Top secret from the bottom up: Message classifications by non-state organizations and their members
Corporate Communications: An International Journal
ISSN: 1356-3289
Article publication date: 2 October 2017
Abstract
Purpose
The emerging area of message classification is one of growing relevance to a wide range of organizational communicators as a variety of non-state organizations and their members increasingly use and misuse various terms to restrict their communication. This includes formal classifications for data security, financial/knowledge management, human resources, and other functions as well as those used informally by organizational members. Especially in a data-rich environment where our word-processing programs, e-mail tools, and other technologies afford us opportunities to engage in classification, a wide range of people at all organizational levels may serve as custodians of their own data and thus have the ability (as well as perhaps the need) to classify messages in various ways. The purpose of this paper is to describe key classification terms ranging from those found in government (e.g. top secret, confidential) to those in the private sector (e.g. business use only, trademarked) to an even wider set of terms used informally by organizational members (e.g. personal, preliminary). The growing use of message classifications will likely create various challenges and opportunities for organizations, their members, and the broader public/society. A set of future research questions is offered for corporate communication researchers and practitioners, who are well positioned to examine this emerging phenomenon.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on existing literature related to the growing use of message classifications to offer a list of classification terms and an agenda for future research.
Findings
This work describes key classification terms ranging from those found in government (e.g. top secret, confidential) to those in the private sector (e.g. business use only, trademarked) to an even wider set of terms used informally by organizational members (e.g. personal, preliminary). This expanded notion of classification will likely create various challenges and opportunities for organizations, their members, and the broader public/society.
Originality/value
The emerging area of message classification is one of growing relevance to a wide range of organizational communicators as a variety of non-state organizations and their members increasingly use and misuse various terms to restrict their communication. A set of future research questions is offered for corporate communication researchers and practitioners, who are well positioned to examine this emerging phenomenon.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
A previous version of this paper was presented at the Annual Conference of the European Group for Organization Studies, Copenhagen, Denmark (2017, July).
Citation
Scott, C.R. and Choi, S. (2017), "Top secret from the bottom up: Message classifications by non-state organizations and their members", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 556-561. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-08-2017-0072
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited