Comms Initiative

The Monash Business Communication Incubator will provide a programme of continued research-based learning in the form of a series of lectures conducted by industry experts and senior academics. 

The Monash Online Communication Community which will provide you with an environment to engage with and contribute to industry, enhanced thinking and comment on a variety of issues and developments in business communication.

The Monash Business Communication Forums will provide a thought leadership platform for critical discussion and engagement with balanced participation by senior communication experts, industry leaders and significant decision makers. 

• Corporate policy decision makers including CEOs and  executives in leadership positions
• Public sector, Civil Society and CSR decision makers
• Senior communication leaders in consulting, agency and in-house roles
• Communication practitioners working in consulting, agency and in-house roles
• Business strategists working in consulting, agency and in-house roles
• Relevant media for their education, input and leverage of the initiatives

The Identified Need

• Education of business professionals about the value of effective communication
• Raising of the overall quality of the industry standard in the SA communication profession
• Sharing of best practice from industry, academia and other thought leaders
• Stimulate ongoing thought leadership interaction and conversation
• Add value to the quality and positioning of communication in the corporate value chain
• Integrating the discipline of communication into the business strategy in corporate SA

Strong Academic Roots

Monash research has shown there is a need to understand the stakeholder universe where the strategic understanding and quality of communication practice in SA is lacking. Corporate leadership does not understand the business value of communication and often sees it as only warm and fluffy PR or media relations. Practitioners need an understanding of the strategic business contribution of communication as well as the integrated value chain required among practitioners and corporate decision makers alike. Communication practitioners need to be empowered to move from a service mentality to a business crucial mindset in their understanding of their role. Reliable practical guidance in the discipline of communication is required to raise the standard in order to move from a functional to a strategic mindset which is essential in corporate and public South Africa. Therefore the perception of communication from a “nice to have” to a “need to have” must be moved.