Public Relation Functions and Process

Definition of Public Relation

“The deliberate planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics”

(British Institute of Public relations (BIPR))

“The Management function which gives the same organized and careful attention to the asset of goodwill as is given to any other major asset of business.”

(John W. Hill)

Intro to Public Relation

Public Relations is distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communication, understanding, acceptance and cooperation between an organization and its publics; involves the management of problems or issues; helps management to keep informed on and responsive to public opinion; defines and emphasizes the responsibility of management to serve the public interest; helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilize change, serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends; and uses research and sound and ethical communication as its principal tools.

Public relations efforts must ensure that not only does the organization understand its publics; the publics must equally understand the organization. It must understand its reasons for whatever actions it takes.

As a public relations officer or manager of your firm, for instance, it is your duty to ensure that mutual understanding is achieved between your firm and its several publics. More often than not, the publics are passive at performing this role. Therefore, your organization must take proactive steps towards achieving it.

‘Sustained effort’ means that it is not enough to start the plan; it must be carried through to a logical end. This is not usually very easy in the face of a precarious economy, political instability and other factors.

NEED FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS

Investing on Public relations will help the organization to achieve its objective effectively and smoothly. Public Relations is not creating good image for a bad team. Since false image cannot be sustained for a long time. Though the organization product or services are good it need an effective Public Relations campaign for attracting, motivating the public to the product or service or towards the purpose of the program. It is not only encouraging the involvement from the public and also resulting in better image.

Effective Public Relations can create and build up the image of an individual or an organization or a nation. At the time of adverse publicity or when the organization is under crisis an effective Public Relations can remove the "misunderstanding" and can create mutual understanding between the organization and the public.

FUNCTIONS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Ø  Public Relations are establishing the relationship among the two groups (organization and public).

Ø  Art or Science of developing reciprocal understanding and goodwill.

Ø  It analyses the public perception & attitude, identifies the organization policy with public interest and then executes the programs for communication with the public.

ELEMENTS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Ø  A planned effort or management function.

Ø  The relationship between an organization and its publics

Ø  Evaluation of public attitudes and opinions.

Ø  An organization’s policies, procedures and actions as they relate to said organization’s publics.

Ø  Steps taken to ensure that said policies, procedures and actions are in the public interest and socially responsible.

Ø  Execution of an action and or communication program. Development of rapport, goodwill, understanding and acceptance as the chief end result sought by public relations activities.

(BY Raymond Simon, Public relations: concepts and practices, 2nd ed.

(Columbus, O.Grid, 1980), pp 9, 11.)

PUBLIC RELATIONS PROCESS

The definition of Public Relations as relations with the general public through publicity, those functions of a corporation, organization, branch of military service, etc., concerned with informing the public of its activities, policies, etc., attempting to create favorable public opinions.

Public Relations are the planned effort to influence opinion through good character and responsible performance, based upon mutually satisfactory two-way communications.

Research-listening: This involves probing the opinions, attitudes and reactions of those concerned with the acts and policies of an organization, then evaluating the inflow. This task also requires determining facts regarding the organization: "what's our problem?"

Planning-decision making: This involves bringing these attitudes, opinions, ideas and reactions to bear on the policies and programs of the organization. It will enable the organization to chart a course in the interests of all concerned: "Here's what we can do."

Communication-action: This involves explaining and dramatizing the chosen course to all those who may be affected and whose support is essential: "Here's what we did and why."

Evaluation: This involves evaluating the results of the program and the effectiveness of techniques used: "How did we do?"

Seven steps of Public relation Process

Ø  The first phase of Public Relations process is identifying and listing out the information or message to the communicator.

Ø  The second phase of Public Relations is process to ascertain the existing image or awareness level about the issue in the target group or common public.

Ø  The third phase of Public Relations is developing of communication objectives and priorities.

Ø  The fourth phase of Public Relations is deals with developing the message and choosing the media to transit.

Ø  The fifth phase of Public Relations is the implementation of the message and media, coordination or the dissemination of message.

Ø  The sixth phase of Public Relations is communication process to check whether message reached properly and the expected action or behavior or knowledge on image factors.

The seventh phases of Public Relations in case the message did not reach properly identified the reason for the ineffectiveness and rectification of the same and disseminate the revised message.

Public Relation and Corporate Social Responsibility

Definition of Public Relation

The deliberate planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics.

(British Institute of Public relations (BIPR))

Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility

CSR as an action that perform to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and social that which is required by law.

McWilliams and Siegel (2001)

Introduction

(CSR) is the practice through which firm’s try to improve all its actions concerned with the five organizational dimensions: stakeholders, social, economic, voluntariness and environmental.

CSR as actions of firms carried out to meet the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary responsibilities that are imposed on them by their stakeholders. Economic responsibility refers to producing profits and meeting consumption needs, and legal responsibility of firms’ is to fulfill their economic operations and mission within a legal framework. With respect to the ethical responsibilities, firms have an obligation to obey moral rules defining appropriate behaviors in society. Finally, discretionary responsibilities are those business deeds that are not mandatory but are anticipated by stakeholders as an evidence of good citizenship (Galbreath, 2010).

Differentiate between Public Relation and Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility and public relations are nowadays reference points in the communicational and image activity of companies within the context of communities where they operate. Both concepts refer, each in its own representative way, to the way in which organizations choose to communicate with the categories of public involved in their activity. While Public Relations propose to build and maintain a long term positive image, reputation and popularity of the company, so that all categories of public have a most transparent and clear vision of the company and its activity, Corporate Social Responsibility intends to meet various social problems facing the communities where the company operates in order to help improve their quality of life. Corporate social responsibility was a phenomenon that easily spread in developed countries because its necessity was understood both by the companies initiating such programs and by the beneficiary communities, considering that a company has the duty to support the community, to be its “good citizen” and neighbor.

How it work…

CSR is a process with the aim to embrace responsibility for the company's actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere who may also be considered as stakeholders. Public Relation Officers designed Strategy of CSR and go in market to launch the campaign and take benefits for organization.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Pakistan

Different organizations have derived different meanings for the term corporate social responsibility, however there continues to be much in common between all the strategies adopted by companies for CSR programs. While it is commonly argued that Pakistan is a country that is still lacking in CSR practices among companies there have been certain organizations that have taken the lead and must be lauded for their efforts in contributing to the society and people of Pakistan.

Corporate Social Responsibility Example in Pakistan

Siemens is a German multinational industrial conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company and Siemens (Pakistan) Engineering Company Limited was founded in 1953.

Siemens launch many CSR programs in Pakistan like University Liaison program under which the company not only awards educational scholarships for studies in medical, engineering and business studies but its officials also volunteer to teach, give lectures, share experiences and discuss their methodologies with students and academia.

The Managing Director and CEO of Siemens Pakistan devotes his time to a number of such activities and is a member of several boards of various educational institutions of high repute where he contributes positively towards enhancement of educational standards in the country.

Major institutes benefiting from the countless hours devoted to teaching, lecturing and guest speaker appearances by Siemens Pakistan management are:

Lahore University of Management Sciences

Institute of Business Management

NED University

Dawood College of Engineering

NUST, Islamabad

NIPA (National Institute for Public Administration)

Pakistan Advertising Association Institute

Technical Institutes

Award of gold medals to engineering students

 Siemens has instituted “Siemens Gold Medals” for top performers in the field of Electric and Electronics from Engineering Universities of the country. This impetus has provided unsurpassed motivation for outstanding performance and academic excellence.

Each year top students from the four provinces are invited for a special ceremony where their achievements are highlighted and they are awarded the (coveted) gold medal. All expenses for the trip are fully paid by Siemens.

The ceremony is attended by top academia, high ranking government officials, diplomats and representatives of business and industry thus motivating the young achievers and instilling a spirit of competition in the youth.

Publishing of book to help students select a career

Mr. Taha Rizvi of our business unit switchboards and his team (which includes engineers from NED) has published a book first of its kind to guide students of intermediate in selecting their career. This book covers:

1. How to choose a career

2. Different educational field

3. Different bachelor’s degree program

4. Complete information about information requirement of HEC recognized universities in Pakistan

5. Definition of prominent discipline

The book has been published with the support of “National welfare & educational trust” purely on noncommercial basis.

Earthquake relief efforts by Siemens Pakistan

Light for life project

After the disastrous earthquake in Northern Areas, we received donations from Siemens companies, their employees and from Siemens Germany to help the earthquake victims. A committee was formed to propose a project that would best benefit the people of this devastated area. Many suggestions were considered including providing generating sets or kiosk sub stations but in the end it was decided that for this program to be meaningful and long term and for it not to become a burden on the local people we should install Solar Energy for the villages.

A typical village was selected and the basis of that selection was that the village will not have any electrical energy so far and in the near future there is no possibility that it can get electrical energy from Utility. The model village selected was Sharda Maidan. It is a very remote village the travel time to village Sharda Maidan from Muzaffarabad (Capital of Azad Kashmir) is 8 hours’ drive on Jeep-able road and 1 hour hiking. The nearest telephone facility is in Tehsil Athmaquam, which is at a distance of 4 hours’ drive from Tehsil Sharda. The village has 40 families residing in it who have never enjoyed the facility of electricity that most of the world takes for granted. In addition to the village the rural health centre and the mother and child centre have also been hooked up to solar power by Siemens.