Comunicare interna

Master Comunicare corporativea

Case Study: the Web-sites of the “Sector” City Halls in Bucharest, the Capital City

of Romania

The purpose of this study is to extend the understanding of weblogs as relationship-

building tools in organizational public relations efforts and whether they can be utilised by

practitioners to achieve their online relationship-building goals more successfully than traditional

organizational Web sites. Both studies and professional practice are convergent into defining the

major characteristics of a functional site, open to interactive communication as follows: ”easy

interface, usefullness of information, and relational communication” (Kang, Norton, 2004, p.

280).

The research regarding the use of Internet in PR used different perspectives for

identifying precise units of analysis. Therefore, T. Libaert, A. de Monaco (2006) suggest two

analysis methods: frequency measurement (the number of connections existing on the site – the

number of existing web pages) and audience measurement/rating data (the number of readers per

day, on the number of visited web pages). M. Maynard and Y. Tian (2004, p.289) built an

analysis pattern of websites content based on the following items: a) the site features cooperative

relationship with local government; b) the site s an award or honor given by the government or

local community; c) the site displays a concern for and dedication to local community service; d)

the site indicates its concern for local events; e) the site features well-known local figures in

academia, entertainment, or sports; f) the site shows its contribution to local entertainment; g) the

site features its relationships with local partners; h) the site shows its contribution to international

cultural communication. Other scholars/ authors emphasised the elements that best characterize a

functional open to interactive communication site: ”easy interface, usefullness of information,

and relational communication” (S.Kang, H. Norton, 2004, p. 280).

The first of these signs is the name: verbal sign, the most sintetic form of communication.

For the current analysis I used the T. Libaert (2008) triangle by tracking the key-elements of the

corporatist image: identity, notoriety and attractivity. In order to coin the elements that constitute

identity, we resorted to the concepts introduced by B. Kapferer, who deems that it can be better

described and coined by building a coherent system of signs. First, there is the ”name”: a verbal

sign the most synthetic form of communication (Kapferer, 1985, p.51). A second identity

identification sign is visual. The visual is a substitute of the name and identity that it stands for.

Identity may be expressed in written messages, as well, alongside with the visual ones, named

nuclear an circumstantial by Kapferer (1985, p.62). The nuclear message, owing its name from

the fact that it is a nexus common to all types of communication, will carry the actual and the

future identity of the enterprise or person, and the public receives it with indifference. This

message expresses the deep nature of the institution/person, their values and culture. Not only the

everlasting identity traits, but also those that carry, justify and express the evolution of the

person, are to be communicated within this message. Around this personal nexus, the

circumstantial message is developed out of a precise need. It comprises the purely tactical

elements, ad hoc, emerged from the particular circumstances. This is a conventional term, as it

comprises the target, the aim, the momentum, the need, etc. Most often it is about valued traits to

support the credibility of a message. Thus it is about a kind of constructing the elements of

identity, addressed to the target public. All these describe the actual identity.

Finally, we have in view the concept of excellence in communication developed by J.

Grunig and his collaborators (1992, 2006). The fundamental element of success is bilateral

symmetrical communication. According to this pattern, communication takes place in two

directions (public – organization; organization – public). The aim of communication is not

limited to conveying messages to influence the behavior of the public, but it is also aimed at

receiving messages from the public, or at taking into account the reactions of the public, not in

order to identify the way to change these reactions, but rather to change the conduct of the

organization.

Setting off from such premises, we analyzed the sites of the 6 “sector” city halls in the

Capital City of Romania (www.primariasector1.ro; www.ps2.ro; www.sector3primarie.ro;

www.ps4.ro; www.sector5.ro; www.primarie6.ro ), in order to identify how they manage to use

the Internet as a means to communicate with its key-publics (attractiveness), and to create their

own specific identity, as a basis for institutional notoriety1. By reading the forums on the sites of

these public institutions, we inferred that the citizens of Bucharest access the city hall sites for

various reasons: to get information on current activities with the city hall; to make out issues

with law; to send/file petitions and complaints; to find out about cultural and sports events in the

“sector”/district, etc. Though the sites for these city halls are easy to access/find, our

investigation has shown that they suffer from deficits in their design, are rarely interactive, and

are largely characterized by dull uniformity – these elements lower the level of attractiveness, do

not create corporate identity, and do not lead to notoriety.

Table 1. Horizontal Menu

Sector 1 Sector 2 Sector 3 Sector 4 Sector 5 Sector 6

Citizen

Mayor

Blog, site

Cityhall

Contacts

Account creation

Quick search

About us

Do you have a problem? We solve it!

Information

E-Audience

Hiring

Useful Information

Hot Line

Cityhall

Our sector

On-Line Services

Useful link

Who do I talk to?

PHARE Projects

Quick navigation

Management

Cityhall

Local Council

About sector 4

Decentralized Offices

Contact

Email

Accessibility

Latest News

Popular

First Page

Mayor

Vice-mayor

Secretary

Massmedia corner

Useful links

Contact

In all of the analysed websites the horizontal menu contains information about the

institution (organigram, legislation, projects, other activities and so on) and detailed reports of

the leadership (resumes, photos, personal blogs, etc). Also we find here links to other public

institution’s sites (the government, ministeries, parliament and so on). In the case of Sector 2

cityhall the interaction element is directly shown through E- Audiences, and for the Sector 1

cityhall the same element is indirectly realised through the blog and website of the Chiliman

mair.

1 The nuclear message is marked by Bold characters, the circumstantial one by normal ones: interactive links are marked by Italics

Table 2. Left vertical menu

Sector 1 Sector 2 Sector 3 Sector 4 Sector 5 Sector 6

Cityhall

Local Council

„Intimations, Petitions, Complaints”

Services

Cityhall magazine

History

Offices and Services

Archive

Contact

Free telephone

General Informations

General Information

Romanian Prize for Quality

Mission, vision, values

Local plan for sustainable development

Political Statement about providing quality

Local Council Presentation sector 2

Usefull Links

Trafik, Ranking

Cityhall

New

Photographs

New– investements

Local Council

News

Current Activities

On-Line Forms

Photo Gallery

Video (Piedone clip)

Thermic insulation of buildings

Usefull Links

Useful telephone numbers

Subscription Newsletter On-Line

Useful links Guestbook (email adress to send the message to the mayor)

Cityhall

Local Council

Other Issues

Maps

Cityhall

Local Council

Public information On-Line Forms

Useful information

Sector History

On-Line Payements

On-Line Newsletter

Mass media news

Sector Map

This site area contains rubrics with information about cityhalls, local councils, project

and programs under development, also information about sectors history, images from these

areas and utility links. Regarding interactivity, the sectors 1, 4, 5 and 6 offer On-Line services

(for requests, complaints, payments or newsletter acces).

Table 3. Main Content

Sector 1 Sector 2 Sector 3 Sector 4 Sector 5 Sector 6

News

Mayor Chiliman blog

Email address

Latest news

Useful links

News,

Projects and investements

Yearly report

Press releases

Mass media news

Education Mayor’s message

Mass media information

for citizens’ requests

Events

Projects in development

Development plans for public debate

Statistics

News

The main/central area of the websites contains in general information regarding events,

programs in development, and different cityhall’s achievemnts. Texts in this case are frequently

accompanied by images. The Sector 1 posts here two options: „Do you have a question?” and

„Do you have a problem?”, questions that invite the citizens to participate in a direct dialogue.

Table 4. Right vertical menu

Sector 1 Sector 2 Sector 3 Sector 4 Sector 5 Sector 6

Quick search

Sector1.ro Information

On-Line forms

FAQ

Comunity

Opinion Polls

Contacte

Free Legal Advice

Search (key words)

Citizen’s communication

On-Line register for meetings

On-Line messages for mayor, petition solving status

Newsletter

Transparency in Decision Making

Public relationship On-Line register

Trafic

Parks

Live search maps

Citizen’s guide

Who”s On line

News about projects in development

City Hall Offices

Contacts

This part of the sites has the latest information related to the cityhalls’ projects that are in

different phases of development. Besides this, contact data and schedules of different sections

are posted on the sites. The interactivity elements are dominant for the sectors 1 3 and 4 sites.

Regarding image construction/ building we can notice that every site contains

nuclear/core messages (Cityhall, Local Council, Mair, History) that offer information about the

institution, the leadership memebers, general interest programs; but also circumstantial messages

(link to offered services, projects and actions in development, mass media aparitions, etc).

By comparing the six sites two polarized sitations stand out: By comparing the 6 websites

we noticed two distinct/opposite situations: Comparând cele 6 siteuri se disting ușor două situații

polarizate: a) Sector 2 site, that brings forward the institution’s image (links to web pages that

describe the mision, values, sustainable development local plan, the Romanian Quality Prize,

political declaration in the quality domain); b) Sector 1 site, that emphasizes the image of the

mayor, by means of providing links to pages with his presentation, easy access to his personal

site and blog, or to news stories written by the mayor(comments) or about the mayor (reports,

statements). In between these stand points, the other sites introduce a grey area of mingled

nuclear and circumstantial messages.

Therefore, the cityhalls identity is vague and not clearly defined. Aditionally, there is a

lack of visual elements, most of them are static photos (the cityhall center, oficials portraits,

oficial documents cover, parks images with no people, etc). obviously the scarcity of images and

the overcrowded graphics (link next to link) reduce the atractivity of these sites.

All the sites have interactive links, but these are more or less visible. The sector 1’s site is

richer as it offers 3 different zones of interaction: „Intimations, Petitions, Complaints” (gives the

citizens the chance to rapidly communicate their needs); „Do you have a Question/Do you have a

problem?” (offers the dialogue with the functionari posibility); and „Poll” (where the citizens can

vote general interest initiatives regarding the sector’s development). Aditionally, there are links

to the personal site and blog of the mayor, and a link „Sector 1 Community”, that encourage the

citizens to register to one of the sector’s 13 debating groups.

Some links to projects debates can be observed also on the Sector 2 and 3 sites.

Moreover, the sector 5 site has a link „Guest book” that offers an adress where the citizens can

send messages to the mayor. It is obvious that the majority of these sites did not use to the

maximum the interactivity potential specific to the Internet. That means not only that the sites

have reduced attractivity, but especially that by ignoring the symmetrical bilateral

communication elements, they fail to efficiently communicate with their publics.