Vol 17, No 2 (1998)

In this article the author explores the fundamental shifts that occur in the
relationship of the corporation to individuals, and to society as a whole, as
a result of the emergence of new information' technology in the Age of
Communication. An overview is given of how the new corporate building
blocks of connectivity, corporate renewal and culture can evoke and
liberate the intellectual capital at the organisation, and more importantly
revive the spirit of the organisation. The author concludes that
corporations, within the Communication Age, can evolve from dominance
to pre-eminence through taking on a broader social role and becoming
fundamentally important socio-economic nodes in the individual's everexpanding connectMty networks.

Changes occur in organisations because of changes in the environment.
Conflicts arise between the organisation and internal and external
stakeholders of the organisation because of these uncontrolled
influences. Small points of disorder may easily escalate into disordered
crises and chaos (bifurcations and the butterfly effect). Communication
management - and specifically constructive conflict management - could
lead to 'positive chaos' and a culture (strange attractor) of constant
change. Positive chaos implies an unstable, seemingly disordered
situation that could bring about productive, creative, and improved
results. Communication management could be used by organisations to
reorganise themselves out of disorder and chaos by facilitating conflicts
and diversity. Strategic planning will become even more important, but
will have to change from the basic premise of control and prediction to
scenario planning, and the emphasis will be on relationship building.

Communication Management Training is an unfamiliar concept to some
communication scholars. Although there seems to be general agreement
on the pragmatic justification and viability of communication training in the
management sciences, questions are being asked about the academic
legitimacy of Communication Management as educational model. This
article sets out to explain communication management training through an
analysis of the four communication-focused subject areas that may be
legitimately taught in the management sciences. This analysis will be
based on a conceptual analytical framework, derived from prior attempts
to differentiate communication-related subject fields. To conduct the
analysis, the author made use of an exploratory qualitative approach by
studying contributions in The Joumal of Business Communication,
Management Communication Quarterly, ABC Bulletin, Communication
Monographs and Public Relations Review.

The first part of this article provides an overview of communication
management as an organisation function, and in doing so adopts a
systems approach showing the interdependency of the various
SUbsystems. The role of the communication manager as channel in the
communication process, uniting the various subsystems as an effective
functioning whole, is discussed. Conceptualising integrated
communication and its role in the market environment, as well as
advantages associated with such an approach, the article argues that an
integrated approach is needed to successfully manage communication in
the organisation. In the second part, an integrated communication
management model is proposed, showing communication management at
the micro, meso and macro levels of the organisation. Exploring some of
the factors that may impede support for an integrated approach, the
authors conclude that implementation of an integrated communication
management model impacts significantly on the role of the
communication manager as attitude and opinion leader, both inside and
outside the organisation.

In South Africa we have lived in a society where separation of
communities and racial groups has been the norm. Since 1994 the
separation is being bridged as more individuals encounter people with
different attitudes, value systems and cultural behavioural patterns in
social and business environments. This leads to new avenues of
understanding, but also to a wider scope for misunderstanding and
unintentional miscommunication, especially in the business context.
The way in which people communicate in a business setting, varies from
culture to culture. Such variation occurs in all stages of development and
at all levels of culture. whether from one corporate culture to another, or
from one region, state or country to another. Although most rules of
business communication apply to the domestic business environment,
Intercultural business communication requires knowledge and skills that
differ from those within a specific culture. It is impossible to know all the
variations in business communication in a multicultural business society
like South Africa, but businesspeople can and should prepare themselves
for those experiences they are most likely to face in employee and
customer relations when conducting business in more than one culture.
This article probes the possibility of diminishing business
miscommunication in South Africa, by focussing on awareness of barriers
to multicultural marketing and management communication. Business
communication is defined as consisting of management as well as
marketing communication. A pilot survey on existing business
communication strategies in a large South African province is discussed.
This has pointed towards a more comprehensive research project, with

the aim of providing a three-tier model for effective multicultural marketing
communication strategies in a post-Mande/a South Africa.

Globally, governments are well aware of the political and social importance of the
media and are developing policies aimed at regulating and controlling the media.
In democratic societies, broadcast regulations generally focus on ensuring that
broadcasters serve the public interest, needs and convenience. Also, over the past
2S years regulations have particularly focused on concerns related to children. In
particular, there has been a universal concern over the growing amount of sex and
violence in broadcast programming.
Throughout the world, a growing number of nations are moving away from direct
authoritarian control of media. Instead, they are moving toward combining
government influence with free-market forces. For most governments the
maintenance of some control includes ensuring the culture is not eroded by the sex
and violence-filled products imported from countries like the United States, Great
Britain, Mexico and others. Broadcasters believe attracting large audiences
depends upon the purchase of quality programming from the increasingly lucrative
international software market, even though the programs are filled with violence
and sex.
What are regulators doing to combat the growing problems associated with sex and
violence in the media?