Revision pr 500 (principles)

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Public Relations (Principles) 500REVISION

Dr. Ulysses Chioatto

[email protected]

Final Exam

• preparing for the final exam.

• divided into 3 sections each worth 10 marks for a total of 30 marks.

Y t 3 ti i t t l ( f• You must answer 3 questions in total (one from each section).

• Each section has a choice of two questions.

• Sections A and B contain essay questions.

Exam Sections

• Section A

• focus: fundamental question of what is public relations and importance of ethics to professionalpractice.

• Section B

• questions about theoretical concepts in public relations. – use of relevant real life examples VERY IMPORTANT

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Section C develop concise PR plan• based on a hypothetical scenario provided.

• Do NOT write an essay in section C.

• Present answer as a mini-PR plan

• use of sub-headings and dot points.

• Focus on the key elements in a PR plan, i.e. – PR Goals;

– Publics/Stakeholders;

– Strategies;

– Tactics; and,

– Evaluation.

Ethical Practice

• Introduction

• What is ethics?

Ethical Practice

• The Potter Box Technique

• The truth (the principle of objectivity)– Conflict with advertisers

– Pufferyy

• The one way communication model – See (the 4 Grunig models)

• Demand to fill editorial space

• The circus & stunts

• Phineas Barnum

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Ethical Practice

• Manufacturing news– Photo opportunities– Planting stories – Stopping storiespp g

• The US Office of War Information • (recent example Bush speaking to soldiers

in Iraq)• Newsreel, radio and newspapers in the

1940s

Ethical Practice

• PR Institute of Australia (PRIA)

• 1950s

• Still mainly publicity or press agentry

• Banks

• Airlines

• Government

• In 1961 3 million pounds spent on PR

Ethical Practice

• Television in 1956

• Conflicts between newspapers & TV

• 1970s– Video clips

• Multinational PR firms come to Australia

• The first PR degrees – Charles Stuart Uni

– Queensland Uni

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Ethical Practice

• 1980s and 1990 PR continues to be emphasized in universities

• 25% growth 1994 to 1999

M t i ff PR• Most unis now offer PR

• PR is now much more than just publicity

Ethical Practice

• News outlets have a public responsibility

• Governments have a responsibility to ensure the press can be free

H i f f di tl t• Having a few owners of media outlets limits opposing voices

Ethical Practice

• Social Responsibility Theory– Servicing the economic system but

• Promotes the democratic process

• Keeps the public informedKeeps the public informed

– Provides entertainment but • Entertainment must be good

• The press must be accurate, fair, good quality information

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Ethical Practice

• Grunig’s modelsPress agentry

SportsEntertainmentProduct promotion

Public informationNo sellPublic sectorNon commercial

Two way asymmetricMostly to advance the of the projects or organizations in question

Two way symmetricUnrealistic or idealistic

PR’s Questionable Ethical Reputation

• The very term “Public Relations” implies unethical behaviour for some people

Th l t H ld Wil B iti h P i• The late Harold Wilson, British Prime Minister in the 1960s and 70s, is said to have described PR as “organised lying”


• Well publicised cases such as:

Hill and Knowlton’s work

on the first Gulf War

have added to

popular perceptions

C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK

Armoured Division

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• Hill and Knowlton: – Kuwait government influence American

opinion;

– spectacular false accounts;spectacular, false accounts;

– Citizens for a Free Kuwait was formed in the U.S.;

– public relations firm Hill and Knowlton hired by Kuwaiti government ($11 million).


• campaign describing Iraqi soldiers pulling babies out of incubators in Kuwaiti hospitals and letting them die on the floor.

• US TV networks; • false testimony in Congress and the UN Securityfalse testimony in Congress and the UN Security

Council. • fifteen-year-old girl witness was the daughter of

Kuwaiti ambassador; • surgeon witness was a dentist who admitted to

lying.


• There is a climate of cynicism and suspicion today in which the boundaries of fact and fiction seem to merge

Consider for example the plot of the 1998– Consider for example the plot of the 1998 movie Wag the Dog

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Why the stigma?

• The critics probably perceive PR activities as purely falling into the categories we have previously described as:

Press Agentry/Publicity; and– Press Agentry/Publicity; and

– Two-way Asymmetrical

• Much professional public relations work can be characterised by those two models

• While this does not necessarily make such practice unethical, PR - like any profession -has its share of unethical operators

Why the stigma (cont.)?

• Some practitioners behave like “technicians” rather than responsible professionals/managers– “We can’t be blamed for what the media release says

- we’re just the PR firm that issues it”

• However the two way symmetrical approach• However, the two-way symmetrical approach has ethics “built-in” as it systematically attempts to harmonise organisational behaviour with the needs and expectations of relevant publics

Business Ethics

• Recent events (e.g. Enron, WorldCom, HIH) have put the spotlight on business ethics and corporate governance

– Corporate governance refers to the system by which organisations are directed and controlledg

• Many companies now have in-house codes of ethics or codes of conduct

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Business Ethics

• Triple bottom line reporting (3Ps) is becoming commonplace– People (social performance) and– Planet (environmental performance) – as well as Profits (the traditional bottom line)

• Companies like Shell and McDonald’s have issued Statements of Business Principles and Social Responsibility reports

Defining Ethics

• A value system for making decisions about what is right or wrong

• The conduct of individuals andThe conduct of individuals and organisations is measured not only against their own consciences but also in relation to societal and professional norms

Defining Ethics

• Different people, organisations and cultures frequently have different standards and conflicting values

• Ethical behaviour implies a higher standard than merely obeying the law - the law is a “floor”

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The Potter Box

Define situation

Select principles

Identify values

Choose loyalties to stakeholders

(McElreath 1993)

Ethics - Two Basic Approaches

• Deontological– Also referred to as intuitive or absolutist

• A philosophical approach based on duty

– Every decision is either right or wrong regardless of ththe consequences

• The end does NOT justify the means

– Leading historical proponent:• Immanuel Kant

– Kant’s Categorical Imperative states you should only do something if you would be happy for everyone else to do the same thing

» I.e., moral principles are universal

Ethics - Two Basic Approaches (cont.)

• Teleological– Also referred to as inductive, naturalistic or situational

• Focuses on the consequences of particular actions

– If the consequences of a particular action are good, the act is ethical. If they are bad, the act is unethical.

• However, from whose point-of-view are we to judge whether the consequences are good or bad?

– Leading historical proponents:• Utilitarians such as Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill

• The principle of utilitarianism is “the greatest good for the greatest number”

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Combining the Two Approaches

• A combination of the intuitive and naturalistic approaches is very common

• Basic values like honesty, keeping promises, reliability, loyalty and p , y, y ycommitment can be used as the foundation for making decisions in particular circumstances– Beyond that the consequences of proposed

actions can be considered

Combining the Two Approaches

• Aristotle proposed a system of virtue-based ethics founded on the notions of habit, the mean, and nobility or beauty

Aristotle’s mean teaches that virtue is often– Aristotle s mean teaches that virtue is often found between two extremes (such as deontology and teleology)

Why Ethical Dilemmas are Especially Common in PR

• PR frequently deals with highly controversial and sensitive issues

• PR deals with relationships on interpersonal, organisational and societal levels

• Often there are conflicts between the needs and• Often, there are conflicts between the needs and expectations of diverse publics– E.g., employees, customers, shareholders, local communities,

pressure groups, government etc

• PR professionals must act as advocates of external and internal publics whilst also representing the interests of their organisations

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PR - Serving Several Masters

• PR practitioners must consider the ethical imperatives of:– Employers/clients

– Organisational publics

– Professional bodies, e.g. PRIA

– Themselves as individuals

• What if the employer’s or client’s values, the publics’ values, professional codes of ethics and/or the practitioner’s personal values are in conflict?

Ethics and PR - The Realities

• Ethical dilemmas are common in public relations as in other management fields

• Ethical choices are rarely black and white

Oft th “ i ht” d i i i l• Often the “right” decision involves choosing the lesser of several evils

• A good rule of thumb:– Would you feel comfortable if your decision/course of

action was outlined in a front-page newspaper story tomorrow?

Professional Associations in PR

• In Australia, the peak professional body for public relations practitioners is the

– Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA)

• There are similar bodies elsewhere, e.g. – IPR (UK),

– PRSA (US) and

– IPRS (Singapore)

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Professional Associations in PR

• There is also the

• International Public Relations Association (IPRA) and the

• International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)

• In common with its overseas counterparts, the PRIA has a Code of Ethics which all members must agreed to uphold – see text book appendix

Why Does Ethics Matter?

• Companies with good records on ethics and social responsibility are likely to enjoy better public relations than less ethical competitors

• Good public relations• Good public relations

creates a climate of

acceptance for

organisations –

a key source of

competitive advantage

What is a professional?

• Many people think a professional is merely someone who gets paid for doing something

• But the real meaning of a ‘professional’ is very different

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What is a professional?• Five broad characteristics of a professional have

been identified:1. Belief in values

• E.g., importance of service to others over economic reward• Professional freedom

• Ability to operate independently without close supervisionAbility to operate independently without close supervision• Ability to say and do what is right - not being forced to conform for the

sake of money or position

2. Membership of strong professional organisations3. Adherence to professional norms

• E.g., Code of Ethics of professional body4. An intellectual tradition and a body of knowledge5.Technical skills acquired through professional training

• Professionals stay in the same field throughout their careers(Grunig and Hunt 1984)

Examples of Ethical Issues in PR• Lying for a client or employer

• Making exaggerated claims

• Telling only part of the truth to give a misleading impression

• Helping to conceal an illegal, unethical or hazardous situation

• Using deception to gather information

• Offering expensive gifts or other benefits to journalists or politicians Attempting to use clout as an advertiser to influence editorial coverage

• Denigrating fellow professional practitioners or the profession in general

• Poaching another practitioner’s clients/employees

• Promising clients editorial coverage

• Working for clients/employers with questionable ethics

– The “hired gun” syndrome

Examples of Ethical Issues in PR (cont.)

• Conflicts of interest

• Failure to disclose sources of funding/sponsorship - establishing “front” organisationsg

• Insider trading

• Respecting client/employer confidentiality

• Whistle-blowing

• Accepting benefits/commissions from suppliers or anyone to whom you refer business

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PR Theories Overview• Agenda setting theory

• Systems Theory

• Semiotics

• Critical Theory

• Rhetorical Theory

• Social Exchange

• Social Learning

• Communications Theories- Hierarchies of Effects

Why theory?

• ‘Theories in PR come from a variety of other disciplines including management, marketing, communication studies, sociology psychology etcsociology, psychology, etc.

• Theories have also been developed specifically within the PR field– E.g. The ‘four models’ (Grunig and Hunt

1984)

Agenda Setting Theory

• Assumes a two-step flow when PR uses mass communication:– From PR practitioner to the media

From media to target publics– From media to target publics

• Suggests the significance of mass media lies not in telling people what to think but what to think about, i.e. the media is very good at setting the agenda for public debate

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Agenda Setting Theory (cont.)

• Media Coverage can– Build awareness of issues

– Increase the importance a person attaches to an issue

– Increase the priority attached to particular aspects of an issue

• Achieving media coverage depends on the ability of the PR practitioner to make the issue newsworthy

• Repeated media exposure is often needed to have an effect

Systems Theory

A management theory that provides an ideal framework for PR

Views organisations as systems with permeable boundaries

The systems are comprised of various sub-systems

Public relations practitioners adopt a “boundary-spanning” role

Open systems must constantly respond to and interact with their environment

Closed systems do not take the wider environment into account

Major Systems Concepts

Environment

Boundary

System

InputThroughput

Output

Feedback

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“Once, the job of management “Once, the job of management was to keep an established was to keep an established production organization smoothly production organization smoothly functioning. Now, management functioning. Now, management

k t tl t d tk t tl t d tseeks constantly to adapt a seeks constantly to adapt a flexible organism to dynamic and flexible organism to dynamic and complex environments.”complex environments.”

Baskin and Aronoff (1992, p.44)Baskin and Aronoff (1992, p.44)

Semiotics

• The study of any cultural product (e.g. a ‘text’) as a formal system of signs

– Associated with American logician C. S. P i d F h li i t F di d dPeirce and French linguist Ferdinand de Saussure

• The media and others manipulate signs in order to construct understandings of self-identity and social structure

Semiotics• Signs comprise:

– The signifier• The form the sign takes

– The signified• Not so much the represented entity as the p y

mental conception of that entity

• Many signs are culturally specific• ‘Texts’ can be ‘deconstructed’ to reveal hidden

meanings which may be conveyed subconsciously for deliberatively persuasive purposes

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An image ripe for ‘deconstruction’?

• Source: www.warforum.net

Powerful images

• Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Past images

• Source: www.answers.com

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Meaningful image

• Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Strong images

• Source: nwww.historywiz.com & www.famous-india.com

Critical theory

• Associated with Jurgen Habermas

• Essentially a critique of contemporary global capitalism, public relations and marketing

• Refers to ‘ideal speech conditions’Refers to ideal speech conditions– Discussants genuinely want to reach understanding

– Rational not emotional discussion used

– Cogent reasoning used as basis for validating arguments

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Critical theory

• However these conditions cannot exist unless there is a power balance amongst the discussants

• Habermas argues modern capitalism is not g pconducive to creating such conditions of equality

• Therefore public relations helps to maintain a system Habermas views as unfair

Rhetorical theory

• Goes back to Aristotle and the philosophy of Ancient Greece

• Modern PR scholar Robert Heath is an advocate of rhetoric as a theoretical framework for the discipline

• Assumes the existence of a ‘marketplace for ideas’ in which professional communicators compete to have their ideas acceptedprofessional communicators compete to have their ideas accepted

• To be ethical, parties involved in a debate must have an equal right to speak

Rhetorical theory

• Ideas stand or fall on their merits as a result of rational argument

• Particularly applicable when PR deals with ‘big picture’ issues

• Faces similar criticisms as Grunig’s Two-Way Symmetric model in terms of unrealistic assumptions about power balances

• Note contrast with relationship management model of public relations

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Social Exchange

• Suggests a target public will seek to reciprocate if provided with something of value. Typically, the ‘something’ provided in return by the public could be goodwillin return by the public could be goodwill, support or favourable attitudes

• This is the underlying rationale for many sponsorship activities and corporate community contributions

Social Learning

• Relies on concept that people will be more likely to adopt new behaviours if they have the opportunity to see examples of those behaviours being performed

• Impact is stronger if observers identify with or admire role models depicted and if the outcome of the behaviour is in their own self-interest

Communication Theories: The Communication Conundrum

• The word ‘communication’ is derived from the Latin words for ‘coming together’ or ‘union with’

• Other words with a similar origin include common, community and even communist

• Communication aims at the sharing of meaningCommunication aims at the sharing of meaning but there are many barriers to effective communication

• As semiotics teaches us, words are mere signs -code for the meanings we are trying to convey

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The Communication Conundrum (cont.)

• To communicate effectively, the sender’s words must mean the same thing to the receiver as they do to the sender• This may be relatively straightforward when• This may be relatively straightforward when

discussing, say, physical objects. But what about abstract concepts, e.g. ‘free enterprise’, ‘human rights’?

The Communication Conundrum (cont.)

• There are many other types of symbols we can use to communicate, e.g. pictures and even body language• A politician once threatened to sue a TV• A politician once threatened to sue a TV

interviewer for defamation because he claimed the interviewer’s eyebrows were strategically raised throughout the broadcast!

Mass Communication - From One Step to Multi-Stage

• Mass communication was once seen as a one step ‘injection’– The ‘magic bullet’ theory

Later as a two step process from sender• Later as a two-step process from sender to opinion leaders to broader population

• Today mass communication is viewed as a complex, multi-stage, multi-directional process

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The Basic Elements of Effective Communication

• There are five basic elements in any effective communication - all essential in public relations practice

Sender– Sender

– Message

– Channel

– Receiver

– Feedback

The Communication Process

Message encoded and sent by sender

Event or Information Source

Noise

FeedbackMust be decoded by original sender

Received at destination

Decoded by receiver

Through a channel or medium of communication

Key Factors in Successful Communication

• The sender must have adequate information and credibility in the eyes of the receiver

• The sender must transmit in codes the receiver can understand. Encoding and decoding is g gcarried out in the context of the knowledge and experience of sender and receiver respectively– The message must be within the capacity of the

receiver to understand

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Key Factors in Successful Communication (Cont.)

• To be influential, the message must be relevant to the needs of the receiver• Communications aimed at behaviourial effects

usually motivate through appealing to the self-usually motivate through appealing to the selfinterest of the receiver to act – ‘What’s in it for me?’

• The receiver is not passive but a selectiveuser of information for his/her own purposes• Uses and gratifications theory

The Effects of Communication

• As communicators, it is essential always to consider the effect we hope to have on our audience.

• Broadly, there are three possible ‘levels’ of effect we might seek. In ascending order of difficulty these are:– Knowledge effect

• Seeks a cognitive change in the audience, e.g. create awareness

– Attitude/Opinion effect• Seeks to modify or reinforce attitudes and opinions

– Behaviourial effect• Seeks to modify or reinforce behaviours

Hierarchies of Effects

• The relationship between attitude and behaviour is complex and not necessarily unidirectional

• Sometimes new knowledge leads to• Sometimes, new knowledge leads to attitude formation which leads to behaviour

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Hierarchies of Effects

• In other circumstances, people have to experience something for themselves before forming attitudes

• Different channels of communication are more effective at achieving different objectives, e.g.g j g• Mass media for creating awareness• Interpersonal communication for influencing attitudes

and opinions• Ultimately personal experience and self-interest are

key to determining behaviour

A Hierarchy ofCommunication Channels

• The effectiveness of a message often depends on the channel used. Volkmann (1991) provides the following list in descending order of effectiveness. PR practitioners should force communication up the ladder of effectiveness.

– One-to-one, face-to-face conversation– Small group discussion, meeting

Speaking before a large group– Speaking before a large group– Phone conversation– Personal note– Mass-produced, non-personal letter– Brochure or pamphlet sent as direct mail piece– Article in an organisational newsletter– News carried in the mass media– Advertising in the mass media– Billboards, skywriting etc

The communicationconundrum revisited

• “To be successful, a message must be received by the intended individual or audience. It must get the audience’s attention. It must be understood. It must be believed. It must be remembered. And ultimately, in some fashion, it must be acted upon. Failure to accomplish any of these tasks means the entire message fails.”– Therkelsen (1995)

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Section C develop concise PR plan• based on a hypothetical scenario provided.

• Do NOT write an essay in section C.

• Present answer as a mini-PR plan

• use of sub-headings and dot points.

• Focus on the key elements in a PR plan, i.e. – PR Goals;

– Publics/Stakeholders;

– Strategies;

– Tactics; and,

– Evaluation.