Managing Corporate Reputation - Module Overview

The managing corporate reputation module forms part of the CIM Chartered Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing.

The strength and magnitude of an organisation's reputation represents the way in which a complex range of stakeholders perceive an organisation, entity or destination. All too often, a gap develops between the way an organisation intends to be seen and the reality, namely the way stakeholders actually perceive it. This can be due to a range of forces, some slow, foreseeable and manageable, and some sudden, unforeseen and relatively unmanageable. All can result in organisational underperformance, destabilisation, financial difficulties, leadership change, a fall in market valuation, and even difficulty in raising finance or recruiting the right personnel. This unit explores ways in which organisations can minimise the gap and avoid potentially serious issues.

Students that have completed this unit should be able to:

1. Critically evaluate the way organisations develop their identities and how some organisations use these to form images and assign reputational status.

2. Critically analyse the elements that contribute to the identity that an organisation projects to its stakeholders, sometimes through a corporate brand.

3. Critically evaluate linkage between how an organisation wants to be seen and how it is seen, namely corporate communications.

The following is a detailed breakdown of the Managing Corporate Reputation module.

Part one - Understanding the nature and characteristics of reputational management (weighting 25%)

1.1 Developing the rationale for managing corporate reputation.

1.1.1 Critically evaluate the context and concepts relating to corporate reputation.

1.1.2 Justify the importance and significance of managing an organisation's corporate reputation.

1.1.3 Identify the forces that can influence an organisation's reputation, and develop forecasts concerning their level of current and potential influence.

1.2 Determining the scope of corporate reputation.

1.2.1 Critically assess the compatibility of an organisation's corporate strategy, structure, systems and culture with its positioning and reputation.

1.2.2 Develop processes leading to the identification of key external and internal stakeholders, and understand the nature of associated communication programmes.

1.2.3 Process and justify the use of a portfolio of board indicators to evaluate the strength of an organisation's reputation.

Part two - Managing the dimensions of an organisation's reputation (weighting 25%)

2.1 Understanding the current corporate reputation

2.1.1 Critically evaluate the corporate character or personality of an organisation.

2.1.2 Critically assess the strength and potential of the corporate identity and/or brand.

2.2 Developing corporate brands.

2.2.1 Critically evaluate the nature of corporate brands and make recommendations concerning any gap between identity and image.

2.2.2 Propose changes to enhance the systems, structure and processes necessary to support the management of corporate reputation.

Part three - Developing effective corporate communications (weighting 50%)

3.1 Determining the dimensions of corporate communications

3.1.1 Critically appraise the nature and characteristics of corporate communications.

3.1.2 Critically assess the different reasons for using corporate communication.

3.1.3 Propose what is to be communicated to particular stakeholders and how to measure the effectiveness of the communications used.

3.2 Corporate Communication strategies and methods

3.2.1 Critically evaluate the different methods through which corporate communications can be delivered in order to deliver effective messages and enhance reputation.

3.2.2 Formulate approaches to corporate communications that are investor, customer, employee and government focused and contextually determined.

3.2.3 Formulate approaches designed to defend an organisation's reputation.