Business Essentials for Strategic Communicators: Creating Shared Value for the Organization and its Stakeholders

222 Pages·2014·2.234 MB·English

by  Matthew W. Ragas PhD, Ron Culp (auth.)

Business Essentials for Strategic
Communicators
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Business Essentials for Strategic
Communicators
Creating Shared Value for the Organization
and its Stakeholders
Matthew W. Ragas and Ron Culp
business essentials for strategic communicators
Copyright © Matthew W. Ragas and Ron Culp, 2014.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-38773-8
All rights reserved.
First published in 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United
States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York,
NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and
has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the
United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-48188-0 ISBN 978-1-137-38533-8 (ebook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137385338
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ragas, Matthew W., 1977-
Business essentials for strategic communicators : creating shared value for the
organization and its stakeholders / by Matthew W. Ragas and Ron Culp.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Business communication. 2. Target marketing 3. Public relations.
4. Finance. 5. Economics. 6. Communications. I. Culp, Ron,
1947- II. Title.
HF5718.R34 2014
658.4'5—dc23 2014024432
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Amnet.
First edition: December 2014
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
We dedicate this book to Traci, Sandra,
and our students, who inspire us each and every day.
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Contents
List of Tables and Figures ix
Foreword by Gary Sheffer xi
Preface xv
About the Authors xvii
Acknowledgments xix
PART I. Introduction to Business Essentials for Communicators
1 Why Knowledge of “Business 101” Matters 3
PART II. Foundational Business Knowledge for Communicators
2 Economics and Economic Indicators 21
3 Finance and the Stock Market 35
4 Accounting and Financial Statements 49
5 The Law and Corporate Disclosure 65
6 Intangible Assets and Nonfinancial Information 79
PART III. Focal Areas at the Intersection of Business and
Communication
7 Corporate Governance 95
8 Corporate Social Responsibility 109
9 Corporate Reputation 123
viii ● Contents
PART IV. Demonstrating and Improving the Business Value
of Communication
10 Research, Measurement, and Evaluation 139
Glossary 155
References 177
Index 201
List of Tables and Figures
Tables
1.1 Essential “Business 101” knowledge for strategic
communicators 14
2.1 Ranking of the world’s largest economies by GDP 24
3.1 Differences between public and private companies 37
3.2 Ranking of the world’s largest equity markets by market
capitalization 45
4.1 YUM! Brands Inc. income statement (2011–2013) 53
4.2 YUM! Brands Inc. balance sheet (2011–2013) 57
4.3 Review of financial formulas 60
5.1 Usage of social media by investor relations professionals 72
9.1 The world’s most reputable companies for 2014 128
10.1 Allstate corporate responsibility objectives 145
Figures
1.1 2014 PRWeek/Bloom, Gross & Associates salary survey: Median
salary by work environment for communication professionals 11
1.2 The value of an education 12
2.1 Historical view of U.S. consumer sentiment index 27
5.1 Communication channels used for financial
guidance disclosures 72