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 relationshipbuilding 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 notoriety 1. 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

About us

Cityhall

Management

Accessibility

First Page

Mayor

Our sector

Cityhall

Latest News

Mayor

Blog, site

Do you have a
problem?
We
solve it!

Local Council

Popular

Vice-mayor

Cityhall

On-Line
Services

Information

Contacts

E-Audience

Account
creation

Hiring

Quick search

Useful
Information
Hot Line

Useful link
Who do I talk
to?
PHARE Projects

About sector 4

Secretary

Decentralized
Offices

Massmedia
corner

Contact

Useful links

Email

Contact

Quick
navigation

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
institutions 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

General
Informations

Cityhall

News

Cityhall

New

Current
Activities
On-Line Forms

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

Photo Gallery

Cityhall

Video (Piedone
clip)

Local Council

Useful
information

Other Issues

Sector History

Maps

On-Line
Payements

Local Council

General
Information

Intimations,
Petitions,
Complaints

Romanian Prize
for Quality

Services
Cityhall
magazine

Mission, vision,
values

History

Local plan for

sustainable
development

Offices
Services

and

Archive
Contact
Free telephone

Photographs
New
investements
Local Council

Thermic
insulation
buildings

of

Usefull Links

Political
Statement
about providing
quality

Public
information OnLine Forms

On-Line
Newsletter

Useful telephone
numbers

Mass
news

Subscription
Newsletter OnLine

Local Council
Presentation
sector 2

Local Council

media

Sector Map

Usefull Links
Trafik, Ranking

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

Latest news

Press releases

Education

Mayor
Chiliman blog

Useful links

Projects
and
investements

Mayors
message

Email

address

News,

Yearly report

Mass
news

media

Mass
media
information

for
citizens
requests
Events

Development
plans for public
debate

Statistics
News

Projects
in
development

The main/central area of the websites contains in general information regarding events,
programs in development, and different cityhalls 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

Quick search

Contacte

Sector1.ro
Information

Free
Advice

Search
words)

On-Line forms
FAQ
Comunity
Opinion Polls

Legal

(key

Citizens
communication
On-Line
register
for
meetings
On-Line
messages
for
mayor, petition
solving status

Sector 4

Sector 5

Transparency in
Decision
Making

Live
maps

Public
relationship OnLine register

Sector 6
search

Citizens guide
Whos On line

News
about
projects
in
development
City Hall Offices
Contacts

Trafic
Parks

Newsletter

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: Comparnd cele 6 siteuri se disting uor dou situa ii
polarizate: a) Sector 2 site, that brings forward the institutions 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 1s 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 sectors 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 sectors 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.