Strategic Public Relations Management and Crisis Communication

What is Public Relations?
• “The management of communication • • •
between an organization and its publics.” A profession with a scholarly body of knowledge. A management function rather than a technical communication function alone. Strategic counseling rather than publicity alone.
Public Relations Must Become Strategic
• “Increased recognition by top management of
PR’s contribution to managing corporate reputation … requires portraying PR as a strategic management function rather than a conglomeration of support activities.” (Jeffries(JeffriesFox Associates, March 3, 2000, for the U.S. Council of Public Relations Firms.)
Scenario Building
• Learn from the past. • Envision possible futures. • Examine comprehensive future options for
decisiondecision-making. • Reduce the risk of decisions. • Case of an insurance company.
Key Characteristics of Excellent Public Relations Functions
• Knowledge of a strategic managerial role
as well as knowledge of administrative managerial and technician roles. • Access to the dominant coalition. • Participation in strategic management.
Important Contributions of Public Relations to Strategic Management
• Environmental scanning. • Issues management. • Crisis management. • Relationship management. • Reputation management.
(James E. Post, Lee E. Preston, and Sybille Sachs [2002], Redefining
•
the the Corporation: Stakeholder Management and Organizational Wealth, pp. 12, 1, 2.)
Public Relations Professionals Worldwide Want to Be More “Strategic”
• Public relations is
most effective when it has a role in strategic decisiondecisionmaking. • Rather than waiting outside for others to make strategic decisions.
Model of Strategic Management of Public Relations
Management Decisions
Consequences
No Consequences
Consequences
Organizational Reputation Relationship Outcomes Achievement of Organizational Goals Crisis Management Issues
(Charles Fombrun [1996], Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image, p. 57.)
• “PR is responsible for building relationships
with key stakeholders in a manner that cultivates positive reputations.” (Jeffries-Fox (JeffriesAssociates, June 16, 2000, for the Council of Public Relations Firms.)
Strategic Public Relations Management and Crisis Communication
James E. Grunig Wee Kim Wee Professor School of Communication and Information Nanyang Technological University Singapore
Costs of Poor Relationships
• Increased risk. • Litigation. • Unfavorable legislation. • Excessive regulation. • Adverse publicity. • Conflicts with determined, hostile activist
groups.
Strategic Tools of Public Relations We Have Subjected to Systematic Research
Environmental Scanning
• Identify stakeholders by monitoring the
consequences of management decisions on those not making the decision. • Go beyond the media for sources of information. • Segment publics out of stakeholder groups.
Purposes of My Research
• Explain and measure the value of the
communication function to organizations and to society. • Define the role of public relations in organizational governance. • Develop concepts, tools, and measures for communication professionals to use in strategic management.
• An upward shift in the demand curve. • A reduction in marketing costs and an • • •
increase in marketing costs for competitors. A decrease in turnover among employees. An increase in donations and other support. A buffer against fallout from crises.
Reputation Cannot Be Managed … Only the Behavior of Management
• “Our best-regarded companies achieve their bestreputations by … adhering rigorously to practices that consistently and reliably produce decisions that the rest of us approve and respect.” (Charles Fombrun [1996], Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image, p. 29.)
PR Adds Stakeholder Relations to Strategic Management
• The corporation is more than “an extension of the basic •
human right to own property.” “…organizational wealth can be created (or destroyed) through relationships with stakeholders of all kinds…— kinds…— that is managing relationships with stakeholders for mutual benefit.” “Corporations ARE what they DO.”
Behavior of Publics Creates Communication Programs to cultivate relationships with publics Stakeholders P1 P2 Publics Pi