Friday, August 31, 2007
Week 7 Additional Readings
Hi,
Sorry I have not commented on the other two readings for week 7 as I cannot access them from my home connection. I will have to read them at uni. I will blog on them at uni on Monday.
Sorry I have not commented on the other two readings for week 7 as I cannot access them from my home connection. I will have to read them at uni. I will blog on them at uni on Monday.
Week 8- Writing Skills Blog
1. I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were...
-Public relations students would definitely benefit from media writing courses, news writing courses and public relations writing courses.
- Writing is an essential public relations skill.
- Regular practitioner assessment is conducted to ensure that specific programs are established to teach public relations students to write well.
- Surveys have shown that PR practitioners believe writing constitutes at least 71% of their work.
- The most common complaint about the writing of entry level PR practitioners was based on grammar, other common problems were run-on sentences and paragraph structure.
- Writing for the web requires a different style of writing compared to that required for standard press releases.
- This writing has to be very direct and concise to hold the attention of the reader.
- The best skill of a good writer is to be able to tackle different types of writing tasks, as versatility is the key to success.
- More learning time needs to be devoted to client-focused writing assignments rather than media-focused assignments.
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that …
Beginner level public relations practitioners do not have the writing skills that are required of them when they first enter into their jobs. Universities and other educational associations need to integrate quality writing programs into their courses to enhance the ability of their graduates to write well. Students not only need to be able to write press releases and feature articles, but also need to be able to write for the web and for clients. The importance of client-focused writing is growing; it has even started to take over the need for media related writing skills.
-Public relations students would definitely benefit from media writing courses, news writing courses and public relations writing courses.
- Writing is an essential public relations skill.
- Regular practitioner assessment is conducted to ensure that specific programs are established to teach public relations students to write well.
- Surveys have shown that PR practitioners believe writing constitutes at least 71% of their work.
- The most common complaint about the writing of entry level PR practitioners was based on grammar, other common problems were run-on sentences and paragraph structure.
- Writing for the web requires a different style of writing compared to that required for standard press releases.
- This writing has to be very direct and concise to hold the attention of the reader.
- The best skill of a good writer is to be able to tackle different types of writing tasks, as versatility is the key to success.
- More learning time needs to be devoted to client-focused writing assignments rather than media-focused assignments.
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that …
Beginner level public relations practitioners do not have the writing skills that are required of them when they first enter into their jobs. Universities and other educational associations need to integrate quality writing programs into their courses to enhance the ability of their graduates to write well. Students not only need to be able to write press releases and feature articles, but also need to be able to write for the web and for clients. The importance of client-focused writing is growing; it has even started to take over the need for media related writing skills.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Week 7 Blog- Chapter 10
1. I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were...
- Media relations are often used synonymously with publicity.
- Media relations can refer to two different things; it can mean dealing with a few select contacts on a regular basis; or managing hundreds of media personnel at a national event.
- The impact and power of the media should never be under-estimated.
- Operation of media outlets by volunteers or small staff often means a reliance on information from public relations outlets.
- PR has become one of the most important external influences on journalism as it is now practiced.
- The movement of information between PR practitioners and the media is two way. Public relations provide information to the media and the media provides information to the public relations profession.
- The practitioners use the media in many of their roles including the issues manager, monitoring trends, government policy and legislation, debates and opinion.
- For PR practitioners to use the media the value of news must be determined, this is achieved through the use of the eight news values: impact, conflict, timeliness, proximity, prominence, currency, human interest, and the unusual.
- It is important for PR professionals to know their media, this is achieved by understanding:
· Deadlines- it is essential that practitioners who deal with different media become familiar with all styles and deadlines in order to work within them.
· Who’s who in the newsroom- learn who makes the decisions and who writes the news. PR practitioners should make good positive relationships with journalists and editors in a news organisation. It is critical to have the respect and trust of the media.
- Differences in media styles also need to be observed- the practitioner should consider the medium’s particular needs. The key for PR practitioners is to avoid being too promotional while providing useful visual material that allows journalistic input, especially in the areas of the voice-over and script.
- All releases by PR practitioner’s need to target a specific audience. Selecting the best media for the message is extremely important.
- Media tools are used to deal with the media; these include the media release, media kit and media conferences.
· Media release- write in news style where possible, use inverted pyramid or narrative structure.
· Media kits- made up of a variety of items to make the journalist’s job easier, including fact sheets, backgrounders, feature articles, profiles or ‘biogs’, business cards, media passes, maps, posters, t-shirts, key rings, caps, newsletters, brochures, annual reports and calendars.
· Media conference- needs to consider questions such as; why hold a media conference? When to hold the media conference? Who to invite? How to invite them? Where to hold the media conference?
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that …
The relationship between the public relations practitioner and the media is one that needs to be given special attention by both parties. Each of the subjects relies on each other for success in their position. The PR practitioner relies on the media to use their stories and promote their organisation, and the journalists require the news releases from the PR practitioners to base their stories on. This reading has emphasised the many links between the journalist and the PR practitioner. The tools that can be used by the PR practitioner are numerous and varied, therefore they should be able to perform their job to a high standard.
- Media relations are often used synonymously with publicity.
- Media relations can refer to two different things; it can mean dealing with a few select contacts on a regular basis; or managing hundreds of media personnel at a national event.
- The impact and power of the media should never be under-estimated.
- Operation of media outlets by volunteers or small staff often means a reliance on information from public relations outlets.
- PR has become one of the most important external influences on journalism as it is now practiced.
- The movement of information between PR practitioners and the media is two way. Public relations provide information to the media and the media provides information to the public relations profession.
- The practitioners use the media in many of their roles including the issues manager, monitoring trends, government policy and legislation, debates and opinion.
- For PR practitioners to use the media the value of news must be determined, this is achieved through the use of the eight news values: impact, conflict, timeliness, proximity, prominence, currency, human interest, and the unusual.
- It is important for PR professionals to know their media, this is achieved by understanding:
· Deadlines- it is essential that practitioners who deal with different media become familiar with all styles and deadlines in order to work within them.
· Who’s who in the newsroom- learn who makes the decisions and who writes the news. PR practitioners should make good positive relationships with journalists and editors in a news organisation. It is critical to have the respect and trust of the media.
- Differences in media styles also need to be observed- the practitioner should consider the medium’s particular needs. The key for PR practitioners is to avoid being too promotional while providing useful visual material that allows journalistic input, especially in the areas of the voice-over and script.
- All releases by PR practitioner’s need to target a specific audience. Selecting the best media for the message is extremely important.
- Media tools are used to deal with the media; these include the media release, media kit and media conferences.
· Media release- write in news style where possible, use inverted pyramid or narrative structure.
· Media kits- made up of a variety of items to make the journalist’s job easier, including fact sheets, backgrounders, feature articles, profiles or ‘biogs’, business cards, media passes, maps, posters, t-shirts, key rings, caps, newsletters, brochures, annual reports and calendars.
· Media conference- needs to consider questions such as; why hold a media conference? When to hold the media conference? Who to invite? How to invite them? Where to hold the media conference?
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that …
The relationship between the public relations practitioner and the media is one that needs to be given special attention by both parties. Each of the subjects relies on each other for success in their position. The PR practitioner relies on the media to use their stories and promote their organisation, and the journalists require the news releases from the PR practitioners to base their stories on. This reading has emphasised the many links between the journalist and the PR practitioner. The tools that can be used by the PR practitioner are numerous and varied, therefore they should be able to perform their job to a high standard.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Week 6- Chapter 5 Ethics
1. I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were...
- Ethics is a key aspect that every organisation needs to understand an employee.
- Without ethics a company will never survive in the public environment.
- In a nut shell, ethics is about doing the right thing, but in more complex terms it is the personal values that underpin the behaviour and moral choices made by an individual in response to a specific situation.
- Public relations ethics involve both the individual practitioner and the organisation.
- The Potter Box is an analytical tool used to resolve conflicts based on ethics.
- Ethical organisational conduct should be developed by all organisations.
- There are four major roles that PR practitioners play that have ethical implications. These are:
· Counsellor
· Advocate
· Corporate monitor
· Corporate conscience
- Ethical challenges for a practitioner can occur on a number of levels including:
· Interpersonal
· Organisational
· Stakeholder
- There are a number of professional association codes and codes of conduct that need to be followed by specific stakeholders and practitioners. These are:
· PRIA: Public Relations Institute of Australia
· MEAA: Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance
· PRSA: Public Relations Society of America
· IABC: International Association of Business Communicators
· ABA Inquiry: Australian Broadcasting Authority Inquiry
- An ethical culture is central to good corporate governance, and good ethical behaviour is encouraged by all employees.
- Employees of an organisation should be able to recognise ethical issues as they arise and be aware of the resources available to help them act ethically and according to organisational culture and policy.
- Professional ethics interacts with professional conduct and is part of an overall search for excellence.
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that …
This chapter has made me think more about the extreme importance of ethics in public relations. The practitioner needs to have good personal ethics in order to be able to practice ethically in the organisation and ensure that the organisation is based on positive ethical behavior. It is crucial for an organisation’s reputation that they always act in an ethical manner, have good ethical guidelines, as well as a well structured plan to deal with ethical dilemmas. Along with the law, ethics needs to be kept at the forefront of the organisational objectives of the organisation.
- Ethics is a key aspect that every organisation needs to understand an employee.
- Without ethics a company will never survive in the public environment.
- In a nut shell, ethics is about doing the right thing, but in more complex terms it is the personal values that underpin the behaviour and moral choices made by an individual in response to a specific situation.
- Public relations ethics involve both the individual practitioner and the organisation.
- The Potter Box is an analytical tool used to resolve conflicts based on ethics.
- Ethical organisational conduct should be developed by all organisations.
- There are four major roles that PR practitioners play that have ethical implications. These are:
· Counsellor
· Advocate
· Corporate monitor
· Corporate conscience
- Ethical challenges for a practitioner can occur on a number of levels including:
· Interpersonal
· Organisational
· Stakeholder
- There are a number of professional association codes and codes of conduct that need to be followed by specific stakeholders and practitioners. These are:
· PRIA: Public Relations Institute of Australia
· MEAA: Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance
· PRSA: Public Relations Society of America
· IABC: International Association of Business Communicators
· ABA Inquiry: Australian Broadcasting Authority Inquiry
- An ethical culture is central to good corporate governance, and good ethical behaviour is encouraged by all employees.
- Employees of an organisation should be able to recognise ethical issues as they arise and be aware of the resources available to help them act ethically and according to organisational culture and policy.
- Professional ethics interacts with professional conduct and is part of an overall search for excellence.
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that …
This chapter has made me think more about the extreme importance of ethics in public relations. The practitioner needs to have good personal ethics in order to be able to practice ethically in the organisation and ensure that the organisation is based on positive ethical behavior. It is crucial for an organisation’s reputation that they always act in an ethical manner, have good ethical guidelines, as well as a well structured plan to deal with ethical dilemmas. Along with the law, ethics needs to be kept at the forefront of the organisational objectives of the organisation.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Week 6: Chapter 4 Blog
1. I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were...
- Practitioners need foundation knowledge on several bodies of law as there is no one over-arching body of law covering public relations.
- PR decisions must be made in context of the legal environment.
- It is often more beneficial for an organization to negotiate a settlement or seek some alternative means of resolving conflict than to expose clients to public scrutiny.
- The bodies of law that govern PR are diverse and complex.
- The key areas to be considered in the legal environment are:
· protecting reputations
· protecting creative ideas
· the practitioner’s duty of care
· legal risk management
· technology and future legal directions in a public relations context
- Reputations are integral to contemporary PR.
- “A reputation is generally something an organization has with strangers, but a relationship is generally something an organization has with its friends and associates.”
- Legal issues can affect reputations and relationships.
- The tort of defamation limits what a PR practitioner can publish, but it also allows practitioners and their clients to protect their reputations.
- A PR practitioner can defame someone unintentionally and without even knowing that person exists.
- At common law the defenses to defamation are truth, fair comment and privilege. These vary between the states and territories.
- The court will take three factors into account when determining whether there is a duty to publish to the world:
· the extent of the publication
· the proportion of readers who have a legitimate interest in receiving the communication
· whether the publication is for commercial gain
- A defamatory publication is costly in terms of reputations, time and money.
- The Trade Practices Act 1974 is set of laws that PR practitioners need to consider.
- Section 52 of the act and the equivalent state provisions impose onerous obligations on organizations and those people who communicate the organization’s message.
- There are many legal aspects related to the real and creative property in public relations.
- The main rules to follow are:
· Real property law
· Personal property law
· Intellectual property law
· Copyright Act 1968
- It is unlikely that a PR practitioner would take action against a media outlet for circulating their message, as this would be the primary intention of releasing the communication.
- Confidentiality agreements are important within an organization, they are crucial in keeping the ‘trade secret’ within the organization.
- Contract law is required in public relations to both define and maintain the relationships between all parties involved.
- Duty of care in public relations is when advice is given to a party and both the adviser and the receiver know that it is okay to trust that advice, in other words the PR practitioner is trustworthy to the client.
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that …
This chapter made me aware of the intense legal environment which public relations are a part of. There are many legal situations that can arise and a public relations practitioner needs to be aware of the strategies to minimize harm to both the organization and the public. The PR practitioner needs to keep their knowledge up to date with the current laws governing their actions such a property laws, copyright laws, common law and contract law, as well as many others that influence their operations. One slip up concerning the laws of public relations could mean the end of a career and also the failure of a major organization. These mistakes can at least cost an organization its reputation or in a worse case the organization can be destroyed.
- Practitioners need foundation knowledge on several bodies of law as there is no one over-arching body of law covering public relations.
- PR decisions must be made in context of the legal environment.
- It is often more beneficial for an organization to negotiate a settlement or seek some alternative means of resolving conflict than to expose clients to public scrutiny.
- The bodies of law that govern PR are diverse and complex.
- The key areas to be considered in the legal environment are:
· protecting reputations
· protecting creative ideas
· the practitioner’s duty of care
· legal risk management
· technology and future legal directions in a public relations context
- Reputations are integral to contemporary PR.
- “A reputation is generally something an organization has with strangers, but a relationship is generally something an organization has with its friends and associates.”
- Legal issues can affect reputations and relationships.
- The tort of defamation limits what a PR practitioner can publish, but it also allows practitioners and their clients to protect their reputations.
- A PR practitioner can defame someone unintentionally and without even knowing that person exists.
- At common law the defenses to defamation are truth, fair comment and privilege. These vary between the states and territories.
- The court will take three factors into account when determining whether there is a duty to publish to the world:
· the extent of the publication
· the proportion of readers who have a legitimate interest in receiving the communication
· whether the publication is for commercial gain
- A defamatory publication is costly in terms of reputations, time and money.
- The Trade Practices Act 1974 is set of laws that PR practitioners need to consider.
- Section 52 of the act and the equivalent state provisions impose onerous obligations on organizations and those people who communicate the organization’s message.
- There are many legal aspects related to the real and creative property in public relations.
- The main rules to follow are:
· Real property law
· Personal property law
· Intellectual property law
· Copyright Act 1968
- It is unlikely that a PR practitioner would take action against a media outlet for circulating their message, as this would be the primary intention of releasing the communication.
- Confidentiality agreements are important within an organization, they are crucial in keeping the ‘trade secret’ within the organization.
- Contract law is required in public relations to both define and maintain the relationships between all parties involved.
- Duty of care in public relations is when advice is given to a party and both the adviser and the receiver know that it is okay to trust that advice, in other words the PR practitioner is trustworthy to the client.
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that …
This chapter made me aware of the intense legal environment which public relations are a part of. There are many legal situations that can arise and a public relations practitioner needs to be aware of the strategies to minimize harm to both the organization and the public. The PR practitioner needs to keep their knowledge up to date with the current laws governing their actions such a property laws, copyright laws, common law and contract law, as well as many others that influence their operations. One slip up concerning the laws of public relations could mean the end of a career and also the failure of a major organization. These mistakes can at least cost an organization its reputation or in a worse case the organization can be destroyed.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Week 5- Chapter 4/ Additional Reading
1. I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were...
- A typical public relations program follows the following model: set objectives --> plan and budget --> implement program --> evaluate.
To be continued......
- A typical public relations program follows the following model: set objectives --> plan and budget --> implement program --> evaluate.
To be continued......
Week 5- Chapter 7 Blog
1. I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were...
- PR practitioners need to think and practice strategically in order to be relevant in today’s organisation.
- The stages of the strategic process in PR are:
· Creation of organisational vision and mission statements
· Creation of public relations vision and mission statements
· Establishment of performance indicators
· Budgeting
· Writing of a strategic public relations plan
· Scheduling of public relations activities
- The public relations strategic planning is influenced in social, economic and political contexts. It is influenced by corporate culture, ideology, values and beliefs, systems and business processes.
- Strategic public relations is a very highly valued organisational function, it tends to be valued more highly than the typical department in an organisation.
- PR consultants are held in high esteem by chief executives in terms of skills of communication, media relations and publicity.
- Building a strong corporate reputation is important for the success of an organisation, which strategically managed public relations play a significant role in.
- Vision and mission statements need to be created for the organisation as part of its public relations strategy.
- The vision statement describes the future state of the organisation at a selected time.
- The mission statement is the road map that describes how the organisation will move to reach its vision.
- Key performance indicators are important and practical in general strategic planning, however they are not well suited to public relations strategies because the results of PR work can be intangible and not often repeated on a regular basis.
- PR strategic planning is very similar to the format of the business or marketing plan, which consists of the ‘ten-step strategic communication plan’:
1. Executive summary
2. The communication process
3. Background
4. Situation analysis
5. Main message statement
6. Stakeholders
7. Messages for key stakeholders
8. Implementation
9. Budget
10. Monitoring and evaluation
- Public Relations budgets are categorised into two groups:
· Administrative costs: salaries, on-costs and fringe benefits for full and part time employees.
· Program costs: photography, printing, catering, travel, gifts, production, room hire, accommodation, phone and fax transmissions, website creation and maintenance.
- Scheduling is essential for a public relations plan to be successfully implemented. No one plan no matter how carefully researched and prepared it may be can be implemented effectively without scheduling.
- Lists are useful in the PR function as they ensure nothing is forgotten in the strategic plan. These tools allow the PR process to be outlined, keep order and provide organisation and follow up. Often a checklist is used before an event and another evaluation checklist is used to provide feedback.
- Flowcharts, calendars and Gantt charts are also useful tools to ensure that the PR strategic plan is running on schedule.
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in
that …
Like organisational objectives the public relations goals and objectives are best achieved when a strategic plan is created and used by an organisation. The plan needs to be effectively planned, implemented and evaluated to ensure that it is beneficial for the public relations practitioner and the organisation as a whole. Budgets are firmly established and the jobs that need to be completed are closely planned and monitored to ensure that nothing is missed or negatively impacts on other jobs. The use of a strategic public relations plan is crucial for the public relations department to maintain the high standard of the organisation.
- PR practitioners need to think and practice strategically in order to be relevant in today’s organisation.
- The stages of the strategic process in PR are:
· Creation of organisational vision and mission statements
· Creation of public relations vision and mission statements
· Establishment of performance indicators
· Budgeting
· Writing of a strategic public relations plan
· Scheduling of public relations activities
- The public relations strategic planning is influenced in social, economic and political contexts. It is influenced by corporate culture, ideology, values and beliefs, systems and business processes.
- Strategic public relations is a very highly valued organisational function, it tends to be valued more highly than the typical department in an organisation.
- PR consultants are held in high esteem by chief executives in terms of skills of communication, media relations and publicity.
- Building a strong corporate reputation is important for the success of an organisation, which strategically managed public relations play a significant role in.
- Vision and mission statements need to be created for the organisation as part of its public relations strategy.
- The vision statement describes the future state of the organisation at a selected time.
- The mission statement is the road map that describes how the organisation will move to reach its vision.
- Key performance indicators are important and practical in general strategic planning, however they are not well suited to public relations strategies because the results of PR work can be intangible and not often repeated on a regular basis.
- PR strategic planning is very similar to the format of the business or marketing plan, which consists of the ‘ten-step strategic communication plan’:
1. Executive summary
2. The communication process
3. Background
4. Situation analysis
5. Main message statement
6. Stakeholders
7. Messages for key stakeholders
8. Implementation
9. Budget
10. Monitoring and evaluation
- Public Relations budgets are categorised into two groups:
· Administrative costs: salaries, on-costs and fringe benefits for full and part time employees.
· Program costs: photography, printing, catering, travel, gifts, production, room hire, accommodation, phone and fax transmissions, website creation and maintenance.
- Scheduling is essential for a public relations plan to be successfully implemented. No one plan no matter how carefully researched and prepared it may be can be implemented effectively without scheduling.
- Lists are useful in the PR function as they ensure nothing is forgotten in the strategic plan. These tools allow the PR process to be outlined, keep order and provide organisation and follow up. Often a checklist is used before an event and another evaluation checklist is used to provide feedback.
- Flowcharts, calendars and Gantt charts are also useful tools to ensure that the PR strategic plan is running on schedule.
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in
that …
Like organisational objectives the public relations goals and objectives are best achieved when a strategic plan is created and used by an organisation. The plan needs to be effectively planned, implemented and evaluated to ensure that it is beneficial for the public relations practitioner and the organisation as a whole. Budgets are firmly established and the jobs that need to be completed are closely planned and monitored to ensure that nothing is missed or negatively impacts on other jobs. The use of a strategic public relations plan is crucial for the public relations department to maintain the high standard of the organisation.
Week 4- Chapter 11 Blog
1. I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were...
- There are two main groups of internal publics that continually need to be satisfied by the organisation, these are the organisation’s employees and the association’s members.
- It is important to maintain employee goodwill as it only takes one employee to be treated harshly and almost the entire organisation will know. Word of mouth is a very powerful communication method and in the case of an unhappy employee, the grapevine operates rapidly.
- There are many tools and methods of communication that an organisation can use to ensure their relationship with their employees is healthy. These include:
· Newsletters and company newspapers: publications that follow the format of the mainstream newspaper or news magazine, however they cater to the specialised audience: the employees.
· Noticeboards: also known as bulletin boards.
· Memos: brief letters that are exchanged by staff on a particular issue.
· Awards: recognising employees for their performance through the use of a certificate, cash bonus, gift, or travel packages.
· Events: socialising with colleagues outside work hours.
· Intranets: network of computers within the organisation.
· Interpersonal communication: face-to-face communication and staff meetings.
- Community relations need to be maintained in order for the organisation to be accepted and supported in society. It is extremely important for companies to show that they actually care about their community.
- There are many approaches to community relations that an organisation can choose to adopt, including:
· Consultation: developing a two-way relationship between the community and the organisation by asking community leaders to participate in the planning and decision making process.
· Scanning the environment: knowing what the community stakeholders are thinking, feeling and doing.
· Filling the gaps: providing as much information as possible to the public to avoid the creation of rumors.
· Collaborations with community groups: audience participation where publics are involved in the communication.
· Negotiation: mutual gains approach is used which involves the values of respect, humility, trust and commitment to a joint solution to an issue.
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that …
Public relations is not simply about organising events and displaying an organisation to the public, but it has a strong role to fulfill in satisfying the internal and community groups. The internal publics are extremely important, as without these people the organisation would not be able to function effectively. There are many different ways that the relations between the company and the employees can be maintained to a high level, many of these approaches should be adopted by a successful organisation.
Community relations are also extremely important as the company needs to be accepted in society and preferably supported by the community stakeholders. It became clear that it is paramount to an organisation that community members are involved and committed to supporting the organisation.
- There are two main groups of internal publics that continually need to be satisfied by the organisation, these are the organisation’s employees and the association’s members.
- It is important to maintain employee goodwill as it only takes one employee to be treated harshly and almost the entire organisation will know. Word of mouth is a very powerful communication method and in the case of an unhappy employee, the grapevine operates rapidly.
- There are many tools and methods of communication that an organisation can use to ensure their relationship with their employees is healthy. These include:
· Newsletters and company newspapers: publications that follow the format of the mainstream newspaper or news magazine, however they cater to the specialised audience: the employees.
· Noticeboards: also known as bulletin boards.
· Memos: brief letters that are exchanged by staff on a particular issue.
· Awards: recognising employees for their performance through the use of a certificate, cash bonus, gift, or travel packages.
· Events: socialising with colleagues outside work hours.
· Intranets: network of computers within the organisation.
· Interpersonal communication: face-to-face communication and staff meetings.
- Community relations need to be maintained in order for the organisation to be accepted and supported in society. It is extremely important for companies to show that they actually care about their community.
- There are many approaches to community relations that an organisation can choose to adopt, including:
· Consultation: developing a two-way relationship between the community and the organisation by asking community leaders to participate in the planning and decision making process.
· Scanning the environment: knowing what the community stakeholders are thinking, feeling and doing.
· Filling the gaps: providing as much information as possible to the public to avoid the creation of rumors.
· Collaborations with community groups: audience participation where publics are involved in the communication.
· Negotiation: mutual gains approach is used which involves the values of respect, humility, trust and commitment to a joint solution to an issue.
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that …
Public relations is not simply about organising events and displaying an organisation to the public, but it has a strong role to fulfill in satisfying the internal and community groups. The internal publics are extremely important, as without these people the organisation would not be able to function effectively. There are many different ways that the relations between the company and the employees can be maintained to a high level, many of these approaches should be adopted by a successful organisation.
Community relations are also extremely important as the company needs to be accepted in society and preferably supported by the community stakeholders. It became clear that it is paramount to an organisation that community members are involved and committed to supporting the organisation.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Week 4
1. I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were...
There are many different roles/jobs that a Public Relations Practitioner can take. The role a practitioner takes in one organization may be the same as the role that another practitioner takes in a different organization, however because of the dynamic nature of each different organization this role can be very different. Some of the common PR jobs include:
- Marketing and communications assistant
- Account manager
- Communications consultant
- Media and communications manager
- PR consultant
- Core values and corporate communications manager
- Marketing communications manager
- National sales and marketing manager
- Communications director
- Marketing manager
- Assistant director, media and public relations
- Media adviser
- Managing director/owner
- Executive director, charitable foundation
- Owner/sole operator
As you can see the jobs range from entry level employee to the higher level executive roles within an organization. Throughout one’s career, most practitioners aim to build their career to the higher level role. While the majority of dedicated practitioners do achieve this goal, depending on the organization other employees may remain stationary in a position for a large length of time.
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that
Any job in public relations is going to be a busy fast-moving job. After reading the different case studies, it became obvious that PR is a full-on occupation of long hours and hard work. It is not the glamorous, dinner-dining job that most people often believe. To succeed at a PR practitioner’s career one needs to be motivated and enthusiastic about their job. It is also important to try to gain employment in an organization that interests you because you need to believe in what you do and believe in the firm’s aim. There is no way one can do their job to the best of their ability if they do not ‘live and breathe’ the goals and philosophy of the organization.
There are many different roles/jobs that a Public Relations Practitioner can take. The role a practitioner takes in one organization may be the same as the role that another practitioner takes in a different organization, however because of the dynamic nature of each different organization this role can be very different. Some of the common PR jobs include:
- Marketing and communications assistant
- Account manager
- Communications consultant
- Media and communications manager
- PR consultant
- Core values and corporate communications manager
- Marketing communications manager
- National sales and marketing manager
- Communications director
- Marketing manager
- Assistant director, media and public relations
- Media adviser
- Managing director/owner
- Executive director, charitable foundation
- Owner/sole operator
As you can see the jobs range from entry level employee to the higher level executive roles within an organization. Throughout one’s career, most practitioners aim to build their career to the higher level role. While the majority of dedicated practitioners do achieve this goal, depending on the organization other employees may remain stationary in a position for a large length of time.
2. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that
Any job in public relations is going to be a busy fast-moving job. After reading the different case studies, it became obvious that PR is a full-on occupation of long hours and hard work. It is not the glamorous, dinner-dining job that most people often believe. To succeed at a PR practitioner’s career one needs to be motivated and enthusiastic about their job. It is also important to try to gain employment in an organization that interests you because you need to believe in what you do and believe in the firm’s aim. There is no way one can do their job to the best of their ability if they do not ‘live and breathe’ the goals and philosophy of the organization.
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