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Chapter 3:  Linguistic Approach to Communication Audits

3.0  Opening Remarks

Undoubtedly, communication audits can be performed in a wide range of institutions, organisations, companies, etc. They are not bound to any concrete field of study or line of business (see empirical studies in Section 1.3.3(4)). Their multifaceted application has been showcased by various researchers, among them DeWine and James (1988, p. 148), Hargie, Tourish, and Wilson (2002, p. 415), Wiio, Godhaber, and Yates (1985, pp. 88–89). Interestingly, communication audits are often treated as part of broader audits. For instance, a communication audit may be part of a management audit, a marketing audit, or a public relation audit. Presenting the conclusions of a management audit case study, Craig-Cooper and de Backer (1993, p. 110), amongst others, state that:

Indeed, the communication audit, similarly to communication, plays an important role as it influences other activities of a given institution:

communications activity is only a value in as much as it helps further corporate objectives. Audits are increasingly being used as a way of defining internal communications activity in the context of wider, corporate and business imperatives.

(Pollen, 1993, p. 183)

Outcomes of a communication audit ‘may function as a force to propel communication behaviors to a higher level of consciousness’ (DeWine & James, 1988, p. 159). Therefore, it is imperative to focus on defining the communication audit as well as developing its methodological ‘toolkit’...