1) The chapter discusses the roles and responsibilities of public relations practitioners, which include distributing information, researching audiences, advising management, setting policy, and evaluating effectiveness. 2) Public relations is defined as responding to those who influence an organization, harmonizing interests between an organization and its publics, and serving as an intermediary. 3) The value of public relations includes opening dialogue, encouraging mutual adjustment between organizations and society, and focusing on the greater good.

1. Chapter 1
PR Roles and Responsibilities
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2. Objectives
• To understand the role and responsibilities of
public relations – in public and private companies,
nonprofit organizations, agencies and firms
• To recognize the difference between strategic
planning and execution that relies only on tactics
and techniques
• To appreciate the value of public relations in
solving problems and making policy
• To understand why individual as well as
institutional credibility is critical to public relations
practice
• To appreciate the international scope of public
relations practice This is PR 11th Edition
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3. What is public relations?
• Responding to expectations of those who
can influence an organization’s operations
and development
• Harmonizing interests of an organization
with those on whom its growth depends
• Serving as intermediary between an
organization and all of that organization’s
publics
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4. Responsibilities of a PR
Practitioner
• Distributing information to publics
• Researching all audiences
• Advising management
• Helping to set policy
• Evaluating PR program effectiveness
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5. First World Assembly
Definition
• PR is an art and social science
• PR analyzes trends and predicts their
consequences
• PR implements planned programs of action
• PR serves both the organization and public
interest
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6. PRSA Definition
• Management function
• Counseling at the highest level with regard
to policy, courses of action and
communication, taking into consideration
the organization’s social or citizenship
responsibilities
• Strategic planning for the organization
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7. British Institute of PR
Definition
• Reputation management
• What an organization does and says, and
what others say about it
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8. 10 Basic Principles of PR
• PR deals with facts, not fiction
• PR’s primary consideration is doing what’s
in the public interest
• PR programs and policies must conform to
public interests
• PR must protect the integrity of the media
channels it uses for its messages
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9. 10 Basic Principles of PR
(cont.)
• PR involves effective communication back
and forth between an organization and its
publics
• PR depends on the use of scientific public
opinion research
• PR practitioners must use the social
sciences to understand what publics are
saying and to communicate effectively with
them
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10. 10 Basic Principles of PR
(cont.)
• PR requires multidisciplinary application of
theories and concepts
• PR has an obligation to explain problems to
publics before they become crises
• PR performance should be measured by
only one standard: ethical performance
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11. Value of PR and
Communications Management
• Sustainability depends on balancing today’s
demands with ability to meet future needs
• Governance empowers leaders to be
directly responsible for deciding and
implementing stakeholder relationship
policies
• Management of an organization’s decisions
increasingly determined by their time of
implementation
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12. Value of PR and Communications
Management (cont.)
• Internal communications enhance recruitment,
retention, development of common interests and
commitment to organizational goals
• External communications has to bring the
organization’s “voice” and interests into stakeholder
deliberations and decisions
• Coordination of internal and external
communications often a multi-faceted, multi-
stakeholder, inter-relational enterprise
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13. Activities of PR
• Press agentry
• Promotion
• Publicity
• Public affairs
• Research
• Graphics
• Advertising
• Marketing
• Integrated marketing communications
• Merchandising This is PR 11th Edition
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14. PR Practitioner’s Job
• More need for depth and diversity of
knowledge
• More expectation of accountability
• Less tolerance for hype
• Constants over time: “go-for” attitude,
strategic thinking, writing, speaking,
persuading, respecting deadlines, multi-
tasking
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15. Main Roles of PR Practitioner
• Staff member in organization
– May be specialist in one area of PR if
organization is large
– Likely to be “Jack/Jill” of all trades in a
small organization
– May be technician at lower levels,
manager at higher levels
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16. Main Roles of PR Practitioner
(cont.)
• Employees of PR agency or firm
– May be specialists or generalists
depending on size of firm
– May be involved in “sales”: generating
new business
– Often work as a member of team of
writers, designers, production staff who
together produce a PR message
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17. Main Roles of PR Practitioner
(cont.)
• Independent practitioner or counselor
– May work on project basis or retainer
– May perform technical tasks for clients
– May serve as counselor to client
management
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18. Areas of Specialization
• PR for nonprofit organizations (also called NGOs)
• PR for educational institutions
• Fundraising and/or donor relations
• Research and evaluation
• Trend analysis
• Issues management
• Public opinion evaluation
• PR for international, global organizations
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19. Areas of Specialization (cont.)
• Financial PR (also called investor relations)
• PR for industrial companies
• PR for general business and retail
• PR for government (all levels)
• Political PR
• Lobbying
• PR for health care organizations
• PR for sports teams
• PR for leisure-time activities
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20. PR: Career, Job (Field) or
Profession?
Profession requires:
• a body of knowledge
• a commitment to continuing education
• a standard educational curriculum to
prepare for entry into the profession
• control over who enters, exits the
profession
• a shared code of ethics that guides practice
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21. Function of PR in Business and
Society
• Manipulative model: control publics, direct
what people think or do to satisfy an
organization's needs
• Service model: respond to publics, react to
their needs, desires
• Transactional model: achieve mutually
beneficial relationships with an institution
and its publics
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22. Self-Described Roles of PR
• PR practitioner as communication technician (skills
oriented)
• PR practitioner as communication facilitator
(liaison)
• PR practitioner as problem-solving process
facilitator (confrontational)
• PR practitioner as acceptant legitimizer (yes-
person)
• PR practitioner as expert prescriber (authoritarian,
prescriptive)
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23. Roles Boil Down to Two
• Technician
• Manager
• Enacting of role is a function of the
organization, culture of the country and
training of the practitioner
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24. The Value of Public Relations
• PR can open and maintain a dialogue
between an organization and its publics
• PR can encourage mutual adjustment
between an organization and its society
• PR can focus on the greater good of
society, not just the narrow interests of an
organization
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25. The Value of Public Relations
(cont.)
• PR has the opportunity to improve
cooperation between an organization and
its publics/stakeholders
• PR provides useful information
• PR can raise issues and concerns,
reminding management of ethical
responsibilities
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26. The Value of Public Relations
(cont.)
• PR can help management formulate and
advocate sound objectives
• PR can be problem solver
• PR can uphold socially responsible
behavior
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27. Obstacles to Ideal PR
• Economics: organizations and their
managers’ role to make money
• Human nature: natural temptation to play
up the good, ignore or deny the negative
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28. PR as Problem Finder, Solver and
Preventer
• Problems of
– Production
– Growth
– Personnel
– Financing
– Advertising
– Business acceptance
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29. PR as Interpreter and
Communication Link
• Bridges between an organization and its
publics
• Helps organization, publics adjust to
change
• Stimulates positive change
• Enables groups to accommodate each
other
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