The communication role in organizations has changed, just as the nature of organizations has changed in response to the explosion of new communication technologies as well as global networks within organizations. Communication is more complex, strategic, and vital to the health of the organization than it used to be, and it will become increasingly important in the information-driven economy. This book builds upon the authors' 2010 book, Corporate Communication: Strategic Adaptation for Global Practice, which focused on the role of the communicator. This volume examines, analyzes, and illustrates the practice of corporate communication as a critical business asset in a time of global change. It looks at the major communication needs in the lifecycle of organizations: M&A (mergers and acquisitions), structural change, culture change, innovation, new leadership, downsizing, global expansion, competition, ethical decision-making, political action, and employee engagement. These are all significant value-creating, and potentially value-destroying, events in which corporate communication, if used correctly, functions as a critical and strategic business asset.

Topics in Electron Diffraction and Microscopy of Materials celebrates the retirement of Professor Michael Whelan from the University of Oxford. Professor Whelan taught many of today's heads of department and was a pioneer in the development and use of electron microscopy. His collaborators and colleagues, each one of whom has made important advances in the use of microscopy to study materials, have contributed to this cohesive work.
The book provides a useful overview of current applications for selected electron microscope techniques that have become important and widespread in their use for furthering our understanding of how materials behave. Linked through the dynamical theory of electron diffraction and inelastic scattering, the topics discussed include the history and impact of electron microscopy in materials science, weak-beam techniques for problem solving, defect structures and dislocation interactions, using beam diffraction patterns to look at defects in structures, obtaining chemical identification at atomic resolution, theoretical developments in backscattering channeling patterns, new ways to look at atomic bonds, using numerical simulations to look at electronic structure of crystals, RHEED observations for MBE growth, and atomic level imaging applications.

The forces of uncertainty, globalization, the networked enterprise, Web 2.0, privacy, "big data," and shifting demographics have dramatically transformed corporate communication strategy and practice. Now more than ever, it is more complex, strategic, and essential to the organization's survival. Corporate Communication: Transformation of Strategy and Practice examines, analyzes, and illustrates the practice of corporate communication as it changes in response to increasing global changes. It builds on the authors' 2010 Corporate Communication: Strategic Adaptation for Global Practice, as well as their 2015 Corporate Communication: Critical Business Asset for Strategic Global Change. This book analyzes and illuminates the major communication needs in rapidly evolving organizations: the contemporary communication environment; the importance and impact of intangibles-corporate sustainability, identity, culture, valuation, crisis prevention; the transformation of the media environment; the transformation of the concept of decision-making; the importance of demographics and multigenerational audiences; and technical, geopolitical, economic, and socio-cultural uncertainty. These are significant forces that can potentially augment or diminish an organization's value.

The communication role in organizations has changed, just as the nature of organizations has changed in response to the explosion of new communication technologies as well as global networks within organizations. Communication is more complex, strategic, and vital to the health of the organization than it used to be, and it will become increasingly important in the information-driven economy. This book builds upon the authors' 2010 book, Corporate Communication: Strategic Adaptation for Global Practice, which focused on the role of the communicator. This volume examines, analyzes, and illustrates the practice of corporate communication as a critical business asset in a time of global change. It looks at the major communication needs in the lifecycle of organizations: M&A (mergers and acquisitions), structural change, culture change, innovation, new leadership, downsizing, global expansion, competition, ethical decision-making, political action, and employee engagement. These are all significant value-creating, and potentially value-destroying, events in which corporate communication, if used correctly, functions as a critical and strategic business asset.

The chief communication officer at a Fortune 500, multi-national corporation today faces the challenges of a rapidly changing global economy, a revolution in communication channels fueled by the Internet, and a substantially transformed understanding of what a 21st century corporation stands for. This book investigates these forces and the specific communication challenges that they pose for the global corporation. Examining these forces and how they are interrelated should offer insights and strategies for students of the corporate communication discipline and business leaders to help them deploy effective communication as a strategic business asset in the contemporary global economy.This book focuses on the process of communication in a corporate context; and explores, analyzes, integrates, and applies the theory, practice, and functions of corporate communication. The combination of a theoretical framework for understanding how these forces influence corporate communication with practical guidelines for effective communication within this framework will also be of value to practitioners as well as students of the communication discipline.Designed for the professional whose position requires the creation and management of an organization's communications, this book applies strategic approaches to tactical written and oral communication, and includes a particular emphasis on problem solving and analytical techniques appropriate to global corporate environments. Essential to effective communication in corporate and organizational environments is the ability to understand and apply the concepts of corporate communication as strategic management functions.