Communication Strategy to Build Networks and Win Global Competition

Communication Strategy to Build Networks and Win Global Competition A. Basic Concept of Global Competition "Competition" in the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI) means competing; efforts to show each other's superiority carried out by individuals (companies, countries) in certain fields. while 'global' in KBBI means in general and overall; roundly; broadly; related; concerning; covering the whole world. So "global competition" means an effort made to show superiority in order to be able to face and respond to developments that occur and are faced by the whole world. In addition, the word competition also has positive and negative meanings. Competition with a positive meaning refers to the depiction of the superiority of an individual, corporation or nation by utilizing all the abilities they have to produce something (Anonymous, 2017). While competition with a negative meaning refers to the act of finding weaknesses in opponents of competitors in various unsportsmanlike ways so that their opponents experience obstacles or failures in achieving their goals (Anonymous, 2017). B. How to Win Global Competition From the results of an interview with the Head of the National Library, Muhammad Syarif Bando conducted by Winahyu (2020), it was stated that literacy is the capital to face and win global competition. Because through literacy, detailed and comprehensive knowledge will be produced to help understand and master the situation and conditions in the existing competition. The literacy in question is not only knowing letters, words, sentences, cause and effect relationships, and expressing opinions, but there are three elements of literacy in the current era, namely: 1) need to have the ability to access trusted sources of information; 2) know and master what is written and implied in literature, so that it is impossible to know and master something without reading; and 3) the ability to create new ideas, concepts, and innovations to support readiness to face global competition that creates national competition. There are other preparations that need to be made to win global competition, namely the use of technology to maximize the empowerment of creativity and the development of literacy. Then, the additional information conveyed by Member of Commission X Putra Nababan (Winahyu, 2020) said that to face global competition, preparation is also needed through the development of soft skills which include communication, interaction, problem-solving skills, decision-making, innovation, and working as a team or collaborating as a step to enrich self-development. C. Communication Strategy to Build Networks and Win Global Competition To build networks and win global competition, there is a role for communication in its actions. So a communication strategy is needed to support the success of these two activities. Communication strategy according to Farha (2018) in his thesis is a guide to communication planning with communication management to achieve predetermined goals. The function of the communication strategy, both macro and micro, in this case is to disseminate informative, persuasive, and instructive messages systematically to targets to obtain optimal results and bridge the "cultural gap" due to the ease of obtaining and the ease of operating mass media. There are several steps that can be taken to determine a communication strategy (Anonymous, 2021), namely as follows. 1. Recognizing the target communicator Communication is carried out according to the needs and goals to be achieved. So that through these communication objectives, the communicator will easily analyze the intended target. In addition, there are several factors that need to be considered in recognizing the target of this communicator, namely: a) Reference frame factors will be formed in a person as a result of a combination of experience, education, lifestyle, norms of life, social status, ideology, ideals and others (Effendi, 1998: 40). b) Situational and condition factors, which can support successful communication and be the reason for communication failure. The communication situation is related to the environmental conditions that occur. While communication conditions refer to the physical and psychological conditions of the communicator and audience. 2. Selection of communication media The next step after knowing the target to be targeted in communication. The selection of this media is adjusted to the communication target, so that it can be a combination of several media that are also aligned with the message to be conveyed. 3. Assessment of communication messages This assessment is the basis for taking communication techniques, whether informative, persuasive, or instructional techniques. Communication messages consist of various message contents and symbols, such as language, images, gestures, colors, and so on. 4. The role of communicators in communication In this case, there are two important factors that support the role of communicators in communication, namely attraction and source of trust. This attraction is related to the communicator's ability to change the attitudes, opinions and behavior of the audience, as well as the willingness of the communicant to obey the contents of the message conveyed by the communicator. Meanwhile, a source of trust is needed from the communicant to the communicator. This trust tends to be related to the profession/expertise of the communicator. In the explanation related to determining communication strategies to build networks and win global competition, it will refer to the thesis written by Farha (2018) regarding "Communication Strategy in Building Partnerships in Program Implementation with Mampo at LPP TVRI Southeast Sulawesi", several communication strategies are explained in building partnerships/networks as follows. 1) Determining the target audience, this aims to make it easier for communicators to reach and maintain the audience to remain present and interested in the proposed partnership. 2) Program promotion, is a step to inform the audience and make them interested in attending the promoted program. In promoting this program, there are several marketing strategies that can be done, namely • Advertising which is the most well-known and well-known form of promotion by many people by involving mass media (TV, Radio, Newspapers, and Magazines) to send messages widely. • Social media through various applications for communication that can facilitate the delivery of information, and social media has recently become an increasingly popular access for people to communicate. • Direct marketing, is an effort to communicate directly with potential targets to generate direct responses. Through direct marketing there will be the possibility of success and achievement, and show a sense of mutual need for each other. The communication network that will help in building networks and winning global competition formally, namely as follows 1) Downward Communication Network, refers to the flow of messages flowing from leaders to members, and is used to convey messages related to direction, goals, discipline, orders, questions, and general policies. 2) Upward Communication Network, refers to communication that has a certain value or function. Pace (1989) explains several functions of upward communication, namely: • for a supervisor to help determine the readiness of members to be given information from the leader and a good attitude to accept what members convey to the leader; • to provide valuable information in decision making; • to strengthen the appreciation and loyalty of members to the organization. 3) Horizontal Communication Network, refers to the exchange of messages between people who have the same level of authority in the organization. The purpose of this horizontal communication includes coordinating tasks, sharing information to plan activities, and solving problems that arise between people who are at different levels of authority. And there may be many other communication patterns, methods, and techniques that can help in building networks and winning global competition. Because every communication strategy will be effective if balanced with the use of communication patterns, methods, and techniques that are appropriate to the situation and conditions required.