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FAQ
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Public Relations:
Public Relations: An Overview
From the PRSA
Foundation Monograph Series
What is Public Relations?
The formal practice of what today is called public
relations is less than 100 years old. Yet during its relatively brief
history, public relations has been defined in many widely differing ways.
Not unsurprisingly, the earliest definitions emphasized
the roles of press and publicity since these were major elements from
which modern public relations grew.
Later as public relations was recognized and employed
by more organizations, definitions began to include:
· the need for research prior to initiating actions, careful
planning and thorough evaluation or measurement of results.
· a continuing, systematic process instead of a one-time or
single activity.
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multiple audiences or publics.
·
its role as an essential function of management.
· public participation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration
and accommodation as important tools.
· the need, in most instances, for long-term commitment.
Many of these definitions were quite lengthy, so much
so that they tended more to describe what public relations does than what
it is. In 1988, in an attempt to solve this dilemma the governing body of
the Public Relations Society of America -- its Assembly -- formally
adopted a definition of public relations which has become most accepted
and widely used.
“Public relations helps an organization and its publics
adapt mutually to each other.” In this definition, the essential
functions of research, planning, communications dialogue and evaluation
are implied. Key words are "organization" rather than the limiting
implication of "company" or "business"; and "publics" which recognizes
that all organizations have multiple publics from which they must earn
consent and support.
What are the Elements of Public Relations?
Counseling
-- Providing advice to the management of an organization concerning
policies, relationships and communications; in effect, "what to do."
Research -- Determining attitudes and
behaviors of publics and their causes in order to plan, implement and
measure activities to influence or change the attitudes and behavior.
Media Relations
-- Relating with communications media in seeking publicity or responding
to their interest in an organization.
Publicity
-- Disseminating planned messages through selected media without payment
to further an organization's interest.
Employee/Member Relations
-- Responding to concerns and informing and motivating an organization's
employees or members, its retirees and their families.
Community Relations
-- Continuing, planned and active participation with and within a
community to maintain and enhance its environment to the benefit of both
an organization and the community.
Public Affairs
-- Developing effective involvement in public policy, and helping an
organization adapt to public expectations; also, term used by military
services and some government agencies to describe their public relations
activities.
Government Affairs
-- Relating directly with legislatures and regulatory agencies on behalf
of an organization, usually by military services and some government
agencies to describe their public relations activities.
Issues Management
-- Identifying and addressing issues of public concern in which an
organization is, or should be, concerned.
Financial Relations
-- Creating and maintaining investor confidence and building positive
relationships with the financial community; also, sometimes known as
Investor Relations or Shareholder Relations.
Industry Relations
-- Relating with other firms in the industry of an organization and with
trade associations.
Development/Fund Raising
-- Demonstrating the need for and encouraging an organization's members,
friends, supporters and others to voluntarily contribute to support it.
Minority Relations/Multicultural Affairs
-- Relating with individuals and groups in minorities.
Special Events and Public Participation
-- Stimulating an interest in a person, product or organization by means
of a focused "happening;" also, activities designed to enable an
organization to listen to and interact with publics.
Marketing Communications
-- Combination of activities designed to sell a product, service or idea,
including advertising, collateral materials, publicity, promotion,
packaging, point-of-sale display, trade shows and special events.
What Does Public Relations Do?
Public relations helps our complex, pluralistic society
to reach decisions and function more effectively by contributing to mutual
understanding among groups and institutions. It serves to bring private
and public policies into harmony.
Public relations serves a wide variety of institutions
in society such as businesses, trade unions, government agencies,
voluntary associations, foundations, hospitals, schools, colleges, and
religious institutions. To achieve their goals, these institutions must
develop effective relationships with many different audiences or publics
such as employees, members, customers, local communities, shareholders,
and other institutions, and with society at large.
The managements of institutions need to understand the
attitudes and values of their publics in order to achieve institutional
goals. The goals themselves are shaped by external environment. The public
relations practitioner acts as a counselor to management and as a
mediator, helping translate private aims into reasonable, publicly
acceptable policy and action.
As a management function, public relations encompasses
the following:
Anticipating, analyzing and interpreting public
opinion, attitudes, and issues that might impact, for good or ill, the
operations and plans of the organization.
Counseling management at all levels in the organization
with regard to policy decisions, courses of action, and communications,
taking into account their public ramifications and the organization's
social or citizenship responsibilities.
Researching, conducting, and evaluating, on a
continuing basis, programs of action and communication to achieve the
informed public understanding necessary to success of an organization's
aims. These may include marketing, financial, fund raising, employee,
community or government relations, and other programs.
Planning and implementing the organization's efforts to
influence or change public policy.
Setting objectives, planning, budgeting, recruiting and
training staff, developing facilities -- in short, managing the resources
needed to perform all of the above.
Examples of the knowledge that may be required in the
professional practice of public relations include communication arts,
psychology, social psychology, sociology, political science, economics,
and the principles of management and ethics. Technical knowledge and
skills are required for opinion research, public issues analysis, media
relations, direct mail, institutional advertising, publications,
film/video productions, special events, speeches, and presentations.
In helping to define and implement policy, the public
relations practitioner uses a variety of professional communications
skills and plays an integrative role both within the organization and
between the organization and the external environment.
While the term "the public" is often used, there are,
in fact, many publics or specific audiences within the general public.
These publics respond in different ways so they must be considered
separately and, often, communicated to differently and through differing
media. Publics often overlap, and they can be identified and sub-divided
in many different ways.
How Public Relations Helps Business
Management?
1. The publicity and promotional aspect paves the way
for the sale of products or services, so much so that some companies have
placed sales quotas on their product publicity people.
2. Internal motivation is a vital factor which affects
the bottom line by building morale, enhancing productivity and creating
team spirit. It also helps recruit qualified people and retain them.
3. Public relations provides an early warning system by
avoiding disruptions which may occur when a single surprise issue or
unplanned-for social/political change arises.
4. Public relations provides an organization with new
opportunities because the people involved in public relations interact
with more internal and external audiences than anyone else in the
organization. Public relations people have a conning tower from which to
identify new markets, new products, new methods.
5. Public relations helps to protect the present
position when an organization is under attack. For instance, Proctor and
Gamble did not suffer declining sales, morale or stock values during the
tampon debacle largely because of their expert public relations handling
of the problem -- communicating the company's position.
6. Public relations helps to overcome executive
isolation, something that can affect every organization sooner or later.
An inescapable assignment of every public relations practitioner is
opening the eyes and ears of management to what's really happening "out
there."
7. Public relations help organizations manage change,
something they must do to stay competitive and efficient. But since change
is threatening and often resisted, smooth transition through a necessary
change guided by public relations professionals is a real dollar-saver.
8. The phrase "double bottom line" was coined to
explain the relationship between an organization and its social
responsibility. It's now well understood and accepted that social
responsibility does have a traceable effect on economic success for every
type organization. The leading role in "social accountancy" is usually
played by public relations staff.
How Public Relations Benefits Society?
Public relations is a means for the public to have its
desires and interests felt by institutions in our society. It speaks for
the public to otherwise unresponsive organizations, as well as speaking
for those organizations to the public.
Public relations helps achieve mutual adjustment
between institutions and groups, establishing smoother relationships that
benefit the public.
Public relations can be a safety valve for freedom. By
providing means of working out accommodations, it makes arbitrary action
or coercion less likely.
Public relations is an essential element in the
communications system that enables individuals to be informed on many
aspects of subjects that affect their lives.
Public relations can help activate organization's
social conscience.
Public relations is a universal activity. Everyone
practices principles of public relations in seeking acceptance,
cooperation or affection of others. Public relations professionals only
practice it in a more professional way.
What are some of Ethical Considerations of
PR?
From its earliest beginnings, public relations has had
to confront the problem of ethical practices. In the heyday of press
agentry, its practitioners could get away with almost anything. Many
followed the dictum of circus promoter Phineas Taylor Barnum, who
proclaimed "Let the public be fooled." At the same time, businesses
operated secretly and often fraudulently, and newspapers engaged in
muckraking.
It fell to public relations pioneer Ivy Lee (1877-1914)
to bring about the first major change leading to the establishment of
ethical practices in public relations. Employed to represent the
anthracite coal industry in 1906, Lee declined to be merely the industry
press agent. Instead, he promised to help the industry change policies
which were objectionable to the public and, then, provide newspapers with
material that was favorable to their position.
His famous "Declaration of Principles" which was sent
to newspaper editors and publishers said in part:
"This is not a secret press bureau. All our work is
done in the open. We aim to supply news. This is not an advertising
agency; if you think any of our matter ought properly to go to your
business office, do not use it. Our matter is accurate. Further details on
any subject treated will be supplied promptly, and any editor will be
assisted most cheerfully in verifying directly any statement of fact. In
brief, our plan is, frankly and openly, on behalf of business concerns and
public institutions, to supply to the press and public of the
United
States prompt and accurate information concerning subjects which it is of
value and interest to the public to know about."
With this statement -- revolutionary for its day -- Lee
effectively moved public relations away from the "anything goes" type of
press agency which had prevailed to that time.
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The deliberate
promotion of a specific image for a business. Often confused with
publicity which is simply the materials used in a specific part of
a public relations effort. |
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It fell to public relations
pioneer Ivy Lee (1877-1914) to
bring about the first major change
leading to the establishment of
ethical practices in public
relations. Employed to represent
the anthracite coal industry in
1906, Lee declined to be merely
the industry press agent. Instead,
he promised to help the industry
change policies which were
objectionable to the public and,
then, provide newspapers with
material that was favorable to
their position. |
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