permet à l’entreprise d’adopter les processus nécessaires lui permettant d’agir en accord avec les besoins exprimés par l’ensemble des acteurs concernés par ses actions. En se basant sur l’approche de la constitution communicationnelle des organisations (CCO), ce mémoire rend compte d’une étude ayant porté sur la manière dont la communication constitue et construit l’engagement sociétal des entreprises autour d’une initiative RSE. Par l’analyse d’entrevues réalisées avec des personnes clés chargées de concrétiser ces engagements pour deux entreprises canadiennes, nous montrons comment un ensemble d’éléments et d’acteurs, qui agissent et interagissent, contribuent aux processus de négociation, de mise en œuvre et d’amélioration des stratégies, des politiques et des démarches portant sur la RSE. / Over the years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been mainly studied and enacted from a functionalist perspective on communication with the objective of ensuring a company’s good standing. More recently, this type of organizational engagement has begun to shift to a more dynamic and interactive approach. The goal is to reduce the boundaries between the company and its internal and external stakeholders in order to create a shared vision. With this approach, the company works on developing processes that are ideally compatible with the needs expressed by all actors concerned by its actions. Based on the Communicative constitution of organizations perspective (CCO), this master’s thesis reports on a study that examined how dialogical forms of communication constitutes and builds the societal and environmental commitment of two companies around a CSR initiative. Four interviews were conducted with key individuals responsible to deliver on these commitments for two Canadian companies. The analysis of these interviews shows how a set of elements and actors contribute to the processes of negotiation, implementation and improvement of strategies, policies and programs devoted to CSR initiatives.

Summary in English and Afrikaans / CSR has become a priority for many key businesses, particularly in light of codes of practice such as the 2009, The King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa 2009 (often referred to as King III Report). Effective CSR is dependent on efficient communication between and with stakeholders and businesses, yet the quality of these communications is seldom evaluated. While the literature emphasises the importance of stakeholder engagement, little attention is given to the communication processes used during stakeholder engagement. This study asserts that Integrated Communication (IC) offers a multi-pronged approach for engaging with an organisations’ diverse stakeholders and, when incorporated holistically, aligns CSR throughout an organisation. This study uses a framework drawn from IC theory as a means of analysing the efficiency of stakeholder engagement within Anglo American South Africa (AASA), a company explicitly dedicated to CSR. A single embedded case study research design is employed, including a review of main CSR documents used by AASA, interviews with key communications staff, as well as a focus group on site with key staff members. The research revealed that although AASA is in many ways doing a laudable job in terms of stakeholder engagement, there are key points at which their efforts break down. This is due, in most part; firstly to a lack of integrated awareness throughout the broader business of what constitutes its stated CSR agenda; and secondly to a lack of executive power within the communications department of the business. It is suggested that by following the proposed IC framework, and investing key communications personnel with executive power rather than merely supportive responsibility, the effectiveness of AASA’s stakeholder engagement would be improved. This would improve the likelihood of an effective strategic CSR’s success, and be of value to the organisation. / Korporatiewe Maatskaplike Verantwoordelikheid (KMV) het 'n prioriteit geword vir baie belangrike besighede, veral in die lig van gedragskodes soos die 2009 derde King verslag oor korporatiewe bestuur. Effektiewe KMV is afhanklik van doeltreffende kommunikasie tussen en met belanghebbendes en besighede, maar die gehalte van hierdie kommunikasie is selde geëvalueer. Terwyl die literatuur beklemtoon die belangrikheid van die betrokkenheid van belanghebbendes, is min aandag gegee aan die kommunikasie- prosesse wat gebruik word tydens die betrokkenheid van belanghebbendes. Hierdie studie voer aan dat Geïntegreerde Kommunikasie (GK) 'n multi-ledige benadering bied vir die aangaan met organisasies se diverse belanghebbendes en, wanneer holisties opgeneem, lyn 'n organisasie deurgaans in met KMV. Hierdie studie maak gebruik van 'n raamwerk wat uit GK teorie as 'n middel van die ontleding van die doeltreffendheid wat met belanghebbendes binne Anglo American Suid-Afrika (AASA) uitvloei, 'n maatskappy uitdruklik gewy aan KMV. 'n Enkele navorste gevallestudie is gebruik, insluitend 'n oorsig van die belangrikste KMV dokumente, onderhoude met sleutel kommunikasie personeel sowel as 'n fokusgroep met belangrike personeel op die terrein. Die navorsing toon dat alhoewel AASA is in baie maniere om 'n lofwaardige werk in terme van die betrokkenheid van belanghebbendes handhaaf, is daar belangrike punte waarop hul pogings kort kom. Dit is te danke oorsaaklik; eerstens 'n gebrek aan geïntegreerde bewustheid regdeur die breër organisasie wat sy verklaarde KMV agenda uitmaak, en tweedens 'n gebrek van die uitvoerende gesag in die kommunikasie-afdeling van die besigheid. Daar word voorgestel dat die voorgestelde GK raamwerk kruis organisatoriese bewustheid van AASA se KMV agenda sou bevorder, en die organisasie dwing om belangrike kommunikasie personeel te belê met uitvoerende gesag eerder as bloot ondersteunende verantwoordelikheid. Dit sal op sy beurt die doeltreffendheid van AASA se betrokkenheid verseker. Die waarskynlikheid van strategiese KMV se sukses te verbeter, en van waarde wees vir die organisasie as geheel. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication)

Thesis (M. Tech. (Language Practice)) -- Central University of Technology, free State, 2013 / Many large organisations tend to focus on their external communication in order to project a positive image to potential clients. However the role of internal communication with employees has often been overlooked, although it remains one of the most important areas of organisational communication. Employees‟ views about their own organisation impact on how external clients view that particular organisation. In order for employees to become advocates of their own organisation, supervisors of different operational units should develop and manage their internal communication activities in a way that motivates and stimulates employees‟ enthusiasm for meeting the organisational goals. Once employees are satisfied with the state of supervisory communication in their respective units, they should be able to identify with their organisation and endeavour to attain its organisation‟s goals. The researcher investigated supervisory communication and its effect on employee satisfaction at the Central University of Technology, Free State, Welkom Campus (CUT, W). The study was conducted through a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods. A questionnaire was distributed among the forty employees, whereas interviews were conducted with the five remaining employees at the CUT, W. The researcher used purposive sampling to select the respondents and participants of the study. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by calculating the Cronbach Alpha coefficient (CAc) of the constructs. All the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire constructs indicated CAc of .0974 which is consistent with a high level of internal stability. The study (quantitative research method) indicated that the majority of the respondents showed overall satisfaction on all CSQ constructs, except Personal Feedback. However, the study has revealed that the Schools of Government Management and Human Resources as well as the School of Accounting have revealed communication deficiencies on constructs such as Supervisory Communication, Divisional Information, Communication Climate, Co-Worker Communication and Personal Feedback. The qualitative findings have revealed communication deficiencies in four categorical themes, namely, lack of: * Communication and commitment to institutional values and policies by Supervisors. * Consultation and openness to ideas. * Performance standards and career-pathing. * Co-worker communication. * Downward flow of information. The researcher recommends that the Schools1 of Government Management, Human Resources and Accounting put more effort into improving their Schools‟ communication climate and giving personal feedback to their subordinates. The CUT, W should develop a Performance Management Plan to appraise their staff. The researcher further recommends that meetings should be held regularly to provide the necessary platform for the employees to raise concerns related to their specific jobs. The researcher also believes that Supervisors should consult with employees in their specific units before making any important decisions.

1 online resource ([13], 172 leaves) / The concept of a service-oriented approach and the role of communication in such an approach is nothing new. Service management and marketing are two constructs that are deemed invaluable for an organisation operating in the current competitive and seamless globalised business environment. Literature proposes that a market-oriented point of view is not enough anymore to achieve a competitive advantage; the core solution to an organisation's problems should lie in a management perspective that understands the internal value-generating processes of customers and employees alike. This study strives to assess the role of internal communication in creating a service-oriented approach. Particular attention is given to the support that communication can provide to an organisation wishing to establish a service-oriented approach. The evolution of the service-oriented approach is discussed along with the internal and external changes that took place in the organisational environment. A service-orientation as a possible answer to environmental changes is discussed. An assessment of the contribution of communication to service orientation was undertaken. The results of the research undertaken have led to the deduction that internal communication at George Municipality is not effective. / COMMUNICATION SCIENCE / MA - SPEC IN ORG COMMUNIC

Cette thèse a pour objectif de comprendre l’articulation des TIC dans l’activité communicationnelle des organisations. Ce qui nous intéresse, est d’analyser comment l’usage des objets mettent en relation, en tension les acteurs dans l’action collective. L’objectif étant d’analyser comment le travail de coopération se construit à travers l’usage des TIC. Il s’agira de saisir les règles et les mécanismes de l’ordre social dans les actes de communication médiée par ordinateur et de cerner la manière dont l’usager négocie ses interactions dans les relations d’interdépendance que suppose le travail collectif.Notre problématique est de comprendre comment le salarié s’approprie les technologies pour communiquer ? Comment il négocie dans ses interactions au sein de micros-réseaux ? Quels sont les rôles qu’il s’attribue dans la théâtralisation de lui-même ?Notre travail de recherche s’inscrit dans le champ de la communication des organisations et plus précisément dans l’étude des approches communicationnelles de la communication médiée par ordinateur au sein des organisations.Ce qui nous intéresse dans notre étude est de saisir, l’articulation entre TIC et travail coopératif, c’est-à-dire de comprendre comment les salariés ajustent leurs usages des technologies pour reconstruire des systèmes de coopération à partir des outils mis à leur disposition. / This thesis has for objective to understand the joints of information and communication technologies in the communication activity organizations. What interests us, is to analyze how the use of objects put in relation, in tension, the actors in the collective action. The objective being to analyze how the work of cooperation builds itself through the use information and communication technology. It will be a question of seizing rules and mechanisms of the social order in the acts of communication mediatized by computer and of encircling well the way the user negotiates his interactions in the relations of interdependence which supposes the collective work.Our problem is to understand how the employee appropriates information and communication technologies? How he negotiates in his interactions within microcomputing- networks? What are the roles that he appropriates in the dramatization of himself?Our research work joins in the field of the communication of organizations and more exactly in the study of the communication approaches of the communication mediatized by computer within organizations.What interests us in our study is to seize, the joint between information and communication technologies and cooperative Work, that is to understand how the employees adjust their practices information and communication technologies to reconstruct systems of cooperation from tools arrangement.

The purpose of the study was to investigate knowledge practices in Nkangala District Municipality (NDM), situated in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The objective of the study was to discover NDM managers’ level of understanding participation and establish any challenges of knowledge sharing in NDM. This study employed qualitative research method. An interview guide was designed to collect data through in-depth interviews. To determine the number of participants for the interview, stratified and purposive sampling methods were used. The study established that there is little knowledge and understanding of the knowledge sharing concept by NDM managers, hence, it is not formally recognised by the institution. However, managers acknowledged that knowledge sharing could play a huge role in improving service delivery. The study recommends that NDM should consider introducing the knowledge sharing concept, through the establishment of a knowledge sharing section. A culture of knowledge sharing could be developed through the development of knowledge sharing policies, which should be aligned to the Integrated Development Planning (IDP) process of NDM. In addition, the study recommends an upgrade on the existing ICT infrastructure and internet connection, especially in rural municipalities. This will ensure that ICT fully supports knowledge sharing activities. The study suggested that an additional study is conducted to establish knowledge sharing practices among the lower level staff members of NDM. / Information Science / M.A.(Information Science)

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This thesis examined how Pennsylvania State University administrators managed the Sandusky sex abuse scandal in 2011. Coombs’ (2006) Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) strategic response strategies were the theoretical basis for this thesis. This study found Penn State primarily demonstrated the corrective action response strategy. This content analysis also uncovered the dominant tone of Penn State’s messages, which was a traditional public relations tone, as defined by Fitzpatrick and Rubin (1995). This content analysis focused on newspaper articles between November 5, 2011 and January 22, 2012, which were collected from The New York Times and State College’s local newspaper the Centre Daily Times that were reporting on the Sandusky crisis. / Department of Journalism

1 online resource ([13], 172 leaves) / The concept of a service-oriented approach and the role of communication in such an approach is nothing new. Service management and marketing are two constructs that are deemed invaluable for an organisation operating in the current competitive and seamless globalised business environment. Literature proposes that a market-oriented point of view is not enough anymore to achieve a competitive advantage; the core solution to an organisation's problems should lie in a management perspective that understands the internal value-generating processes of customers and employees alike. This study strives to assess the role of internal communication in creating a service-oriented approach. Particular attention is given to the support that communication can provide to an organisation wishing to establish a service-oriented approach. The evolution of the service-oriented approach is discussed along with the internal and external changes that took place in the organisational environment. A service-orientation as a possible answer to environmental changes is discussed. An assessment of the contribution of communication to service orientation was undertaken. The results of the research undertaken have led to the deduction that internal communication at George Municipality is not effective. / COMMUNICATION SCIENCE / MA - SPEC IN ORG COMMUNIC