among teams or between managers and subordinates. Minzberg talks about the fact that communicating is intrinsic to the work of a manager - especially so in an information society. Interpersonal communications in the workplace are explored by writers such as Phillip Clampitt and Hargie and Tourish. There are a number of reasons why organizations should be concerned with internal communication. Employees are the heart and soul of an organization, thus it is critical to pay attention to their needs. An engaged and committed employee work force increases and drives business results. Employee engagement encourages higher employee performance, results in lower turnover and offers competitive advantage. Even in a difficult economy, companies need to inspire and retain high performers. Research undertaken in the United States and the UK in 2008 revealed "the scale and impact on businesses" of 'employee misunderstanding', defined as "actions taken by employees who have misunderstood or misinterpreted (or were misinformed about or lack confidence in their understanding) of company policies, business processes and/or job function". Importantly, there is commonly a legal requirement for organizations to communicate with their workers. In large organizations in Europe, for example, the EU has made very specific provision about workers' rights to be informed and consulted with (Directive 94/45/EC on Works Councils). Effective internal communications is commonly understood by practitioners to improve employee engagement (see, for example, the UK government-sponsored Macleod Report) and therefore to add significant value to organizations in terms of productivity, staff retention or external advocacy. As noted in Quirke (2008): "Traditionally, internal communications has focused on the announcement of management conclusions and the packaging of management thinking into messages for mass distribution to the 'troops'". Research indicates a limit to the value of this 'broadcasting' model of IC. Without feedback loops and harnessing the active involvement and mediation skills of frontline supervisors or team leaders, broadcasting tends to be more effective at influencing senior and middle managers than frontline employees - see, for example, Larkin and Larkin (1994). As the IC function matures within the organization, then, it may come to play a wider role in facilitating conversations "upwards", "downwards" and "across" the organization, per Stohl (1995). Organizations increasingly see IC as playing a role in external reputation management. Joep Cornelissen in his book Corporate Communications touches on the relationship between reputation and internal conversations. This trend reaches its full potential with the arrival of new 'norms' and