Term Paper on "Communication Plan"

Term Paper 15 pages (4147 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Communications Strategy New Orleans Nosh

Communications Objectives

Situational Analysis

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Audiences

Desired Response

Communications Strategy

Key Messages

Measurement and Evaluation

Strategic Action Plan Nosh Communications

ACA (Audience Centered Analysis)

Situational Analysis

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Nosh ranked among leaders in service delivery and quality restaurant service in New Orleans. The New Orleans Nosh eagerly employed 30 residents of the community and for 20 years ranked nationally among gourmet food companies. Known for quality of products and repeat customers, the CEO is a "self taught business mogul" whose goals include treating employees like family. Ms. Pepper, CEO sent employees home on the day Hurricane Katrina hit. After the hurricane, Ms. Pepper temporarily set up business again. However, Ms. Pepper is having trouble locating some former employees who scattered to varying states. Ms. Pepper must now work on reestablishing her foundation and hiring some new employees to help further her business aims and objectives. In the wake of Katrina Ms. Pepper will have a lot of work ahead of her not only reestablishing trust and loyalty among new and former employees, but also among local businesses and community members.

Communications Objectives

Since Hurricane Katrina, the CEO Ms. Pepper has faced much change surrounding her business operations and strategy. Communications will be key for positioning the Nosh in the same status in the community it once held. To support successful recruitment of former employees and re-establish the family environment once enjoyed, the following communications objectives are vital:

The role of the communication director will include providing the CEO with strategic objectives for communication, which should include establishing a vision for the Nosh in the near future.

Communication plan must address Ms. Pepper's objectives including her desire to recreate a family environment.

Plan must ensure optimal customer service is maintained.

Retain former customers still living in area.

Recruit new customers that will have the same loyalty as those attending the restaurant prior to Katrina.

Build relationships with new communities being developed in area.

Situational Analysis

Strengths

Nosh has a strong reputation and strong leadership. Prior to Katrina the restaurant quite easily established a strong and vigorous presence in New Orleans. The reputation included a reputation for creating some of the finest New Orleans style Cajun Creole meals but also providing some of the best customer service. The reputation of the Nosh as a family place, one where employees were also treated with respect and the utmost service is also well noted.

Ms. Pepper has already taken actions to reestablish communications with some former employees. It may however be impossible to encourage some employees to return, especially those that have lost their homes and family members. For this reason it is important Ms. Pepper focuses her attention on building relationships with the new communities being built in New Orleans, and recruiting new employees that admire her sense of commitment to her employees.

Weaknesses

While in the past the New Orleans Nosh enjoyed great success, Hurricane Katrina proved very devastating to the surrounding community. It will take some time for the restaurant to regain the loyal customer base it once had especially since the community has changed. The people living in the town previous are not necessarily still there, so Ms. Pepper will have to reintroduce her business to new people living in the community

Opportunities

Ms. Pepper is in an ideal position to take advantage of the reopening of her restaurant. She can market her reopening as a grand opening and attract new clients moving into the area or reestablishing their connections to the area.

According to statistics the long-term economic effects of Hurricane Katrina are also expected to be limited; studies suggest the "standard paradigm" for natural disasters like Katrina suggests a brief time where economic activity remains stagnant followed by tremendous reconstruction efforts that "fully compensate for economic losses" business owners may realize in the early stages following devastation (Dekaser, p. 72).

Also of advantage to Ms. Pepper is the willingness of those living in New Orleans to get back to life in as normal a manner as possible following the aftermath of Katrina.

Threats

While the long-term effects of Katrina are likely to be minimal, in the short-term property damage throughout New Orleans exceeded $150 billion including damage to homes in the area (Dekaser, 2005). This damage will directly and indirectly affect the restaurant, causing extraneous expenses related to repairs but also impacting the residents in the area who have to wait to have homes rebuilt and those interested in rebuilding their careers and financial foundation. Since Katrina adversely impacted so many people, it isn't out of the question to expect that some may not be able to afford small luxuries including going out to eat as before. While statistics do suggest natural disasters commonly result in temporary economic delays, it is worthwhile to note that the initial "macroeconomic repercussions of Katrina" are expected to be longer lasting than those damages occurring from previous disasters (Dekaser, p. 72). Many considered Hurricane Katrina "the most devastating natural disaster" of all time (Manuel, 2006). Thus Ms. Pepper may have to spend more time working to restore her business, her reputation and the family of employees she once enjoyed. However, with time and consistent effort rebuilding and recruitment of a new staff should result in positive results.

Audiences

New Orleans Nosh's clientele includes all residents living in the area and visitors working on reconstruction efforts. To help reestablish the Nosh's reputation of excellence, Ms. Pepper will need to work on communicating her strategic goals, which include rebuilding the "family" that comprises the Nosh to all current and future employees. The CEO should work on developing customized messages for existing employees and new employees that take into consideration their concerns and the effects Katrina had on them personally. The CEO will have to work diligently with manager to help deliver consistent messages to all employees that signal the importance of family and communications.

Ms. Pepper should act as spokesperson, whose job may include affirming the importance of family to those who have moved out of the area but may be interesting in moving back to New Orleans with meaningful employment. Ms. Pepper will also need to work on communicating her strategic approach about change, since in the wake of Hurricane Katrina tremendous change has occurred within the company. It is important employees feel Ms. Pepper's continuing commitment to her staff despite this change and respects each member of her team's personal hardships and experiences throughout this process.

Desired Response

The primary goals and objectives of the communications plan outlined include: gaining support for the communications plan by staff members, helping employees understand the strategic aims of the Nosh which include providing the highest quality and customer service while maintaining a family like atmosphere, easing employee anxiety about relocating to New Orleans and about the changes incurred resulting from Hurricane Katrina, helping employees stay focused on their daily tasks and ensuring consistent messages about company aims are disseminated to employees at all times. Further M. Pepper will work closely with the media in the hopes of attracting positive attention toward her business and in the hopes the media will focus its attention on the benefits of organizational restructuring and change. The communications plan will also help establish and affirm relationships with other community members and businesses and help ensure service levels within the restaurant remain at the highest level possible.

Communications Strategy

Bennet, Fadil & Greenwood (1994) note that cultural alignment is vital to a company's success and livelihood when undergoing change. Among the roles of the CEO during change initiatives include determining a strategy for change that aligns with the company's culture and assessing the depth of key elements related to culture within the organization (Bennet, Fadil & Greenwood, 1994). Ms. Pepper will need to realize that due to the impact of Katrina the cultural atmosphere at the Nosh may have changed, particularly if Ms. Pepper must rely on new employees to rebuild the once established restaurant.

In that respect it will be vital Ms. Pepper assesses the cultural state of her company and work to create the desired culture through a series of specific and targeted messages to employees. Bennett, Fadil & Greenwood (1994) also note that the shared commitments, beliefs attitudes, values and thinking patterns that are socially constructed within members of a company or organization have a strong influence on the organization's ability to achieve and maintain long-term effectiveness and performance (p. 474). Culture to that extent encompasses the shared values, beliefs, attitudes and ways that members of an organization go about their business (Bennett, Fadil & Greenwood, 1994). In this respect the primary objective of the communications strategy is creating a corporate culture that prides familial values and shared goals, values and beliefs.

The communications strategy will consist of three key steps. The first step will include addressing the concerns of former employees who have moved out of the area who may be interested in moving… READ MORE

How to Reference "Communication Plan" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Communication in Organization Intercultural Essay

Communication in Organizations

The case study is based on PTB company that decided to take the better percentage of their employees to Sydney Australia for a two day conference that… read more

Essay 4 pages (1713 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Communication / Speech

---

Communication Plan Term Paper

Communication Plan

Communication Objectives

The company has serious competitive issues arising from foreign market manufacturers that have much lower overhead than the company. Formerly, the company was the number one… read more

Term Paper 12 pages (3413 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Business / Corporations / E-commerce

---

Communications Plan Essay

Communications Plan

In developing a communications plan for my first year of teaching, the most important consideration is how to create platforms, processes and workflows that allow students, parents, trusted… read more

Essay 2 pages (992 words) Sources: 1 Style: APA Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

Communication Theory Research Paper

Communication Theory (attribution Theory in Communication)

Communication process involves exchange of information between the sender and the receiver. The sender transmits a message while the receiver decodes the message sent.… read more

Research Paper 4 pages (1281 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Communication / Speech

---

Communication Skills What I Intend Term Paper

Communication Skills

What I Intend to Do to Improve My Communication Skills

In basic terms, communication involves the transmission of messages from one person to another using a wide range… read more

Term Paper 2 pages (625 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Communication / Speech

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>