Financial Public Relations As A Strategic Corporate Communication Tool: An Application Of BIST

Her geçen gün artan küresel rekabet ortamında, stratejik kurumsal iletişim, kurumun hedeflenen amaçlarına nasıl ulaşacağını belirleyen merkezi ve bütünleşik bir çerçevedir. Kurumsal iletişim stratejisi, kurum içi ve dışındaki iletişimlerin planlanması, uygulanması ve değerlendirilmesine zemin oluşturur. Etkili bir kurumsal iletişim stratejisi: Kurumun misyonu ve hedefleriyle, faaliyet gösterdiği pazarda, hedef kitlesiyle ve paydaşlarıyla arasında bağlantı kurar. Hedeflenen amaçlara ulaştıracak kaynakları açığa çıkarır. Kurumun temel yeteneklerini ve ayırt edici özelliklerini (kurumsal kimlik, hizmet güvenilirliği, kurumsal itibar, kurumsal imaj gibi) ortaya koyarak kurumu rakiplerinden farklılaştırır. Stratejik kurumsal iletişimde önemli bir yeri olan Finansal Halkla İlişkiler, kurumun önemli hedef kitlelerinden ve paydaşlarından olan yatırımcılarla aktif iletişimi etkili bir şekilde düzenler. Bu doğrultuda bu çalışmanın amacı stratejik kurumsal iletişimin önemli bir ayağı olan finansal halkla ilişkileri kavramsal olarak ortaya koymak ve işletmelerin finansal halkla ilişkiler etkinliklerini nasıl kullandıklarını belirlemeye çalışmaktır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda Borsa İstanbul'da (BİST) kayıtlı olan lokanta ve oteller sektöründe faaliyet gösteren kurumların finansal halkla ilişkiler etkinliklerini nasıl gerçekleştirdikleri tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır.Corporate communications can be seen as a management function; a perspective favoured and aspired by communications practitioners, and a view central to much corporate communications theory and research. A central concern stemming from this understanding of corporate communications is the need for organizational structures, rules, routines and effective procedures that actually facilitate this process of decision making and execution concerning Corporate communications. Having such structures, routines and procedures in place becomes even more pertinent in consideration of the many communications practitioners, working across all areas of internal and external communications, that need to be coordinated in their work so that a clear, forceful and consistent image of the organization is projected to each and every one of its stakeholders. In other words, corporate communications is not just a catchy umbrella term for the many different communications disciplines in an organization, but, as a management function, is actively charged with overseeing and coordinating the work done by practitioners within each of them (Cornelissen, 2004: 20). The Public Relations Professionals have much more important missions to complete within the changing and developing structure of Public Relations. In many different areas, they began to manage communication and participate strategic decisions. One of these areas they manage and participate is financial public relations. In paralel with the developing technology, financial public relations is the indispensable area for the corporations that realizes the importance of effective communication with stakeholders. Knowledge of financial disclosure requirements is no longer exclusively the concern of the specialist in financial public relations. Today, a counselor engaged in any phase of public relations having to do with a company whose stock is publicly listed, or of an institution which has investments in such a company, must be aware of the duties of disclosure imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission an the Stock Exchanges. Not many years ago most Public Relations counselors did not think it necessary to be expert in such things as Securities and Exchange Commission regulations. It was a job of a specialist. The whole area of Financial Public Relations seemed a bit dull to many, akin to economics, which has been called the dismal science. It was not uncommon that the Public Relations director of a large Corporation would avoid like the plague any direct involvement in even the company’s annual report. The strategic corporate communication is an integrated and central framework which determines how to reach the objectives of the organization in the increasing global competition. Corporate communication strategy provides the basis of internal and external communications, planning, implementation and evaluation. An effective corporate communication strategy: establishes a connection between the organization's mission and goals, the market in which it operates, the target audience and stakeholders. It reveals the sources which will lead to the targeted aims. Putting forward the distinctive features of the basic capabilities of the organization (corporate identity, service reliability, corporate reputation, corporate image, etc.), it differentiates the institution from its competitors. Financial Public Relations, an important role in strategic corporate communications, effectively regulate the active communication with investors that are important target group and stakeholders of corporation. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to reveal the concept of financial public relations which is an important part of the strategic corporate communications and to determine how businesses are using the financial public relations activities. In accordance with this objective, it is tried to determine how corporations operating in the hotels and restaurants sector registered in Istanbul Stock Exchange (BIST) carry out financial public relations activities