Understanding 21st Century PR, Theoretical Contexts & Trends and Developments

Part 1: Understanding 21st Century PR

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This post will introduce the role of a PR practitioner and discuss what is required to practise PR in today's context.

I would generally agree with Chia's (2008) definition of PR as a profession:

1) to collaborate with diverse publics through discussion

2) to research and evaluate PR itself to understand how to work better with groups of people in organisations and society and to explore benefits to both parties

3) requires creativity and innovation as well as flexibility to adequately react to rapid changes and situation.

PR practitioners must have quick response to changing societal needs as mentioned by Chia (2006, 2008) and Storh (2007). The profession have open options and one must also be responsive to differing points of views. Transparency and accountability must be embraced, respect cultural, political and social differences to work in differing backgrounds. Practitioners must respond, facilitate and encourage debate about issues and be prepared to accept conflicts, dissent and point of views as a notion of related yet conflicting relationships. PR must also bridge all groups of people together; society, government, organisations and individuals.

To compress that long section of words: PR must be facilitators of communication.

Part 2: Theoretical Contexts

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"It is no longer about whether theory is important to practice but rather it is about which theory works" (Okay & Okay 2008, p. 303).

There is no one hard and fast rule that one theory dictates how a PR should be plan or how a practitioner should respond. It serves as a guide and a point of reference. I'm able to relate more with these theories because I believe that theories is the fundamentals of knowledge. From this knowledge, we build experiences and use them to revise knowledge into wisdom.

A system defined by systems theory is that a set of things that affect one another within an environment and form a larger pattern that is different from any of the parts. An open system relates to those that regularly have contact with their environment and choose to interact with them (audiences, publics). Closed systems on the other hand, is the opposite that chooses to isolate themselves. By understanding systems, we understand how processes work, effectiveness and productivity becomes key. Doing so will allow practitioners to identify and work with internal and external components of their group/client and how possibly they can successfully manage their situation and systems.

Communications theory first originated from the Shannon-Weaver model whereby a source of information sends a message through a transmitted signal. The receiver obtains the signal which is given to the receiver to deliver the message and reaches its final destination. Hence, this form of communication model relates to broadcasting messages to a mass audience.

Co-orientation theory is about how an individual must recognize and be aware of how the other person or people in the relationship might think about or perceive an issue (Sison, 2009). Consensus is achieved when each person have similar or same ideas about an issue. The variables are accuracy, understanding, agreement and congruency. Thus, it is important to tweak initial ideas and brainstorm alongside with clients, team members, stakeholders or the public to trigger greater understanding to tackle the issue.

Excellence theory's outcome is that PR is a unique organisational function that allows organisations to build bridges and relationships with society and the government (Grunig, Grunig and Dozier, 2006). The four models of:

1) press agentry (propaganda)

2) public information (one way transmission of accurate public information)

3) two-way asymmetric (manipulative organisation messages that only organisation stand to benefit)

4) two-way symmetric (both organisation and public stand to benefit)

This theory helps one to understand the objective and aims of a particular PR message, using this as a guideline can help achieve whatever goals and objectives of a particular PR idea.

Cultural theories takes into consideration of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The U.S. have a general culture of individualism and receptiveness while the Japanese have a culture of collectivism and conservatism. Hence, one must study well the cultural differences.

Public relations theories continue to grow and expand. Only through real experiences and observations as well as integration of current theories can we only see real breakthrough and continue revising, modifying theories to better fit with the real world PR - use them to our benefit and reference.

Part 3: Trends and Developments

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In this chapter, it aims to put students into perspective of modern PR and its influence today. Some key pointers that influences PR at all levels:

1) public policy and government involvement is something the public wants but most governments would not want the public to be too involved in this process of policy formulation and regulation. PR practitioners are hired to consult and advise governments on matters of public concern, or public affairs managers working for the government, would be aware that health and transport issues are more critical and highlighted for citizens.

2) effective communication management means increased transparency of organisational activities and accountability. It is no longer on the need to know basis but it would be expected of to provide comprehensive and openness regarding certain information. Publics in many parts of the world are better informed and they demand accountability for all sectors: corporate, government, private and not-for-profit organisations. This is especially so for Singapore, when the NKF scandal broke out. Many Singaporeans find that not-for-profit organisations should be more transparent and accountable to the donations directly to the needy to ensure such embezzlement from happening again

3) codes of ethics and conduct must be practiced as businesses becomes more 'tainted' in their practices. We see many corporate scandals being revealed and the industry becomes darker and loses public support and reputation. It is only natural for practitioners to follow professionalism and these code of ethics to ensure they do not further tarnish the industry and in attempt to change public opinion on certain practices and organisations.

It is also mentioned that new media serve as an additional medium to PR. This is no surprise as many people in the world (at least developed parts of the world for that matter) uses the Internet and new media. The world is changing rapidly into a technological cyberspace. If PR is not involved in this new phenomenon, it would certainly lose out. Such new media are:

- intranets

- extranets

- podcasts

- YouTube, myspace

Notice that PR involves both internal and external of their environment. And also, new media attempts to override traditional mainstream media. Podcasts serve as an audio element similar to the radio and YouTube is similar to the mainstream television. It would be critical to have a foothold on these mediums as more people are involved in this publicity-creation occupation.

Strategies & Tactics : SARS Case Study

In 2003, the SARS virus swept across the world, affecting global economies and caused severe social panic with regards to the transmission of the flu-virus. Singapore was not spared from the epidemic. In actuality, Singapore was commended and praised for its efforts for containing the virus quickly with contingency actions and plans. It is without a doubt that it will not be possible with good public relations between the government, represented by the Ministry of Health and the general public.

As Dr. Mark Chong has pointed out, the PR tactics for the SARS incident in Singapore was to establish a strong social trust between the general public itself and government institutions like TTSH (Tan Tock Seng Hospital) and MoH (Ministry of Health). He developed 6 main keywords which essentially sums up the tactics used by the government to build this bond with the public: competence, care, fairness, openness, participation. This primary strategy derived from its policy of transparency compared to China which covered the incident from its actual severity.

Its tactics include to close down nearly all schools for a week as an quarantine act to reduce social proximity within schools to contain the SARS virus from children. The Ministry of Health also took extra efforts to inform the public about the nature of the virus through a series of campaigns and ads to raise awareness and public hygiene. This also indirectly created public trust and were manifested from the public statements made to the press. The Ministry also practised a "one-voice" policy to avoid unnecessary speculations and rumours; all official word about the SARS virus has to go through the government to be published in newspapers.

To enhance their stand on trust-building, none of their statements included elements of skepticism which could erode trust between government and public. What the government did in this situation was primarily to assess its weakness that the SARS virus was generally unknown with little facts about it. It developed a tactic to turn its weakness into strength by building social trust to eliminate social panic and fear and maintain stability.

What is interesting is that the government was able to learn from China's mistakes to construct feasible PR tactics and strategies. From this case study, one can learn that PR does not exist solely through a series of brainstorming on how to tackle the hearts and minds of the public but also through other organisations and incidents to use it as a pointer to create a feasible and successful PR plan.

Introduction to Public Relations

In the real Business world, reputation and trust are the key essentials for any enterprise/company to be successful. Similarly, in any kind of relationship, we form 'bridges' to connect to our subject. In this case, Public Relations is the bridge between the public and the organisation. It is a dual conduit between these two elements which allows interaction, response and influence. 

As the world becomes more technologically advanced, especially through the wide usage of the internet, we often see a power shift to consumers, emerging a new form of consumerism; experience and opinions are shared among people alike to form important impressions.

With companies looking to expand, stockholding and stake ownership of the public becomes imperative for the board to consider public opinion. In order to manage this growing complexity towards marketing, Public Relations is evidently important for businesses to not only survive but to remain competitive.