Vol 27, No 1-2 (2008)

Positive reputation is a valuable corporate asset and needs to be managed proactively in
response to new threats entering the marketplace. Recent events have shown that the reputation
of an organisation can take years to build, yet takes only a few seconds to destroy. In this study,
it is suggested that knowing the top determinants of current reputation management can only
help to enhance the business objectives of an organisation by contributing to the bottom line
and gaining a competitive advantage. This paper looks at what communication managers in toplisted
companies operating in South African consider the top determinants of managing corporate
reputation in their organisations to be. The paper draws links between managing organisational
reputation and stakeholder management, and provides valuable findings for communication
specialists working in positions of management.

Apart from historical and contextual factors complicating the mining industry, Lonmin Platinum’s
management of employee relationships was further complicated by its diverse workforce of
approximately 20 000 employees consisting of literates, semi-literates and illiterates. In addition,
the company comprised five business units, each with their own corporate identity. Within this
context it was expected that Lonmin’s relationship with its employees would take some strain.
While the relationship between corporate image and stakeholder management has been debated,
the impact of symbolic corporate identity elements on specific relationship dimensions has not yet
been investigated and is addressed in this article by means of the following research question:
What is the relationship between employees’ perceptions of symbolic corporate identity elements
and employer-employee relationships at Lonmin Platinum? This study indicated a relationship between employees’ perceptions of how effectively the company reached it objectives, specifically a safe working environment, a healthy working environment,
socio-economic empowerment and accountability, and the quality of its employee relationships.

The rational structure tradition of organisational communication is much referenced in academic
literature. The article outlines some key characteristics of this tradition. Some important theorists
to have contributed to this tradition include the great sociologist, Max Weber; the great champion
of scientific management, Fredrerick Taylor; and Luther Gulick, the champion of the division and
coordination of work. The MacDonaldised organisation is used to illustrate, not to evidence, one
form of organisation that has taken key aspects of the rational structure tradition to a fatal end.
This article attempts to overview this tradition and thereby to contribute an ethics perspective
focusing on the issue of the denial of the individual.

Within an evolving business environment, it is central to the continuing success of organisations
that internal communication be taken into consideration in the quest to increase organisational
competitive advantage. This paper explores the importance of an alignment existing between
internal organisational values and the external organisational image. As such, to guarantee
the promotion of employee satisfaction through an internal organisational alignment strategy,
improvement should be made to internal communication strategies. As it implemented internal
branding initiatives so as to align internal stakeholders with the core organisational values and its
external corporate brand image, Absa Bank is the chosen sample. Through qualitative research,
the participants concur that the aim of the internal branding initiative is to improve the quality of
service rendered, to retain external customers, and to impact positively on the bank’s profitability.
Based on the research, the data analysis reveals that a key contribution is the conceptualisation
of the term ‘integrated organisational communication’.

There is no formal regulation of language use in the advertising industry to correspond to the
declared commitment to multilingualism in the South African Constitution. A trend in television
advertising, where language diversity, translation, and/or reconceptualisation are circumvented by
conceptualising a visual message devoid of voice-over, is the subject of this article. The purpose
is to consider the extent to which this practice undermines or contributes to the perception of
a homogeneous marketplace and advertising language/esperanto. Visual texts provide a rich
alternative, but carry the inherent burden of the intermingling of text and subtext not conveyed by
means of language. The suggestion is that this global homogenising trend for target audiences,
developed in advertising copy, has since transcended advertising parameters to include all kinds
of copy. Language as marker of culture is being written out of the definition of cultural specificity
as one of the primary means of identifying target audience. By merging their expertise in critical
linguistics, document design and cultural and media studies, the authors offer qualitative and
quantitative data in support of their argument.