ICMTs and Communication Audits in Organizations
This paper examines two interconnected topics in organizational communication: information communications and media technology (ICMT) and the communication audit. The first section defines ICMT as a convergence of information communication technology and media technology, and discusses how tools such as social media, instant messaging, and email benefit organizations through timely information sharing, knowledge transfer, and enhanced marketing. The second section defines the communication audit and argues that failing to conduct one can result in low employee morale, loss of shareholder engagement, and significant financial losses. The paper concludes by noting that regular, bi-annual communication audits are a practical mechanism for keeping organizational communication systems relevant and effective.
- What Is Information Communications and Media Technology (ICMT)?: Defines ICMT and its component technologies
- Organizational Benefits of ICMT: How ICMTs improve sharing, collaboration, and marketing
- What Is a Communication Audit?: Defines communication audits and their organizational purpose
- Consequences of Neglecting Communication Audits: Morale, shareholder, and financial risks of skipping audits
- Communication Audits in Practice: Real-world application of bi-annual audit practice
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What makes this paper effective
- Clear definitional framing: each major concept (ICMT and communication audit) is defined before its implications are explored, giving the reader a logical entry point.
- Concrete examples — such as a company using radio to reach teenagers who primarily use social media — make abstract organizational concepts tangible and easy to evaluate.
- The paper connects theoretical concepts directly to organizational outcomes (morale, productivity, financial loss), making the argument practically relevant rather than purely academic.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates the technique of consequence analysis: for each organizational concept, the author systematically identifies what happens when the concept is applied correctly versus neglected. This "if not, then" structure (e.g., "failure to conduct a communications audit could result in low employee morale") strengthens the argument by showing stakes rather than simply describing practices.
Structure breakdown
The paper is organized into two clearly labeled parts. Part One introduces and defines ICMT, then enumerates its benefits to organizations across three areas: information sharing, knowledge transfer, and marketing. Part Two defines the communication audit, lists three categories of negative consequences from neglecting audits (employee morale, shareholder relations, financial losses), and closes with a brief real-world application. Each section follows a definition-then-application pattern, making the argument easy to follow.
What Is Information Communications and Media Technology (ICMT)?
ICMT is derived from two fundamental terminologies: information communication technology and media technology. Information communication technologies refer to the resources and tools used to create, manage, store, and disseminate information (Gray, 2012). They include telephony, broadcasting technologies (television and radio), computers, and other technological media for communication. Each of these media has its technological limitations — radio, for instance, can broadcast an event live, but listeners can only hear the sound and cannot see the performers. Similarly, a television can deliver video and sound, but not text (Croteau, Hoynes & Milan, 2011). Media technologies are platforms of computer networks that allow for the delivery of all media forms: interactive, video, picture, sound, text, and live (Croteau et al., 2011).
Information communications and media technologies, therefore, refer to the various tools for creating, managing, and disseminating information that allow for the delivery of print, sound, still photos, and live video forms of media. They include social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, instant messaging, and email, among others.
Organizational Benefits of ICMT
These technologies can benefit an organization in a number of ways. First, they allow for the timely sharing of information. Through instant messaging services such as Skype or messaging apps such as WhatsApp, employees can seek clarifications from their supervisors and receive responses immediately. This helps ensure that work continues even when supervisors are off-site, and that confusion or uncertainty does not interfere with the smooth flow of operations.
Moreover, such services facilitate knowledge transfer among team members at the workplace. Team members are able to explore social contexts, negotiate work expectations, and collaborate on projects even when they are away from the office. ICMTs are essentially able to overcome the spatial and temporal communication barriers often encountered in face-to-face interactions.
Through social media platforms, organizations are also able to market their products more effectively than through traditional forms of communication such as television, radio, and print media. For instance, an organization can post a video on Facebook about a newly launched product and allow users to post comments or share the content with others who may not otherwise have seen it. This helps the marketed product reach a wider audience while enabling a form of interactivity that traditional media cannot offer. Towards this end, organizations should strive to expand their use of ICMTs both internally and in connecting with their customer networks.
What Is a Communication Audit?
A communication audit can be defined as an evaluation of an organization's ability to share, send, and receive information with and from various audiences, both within and outside the organization (Townsend-Hall, n.d.). It helps an organization identify the strengths and weaknesses of its internal communication systems and devise effective measures for either reinforcing or correcting them.
Failure to conduct a communications audit could have serious consequences for an organization. First, it could result in low employee morale, reduced productivity, and high employee turnover. Employees are motivated to perform better when they feel that organizational leadership values them and takes their perspectives into consideration when making decisions. One way an organization can demonstrate that it values its employees is by maintaining an interactive climate between leaders and staff, and by promoting a positive environment for vertical communication. If there are gaps in the internal communication system and employees feel their views are not reaching top leadership, they are likely to lose motivation and consequently deliver a less-than-optimal performance. A communications audit would help reveal such gaps and ensure they are addressed in time.
References
Croteau, R., Hoynes, W. D., & Milan, S. (2011). Media/Society: Industries, Images and Audiences (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Gray, D. (2012). The Connected Company. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media Inc.
Townsend-Hall, B. (n.d.). Communications audit: How can it help you? The Sideroad. Retrieved December 2, 2015 from http://www.sideroad.com/Business_Communication/communications-audit.html
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