Interview with a Communications Executive - Essay Example

Assignment Interview with a Communications Executive Number and Assignment Interview with a Communications Executive Section I. Purpose of the Paper The current paper presents the results of an interview with a communications executive of an organization. As disclosed, the six-fold aims of the current paper is the attainment of the following learning objectives, to wit: (1) to enable the identification of the person in a particular organization whose responsibilities include the coordination and provision of directions and strategies towards communications and public relations with crucial stakeholders; (2) to actually meet and communicate with the senior executive of the chosen company whose scope of responsibilities include planning, implementation and coordination of communication; (3) to gain knowledge from the executive’s experiences (academic, professional, other relevant facets) and from competencies and qualifications that effectively fit this position; (4) to gain appropriate knowledge on the duties, functions and responsibilities of the chief communication executive of the chosen organization; (5) to discuss the different communication approaches that the executive has tried and found successful or non-successful; and (6) to gain exemplary lessons from the information generated both from the executive and from external sources on the chosen organization with respect to organizational communication and public relations, its scope and importance. To comply with the requirements, the selected organization was identified as the Methodist University Hospital which is located in Memphis, Tennessee. The communications executive who was interviewed in the process was Christopher Jenkins, the Communications Manager. Section II. Company Background and the Communications Executive Interviewed II.1 Company Background on Methodist University Hospital The Methodist University Hospital is currently located at 1211 Union Avenue Memphis, Tennessee. The brief historical overview of the organization and pertinent details was sourced from its official website at: http://www.methodisthealth.org/locations/methodist-university-hospital. It was hereby disclosed that the hospital is identified as the “major academic campus for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center” (Methodist University Hospital: Home, 2011, p. 1). It boasts of a 661-bed capacity and is reportedly considered one of the largest and most comprehensive health institutions within the Methodist Healthcare system (Methodist University Hospital, 2011). The organization reportedly offer services that range from academic instruction in the field of medicine and health care to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center; as well as comprehensive medical services offered in its various institutions, such as the Brain and Spine Institute, the Transplant Institute, services in Diagnostics and Radiology, as well as in their Cardiovascular Institute (Methodist University Hospital: Services, 2011). Pharmacy or sources of medications are also reportedly duly provided. II.2 Profile of Communications Executive Interviewed: Christopher M. Jenkins Mr. Christopher M. Jenkins was noted to be accredited as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) in 2007. As such, he was reported to be the second University of Memphis MHA graduate to achieve Fellow status in the American College of Healthcare. His exact designation included being considered among the Physicians Advisory Board as the Administrator of the Neuroscience Institute/Cancer Center. In his capacity as the Communications Executive, Mr. Jenkins have been delegated as the organization’s representative to the Association of Community Cancer Centers and to address various concerns and issues relating to the communications and public relations functions of the organization. Section III. Synopsis of the Information Learned According to Mr. Jenkins, the roles and responsibilities for the communications and public relations of the Memphis University Hospital is delegated to various officers due to the extensive and encompassing nature of the diverse functions and department in the organization. As such, there are people assigned to head the communications that pertain to the media, to the hospital, to the university, and to institutes and specialty clinics. For instance, there is a separate communications manager and specialists for the media relations team, among others. Mr. Jenkins likewise disclosed that part of his responsibilities as communications manager of the organization is to develop and design marketing and communications strategies that promote the good image of the Methodist University hospital. Accordingly, he emphasized that the strategies designed should be consistent with the mission, vision, and values of the organization, as well as the short-term and long-term goals and objectives. In addition, Mr. Jenkins asserted that his responsibilities also include the design, updating, and monitoring the enforcement of policies with regard to the organizations’ communications patterns, philosophies, and outlined guidelines. As indicated, this includes the effective use of company logos, adherence to standards in communications through various mediums, and observing privacy and confidentiality of various stakeholders; yet balancing the need for transparency and disclosure of relevant information to government and health agencies that require accurate organization information. Despite his busy and challenging schedule, he affirmed that part of his role is to assign appropriate time to accommodate people like me, among others; and members of the media, government health institutions, and various clientele who needs to know more about Methodist University Hospital, in more detail or in general. As a manager whose tasks encompass functions such as planning, organizing, directing and controlling various facets that affect communication and public relations of Methodist University hospital, he affirms that there is crucial need to abide and conform to ethical, moral, and legal standards in all his undertakings with various stakeholders. Section IV. Description of Lessons Learned From the experience of researching on the organization and in interviewing an executive whose responsibilities focus on communications and public relations, one realized that the role that communications play in an organization is crucial for its sustained success. As one learned from Mr. Jenkins, despite the great responsibility and accountability that his position entails in the organization, he remains humble and patient to accommodate the concerns of various stakeholders that desire to solicit information directly from him, in behalf of the organization. One of the lessons learned was the need to make the necessary preparations in terms of acquainting oneself on the organization to be the subject of the discourse; and including as much information that could be secured on the person to be interviewed. Likewise, part of the preparation is the design and development of appropriate questions to be asked since the person to be interviewed was an executive from the higher echelons of the organization. As such, time is so crucial and important to them that all information that is to be secured should be appropriately noted to maximize learning from the experience. Another preparation that was needed was scheduling for the interview. Again, since the executive identified was noted to be very busy, it was actually difficult to find an appropriate schedule that would be most convenient for Mr. Jenkins. He really had to fit just a small amount of his time to accommodate one’s interview; yet be able to satisfy the requirements of this paper. Therefore, a great deal of patience and time management skills were needed to successfully comply with the scheduling and with conducting the needed interview, as planned. Finally, one realized that to be able to achieve the same stature and role of a communications manager, a potential candidate must have had vast amount of knowledge on communications, leadership, conflict negotiation, problem-solving, and decision-making to effectively implement the responsibilities that were disclosed. As such, apart from completing one’s basic academic degree, there should be continued pursuit of higher education and constant apprising on pertinent theories, concepts, news, trends and updates on the field of communications and public relations. Since contemporary business organizations are continually evolving as external factors frequently change, there is an evident need to assume a proactive stance in improving and developing oneself through management and leadership training that would significantly assist in one’s personal and professional growth. References Jenkins, C. M. (2013). Interview with a Communications Executive. Methodist University Hospital. (2011). Home. Retrieved from methodisthealth.org: http://www.methodisthealth.org/locations/methodist-university-hospital Methodist University Hospital. (2011). Services. Retrieved from methodisthealth.org: http://www.methodisthealth.org/locations/methodist-university-hospital Read More