Nomenclature and Functions of Corporate Communication Units of Nigerian Universities: A Comparative Examination
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Communication is an essential process in universities. Corporate objectives, goals, relationships and
control are ensured or jeopardised by the communication network put in place by university management. The
name of an organisational communication unit has strategic implications, and its functions distinguish it from other
units within the university. The paper uncovers various labels of universities’ corporate communication units. It
shows the functions of these units; and how the labels determine their functions. In-depth interview was used to
gather data from communication officers of six selected universities in southwest, Nigeria. While the descriptive
survey helped to generate data from other employees of corporate communication units as well as faculty members
of mass communication departments of the six selected universities. Findings show that 41.4% of the respondents
did not know the name of the corporate communication unit of their universities. Communication officers affirmed
that the unit carried out several functions. A revelation is that, in some cases, the name of a communication unit
could influence how the Unit functions. The study concluded that there was need for universities to have a
standardised document on corporate communication unit naming, structure and operations. It was recommended
that universities could adopt the Directorate of Public Relations as the name of their communication unit for
uniformity and consistency.
Keywords
H Social Sciences (General), HE Transportation and Communications