Redefinition of Feedback in Corporate Communication Management and Target Group Relations: A Literature Review
Emel Karayel Bilbil, Aslı KasarLimitations of time and place during the communication process have been removed with the advent of new communication technologies, and the target groups that used to have a passive role as the receiver of a message in communication conducted with the traditional communication tools have come to have an active role in the communication activities through the new communication media. In this context, the use of feedback which enables a two-way communication is of significance in today’s conditions, in which the concept of relationship and two-way communication has come forth and gained significance. In the approach of institutional communication management, organisations are, therefore, required to establish a two-way communication with their target groups having different characteristics so as to create positive relationships, based on mutual understanding, dialogue, tolerance, good intention and trust. It has been determined that the concept of feedback, which is analyzed by the document examination method in Turkish and foreign literature, is usually defined as a “reply” and “respond” in Turkish literature reviews but this definition does not suffice in foreign literature reviews, so the aim in the present study is to redefine and conceptualize this concept by categorizing it according to its usage. For this reason, types, characteristics and limitations of feedback make up the basic categories of this study. It has been concluded upon the analysis of approximately fifty documents examined on the basis of these categories that institutions use “reactional”, “structural” and “indefinite” feedback, that they can be deaf to their target masses and that they even use interactive social media instruments in one-way communication.
Kurumsal İletişim Yönetiminde Kurum ve Hedef Kitle İlişkisi Bağlamında Geribildirimin Yeniden Tanımlanması: Literatür İncelemesi
Emel Karayel Bilbil, Aslı KasarYeni iletişim teknolojileri ile iletişim sürecinde söz konusu olan zaman ve mekân sınırlaması ortadan kalkmış ve geleneksel iletişim araçları ile gerçekleşen iletişimde sadece mesajın alıcısı olarak pasif konumda bulunan hedef kitleler, yeni iletişim ortamları ile iletişim faaliyetlerinde aktif hale gelmiş bulunmaktadır. Bu bağlamda ilişki kavramının ve çift yönlü iletişimin öne çıktığı ve önemli olduğu günümüz koşullarında çift yönlülüğü sağlayan geri bildirim kullanımı da büyük önem taşımaktadır. Bu neden ile kurumsal iletişim yönetimi yaklaşımında, kurumların birbirinden farklı özelliklere sahip hedef kitleleri ile karşılıklı anlayış, diyalog, hoşgörü, iyi niyet ve güveni esas alan olumlu ilişkiler oluşturabilmesi için, çift yönlü iletişim kurması gerekmektedir. Bu kapsamda, Türkçe ve yabancı literatürde doküman inceleme yöntemi ile analiz edilen geri bildirim kavramının, Türkçe literatürde genellikle “cevap vermek” ve “tepki vermek” olarak tanımlandığı ve bu tanımın yabancı literatür incelemelerinde de yetersiz kaldığı tespit edilerek, kavramın yeniden tanımlanması ve kullanımına yönelik kategorilere ayrılarak kavramsallaştırılması amaçlanmaktadır. Bu amaç ile çalışmanın temel kategorilerini, geri bildirim türleri, özellikleri ve engelleri oluşturmaktadır. Bu kategoriler ışığında incelenerek analiz edilen yaklaşık elliye yakın dokümanda, kurumların geri bildirim türlerinden olan “tepkisel”, “kalıpsal” ve “belirsiz” geri bildirimi kullandığı, hedef kitlelerini dinlemediği ve etkileşim özelliğine sahip sosyal medya araçlarını bile tek yönlü olarak kullandıkları sonucuna varılmış bulunmaktadır.
The prevalent use of social media or new media following the emergence of the internet has created groups of people and target masses that are in constant expectation of communication, a case which has highlighted the importance of two-way communication and the concept of relationships, and has also been defined as a paradigm change during today’s corporate communication process. In this way, target groups that have passive roles merely as message receivers in the communications based on traditional channels have come to be more active in the communication processes through new communication methods. Where the concept of relationship and two-way communication have come forth and gained importance, the concept of feedback and the use of feedback in establishing two-way communication have become crucial. For this reason, the concept of feedback, analysed through the document analysis method, is usually defined as “reply” and “respond” in Turkish literature. However, it has become evident that this definition is insufficient in a literature review of the foreign origins, for which reason this study is intended to redefine the concept and conceptualize it by dividing it into categories as regards their uses.
As a result of the studies and reviews in literature in Turkish and other languages made for this purpose, the concept of “feedback” has been simply redefined as an “evaluation of replies and responses”. Also, the types of its uses are listed as reactional and indefinite, interactive, purposeful, and immediately-delayed feedbacks; with regards to its characteristics, they are explained as establishing the two-way state, being definitive, acting as a control mechanism, being informative, and establishing trust, while its limitations are ineffectiveness in listening, egocentrism, being in the defensive mode, and regarding it as a waste of time.
The purpose of these parts, where the uses of feedback are conceptualized, is to explain the reasons why the concept of feedback defined as “reply” and “respond” in Turkish literature is insufficient and how it should be used. In this regard, when feedback is redefined as the “receiver’s evaluation of the messages sent”, it creates reflective (spontaneous) feedback based on reflexive and indefinite feedback as a result of the literature review in which it is just defined as “replying” to the sender’s message. As there is no sense of awareness in this system of feedback, the difference between the message sent and the message received cannot always be understood and questioned. Therefore, the ambiguity in the messages between the two parties is not eliminated and fails to complete the task of feedback, thus falling behind the effective definition of the term. In other words, the communication process remains one-way. Yet when organisations use the interactional type of feedback, they attain the institutional purposes with the approval and collaboration of both parties by achieving two-way communication, being definitive, achieving the control of meaning and minimizing the misunderstanding. As a consequence, the organisations can develop long-term relations with their target groups by establishing mutual trust (Boztepe, 2014, pp. 1-6). Accordingly, they can gain the support, understanding, and interest of their target groups, which are the fundamental purposes of the organisations. The organisations’ success in reaching these targets plays an important role in their success in all other activities by them (Asna, 1997, p. 214).
Consequently, it has turned out that organisations use feedback in “reactional”, “structural”, and “indefinite” ways, that they do not listen to their target groups, and even that they use social media tools which provide only one-way interactivity. One reason for this is that the concept of feedback is generally defined in Turkish literature as “reply” and “respond”, which makes the actors of corporate communication and public relations think that they do nothing wrong in their use of the feedback. From this point of view, in this study, the importance of feedback in corporate communication is emphasized and the term is redefined. Also, the study has categorized the detailed information on how to use feedback, aiming to contribute to the organisations’ ability to win their target groups’ support, understanding, and interest by helping raise awareness in the right use of feedback, which is a key factor in establishing a two-way communication.
