Abstracts in English and Afrikaans / There is a growing recognition of the role internal communications play in the overall functioning of an organisation. Scholars link effective internal communications with business performance and in the context of a government institution it means that in order to improve service delivery they must pay attention to the effectiveness of their communication practices. To execute its mandate effectively the Government Communications and Information systems (GCIS) as an entity responsible for managing communications on behalf of government has to ensure that it leads by example in this regard. The purpose of this study is to explore and describe communication experiences of GCIS employees. To answer the research question a cross-sectional survey of n=40 randomly selected employees was conducted at the GCIS head office. The survey resulted in initial findings which were further explored by interviewing nine (n=9) purposefully selected individuals. Results indicate that employees are satisfied with communications in general. Evidence suggests that not all communication channels are considered reliable however, perceptions of trust or reliability regarding channels is influenced by an inherent culture at the GCIS that equates authority and rank with trust. Concerns were raised with official channels in particular which are perceived as slow, outdated and irrelevant, blamed in part on bureaucratic processes. Findings show that there is a strong positive relationship between communication satisfaction and job satisfaction in line with findings from other studies. This underscores the importance of effective internal communication practices in state institutions. If communication is effective, evidence suggests that it will lead to employee job satisfaction. It is therefore recommended that the GCIS conducts a strategic review of its internal communication systems and practises in order to evaluate their effectiveness in helping to achieve communication goals of the organisation. A follow up study be conducted at the GCIS to measure the implementation of recommendations made in this study. Furthermore, research is recommended within the government sector as this will provide a holistic view of communication experiences within state institutions in South Africa, in particular the influence of bureaucratic systems. / Daar word toenemend erkenning gegee aan die rol wat interne kommunikasie speel in die algemene funksionering van 'n organisasie. Geleerdes koppel effektiewe interne kommunikasie met ondernemingsprestasie, en in die konteks van 'n regeringsinstelling beteken dit dat hulle, ten einde dienslewering te verbeter, moet let op die effektiwiteit van hul kommunikasiepraktyke. Om sy mandaat effektief uit te voer, moet die Regeringskommunikasie- en Inligtingstelsels (GCIS) as 'n entiteit wat namens die regering verantwoordelik is vir die bestuur van kommunikasie verseker dat dit 'n voorbeeld hiervan is. Die doel van hierdie studie is om kommunikasieervarings van werknemers van GCIS te verken en te beskryf. Om die navorsingsvraag te beantwoord, is 'n deursnee-opname van (n=40) lukraak geselekteerde werknemers by die GCIS-hoofkantoor gedoen. Die opname het gelei tot aanvanklike bevindings wat verder ondersoek is deur nege (n =9) onderhoude met doelgerigte geselekteerde onderhoude. Die resultate dui daarop dat werknemers oor die algemeen tevrede is met kommunikasie. Bewyse dui daarop dat nie alle metodes as betroubaar beskou word nie, maar dat persepsies van vertroue of betroubaarheid ten opsigte van kanale beïnvloed word deur 'n inherente kultuur by die GCIS wat gesag en rang met vertroue vergelyk. Daar is ook kommer uitgespreek met amptelike kommunikasiekanale wat gesien word as stadig, verouderd en irrelevant, en deels die skuld op burokratiese prosesse. Bevindinge toon dat daar 'n sterk positiewe verwantskap bestaan tussen kommunikasiebevrediging en werkstevredenheid, in ooreenstemming met bevindings van ander navorsers. Dit onderstreep die belangrikheid van effektiewe interne kommunikasiepraktyke by staatsinstellings. As kommunikasie effektief is, dui die getuienis daarop dat dit tot werkstevredenheid van die werknemers sal lei. Daarom word aanbeveel dat die GCIS 'n strategiese oorsig van sy interne kommunikasiestelsels en -praktyke uitvoer om die doeltreffendheid daarvan te evalueer om die organisasie se kommunikasiedoelwitte te bereik. n Opvolgstudie word by die GCIS uitgevoer om die implementering van die aanbevelings wat in die studie gemaak is, te meet. Verder word navorsing binne die owerheidsektor aanbeveel, aangesien dit 'n holistiese siening bied van kommunikasie-ervarings binne staatsinstellings in Suid-Afrika, veral die invloed van burokratiese prosesse. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communications)

Den här uppsatsen undersöker hur Folkhälsomyndigheten, Socialstyrelsen och Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap (MSB) konstruerar identiteter och gemenskaper med de inledande anförandena under de myndighetsgemensamma pressträffarna om covid-19. Materialet utgörs av 40 transkriberade anföranden från perioden mars 2020 till januari 2021 som analyseras i tre steg. I det första identifieras samtliga personliga pronomen i subjektsposition, och VI- och MAN-omtalens klusivitet kategoriseras. I det andra bestäms vilka processtyper som talarna realiserar med omtalen utifrån systemisk-funktionell grammatik. Därefter grupperas omtalen i tre gemenskaper: Myndigheten, Situationen och Allmänheten. I det sista steget analyseras graden av dialogicitet i gemenskaperna utifrån appraisalteorin. Därtill identifieras ett urval samhörighetsmarkörer. Resultatet visar att de tre myndigheterna använder sex typer av VI och fyra typer av MAN. De föredrar att tala om Myndigheten och framställa den som handlingskraftig och kunnig, en karakterisering de också förutsätter att lyssnaren delar. Situationen som gemenskap präglas av beskrivningar och tolkningar, medan Allmänheten formas med uppmaningar och instruktioner. På vilket sätt myndigheterna omtalar gemenskaperna, och i vilken utsträckning de öppnar för andra perspektiv, varierar. Skillnaderna i de språkliga valen kan till viss del förklaras av myndigheternas skilda uppdrag och målgrupper. Men det utbredda användandet av mottagarinkluderande VI bör studeras vidare för att fastställa om inkluderandet är ett uttryck för en tillfällig närhetsskapande kriskommunikationsstrategi eller en indikation på en ytterligare informalisering av myndighetsspråket. / This thesis investigates how three Swedish public authorities – the Public Health Agency of Sweden, the National Board of Health and Welfare, and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency – establish identities and alliances in their initial statements during the joint press conferences on covid-19. The material consists of 40 statements made between March 2020 and January 2021. The transcribed statements are analysed in three steps. First, each personal pronoun in the subject position is identified, and the clusivity of first-person plural VI (we) and generic MAN (one) are categorized. Second, the process associated with these pronouns is determined using the systemic functional grammar framework. The categories are then grouped into three speaker-included alliances: The Authority, The Situation, and The General public. In the third step, based on the Appraisal framework these alliances are analysed by the level of engagement stated by the speaker. A selection of lexical indicators of belongingness is also identified. The result shows that the three authorities use six types of first-person plural VI and four types of generic pronoun MAN. They prefer to talk about The Authority and portray it as vigorous and knowledgeable, a characterization they expect the listener to share. The Situation is characterized by descriptions and interpretations, while The General public is established with exhortations and instructions. How the authorities define the alliances and to what extent they are open to other perspectives varies. The differences in linguistic choices can, to a certain degree, be explained by the authorities’ different responsibilities and target audiences. However, the wide dispersive use of a first-person plural VI which includes the public should be further studied to determine if it expresses a crisis communications strategy to temporarily achieve proximity to the citizens or indicates a continuing informalization of the official language.