Public Relations Management In Organisations

Being in the seat of PR in an organisation is no easy task. Mehta & Xaavier (2009) states that PR will need to support the forward-looking organisations to establish complicated databases of information on issues and stakeholders to help them identify issue-specific and sector-wide trends. Hence, effectively becoming the eyes and ears of the organisation. This step becomes even more complicated as PR involves both internal and external operations of the organisation. For example, internally, if nurses are about to go on strike in hospitals, the PR of the governing body will help both hospitals and the government to prevent or prepare for the consequences of a strike. Externally, for example the mine wants to upgrade its facilities and operation, it has to involve and inform the locals around the area about the potential problems and activities.

The chapter gave a rather comprehensive potential action on how to do so:

- both the organisation and PR will form up a discussion and agree on how to present the information

- the PR practitioner will prepare the communication material which include background information, a Power Point presentation and Q&A.

- the mine manager might have to take responsibility to meet up with the locals as the organisation is directly responsible

- the PR practitioner might help to conduct Q&A, observe reactions and responses; taking note of key issues raised by the community

- both will be involved in the debrief

PR becomes highly complicated with the divide between members and non-members of the organisation being blurred. As Aldrich & Herker (1977), said with more and more organisational partnerships changing the traditional nature of organisation-environment relations it continues to be challenged today. PR also has a changing role due to this complication:

- public-private partnerships see clients and suppliers partner together and are rewarded together

- activists are sitting on organisational advisory boards helping organisations to negotiate difficult issues, whereas earlier they would have tried to use their organisational power to push through their position

- community engagement invites communities who are affected by organisational decisions to discuss how decisions will impact them and to offer ideas or jointly plan how to minimise potential impacts

PR practitioners must be extremely familiar with the environment they are working in and out of. The parties involved becomes even more complicated which requires practitioners to pay close attention to the blurring lines of members and non-members. In addition, practitioners are highly involved in partnering with the main branch of the organisation to achieve certain results. As such, it is of importance to develop teamwork and respect out of these other departments to ensure that the job can be performed successfully. The partnership must not be out of comfort and necessity but of a natural fit and cooperation.