The importance of mastering communication
Research highlights with Eric Knight
Research by Associate Professor Eric Knight from the Discipline of Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship focuses on the communication practices managers use to influence people inside and outside of their organisation.
US President Donald Trump’s unorthodox communications style, which includes late-night tweets and impromptu television appearances, reflects the latest corporate strategy of gaining power by delivering winning messages directly to consumers.
Dr Knight described Trump’s approach as both “innovative and extremely disruptive”. Trump has transformed the way in which politicians think about the power of their communication and message.
Uber is another interesting case study for thinking about the different ways in which communication can influence the fate of organisations. The company rose to success by building trust through technology and direct communication with users, but also fell victim to the #MeToo movement when aspects of its internal culture were aired through social media.
You can see how those who don’t hold power, whether they’re employees inside an organisation or small firms in large industries, can actually transform themselves by grasping the message in a very effective way.
Dr Knight and his team have recently launched a new massive open online course (MOOC). Design strategy: Design thinking for business strategy and entrepreneurship looks at the challenges pioneering companies face with the aim of teaching students how to bring design thinking into their corporate strategy. To learn more about the course and enrol, visit Coursera.
Published work
Knight E R W, Paroutis S and Heracleous L, 2018, 'The power of Powerpoint: A visual perspective on meaning making in strategy', Strategic Management Journal, vol 39:3, pp 894-921
Knight E R W and Tsoukas H, 2018, ‘When Fiction Trumps Truth: What ‘post-truth’ and ‘alternative facts’ mean for management studies’, Organization Studies