Finally , we have arrived where we all wanted to be. End of our
assignments , end of our term and end of our course. This journey
of learning PR, has by no means been a cakewalk. It has been
quite demanding in terms of our dedication , hard work and
commitment . Yes , we have all been stressed and been bogged down
by assignments , but the outcome is evident. So finally its time
to go back home , and hone all our PR skills which Pam ,Michaela,
Kim and Matt have so diligently worked on.
To conclude my blog , this post is about my personal opinion
about importance of PR education compared to PR work experience.
It is true that experience is the best teacher , but
experience backed up by knowledge and understanding is better
than the best. I flew all the away from my country , just
to grasp a better understanding about Public Relations. My
decision is a testimony to my belief , that gaining PR education
helps in gaining PR experience.
A country like mine , India is still witnessing a developing
Public Relations industry and one of the reasons for this is lack
of trained PR professionals. At the risk of sounding
overconfident , I also want to add that ,the Indian PR industry
will soon see a boom ,once trained PR people like , you and me ,
take charge.
So , I wish all of you all the best and hope you rock the PR
scene wherever you go.
Before signing off , there are these two videos which you guys
should take a peek at.
Crisis Management has literature filled with the lists of do s
and dont s and countless checklists. Heath ( 1997:289 ) states
that if a company is engaged in issues management before , during
and after a crisis , it can mitigate - perhaps prevent - the
crisis from becoming an issue by working quickly and
responsibly.
Seymour and Moore ( 2000:10 ) use an extremely interesting
metaphor to point out two forms of crises.
The Cobra - It is a 'sudden' crisis , a disaster that hits
suddenly and takes the company completely by surprise and leaves
it in a crises situation.
The Python - It is the 'slow-burning' crisis which is a result of
a collection of issues that steal up on the company one by one
and slowly crush it.
While managing a crisis situation , talking to the media is what
requires great deal of tact and knowledge. The 5 C's effective
communication model is what has been suggested for the
spokesperson to follow.
This model explains the 5 attribute which the spokesperson should
exhibit on the behalf of his organization . They are Concern ,
Clarity , Control , Confidence and Competence.
How ever well a crisis is managed from an operational perspective
, it is how an organization communicates about the crisis that
makes the real difference. The right kind of communication
strategy can indeed transform a crisis into a PR opportunity.
Watch this brief video which elucidates how the right kind
of communication can save your life.
This was just a generic example of how can a situation be
managed. Approaching crises in Public Relations requires exactly
the same kind of thoughtfulness , wit and spontaneity. The ever
popular Shilpa Shetty controversy at Celebrity Big Brother ,
tarnished her image in India for reasons more than one . But ,
her publicist Dale Bhagwagar was at her rescue and very smartly
created an opportunity out of the crisis she was in ,using the PR
machinery.
The world is coming closer day by day and delivery of information
to the audiences is not a novel phenomenon.
Similarly, even the world of PR is going beyond cultures and
geographical boundaries. Not only multinational organizations but
also countries and their governments frequently engage in
international public relations to create a positive reputation
and image of the particular country abroad or a receptive
environment for achieving foreign or economic policy goals.
One of the major reasons of growth of international public
relations can be attributed to the rise of worldwide networks of
interdependence. Another significant reason , is the information
revolution , which is the result of rapid technological advances
in computers , software and communication.
The standardization versus adaptation debate is prevalent in many
communication disciplines Standardisation means sticking to an
uniform approach in every country on the other hand adaptation is
a culture specific approach. Every Public Relations campaign ,
which is on an international level , will have standardised
objectives and methods of evaluation. The messages will be
completely adapted to the region or culture. The tactics and
channels will be an amalgamation of standardized and adapted
methods.
Another theory which is applied to International Public Relations
is that of centralization and decentralization. In reality ,
centralization and decentralization can vary to different
degrees and the balance between the two approaches should be
maintained.
Irrespective of whether an organization follows a centralized ,
decentralized , standardised or adapted approach , it is the
co-ordination of the communication efforts that remain crucial to
the organization.
The most interesting aspect of International Public Relations is
the idea of country branding. A nation engages in cultivation of
a positive image especially if their image has been ruined due to
one or the other incident. For example, think about the image USA
holds in the eyes of fellow countries , after the War On Terror
and War in Iraq.
Public Relations is now no more restricted to simply and
individual , community or organization. It has exploited its own
power and spreads across the world to help deliver messages
faster than ever.
Corporate Social Responsibility is an overused term these days and
hence it would it be a good idea to go and look at the fundamentals
of this phrase. Patricia J Parsons in her book Ethics in Public
Relations describes CSR as '' ensuring commercial sucess in ways
that honor ethical values and respect people , communities and the
environment . Further CSR typically includes issues related to -
business ethics , community investment environment , governance ,
human rights , market place and work place. '' Our guest lecturer
Adam Garfunkel defined CSR as a voluntary business
effort that is made with an aim of achieving positive social
outcomes while benefitting its business objectives. But with the
amount of literature on CSR and the hype that surrounds this issue
, I think it is not purely a voluntary action.
Why are businesses being socially responsible ? The answer to this
question are more than one. The very obvious reasons would be that
CSR contributes to corporate image and reputation.Subsequently , a
socially responsible reputation is a way of differentiating
organizations and providing a competitive advantage. From a
stakeholder perspective , CSR works in facilitating a two way flow
of information between the organization and stakeholders.
With the kind of benefits a organizations derives from CSR , who
would not want to be socially responsible. But the organizations
obviously potray it in a different way. This video elucidates
how CSR tends to benefit employees.
Business ethics writer Caroll argues that there are four kinds of
social responsibility : economic , legal , ethical and
philanthropic , demonstrated through the CSR pyramid in the figure
below.
This
matrix is proposed as an analytical tool for framework to help
company managers make sense of their ideas about what the firm
should be doing economically , legally , ethically and
philanthropically with respect to its defined stake holder
groups.
In case of public relations and its functions within an
organization , there are ways how ethical PR practise can play a
role in the overall socially responsible functioning of
organizations. The Public Relations function takes care of -
internal relations , client-consumer relations , community
relations and media relations . Apart from these , areas of
investor relations and goverment relations also serve as
opportunities for PR professionals to contribute to an
organizations social responsibility programme.
The three discontinuities or rather the 3 W's this generation is
bringing into businesses are - Web , Women and Weather. The web
has induced a technological revolution which not all businesses
have begun to adapt to. The massive arrival of women in the
workforce has not yet been well digested. The issues of climate
change and sustainability are also at the horizon for every
company. And my title already suggests that in my post I am going
to be looking at the second W.
According to recent statistics of the Institute of Public
Relations (IPR) female members of the Institute are 60 against 40
male members. This is a testimony to the belief that the fairer
sex is entering the PR industry more than their male
counterparts. I don't have to go very far for an example , my PR
class at University of Westminster has 6 males against 25
females. Now that hints at something...Doesn't it ?
Grunig says - '' Women in Public Relations tend to see themselves
in the technical rather than the managerial role to a greater
degree than men do.'' I have been wondering ....Why ? Stereotypes
persist. The lame answers of a women being emotional , cry babies
, sensitive , submissive and whatsoever don't appear to be a
reason at all . Reason being that women has been strong and bold
enough through all these years to push her way through every
career she wanted to.
As I mentioned earlier , that majority of the workforce involved
in Public Relations consist of women. But majority of the
workforce on the top level do not consist of women. Women making
it to the top is not just a matter of time anymore. Skeptics who
believe that women lack ambition should know that they might be
as many women as men who want to be at the top and as many men as
women who lack ambition. The positive discrimination which is in
place today is in favour of the prevailing norm- men. Positive
discrimination on basis of genders has as a result given rise to
'women' issues which should not be stereotyped as they are.
Why women mean business by Avivah&Alison points out an
interesting fact which I tend to agree with. The women not being
able to rule the managerial posts and the discrepancies possessed
by pay gap structure for women and men is not a 'women' issue. It
is a strategic business issue. The managers and leaders need to
gauge the challenges facing them on this issue.They are required
to know how to manage effectively across genders.
I am just about to publish this post and that's when I realize
that it is the International Women's Day today....So Wishing all
the lovely ladies a very Happy Women's day ! ! !
Our class on ethics has by far been the most intriguing one for me.
The runaway trolley example was incredible to trigger our thinking
in terms of what is ethical and what is not. I must acknowledge
that all the examples mentioned in class gave rise to a series of
thoughts in me and made me contemplate..... Can PR ever be ethical
? Who is the best person to judge and answer this question ? Is it
a personal choice and preferences ? In the simplest words I was
confused and curious.
I spoke to a friend of mine who practises celebrity PR in Mumbai
and asked him what was his personal opinion about this.
"I come from a journalistic background, a place where ethics have
ruled over the decades. So while I manipulate as a PR, I also let
my conscience do the talking. It keeps me far away from attempting
the unethical." -Dale
Bhagwagar, PR guru .
This made me think that who monitors those who always ignore the
faint voice of their conscience ? Can ethics be taught or imposed
on PR's who personally favour profit and power more than ethics
?
If there had to be only one question haunting public relations , it
would be ethics. Ethics is a word which falls of tongues very
easily these days , yet many people who use it have not taken the
time to consider it's true meaning. Philosophers define ethics as a
study of moral rightness or wrongness , which is limited by human
ability to reason. I believe that ethics are intangible assets , an
extension of one's psyche and are formed on the basis of one's own
morals.
Great power comes with great responsibility. But the power of
Public Relations comes with even greater responsibilities. In their
book, Public Relations Ethics, Philip Seib and Kathy Fitzpatrick
talked about five duties of public relations professionals.In other
words , the five masters which an ethical PR professional must
serve - self, client, employer, profession and society.But ,
sometimes there is one situation in which it seems that telling the
whole truth is not the most ethical course of action . If telling
the truth outright is likely to harm one or more publics , then it
seems that it is probably more ethical to avoid that
disclosure.After all , one of the few principles of ethics in any
situation is to do no harm. Often, however a judgement call is
required here and it is the application of such judgement that
calls into question of ethics of the decision maker. In such a case
would the cognivitist theory that there is always one right
decision to make hold true ? Or is it the cultural relativism
theory where in moral truths are subjective , dynamic , changing
and constructed by society ?
The question is still unanswered and the topic remains debatable as
ever. I would rather believe that there is no right or wrong. They
are just courageous decisions. And such decisions after taking
which you should be able to sleep peacefully at night. >
New Media is influencing all segments of market today and
Fusion Public Relations is no more lagging in the race.
Fusion PR's first ever screencast.
London, UK-February 27, 2009
Fusion PR Pvt Ltd. releases it's first screencast "Is
the PR industry slow in adapting to New Media ”
which discusses how well the public relations
industry is adapting to the growing new media
.
New Media has opened up new distribution channels and
is redefining the Public Relations industry.
A few industries are slower than others in adapting
new media techniques.
Inspite of the buzz , 79 out of 100 top UK agencies
don't offer New Media PR services.
There is a steadily growing interest in new media ,
but the service providers remain niche.
The market sectors and comapnies which adapt new
media are reaping dividends.
Traditional companies are going to suffer in
recession.
New Media training needs to be incorporated at all
levels of management.
Eventually , the market is going to understand the power
of new media and the tide will turn. New media is here to
stay.
QUOTES
Thomas Lewis , Senior Consultant , Fusion
PR
“The ubiquity of broadband Web use, combined with
ever-easier-to-use online tools and relevant,
user-generated content is creating a unique opportunity
for the PR profession to re-think what we do and how we
do it.”
Richard Periera , Chief Editor , The
Londoner
The presentation by Fusion PR highlights a variety of
thoughts dealing with the way Public Relations industry
has responded to the magnanimous boom in New Media
technology .
Shubham Khandelwal, CEO ,
Fusion PR
The Public Relations industry has to be adept and
current. And New Media is the talk of today. We are
trying to evolve ourselves into organizations which are
capable of tapping the incredible power of new media.This
is just the beginning. The best is yet to come.
ABOUT FUSION PVT LTD
Fusion Pvt Ltd is a leading public relations solution
provider led by a professional team. It has been Fusion’s
constant endeavor to communicate innovatively to create
powerful brands that command mindshare. The services we
provide are undoubtedly distinct in nature but each of
them creatively relates to our objective. Our services
include - Public Relations ,Event Management ,
Media Relations, Integrated Marketing and Social
Media Marketing .
For more agency information , please visit our website
www.fusionpr.in .
This was just passing thought in my mind, after being bombarded
with New Media from all sides.We always question authenticity of
bloggers and their opinion.Occassionally , we choose to believe a
argument because it suits our ideology and convenience.But still
the fact remains that the credibility and trustworthiness of blogs
is a debatable topic.
I was just thinking as a research student doing some rigorous
research.All of us come across some information related to our
research in the form of blogs. The point is , how many of us
actually use it and include it in our work ? How many times would
we click away from the page thinking that its just a random blog by
a random person and might not be credible.
After being an audience to an incredibly gripping presentation on
Obama ,I could not help reading more about it.
I typed in Obama into Google and was not surprised by the nine
digit result it showed up within 0.13 seconds. This man has done
something worthwhile and credible in the recent times. I am not
going to be pointing out his countless qualities which he was
either born with or developed with experience , since there is
already much been said about that.
Much has been said about political communications in the past and
the vast literature available is rather intimidating. I remember
reading an online article from Irish News where Tom Kelly made a
thought provoking comment , '' Everything is centralised,
everything is created at the top and trickled down. In this
traditional world there is no space for spontaneity or bottom up
opportunities. Conversations are not encouraged as these might
‘dilute’ the message .''
If looked at in this way , then Obama's campaign definitely did not
live up to this expectation and undoubtedly raised the bar of
political campaigns by a few notches.
The Obama campaign, cleverly used the power of traditional and
online PR and merged the two create an ‘inline’ solution.
The campaign's potential was evident in the response it gained.
This happened majorly because he allowed to loosen his reigns at
the grassroot level and also enhance a two way interaction. His
supporters were able to personalize logo's , use ringtones ,
interact with him on social networking sites. All these elements of
his campaign have been picked up from day to day life of a common
man and hence commanded such a strong emotional and human
appeal.
Obama even proved his point to skeptics who believed that new media
cannot prove to be effective in political campaigns.The campaign
tapped a wider audience subduing all geographical boundaries.
Obama has gotten across to his publics beautifully and gained all
the trust and support he would need to inflict the changes he hopes
for his country .
>
The first class aroused my curiosity enough for me to plunge into
the complexities and contradictions of 'war' and 'spin' . And I
found myself discovering and unmasking things which were otherwise
beyond my comprehension.
The much talked about PR stunt of selling of America on the Persian
Gulf War grabbed my attention. Hill and Knowlton very cunningly
crafted a version of the war ,which turned tables around. What is
even more interesting was , this stunt did not hold the position of
a pioneer. Edward Bernays had done something on the same lines in
Guatemala 40 years ago. No wonder he knew everything about Iraq
without being a part of any of it. The century old Bernays was able
to read between the lines and recognize the media machinations
instantly.
I learned that,after his demise , Bernays had made all his papers
available for exploration with the Library of Congress.Though I
have not managed to lay my hands on them but have learnt that most
of the policies were founded on deception.Whatever happened to
ethical PR !
Following his footsteps , I believe Hill and Knowlton also did not
have very sound ethical ground when they contended a campaign
against Saddam Hussein. It's apparently referred to as a triumphant
moment , but I would refer to it as a derogatory moment in the
history of Public Relations.
>
War as I understand is a actual, intentional and widespread armed
conflict between political or cultural communities. In my opinion
its an unnecessary and violent way of getting things agreed upon.
One argument I was never able to justify was why to do PR for an
ugly and brutal enterprise like war ?
The class excercise was an perfect way to get me thinking about
it.Placing ourselves in the responsible shoes of Head of
Communications of the Ministry of Defense , forced me to think with
a different perspective.I was quite amused with the kind of
strategies my mind and my fellow minds came up with.
Exaggerate the threat !
Dehumanise the enemy !
We are hero's , they are villain's !
War is indispensable , its an act of national defense !
We are making the world a safer place !
These are few of the ideas which we came up with and I acknowledge
they were brilliant in ways more than one.After all we are all PR
pundits in the making. But , here we are taking about war. It might
be good for a few of those who are cultivating it , but what about
the agony it brings to most of the innocent souls.
Would you not hear the faint voice of conscience when you are
spinning war ? I always thought I would , but after this lecture
....Its questionable !
>
