Communication World articles from July 2005

Communication World archives from July 2005

From the editor.
July 1, 2005... I think that if I had to choose our most exciting--and most challenging--annual issue, this would be it. That's because it focuses on our Gold Quill Awards program, IABC's long-held standard for communication excellence. Of course, you'll find...

Member benefit spotlight.(iabc update)(International Association of Business Communicators)
July 1, 2005... Bookmark these online IABC services and visit often. * CW Bulletin: IABC's monthly e-newsletter is an indispensable source of information on communication topics ranging from new technologies to employee productivity. Contact...

Bickford, Sanchez take leadership roles.(iabc update)(Warren Bickford)(Paul Sanchez)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Warren Bickford, ABC, assumed the 2005-2006 chairmanship of the IABC international executive board at the association's annual general meeting on 28 June. He previously held the position of vice chairman. Bickford is a past president of...

Foundation study explores PR in small organizations.(iabc update)(International Association of Business Communicators)(public relations )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The IABC Research Foundation has published Thinking Big, Staying Small: Communication Practices of Small Organizations, a new report based on a four-year study about how small organizations conduct their communication functions. One of the...

Powell to receive 2005 Chairman's Award.(iabc update)(International Association of Business Communicators)(Joy Powell)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... IABC 2004-2005 Chairman David C. Kistle, ABC, has honored Joy Powell, president of IABC/San Antonio (Texas), with the 2005 Chairman's Award. The Chairman's Award recognizes an IABC volunteer who has demonstrated initiative, leadership and a...

Hurd named 2005 EXCEL Award winner.(iabc update)(International Association of Business Communicators)(Mark Hurd)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... IABC has named Mark Hurd, president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co. and former president and CEO of NCR Corp., as the recipient of its 2005 Excellence in Communication Leadership (EXCEL) Award. The EXCEL Award--the highest award given by...

IABC teams with book publisher Jossey-Bass.(iabc update)(International Association of Business Communicators)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... IABC is pleased to announce a partnership with book publisher Jossey-Bass, an imprint of John Wiley & Sons, to release a series of communication resources beginning next year. The first scheduled release through this agreement will be the...

IABC concludes member research study.(iabc update)(International Association of Business Communicators)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... In 2004 and early 2005, a team appointed by the IABC executive board conducted a research study in an attempt to gain a better understanding of member needs and perceptions. The study was conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting in...

New conferences address financial management and business writing.(iabc update)
July 1, 2005... With more employers reporting that financial management and business writing skills are essential workplace competencies, IABC is responding with two new conferences that will offer professionals the knowledge and tools they need for more...

Visit the IABC Cafe.(iabc update)(International Association of Business Communicators)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The official IABC weblog has been updated and renamed the IABC Cafe. The blog is hosted by IABC Chairman Warren Bickford, ABC, who shares his opinions and takes comments from readers on issues in the profession and the association. Join...

Events.(iabc update)(Calendar)
July 1, 2005... 27 July Web Seminar: Increase Your Influence, Reduce the Media's Power 28 July Teleseminar: Business Podcasting: The Next Big Communication Channel 11 August Teleseminar: Brand Inside 24 August Web Seminar:...

Compliment.(LETTERS TO CW)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... The [May-June] anniversary issue looks great--congratulations! It's informative, succinct and easy to grasp both graphically and editorially. I liked the previous design a lot, but tend to agree that the latest is far more readable, if not...

Clarification.(LETTERS TO CW)(Letter to the Editor)(Correction Notice)
July 1, 2005... I loved the May-June issue and all the good history about IABC's first 35 years. Just for the record, however, AT&T wasn't "dissolved for violating U.S. antitrust laws" [as reported in the timeline on page $7]. AT&T broke itself apart in...

Canada.(global perspectives)
July 1, 2005... As I reflect on the term poor management communication, I also have to wonder about good management communication. Over the years, studies on organizational communication have clearly indicated that managers are usually poor at sharing and...

Thailand.(global perspectives)
July 1, 2005... Within days of the 26 December 2004 tsunami, "vulture tourism" had flapped its ugly wings. People were dead and missing, a full disaster-relief operation was under way, and tourists were canceling holidays. Yet out of the disaster came a...

Africa.(global perspectives)
July 1, 2005... A CEO failed to communicate to his management team decisions relating to tenancy options, entry criteria and time frames. The managers found themselves faced with irate prospective tenants asking them questions they could not answer. What did...

When rumor has it (or not): thanks to blogs and other technologies, the rumor mill is churning faster than ever, How do you stop it?(tech talk)
July 1, 2005... For communicators, if media monitoring sounds like the digital equivalent of having an emergency unit always on standby, it is. But rather than be reactive, we should have our global antennae up and be able to collaborate with journalists...

Giving the CEO message a makeover: people stopped reading your publication's "letter from the CEO" ages ago. Don't kill the column--make it better.(editor's angle)
July 1, 2005... By doing just one thing, you can turn the CEO column from a space-wasting bore into a dynamic communication tool. And that one thing is: make the column interactive. Let us revisit that old staple of employee communication vehicles, the...

Lessons on cross-cultural communication.(The Elements of International English Style: A Guide to Writing Correspondence, Reports, Technical Documents and Internet Pages for a Global Audience)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... The Elements of International English Style: A Guide to Writing Correspondence, Reports, Technical Documents and Internet Pages for a Global Audience by Edmond H. Weiss M.E. Sharpe, 2005 184 pages There are dozens of books on communicating...

Gold Quill Awards 2005: applauding innovation, rewarding excellence.(Cover Story)
July 1, 2005... THE 2005 GOLD QUILL AWARDS PROGRAM IS SPONSORED BY MERCER The IABC Gold Quill Awards exemplify the very best of the best in communication programs from around the globe. For more than 35 years, IABC s Gold Quill Awards have been the...

Effective internal communication starts at the top: help executives understand the need for clear, concise communication.
July 1, 2005... Executive communication: why bother? Senior executives, especially the CEO, provide leadership to align the organization with its vision. They set the direction, and their behavior determines the tone and culture--how the vision will be...

Good corporate writing: why it matters, and what to do; poor corporate writing--in press releases, ads, brochures, web sites and more-is costing companies credibility and revenues. Here's how to put the focus back on clear communication.
July 1, 2005... Can good writing be tied to the corporate bottom line? We conducted a totally unscientific survey, tapping IABC colleagues, WorldWIT (Women in Technology) and other networks for insights into the state of corporate writing and its impact on...

Putting best practices into practice: new IABC research highlights four key challenges in corporate communication Our panel discusses how those scenarios play out in real life.(Panel Discussion)
July 1, 2005... Best-in-class employee communication addresses four business-critical challenges ranging from motivation to measurement. That's according to a new IABC Research Foundation study conducted by Right Management Consultants. Sounds good in theory,...

On the road to financial health: for the second year in a row, revenues exceeded expenses, helping IABC move toward reducing its deficit.(IABC 2004 ANNUAL REPORT)
July 1, 2005... ABC made significant progress toward achieving financial health during the 2004 fiscal year. The Consolidated Statement of Activities for IABC and the Research Foundation, issued by Deloitte & Touche in its 2005 Independent Audit Report,...

Research Foundation chairman Gloria Walker, ABC, FRSA.(FROM THE CHAIRMEN)
July 1, 2005... The Foundation's progress in 2004 included reaching the final stages on three major studies focusing on ethics, best practices in employee communication and communication in small businesses. Through the Jake Wittmer Research Award and the...

IABC chairman David Kistle, ABC.(FROM THE CHAIRMEN)(International Association of Business Communicators )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... IABC's financial performance in 2004 is testimony to thoughtful strategic planning by the IABC executive board and IABC staff. Strong financial results allowed the board to establish an investment committee last year to begin the process of...

PacifiCare employees Aim High to embrace the corporate vision.(case in point)
July 1, 2005... Between 2000 and 2002, PacifiCare Health Systems, one of the leading consumer health organizations in the United States, transformed itself from a regionally focused company that offered only a few products to one that could provide a wide...

Shaping perspective with a wide-angle lens.(photocritique)
July 1, 2005... Wide-angle lenses are perhaps the most effective tools for editorial photography. They help photographers control perspective to imply depth, stress content and compare subjects in terms of scale, creating layers of meaning that express ideas....

Words every word lover should know--and more.(wood on words)
July 1, 2005... Calling all word freaks: Courtesy of Bill Brooks, quondam Indianapolis News writer (mid- to late 20th century), we present what is suggested to be the all-time leader in the field of sentences displaying delayed/deferred syntactic...

Farcus.(Cartoon)
July 1, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "They wanted to improve top-down communication."

A conversation with Jim DeLorenzo: CEO, JHD Enterprises LLC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.(personality)(chief executive officer)(Interview)
July 1, 2005... What historical figure do you most identify with and why? I am drawn to Theodore Roosevelt, not because of his successes as president of the United States, but because of the adversity he overcame in his childhood (asthma and other...