Public Relations Management Exam Notes
PR managers must: control messages, be the hostess with the mostess, match the right messages with
audiences, influence the attitude of others, create beneficial relationships, facilitate communication, be
ethical. Be creative; transcend traditional ideas and create meaningful new ideas.
Gregory Reading
Typical personality qualities of a practitioner: wide interests, enthusiasm, energy, drive, intellectual
curiosity, creativity, flexibility, judgment, honesty, decision-making abilities and problem solving.
Key competencies:
• leading and deciding;
• supporting and cooperating;
• interacting and presenting;
• analyzing and interpreting;
• creating and conceptualising;
• organizing and executing;
• adapting and coping;
• enterprising and performing.
10 Competency titles for Private Sector communicators – focus on business performance
1. Strategic/long-term view: thinks broadly, strategically, plans ahead.
2. Leading and supporting: direction, advice, coaching, encouragement.
3. Making decisions and acting: make tough decisions quickly, have confidence in decision.
4. Maintain positive outlook: stays calm, handles well under pressure.
5. Networking: easily talks to all types of people.
6. Communicating: clearly, consistently, convincingly.
7. Investigating and Analysing: gets to the heart of complex issues.
8. Taking responsibility for high standards: for organisational communication and team’s standards.
9. Preparing thoroughly: spends time understanding tasks and objectives.
10. Understanding others: works towards solutions for mutual benefit.
10 Competency titles for Public Sector communicators – focus on social concerns
1. Understanding the bigger picture
2. Taking action
3. Consulting and involving
4. Presenting and communicating
5. Creating and innovating
6. Persuading an influencing
7. Upholding the reputation of the service
8. Building strong relationships
9. Managing under pressure
10. Formulating strategies and concepts Private sector senior communicators Public sector (eg Govt) senior communicators
Strategic long term view (thinks broadly & Understanding the bigger picture
strategically) (organisational strategy/personal
responsibilities)
Leading and supporting Taking action
Making decisions and acting Consulting and involving
Maintaining a positive outlook Presenting and communicating
Networking Creating and innovating
Communicating Persuading and influencing
Investigating and analysing Upholding the reputation of the service
(complimenting personal and organisational
values)
Taking responsibility for high standards Building strong relationships
Preparing thoroughly Managing under pressure
Understanding others Formulating strategies and concepts
Week 3 Lecture
Open systems: organisations take their environments into account and change their business accordingly.
Closed systems: organisational planning does not adapt to external conditions.
Mission Statement: generally a formal, short, written statement of the purpose of a company or
organisation.
- Provides framework/context from which strategies are formulated.
- Guides decisions making
- Provides direction, overall goal
- Focuses on company’s present state
Vision statement: articulates what the organisation wants to become.
- Stretch capabilities and image of itself
- Range in length
- Focuses on the company’s future
Corporate values: engender trust and the link the organisation together.
- Important for corporate culture, linked to ethics, guide decision making.
Strategic plans: lay the foundation for organisational direction for mid to long-term (3-5 years)
- Step 1: audit, research, situation analysis, information gathering
- RACE: research, action, communication, evaluation
- Starts with asking what PR can do to help solve organisational problems - 7S model: strategy, systems, skills, structure, style, staff, shared values. In the context of the
organisation’s alignment of resources and capabilities to win in its market.
Dominant coalition: don’t always report to but can highly influence.
Always link alignment back to effects.
KPIs: measure and have target.
Textbook Ch. 3
Four dimensions as key roles for PR:
1. Managerial
2. Operational
3. Reflective: analysing changing social values
4. Educational
Examples of what PR people do:
- Internal Communication
- Corporate PR
- Media Relations
- Public Affairs
- Community Relations/CSR
- Investor Relations
- Strategic Communication
- Issues Management
- Crisis Management
- Copywriting
- Publications Management
- Events Management, Exhibitions
Emerging trends in PR:
- Technology: blogs, social media, etc.
- CSR
- Internationalisation of PR
Public Relations Strategy: the rationale behind the tactics, the framework that guides the menu of
activities.
- Overall concept, approach or general plan
- The guiding principle
- P. 188 textbook
Public Relations Tactics:
- Should flow from strategy
- The actual written things
Writing the Strategic Plan: Ferguson
Communicators need to transcend the boundaries of their discipline and understand the needs of
diverse groups
It is helpful to frame issues in the form of questions Week 4 Lecture- Alignment
- In terms of tactics, focus on alignment with the desired reach/target audience and desired effects
on communications and the outcomes (what they will learn, feel and do).
- Internal (employee) communication: the planned use of communication actions to systematically
influence the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of current employees.
Spray and pray: everyone gets the message at the same time
Growing trend towards two-way communication
Rich/face-to-face: high risk of misunderstanding, emotional impact is high
Lean/written/one-way: low impact, low emotion
Include what, why, how, when, who
Be honest
- PR Strategy: should be aligned with both the PR plan and the tactics. It is the underlying rationale - Mass media is good for short-term awareness campaigns
- The core message must be aligned to priorities and current news. Support with proof points. Ch. 4 Textbook
- Liberal pluralism: it’s assumed that the mass media play an informative role in society and gives
people a variety of facts and opinions to make their mind up about the key issues of the day.
Pluralism (diversity) of sources is a key issue for liberal pluralists. It only exists in societies where
media are r
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