Monash Business Communication Initiative launched

May 2009

At the launch of the Monash Business Communication Initiative from the left: Mr Shaun Stephen , Glock Management & Fibre; Mr Willem Ecksteen, Stone and Dr Ilse Niemann-Struweg, Monash South Africa.

A new initiative for the communication profession, intended to add significant value to the way in which both the business and public sectors in South Africa engage with all their audiences, was launched this week by Monash South Africa in partnership with strategy and communication consultancy Stone.
The Monash Business Communication Initiative will comprise three integrated aspects to address the needs of senior and developing communication professionals, working in both consulting and in-house environments.

• The Monash Business Communication Forums provides a thought leadership platform for critical discussion and engagement on the importance of good strategic business communication. The forums will include balanced participation by senior communication experts, industry leaders and decision makers.  The Forums will be industry events hosted at the Monash campus on 2 June, 18 August and 20 October this year.
• The Monash Business Communication Incubator provides a programme of continued research-based learning in the form of a series of lectures conducted by industry experts and senior academics. The Incubator maximizes corporate communication with a values driven approach and focus on real business outcomes. At the Incubator, respected academics and leaders from industry share best practice and learning to raise the quality of corporate communication in industry.
• The Monash Online Communication Community which will provide a unique environment for a broad spectrum of community members to participate and contribute content to increase engagement, enhance thinking and provide comment on a variety of issues and developments pertaining to communication in business.

In support of the Monash Business Communication Initiative Prof Tyrone Pretorius, Pro Vice-Chancellor and President of Monash South Africa, says: “Monash is committed to quality interaction with the business and public sectors. It is vital that our academic excellence adds value to the issues that drive and shape these sectors. As the South African operation of an internationally renowned university we are proud to be a partner in this initiative.”

“We see it as an opportunity to add value to the South African business environment while leveraging our access to international best practice and expertise. This initiative embraces the key quality pillars on which we build Monash South Africa - Research, Service and Teaching.”

Willem Eksteen, founder of Stone said that communication practitioners need to move from a service mentality to a business-critical mind-set in their understanding of their corporate communication role in today’s challenging business environment.

“Business must make sure they reap the best return on their communication investments, while supporting their business goals through a more strategic approach to communication. “There is a clearly defined need to move from a functional to a strategic approach in the role that corporate communication plays.”

He added that: “Business investment in communication cannot be mere creation of more media clutter and noise – communication must support the core business goals of a company, organisation or State department. We have seen that this understanding is sometimes lacking amongst practitioners and decided to add value to the quality of our industry.”

Dr Ilse Niemann-Struweg, senior marketing lecturer at the Monash South Africa School of Business and Economics says: “Sound guidance, sharing and healthy debate will raise the standard and quality of corporate communication in business in South Africa. This Initiative was conceptualised in response to the findings of the Monash South Africa CCI 2007/8 Corporate Communication Benchmark Study and has been developed to meet an identified need within the business communication profession and business community in South Africa.”  

“The key rationale for the Initiative includes the education of business professionals about the value of effective communication, raising the overall quality of the industry standard in the SA communication profession and sharing of best practice from industry, academia and other thought leaders in an integrated approach between education, interaction and modern Web2.0 online industry networking.”