international association of business communicators type not for profit industry public relations marketing internal communications human resources founded 1970 headquarters san francisco area served worldwide number of employees 20 website www.iabc.com the international association of business communicators iabc is a global network of communications professionals . each summer iabc hosts world conference a three day event with professional development seminars and activities as well as talks by industry leaders . decisions within the organization are made by a two thirds vote of the executive board which is elected by members . iabc members agree to follow a professional code of ethics which encourages members to do what is legal ethical and in good taste . 1 contents 1 history 2 organization 3 services 4 publishing 5 references 6 external links history edit iabc s predecessor was the american association of industrial editors aaie which was founded in 1938 . aaie became a member of the international council of industrial editors icie in 1941 . it withdrew from icie in 1946 over policy differences but formed iabc when it merged again in 1970 . 2 3 in iabc s first year of operation the association had 2 280 members and was focused on internal communications . 4 iabc s research showed its members were moving into positions with broader public relations responsibilities and the association expanded its scope . 5 in 1974 it merged with corporate communicators canada . 4 in 1982 the association formed the iabc research foundation which funded a study of 323 organizations in the 1980s to determine what made some public relations teams more effective than others . the study found that executive involvement in communications was the best predictor of effectiveness . 6 the research foundation also looked into the status and pay of women in the public relations field in a pioneering study called the velvet ghetto . 7 iabc had financial troubles in 2000 after losing 1 million in an e business initiative called talkingbusinessnow . 8 9 in 2001 a grass roots initiative was started within iabc s membership that eventually developed into the gift of communication program whereby members donated their professional services to local charities . 10 membership grew 7 9 percent each year in the 2000s due to an increasing number of practitioners in the field of internal communications . 3 iabc hosted its first annual world conference in 2005 11 and grew to more than 16 000 members by 2008 . 3 that same year iabc accredited chinese citizens for the first time in the accredited business communicator abc program . 12 13 in 2009 the iabc research foundation conducted a survey that found 79 percent of respondents frequently use social media to communicate with employees . 14 it also co authored a study the following year that found email and intranet were the most common internal communications tools among respondents . 15 16 for 40 years the association offered an accreditation program called accreditation for business communications abc . by the time the program ended in 2013 a total of 1 003 people had earned abc status . though the program stopped accepting new applicants in september 2012 abcs will be recognized as long as they maintain their membership in iabc . 17 18 a new professional certification program to replace accreditation with a more affordable computer based process was proposed in january 2013 . the goal is to set an international standard for all communications professionals that will be recognized by an organization such as iso17024 . the autonomous international group to oversee the creation of the new certification program the global communication certification council was appointed in february 2014 . organization edit iabc offers professional corporate student and retired memberships . representatives from different chapters and regions as well as professional members vote at the annual general meeting to elect members to the international executive board . the board can change dues establish new chapters create workgroups and remove members with a two thirds vote . iabc also has various committees focused on ethics research finance auditing and others . all positions within iabc are filled by volunteers . 19 iabc has more than 100 chapters worldwide in north america africa asia pacific and europe . 20 services edit iabc hosts networking events and mentoring programs to help recent graduates connect with working public relations marketing and corporate communications professionals . 21 most professional members join iabc to further their career advancement professional development and to grow their professional network . iabc is no longer accepting new applicants for its accredited business communicator abc program but a new certification program has been initiated that would involve computerized testing and renewals every three years . 22 the new certification program will have two levels ; the first level being developed is for communications generalists . 23 iabc publishes a code of ethics 24 which has three principles that professional communications be legal ethical and in good taste . it says members should be sensitive to cultural values as well as be truthful accurate and respectful . 25 before 1995 the code said communicators should encourage frequent communication and messages that are honest in their content candid accurate and appropriate to the needs of the organization and its audiences . 26 iabc hosts the gold quill awards which are bestowed at three levels gold silver and bronze . the gold quill is an international awards program that s open to both members and non members . the silver and bronze quills are conducted at a local chapter level and open to both members and non members . 27 the awards are bestowed for creatively and effectively communicating in measurable ways that contribute to the local community . 28 in 2014 the gold quill has four divisions and more than 40 categories . 29 both the gold quill and some of the regional chapters offer special awards for college students . 30 publishing edit brent d. ruben and stacy m. smulowitz august 15 2007 . core communication a guide to organizational assessment planning and improvement . international association of business communicators . isbn 1888015543 . international association of business communicators january 1982 . without bias a guidebook for nondiscriminatory communication . wiley . isbn 978 0 471 08561 4 . tamara gillis ; iabc 21 march 2011 . the iabc handbook of organizational communication a guide to internal communication public relations marketing and leadership . john wiley & sons . isbn 978 1 118 01635 0 . iabc also publishes a monthly digital magazine communication world . recent issues have shared researched and first person expert articles on connecting with millennials social intranets and crisis communications . 31 references edit http www.iabc.com about code.htm american association of industrial editors aaie records syracuse university library retrieved december 3 2012 a b c o dwyer jack january 26 2009 . emphasis on internal communication spurs iabc . o dwyer s. access date requires url help a b international association of business communicators iabc global alliance for public relations and communication management retrieved december 4 2012 james e. grunig 1992 . excellence public relations pr . psychology press . pp. 533 . isbn 978 0 8058 0227 6 . retrieved 3 december 2012 . grunig james e. and larissa a. grunig . public relations in strategic management and strategic management of public relations theory and evidence from the iabc excellence project . journalism studies 1.2 2000 communication & mass media complete . web . 3 dec. 2012 . http www.iabc.com researchfoundation reports.htm o dwyer jack april 9 2002 . iabc prsa revamp ties to ragan prw . o dwyer s. retrieved december 4 2012 . special insert ragan report s iabc watch . ragans . august 3 2012 . retrieved december 4 2012 . social responsibility at iabc . association . february march 2011 . p. 21 . retrieved december 3 2012 . iabc preps for world conference . o dwyer s. may 29 2009 . access date requires url help global standard for business communication is introduced in china shanghai expo will bring opportunities to pr industry . shanghai evening post . september 26 2008 . access date requires url help the first ever chinese citizens earn the abc designation . shanghai business daily . september 13 2008 . access date requires url help palmer maija march 22 2010 . time to connect . the financial times . retrieved december 3 2012 . email intranet top tools for engaging employees . marketingprofs . august 9 2012 . retrieved december 3 2012 . ciarallo joe august 4 2010 . iabc survey email intranets more popular than social media for employee engagement . prnewser . retrieved december 3 2012 . http www.iabc.com abc accredited o dwyer jack december 3 2012 . iabc cutting staff by 16 digital emphasized . o dwyers . retrieved december 3 2012 . iabc bylaws about iabc iabc retrieved december 3 2012 http www.iabc.com regions chapters u. s. department of labor 1 april 1996 . occupational outlook handbook 1996 97 . bernan assoc. isbn 978 0 89059 061 4 . retrieved 3 december 2012 . o dwyer jack january 14 2012 . iabc proposes that certification replace abc . o dwyer s. access date requires url help http www.iabc.com education certificationcouncil gccc.cfm rise of public relations ethics chapter mini me history public relations from the dawn of civilization by don bates apr fellow prsa for the chartered institute of public relations 2002 updated 2006 retrieved july 4 2007 . code of ethics about iabc iabc retrieved december 4 2012 public relations codes of ethics northern kentucky university retrieved december 4 2012 iabc makes call for entries for 2001 bronze quill awards . kansas city business journal . february 13 2001 . retrieved december 4 2012 . johnson & johnson garners 2 gold quill awards . philippine daily inquirer . june 20 2007 . https gq.iabc.com info wp content uploads 2013 11 gq14 call for entries pdf.pdf http gq.iabc.com info communication world cw external links edit official website gold quill awards website authority control worldcat identities viaf 156542483 lccn n50057336 isni 0000 0001 0463 5386 gnd 131770 2 sudoc 120154188 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title international association of business communicators & oldid 743698939 categories companies based in san franciscobusiness and finance professional associationsprofessional titles and certificationspublic relationsorganizations established in 1970communications and media organizations based in the united stateshidden categories pages using citations with accessdate and no urlgood articleswikipedia articles with viaf identifierswikipedia articles with lccn identifierswikipedia articles with isni identifierswikipedia articles with gnd 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