This chapter allows me to better understand the various concerns public relations practitioners need to keep in mind when on the job. It is important to consider the publics; internal relations as well as external relations which directly or indirectly plays a part in deciding an organisation's actions. This is drawn upon based on the understanding of the systems theory. The systems theory in the context of an organisation, in short, means that an organization exists in an environment where many things involved affect on another and form a larger pattern which is different from their individual forms. In light of this, organizations have to then adjust and adapt to changed in the environment, and seek to maintain good relations with its environment in exchange for support, growth and ultimately sustainability. Examples of the entities that make up the environment are governments, competitors, neighbours, customers, employees, the media, and investors. Each part plays a certain role for organizations to be holistic in their operations and objectives.This week's focus: REAL practice of public relations in organisations
PR practitioners have a role to in ensuring apt and sufficient communication between top management and internal/external publics. This is when boundary spanning shows its significance; it is concerned with detecting information in the environment the organisation operates. It includes representation, scanning and monitoring, protecting, information processing, gate-keeping, linking and coordinating, and transacting.
- Publics and audiences
All PR managers have to deal with a myriad of publics and audiences, internally and externally as they interact with or are affected by the organization in some way or another. Hence ongoing PR and communication has to be put in place to create better understanding and clearer clarity for the publics. Most of the time, these communication programs are long termed.
- Internal relations
PR is responsible for communicating the organisation culture to members (employees), hence avoiding potential conflicts that may arise due to misalignment to expectations. This point made me realize the relevance of studying organizational behavior in the previous trimester. It is only when we as PR 'wannabes' understand the importance of sound communication in an organizations, then we can facilitate communication proactively and effectively. There is also a requirement to understand employees and their information needs. A point to note is that employees generalized, but treated as individuals who have different expectations. Operating an open system is important so that employees will feel respected with more opportunities for fulfilling Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Lastly, the right channel of communication (reliable and accurate) has to be adopted when conveying information to employees so as to maintain trust.
- External relations
Corporate social responsibility (CSR): the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large. The term PUBLIC relations in itself already suggests that PR consults’ first loyalties should be to the public, and hence the importance of CSR. Furthermore, an organisation's sustainability is tied down to CSR as an increasing number of people are concerned about the environment and human rights.
Conflict has to be prevented as it will disrupt operational processes (publics and activists groups).
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT (favorite topic of the chapter!)
Community engagement, as it is termed, means that the community's perspective is considered before any decisions are made. It incorporates research, information sharing, consultation, and participation from the community involved.
Hello again, blog buddy,
ReplyDeleteIt's good to know that community engagement is your favourite part of the chapter. After all, this is one of the most essential and important part of public relations. The term “public relations” itself suggests that dealing and engaging with the public is what PR is all about.
The bottom line is, PR is all about communication.
Be it internally or externally, the most important skill that a PR practitioner mus have is the ability to properly communicate certain messages or ideas to the intended audience. However, merely communicating well is not enough. The PR practitioner has to ensure that the MEANING of the message that is received by the target audience is the meaning that was intended to be communicated in the first place.
While I agree with you that community engagement is important, I feel that internal communications is just as crucial. The point I made in my blog entry for this chapter about a company being like an engine is something I really wish to highlight. The PR department can fluff and tell beautiful stories to the public all day long, but if communications within the company is failing or even non-existent, the company will eventually become non-existent as well, no matter how good your external communications are.
Do you agree that both internal and external communications are equally important? Or do you feel that there should be more focus on one of these elements?
- Syaz
Hey,
ReplyDeleteI guess as the term public relation suggests, it would seem that external communications should be focused more. However, I feel that both are equally important and should treated with same intensity of concern by PR practitioners. This is because external communication cannot occur without first having substantial internal communications. Communication has to be first established within the company so that everyone will catch the vision and culture, before the same message can be delivered to the public and media. Besides vertical communication lines, lateral communication is also crucial as it ensures that employees are involved in decision making. This way, employees will feel valued, rather than being oppressed within an organization.