4 to 5 pages.  I caution you that it is not as easy as it looks so please keep that in mind.  The assignment also is attached to this question.  I expect this from graduate-level students.   english as a second language   PR management   — graduation students — Narrative: As I began to review Chapter 5 in your text for this week’s assignment, I couldn’t help but think of the most pressing question of the week:  Seahawks or Broncos?  We’ll find out Sunday night for sure.  My money (if I had any) would be on Denver.  Peyton has excellent receivers (almost of the caliber of Marvin Harrison), been there before, etc., etc.  How cool would it be to be his agent and have to decide/recommend what he does, what he endorses, what he says?  Regardless of what he is doing on the field (phenomenal),  think about who is advising him.  Then reflect on the parallels between the counsel/advice he is receiving and the similarities that advisor has to your role in an organization be it public, private or non-profit.   That’s why the four-by-four model is so cool.  Peyton’s advisor must think about the stakeholders:  the team, the media, Peyton, and so on.  He must keep the focus on the game and the quarterback.  And advise Peyton that he’s going to get retirement questions and how to answer them.  I recall Indy 500 winner Rick Mears telling me that if he focused on the media and the hype that pretty soon, no one would want to speak to him.  There’s got to be a balance. Think sports PR is easy?  Think again. (But, it is incredibly rewarding – if you’re near the top). Your text spends a lot of time on the four-by-four model.  And to me, it makes sense.  If you’re going to be an effective leader, you must operate strategically (in order) at the society level, corporate level, stakeholder/value chain level and lastly, at the functional level.  Most PR people and agencies, operate at the functional level. I also would add one more level.  This comes from a presentation I heard many years ago from Jim Rogers, the top executive at what is now known as Duke Energy.  He spoke about stockholders and stakeholders, then added another group, “those that follow.”  Over the years that stuck with me and especially after I read the classic book by Ries and Trout, Positioning:  The Ball for Your Mind.  His focus, and theirs, was leaving a clear path for those that follow you, your organization, etc.  It’s about establishing the vision. I hope you read this chapter several times.  It’s the center of the book and we’ll expand on it as we go through the semester.  It’ interesting to think that an organization only exists because society allows it to exist.  On the corporate level,  the organization is based around the structure necessary to fulfill the social expectation.  This is where resources are marshaled.  Value chain is the term for those who have an impact or are impacted by the organization.  Employees, suppliers, customers, etc.  “Specific expertise in stakehold.

1. 4 to 5 pages. I caution you that it is not as easy as it looks so
please keep that in mind. The assignment also is attached to
this question.
I expect this from graduate-level students.
english as a second language
PR management
— graduation students —
Narrative:
As I began to review Chapter 5 in your text for this week’s
assignment, I couldn’t help but think of the most pressing
question of the week: Seahawks or Broncos? We’ll find out
Sunday night for sure. My money (if I had any) would be on
Denver. Peyton has excellent receivers (almost of the caliber of
Marvin Harrison), been there before, etc., etc. How cool would
it be to be his agent and have to decide/recommend what he
does, what he endorses, what he says? Regardless of what he is
doing on the field (phenomenal), think about who is advising
him. Then reflect on the parallels between the counsel/advice
he is receiving and the similarities that advisor has to your role
in an organization be it public, private or non-profit. That’s
why the four-by-four model is so cool. Peyton’s advisor must
think about the stakeholders: the team, the media, Peyton, and
so on. He must keep the focus on the game and the
quarterback. And advise Peyton that he’s going to get
retirement questions and how to answer them. I recall Indy 500
winner Rick Mears telling me that if he focused on the media
and the hype that pretty soon, no one would want to speak to
him. There’s got to be a balance.
Think sports PR is easy? Think again. (But, it is incredibly
rewarding – if you’re near the top).

2. Your text spends a lot of time on the four-by-four model. And
to me, it makes sense. If you’re going to be an effective leader,
you must operate strategically (in order) at the society level,
corporate level, stakeholder/value chain level and lastly, at the
functional level. Most PR people and agencies, operate at the
functional level.
I also would add one more level. This comes from a
presentation I heard many years ago from Jim Rogers, the top
executive at what is now known as Duke Energy. He spoke
about stockholders and stakeholders, then added another group,
“those that follow.” Over the years that stuck with me and
especially after I read the classic book by Ries and Trout,
Positioning: The Ball for Your Mind.
His focus, and theirs, was leaving a clear path for those that
follow you, your organization, etc. It’s about establishing the
vision.
I hope you read this chapter several times. It’s the center of the
book and we’ll expand on it as we go through the semester. It’
interesting to think that an organization only exists because
society allows it to exist. On the corporate level, the
organization is based around the structure necessary to fulfill
the social expectation. This is where resources are marshaled.
Value chain is the term for those who have an impact or are
impacted by the organization. Employees, suppliers, customers,
etc. “Specific expertise in stakeholder identification,
segmentation, insight, engagement and collaboration and/or
management can be offered by public relations alongside
coaching and mentoring those colleagues who interact with
these stakeholders regularly” (Text, page 39). “… being able to
judge how they are likely to behave and how that behavior can
be influenced is a critical skill of practitioners” (Text, page 39).
While I have spent time on the first three levels, I see the fourth

3. level, the functional level, as operating from the observations
and intelligence you gained from the first three. This level
typically involves putting together public relations plans
depending on the needs of stakeholders and stakeholder groups.
One tip I have is that once you’ve identified specific
stakeholders and why they are stakeholders, you need to assess
their impact on the organization or on the particular issue you
are working. Here’s one way to do that: Think in terms of 1.0
– or percentages. Assign each group percentage points based on
100 percent. Group A may help 30 percent in achieving your
goal. Group B may help you by 20 percent in achieving your
goal. Group C is at five percent. Where are you going to
spend your time? Conversely, if you don’t have Group A and B
on your side, you have a 50-50 chance of being successful.
This also helps you assign resources as well as provide
leadership a clear indication of how/why you are expending or
need resources. You are looking at the probability of a
stakeholder impacting the successful achievement of your
organizational mission.
Your text does not mention government as a stakeholder, so I
will. Many times understanding the role government plays in
your decision process is significant. I worked for a
telecommunications utility; regulators were major stakeholders.
If I wanted that stakeholder on my side, I knew I had to deal
with their stakeholders – another level of stakeholder analysis.
For the most part, government is a major stakeholder and one
you have to consider in nearly all of your counseling.
I also knew that what I did impacted future leaders of my
organization as well as those that followed political leaders.
Reputation management is a long-term thing. It’s that “those
that follow” thing.
A few other thoughts – Why do we do all of this? Look at page

4. 42 of your text. “The role of the communicator is to act as
brand guardian and champion, and to act as a catalyst for
change if the reality of the brand experienced is different from
the brand espoused. Call this alignment.
Your role as the public relations leader? Read page 43 – the
summary. These are the levels at which we want to be
operating. Strategic leadership takes us to this level.
Now, all this said, plus the text, how many of us are operating
at this level? Probably not too many. But your ability to think
and operate at this level will either make you a better public
relations leader or prepare you to be one.
Your Assignment
Now that we all know what the public relations model and
components are, it’s time to put it into action. The situation
you will be dealing with this week is a mission statement. You
may pick any organization you want. Many of you have regular
public relations jobs so feel free to use that organization. If
you do not have a regular PR job, pick an organization and
develop a mission statement for the public relations
department. Assume there should be one – in both cases. The
statement should be both descriptive and prescriptive of the
public relations function within the organization. Consider
writing an introduction as well as a purpose for the mission
statement. And, your work need not be a dissertation. But it
needs to be long enough and clear enough for other senior
leadership and executives to understand and support. It
describes the value your give to the organization.
This is not an easy assignment and I expect you to develop your
mission statement in the context of my narrative as well as your
text. My suggestion is that you read the text a couple of times,
digest what it says, write something, the step away for a few

5. hours or a day or two. Then come back and work on it again.
You also may want to look at mission statements online.
Wonder what kind of a mission statement I would have for the
Manning brand? Go Broncos!