Internal Stakeholders’ Perceptions Of Integrated Communication In Universities: A Study Of Three Universities In Ghana

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Date

2021-07

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Publisher

University Of Ghana

Abstract

Scholars in the field of organisational communication acclaim integrated communication (IC) for its ability to unify all communication efforts, avoid fragmentation and ensure efficiency in managing communication in today’s organisations. Although integrated communication aids organizations to have consistency in their communication effort, create continuous stakeholder experience and build organizational confidence and loyalty, there is virtually little or no studies on the use of integrated communication in universities in the Ghanaian context. This study was therefore driven by the scanty literature on the use of integrated communication in higher educational institutions, particularly universities. With systems theory as its foundation, the study explored internal stakeholders’ perceptions about the use of integrated communication in three universities in Ghana, namely Central University, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and University of Ghana using mixed methods. The multiple-case study mode of enquiry, which allows the combination of different methods for data collection and analysis, was employed. A total of five focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted in the three universities for academic staff and senior staff. In addition, Level 400 students were surveyed from the three universities for their views on integrated communication in their respective universities in order to draw comparisons between the focus group data and survey data. Additionally, a qualitative content analysis was carried out to examine consistency in the deployment of some institutional visual symbols, and the results were compared with the FGD and survey data. Using semi-structured interview guides, a total of six (6) in-depth interviews were also conducted for one representative each from top management and the public relations/public affairs units in the institutions to interrogate their perceptions about IC and how they contributed to its implementation to validate the data gathered from the FGDs and survey. These methods largely helped to triangulate the data garnered from the different sources to meet the overall objective of making recommendations for effective IC management in universities in Ghana. The study found that none of the three universities had a well-developed mechanism for the implementation of integrated communication. The institutions’ practice of some sort of IC was impaired by fragmentation at the level of communicating institutional policies and departmental collaboration. In spite of this, the top management and PR representatives of each institution seemed satisfied with their communication based on their perception that enough efforts were being made for a successful IC, though this did not reflect the perceptions of the internal stakeholders. Generally, the findings did not confirm the systems theory which advocates a holistic approach to communication for mutually beneficial outputs. The study recommends that universities should minimise one-way communication, manage internal communication to avoid conversation fragmentation and adopt vigorous communication programmes that engage management and other internal stakeholders for mutually beneficial relationships. Again, universities should designate PR directors as the champions of IC processes to control and manage all factors that make integrated communication effective. Top management should also be committed to IC and lend its full support for the success of the implementation process. Additionally, sufficient budget should be allocated for IC programmes and periodic evaluation should be adopted.

Description

PhD. Communication Studies

Keywords

Communication, Universities, Ghana, Stakeholders

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