Nomenclature and Functions of Corporate Communication Units of Nigerian Universities: A Comparative Examination

Abstract

Communication is an essential process in universities. Corporate objectives, goals, relationships and control are ensured or jeopardised by the communication network put in place by university management. The name of an organisational communication unit has strategic implications, and its functions distinguish it from other units within the university. The paper uncovers various labels of universities’ corporate communication units. It shows the functions of these units; and how the labels determine their functions. In-depth interview was used to gather data from communication officers of six selected universities in southwest, Nigeria. While the descriptive survey helped to generate data from other employees of corporate communication units as well as faculty members of mass communication departments of the six selected universities. Findings show that 41.4% of the respondents did not know the name of the corporate communication unit of their universities. Communication officers affirmed that the unit carried out several functions. A revelation is that, in some cases, the name of a communication unit could influence how the Unit functions. The study concluded that there was need for universities to have a standardised document on corporate communication unit naming, structure and operations. It was recommended that universities could adopt the Directorate of Public Relations as the name of their communication unit for uniformity and consistency.