As the new technical communications manager for
International Gadgets (IG), you have developed a good idea of the various
internal and external audiences for communications across the
enterprise. You have learned that IG is organized into five main areas consisting
of Research & Development (R&D), Manufacturing, Sales & Marketing,
Technical Support, and Finance/Accounting. Each area has its own structure:
·
R&D – New Product Development and Product Enhancement teams
·
Manufacturing – Detroit, Shanghai, and Purchasing teams
·
Sales & Marketing – U.S. Sales, U.S. Marketing, European Sales,
European Marketing, Partner Management, and Online Sales teams
·
Technical Support – the exception, as there is only a single team handling
this function
·
Finance/Accounting – Corporate Finance and Corporate Accounting teams
·
Human Resources – Corporate HR team with ties to HR representatives at each
work site
In addition to the internal departments, IG staff
interface with a wide range of external entities and individuals including customers
(large accounts, individuals via web sales), distribution partners, component
suppliers, subcontractors (design and occasional manufacturing). IG also
contracts with Amazon to handle all its product logistics—warehousing,
packaging and shipping, and returns. However, you have noticed that
different audiences do not always have the same needs from similar
announcements. For example, a communication announcing the launching of a new
product means different things to different departments. In a memo to your
communications team, instruct them on ways to discover the needs of the
stakeholders in different areas of the company so that a new product
announcement will be relevant to them
