This chapter on theory and practice made me ponder on the type of PR I will like to do in the future, given the many types of organizations as options to work for.
Our actions as a PR practitioner are also guided by the nature of the organization; thus the importance of finding out the goals and values of the organization lest these clashes with our own personal goals and values. Public Relations practice also differ based on the culture of the country involved. Although there are indeed some values and ethical issues that are fixed on common grounds, it is undeniable that culture do play a significant part. From the text, it is noted that Public Relations in Asia, foe example, is more often influenced by Eastern theology and hierarchical principles, whereas the personal influence model appears to be relevant in India, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Greece. It may not be visible most of the time, but national culture do hold certain fundamental values that cannot be ignored consciously by organizations.
Picture by Yang Liu (east vs west: cultural differences)
A summary of the different types of organizations (that I can possibly work for in the future):
1. The not-for-profit sector
A PR practitioner working for NFP sector would mean that there will be less funds to work with, hence pushing creativity boundaries of the PR person. It requires strong personal convictions for ethics, to facilitate good governance and accountability to the public and such organizations exist for the public. Therefore, a good public image is also important in order to garner support. for whatever charitable objectives.
2. The corporate sector
The corporate sector main objective is to provide returns to their shareholders, and thus actions are entirely focused on improving and building the building the business to ensure future viability and ongoing profitability. The role of a PR practitioner is more defined in this case as compared to NFP sector.
Here is what interests me the most.
"... the corporate sector is looking for formal qualification in public relations, good written and verbal interpersonal communication skills, graphic design, and computer literacy, including the ability to produce PowerPoint presentations."
This is a list of tasks that are under the job scope of a PR practitioner in the corporate sector.
- Media relations
- Government relations
- Shareholder relations
- Public relations
- Publications management
- Liaison with head office
- Diplomatic officer
- Industry organizations
- Communication skills
- Reputation management
3. The public sector
Role of PR person in the public sector is to deliver government messages about programs, services, and initiatives. Practitioners have to align their goals to that of the government's.
The likely communication streams, or in simpler terms, my tasks and the channels in which to achieve goals if ever I were to work in the public sector are as follows:
- Internal communications
- Media relations
- Proactive media relations
- Events management
- Issues management
- Internet
- Marketing support
- Other communication functions (new media platforms e.g.YouTube)
4. The consultancy
Consultancies (agencies) are stand-alone businesses which provide public relations services to clients and satisfying those clients' needs. This form of public relations brings about the most challenging as clients' expectations are high and one has to be highly competent and flexible as projects tend to be wide-ranging.
A dream; far, yet not entirely unattainable. In order to be able to work in a consultancy, a fresh graduate has to first and foremost stock up a few years of experience.
Starbucks tribute: A simple yet meaning Ad.
There's always a meaning behind every Ad, every campaign, every event. And this is what the PR practitioner have to find, apply, and impart this hidden meaning or knowledge.
Hey Joane,
ReplyDeleteAs you've discussed in your blog entry, there are many ways through which PR practitioners can apply what they've learned in the course of their studies to the job itself. Theory is often underestimated and forgotten once a person starts working and acquires practical skills and on-the-job training. One often forgets that principles can be applied to real-life situations.
I find it interesting that PR practitioners working in different areas of PR are required to have a different set of skills. This goes to show that public relations is not just a generic job and that a PR practitioner can be very specialised as well.
Of course, the job specialization can be both a good and a bad thing. Specialization means that the practitioner has the chance to become extremely skilled at what he or she does. The downside is that he or she might find it more difficult to switch between companies or industries should the need arise.
If given a choice, which sector would you choose to work in? Corporate? Public? And why would you make this choice?
- Syaz
Hi Syaz,
ReplyDeleteContrary to your thoughts that PR practice are specialized due to these categorizations made, I feel that this is not the case. The same skills and knowledge is needed to work as a PR in all these sectors; perhaps the most obvious difference would be that of crisis management and brand building through campaigns. But looking closer to this issue, you will realize that what you need to do in a non-profit organization is similar, if not the same, as that in the corporate sector or the public sector. Agendas are different, but methods do not differ much.
If given a choice, I will very much like to work for a corporation first, building up my experience before heading to work in a consultancy. A consultancy will perhaps give me more freedom in my PR work.