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THE IMPORTANCE OF MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION IN ESTABLISHING

THE COMPANY MARKETING COMMUNICATION

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 The International Conference on Administration and Business
­ ICEA - FAA 2009 ­ 14 – 15 NOVEMBER 2009 ­ http://conference.faa.ro ­
The Faculty of Business and Administration
University of Bucharest

THE IMPORTANCE OF MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION IN

ESTABLISHING THE COMPANY MARKETING COMMUNICATION

GHEORGHE Pistol;
Professor PhD Spiru Haret University
Faculty of Marketing and Foreign Economic Affairs;
gpistol.fb@spiruharet.ro

GÂRDAN Daniel;
Assistant prof., PhD student, Spiru Haret University
Faculty of Marketing and Foreign Economic Affairs;
danielgardan@yahoo.com

GEANGU Petronela;
Asistant lecturer, PhD student, Spiru Haret University
Faculty of Marketing and Foreign Economic Affairs;
geangupetronela@yahoo.com

Abstract communication style of managers involved in

Contemporary organizations are facing an decision-making processes specific to it.
accentuated dynamics both for internal and The sample is representative for the category
external environment. Relationships with of small and medium enterprises in the
other socio-economic entities in the external Municipality of Bucharest, the research
environment become more complex in results being able to provide premises for
parallel with the emergence of complex further investigation, which will deepen the
processes as related to staff motivation, field of organizational culture and the
productivity and efficiency. implementation of marketing communication
strategies.
Therefore, harmonization of communicative
approaches of the organization, conducted at Key words: managerial communication,
various levels represents an essential marketing communication, decision-making
condition for achieving the objectives, and for process, marketing research, internal
adapting to the evolution of business communication, organizational culture.
environment.
1. Introduction
Marketing communication is a set of
processes that address all aspects of the The field of communication related to the
efficient implementation of marketing modern organization is an interesting and
strategy. Within this approach, internal actual one.Nowadays organizations have to
communication, managerial communication face rapid transformations in terms of
regarding marketing decision-making organizational culture, competitive
processes is a key element for organizational strategies, personnel management, etc.In a
performance. very specific way, building a relevant and
efficient global communication strategy,
In order to identify ways of integrating the requires tools and resources from vary
principles of effective management outcomes.
communication in all marketing The communication process for the
communication at Romanian Small and organization is a complex one.It comprizes
medium entreprises level, the authors have not only aspects regarding the general
made an exploratory marketing research that framework for the internal communication
determined both the degree of inside the organization, also not only the
implementation of an integrated marketing constant effort to communicate within the
communication strategy as well as external environment, but an integrated

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process that combines internal and external
marketing communication, managerial
communication between different levels of
hierarchy,intranet modern communication
technology and organizational culture
development.
The present paper covers these essential
aspects trying to underline the importance of
integrated marketing communication for
small and medium entreprises that have
managers with a specific perception about
the communication process and different
styles of managerial communication.
The importance of studied matter consist in
underlying the connection between these
fundamental aspects and the need to develop
a mature profile for the romanian small and
medium entreprise manager.
As we stated in our paper, the romanian
managers evolves in the last years in terms
of concern and perception related to
marketing activity as a whole, personnel
communication and managerial training,
however facing the rapid changes of the
global business environment it is not
enough.
In order to identify ways of integrating the
principles of effective management
communication in all marketing
communication at Romanian Small and
medium entreprises level, the authors have
made an exploratory marketing research
that determined both the degree of
implementation of an integrated marketing
communication strategy as well as
communication style of managers involved in
decision-making processes specific to it.
The already existent specialized literature
emphasize different aspects of business
communication,both from the point of view
of marketing and management, but we
consider that about this very specific topic –
relationship between styles of
communication, managerial communication
skills and perception about integrated
marketing communication strategy,
especially in romanian literature it have not
been a constant and intense concern.
2. Literature review
Worldwide the field of business
communication is a very actual and disputed
one.Making a full summary of all the
representative papers and books that have
been written in the field represent a task
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University of Bucharest
that overcomes the limited amount of space
given by a single article.However we
consider appropriate to define some of the
main concepts regarding the complex process
of communication as a whole.
Terms such as management communication,
managerial communication, organizational
communication, business communication
and corporate communication are often used
to refer to the same issue.But given a
specific context each of them can be a
different aproach.
The managent communication and
managerial communication can be to a
specific extent the same, still management
communication refers to the complex process
that occurs in exercise the overall
management functions, and managerial
communication (as we use it also in present
article), refers to communication between
the manager and subordinates-the goal of
this communication is both to develop and
disseminate relevant knowledge that will
increase the effectiveness and efficiency of
managers in the contemporary business
environment,(Smeltzer, 1996).
Business Communication defines the
complex process of communication between
business parteners involved in direct
transactions, it presumes techniques of
business correspondence, negotiation,
nonverbal communication and even ethics.
Corporate communication represents all the
activities that a company is using to
communicate the corporate image and it’s
culture(Popescu,2003, Smith,2004).
The corporate communication represents a
distinctive part of an marketing integrated
coomunication along the comercial/products
communication efforts.
Finally, organizational communication
represents mostly a general term that refers
to the whole process –internal and external
that characterizes relationship between
organization and environment.
The present paper focus on the relation
between managerial communication(seen as
communication manager-level of ierarchy)
and integrated marketing communication
seen as a strategical process.
The degree of perception wich a manager,
has about marketing communication tools –
internal communication, external
communication – promotional techniques,
etc, is defining for the company succes,
specially in the case of small amd medium
enterprises. This has to be related with his
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The Faculty of Business and Administration
University of Bucharest

own managerial communication skills,his When respondents were asked whether the
communication style and personality. marketing department had an well-defined
structure within their company, 44%
3. Theoretical Background answered “Yes, it is an individual, functional
department”, 33% “There is no marketing
The authors have conducted a quantitative department within the firm”, 17% “There is
marketing research, beeing interviewed another department which fulfills marketing
managers from small and medium size functions”, 6% were small companies with
enterprises representative for Municipality few employees, unorganized in departments.
of Bucharest. In the light of previous research, it is
The results of the research have been apparent the increased concern for
processed with SPSS 13.0 software, for developing structures to manage the
acuracy and corelations. marketing activity in its entire complexity –
specialized departments, with well defined
4.The importance of management marketing functions.
communication in establishing Most managers appointed the general
company marketing communication manager, sometimes together with the
marketing department, as responsible for
The results of the research conducted on a inter-department communication within the
sample of small business managers in company. On the second place there is the
Bucharest confirm the complexity of the marketing department alone, and very small
existing relationships between the percentages belong to the PR and human
perception of management communication, resources departments. This suggests a
the manager’s communication style, and significantly high degree of control,
implementing an efficient marketing concerning the flow of the communication
communication system. process within the company.
Thus, when asked what is the overall Communicating with external partners
importance of communication in their implies the responsibility of the marketing
company, most respondents (83%) consider department, either alone, or with the
communication very important, 11% general manager, the next position
consider it important, only 6% are belonging to the general manager alone. No
indifferent to communication. No respondent respondent pointed out the human resources
chose the options “of little importance” or department.
“very little importance”. When asked what marketing communication
represents for their company, most
respondents answered that it means the
100% dialogue with customers, followed by the
83% promotion of the company image.
80% Despite the more persistent concerns of
Indifferent
60% Romanian small business management for
Important the development of marketing departments
40%
Very important in the recent years, it is apparent the lack of
20% 11% a thorough management culture about the
6%
0% correct definition of marketing
communication, which is perceived
incompletely, only as external, promotional
Diagram nr1. The overall importance of communication.
communication at the company level stated It is surprising that, when asked to point out
by managers who is responsible with the decisions
concerning the marketing communication
The manager’s degree of implication in activity in their company, most respondents
communication activities, as well as their pointed out the general manager, followed,
perception of these processes is satisfactory, at great distance, by the marketing
which point out an increase in interest, due manager. In case of small firms, the answer
to changes in the competitive environment was an employee in the marketing or in the
in the recent years. marketing-related departments.

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The Faculty of Business and Administration
University of Bucharest

The structure of the company marketing answer “Other forms”, without pointing out
communication activity includes the which.
following activities, in the order of their
assigned importance: advertising,
promotions at trade fairs and trade shows,
use of sales personnel, public relations, 33%
internal communication, designing the 35%
organization’s website.
Thus, it is apparent the orientation toward a
30%
marketing communication characterized by
the elements which ensure the greatest
efficiency of the messages effective within a 25% 22%
short and medium time range.
As for the concerns to identify objectives
related to marketing communication within 20% 17%

the company, most respondents (45%) chose

the answer: “Yes, it is an essential condition 15% 1 1%1 1%
for carrying out the action”, 33% chose:
“Once in a while, an inconstant activity”,
22%: “Yes, but only for important projects.” 10%
No respondent chose “Only when the market 6%

situation imposes aggressive communication

5%
campaigns” and “Not at all” as we can see in
diagram nr 2.
0%
45%
45% Yes, it is an essential
40% condition for carrying out There is not a well- defin ed internal com munic ation activity
35% 33% the activity
30%
Yes, but only for
25% 22% important projects Sometim es, in form ative meeti ngs are organi zed
20%
15%
10% Once in a while, an
There is a coordinated activity, with reports, individual activity
5% inconstant activity
notes
0%
Sometim es in form ative meetings and hierar chical decision line
informative actions are organ ized”, and “Th e company has its
Diagram nr 2. The process of identifying own information system – intranet

objectives for marketing communication and The company has its own information system – intranet” and
its importance for managers “There i s a coordinated activity, wi th r eports , i ndividual
activi ty notes

As for the variety of internal communication Other for ms

forms, 33% think that “There is not a well-
defined internal communication activity”,
22% asserted that “There is a coordinated
activity, with reports, individual activity
notes, 17% asserted that, sometimes,
informative meetings are organized. 11%
also chose the answer “Sometimes
informative meetings and hierarchical
decision line informative actions are
organized”, and “The company has its own
information system – intranet”, and 11%
chose both “The company has its own
information system – intranet” and “There is
a coordinated activity, with reports,
individual activity notes.” 6% chose the
Diagram nr 3. Internal communication
structure within organization
The perception of the extent in which the
lack of coordination between communication
activities specific to the external and
internal environment can affect the company
performance revealed that most respondents
(56%) chose “to a very large extent”, 22%, “to
a relatively large extent”, and only 22%, “to
a small and very small extent”.
As for the language used, communication
with subordinates implies, for most

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respondents, colloquial language, followed by
the use of interrogation formulas in order to
obtain information, the use of keywords
which convey clear messages, and, for the
smallest number of respondents, formal
language suitable for technical concepts.
As for the relation to the communication
objectives: Most respondents chose “I am
aware of the objectives set and I
communicate them as such from the
beginning of the discussion” (39%), “I
formulate the objectives toward the end of
the discussion, listening to other points of
view” and “I condition the discussion by the
accomplishment of clear objectives” (11%).
6% chose both “I am aware of the objectives
set and I communicate them as such from
the beginning of the discussion” and “I
evaluate the strength/weaknesses”, and
other 6% chose both “I am aware of the
objectives set and I communicate them as
such from the beginning of the discussion”
and “I formulate the objectives toward the
end of the discussion, listening to other
points of view”. Only the answers “I evaluate
the strength/weaknesses”, “I am not
interested in specific objectives, the
discussion is free, unrestricted” were not
chosen.
As for preparing the communication: “The
discussion takes place only in condition of
obtaining every information about the other
participant to the discussion” (33), “A review
of previous discussions is necessary” and “I
emphasize the present communication
process” (17%). 6% chose both “The
discussion takes place only in condition of
obtaining every information about the other
participant to the discussion” and “I identify
the resources” (6%), and 11% didn’t answer.
As for the relation established with the
discussion partner, the order of the answers
is: “I offer support and attention to the
discussion partner”, “I require sincere and
precise answers”, “I ask my subordinates
about the understanding of their activity
and the possible improvements”, “I require
strong arguments to back up opinions”, “I
analyze the problems related to
communication blockages”, “I make sure the
subordinate understands the consequences
of not fulfilling his task to the established
standards”, “I outline tasks which take
advantage of the subordinate’s qualities”, “I
renounce the unfair accusations”, “I make
sure the discussion partner is ready for
communication”.
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University of Bucharest
As for the feedback offered by the discussion
partner, the order is the following: “I remain
open to the subordinate’s problems and
questions”, “I ask the discussion partner to
offer solutions for improving performances”,
“I communicate my concrete expectations
from subordinates”, “I check the
understanding of the message by well-
formulated questions”, “I close the discussion
by a clear and explicit review of the
problems discussed”.
The small businesses investigated were
founded in different years, ranging from
1965 to recent firms from 2005.
They belong to different activity sectors:
trade, technical consulting, management
consulting, constructions, industry and
energy, making cardboard and paper storage
boxes, advertising, distribution.
44% have 10 or less employees and a
turnover of 2 million euros or less, 44%-11%
have 50 employees and a turnover of 10
million euros or less, and 12% have between
51-250 employees and turnover of 50 million
euros or less.
The respondents represented organizations
of completely private Romanian capital,
completely state Romanian capital, mixed
private-state Romanian capital, and
completely foreign capital.
Over 94% of the respondents have university
and even post-university education.
78% of managers are above 31 years old and
even above 41 years old.
Regarding the communication style of the
managers, analyzing the results of the
research almost 28% represent a
combination between the “influence style”
and “control style”, 23% represent the
“influence style”, 17% represent the
“intervention style”, just only 6% represent
the “investigative style”. Also we found out
that above 70% from the managers that are
integrated in the first category –
combination of the two communication styles
– are from enterprises with more than
eleven employees, and 40% from the
commerce field of activity.
In our opinion the results are a little bit
surprising overall, taking into consideration
that for small enterprises, it is expecting a
communication style of the managers
oriented more towards the intervention
style,taking into account, the size of the
enterprise, the close relation between
employees and manager, the direct
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implication of the manager in to the
production process, etc.
Still the important percent of managers from
bigger organizations shows the combination
between the two styles – influence and
control which seems to be normal in to the
context of their organizations.
5. Conclusions and implications
The field of communication and
management is a very vast field which
affects every individual that works within
some kind of organization.
Despite its unstable or non-standardized
position in the academic world and
manager’s hesitant approach to research in
the field it is of great importance.
The application of the research results
should be easy to adapt to real-life
situations, since the motivation to research
is finding communication and management
solutions that supports a positive
development in organizations.
The need of good communication
infrastructure within an organization is of
importance at every level in an organization.
Not only is good managerial communication
very dependent on good understanding of
communication and excellent communication
skills by the manager, but also of relevant
response and communication upwards from
subordinates.
While it is essential for a manager to find
the time to interact with subordinates, it is
equally important to excel in the use of
language. The basic fact underlying beneath
everything is the undeniable importance of
both horizontal and vertical communication.
Vertically aligned nature of managerial
communication highlights even more the
dependence on effective use of language.
Even though the field of managerial
communication is vast and not so well
definable, the primary function of the
manager still remains the same: to get the
group of subordinates to work for a common
goali. This can sometimes be extremely
difficult because of individual goals of group
members, which might not meet with the
goal of the group. This is where the
managers ability to use language, in all its
forms, is measured. The case may be that a
manager uses huge amounts of work time to
i
Kosonen et al., Muutoksen Etulinjassa, 2002
­ 14 – 15 NOVEMBER 2009 ­ http://conference.faa.ro ­
University of Bucharest
communicate with subordinates but still
fails to make the group work uniformly for a
common goal.
All this is evermore important while
corporations continue to merge and extend
globally. The understanding of difference in
corporate cultures, national cultures and
diversity of language is one of the key
elements in managerial communication.
In the same time we consider that the
development of a good managerial culture, of
a wide capacity of understanding the
complex process of business environment,
makes a manager effective for the
organization succes.
Training for managers, long life learning
represents a demanding task for all the
people in charge, but it is the only way to
really improve eficiency and succes.
As the research results have shown,
romanian small and medium size
enterprises, have been through a process of
developing their personal capacity of inter-
relationship with business environment.If
some years ago it was dificult to find a small
enterprise manager who has a specific
business culture about marketing strategy,
nowadays this issue represents for most o
them a constant concern.
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