The Role of Tragic Heroes in Latin American Literature Essay Example

The Role of Tragic Heroes in Latin American Literature Paper Traditionally, tragic heroes begin as perfectly good characters who suffer a change in fortune from happiness to misery due to a mistaken act, which he performs due to his overwhelming natural flaw. An example of this is excessive pride, which overwhelms the tragic heros conscience, hence leading him to violate or ignore a moral law. The tragic hero evokes our pity because he is not thoroughly evil and his misfortune is greater than he deserves. This essay aims to compare and contrast the characters of Esteban Trueba from The House of the Spirits, and Pedro and Pablo Vicario, from Chronicle of a Death Foretold, and explore to what extent these characters can be classified as heroes in a tragic drama. From our very first impressions of the young Esteban, we are shown an ambitious and intelligent man, whose harsh childhood and tragedy of his fiances death, Rosa the Beautiful, imprints bitterness early on in his life. Trying to escape the burdens of his miserable past, Esteban devotes his life to his business and political careers, determined to be rich and powerful, If there was anything that could alleviate the grief and rage of Rosas loss, it would be by breaking his back working in this ruined land1. However, Esteban owes much of his prosperity to the labor of the peasants at Tres Marias, yet he never treats them with respect and is quick to develop a valid reputation for being a tyrant and a rapist. We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of Tragic Heroes in Latin American Literature specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of Tragic Heroes in Latin American Literature specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of Tragic Heroes in Latin American Literature specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer These tendencies to abusively exercise his superiority over his employees, and his careless fulfillment of self-gratification demonstrates how Estebans bitterness and frustrations embedded in his past transforms him into an egoistic, callous and violent man, entirely consumed by his own self-aggrandizement. Estebans move to Tres Marias appears satiate his voracious appetite only temporarily, for he only ever experiences fleeting moments of satisfaction before his monstrous and accumulating need eventually overwhelms him. For Esteban, marriage, children, prosperity and power acquired at Tres Marias seemed the perfect solution to all his problems, promising happiness and security. Yet Estebans inability to compromise, his violent temper, callousness and above all, his pride, all combine together as his fatal flaw which inevitably leads to his downfall. In the end, Esteban is left a lonely, broken man as his violent temper and unforgiving and uncompromising character eventually isolates him from those he loved the most. In my deluded solitude, I sat waiting for my son in the armchair of my library, my eyes glued to the doorsill, calling to him with my mind, as I used to call for Clara2. In his old age, political victory and material prosperity have little significance now that Esteban has lived long enough to understand that life without love or family is no longer worth living. He is now reduced to a pitiful old man, left entirely alone just as his sister, Ferula, has accurately predicted. You will al ways be alone. Your body and souls will shrivel up and youll die like a dog! 3 Hence as the novel progresses, Esteban undergoes a dynamic change from an empathic and unfortunate boy to, arguably, an evil despot and with each political and business success, Estebans character deteriorates as his fatal flaws increasingly manifest themselves in his obsessive and violent behavior. Throughout the novel, we are shown unforgivable acts of violence and callousness, to the point where one could argue that he becomes vilified and in fact loses the readers empathy entirely. Yet Esteban is so tragic, because without wanting or choosing to, the more Esteban prospers, the more his incontrollable temper and overwhelming pride drives away those he loves the most. This ultimately leads to his gradual moral deterioration and leaves him utterly alone, and as the story reaches its conclusion, we see that events have turned out justly as Esteban is punished by his own grief and solitude as a direct result of his wrong behavior, and in this he becomes redeemed in our eyes for finally understanding his mistakes. For his redemption lies in his regret and penitence, and in his relinquishment of power and acknowledgement of his failure, He was not crying because he had lost power. He was crying for his country4, thus confirming his role as a tragic hero. In the Columbian town where the narrative of Chronicle of a Death Foretold unfolds, honor is taken with utmost severity, and all the characters in the novel are seen to be strongly influenced by this ultimate ideal, and it is the preservation of this ideal that becomes directly accountable for the murder of Santiago Nasar. For the revelation of their sisters soiled virginity causes dishonor within the family and in order to clear Angelas name and restore the family honor, Pedro and Pablo Vicario take upon them the duty of killing their friend, Santiago, the alleged perpetrator of Angelas virginity. Being trapped in a brutal, repressive and patriarchal society, the twins feel the need to assert their masculinity by displaying their attempts to restore family honor. The brothers were brought up to be men5, and Pablo Vicarios fiance claimed at a later stage during the novel that had he not taken the responsibility to restore family pride, she would not have considered him man enough to marry. However, it becomes apparent that the twins are very reluctant to go through with this act of murder, and by announcing their plans of restoring family honor to the community at large they secretly hope that someone will prevent them from actualizing these plans. Yet very few characters in the novel ever question the twins murder threats for the sake of family honor, due to the significance paid to this fundamental cultural ideal. Thus the community is reduced to passive bystanders, aware of the fatal fate awaiting Santiago, and leaving the twins no choice but to inevitably fulfill their threat. Hence one can question the justice of condemning Pablo and Pedro Vicario of being actual murderers. For despite the brutality of their crime, the real murderer of Santiago Nasar appears to be the community itself for its old-fashioned ideals which surpass morality and the value of life. No evidence is ever found concerning the identity of Angelas perpetrator, and as the novels ambiguity gives reason for the reader to doubt the guilt of Santiago, it seems even more unfair that Santiagos murder should be accepted so naturally and unquestionably. Instead it seems correct to establish the twins as victims of their own time and culture, where the weight of cultural norms and social expectations forced them into a situation they did not want, and in fact tried to avoid. It is ultimately these fatal character flaws their weakness of independent character and inability to stand up for their moral virtues against cultural expectations that makes them candidates for the title of tragic hero. Hence in conclusion, one can establish that both Esteban and the Vicario twins are projected, to different extents, as tragic heroes in their respective novels. Esteban, for his malevolent temper and unyielding pride which ultimate estranges him from those he cherishes the most, leaving him a lonely, broken man to suffer and repent in his old age, and the Vicario twins, who had been brought up to be men which, in all its context, included asserting their masculinity by preserving family honor at any cost even by murdering their friend, thus rendering them victims of their own time and culture. However, tragic as the Vicario twins are ndeed, they fade in comparison to Estebans suitability as a candidate for the title of tragic hero, as the twins tragic flaw lie only in their lack of standing up to cultural expectations, and although they may be victimized in themselves, no event arises to redeem them in the readers eyes. For the Various twins, albeit playing an essential role in a tragedy, cannot entirely be reconciled at tragic heroes as they lack the overwhelming personal character flaw and single obsessive drive to fulfill their ambitions , as seen in they way they secretly actually wish to be prevented from carrying out the murder. Esteban, on the other hand, shows true traits of the traditional tragic hero as his character undergoes dynamic transformations from a pitiful boy struggling for survival through a harsh childhood, to a steady deterioration in morality as his fatal character flaws become ever more salient, and finally to a state of realization and acknowledgement of his mistakes and bad actions, as he realizes that his obsession for self-aggrandizement, his violent temper and his unyielding pride comes back to haunt and overwhelm him. And it is in his last days as a withered and shriveled old man that he is redeemed in our eyes as he repents for his mistakes, and comes to terms with his losses, as well as his attempts to reconcile with his daughter and past, that ultimately mark him as the tragic hero of Allendes The House of the Spirits.

Shannon Crockett 1 Essays

Shannon Crockett 1 Essays Shannon Crockett 1 Essay Shannon Crockett 1 Essay and B. Duran) Victims often have some common characteristics which complicate yet streamline awareness during the counseling experience. Statistics show women who are victims of domestic violence often in high percentages in the following categories: Abuse alcohol or other substances. Have been previously abused. Are pregnant. Are poor and have limited support. Have partners who abuse alcohol or other substances. Have left their abuser before. Have requested a restraining order against the abuser. Are members of ethnic minority or immigrant groups. Have traditional beliefs that women should be submissive to men. Do not speak English. While it occurs far less often than men battering women, women sometimes batter their male partners. How often women abuse men is the subject of much debate. â€Å"Studies report that women are victims of domestic violence at least three times more often than men. † (Malcoe, L. , and B. Duran) However, some men’s groups argue that information on battered men is inaccurate. One reason for this, they say, is that some data have probably been kept out of studies because it is ‘politically incorrect’ or ‘embarrassing’. Also, a woman hit by a man is more likely to be seriously injured than a man who is hit by a woman. For this reason, male victims are less likely to seek medical attention or other help. So critics say that statistics based on reports to professionals or reports of hospital treatment doesn’t reflect the true number of male victims. Male advocates also argue that men don’t get equal protection under the domestic violence laws. In South Carolina there are not any DV shelters for men. The courts and police have previously practiced a double standard- when men are injured and report the attack to the police, they are not taken seriously. â€Å"Victimization rates vary among different minority populations. The highest reported rates are for Native American women. † (Malcoe, L. , and B. Duran) Incidentally this male population also has the highest reported alcoholism rate. Relationship of Domestic Violence Victims to Offenders Victim to Offender RelationshipNumberPct. Boyfriend/Girlfriend15,23628. 4 Spouse14,97727. 9 Common law spouse5,3119. 9 Sibling3,7757. 0 Parent3,5366. 6 Other family member3,2576. 1 Child3,0985. 8 Ex-spouse1,2852. 4 In-law1,1552. 1 Stepchild7011. 3 Stepparent5381. 0 Grandparent2310. 4 Child of boy/girlfriend2170. 4 Grandchild1860. 3 Homosexual Relation1170. 2 Stepsibling740. 1 Babysitter310. Source: SCIBRS, SLED Domestic Violence Victims by Race and Sex Race/SexNumberPct. White female20,22237. 7 Non-white female19,98237. 2 White male6,93612. 9 Non-white male6,51712. 1 Note: There were 68 cases in which either race or sex was reported as unknown. Source: SCIBRS, SLED It is important to note that although white domestic violence victims outnumber non-white dome stic violence victims, the white population in South Carolina is approximately twice the size of the non-white population. Ethnicity, defined within SCIBRS as Hispanic or non-Hispanic, was not a significant factor. Only 337 (0. %) victims of domestic violence were reported to be Hispanic. Victims of domestic violence were more often young and middle-aged adults. The single largest age group of domestic violence victims was the age 26 to 34 group which accounts for 30. 4%. Counseling victims of any ethnicity should be done in a manner which does not group or classify victims based on racial predispositions or slang thoughts. Domestic Violence Victims by Age Group AgeNumberPct. 0 to 122,3234. 3 13 to 173,7947. 1 18 to 2411,42921. 4 25 to 3416,25130. 4 35 to 4412,82124. 0 45 to 544,5278. 5 55 to 641,3662. 6 65 and older9191. 7 Note: 295 cases missing age data Source: SCIBRS, SLED The counseling field should be cautious of being more sensitive to a certain age group as being vulnerable even though vulnerability is evident in some groups. Allowing yourself to feel more empathy for one group verses another could easily be perceived as you believing perhaps another group could have somehow prevented the abuse. Audra J. Bowlus Shannon Seitz, 2006. Domestic Violence, Employment, And Divorce, International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 7(4), pages 1113-1149, November. Catalano, S. Intimate Partner Violence in the United States. Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, December 2007, www. ojp. usdoj. gov/bjs/intimate/ipv. htm Hugo Mialon Sue Mialon, 2006. Violence against women, social learning, and deterrence, Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 367-382, October. Malcoe, L. , and B. Duran. â€Å"Intimate Partner Violence and Injury in the Lives of Low-Income can Women. † Violence Within the Family, including National Institute of Justice, grant number 5R03-DA/AA11154. Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, 2004, NCJ 199703. ncjrs. gov/App/Publications/abstract. aspx? ID=199703 Criminal Offense Definitions Aggravated Assault: An unlawful attack by one person upon another wherein the offender uses a weapon or displays it in a threatening manner, or the victim suffers obvious severe or aggravated bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possible internal injury, severe laceration, or loss of consciousness. This also includes assault with disease (as in cases when the offender is aware that he/she is infected with a deadly disease and deliberately attempts to inflict the disease by biting, spitting, etc. ). Forcible Fondling: The touching of the private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not forcibly or against that person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity. Forcible Sodomy: Oral or anal sexual intercourse with another person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity. Incest: Non-forcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law. Intimidation: To unlawfully place another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words and/or other conduct, but without displaying a weapon or subjecting the victim to actual physical attack. Murder: The willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another. Rape: The carnal knowledge of a person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity. This does not include statutory rape. ) Robbery: The taking, or attempting to take, anything of value under confrontational circumstance from the control, custody, or care of another person by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear of immediate harm. Simple Assault: An unlawful physical attack by one person upon another where neither the offender displays a weapon, nor the victim suffers obvious severe or aggravated bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possible internal injury, severe laceration, or loss of consciousness. Sexual Assault with an Object: To use an object or instrument to unlawfully penetrate, however slightly, the genital or anal opening of the body of another person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity. Statutory Rape: Non-forcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent. (FBI, 1996) For years victims of domestic violence have been labeled co-dependent. The following is a set of characteristics of a co-dependent as offered by Co-Dependents Anonymous, compared with the reality of a woman who is abused. CO-DEPENDENT: I take responsibility for others feelings and/or behaviors. ABUSED: I am held responsible for my abusers feelings and/or behaviors. CO-DEPENDENT: I feel overly responsible for others feelings and/or behaviors. ABUSED: For my safety, I must be aware of my abusers feelings and/or behaviors. CO-DEPENDENT: I have difficulty expressing my feelings. ABUSED: If I express my feelings, I jeopardize my safety. CO-DEPENDENT: I have difficulty in forming and/or maintaining close relationships. ABUSED: It is dangerous for me to form or maintain close relationships. CO-DEPENDENT: I am afraid of being hurt or rejected. ABUSED: Having been hurt and rejected, I am scared of re-victimization. CO-DEPENDENT: I tend to harshly judge everything I do, think, or say, by someone elses standards. Nothing is done, said or thought good enough. ABUSED: My abuser harshly judges everything I do, think, or say. Nothing I do is good enough. CO-DEPENDENT: I question or ignore my own values to connect with significant others. I value others opinions more than my own. ABUSED: My values and opinions are questioned/ignored by my abuser. For my safety I do not express my own opinions. CO-DEPENDENT: My self-esteem is bolstered by outer/other influences. ABUSED: My self-esteem is systematically destroyed by my abusers tactics. Checklists to help you determine if you are in an abusive relationship. You are probably the victim of emotional abuse if your partner: Repeatedly gives you destructive criticism, verbal threats and browbeating. Always claims to be right. Excludes you from making decisions and claims to be the head of the household. Abuses your trust by lying, hiding important information and papers, cheating or being inappropriately jealous. Minimizes or denies abusive behavior. Constantly shows disrespect, puts you down or embarrasses you in front of others. Harasses you by following you or checking up on you. Prevents you from seeing your relatives or friends or insists on going everywhere with you. Monitors your phone calls. The next list includes signs of physical abuse. You are a victim of physical abuse if your partner: Intimidates you through angry or threatening gestures. Destroys your belongings or household items. Coerces you to have sex or perform sexual acts against your will. Kicks, bites, stabs, pushes, burns or chokes you. Uses weapons to thr eaten or harm you or others you love. If you answered â€Å"yes† to one or more of these questions, or experience these forms of emotional and physical abuse in your relationship, you should seek help. Abuse is not acceptable behavior and is not something you should just learn to live with. Don’t be a victim that keeps this a silent disease. Seek help from relatives, friends, law enforcement or community resources. With their help, you may be able to stop the abuse or, if necessary, leave the relationship. Realize that once the abuse has started, it will nearly always get worse.

Adaptations for High Altitude Birds

Adaptations for High Altitude Birds Birds have developed the ability to maintain flight at various altitudes. The focus of this essay was placed specifically on flight at high altitudes. The characteristics of birds which maintain flight at high altitudes were found to be enhanced gaseous exchange efficiency, higher O2 affinity haemoglobin, and increase O2 diffusion to muscle fibers as a result of an increase in capillary-fiber ratio in a high-altitude hypoxic environment. It has also been seen that birds found at high altitudes have larger wingspans thereby reducing the energetic costs of flight in low-density air. Key words: Altitude, hemoglobin, hypoxic, wingspan Introduction Though not all birds are capable of flight, most birds are commonly recognized by flight. Birds are found all over the surface of the Earth (Bicudo et al, 2010) in a variety of environments which they are adapted to. Here we will explore the physiology of high altitude bird flight. The main focus will be placed on migrating birds due to the l arge amount of research performed on the species and migrating birds are found at a huge range of altitudes. As stated by Bicudo et al (2010), â€Å"High altitude experienced by birds that reside or breed in high mountains or by migrating birds that must cross such ranges† are considered to be high elevation specialist’s. Factors associated with high altitude causes this environment to be especially challenging for avian flight, these factors includes â€Å"high ambient wind speeds, low air temperatures, low oxygen availability and low air density† (Altshuler and Dudley, 2006). These factors may be detrimental in a birds’ flight performance specifically on bird biomechanics (lift and drag) of avian flight (Altshuler and Dudley, 2006). A consequence of the factors may result in energetics cost being higher in the severely hypoxic and cold environment (Butler and Bishop, 2000). The objective of this essay is to discuss the many features of birds which appea r to be important for high altitude flight (Scott, 2011). Environmental factors at high altitude As stated by Altshuler and Dudley (2006), a gradient in altitude indicates a change in numerous environmental parameters. As altitudes increase, temperature and humidity decrease, however, day length or solar angle of incidence remains the same (Altshuler and Dudley, 2006). An altitude increase, there is a systematic decrease O2 partial pressure (Bicudo et al., 2010). This is one of the most importance changes taking place with regards to respiratory and metabolism due to the reduced availability of oxygen. As partial pressure reduces, there is an inversely increase in the gaseous diffusion coefficient. Furthermore, wind speed increases with altitude, studies propose that birds can minimize their energy costs of flights through the use of wind assistance (Bicudo et al., 2010). As altitude increases, there is also a noticeable decrease with in water content. This decrease in water content in cool air at high elevations may result in desiccation (Bicudo et al., 2010). Thus high oxygen demands for flight are at odds with a decreased O2 availability, air density and lift (Altshuler and Dudley, 2006). Physiology of flight at high altitude Muscles Flight requires a high endurance capacity, for this reason, it relies on oxidative metabolism for energy (Bicudo et al. 2010). The pectoralis muscles of a bird is considered the â€Å"flight motor† of a bird and constitute up to 35% of the total body mass (Bicudo et al. 2010). Long distance migrants â€Å"flight motor† muscles possess rapidly oxidative glycolytic muscle fibers and short distance migrants â€Å"flight motor† muscles possess muscle fibers with a much lower oxidative capacity as well as fast-acting glycolytic fibers (Bicudo et al. 2010). It should be noted that muscle capillary-per-fiber number is higher in highly aerobic pectoral muscles and less aerobic leg muscles for high altitude birds (B icudo et al. 2010).

How can SMEs(small to medium enterprises) survive in the highly Essay

How can SMEs(small to medium enterprises) survive in the highly competitive industries that are participating - Essay Example The SME sector adds to the economic growth of a country through employment generation and overall sustenance of the economy locally, nationally and globally. Therefore, survival of SMEs needs to be discussed with high priority on developing such strategies that help in the growth of SMEs at regional, national and global level. The world economy depends to a significant extent on the success of small and medium business, which necessitates the urgency of making an inquiry into the reasons of collapsing of small and medium business firms. The research question motivates analysis of the issue from different perspectives like what efforts the SME entrepreneurs are making for their survival, what guidance and financial help the governments and banks are providing worldwide for the survival of the SME industry and a number of other survival strategies. Curiosity arises on the causes of not surviving in the market place due to the associated risks. SMEs are not fighting a lone battle against odds; active government support is provided to them as they are the backbone of a country’s economy. This is the reason why so much attention is paid to the growth of SME sector in all industries. In comparison to small business, medium enterprises are in somewhat better position; they accept the challenges but small entrepreneurs’ market position is very critical due to high cost of raw material, energy, inflation and lack of ready finance. Taking the example of Canada where small business represents 98% of all business, the government is playing a leading role in clearing the roadblocks to survival and growth of small business and leaving no stone unturned in its efforts for SMEs survival. The government is promoting SME by celebrating Small Business Week 2009 and introducing Canada’s Economic Action Plan, providing the mechanism to small and medium businesses to come soon out of the repercussion

Fuji Xerox Strategic Alliance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fuji Xerox Strategic Alliance - Essay Example However, the 4:1 success ratio of strategic alliances has not deterred companies and business enterprises from continuously forming strategic alliances. The most viable reason for this continuation of forming strategic alliances despite the frequent failures may be the present era's increasingly competitive environment. Business firms and companies in every industry are searching new and more effective ways to increase and sustain their competitive advantage. In this search for new mediums to augment the competitive advantage, most of the companies have realized that, owing to a variety of reasons e.g. cultural and social differences, change in consumer's needs and wants and today's accelerating technological advances, significant improvements in performance and competitive advantage cannot be achieved alone ( Whipple J.M. and Frankel R., 1999). Per se, the traditional response of acquisition to enhance the performance and competitiveness of a company is no longer the only alternative. Strategic alliance is the new alternative that facilitates the merging of partnering companies or firms' individual strengths and expertise while also compensating for the participating companies internal resource scarcities without them having to make the required investments for the actual ownership. The most fundamental aspect for a strategic alliance to be a successful, is finding the right match in which experience, expertise, knowledge and strategic resources of the participating companies will complement each other. However, in the business arena today, the researchers have found out that newly formed strategic alliances are more vulnerable to failure than those which have lasted for some time (Lunnan R and Haugland A.S., n.d1.). According to Steve Steinhilber, the vice-president of Strategic Alliances at Cisco, "companies worldwide launch more than two thousand strategic alliances every year, about the quarter of them are complete failures and more than half never deliver as promised" (Steinhilber S, 2008). However, amidst these strategic alliance failures there is the "Fuji Xerox", the strategic alliance between the Japan's Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd and America's Xerox Corporation, which can be said to be the most successful long term strategic alliance, till date. Hence this paper has been developed as report that envisages the evolution of this strategic alliance between Fuji and Xerox and how it became the most successful strategic alliance as "Fuji Xerox". In the course of understanding the factors that facilitated and made this venture the most triumphant long term strategic alliance, the report perhaps, will also be able to shed some light on the essential building blocks of successful alliances and how to establish them. Creating a

Electric Cars Are Going to Be the Future Essay Example for Free

Electric Cars Are Going to Be the Future Essay Nearly every household in America owns a gas powered vehicle, which pollutes our environment daily. Our society needs to consider furthering its knowledge and use of electric cars. Pollution of our environment must come to a halt in every situation possible in order to save the future of our atmosphere. I believe that the switch from gas-powered cars to electric cars is a very necessary and reasonable approach to save the environment. Several different car manufacturers have already began making efforts to adapt their vehicles to become more environmentally safe products. Although our country runs off oil and its proceeds, we can still attempt to make conversions that will lead to an overall positive impact on the United States. Making the switch to electric cars that run solely on renewable energy is a very wise economical and green decision. Our environment is long overdue for help in making it a better place for living in. The way we plan to make the environment better for living is by eliminating pollution altogether. The world annually emits approximately 8. 3 billion tons of carbon and about four billion tons will remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years. The switch to electric cars is an easy accomplishment because the technology is already at the tip of our hands. The United States will benefit a great deal after the switch from gasoline cars to electric cars is achieved. After learning the facts, the reasons are oblivious as to why electric cars are more efficient than hydrogen cars. The technology is already prepared for mass production. The negative environmental effects of production and driving the car are minimal. Manufacturers have already succeeded at innovating designs and specific features into the vehicles to assure the public’s satisfaction. With all of this in mind, it is vital to realize that the main goal of individual transportation is to enable people to get where they need to be when they need to be there. Ideally, there should be extremely limited environmental consequences when transporting in a perfect world, there would be none. Therefore, engineers and car manufacturers are not fixing the problem as a whole with their efforts to revolutionize automobiles, but every step forward counts. Instead of being content with the advancements, car manufacturers and engineers should continue to explore the world of environmentally safe opportunities to bring forward into the public eye. One of the most widely known alternatives to gasoline in America is hydrogen or biodiesel. Some might argue that hydrogen-powered or biodiesel-powered cars are more efficient than electric-powered cars, but they are not even close. Hydrogen cars are more expensive to fuel. The hydrogen car costs about three dollars per gallon, which totals around fifteen cents per mile, while the electric car pays in kilowatt-hours, which totals about two cents per mile. The average hydrogen car costs about one million dollars and the technology is just not there yet. It would cost excessively much to install hydrogen fueling stations and biodiesel pumps when it would be much easier and more reasonable to install a greater amount of electrical outlets across the world. Although, electric cars are more expensive to buy off the dealership lot they outperform the regular gasoline cars physically and economically. The electric car overall is cheaper to maintain, but unfortunately, after about ten years the lithium ion batteries start to drain out, but instead of buying a brand new car every so many years all you would have to do is replace the batteries. In the end, this will be a very good deal. The electric alternative technology is already here compared to other alternatives like ethanol, biodiesel, and hydrogen, yes, these are all great ideas, but the technology is just not readily available to us. Therefore, we should not even bother with these alternatives at all. Lastly, the gasoline cars that we use today waste power by constantly burning gas when the car is not in motion, whereas electric cars do not waste power when the car is not in motion.

Terry Fox :: essays research papers

Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. As an active teenager involved in many sports, in 1977 Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with bone cancer and forced to have his right leg amputated six inches above the knee. The night before his operation, Terry read an article about an amputee who had competed in the New York Marathon. Indirectly that story, along with Terry's observations of the intense suffering of cancer patients, set the stage for what would ultimately become the most important decision of his young life. In 1980, Terry Fox inspired the nation by attempting to run across Canada with an artificial leg. He called this journey the Marathon of Hope. Its mission was to raise money and awareness for cancer research in Canada. With little to no attention, Terry started his journey in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980. Although it was difficult to get attention in the beginning, hype soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to rise. He ran 43 kilometers a day through Canada's Atlantic Provinces, Quebec and Ontario. September 1, 1980 -- it was a dull day in Northern Ontario when Terry Fox ran his last miles. After 18 miles he started coughing and felt a pain in his chest. Terry knew how to cope with pain. He'd despite it as he always had before, he'd simply keep going until the pain went away. For 3,339 miles, from St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada's eastern most city on the shore of the Atlantic, he'd run through six provinces and now was two-thirds of the way home. He'd run close to a marathon a day, for 144 days.

Oxford dictionary meaning of the word “research”

The proposed article fall within the area of subject of research, as the context and purpose of article is to bring about a rationale thinking in application areas of auditing vs.accounting.Understanding definition of term â€Å"research†.â€Å"Identification of key area, to effort on, find facts, draw/derive/produce positive or negative results and apply whichever is applicable, and complete findings.†This article is written without any prejudicial interest and true replica of events that occur in business accounting, viewed at a macroscopic level.   Practicing of accounting demands an ethical code of conduct, as auditors are the intermediary officials for companies as well stakeholders, who safeguard ipso facto corporate sector.Type of ResearchFirst reading ensured enough time to read each page, to perceive the subject and contents to form a basis for finding and comprehend the facts.Second reading is attempted to learn and recognize, what made the article to give s uch a serious effect, and grounds of falsification.Final critique reading and view   on art, style, etiquette and magnitude of the article and draw inferences, as a whole.Research Questions:Does the article represent a view of research to lay facts, scholarly view to consider and instigate appropriate measures of corrections in ethnic field of auditing or an elite journalistic article ?Is the usage of Jargon is in compliance and accurate with the subject of article?What is the satisfaction of Author(s) who have ventured efforts in perceiving the facts?The author(s) have endeavored on article in prediction or to pre-empt the startling scams or scandals in corporate sector?Where does the error take rest? With Auditors/Company officials/Rating

Internal Corporate Communication on Strategy

Internal corporate communication on strategy and employee commitment International Business Communication Master's thesis Michele Fenech 2013 Department of Communication Aalto University School of Business Powered by TCPDF (www. tcpdf. org) Internal corporate communication on strategy A CRITICAL COMPARISON OF and employee commitment EUROPEAN DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCES IN THE CONTEXT OF INTRA-COMMUNITY SUPPLIES Master? s Thesis Master’s thesis Katharina ele Fenech ? MichWeber 26. 09. 2012 2013 Spring International Business International Business CommunicationApproved by the head of the Department of Management and International Business __. __. 20__ and awarded the grade ___________________ Approved in the Department of Communication / / 20 and awarded the grade AALTO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS International Business Communication Mater’s Thesis Mich? le Fenech e ABSTRACT 02-02-2013 Internal corporate communication on strategy and employee commitment Objectives of the stud y This Master’s thesis had three objectives. The ? rst objective was to examine the employees’ needs and preferences of the case company’s internal communication channels, speci? ally internal corporate communication channels that convey the company’s corporate strategy. The second was to investigate success of the internal strategy (corporate) communication by analysing the employees’ perception of their strategy knowledge. The third was to research the relation between internal strategy (corporate) communication (ISCC) and employee commitment. Methodology and theoretical framework The research method was a single-case study and the data was collected using a background study, semi-structured interviews and a survey. The qualitative data was analysed and emerging patterns were identi? d, whereas the quantitative data was statistically analysed using the R programming environment. The theoretical framework presents how internal corporate communicat ion conveys corporate strategy messages via rich and lean media, how the channel attributes affect employee preference and choice, and how the communication and interpretation of the strategy eventually result in commitment. Findings and conclusions of the study In the case company, top-down and primarily one-way internal corporate communication conveying strategy (ISCC) met the employees’ needs better than lateral and two-way internal strategy communication.The needs were recognised to include gaining strategy knowledge, gaining ability to use the knowledge, and reducing equivocality and uncertainty. Apart from the needs, the employees’ communication channel preferences and satisfaction seemed to be affected more with the channel accessibility and information quality attributes than with the richness of the channel. Internal strategy (corporate) communication (ISCC) was successful because the employees perceived to have corporate strategy knowledge. This strategy know ledge had a strong relationship with employee commitment, especially affective commitment.The main implication of this study was the recommendation that companies invest resources in internal strategy corporate communication (ISCC), because it was preferred by the employees at the case company, it corresponded to their needs and it contributed to their affective commitment. Key words: international business communication, internal communication, internal corporate communication, strategy communication, communication channels, communication channel attributes, media richness, corporate strategy, employee commitment I AALTO-YLIOPISTON KAUPPAKORKEAKOULU Kansainv? lisen yritysviestinn? pro gradu -tutkielma a a Mich? le Fenech e Sis? inen strategiaviestint? ja ty? ntekij? iden sitoutuminen a a o o ? TIIVISTELMA 02. 02. 2013 Tutkimuksen tavoitteet T? ll? pro gradu -tutkielmalla oli kolme tavoitetta. Ensimm? inen tavoite oli tutkia ty? ntekij? iden a a a o o tarpeita ja n? kemyksi? sis? is en viestinn? n v? lineist? eritoten sellaisista sis? isen yritysviestinn? n a a a a a a a a v? lineist? , jotka v? litt? v? t yrityksen strategiaa. Toinen tavoite oli selvitt? a sis? isen strategiaa a a a a a? a viestinn? n (ISCC) onnistuminen analysoimalla ty? ntekij? iden n? kemys heid? n strategiatiedosa o o a a taan.Kolmas tavoite oli tutkia sis? isen strategiaviestinn? n (ISCC) ja ty? ntekij? iden sitoutumia a o o sen v? list? suhdetta. a a Tutkimusmenetelm? t ja teoreettinen viitekehys a Tutkimusmetodi on tapaustutkimus, ja aineisto ker? ttiin taustaselvityksell? , haastatteluilla ja a a kyselyll? . Kvalitatiivinen aineisto analysoitiin ja kategorisoitiin, kun taas kvantitatiivinen aia neisto analysoitiin tilastollisesti R-ohjelmistoymp? rist? ll? . Tutkielman teoreettinen viitekehys a o a n? ytt? a kuinka sis? inen yritysviestint? viestii strategiaa joko rikkaan tai niukan median kauta a? a a ta ty? ntekij? lle, kuinka v? lineiden ominaisuudet vaikuttavat ty? ntekij? iden mie ltymyksiin ja o o a o o valintaan, ja kuinka viestint? ja strategian tulkitseminen lopulta johtavat ty? ntekij? iden sitoutua o o miseen. Tutkimuksen tulokset ja johtop? at? kset a? o Tapausyrityksen ty? ntekij? t pitiv? t parhaana vertikaalista ja enimm? kseen yksi-suuntaista sis? ist? o a a a a a yritysviestint? a, joka v? litti strategiaa (ISCC). Se t? ytti heid? n tarpeensa paremmin kuin hoa? a a a risontaalinen ja kaksi-suuntainen sis? inen strategiaviestint? . Tarpeiksi tunnistettiin strategiatiea a don saaminen, strategiatiedon k? tt? minen, ja moniselitteisyyden ja ep? varmuuden v? hent? minen. a a a a a Ty? ntekij? iden viestint? v? lineiden preferenssiin ja tyytyv? isyyteen n? ytti vaikuttavan enemm? n o o a a a a a v? lineiden k? ytett? vyys ja tiedon laatu kuin v? lineiden rikkaus. Sis? inen strategiaviestint? (ISCC) a a a a a a on onnistunut siin? ett? ty? ntekij? t kokevat, ett? he tiet? v? t yrityksen strategian. T? ll? stratea a o a a a a a a giatiedolla on vahva suh de ty? ntekij? iden sitoutumiseen, eritoten affektiiviseen sitoutumiseen. o o T? m? n tutkimuksen johtop? at? ksiin kuuluu, ett? yritysten pit? si investoida resursseja sis? iseen a a a? o a a a strategiaviestint? an (ISCC), sill? se on ty? ntekij? iden suosima, se vastaa heid? n tarpeisiinsa ja a? a o o a se vaikuttaa heid? n affektiiviseen sitoutumiseensa. a Avainsanat: kansainv? linen yritysviestint? , sis? inen viestint? , sis? inen yritysviestint? , stratea a a a a a giaviestint? , viestinn? n v? lineet, viestinn? n v? lineiden ominaisuudet, media rikkaus, yritys straa a a a a tegia, ty? ntekij? n sitoutuminen o a II Contents 1 Introduction 1. 1 Research objectives and questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. Terminology of this study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. 3 Structure of the thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Review of Literature 2. 1 Internal communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 1. 1 Internal co mmunication matrix . . . . . . 2. 1. 2 Internal corporate communication . . . . 2. 2 Corporate strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 2. 1 Strategy formation . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 2. 2 Strategy implementation . . . . . . . . . 2. 3 Communication channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 3. 1 Media richness theory . . . . . . . . . . 2. . 2 Channel attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 4 Commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 4. 1 Organisational Commitment . . . . . . . 2. 4. 2 Three-Component Model of Commitment 2. 5 Theoretical framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 6 8 9 9 13 15 18 19 23 30 32 41 43 46 50 55 61 61 62 63 64 66 66 72 80 83 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Methodology 3. 1 Research design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. 1. 1 Exploratory and descriptive research purpose . . . 3. 1. 2 Quantitative and qualitative research strategy . . . 3. 1. 3 Case study method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. 2 Data collection and analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. 2. 1 Background study, interview and survey techniques 3. 2. 2 Statistical data analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. 3 Reliability and validity of this study . . . . . . . . . . . . Findings and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 III 4. 1 4. 2 4. 3 4. 4 Description of the case company’s strategy and the internal communication channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 1. 1 Description of the company’s generic corporate strategy . . . . . 4. 1. 2 Description of the company’s internal com munication channels . Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 2. 1 Strategy knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 2. Employees’ ability to apply corporate strategy . . . . . . . . . . 4. 2. 3 The quantity of strategy information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 3. 1 Media richness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 3. 2 Preference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 3. 3 Information quality and channel accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 3. 4 Satisfaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 3. 5 Channel comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 3. 6 ICC versus non-ICC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 3. 7 ICC channels ful? l the employee needs to varying extent . . . . . Commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 4. 1 Affective, normative and continuance commitment . . . . . . . . 4. 4. 2 Strategy knowledge against commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 4. 3 ICC channels and commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 84 86 89 90 93 94 96 97 102 106 107 109 112 113 116 117 119 122 125 125 127 128 129 130 5 Conclusions 5. 1 Research summary . . . . . . . 5. 2 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. 3 Practical implications . . . . . . 5. 4 Limitations of the study . . . . . 5. 5 Suggestions for further research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV List of Tables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Important terminology of this study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Internal Communication Matrix (Welch & Jackson, 2007) . . . . . . . . Adjective-Pairs Used In Evaluating Communication Ch annels . . . . . Background material from case company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interview data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The stages of channel choice for the survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Case study tactics for Four Design Tests (Adapted from Yin (2009, p. 41)) 7 14 42 67 68 70 81 Selected channels and their dimension of internal communication . . . . . 89 The employee channel preference comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 The top three employee channel preferences in terms of media richness and internal communication dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 The employees’ ranking of channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 V List of Figures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 The Shannon-Weaver model of communication (Shannon & Weaver, 1949) Internal Corporate Communication (Welch & Jackson, 2007) . . . . . . . Types of Strategies (Mintzberg, 197 8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Strategy Implementation, a link between planned and realizing strategy . Media Richness Hierarchy (Lengel & Daft, 1988) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Media Selection Framework (Lengel & Daft, 1988) . . . . . . . . . . . A Three-component Model of Organizational Commitment . . . . . . . . The Theoretical Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A box plot with annotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A box plot with outlier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scatter plot without and with jitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scatter chart with Trend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scatter plot without and without outlier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Removal of outliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The correlation between Affective, Normative and Continuance Commitment Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Theoretical Framework (Content) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The employees’ perception of their strategy knowledge . . . . . . . . Ability to apply strategy against knowledge of the strategy . . . . . . Having enough strategy information against knowledge of the strategy The Theoretical Framework (Media) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Media richness attribute scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richness and Richness Adjusted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Channel preference ranking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Information quality and channel accessibility scores . . . . . . . . . . The employees’ channel satisfaction scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ICC and non-ICC channel attribute comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . The Theoretical Framework (Commitment) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overall ACS, NCS and CCS results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Commitment scales against Strategy Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . Knowledge affect commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 16 20 25 34 38 51 56 74 75 76 77 79 80 82 90 91 93 95 96 97 99 102 106 108 112 116 117 120 121 31 32 ACS, Strategy Knowledge and Employees’ perspective . . . . . . . . . . 122 The employees’ ? rst channel preference type with respect to strategy knowledge and ACS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 VII Chapter 1 Introduction In recent years, there has been a growing interest in internal communication in corporate communication research (Vercic, Vercic & Sriramesh, 2012).Internal communication can be described as any â€Å"communication with employees internally within the organization† (Cornelissen, 2011, p. 164). Not only does internal communication enable companies to have information and knowledge sharing between employees (D. Tourish & Hargie, 2004a) but it also satis? es and commits them (D. Tourish & Hargie, 2000), and gives them a voice to speak up (Morrison & Milliken, 2000). Internal communication is important, because it affects the bottom line of a company (Yates, 2006) and, quite simply, is a contributing factor to success (Argenti & Forman, 2002; D. Tourish & Hargie, 2004d).According to Welch and Jackson (2007), one of the recent internal communication theories is based on a stakeholder approach, where internal communication is divided into four interrelated dimensions according to identi? ed stakeholder groups: internal line manager communication, internal team peer communication, internal project peer communication and internal corporate communication. In their new approach to internal communication, Welch and Jackson (2007) concentrate on the fourth dimension, namely internal corporate communication. It is de? ned as â€Å"communication between an organisation’s strategic managers and its in1 ernal stakeholders, designed to promote commitment to the organisation, a sense of belonging to it, awareness of its changing environment and understanding of its evolving aims. † (Welch & Jackson, 2007, p. 193) The role of internal corporate communication is to convey corporate issues such as goals and objectives (Welch & Jackson, 2007). The internal corporate communication channels are mainly one-way channels, such as newsletters and the intranet. The aim of internal corporate communication is to reach four goals, which are belonging, commitment, awareness and understanding of the business environment.Welch and Jackson (2007) address speci? cally the formal and managed internal communication as opposed to the informal internal communication. Informal internal communication, also known as â€Å"grapevine†, includes the constant chat between people at work. The formal internal communication includes the managed company/work related communication. The new stakeholder approach to internal communication is important, beca use according to Welch and Jackson (2007), it broadens the previous approaches, which only looked at the employees as a single audience.The four internal communication dimensions give managers a tool to strategically communicate to different stakeholder groups within the company as well as to all employees at once. One of the corporate issues that internal communication conveys is strategy. Strategy has a multitude of de? nitions. Chandler (1962) created the basics for today’s typical strategy de? nition (Mintzberg, 1978; Mustonen, 2009), which is: â€Å"the determination of the basic long-term goals and objectives of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals† (Chandler, 1962, p. 3) Corporate strategy is important, because it aids the company to reach its long-term object2 ives and, therefore, affects the company’s long-term wealth (Al-Ghamdi, Roy & Ahmed, 2007). After the corporat e strategy has been formulated, it needs to be implemented, hence communicated, to the employees. The better the employees understand, accept and embrace the corporate strategy, the more successful the strategy communication is (Aaltonen & Ik? valko, 2002). Understanding the strategy objectives and the signi? cance a of everyone’s contribution has an effect on the commitment and work motivation of the employees (H? ? l? inen & Maula, 2004). a aa In spite of the wealth of research into strategy and strategy communication, there has been a call for more research on internal communication for more than a decade. For example, Argenti (1996, p. 94) points out that â€Å"no other corporate communication subfunction offers more of an opportunity for genuinely sought after research than employee [= internal] communication†. Even today, internal communication still calls for more research (Vercic et al. , 2012; Welch & Jackson, 2007). Welch and Jackson (2007, p. 94) call for fu rther research on â€Å"internal stakeholders’ [employees] needs and preferences for communication content and media† to improve internal corporate communication. Since the internal corporate communication concept is new, there has been little if any research in a corporate strategy context. Furthermore, internal corporate communication and its ability to contribute to the four goals, namely belonging, commitment, awareness and understanding of the business environment, hasn’t been studied much either. 1. 1 Research objectives and questions This Master’s thesis has three purposes. The ? st purpose is to examine the employees’ needs and preferences of the company’s internal communication (IC) channels, speci? cally internal corporate communication (ICC) channels that convey the company’s corporate strategy. The second is to investigate the successfulness of the internal strategy communication (ISC), speci? cally internal strategy corpo rate communication (ISCC), regarding the employees’ perception of their strategy knowledge. The third is to research the relation between internal strategy communication (ISC), focusing on internal strategy corporate communication (ISCC), and the employee’s commitment.The terminology 3 used in this study is described in Section 1. 2. Even though this study focuses primarily on the internal corporate communication (ICC) dimension, the other three internal communication dimensions, namely internal line manager communication, internal team peer communication and internal project peer communication, as well as the informal communication (non-ICC), are also taken into account in this study. This is because the other three dimensions are interrelated with the ICC dimension (Welch & Jackson, 2007); and, because informal communication adds an often used channel.This study looks both at the general internal strategy communication (ISC), which includes all four formal internal c ommunication dimensions and informal internal communication, and at Welch and Jackson’s (2007) more speci? c internal corporate communication conveying strategy (ISCC). Hereinafter, the general internal strategy communication (ISC) with the focus on internal strategy corporate communication (ISCC) is referred to as ‘internal strategy (corporate) communication’.Since, this study requires in-depth knowledge about a company’s internal strategy communication (ISC), it was deemed best to focus only on one company instead of looking at multiple companies. Also, since internal strategy communication (ISC) is con? dential, the case company prefers to stay anonymous. The chosen case company for this study is a Finnish daughter company of an international corporation. The daughter company is spread around Finland and has circa 350 employees. More information on the case company and the single case study method is presented in Section 3. . 3. The purpose of this stud y is transformed into one main and ? ve sub research questions. All of these research questions relate to the case company. The questions are as follows: Main research question: How does internal strategy communication, speci? cally internal strategy corporate communication, meet the employees’ needs and relate to employee commitment? Sub research questions: 4 1. What are the employees’ internal strategy (corporate) communication channel preferences? 2. How do the channels meet the employees’ needs? 3.How much knowledge do the employees perceive to have regarding the corporate strategy gained through internal strategy (corporate) communication? 4. How committed are the employees? 5. What is the relation between their commitment and strategy knowledge gained through internal strategy (corporate) communication? The main research question studies how internal (corporate) communication conveying the corporate strategy meets the needs of the employees. Also, it studi es whether the communication relates to the employees’ commitment towards the company. The ? e sub research questions are studying this main research problem more thoroughly. The ? rst and second sub research questions aim to identify what the employees’ internal strategy (corporate) communication channel preferences are and how the channels meet the employees’ needs. Internal communication media include different kinds of communication channels. On the one hand, it includes two-way internal communication channels such as performance appraisals, and on the other hand, it includes one-way internal corporate communication channels, such as newsletters and the intranet. The channel related needs will be identi? d from the literature. The emphasis in the ? rst and second sub questions is on the employees’ viewpoint on the channels and their characteristics. The third sub research question studies how much knowledge the employees perceive to have regarding the corporate strategy. It is assumed that strategy knowledge is gained and understood via several different ways, one of them being internal strategy (corporate) communication. The needs of the employees for internal strategy (corporate) communication are to receive the message, understand it, and gain the required strategy knowledge.The employees’ level of strategy knowledge and their ability to use this knowledge in their everyday work will help to determine whether the internal strategy (corporate) communication is effective and successful. The fourth and ? fth sub research questions investigate the commitment level of the case 5 company employees, and the relation between their commitment and their strategy knowledge. As has been discussed earlier, ICC leads to four goals, which are commitment, belonging, awareness and understanding of the business environment. Due to the scope restrictions in this study, only the ommitment goal is researched. The organisational commitment theory will be used to analyse how committed the employees are to the company. The gained strategy knowledge will be seen as a result of internal strategy (corporate) communication. Therefore, the employees’ strategy knowledge acts as a middleman in determining the relation between internal strategy corporate communication and the employees’ commitment. This Master’s thesis is well positioned in the research ? eld of International Business Communication, because this study is set in an international business setting researching communication.The Finnish case company is a subsidiary of a multinational company, with subsidiaries all over the world. There is close co-operation between the parent and subsidiary companies, providing an international setting for the business. This study explores internal strategy (corporate) communication in the ? eld of business. The speci? c interest is in the case company’s corporate strategy, how this company communicates t he strategy to its employees, how the employees perceive the communication and whether the communication relates to their organisational commitment. 1. 2Terminology of this study Since the ‘internal communication’, ‘internal corporate communication’ and ‘internal strategy corporate communication’ related concepts and terminology used in this study are very similar to each other, there is the potential for misunderstandings. In order to increase clarity of this study, a summary of the key terminology is provided. The terminology, the abbreviations and their descriptions are presented in Table 1. As can be seen in Table 1, the key terminology used in this study consists of variations about ‘internal communication’ and ‘strategy’.In each chapter, the ? rst time a term is mentioned, it is spelled out entirely with the abbreviation in brackets as a reminder. After 6 Table 1: Important terminology of this study Abbr. IC Desc ription Terminology Internal communication Internal corporate communication ICC Formal non-ICC Internal line manager communication Internal project peer communication Internal team peer communication Informal Small talk, corridor chats ISC Overall internal communication happening in a company. Could be both one-way or two-way communication.Includes all four formal internal communication dimensions and informal communication Predominantly one-way communication between an organisation’s strategic managers and its employees on corporate issues Other internal communication that is not ICC. It includes most two-way communication, formal and informal, on work related issues between all the employees (line manager to subordinate, employee to employee, project peer to project peer, team peer to team peer) of the company 7 ISCC Internal strategy communication Internal strategy corporate communicationFormal Internal communication conveying strategy information in a company. Could be bo th one-way or two-way communication. Includes all four formal internal communication dimensions and informal communication Predominantly one-way communication on precisely the corporate strategy conveyed from the strategic managers to all the employees more or less simultaneously Internal strategy line manager communication Internal strategy project peer communication Internal strategy team peer communication Informal Strategy small talk, corridor chatsOther internal communication on strategy that is not ISCC. It includes non-ISCC most two-way communication, formal or informal, on strategy between all the employees of the company that the abbreviation is usually used. However, in selected places, like Section 2. 1 on internal communication, the term ‘internal communication’ is spelled out instead of using the abbreviation IC in order to make the difference towards ICC more prominent. 1. 3 Structure of the thesis The four main sections in this Master’s thesis are the literature review, the methodology, the ? dings and discussion, and the conclusions. The literature review presents the most relevant literature for this study, including literature on internal communication, strategy, internal communication channels and commitment. The ? nal section of the literature review explains the theoretical framework of this study. The methodology chapter presents the research design, methods and data, and reliability of the study. The ? ndings and discussion chapter explains ? ndings on the internal strategy (corporate) communication channels, employee preferences and need ful? ment, employees’ perception of their strategy knowledge, and employees’ overall organisational commitment and its relation to the gained strategy knowledge. All of the ? ndings are discussed throughout this chapter. Finally, the conclusion chapter reviews the research summary, explains the practical implications of this research, presents the limitations of the stu dy, and proposes suggestions for further research. 8 Chapter 2 Review of Literature This chapter will review literature that is relevant to this Master’s thesis. All of the sections in this chapter ? st review more general literature on the topic at hand and then dive into the more speci? c theory or model that is of relevance to this study. The ? rst section presents research related to internal communication in general and, more speci? cally, to the internal communication matrix and the internal corporate communication (ICC) concept. The second section addresses the formulation and implementation of strategy. The third section highlights communication channels, in general, and then more speci? cally focuses on the media richness theory and communication channel attributes.The fourth section elaborates on commitment, organisational commitment and the threecomponent model of commitment. The last section presents the theoretical framework of this study. 2. 1 Internal communica tion The word communication is based on the Latin words â€Å"communis† and â€Å"communicare† (Wiio, 1977). â€Å"Communis† means sharing in common and â€Å"communicare† means to make common, hence communication is something that is being done together (Wiio, 9 1977). Wiio (1970) de? nes communication simply as the exchange of information between the sender and the receiver.One of the earliest ways to describe communication is the Shannon-Weaver model of communication, which includes more elements than just the sender and the receiver (Shannon & Weaver, 1949). This model is presented in Figure 1. Transmitter Information message (Encoder) Source signal Channel Noise Source received signal Receiver (Decoder) message Destination Figure 1: The Shannon-Weaver model of communication (Shannon & Weaver, 1949) In Figure 1 the sender encodes a message, transmits it via a channel to the receiver who decodes the message.Along the way there is noise, which refers to any disturbance that could affect the reception of the message (Shannon & Weaver, 1949). What makes this communication successful, according to Al-Ghamdi et al. (2007), is that the information transferred from the sender to the receiver is understood by the receiver. For a long time now, it has been recognised that the Shannon-Weaver model of communication is outdated because it cannot fully grasp the complex process of human communication, nevertheless, it is one of the best known models (Bowman & Targowski, 1987).It is important to note that communication can be both internal and external (Cornelissen, 2011). Traditionally it was easy to distinguish between the internal communication between the employees in a company and the external communication to, for instance, customers. Nowadays, however, with the arrival of technology and new communication tools (e-mail, intranet, videos, online newsletters) the borders between internal and external communication have become fuzzy (Cornel issen, 2011). For the purpose of this study, it is assumed that internal communication can exist as its own concept separate from external communication.This study will only focus on the internal aspects of communication. Internal communication is important because it helps to share information and know10 ledge with everyone at the company (D. Tourish & Hargie, 2004a). It informs (Smith, 2008), satis? es and commits the employees (D. Tourish & Hargie, 2000), as well as, engages them (Kress, 2005) and gives them a voice to speak up (Morrison & Milliken, 2000). Especially in today’s rapidly changing business world, with all the downsizing, outsourcing and restructuring, internal communication is important (Vercic et al. 2012). It has emerged as a critical function, because organisational leaders need better management skills in regards to employees (Vercic et al. , 2012). Welch and Jackson (2007) argue that internal communication, speci? cally ICC, explained in Subsection 2. 1. 2, leads to commitment, and commitment leads to better performance (Meyer & Allen, 1991) and, therefore, internal communication is crucial for business success. It is the key to good management (Jay, 2005) and it produces better results (Smith, 2008).Internal communication affects the bottom line of a company, by decreasing employee turnover and increasing market premiums, shareholder returns and employee engagement (Yates, 2006), therefore, leading to success (Argenti & Forman, 2002; D. Tourish & Hargie, 2004d). The growing importance of internal communication is visible in many initiatives, for instance, the setting up of the Institute of internal communication in the UK, with the aim of understanding and studying the ? eld (Vercic et al. , 2012). Already in the 6th century St.Benedict said: â€Å"Smaller organisational decisions should be taken by senior individuals, but large ones should be decided as a group. Everyone’s voice must be heard to avoid murmurs and back-bit ing† (Smith, 2008, p. 10), which indicates that internal communication has existed for a long time and it is not only a phenomenon of today’s business world (Smith, 2008). Although the actual practice of internal communication has probably existed for quite some time, the concept itself is relatively new, having started in the US and spread from there to Europe (Vercic et al. , 2012) in the 20th century (Clutterbuck, 1997; Smith, 2008).Even though internal communication has been studied directly or indirectly by many researchers such as Argenti (1996); J. Grunig and Hunt (1984); Jefkins (1988); Kalla (2005); Quirke (2000); Smith (2008); Stone (1995); D. Tourish and Hargie (2004b); Wiio (1970); Wright (1995); Yates (2006), there has been a considerable gap in the academic research and understanding of internal communication (Welch & Jackson, 2007). This is highlighted with the following quote. â€Å"no other corporate communication subfunction offers more of an opportun ity for genuinely sought after research than employee [= internal] communic11 ation† (Argenti, 1996, p. 4) It is dif? cult to de? ne internal communication because it has several, often interchangeably used, synonyms such as change management (Smith, 2008), employee communication (Argenti, 1996; Smidts, Pruyn & Van Riel, 2001), employee relations (Argenti, 1996; J. Grunig & Hunt, 1984; Quirke, 2000), integrated internal communications (Kalla, 2005), internal public relations (Jefkins, 1988; Wright, 1995), internal relations (J. Grunig & Hunt, 1984), industrial relations (Smith, 2008), reputation management (Smith, 2008), staff communication (Stone, 1995), staff communications (D. Tourish & Hargie, 2004b) and transformation (Smith, 2008).These synonyms add to the complexity of de? ning internal communication. The term internal communication has been chosen for this study due to the interest in Welch and Jackson’s (2007) ICC concept; for details see Subsection 2. 1. 2. In addition, the term internal communication is preferred by corporate communication theorists such as Van Riel (1995) and J. Foreman and Argenti (2005). There have been very few useful and appropriate de? nitions of internal communication. De? nitions have either been very simple, for example â€Å"communication with employees internally within the organization† (Cornelissen, 2011, p. 64), or describing something else entirely. For example, a very widely used de? nition of internal communication is that of Frank and Brownell (1989), which more accurately seems to be a de? nition of organisational communication instead of internal communication (Welch & Jackson, 2007). â€Å"the communications transactions between individuals and/or groups at various levels and in different areas of specialisation that are intended to design and redesign organisations, to implement designs, and to co-ordinate day-today activities† (Frank & Brownell, 1989, p. -6) Appropriately, Welch and Jackson (2007) addressed this gap in the academic research and understanding of internal communication and rede? ned internal communication. Welch and Jackson’s (2007) de? nition is adopted for this study, because of the interest in ICC 12 speci? cally. The de? nition is presented below. â€Å"the strategic management of interactions and relationships between stakeholders within organisations across a number of interrelated dimensions including, internal line manager communication, internal team peer communication, internal project peer communication and internal corporate communication† (Welch & Jackson, 2007, p. 84) This section continues by explaining Welch and Jackson’s (2007) internal communication matrix with its four formal internal communication dimensions in Subsection 2. 1. 1. Then, Subsection 2. 1. 2 de? nes the internal corporate communication concept and its four goals (Welch & Jackson, 2007). 2. 1. 1 Internal communication matrix The internal commu nication matrix created by Welch and Jackson (2007) consists of four formal internal communication dimensions, which are the earlier mentioned internal corporate communication (ICC), internal line manager communication, internal team peer communication and internal project peer communication.The internal communication matrix helps to separate the ICC dimension from the other internal communication dimensions. Welch and Jackson (2007) take a stakeholder approach to internal communication. This is done in order to address the criticism and recent calls for research. L’Etang (2005, p. 522) criticises that â€Å"employees are too often treated as a single public† with respect to internal communication in a company. In addition, Forman and Argenti (2005) call for more research on employees as the target audience of internal communication.Welch and Jackson (2007) address these issues by differentiating stakeholder groups at the company, while at the same time still focusing on communication that reaches all the employees. Hence, Welch and Jackson (2007) take a stakeholder approach to internal communication. 13 According to Freeman (1984, p. 25), a stakeholder is: â€Å"any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the ? rm’s objectives†. Stakeholder theory, together with internal communication, add to the identi? ation of participants that form stakeholder groups at different organisational levels: all employees, strategic management, day-to-day management, work teams and project teams (Welch & Jackson, 2007). This implies the earlier mentioned four interrelated dimensions of internal communication (Welch & Jackson, 2007). These four internal communication dimensions in a management context form the internal communication matrix, which is visible in Table 2. Table 2: Internal Communication Matrix (Welch & Jackson, 2007) Dimension 1. Internal line management communication 2.Internal team peer communication 3. Internal project peer communication 4. Internal corporate communication Level Line managers/ supervisors Team colleagues Project group colleagues Strategic managers/ top management Direction Predominantly two-way Two-way Two-way Predominantly one-way Participants Line managersemployees Employeeemployee Employeeemployee Strategic managers-all employees Content Employees’ roles Personal impact, e. g. appraisal discussions, team brie? ngs Team information, e. g. team task discussions Project information, e. g. project issues Organisational/ corporate issues, e. . goals, objectives, new developments, activities and achievements As Table 2 shows, the four dimensions of internal communication are followed by the organisational level, the direction, participants and content of the internal communication, respectively. The level, direction, participants and content of the internal communication differ according to the internal stakeholder group in question. The ? rst dimension, inter nal line manager communication, is between the line managers and the employees of a company at the line manager/supervisor level.This communication is mainly two-way, between superior and subordinate with the content being, for instance, about employee roles (Welch & Jackson, 2007). The second dimension, internal team peer communication, is two-way communication between team members, employee to employee, with the content being team information (Welch & Jackson, 2007). The third dimension, internal project peer communication, is two-way communication between project peers, employee to employee, with the content being project informa14 tion.The difference here between a team and a project is that teams are work teams in departments and divisions while projects have a wider scope with dispersed teams (Welch & Jackson, 2007). The fourth dimension, ICC, is strategic one way communication from the strategic managers/top management of the company to all employees. This communication deals with corporate issues such as goals, objectives and achievements (Welch & Jackson, 2007). Internal line, team peer and project peer communication have been considerably researched by J. Grunig et al. (1992).Therefore, the focus of this study will be on ICC, which has been largely ignored to date. 2. 1. 2 Internal corporate communication The internal corporate communication (ICC) concept developed by Welch and Jackson (2007) is communication between the strategic top of the company and the rest of the company. It focuses on all the employees and, therefore, ? lls an existing void in research (Forman & Argenti, 2005). Internal corporate communication is predominantly oneway and includes issues such as company goals and objectives. The concept of ICC is presented in Figure 2, with the de? ition of ICC being: â€Å"communication between an organisation’s strategic managers and its internal stakeholders, designed to promote commitment to the organisation, a sense of belonging to it, awareness of its changing environment and understanding of its evolving aims† (Welch & Jackson, 2007, p. 186) Figure 2 shows that the strategic managers, who are situated in the circle in the middle of Figure 2, send corporate messages, shown as arrows in Figure 2, to all the company employees, who are situated in the circle depicting internal environment.Figure 2 also points out that internal corporate communication, where the strategic managers are sending corporate messages to the employees, leads to four goals, which are visible in the thick one-way arrows: commitment, awareness, belonging and understanding. In addition, there are four smaller double headed arrows between the internal environment and the external micro environment. These arrows imply two-way communication, which ex15 External MacroEnvironment Employees Commitment External MicroEnvironment Corporate Messages Understanding Strategic managers Awareness Belonging EmployeesInternal Environment Figure 2: In ternal Corporate Communication (Welch & Jackson, 2007) ists in the other three internal communication dimensions: internal manager communication, internal team peer communication and internal project peer communication. Finally, there is also an external macro environment in Figure 2. The double headed arrows in Figure 2 show that even though the main messages are predominantly one way, the strategic managers are still getting feedback and information from their employees in other ways, for instance, through internal team peer communication (Welch & Jackson, 2007).Welch and Jackson (2007) note that the one-wayness of the internal corporate communication concept can be criticised; however, it would be unrealistic to assume that the company could have face-to-face discussion with every single employee on every issue at hand. Therefore, it is important that the messages sent from the top are consistent and this could be done with mediated means of communication (e. g. external news rel ease, corporate television advertisement, corporate web site, internal newsletter).Internal mediated communication can be considered symmetrical: â€Å"if 16 its content meets the employees’ need to know rather than the management’s need to tell† (L. Grunig, Grunig & Dozier, 2002, p. 487). The channels of ICC are a focus in this study, which is to answer the call for further research highlighted in the following quote. â€Å"Research into employee preferences for channel and content of internal corporate communication is required to ensure it meets employees’ needs† (Welch & Jackson, 2007, p. 87) The aforementioned goals of the ICC concept are to increase commitment of the employees to the organisation, develop their awareness of the environmental change, increase their belonging to the company and develop their understanding of the changing objectives. Out of these four goals the commitment goal is of speci? c interest to this study. Commitment is like a positive attitude among employees (De Ridder, 2004; Meyer & Allen, 1997; Mowday, Porter & Steers, 1982) and a degree of loyalty towards an organisation (Welch & Jackson, 2007).It is de? ned as â€Å"the relative strength of an individual’s identi? cation with, and involvement in, a particular organisation† (Mowday, Steers & Porter, 1979, p. 226). Meyer and Allen (1997) identify three types of workplace commitment, namely affective, continuance and normative. Since the concept of commitment and Meyer and Allen’s (1991) three types of commitment are relevant for this Master’s thesis, they will be further reviewed in Section 2. 4. Belonging is described by Cornelissen (2004, p. 8) as â€Å"a ‘we’ feeling [–] allowing people to identify with their organizations†. Internal communication has an effect on this degree of identi? cation (Smidts et al. , 2001, p. 1052). The need to belong is a strong motivator for people (Baumeist er & Leary, 1995). Therefore, it has to be remembered that organisations could use a persuasive strategy to in? uence the employees (Cheney, 1983) or even use internal communication as a tool to try to manipulate employees (Moloney, 2000). Due to this Welch and Jackson (2007) point out that ICC has an ethical aspect.It is important for the employees to be aware of the environmental change, and understand how it impacts the organisation (Welch & Jackson, 2007), because the organisational environment is dynamic. This dynamic environment has three levels, namely macro, micro 17 and internal (Palmer & Hartley, 2002), which are also shown in Figure 2. These environments are subject to change, and change in the business world has been substantial in the past years for instance due to technology (Cornelissen, 2004).Due to these environmental changes and the implications they could mean, it is vital for the employees to be aware and understand the change (Welch & Jackson, 2007). In addition , to just plainly communicating the current situation of the organisation to the employees, the organisation should even communicate about the external opportunities and threats of the company. Effective internal corporate communication should enable employees to understand the constant changes the company is going through (Welch & Jackson, 2007), thus reducing employees’ uncertainty. In sum, ICC is of speci? interest in this study, because it hasn’t yet been extensively researched. Internal communication is important for companies, because it contributes to their success (Argenti & Forman, 2002; D. Tourish & Hargie, 2004d). When a stakeholder approach is taken, internal communication can be divided into four interrelated dimensions (Welch & Jackson, 2007). These dimensions together form the internal communication matrix (Welch & Jackson, 2007). Out of these four dimensions ICC is the strategic top addressing all the employees simultaneously about the company goals and objectives (Welch & Jackson, 2007).The goals of the ICC include giving the employees a feeling of belonging and commitment, as well as raising the employees’ awareness and understanding of the company’s changing environment (Welch & Jackson, 2007). 2. 2 Corporate strategy Corporate strategy is important, because it aids the company to reach its long-term objectives and, therefore, affects the company’s long-term wealth (Al-Ghamdi et al. , 2007). Understanding these objectives and the signi? cance of everyone’s contribution has an effect on the commitment and work motivation of the employees (H? m? l? nen & Maula, 2004), a aa which is a contributing factor to an effective company (Koch, Radvansk? & Sklen? r, y a 2011). 18 The origin of the word strategy comes from the Greek word â€Å"strategos†, â€Å"a general† (Bracker, 1980, p. 219), referring to skills of warfare (Cummings, 1993; Lahti, 2008). Furthermore, the Greek verb â€Å"stratego † stands for †plan[ning] the destruction of one’s enemies through effective use of resources† (Bracker, 1980, p. 219). The word strategy was originally linked to war and politics, and only after World War II was there a need to link the word to business (Bracker, 1980).The ? rst ones to connect the strategy concept to business were Von Neumann and Morgenstern with their game theory (Bracker, 1980), where strategy is the set of rules that players follow (Mintzberg, 1978). Chandler (1962) created the basics for today’s typical strategy de? nition (Mintzberg, 1978; Mustonen, 2009): †the determination of the basic long-term goals and objectives of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals† (Chandler, 1962, p. 13) Bracker (1980, p. 221) sums up many of the strategy de? itions to: â€Å"entails the analysis of internal and external environments of a ? rm to maximi ze the utilization of resources in relation to objectives†. Strategy quite simply put is a †plan† (Mintzberg, 1978, p. 935). This section continues by explaining the strategy formation with Mintzberg’s (1978) theory and a brief review on vision and mission related research in Subsection 2. 2. 1. Then, the strategy implementation is explained in Subsection 2. 2. 2. Issues covered include the importance of the implementation process, the de? nition, Aaltonen and Ik? alko’s (2002) a theory, the importance of managers in the process, some practical issues and the dif? culties of strategy implementation. Finally, the subtle difference between internal strategy communication (ISC) and internal strategy corporate communication (ISCC) is discussed. 2. 2. 1 Strategy formation The strategy process starts with the company’s corporate strategy formation. Mintzberg’s (1978) theory is one of the many theories that explains the theoretical strategy for mation. 19 A more practical view of strategy formation is found in research on vision and mission statements. Mintzberg’s (1978) theoryMintzberg (1978) developed a strategy formation theory, where there are two kinds of strategies, the intended and the realised. According to Mintzberg (1978), in the mainly theoretical strategy formation research, the majority of strategy de? nitions have one thing in common: they are a deliberate set of guidelines that determine future decisions. This type of a strategy is called an intended strategy, and it has the following three characteristics (Mintzberg, 1978). First, it is explicit. Second, it is created purposefully and consciously; and third, it is made in advance to help decision-making.Opposite to the intended strategy is the realised strategy, which is the actual strategy that is put into action. In order to expand the strategy formation research, Mintzberg (1978, p. 935) de? nes strategy as â€Å"a pattern in a stream of decision s†. He then claims that these two kinds of strategies, intended and realised, can be combined in three different ways, resulting in ? ve types of strategies, namely the intended, unrealised, deliberate, emergent and realised. These ? ve types of strategies and their relations are presented in Figure 3. Intended Strategy Unrealized StrategyDeliberate Strategy Realized Strategy Emergent Strategy Figure 3: Types of Strategies (Mintzberg, 1978) As can be seen in Figure 3, the intended strategy is to the left implying a starting point, and the realised strategy is to the right implying an end result. Mintzberg (1978) reasons that the intended and the realised strategy, at least theoretically, can be combined in the following three ways. First, intended strategies that get realised without anything left 20 out or added are called deliberate strategies. Second, intended strategies that do not get realised are called unrealised strategies.This could be caused by issues such as unreali stic expectations. Third, unintended strategies that get realised are called emergent strategies. These could develop over time, unintended, out of a pattern of continuous decisional behaviour. Mintzberg and Waters (1985) suggest that for a strategy to realise itself exactly as it was planned, three conditions need to be met. First, the strategy needs to be planned in detail, in a way that it can be communicated clearly. Second, everyone in the company needs to know it. Third, the strategy implementation is not in? uenced from outside of the company (Mintzberg & Waters, 1985).At least two out of these three conditions need communication, which emphasizes the role that communication plays in the strategy process, especially in the implementation, which is presented in Subsection 2. 2. 2. Vision and mission Vision and mission have been recognised as a part of the more practical view on the strategy formulation process for all types of organisations (Darbi, 2010; David, 1989). However, David (1989) argues that the strategy formulation process consists of not only the creation of the vision and mission statement, but also of the SWOT-analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) and the identi? ation of the long-term objectives, to name a few. H? m? l? inen and Maula (2004) point out that it is common practice that a aa companies de? ne at least vision, mission, strategy (a more limited concept, not to be confused with the main corporate strategy) and value statements during their strategy process. These four components could be seen as the most central operational guidelines of a company (H? m? l? inen & Maula, 2004). a aa Vision and mission statements are important, because they in? uence strategy and organisational performance (Darbi, 2010).Vision and mission statements give direction and clarity to the employees; and create a common sense of purpose (Campbell, 1997; Ireland & Hirc, 1992; Klemm, Sanderson & Luffman, 1991; Matejka, Kurke & Gregory, 1993; Mullane, 2002). In addition, these statements also motivate (Ireland & Hirc, 21 1992), shape behaviours (Collins & Porras, 1991), develop commitment (Klemm et al. , 1991) and ? nally in? uence employee performance positively (Mullane, 2002). Vision describes the desired future state of a company (Darbi, 2010; H? m? l? inen & a aa Maula, 2004).The content and length of this description may differ (Darbi, 2010). In addition, G. Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2008) argue that the vision should show how the company produces value for its stakeholders. A vision gives strategic direction to a company and, furthermore, is the foundation for the mission and other related goals (Darbi, 2010). â€Å"Vision statements are supposed to be challenging and ambitious yet workable enough to evoke employees’ ingenuity as far as its realisation is concerned† (Darbi, 2010, p. 96) A mission is the company’s current purpose (Darbi, 2010; H? m? l? inen & Maula, 2004). aa It answers the question: â€Å"what is our business? † (David, 2009, p. 85), and expresses the corporate strategy in terms of scope and value creation (David, 2009). The mission should convey the company’s strategic direction to the stakeholders (Bartkus, Glassman & McAfee, 2004). Hence the company should identify the most important stakeholders in their mission statement and assure that their needs are met (Mullane, 2002). The mission should speci? cally correspond to the values and expectations of the stakeholders (Darbi, 2010). The last two corporate strategy components presented are values and strategy.Values refer to the company embraced principles (H? m? l? inen & Maula, 2004). Strategy shows a aa how the company is going to achieve its vision and mission (H? m? l? inen & Maula, 2004). a aa This type of strategy is a more limited concept in the whole big corporate strategy process, and its purpose seems to be to show a practical way to reach the goals. It seems to b e rather confusing to have two separate concepts named the same, which de? nitely can be seen as a problem in the strategy implementation phase. This could potentially be solved by renaming the more limited strategy concept as something else.However, the word strategy has also many other meanings (Jones, 2008), and it has become a synonym for 22 different words. For instance, strategy could refer to a plan, a position, a purpose or a long term view (Jones, 2008) and in the adjective form of â€Å"strategic† even important or signi? cant (Alvesson, 2002). There is some criticism in regards to the usefulness and bene? ts of these vision and mission statements (Simpson, 1994). In terms of the content, for instance Simpson (1994) and Goett (1997) note that the majority of these vision and mission statements sound very general and are â€Å"rarely useful† (Goett, 1997, p. ). Hussey (1998) notes that there are semantic problems with vision and mission, therefore what someone thinks of as a vision, another one would say is a mission. Jones (2008) points out that the terms vision and mission have as many de? nitions as people want to give them and they are very overused. Collins and Porras (1999) go a step further and indicate that vision is one of the most overused words in the English language; it is also the least understood. In addition to the criticism against the content, there is also criticism against the process of formulating the vision and mission.Mullane (2002) noted that it is not really the content itself but rather the process of formulating the vision and mission, and how they are then implemented. These statements are seen as top management’s compulsory work that will inevitably end in the employees’ desk drawers or walls, forgotten. So, are the vision and mission statements useful after all? Well, the literature that supports the usefulness and relevance does outweigh the opposite literature (Darbi, 2010), implying that th e vision and mission statements are useful.However, the problem of not everyone knowing and understanding the vision and mission statements remains, and should be addressed with a well thought-out strategy implementation, which takes this into consideration. 2. 2. 2 Strategy implementation It is not enough if only the top management knows about the corporate strategy; it also needs the employees embracing the parts of the strategy that affect their work (H? m? l? inen a aa & Maula, 2004). Therefore, a successful strategy implementation is vital for any com23 pany (Aaltonen & Ik? alko, 2002). Strategy communication, being a major part of a strategy implementation, is important, because it is essential to operational ef? ciency of a company (Kagan, 2004; Roy, 2001). The more successful the strategy communication (Aaltonen & Ik? valko, 2002), the better the employees understand, accept and a embrace the corporate strategy and, hence, the more successful the strategy implementation. H? m? l? inen and Maula (2004) concluded from Juholin’s (1999) work that strategy a aa communication also increases work satisfaction.Strategy communication does not only affect culture, general well-being and performance, but when it is missing, there might be moral problems and weaker performance (Kazoleas & Wright, 2001). In H? m? l? inen and Maula’s (2004) viewpoint strategy implementation means those cona aa crete choices and decisions that employees do everyday at work. Noble (1999, p. 120) de? nes strategy implementation â€Å"as the communication, interpretation, adoption, and enactment of strategic plans†. Communicating strategy to the employees is a central part of strategy implementation (Alexander, 1985; Noble, 1999; Roy, 2001).Strategy communication, as part of the strategy implementation process, is both written and oral communication about the corporate strategy. It is usually communicated in a top-down direction (Aaltonen & Ik? valko, 2002). The com munication is about the responsibilita ies and tasks the employees need to know so that they can ful? l the corporate strategy (Alexander, 1991). Naturally, a strategy might need to be communicated to other stakeholder groups as well, such as customers, suppliers, partners, analysts, media, authorities, local community, NGO’s and competitors (H? m? l? inen & Maula, 2004).Steckel (2000) even points out a aa that companies commonly communicate the strategy to partners and customers and forget the employees. However, in this study the emphasis is put on internal strategy corporate communication (ISCC) and, therefore, the only receivers considered are the employees of a company. Aaltonen and Ik? valko (2002) developed a strategy implementation theory based on earlier a research (Mintzberg, 1978; Noble, 1999; Pettigrew, 1987). They adopted the strategy formation theory from Mintzberg (1978) and the strategy implementation components from Noble (1999).Aaltonen and Ik? valko’ s (2002) strategy implementation theory is a presented in Figure 4. 24 vision planned strategy Strategy implementation: communication interpretation and adoption actions realizing strategy Figure 4: Strategy Implementation as a link between