be learned or concepts / facts memorized? — Investigate various methods of training and development if memorization is necessary. Otherwise, consider job aids, performance support systems, data banks, etc.. What are the important sources of feedback, social support, and coaching? — Can you redesign the performance appraisal system, make families and communities more supportive of employees, teach managers to be better coaches? Select, Prototype, Implement, and Evaluate Interventions What types of interventions fit the organizational culture? Which have the best chance of showing a positive return on investment? How do these interact with other existing communication and performance systems? Develop a rough rapid prototype, or pilot the interventions on a small group Measure and document results, tweak, maintain, and revise as necessary. What was the bottom-line result in performance? Although we do not represent this as a lock-step “formula” for approaching communication projects, the protocol and mindset of performance-based analysis and consideration of an integrated set of communication interventions can, and has been, successfully applied. ORGANIZATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONAlthough most organizations’ communication systems and interventions are not yet “integrated” as we define them, there are a number of examples that demonstrate that this model of organizational communication can be applied creatively in a number of diverse settings. In some cases, integrated communication models are used on an ad hoc basis by a communication professional or team when faced with a particularly significant or difficult problem. A particular project may provide the opportunity to employ broader, more strategic methods. For example, Smalley et. al. (1995) report the results of an integrated performance-based approach to improving the performance of a telephone order-taking department: t...
