Corporate Communication and Public Relations

2.1 Core concepts

• Corporate communication is the set of activities involved in "managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications" designed to create favourable starting points (NCERT Introduction, p. 256).
• It is based on information given out by specialists and generalists in an organisation, and concerns people, organisational processes, activities and media (NCERT §Significance, p. 257).
• The primary objective of corporate communication is to establish a perception (true or otherwise) in the eyes of all stakeholders — essentially "controlling how the world sees you" (NCERT §Significance, p. 257).
• Corporate communication is important primarily because it creates: positive and favourable public perception, effective and efficient avenues of communication, strong corporate culture/identity/philosophy, and a genuine sense of corporate citizenship (NCERT box, p. 259).
• Public Relations (PR) is both an art and a science; it has the beauty and emotionality of art and the system of science (NCERT §Public Relations, p. 258).
• Arthur W. Page said, "The fundamental way of getting public approval is to deserve it" (NCERT p. 258).
• Code of ethics is a crucial requirement for PR professionals so that they are not labelled as fixers or manipulators (NCERT p. 259).
• Functions of corporate PR Departments include: Public Relations Policy, Statements and Press Releases, Publicity, Maintaining Relations, and Publications (NCERT §Functions of PR, p. 260).
• Major areas of PR activity are: Press Relations, Advertising, Publications, Other Media coordination, and PR with Constituents (NCERT §Major Areas of PR Activity, pp. 260–261).
• Arthur W. Page practised seven principles of PR management — Tell the truth; Prove it with action; Listen to the customer; Manage for tomorrow; Conduct PR as if the whole company depends on it; Realise a company's true character is expressed by its people; Remain calm, patient and good-humored (NCERT §Seven Principles, pp. 261–262).
• "Prove it with action" states that public perception of an organisation is determined 90 per cent by what it does and 10 per cent by what it says (NCERT p. 261).
• Two types of communication are used more in corporate communication — Internal and External Communication (NCERT p. 262).
• Internal communication flows vertical, horizontal, diagonal, across organisational structure; it may be formal or informal (NCERT p. 262).
• External communication promotes goodwill with the public; both written and verbal media can be used (NCERT p. 263).
• Two major areas of communication activity are: Composing message and Transmitting message (NCERT p. 263).
• The 7 Cs of communication for composing a message: Conciseness, Concreteness, Clarity, Completeness, Courtesy, Correctness, Consideration (NCERT box, p. 263).
• Knowledge and Skills required: Listening, Interpersonal, Negotiation, Presentation, Human Element, Rapport Establishment, Effective Decision Making, Telephone Etiquette/Basic Writing/Public Speaking, Accent Neutralisation, Time Management, Stress Management (NCERT §Knowledge and Skills, pp. 264–267).
• Listening is an active process with three parts: hearing, understanding and response (NCERT p. 264).
• Rapport — "Around 93% of communication is transmitted by your body language and the way that you speak (analogue communication). Only 7% is carried by the words (digital communication)" (NCERT p. 265).
• ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) is an umbrella term covering all technical means for processing and communicating information (NCERT §Use of Technology to Communicate, p. 267).
• Scope of PR: corporate offices need PR to cover communication between employer and employees; PR officer extends communication with stockholders, media, press, NGOs, Government, customers and general public; innovation in use of media and technologies (NCERT §Scope, p. 267). Corporate Communication and Public Relations is the for-profit counterpart of the Development Communication chapter — the same communication discipline applied within corporate / commercial enterprises rather than to social-development programmes. It closes the HEFS Class XII syllabus on a high career-orientation note: many B.Sc. Home Science / Family Resource Management graduates pursue Public Relations as a vocation. Corporate Communication is the management function that integrates all internal and external messaging — to employees, shareholders, customers, regulators, suppliers, media, and the general public — into a coherent narrative that builds brand reputation and trust. It draws on multiple sub-disciplines: Public Relations (third-party endorsement and reputation management), Marketing Communication (advertising, brand-building), Investor Relations (financial communication with shareholders and analysts), Internal Communication (employee engagement), Crisis Communication (incident response), Government Affairs (regulatory and policy engagement), CSR Communication (sustainability and citizenship messaging). Public Relations is defined as a deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics. PR is both an art (creative messaging, emotional resonance, storytelling) and a science (systematic measurement, audience research, metrics — share of voice, sentiment analysis, reach, frequency, conversion). The discipline is anchored in ethics — without an ethical code, PR practitioners risk being labelled 'spin doctors' or 'fixers'. Arthur W. Page (1883-1960, AT&T VP, 1927-1947) is the key thinker here. His seven principles, formulated in the 1930s and codified after his death by the Arthur W. Page Society, are: (1) Tell the truth — let the public know what's happening; (2) Prove it with action — public perception is 90% by what an organisation does and 10% by what it says; (3) Listen to the customer; (4) Manage for tomorrow — anticipate public reactions; (5) Conduct PR as if the whole company depends on it; (6) Realise a company's true character is expressed by its people; (7) Remain calm, patient and good-humored. Page's most-quoted line — 'The fundamental way of getting public approval is to deserve it' — is a moral foundation for PR. CUET tests both the seven principles and the 90:10 ratio. Functions of corporate PR departments: PR Policy (formulating and recommending corporate PR policy to top management), Statements & Press Releases (drafting corporate statements and executive speeches), Publicity (issuing announcements of company activities and products to media and community), Maintaining Relations (with press, government, civic groups, customers), Publications (in-house magazines, annual reports, newsletters, social media content). Major areas of PR activity: Press Relations (media engagement, press releases, press conferences, journalist relations), Advertising (paid promotion — though distinct from PR's earned promotion), Publications (corporate publications), Other Media coordination (TV, radio, digital), and PR with Constituents (specific stakeholder groups). Internal communication operates vertically (top-down from leadership; bottom-up from employees), horizontally (peer-to-peer across functions), diagonally (cross-level cross-function), and may be formal (memos, town halls, official emails, performance reviews) or informal (water-cooler conversations, WhatsApp groups, casual mentoring). Effective internal communication binds the organisation, enhances morale, reduces information voids that breed rumour, and aligns employees with company strategy. External communication transmits messages to government departments, customers, dealers, inter-corporate bodies, NGOs, regulators, investors, communities, media and the general public — preserving brand image and goodwill. The 7 Cs of communication for composing the message: Conciseness (brevity without losing meaning), Concreteness (specific facts and figures), Clarity (simple language, single meaning), Completeness (all relevant information), Courtesy (respectful tone), Correctness (accurate language, facts, grammar), Consideration (audience-centric framing — 'you-attitude'). These are testable as a complete list — CUET often substitutes 'Creativity' or 'Conciseness' or 'Consensus' as distractors. The rapport principle states that ~93% of communication is transmitted by body language and the way one speaks (analogue/non-verbal — paralinguistic features like tone, pitch, pace, volume, eye contact, posture, gestures, facial expression, dress), and only 7% by the words themselves (digital/verbal). This often-cited figure originates in Albert Mehrabian's 1971 study (which technically applied only to communication of feelings and attitudes, not all communication); CUET tests the 93:7 ratio. Soft-skill suite for the PR professional: Listening (the three-part active process — hearing → understanding → response), Interpersonal (relationship-building across hierarchies and cultures), Negotiation (convincing the other party when both have unacceptable points), Presentation (public speaking, slide design, narrative structure), Human Element / Rapport, Effective Decision Making, Telephone Etiquette & Public Speaking, Accent Neutralisation (especially for BPO/contact-centre roles where neutral 'global English' or 'Hindi' accent is required), Time Management (prioritisation, delegation, calendar discipline), and Stress Management (recognising and responding to physical, mental and emotional strain). ICT in corporate communication: email (still the corporate workhorse), Microsoft Teams / Zoom / Webex for video conferencing, Slack for team messaging, Salesforce/HubSpot for CRM, WordPress/Wix for corporate websites, social media platforms (LinkedIn for B2B, Twitter/X for press, Instagram/YouTube for brand, Facebook for community), analytics tools (Google Analytics, Meltwater, Brandwatch), media monitoring (Cision), and AI-assisted writing (recently). Indian corporate-communication leaders include Tata Sons, Reliance Industries, Infosys, HUL, ITC, Mahindra, Wipro — many of whom maintain large in-house corporate-communications teams complemented by external PR agencies (Adfactors, MSL, Edelman India, Genesis BCW, Concept PR, Avian WE, Madison PR). Indian academic and professional bodies: PRSI (Public Relations Society of India, founded 1958 — the oldest and largest body), Public Relations Council of India, PRSI Certificate/Diploma programmes, Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA) PG Diploma in Communications, Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication, Xavier Institute of Communications Mumbai, IIMC New Delhi, Jamia AJK MCRC. International accreditation includes the PRSA APR (Accredited in Public Relations) and the IABC Gold Quill.

2.2 Definitions to memorise

2.3 Diagrams / processes to remember

• Box on p. 259: "Corporate communication is important primarily as it creates" — four bullets (positive public perception, effective avenues of communication, strong corporate culture/identity/philosophy, genuine sense of corporate citizenship).
• Box on p. 263: "7 Cs of Communication" — numbered list of Conciseness, Concreteness, Clarity, Completeness, Courtesy, Correctness, Consideration.
• Box on p. 258: 1990 P and Q Survey — 88% of engineers and 97% of CEOs cited importance of communication for productivity/job satisfaction; only 22% of CEOs communicate weekly or more with employees.
• p. 261: Arthur W. Page's seven principles list — students should be able to recall all seven in order.

2.5 Key data / corporate-comm table (Indian context)

2.4 Common confusions / NTA trap points

• "Prove it with action" — the 90:10 ratio (90% by what an organisation does, 10% by what it says) is a favourite numeric trap; do not confuse with the 93:7 analogue:digital communication ratio for rapport.
• The 7 Cs are for composing the message — not for transmitting it. The two major areas of communication activity (composing and transmitting) are distinct from the 7 Cs.
• Internal vs External communication: communication with stockholders is part of external (and PR with Constituents) — but employees, executives are internal.
• Listening has THREE parts (hearing, understanding, response) — students often confuse hearing with listening; hearing is only the first part.
• Arthur W. Page's principles are SEVEN — sometimes confused with the 7 Cs of communication.
• 7 Cs are for composing, not transmitting — easy NTA trap.
• Listening = hearing + understanding + response. Hearing alone ≠ listening.
• Internal vs External — communication with shareholders/investors is external; with employees is internal.
• Page's 90:10 (action vs words) ≠ Mehrabian's 93:7 (analogue vs digital).
• The PR field requires ethics — without it PR becomes 'spin'/manipulation.