Role of Public Relations Management in an Organization
Role of Public Relations Management in an Organization Show
It is in every organization’s interest to maintain a positive public image. Whether it is a public sector organization or a private sector organization, both types of organizations can only be benefit from proper management of their publics’ perceptions of the organization. Both types of organizations can reap benefits from a positive public image which not only helps to increase confidence in the organization on the behalf of the organization’s publics and key stakeholders but also reinforce trust in the organization’s capabilities towards success. It is often misunderstood that the organizations practice public relations only for the purpose of publicity. But instead, the discipline of public relations (PR) deals with shaping and maintaining the image and reputation of the organization in the eyes of its various publics. It is the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to institute and maintain mutual understanding between the organization and its publics. It uses information to influence opinion for creating and maintaining goodwill. It is the practice of managing communication between the organization and its publics. Publics, in PR terms, are the ones who ever have or ever will form an opinion about the organization. Publics are the interested audiences that are important in some way to an organization including current and potential customers, current and potential employees and management, investors, vendors and suppliers, media, government, and opinion leaders etc. They can be internal within the organization or external to the organization. As an example typical composition of publics of a multinational organization is given in Fig 1. Fig 1 Typical composition of publics in a multinational organization Definition of public relations Public relations activities are planned and sustained to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics. Generally there is not one single accepted definition of public relations. Instead, there are many ways to define it. Some of these are given below. Ivy Lee and Edwards Louis Bernays established the first definition of public relations in the early 1900s which states it as ‘a management function, which tabulates public attitudes, defines the policies, procedures, and interests of an organization… followed by executing a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance’. Entrepreneur.com defines public relations purely in terms of publicity work, describing PR as ‘Using the news or business press to carry positive stories about your company or your products; cultivating a good relationship with local press representatives’. According to Kent State University, public relations activity is ‘the strategic management of communication and relationships between organizations and their key publics’. The latest definition of public relations has been given by the Public Relations Society of America in 2012 which states as ‘Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics’. In many cases, the chief duty of the public relations professional is to draft press releases, which are sent to targeted members of the media. But to limit the scope of the public relations definition to publicity alone would be to underestimate the growing influence and reach of PR. Nature of PR activities A positive public image is the result of carefully planned media placement, interview publishing, press release composition, online reputation management, social media campaign management, and many other public relations factors. Public relations success requires a deep understanding of the interests and concerns of each of the organization’s many publics. The public relations professional must know how to effectively address those concerns using the most powerful tool of the PR which is the publicity. The three general kinds of PR work are publicity, event management and publication design as described below. The products are intended to influence public opinion and are designed to promote and protect the image and the products of the organization.
These public relations efforts by the organization are intended to promote goodwill with various publics, including the general public, the community, customers, consumers, employees, management, government officials, stockholders, suppliers, opinion leaders and others. Roles of public relations management Public relations can and should make an important contribution in helping to form an organization’s ideas about what it is, what it should do and what its publics want and expect from it.
Public relations professionals present the face of an organization usually to articulate its objectives and official views on issues of relevance, primarily to the media. Public relations activity contributes to the way an organization is perceived by influencing the media and maintaining relationships with stakeholders. The possibilities of success of public relations efforts enhances if public relations professionals work with and answer to senior management and deal directly with the critical external and internal publics on which an organization depends. Which of the following refers to a variety of programs designed to promote a company's image or its individual products?Public relations involves a variety of programmes designed to promote and protect a company's image and its individual products in the eyes of the public.
What is public relations in business communication?Public relations involves two-way communication with customers about why the organization itself is worthy of their business. PR can help open up the conversation with customers to assist advertisers in their efforts to sell, allowing these two fields to work in conjunction to meet customers' needs and increase sales.
What is meant by public relations in marketing?Public relations (PR) refers to managing how others see and feel about a person, brand, or company. PR for corporations, notably publicly traded companies, focuses on maintaining a positive corporate image while handling media requests and shareholder inquiries.
What is public relations and publicity?Publicity concerns presence in the media. It creates public awareness for a brand. It is promotion, used to attract attention. Public relations involves a whole host of strategies to accomplish an organisation's goals by sending messages to appropriate audiences.
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