Defining Public Relations as a Strategic Management Function

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Defining Public Relations as a Strategic
Management Function

• ISSUES AND TRENDS IN PUBLIC
  RELATIONS, ISSUES MANAGEMENT AND CHANGE
  MANAGEMENT
• Learning Unit 1.5
• 10 March 2011

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Homework feedback

• Feedback on Project Legacy - action
• Response email to Lead SA - action
• Important words of 2010
• Feedback on the use of the Internet in
  environmental scanning

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Outcomes

• Issues and trends in Public Relations
• Issues management
• Organisational change and the role of Public
  Relations
• Change management

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Issues and trends in Public Relations

• Edward Bernays advocated licensing for PRPs as
  the only way to gain and maintain credibility
• Grunig asserts that Public Relations must achieve
  professional status before its social role and
  advice as a PR counsellor will be accepted
• Technology has created a global village
• In addition, SAs Public Relations profession
  must be aware of what the markets need in its
  unique business environment
• Important to identify current issues and trends

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Shift in Public Relations

• The function of Public Relations is often now
  called Communication
• It denotes communication on behalf of the
  organisation
• Communication activities
• Are aimed at increasing organisational
  effectiveness through stakeholder relationships
  (Argenti, 2009)
• Include all communication from management, is
  aimed at all staff and reflects the organisation
  as a whole such as website, annual report, CI,
  corporate advertising and investor relations
• Excludes department, brand or subsidiary
  communication

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Shortcomings in the traditional role of
Public Relations

• Lacks business, management and planning skills
• Measures outputs rather than outcomes
• Does not integrate strategic information obtained
  into the strategies of the larger organisation
• Does not integrate the function into its larger
  organisational domain
• Awaits decisions to act

• According to Puth (2002)
• Not a decision-making role
• Implements policy, not shaper of policy
• No understanding of business, social, political
  problems or top industry issues
• Unable to see big picture
• Fails to address strategic issues
• Is reactive, not proactive
• Does not do research

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Need for strategist role

• Shortcomings of technician role led to perception
  that Public Relations is not a strategic
  management function
• PRP needs to also manage the function by means of
  a long-term plan and vision for communication in
  the organisation
• The solution is strategy and a strategic approach
• PRP should be able to identify issues and trends
  in communication and assess its impact on the
  organisation
• PRP should know how to use that knowledge to
  advise top management and communicate to
  stakeholders

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Communication of issues and trends

• Issues management is a management process to deal
  with public policy foresight and planning in
  private sector organisations
• Does not manage the public policy process itself
• It is the management of resources and
  participation in successfully resolving issues in
  public policy process that could affect the
  future of the organisation and its stakeholders
• Helps organisations to integrate public policy
  planning and strategic planning it helped
  strategic planning mature from budgeting to
  long-term planning
• It is done jointly by the organisations Planning
  and Public Relations functions

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Issues management functions

• Effective issues management involves (Manual p
  46)
• Integrating public policy process/planning into
  strategic planning
• Monitoring performance to identify public opinion
• Implementing ethical codes of social
  accountability
• Assisting management in decision-making and
  adjusting goals
• Identifying issues of greatest impact on the
  organisation
• Creating response plans from the issue-change
  options
• Establishing grassroots contact with co-operators
• Communicating about important issues to establish
  an agenda, gain support and mitigate undesired
  effects
• Evaluating the impact of efforts, direct ongoing
  improvements and make further recommendations to
  management

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Organisational change

• Significant organisational change
• Begins slowly
• Should be incrementally implemented
• Is subject to change as information is gathered
  and feedback given about the effectiveness of the
  process
• Incremental implementation is supported or put
  forward by those that have extensive experience
  in planned organisational change
• Change processes may initially be non-inclusive
  when only a small fraction of the
  work-force is involved

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Change in organisations

• Change is a complex issue because behaviour will
  always be affected by it
• Change can be internal or external, planned or
  unplanned
• Managers need to familiarise themselves with
  reasons for change and peoples reaction to the
  change
• Organisational change implies a structured
  approach to transitioning individuals, teams and
  the organisation itself from a current state to a
  desired future state
• Organisational change includes change management
  processes and individual change management models
  to manage the people side of change

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Change management issues

• Issues include technology, globalisation,
  accelerated change, environmental problems, need
  for co-operation, globalisation
• Managing change will fail if
• Change communication and strategic corporate
  thinking are not connected
• There is a lack of Public Relations strategy and
  policy
• There is a lack of implementing strategic
  management plans to address change
• There is a lack of aligning communication
  strategy with the organisations strategic
  corporate plan

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Change management 1

• Change management is
• The process of continually renewing an
  organisations direction, structure and
  capabilities to serve the ever-changing needs of
  external and internal audiences
• It is not a discipline, but acknowledges the
  reality of organisations that are operating in
  dynamic, changing environments
• It is the process that drives transformation in
  and for organisations
• It cannot be ignored

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Change management 2

• Two distinct forms of change which depend on the
  turbulence of the environments in which they
  operate

• Continuous change
• Gradual shifts in the economy, government
  legislation and consumer demand
• Incremental change, evolutionary or convergent
• Small-scale, individualised and localised change
• Can strategise and plan for it in a pro-active
  manner

• Discontinuous change
• More dramatic, can alter industries and economies
  beyond recognition
• Requires innovative response
• Profound change, also called radical,
  comprehensive, fundamental, revolutionary
• Takes place on a large-scale
• At foundation of organisations

2/3/2010
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Change management strategies 1

• Education and communication - accurate
  information for people to understand the reasons
  or purpose for change
• Participation and involvement involving people
  in designing the change process to reduce their
  resistance to change
• Facilitation and support additional training
  sessions to ease peoples fears and anxieties
• Negotiation and agreement - to reach consensus
  about change

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Change management strategies 2

• Manipulating and co-opting some managers revert
  to covert methods to influence people which may
  have temporary effect but not long-term
  compliance
• Establishing trust - makes it easier to implement
  change
• Plan the change in stages implement the change
  strategically and in steps so that people can
  adapt
• Organisations - as open social systems - are
  constantly in interaction with broader society,
  which result in change over time to the purpose,
  form and function of organisations

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Initiation of change

• Internal and external factors initiate change
• External factors new technology, changes in the
  market place, changing
  customer expectations, competitor activities,
  quality and standards, government legislation and
  prevailing political values and economic cycles
• Internal factors Management philosophy,
  organisational structure, organisational culture
  and internal systems of power and control
• Change is the process that drives transformation
  in and for organisations

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Communication change paradigms

• Communications role in the new paradigm of
  change management significantly differs from
  previous paradigms (manual, p 55)
• Used for positive and negative feedback
• Two way symmetrical communication, mutual
  consultation and free flow of all-directions
  dialogue
• Used to manage change explain, coach, sensitise
• Viewed as central to change and used to promote
  participation broad and interactive
  communication
• Creates a supportive climate which facilitates
  learning and makes training more effective
• Used to challenge the status quo and by leaders
  to discuss and involve other in change process

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Homework

• Project Legacy action plan