International Communication Management

In today's business world, the future of organizations and their success in the marketplace to a great extent depend on how they are viewed and evaluated by their stakeholders, including shareholders and investors, customers and consumers, employees, and members of the community in which the organization operates. Therefore, the ability of organizations in building and protecting favorable reputations among their stakeholder groups becomes vital for their success and even survival. This objective of building and maintaining favorable reputations is the core task of corporate communication practitioners. Corporate communication aims for aligning and engaging the company's various stakeholder groups towards the main strategies of the company, in such a way that yields favorable outcomes for the company in the long-run. 

This module aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issues involved in cross-cultural communication in international business and management. It will focus on the impact of culture at the level of the individual, the team and the organisation; it will demonstrate how cultural factors influence behaviours in interaction, and will develop some of the skills needed to manage effectively in cross-cultural situations. The course will require the students to reflect on their own cultural values and experiences, and help prepare them for the future challenges of an international career. 

This course explores the strategic role and various types of internal communication in multinational organizations.

The objective of the module is to equip students with the knowledge of IC as a discipline through practice, using models, case studies, workshops, practical exercises, and expert insights.  By the end of this course, students will be equipped to design and evaluate internal communication strategies that enhance organizational coherence and employee engagement.

Any organization needs to maintain a healthy and strategic relationship with the press and, to do so efficiently, must have Media Relations Managers who understand how journalism works and what journalists need. Once one knows that, one knows how to meet the needs of journalists, how to react to their reporting activities, how to attract their attention, and how to handle issues relating to news media, amongst others. This module takes students through a journey during which they understand the practical and theoretical fundamentals of Media Relations and acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge to put together an effective, research-based Media Relations Plan.

The course on crisis communications gives an overview of the communication issues before, during and after a crisis and aims to let participants reflect on the most effective strategies during these various phases. The course starts with an overview of this field and the differences between crises and issues. For the prevention of crisis, issue management is essential and participants will gain practical experience with some tools of issue management. In addition, they will reflect on the concept of transparency and how it could prevent crisis in an early stage. Two sessions of the course will focus on a simulation of a crisis in a health organisation. Participants will role play the events as they unfold in the organisation, and will discuss how to bring the situation to a good end. Afterwards, they reflect on their own strategies and actions. After the simulation, the course continues with the topic of “communication after a crisis”, on how relations with stakeholders can be restored when a scandal, issue or crisis has taken place. The course finishes with the writing of a crisis communications plan.

The course focuses on crucial issues and developments that define the field of brand management today.  Attention is given to changes, made possible by the revolution in ICT over the past decades, that are  continuing to reshape and redefine the role and importance of effective and efficient brand management within the panoply of strategies and tools the organization uses to communicate with its internal and external environments. Students will note the ascendance of brand management, as well as its growing  centrality, within the communications functions, at the same time that they observe the increasingly  complex nature of the challenges that it faces, as branding takes on new responsibilities. While the course does not assume that students have prior knowledge of Brand Management, it quickly focuses on transforming knowledge that is achieved into practical dimensions, both through the weekly application of the Harvard Case Study Method, in which students will demonstrate the ability to simulate managerial decision-making processes in real world (professional) contexts, and a contemporary (live) case (built around a company or organization) that student teams will develop across the module. 

From digital advocacy to emerging algorithmic cultures, from hasty e-commerce transformations to digital disinformation campaigns, social media platforms are rapidly reorganizing societies. In as much as many consider them beacons of hope, others believe they also pose an existential threat both to democracy,social cohesion and humanity. This course is designed to take you from a complete beginner to a social media management professional profile; from market research to understanding personas, to brand presence and shaping a sustainable social media strategy, exploring influencer marketing and persuasion as well as developing a tone of voice, value creation and tracking performance of social produced content. Focus will be on major social media platforms (facebook, youTube, Insagram, TikTok, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkdIn). 

At the end of a master’s degree programme, students are expected to conduct an applied research project individually. This applied research project results in a master thesis, which will be defended orally in a final examination.

Some examples of thesis topics below: 

• Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) engagement amongst employees of the Ministry of Health in the Netherlands 
• Sustainable communication by fast-fashion brands on social media 
• The Role of Instagram on Brand Loyalty for the Beauty Brands 
• Sustainability in Sport Sponsorship: A look into sustainability practices of professional 
• European football clubs in relation to sport sponsorship  
• Building Diversity and Inclusion: A case study on The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS) 
• How internal communications can contribute the corporate sustainability processes in Unilever 
• Organisational storytelling as a corporate branding tool 
• The Application of Social Media for Internal Communications and Employee Engagement