Organisational Settings
Dr. Linda M. Perry

• PR’s two basic settings
  • As a department within an organisation
    • Ongoing program
  • As outside counsel
    • Usually project based
    • May expand, drawing on full range of capabilities
      
      
      
• PR Departments
  • May be low-level communication support
  • May be integral part of management
    • Must contribute to achieving organisational goals and objectives
    • Must be accountable, with measurable results
      
      
      
• Starts with top management
  • Inextricably tied to top management
  • Public relations credibility starts with management’s credibility and socially responsible actions
    • Exxon
    • Johnson & Johnson
    • 3M
      
      
      
• Needed from Top Management
  • Commitment and participation
  • Retention of competent counsel
  • Incorporation of public relations perspectives in policy-making
  • Two-way communication with all publics
  • Coordination of what is done with what is said
  • Clearly defined goals and objectives
    
    
• Commitment & Support
  • PR must earn and hold top management’s support, with mutual respect
    • Role of loyal opposition
      
      
      
• Staff Role
  • Line and staff roles in organisations
  • Line functions: product-producing
    • Engineering, production, marketing
    • Line executives set policy
  • Staff functions: advise & support line executives
    • Finance, legal, human resources, public relations
    • Assists line with plans, advice, and support services.
      
      
      
• Management expects
  • Loyalty
  • Counsel on PR aspects of decisions
  • Skill in articulating principles and enhancing public understanding or organisation
    
    
    
• PR staff expect
  • Leadership
  • Support and adequate budget for implementing communication policy
  • Reasonable availability
    
    
    
• Role in Decision-Making
  • Increasingly participating in policy-making and decision making
  • When part of dominant coalition
  • Proximity and access
    • To thought-process, the person, judgment calls
  • The extent to which research is conducted
    • Environmental scanning, intelligence gathering
  • The degree to which all view PR function as part of management
    • Excellence Study
    • When PR employs MBO’s
  • Part of organisation’s structure and process for adapting to change.
    
    
    
• Internal Department
  • Most common structure for PR
  • Advantages
    • Team membership
      • Close working relationships, frequent contact
    • Knowledge of the organisation
      • Intimate, current, history and culture
    • Economy for ongoing programs
      • Efficient integration —> cost effectiveness
    • Availability to associates
      • On call, handy for consultations, impromptu meetings
  • Disdvantages
    • Loss of objectivity
      • Politics in workplace
    • Domination and subservience
      • PR managers must retain unique role & professionalism
    • Confused mission & roles
      • Vulnerable when job description is vague and open-ended
  • Titles
    • Public relations most common across all organisations
      • Only in 20% of Fortune 500 companies
      • Communications, corporate communications or corporate relations
    • Public affairs
    • Public information
      
      
      
• Excellence Study
  • Empowerment of function
    • Involved in strategic management processes
  • Communicator roles
    • Department headed by a manager
  • Organisation of communication function
    • All PR integrated into or coordinated by single department.
  • Models of public relations
    • Two-way symmetrical, or mixed motive
      
      
      
• Working with other departments
  • Marketing
    • Must work in harmony with all publics, coordinate communications
    • Advertising influencing public opinion or relationships with key publics supervised by PR
  • Legal counsel
    • Must cooperate to serve the public interest in several key areas, such as product recalls, layoffs and disclosure of financial information
  • Human resources
    • Communication with employees
      
      
      
• Outside counseling firms
  • Increased emphasis on counseling and strategic communication
  • PR firm capital has moved from New York to London
    • Global economy: decreasing barriers to commerce
    • European Union: common currency
  • Business in Asia drawing global firms and inspiring local startups.
    
    
    
• Outside firms
  • Typically, invited to present a proposal
  • Firm researches client’s problem situation and relationships with key publics involved
  • Firm presents:
    • Research findings and situational analysis of problem or opportunity
      • SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats)
    • Goals & objectives for each public
    • Strategy (Plan for achieving goals & objectives)
    • Evaluation plan
      
      
      
• Trends
  • Organisations are using combination of internal departments and outside counsel
    • Departments: High-level practitioners are increasingly joining the executive decision-making or being consulted on major decisions
    • Firms: Practitioners increasingly serving as counselors and strategic planners
  • PR has impact when people agree that candor in communication is best policy and socially responsible actions are in the best interest of the organisation.
    • Operate in the mutual interest of organisation and public.
      
      

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