MONASH AND STONE LAUNCH THE MONASH BUSINESS COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE ON 12/05/09
FACT SHEET ON THE SCOPE AND NATURE OF THE INITIATIVE
THE RATIONALE BEHIND THE MONASH BUSINESS COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE
The Initiative was conceptualised in response to the findings of the Monash South Africa CCI 2007/8 Corporate Communication Benchmark Study and is developed to meet an identified need within the business communication profession and business community in South Africa. The key rationale for the Initiative includes:
• 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
• Add inherent research value from interaction with attending executives and practitioners
• Add real business value through enhanced corporate communication
THE MONASH BUSINESS COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE
Communication practitioners need to move from a service mentality to a business-critical mind-set in their understanding of their corporate communication role in today’s challenging business environment. Sound guidance, sharing and healthy debate will raise the standard and quality of corporate communication in business in South Africa. There is a clearly defined need to move from a functional to a strategic approach in the role that corporate communication plays.
THE MONASH BUSINESS COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE COMPONENTS
The Monash Business Communication Incubator provides a programme of continued research-based learning in the form of a series of lectures conducted by industry experts and senior academics. The Incubator maximizes corporate communication with a values driven approach and focus on real business outcomes. The purpose of the Incubator is to inform, educate and increase awareness among business and corporate communication professionals about the real value of good business communication. At the Incubator, respected academics and leaders from industry share best practice and learning to raise the quality of corporate communication in industry. For the all inclusive incubator course price of R6000.00, delegates hone their skills a variety of business communication skills, including:
- Current context and nature of business communication
- The value of good business communication
- Exploring strategy, strategic intent and use of values
- How to align strategy and business intent through strategic communication
- Business value of integration of business communication across platforms and audiences
- Requirements for business communication success
The Monash Business Communication Forums provide a thought leadership platform for critical discussion and engagement on the application and importance of corporate communication in business. The Forums include balanced participation by senior communication experts and business executives, industry leaders and decision makers on matters of business relevance and strategic role of communication. The panel and key note format allows Forum attendees gain insight from two or three respected and high profile speakers; sharing their leadership, own learning and experience followed by networking with peers. Audience participation is encouraged by the use of a voting system to poll the audience opinion and sharing these industry views in post- Forum reviews and publicity as well as giving access to it via the Online Community for research purposes. The ideal attendee profile for the Forums include senior corporate communication and business executives, industry bodies, senior communicators in Government departments, CEOs, board members, executives in leadership positions, civil society and CSR decision makers as well as senior communication and strategy leaders in consulting, agency and in-house roles.
- Forum dates: 2 June,18 August and 20 October 2009
- Delegate fee: R450.00 per delegate
- Forum topics will include:
o The business value of integrated communication across platforms
o Real strategic business value of effective communication
o Reputation as a real business asset
o Marketing integration as a key element of effective communication
o Value of communication in achieving corporate change
o Measurement of campaigns for ROMI, ROI and ROEI
o Brand as a bottom-line business asset
o Maximising the opportunity of cyberspace
o Tracking and information management to add real business value
o Managing the golden thread in marketing and communication
o Living corporate values as an essence of business life
o Reaping real impact with the people you want to reach
o Procurement of communication services – tips, pitfalls and process
o Paradigm shift to facilitate the modern and immediate nature of media
o Conveying news or punting fluff – practitioners managing their reputation
The Monash Online Communication Community provides a unique environment to participate and contribute content, increase engagement, enhance thinking and provide comment on a variety of issues in business communication. The Community act as information portal for all the activities of the Monash Business Communication Initiative. The Community also acts as a platform for registration for lecture series and forums and to keep up to date with news from the Initiative. In addition the Community features the views of and gurus from the local and international communication world including speakers and contributors to our Forums and Incubators. Easy navigation of the familiar social networking type interface allows for easy co-creation of content and collaboration between practitioners. Blog contributions feature regular contributions from thought leaders on communication issues and topical matters in the business, public, civil and CSR world. As part of the Community you will also have access to feeds to and from relevant international portals. Give your views and have your say - hear what the best have to say and share ideas. Register at www.commsinitiative.co.za today and become part of this value-adding community.
THE MONASH BUSINESS COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE PARTNERS
Monash South Africa and Stone share a common passion and commitment to address the corporate communication challenges in business and to add value to the industry. The partners are recognised for their knowledge, expertise, and influence in their respective communication spheres. Monash South Africa, the South African campus of an internationally renowned university, provides quality education, research and service to globally diverse stakeholders, ranging from students to business, government and society as a whole. In a recent review of advertising research productivity the Department of Marketing at Monash University was ranked ninth in the world on publications in the top three US advertising journals. Monash South Africa Department of Marketing is the overall lead partner in the proposed Monash Business Communication Initiative. See more at www.monash.ac.za
Stone adds value to the business of South African and international clients through a range of strategy and communication consulting services, drawing on significant international experience and a proven business and consulting track record of its members. Stone communication strategies enable focused business communication and effective positioning to all audiences with alignment to key business goals. Stone pebble ring thinking enables focused strategies and effective positioning to all key audiences, generating influence with stakeholders and promoting internal alignment to key business objectives. See more at www.stoneconsult.net
ACADEMIC RELEVANCE OF THE MONASH BUSINESS COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE
- Research
o Evaluation research
o Various possible research projects
o Research-led teaching enhancing students’ learning experience
o Linking project with existing CCI benchmark study
o Building a database from all three initiatives
- Service
o Engagement on high level of the business community
o Engagement with Monash South Africa internal to include:
- Advancement Department
- Research Directorate
- Institutional Planning and Quality Assurance
- School of Arts & School of Information Technology
o Audience engagement through campus visits by business leaders and envisaged media
exposure
- Teaching
o Research-led teaching
o Forum speakers to be included in the curriculum of students
o Opportunity for networking between students and forum speakers
o Student support with forum sessions
- Academic value of the Initiative
o Investigating the current knowledge state at senior communication management level
o Linking the results of this project with that of the CCI benchmark study
o Building a database for future research
o Investigating electronic opinion polls as information sharing tool and its influence on learning
o Research-led teaching
o Using guest speakers from Forums and Lecture series as guest lecturers for Marketing and
Communication students on campus
o Evaluation research:
- Aiming to answer the question of whether the intervention (Forums, Lecture series,
online network) has been properly implemented and whether the target group has
been adequately covered
- Also whether the intervention was implemented as designed
THE MONASH BUSINESS COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE TEAM AND CONTACTS
 | Willem S Eksteen, founder of Stone, has a passion for business strategy, quality thinking, integrated marketing and communication. He consults to Southern African and international organizations, developing business, communication and CSR strategies, balancing traditional and online platforms for best business results. Careful thought and sound experience underpins Willem’s approach to strategy development to achieve real results with communication as a true business tool. He has lived and worked in South Africa, Europe and the United States. He holds a law degree from the University of Pretoria and a post-graduate Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Stellenbosch. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
| Ilse Niemann-Struweg holds a Ph.D. in Communication Management from the University of Pretoria. Her areas of specialization include strategic integrated communication, integrated marketing communication, public relations and corporate communication. She consults in these areas for Anglo Platinum, AgriSA and the like. Ilse lectured at the University of Johannesburg (and formerly RAU) for six years, after which she joined Monash South Africa in the School of Business and Economics. Ilse is currently a senior lecturer and curriculum chair in Marketing at Monash South Africa. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
 | Perusha Singh is a junior consultant at Stone, adding value to clients’ consulting projects, communication strategies and media programmes as well as research support on business strategy projects. Perusha has solid experience in the training, public relations and communication industries. She has worked as part of communication and advertising consulting teams on some of South Africa’s most prestigious brands. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
MONASH BUSINESS COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE CONTACT DETAILS
- Monash Online Communication Community portal – www.commsinitiative.co.za
- For more information - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
- Contract regarding the Forums - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
- Contact regarding the Incubator - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
- Contact regarding the Online Community - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
- Media enquiries – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Click here to download the Comms Initiative Fact Sheet
