‘The “Ottawa way” thrives’ article by Vanderg and Capodagli (2015) is largely explanatory and descriptive in nature. The explanatory aspect forms the greatest portion of the article. The very first sentence of the article is a question, which is followed by an answer. The authors’ use of a question and an answer serves the function of attempting to explain a premise and in the case of the article, the premise is that the adoption of a customer-centric culture by Ottawa County has helped to attract investors, and consequently turned around the employment prospects for many people in the county.
Expectedly, the subsequent question that would emerge from such a premise regards to how Ottawa County achieved a customer-centric culture. In this case, the authors delve deeper into explaining how the change was achieved. In particular, the authors explain how the management of the county borrowed heavily from the “Disney Way” of providing excellent customer experience and satisfaction (Vanderberg & Capodagli, 2015). In order to explain better, the authors organize the article into themes, which are in bold. The themes are akin to points of discussion, and that makes it easy for readers to follow and understand what the authors want to communicate. Secondly, under the various themes, the authors also list points using bullets to present the various elements under discussion and that makes the article remain relevant, as well as to have a logical and consistent flow.
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The descriptive aspect of the article lies in the provision of the background or introduction of Ottawa County. The authors describe the unique features of Ottawa County, especially with respect to the attraction of tourists and investors. For instance, the authors state, “Ottawa County is also a vacation destination with Holland, Michigan’s Tulip Time festival and Grand Haven’s Coast Guard Festival held during the summer” (Vanderberg & Capodagli, 2015). Most importantly, the descriptive and explanatory nature of the article is quite effective considering that the article is about a review and analysis of a change in the operation and management of Ottawa County.
To support the premises, the first point used is that Ottawa County has earned its repute mainly because of the people who visit, live, visit, and carry out their business in the county (Vanderberg & Capodagli, 2015). In fact, this point was quoted by the authors from one of the officials in the county. In essence, this means that the authors used primary data collection methods, mostly interviews to support their premise. The second point is derived from a secondary source of data; The Michigan Multiplier 2013 which ranks Ottawa County highly in employment prospects for adopting a customer-centric culture. The last and equally important point is the use of customer reports and assessments. The authors posit, “Businesses praised the transition from a highly regulatory “gotcha” attitude to more of an attitude of educating and coaching, thus becoming a valued partner” (Vanderberg & Capodagli, 2015). This point indicates that the customer-centric culture has indeed improved relations between Ottawa County and private partners, and, therefore, improved the image of the county.
Summarily, in relation to communication and strategic planning, the above-mentioned points are important in validating how communication touches strategic planning. In this case, for the authors to achieve their objective they had to draw a strategic plan; they wanted to show how a customer-centric culture in a government establishment can turn around its prospects. In order to achieve the objective, the authors communicate clearly by breaking down the various elements into themes, and simple points, making the article easy to understand by readers. Therefore, their plan was to organize the article into themes in order to communicate clearly, and evidently, their plan is fruitful.
Reference
Vanderberg, A., & Capodagli, B. (2015). The "Ottawa way" thrives. Public Management, 97(6), 14-18
