Strategies Employed to Communicate with and Educate Various Stakeholders
In communicating with and educating various stakeholders, it is important to consider the level of influence possessed by the stakeholder with regards to the success of a given project and also the relevance of the particular project on the interests of the stakeholder. Several strategies can be employed to ensure there is a proper engagement with the stakeholders. The first vital thing to do is to analyze one's stakeholders. It is wrong to assume to know all the stakeholders. It is imperative to know various facets of the stakeholders such as if they are either internal or external, ‘low interest and low influence,' ‘high interest and low influence,' ‘low interest and high influence,' and finally ‘high interest and high influence.' Cornelissen and Cornelissen (2017) asserted that with such classification, it is easier to determine how to educate and communicate with them. The stakeholders with ‘ low interest and low influence’ required to be informed while those with ‘ high interest and low influence’ should be consulted with and heavily involving. On the other hand, those with ‘low interest and high influence’ are powerful stakeholders that must also be engaged and lastly those with ‘high interest and high influence’ must be collaborated with in every engagement.
The second strategy in educating and communicating with stakeholders has a defined purpose. To effectively educate the stakeholders on a current development or trend, it is imperative to develop objectives and visions to ensure that the entire process becomes meaningful to the participants. Williamson and Williamson (2017) pointed out that various purposes in the public sector can necessitate education or communication with the stakeholders. They include policy development, carrying out health initiatives, healthcare campaigns, and curriculum development among others. Having a defined purpose will draw the attention of the stakeholders, making them become adequately informed, hence making them satisfied with one's demands. The third important strategy that must be emphasized when engaging the stakeholders is to develop the best tools that will be used to inform, collaborate, and communicate with them effectively. Depending on the size and preferences of the stakeholders, one can develop a range of tools that include questionnaires, face-to-face-meetings, advertisements in the newspaper, and digital platforms such as video conferencing.
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Finally, another important strategy to consider before communicating with the stakeholders is the context. Dobele et al . (2014) asserted that communication methods to be employed are highly dependent on the context in question. For example, when a quick decision is supposed to be made, a phone call can be the most suitable method of communication to be used. When one wants to succeed in educating or informing the stakeholders, the complexity of the message must be put into consideration. Measures should be put to ensure that the information is well understood to persuade the stakeholders to a given extent.
Engaging the Support of those in Power and Authority
One fundamental way of engaging the support of those in power and authority is through often consultations. When a project is still in its early stages, it can be difficult for an individual to find the best way possible to educate or inform the stakeholders about its dynamics. Consultations with those in power and authority will guarantee enough information that will help in disseminating information and communicating effectively with the stakeholders. Secondly, the people in power and authority can assist in planning. Before engaging with the stakeholders, it is vital to develop a measured and conscientious approach to ensure that the information is articulate and coherent. Therefore, one must engage the authority in planning by asking for necessary resources and gathering other necessities that may be important. This may play a major role in persuading the stakeholders to abide by a given course.
Implementation of the Proposed Evidence-Based Change
The education, communication, and engagement with the stakeholders have massive benefits with regards to facilitating the smooth implementation of a given evidence-based change. First, the process of educating and communicating with them offers an individual a chance to demonstrate the feasibility or the likelihood that a given project is likely to succeed through evidence. Secondly, according to Ihlen (2013), through engagement, stakeholders get to understand what the entity is trying to achieve. They familiarize with the vision of the project that will assist in pledging their allegiance and commitment to it. Thirdly, engagement through communication and education will ensure that a positive relationship develops with the stakeholders hence building a sense of influence that will facilitate the implementation of the proposed change.
Challenges of Knowledge Integration
Knowledge integration can be described as the process of interacting prior and current knowledge while also remaining keen to add new information into the already existing knowledge base ( Tell et al . 2017). Several challenges can be faced while integrating knowledge. The process is sometimes pervasive because vast amounts of knowledge bases must be added incrementally. Because several pieces of information are added separately, the growing knowledge base can suffer from incoherence.
In addressing these challenges, several things can be done. A computational model can be applied to the integration of knowledge. A knowledge based system can also be created in a bid to identify various gaps in the knowledge to develop a coherent knowledge base. Different forms of elaborations can be done to assess how old and current pieces of knowledge interact, making it meaningful to the users. Finally, knowledge and information can consistently be sorted out depending on their relevance to ensure that only useful information is integrated.
References
Cornelissen, J., & Cornelissen, J. P. (2017). Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice . Sage.
Dobele, A. R., Westberg, K., Steel, M., & Flowers, K. (2014). An examination of corporate social responsibility implementation and stakeholder engagement: A case study in the Australian mining industry. Business Strategy and the Environment , 23 (3), 145-159.
Ihlen, Ø. (2013). Communicating with Stakeholders. Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility , 393-398.
Tell, F., Berggren, C., Brusoni, S., & Van de Ven, A. (2017). Managing knowledge integration across boundaries . Oxford University Press.
Williamson, J., & Williamson, F. (2017). We Need to Talk: Educating Internal Stakeholders on Repository Needs.
