Globalization has significantly influenced the public relations industry by increasing connectivity between organizations and publics worldwide. As the world has become more interconnected through technology, the need for strategic communication to build relationships across borders has grown. Public relations must now consider both global and local perspectives to be effective. While formal education is important, practitioners also require experience through informal learning and professional networks to address the complex issues brought by global communication. Unless public relations education adapts to technological changes, the field risks becoming irrelevant.

1. PUBLIC
RELATIONS
& GLOBALIZATION
M I C H A L L I B E R M A N
C O M M U N I C AT I O N A N D P R M A J O R
AT E A S T E R N M I C H I G A N U N I V E R S I T Y,
C L A S S O F 2 0 1 9 .

2. DEFINITIONS

3. PUBLIC RELATIONS
• “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually
beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” (PRSA.org)
• PR is the Persuasion Business. In the PR field, the goal is to try and influence an
environment to believe in an idea, support a position, purchase a product, adopt
practice, recognize a phenomenon and deliver an agenda to the audience.

4. THEORY DESCRIPTION:
GLOBALIZATION
• The process of globalization have started in the late 19th century; since then, the
connectivity of the world's economies and cultures grew rapidly and unexpectedly.
• Thanks to today’s technology we now have access to unlimited information from
all over the world, we can learn about different cultures, create shared meaning in
different ideas, change and influence politics, exchange goods internationally and
much more.
• The global economy and marketplace changed the way people communicate, do
business and function in the world.
• The internet and the mobile phones have been a major factors of globalization.

5. HOW DID
GLOBALIZATIO
N INFLUENCED
THE PR
INDUSTRY?

6. GLOBALIZATION HAVE GROW
THE FUNCTION OF PR
• “It becomes clear from all sides of the debate that our new world involves complex
interconnections between business, political and cultural systems, and these
interconnections make it difficult to fully understand ramifications of both
globalization systems and the purposed means for making globalization “work”
effectively” (Miller 1-17).
• In the process of globalization, individuals, groups, and organizations are now
connected; what happens in one area quickly effects people from other areas. As a
result, “the field of public relations is fast becoming influenced by international
theories and practices from different cultures because of the processes of
globalization and internationalization”. (Athal, 2014)

7. • Globalization with its influence in the past 10 years, forced the field of public
relations practice to become multinational and multicultural in nature, and more
changes are expected to occur. (Sriramesh, 2003, from Athal, 2014)
• Globalization have brought to the society different needs that were not a necessity
in the past. In a world where technology is conducting people’s actions in every-
day’s life, and where companies, organizations and businesses are being controlled
through technology – the need of public relations have arouse.
• The media is an extremely powerful tool; as a result, globalization have created the
need to positively present an organization in the mass communication, and the
need to shape an organization’s agenda and reputation in the society.

8. GLOBALIZATION AND THE FUTURE OF
THE PR INDUSTRY
• Sriramesh (2009) was asked to predict the future of public relations and argues
that there should be a balanced mix of both ‘local’ and ‘global’ examples to “help
students and practitioners be better educated to meet their ‘global’ challenges”.
Furthermore, he argued that topics of PR that ignore the importance of local and
national connection will not be centered in the mass communication.
• Sriramesh (2009) also stated that a big challenge of the public relations industry is
to guide organizations to tell the difference between a global and a local matter,
and that skill is complicated and difficult.

9. INFORMAL &
FORMAL PR’S
EDUCATION.

10. TEACHING PUBLIC RELATIONS TO
COLLEGE STUDENTS
• Nowadays, Public-Relations is an independent profession; however, about two
decades ago this profession was imported from other forms of language such as
Journalism and literature. To this day, some countries teach PR without recognizing
it as an individual recognition. “For example, in Australia, early academic public
relations courses were heavily vocationally focused and directed toward managing
the print channel (daily, weekly, and monthly newspapers; brochures; trade
magazines; and staff newsletters) as the primary means of communicating with
publics”. (Krishna, 2014)
• Public Relations courses are being thought all over the world while typically, the
same environment will host both PR and journalism (Putnis & Axford, 2002 from
Krishna, 2014).
• The US was the main source from which PR text books were relayed on in the

11. • One of Sriramesh (2009) main claims was saying that education, standing alone,
won’t be able to achieve well-rounded public relations practitioner who can truly
contribute the organization. Even the best education will have to be the student’s
introduction to the professional development that only occurs on the job and
through informal and formal interact with peer networks (for example, professional
associations).
• Furthermore, a combination of formal education and practical training (obtained
through professional peer networks) elements will “helps mould the young
communication enthusiast into a well-rounded public relations practitioner who
can add value to organizational processes”. (Sriramesh, 2009 From Krishna, 2014).
• In that form, learners connect knowledge and interactions.

12. • When PR’s students graduate and come to a new work environment, they are
newcomers and they bring new ideas from their formal education at the university
into their work place (Apple et al., 2003). While the formal side of education is
visible and comes in the form of a college diploma, but the informal aspect of
education cannot be proved om the spot, only with experience and time where the
newcomer has opportunities to present his new ideas.
• Sriramesh (2009), is asking: “to what extent practitioners’ interventions are directed
towards critical reflectiveness and action?”.

13. MIGHT PUBLIC RELATION BECOME
IRRELEVANT?
• Krishna (2014) argues that the PR is not accepting the technological-global
changes in the pace it should, saying: “Public relations education is facing a
fundamental challenge to its theoretical and pedagogical directions”. Krishna
explains that educators are not accepting the changes that technology is bringing
to the communities they serve.
• Unless the PR academies accept and encourage the changes, it might become
irrelevant by not providing students with the skills and knowledge required by the
marketplace. “A strategic view, therefore, needs to be taken of future practitioner,
client, and student needs”. (Krishna, 2014)

14. EXAMPLES…

15. EXAMPLE: GLOBALIZATION IN
DEMOCRATIC PR CAMPAIGN
• When a political candidate is presenting his agendas and ideas to the mass public
and in the international arena, there is a major importance in the way the message
is being delivered to the wide public.
• The way that the candidate is expressing himself, manages his actions, chooses his
priorities and how he looks; makes the public decide to support him or not.
• In many cases there isn’t a positive correlation between the candidates good
interests and his popularity. In fact, his popularity heavily depends on his public
reputation.
• With today’s globalization, everyone has access to unlimited amount information.
As a result, building a positive reputation for political candidates is very
importance and the PR people are necessary.

16. MASS MEDIA IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
• The mass-media have been known as the fundamental activity of public relations.
Mass media and the messages that are being delivered world-wide are the main
tool PR people are dealing with. Nowadays, the mass media is undivided from the
PR profession.
• In many cases, a public press coverage is being popularly spread, just from a well-
written press release that sticks to new values, but often because of the
interpersonal relationships that the public develops with the news-person, thanks
to the backstage work of the public relations practitioners. Such aspects are part of
what practitioners operating in a globalizing world need to recognize vis-à-vis the
diversity in media environments around the world so that they can effectively
conduct their media relations activities.

17. QUESTIONS &
PERSONAL
SUGGESTIONS

18. QUESTIONS
• Would it consider unethical for a PR practitioner to create a positive false public
reputation for a negative client?
• Public relation people might make judgmental mistake and with their work, create
damage to the client’s reputation. In that case, will it be legal to sue him?
• How can professors, which grew up with the absent of technology, deliver the
globalization effects to PR’s student?

19. PERSONAL SUGGESTIONS
• I think it is very important to explore the client in depth, in order to be comfortable
to give him instructions and guide regarding his reputation.
• Considering culture being a very complex thing to learn; new research, theories,
and models must be taken place in the future in order to describe and measure
international practices in public relations.
• Professors should be specifically trained and updated with the globalization
changes in order to deliver its message to its students.

20. REFERENCE
• Wynne, Robert. "Five Things Everyone Should Know About Public Relations". Forbes.
N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
• "PRSSA: The Association For PR And Communications Students". Prssa.org. N.p., 2017.
Web. 14 Jan. 2017.
• "Test Prep | Online Tutoring | College & Grad Admissions | The Princeton Review".
Princetonreview.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 14 Jan. 2017.
• Miller, Katherine. Organizational Communication. 7th ed. Stamford: Cengage Learning,
2015. Print.
• Krishna, Athal. "Critical Review Of Globalization And Public Relations: An Overview
Looking Into The Future". Krishna Athal (2014): n. pag. Print.