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The need for Public Relations to have a strategic role

The need for Public Relations to have a strategic role. ROLES AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Learning Unit 2 pp 71-77 31 March 2011. Home work feedback. Learning Unit 1 revision test Status on Project Legacy Status on Project Lead SA (recently launched). Outcomes.

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The need for Public Relations to have a strategic role

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  1. The need for Public Relations to have a strategic role ROLES AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Learning Unit 2 pp 71-77 31 March 2011

  2. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Homework feedback Learning Unit 1 revision test Status on Project Legacy Status on Project Lead SA (recently launched)

  3. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Outcomes Concept of role and types of roles PRP fulfils within strategic management Functional responsibilities of PR Recognise redefined role of strategist Recognise redefined role of manager Recognise redefined role of technician Apply PR role at macro, meso and micro levels

  4. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Roles and Public Relations [1] • Roles research identifies the many activities in PR and how PRPs can deal with them • 1970s: PRPs seen as consultants to dominant coalitions with each role type providing distinct forms of assistance (Glen Broom) • PRP roles essential to understanding PR function • Roles impact on achievement and enable performance measurement • Roles determine how PRPs interact with their environments and those with whom they cooperate

  5. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Roles and Public Relations [2] Historically, Broom identified four roles. Expert prescriber as the PR expert who: • Best informed about communication and PR issues • Best qualified to answer questions about these issues • Conducts research, defines communication problems, develops and implements PR programmes • Has little/no influence on strategic decisions • Has passive management involvement

  6. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Roles and Public Relations [3] Communication facilitator • Interpreter or communication link between management and stakeholders • Sensitive listener and information broker who removes relationship barriers between organisation and clients Problem-solving process facilitator • Assists in solving corporate communication problems • Works with top management, part of strategic team Public Relations Technician • Provides communication and journalistic skills to implement communication programmes • Does not conduct research to plan or evaluate work

  7. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Functional responsibilities of PR with a strategic mandate • Develops communication strategy • Addresses emerging societal and stakeholder issues identified through environmental scanning • Formulates PR strategy to achieve PR goals • Develops, implements and evaluates communication plan to support deliberate and emerging strategies • Counsel organisational leaders on communication responsibility toward employees • Manages activities of a support function

  8. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Class activity • Read through case study on pp 73-74 about: “Communication challenges for the next decade – are we taking our role seriously?” • Identify five key words that describe the role of the PRP in the case study

  9. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Differentiating between PR roles [1] • PRP as strategist • Assists organisation to adapt to its societal and stakeholder environment • Takes place through feeding information to strategy formulation process as regards strategic stakeholders, societal issues and publics that emerge around these issues • PRP as manager • Performs duties of middle management position • PLOC, staffing, budgeting

  10. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Differentiating between PR roles [2] • Functional responsibilities of PRP as strategist • Monitors relevant environmental development • Anticipates consequences for policies and strategies • Fulfils boundary spanning role • Forms part of strategy formulation team • Performed at macro/top management level

  11. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Differentiating between PR roles [3] • Functional responsibilities of PRP as manager • Formulates PR strategy (deliberate and emergent) • Develops strategic PR plan • Develops communication policy for organisation • Councils leaders/managers on communication responsibility • Oversees PR function’s support to other functions • Performed at departmental/divisional level • Decides what to communicate to stakeholders to solve problems with stakeholder relationships or capitalise on opportunities

  12. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Differentiating between PR roles [4] • Functional responsibilities of PRP as technician • Performed at implementation/programme level • Responsible for implementing communication plans/ campaigns directed at stakeholders • Traditional role performed by most practitioners • Refer to three tables on pp 75 to 77 for three different roles

  13. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Framework for strategist [1] • Strategic PR or strategic communication management or corporate communication assumes PR to be a strategic management function with a mandate to function at a strategic level • PR is a dynamic and developing field of study • One of most prominent and growing industries in SA market • Development of technology and new approaches to doing business has led to a metamorphosis in PR as well • Strategist functions at top management level with responsibility for strategic PR management

  14. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Framework for strategist [2] • Accomplished through: • environmental scanning, gathering information about stakeholder concerns and expectations, identifying societal issues and feeding consequences into organisational stratgies • PR strategy conceptualised as (Mintzberg, 1987): • Deliberate – pattern of decision to use communication as a strategic opportunity to achieve organisational goals • Emergent – pattern of important decisions to use communication to solve organisational problems in unstructured situations or capitalise on opportunities • Conceptualisation of strategic PR role • Macro, meso and micro levels • Roles through boundary spanning and environmental scanning provides input to strategy formulation processes

  15. DPR3-Public Relations-LU2.1-PR Strategic Role 31/3/2011 Homework Read through the Lyme Bay case study on pp 81 – 86 Answer the two questions as the end of the case study to hand in and discuss in class

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