ABSTRACT
Steadily, the importance of stakeholders (e.g., employees, customers, vendors, communities, investors) has gained momentum to the point that integrated communication (IC)—not just integrated marketing communication—may now be recognized by business leaders to be the locus of constituency attention and functional activity. For an entity to be credible and deemed authentic, its reputation must be cohesive and broadly viewed throughout the organization. Further, it must be effectively managed and for that we turn to the practice of integrated communication to leverage the technology that drives adoption or rejection of an idea, opinion or concept. Firms must now integrate design thinking into everyday practice to create clarity and make sense of the purpose and function of members of the workplace. Now more than ever, integrated communication is more layered and nuanced demanding greater command of related organizational functions. So, integration is about fusion and cohesion.
