1 Introduction
Process management in companies of the 21stcentury has become the strategy for measuring institutional objectives and an innovative tendency to predict and project organizational actions. Currently, the terms “quality and evaluation” mark the indicators for development and impact that are generated in the public. In this sense, it will be necessary to quote “a systematic method of improvement and reengineering, both applicable to specific processes. On the other hand, there are management models, which have a central role as the basis of the organization and as a guide by which the system of indicators is articulated “[1].
The importance of managing communication from the vision of processes is considered an operational and functional basis for the determination of effectiveness and efficiency levels, and in the same way, the compliance of assumed commitments. Every organization must visualize its tasks, achievements and successes; from a reality that allows it to be recognized in history and in the market. “The image of an organization is built according to the perception of its members, users and consumers in the feedback process, granted by the role of the economic agent in any society” [2].
Ecuadorian organizations continue to be submerged in traditional realities, where many of the processes continue to be manual and the bureaucratic systems reveal a static image. For the respective study, and in agreement with the methodology, this research will use the case of organizations in Northern Ecuador. It is necessary to reference the function of transparency and social control that has promulgated since the Ecuadorian Constitution of 2008, which mentions: “This function aims to promote and impulse control on the entities and bodies of the public sector, and on individual people or legal entities of the private sector, that provide services or develop activities of public interest, so that they do so with responsibility, transparency and equity…” [3].
Thisregulatory body prefers a process of management transparency, thus why one of the tasks assumed by the public and private companies is accountability. However, it is necessary for these strategies to be strengthened from the beginning, precisely, to evidence sequentially; which is possible with the incorporation of processes.
- Management and Processes
Process management is formed by a set of tasks that are interconnected with each other. The elements that configure this vision are constituted by the start and end parameters of an activity. This specifies a procedure that determines the incidence of actions that aim to achieve the strategic objectives of an organization.A process map is also considered a valued diagram; a graphic inventory of the methods used by an institution.
Ecuadorian organizations are undergoing major structural and functional changes. The very reality of the country has demanded the redesign of a new organizational culture in recent years. Although the importance of the communicator and the role he or she plays in an organization is not yet fully understood in Ecuador, in the meantime, it has become necessary for a process map to be implemented by a communication professional.
In this way, a new plane of communication is configured with the emergent, integral and holistic needs of society; and for this the communicator should be prepared, this being his main challenge. The institution must also forge from its field of competence the communication and information policies that transcend the outdated and traditional schemes.
2.1 The Processes and their Insertion into the Organizations
In the field of communicational management, the processes of media intervention are clearly identified; on top of being considered the strategic allies of the companies, they also contribute to the achievement of the organizational culture. It will be necessary, then, for the company to have a global thinking in terms of the insertion and adaptation of the processes in all their work. That is to say, they will have to include the public, products, services and the very nature of the company. “The analysis of productive processes within an organization is the current challenge to understand the customer´s way of production, which in itself brings the relationship and need to act as a function of processes” [4].
Table 1. Organizations studied in Northern Ecuador
| Public Institutions | Private Institutions | Non-Governmental Organizations |
| 25 | 43 | 4 |
| Total. 72 Analyzed Institutions | ||
In these 72 organizations studied in Northern Ecuador, the importance given to communication planning is evident. For the case study, speaking of this topic means making plans for communication; in some cases media advertising, and, for others, the relationship and permanent insertion in the organizational life of the media. That is why it is pertinent that the processes are related to media intervention, as channels that facilitate the dissemination and transparency of information. A communication process includes communication elements that reflect its intentions, which will have to adapt to the reality of the company. One of the determinant factors in the study of the country’s organizations is that they have a strategic plan, many of which include areas of communication, though the tasks are restricted to dissemination issues. Likewise, they tend to strengthen their institutional philosophy; that is, they appropriate the institutional mission, vision and values as a phenomenon of identity. It is necessary to recognize these aspects, to feed the organizational culture. When asked what sources of media they used or preferred to disseminate both internal and external information, the organizations in this study responded with: intranet, press releases, billboards, newsletters, meetings and social networks. This data reveals that companies have assumed the need to promote their actions through new media. “The application of information technologies in organizations helps activities to be carried out in a more segmented way and the communicative capacities improve in efficiency and efficiency due to a specialization of the tools directed at the public … The emergence of technologies has favored interpersonal and inter-organizational communication flows modifying, strategies, objectives and tools “[5]. To consider the new digital environments and social networks a victory is to admit that all specialties, including marketing, is part of communication. It could then be said that communication connects other sciences as a hub that carries out multiple functions. Even so, the various disciplines and theoretical contexts can generate confusion when analyzing these new ways of understanding communication development. “The first decade of the 21st century has been characterized by a transformation of civil and media communication that have modified the models of mass message transmission and have built a new map of communication channels … the participation of Internet users in social networks signifies a new way of creating and disseminating information [6]. 2.2 The Reality of DirCom It is necessary to raise the question of the development of DirCom, which is rightfully obliged to manage communication from information technologies. In theory, the public is attentive to social media content, digital advertising and media information. Meanwhile, the communication professional should be able to manage from this new approach of sending and receiving messages. A communicator cannot be one, if he or she does not identify with the new digital trends. In Ecuador, the importance of professionalism prevails in order to be able to carry out the role of Director of Communication, even more so when the very Organic Law of Communication promulgates, in Article 42, the right to free communication. “All persons shall freely exercise the rights to communication recognized in the Constitution and this Law through any means of social communication. The journalistic activities of a permanent nature carried out in the media, at any level or position, must be performed by professionals in journalism or communication … In public entities, the positions inherent to communication will be carried out by professional communicators or journalists. “[7] . Additionally, the insertion of technology 3.0 is undeniable, [8] understanding that the products and services announced by companies and organizations through virtual networks 3.0, the managerial implications are important as it opens an infinite world of possibilities for marketing and contextual communication. In this study, therefore, in addition to recognizing the scenarios and influence of communication in the organizations of northern Ecuador, the importance of outlining the processes is translated, considering the new media reality and changes of the era. The following data shows the means of communication that the organizations of Northern Ecuador consider important to spread information, as well as the willingness of companies to incorporate communicational management by processes.
It is a fact that in traditional companies there still exists the culture of arranging meetings in which prompt information is made official (see Fig.1). In this same context, new technologies are affecting the levels of transmission and reception of messages. Given this, it is validated that the process tends to specify and control each task, thus facilitating the evaluation and coordination of results. Following the analysis of the companies studied, Figure 2 shows that 91.7% of companies are willing to incorporate a communication system that contributes to the improvement of the indexes of organizational development, as part of their strategic planning. It must be noted that the worldview of internal communication cannot be qualified in so far as only the insertion of new channels of diffusion, but also in the quality and relevance of the messages.
“It is clear that organizations no longer use social media to only communicate better with their clients, but also to share knowledge with their main stakeholders and, perhaps more importantly, to improve internal flows of knowledge transmission. More than 80% of companies already use some form of technology in their processes and 90% of managers say they have quantifiable benefits and are optimistic about improving productivity. Increasingly, managers believe that to accelerate these changes, it is necessary to support and favor the acquisition of digital competencies for the entire organization “[9].
Table 2.Methodology for the application of a process map
| Description of the Activity | Definition of Four Process Maps with their Respective Activities |
| Objective | Validate the communicational elements proposed by the process map by their justification and pertinence |
| Process map (inputs) |
|
| Process map (outputs) |
|
| Indicators |
The three elements that act as indicators are: the context, message and paradigm. The first case is about understanding the reality of an organization. The mesasge is the content that serves for the feedback processes and the paradigm evidences the construction of new concepts or processes.
|
Next, the process maps are presented, divided by different functions, which must be applied according to the reality and needs of Ecuadorian companies. These schemes provide a global-local perspective, positioning each item in the chain sequence of activities. At the same time, the purpose of the organization is related to its management techniques, also serving as a tool of consensus and learning.
The analysis of the processes of the interior of an organization has to do with the great challenge of understanding the structures that compose it, in relation to themselves and with the users of the services. These aspects are complicated in the way in that it is perceived that any organization is not mobilized only by the laws that intend to govern its operation [4]. The following process maps have an input element and an output element, which are numbered in the color red, in order to attract the reader’s or implementer’ attention.
- Context
- Reference [Canal – Channel; Mensaje – Message, Codigos-Codes]
- Transmitter
- Encode
- Interpret
- Decode
- Express ideas
- Experiences
In an organizational reality in which one wants to manage communication by processes, it is pertinent to begin by identifying roles. As such, the process starts from the location of the issuing subject, which for this company would speak of the DirCom, which in theory identifies the context. This element refers to the general scope of the organization, then corresponds to the location of the reference, which is the closest reality, in which flows of services, type of clients, and institutional philosophy can clearly be identified. This transmitter assumes the responsibility of encoding, interpreting and decoding the detected reference. This addresses the vision of the reality of the company, thus building the experience of recognition and the value of the organization.
In this map both the sender and the receiver use common codes so that the message is highly understandable. The input is the context and the output is the experience.
- Intention
- New Situation
- Data
- Word
[Mensaje – message; Emisor- transmitter/sender; Receptor – receiver; Experiencia – experience, Genera ideas – generate ideas; Objetivo a lograr- objective to achieve; Forma de Comunicación- form of communication].
Fig. 4. Second process map. Fuentes, here manages the new
challenges that the organization may face.
This second process determines the measures that the transmitter can establish previously in the organization, and also makes it possible to locate intentions in the communications projects that are feasible to implement. That is to say, the intentionality becomes the objective of which the issuing subject is appropriated, which is translated in the choice of a new situation and improvements in the company. This innovation could be, for example, to improve internal communication. To do this, the proposed changes will have to be designed and applied, according to the reality presented by each entity. To configure a new situation or reality within the organization, it is necessary to consider the sources from which processed data is obtained, with which the objectives and results to be achieved are described. From this analysis, the proposed process map uses the word as a necessary element, this being a communicational tool. With the identification of this element the production of discursive messages begins. This map exposes the elaboration of the message as the focal point; part of the methodology for the structuring of informative and communicational content, which, from a process ,will allow the organization to establish connections with its internal and external audiences. The entry of this map is the intention, the output is the word, and the result is the message.
[Percepciones del mensaje matizadas por – Perceptions of the message qualified by; Mecanismos de difusión – diffusion mechanisms; Proc. Sistemático – Systematic process; Se convierte en- It changes into, Ligados a – linked to, íconos-icons]
14 Images
15 Codes
16 Signals
17 Signs
18 Symbols
19 Information
20 Channel
21Technologial Media
Fig 5. Process map. Perceptions – serves to evaluate the pertinence
of the messages
The next process contains icons and other resources, such as codes, which are referred to as signs and signals within a given text. These elements are important for extracting the meaning of the contents, for various purposes, one being the criticality of ideas, and another being the reflection that inspires the message itself. In any case, the icons, codes, signs and signals constitute a general and particular meaning according to each case. The processes continue with the following map, relating the elements with others as the symbol, which is immersed in the systematic and constructive process of a communicational environment. This becomes information, which will later be transmitted through different channels. The process then links to the technology, knowing that the new mechanisms help in the spreading of messages in Northern Ecuadorian companies. After applying these elements, it is possible to generate realities about the abstractions that enable the information and / or communicational texts. It will be necessary then to demonstrate that technological advancements are very necessary to fulfill the objectives of marketing, advertising and communication. The map shows that information is the result of a systemic process; that is to say, that messages emerge from the composition of elaborated data. It is also understood that, by diversifying the mechanisms of diffusion by using digital processes, and with the diversity of recipients, the responses or reactions can open a number of possibilities. The input of this map is the code and the output is technology. It is important to feature the three essential stages in the processes of communication: diagnostics, planning and management.
[Canales complementarios – Complementary channels; Utiliza- use; Tecnologá-Technology; Permite Difusión – Allows diffusion; Mensaje- Message; Genera- Generates; Nueva tendencia- New tendency; Nuevos Paradigmas- New Paradigms; 22 Virtual Reality]
Fig. 6. Process map. Information and communication technologies
This map represents in theory those virtual realities that indicate the messages, in which the consequences are qualified in the construction of new paradigms, produced as the incorporation of innovations that must be applied in organizational contexts. From another analysis, it may be necessary to break paradigms in businesses, which oftentimes are standardized and difficult to placate, either because of the organizational culture or simply because of their traditions and customs.
In general, a virtual world is generated by the intervention of technological mechanisms, like the new informational and communicational tendencies are the result of the incorporation of the TIC. Technology dominates in the current reality, and the support that it generates within the media signifies a turn in business and the traditional way of working in companies. Undoubtedly, organizations at the general level and civil society pay more attention to technological agents such as social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Snapchat, among others); which have played a transcendental role in the way in which news is obtained worldwide.
These tools that at first sight seem simple to manipulate require professionals who manage them to assure proper usability. The input of this map is virtuality, the output is the paradigm.
[Neceisdad localizada – Localized need; Correspondencia- Correspondence; Canal- Channel; Análisis- Analysis; Entorpecimiento-Obstruction; Libre de Ruido – Free of sound; Emisor – Transmitter/Sender; Ruptura de viejos Paradigmas- Break from old paradigms; Retenido – Retained; Comprendido- Understood]
23Propositive message
24Meaning
25Significance
26Destination
29Comprehension
30New paradigm
31New reality
Fig 7. Process map. Localized Needs.
This process map begins by detecting the message, which is the result of a process of analysis and correspondence with localized needs. Thus, it has a strict meaning and significance that will be comprehended by the public once it reaches its destination. This, in turn, becomes the space where the message overflows with all its possible benefits. However, this message may be disturbed by interference or noise. If the message is retained and understood, new paradigms become possible or ruptured, precisely, because the content must be sufficiently proactive so that people can build new processes. The map focuses on the localized needs of the organization as an entry point. Additionally, based on these, a strategic action plan will be implemented.
It is important to note that the map shows that both the transmitter and receiver have the responsibility of driving the message, in addition to ensuring that the content is accepted, to foster new paradigms. This allows public, private and non-governmental organizations to engage in various communication schemes. The input is the message and the output is reality.
[Crecimiento de aprendizaje – Increase in learning; Enriquecimiento – Enrichment; Genera – Generates; Comprensión – Comprehension; Emisor – Transmitter / Sender; Mensaje – Message]
32 Dialogue
33 Feedback
34 Learning Method
35 Levels of Learning
36 Evaluation
37 Receiver
38 Encode
39 Interpret
40Decode
Fig. 8. Process map that drives the adoption of learning
The last proposed process map emphasizes the need to incorporate dialogue as an element that, since its application, ratifies the existence of feedback. Therefore, from the comprehension of the message, these spaces are possibly enriched, becoming a method of learning; through which levels of knowledge acquisition are incorporated.
In this sense, the receiver receives the message and takes on the ability of encoding, interpreting and decoding, to be located at the same level as the sender, with whom he or she shares equal opportunities of perception when connecting in a similar sense of reciprocity. The result is knowledge. Dialogue is the opportunity by which a feedback process is generated, thus meaning that there is a higher possibility of understanding the message effectively within the organization. Both transmitters and receivers genuinely share, so they can experiment with learning methods. In the last map, the input is dialogue and the output is knowledge. The information and knowledge society is not limited to technological advances or new communicative scenarios, but requires renewed forms of media and content management [10].
Methodology
In this research descriptive methodology was used, for which fieldwork was carried out, identifying organizational components and revealing the needs and opportunities of each sector studied. This was supported by qualitative and quantitative analytical methods. In the first case, it was necessary to draw conclusions from the determined and described parameters that show the advantages and disadvantages of the integration of a process map in business management. By representing both the quantitative and qualitative approaches in a set of processes, its analysis becomes sequential and probative. Each stage precedes the next, the order is rigorous and is constructed from a theoretical perspective [11]. Meanwhile, the realities of the public, private and NGO entities of northern Ecuador have been deepened, situations that overflow in traditional schemes, but at the same time having possibilities for substantial changes.
Conclusions
Communication by processes is configured in a new option to manage new organizational realities; articulating planning and communication.
It will be easier to determine the importance of each task and function with the use of process maps; by which each area can be evaluated individually, thereby facilitating decision-making or showing if corrective actions need to be taken along the way.
The organizational environment of Northern Ecuador is still positioned within a traditional system, therefore it will be necessary to move forward with research and set the guidelines for proposing and developing structural innovations within the organizational reality of Ecuador.
References
[1] Zaratiegui, J.R: La gestión por procesos: su papel e importancia en la empresa, (1999), p.81
[2] Paredes, M., Mildred, D.C., Jesús María, H., H., Vicuña, A., S, M: El papel de la construcción con respecto a la percepción de la condiciones de trabajo y el manejo del medio ambiente en cuatro caseríos de una comunidad campesina andina: Caraz, Ancash. (Revista del Instituto de Investigación FIGMMG 2005, vol 8, No. 16, 57-67, p. 59
[3] Asamblea, N. Ley Orgánica de la Función de Transparencia y Control Social, (2012) http://www.oas.org/juridico/PDFs/mesicic4_ecu_proy.pdf
[4] Batista, F., Merhy, E.: Mapas analíticos: una mirada sobre organización y sus procesos de trabajo. Salud Colectiva, Buenos Aires (2009)
[5] Castillo, A., Martínez, A.: Relaciones Públicas y Tecnologías de la comunicación. Análisis de los sitios de prensa virtuales (2005)
[6] Túñez, M., García, J.: Las redes sociales en las estrategias de comunicación: del Prestige a Fukushima (2012)
[7] Asamblea, N. Ley Orgánica de Comunicación (2013). http://www.arcotel.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/07/ley_organica_comunicacion.pdf
[8] Küster, I., Hernández., A.: De la web 2.0 a la web 3.0: antecedentes y consecuencias de la actitud e intención de uso de las redes sociales en la web semántica. (2013)
[9] Magro, C., Salvatella, J., Álvarez, M., Herrero, O., Paredes, A., Vélez, G: Cultura digital y transformación de las organizaciones. RocaSalvatella 2014. Barcelona
[10] Núñez, M., La gestión de la comunicación en las organizaciones (2012)
[11] Hernández, R., Fernández, C., Baptista, M.: Metodología de la Investigación (5ta. Edición) 2010
A translation work by 9h05
©9h05 International, 2017
