Fundamentals of Strategic Communications and Public Relations - Assignment Example

 Fundamentals of Strategic Communications and Public Relations In the domain of respected private colleges, United Kingdom’s Regent's College embraces an apex position and plays a pioneering role in delivering quality education. With the cluster of seven schools, in built world-class conference centre along with an extravagant central London campus, the college provides an ultimate platform for the students in unleashing the academic and personal potential paradigm in a dynamic international environment (About Regent’s College, 2012). The External Relations Department tackles all the relevant communication procedure among the College and the media. The department also acts as the chief source of contact between the media and the College staff and takes part in the arrangement of interviews with the journalists and issue press releases. The department is also responsible for the production of the college publications and the simultaneous management of the internal communications (Media & Public Relations, 2011). Focus trajectory The paper will focus on the optimal strategies adapted from the viewpoint of the public relation consultant in bringing forth several aspects of the College and exposit it as one of the prime educational institute. Stress will also be focused on the various strategies used in the promotion of policies which would attract more and more students as well as enhance the position of the college in the prevalent competitive scenario. The strategies will be explained in a recent speech of Barrack Obama that will attract at least 400 media representatives and robust media coverage. Public relations The realms of Public Relations (PR) generally circumscribes around the creation and establishment of the mutual understandings among the organizations and the public related to those institutes. The planning of public relations is not a haphazard process; rather it is a synthetically complex process which incorporates the basics of attention, impulsiveness, forecasts, analysis and focuses on the consequences. The PR planning also must ensure that not only the organization takes part in the understandings of the public but also in the real understanding of the public. The foremost task of the public relations is to ensure that the public concerned must understand those formulated policies. The Pr in its core is an art because it chiefly incorporates the artistic skills, fine arts, language, writing, public speaking and so on. The public relations can also be specified as a social science as it incorporates various social scientific instruments like surveys, social issues in order to understand and predict the human behavior and also the implementation of the programs which will entail an organization to result in a win-win situation (Olusegun, 2006, pp.1-2). As per the definition designed by Frank Jefkins is as follows: “Public relation consists of all forms of planned communication, outwards and inwards, between an organization and its publics for the purpose of achieving specific objectives concerning the mutual understandings” ( Reynolds & Lancaste, 2012,). Fig.1 Components of Public Relations (Olusegun, 2006, p.4) The above figure depicts the different sectors to which the domain of public relations is connected. Public relations and educational organizations Public relations play a predominant part in the educational institution. In colleges the public relations may be engaged in the task of distribution of news releases which contains information about the campus events and personalities, preparation of periodicals, brochures and catalogues, maintenance of ties with the alumni, maintenance of relations with the, preparation of periodicals, imploring donations from the foundations, alumni and the federal and the state governments and the special interest groups (Olusegun, 2006, p.69). Major tasks of the public relation consultant The major responsibilities of the public relations consultants include achievement of the mutual understanding between the firm and the several publics. It is sometimes encountered that the public show pessimistic attitude towards the performance of the above state interaction mechanism. The organizations are liable in taking proactive steps in the achievement of the goal. This procedure is not always easy in the juncture of a precarious economy, political instability and other factors. Six major areas can be identified where the public relation experts must work are namely the corporations, nonprofit organizations, Trade Associations, Public Relations Agencies and independent consulting firms (Olusegun, 2006, p.69) Media as the main target for infusion of PR strategies The domain of public relations is inflated to unlimited heights as a prime strategic and creative discipline. In this transformation the media plays an omnipotent role. Over the recent decades, the media in the form of television, internet has become the heart of the development of the public relation policies. Again at the same time there has been a decline in different forms of communication like advertising which in turn facilitates the making of the real dialogue and its engagement are becoming even more essential. Thus the platform created by the media provides a great opportunity for the PR consultants in promoting their respective organizations and through adoption of real tactics and planning thrusts them in achieving a competitive edge over the other players in the relevant market (The evolution of public relations, n.d., p. 5). Platform for the Regent’s College and requirements American President Barrack Obama is visiting the UK and will be delivering a speech which will include the gathering of at least 400 media representatives and exclusive media coverage. The role of the public relation consultant will be to develop strategies and reap the benefit of this huge media gathering to enhance the status of the College from not being recognized as only a small private college. Simultaneous the ways in which the gathering could be exploited for attraction of the more students is what the management is expecting from the consultant. Application of four point planning process For the accomplishment of the task the best way for the consultant is to adapt the four point planning process for the completion of the sequential process starting from the problem identification to the strategy formulation for the accomplishment of the bestowed goal. The four point planning process includes four general chronological steps. They are a) Formative Research, b) Strategy, c) Tactics, and Evaluation research. The Formative Research includes analyzing the situation, analyzing the organization and analyzing the publics. The Strategy phase includes processes like the establishment of goals and objectives, formulation of action and response strategies, design of effective communication. The Tactics phase includes the communication and implementation of the strategic plan. The last step includes the evaluation of the strategic plans (Strategic Planning for Public Relations, 2011). International academic platform London, a city of almost 8 million people is considered to be one of the fascinating places in the world and is the home to more than 400,000 university students among which 100,000 are international students from around 200 different countries with 300 different languages. Established in 1979, one of the largest private business schools in United Kingdom is the Regent’s College. With the marvelous central London College Campus the college provides great academic environment for the international students representing over 90 nationalities (Regent’s College, European Business School, n.d.). Thus the upcoming event of Barrack Obama’s meeting can be used as a platform for the promotion of the international business of the College in the attraction of international students as well as making a mass appeal in the domestic arena. Strong support The international Partnership Office of the College is in the path of organization of an induction week for all the incoming international students which generally takes place during the week before the start of the class. The event provides the students with an orientation to the international student support services of the college. The duties of the role included covers a wide range of general administrative duties ranging from phone calls, student dealing with student enquiries, providing campus tours and so on (International Partnerships Office Internship, n.d.). Best Strategy This scenario provides a great opportunity for forwarding information in the media gathering in a more promising way and the strengths should be highlighted to attract the international students. Key audience and focus The college consists of students from various backgrounds. A fact is that most of the students of the college have to work in an endeavor to finance their studies. However the fact is that vast majority gain equally and receives more non financial benefits during their employment. The students generally develop their existing skills and are in the process of achieving further gains at the same time providing valuable contribution to their employer (Who is your target audience?, n.d.). The College mirrors the multinational community and puts in place the relevant and dynamic projects. The core values on which the College stands on the notion of respect, tolerance, fairness, responsibility, honesty and integrity (Students in Free Enterprise, 2012). More people are undertaking topics like recession to undertake further study which indicate the exceptional pool of the post graduate students in the college (Who is your target audience?, n.d.). Best Strategy The “earn while you learn” procedure is an optimal policy for the future academic prospects of the students. Again with the teamwork as the basis of success, the boost of high ethical standards maintained by the College administration is really an added advantage of the institution which needs to be forwarded to spread the message in the media. Again the introduction of the policy of part-time, temporary and vacation work will lead to the development of the transferable skills which are hugely demanded by the industry. Skill development along with their qualifications the will lead in the enhancement procedure of the employability package that the students are able to present in the future will be possible once they graduate from the college (Who is your target audience?, n.d.). Development of leadership abilities Among the wide variety of subjects taught at the Regent’s College, the Creative Leadership is a dynamic subject taught in this institute which provides a great sense of development of leadership among the students. This program starts with the distribution of the awareness of the student’s own views and that of the others are taught. The way of examining the view point of the people, how they think and behave is explained. Practical experiences of journal writing leadership portfolio add another dimension to the career of the students in the future. Through the process of meditation development of emotional intelligence will be infused among the students with the improvement of the self reflection skills, team development, and communication with the people and dealing with the conflicts. Practical application exposure of the leadership practices also leads the students in taking part in group activities and also in the simulations of the real world situations (Creative leadership, 2011). Best tactics The best tactics will be promote operational campaigns before the final day of speech and rampant propaganda will have to be spread regarding the uniqueness of the development of the leadership abilities. Experimentation with different presentation techniques and mediums for gaining presentation skills should be mentioned. Integration of the learning outcomes should be spread widely. Setting of personal development with the focus on the practicality of learning should also be given special focus (Creative leadership, 2011). Conclusion Public relations have become an indispensable part in the establishment of the goodwill of the organizations as well as contributing greatly to the ultimate business development process. As a public relation consultant the main task is the identification of the key strengths of the organization and promoting them via several media links and channels in a dynamic way such that people directly or indirectly related to the organization must get acquainted with the factors and contribute in the development of the organization. The international exposure of the Regent’s college is high and the coming of American president in UK and making him convinced about the advantages of the College is really tremendous indeed. The ‘earn while you learn policy’ will help the students to develop a sense of self sufficiency. Along with that real life business projects offered to them provides them a competitive advantage in the job market. Special emphasis to part time and vocational training should also be given stress for the purpose of attracting the students who are working. Wide spread of campaigns stating the leadership development area should also spread through several channels in order to enhance the uniqueness of the topic. References 1. About Regent’s College, (2012), available at: http://www.regents.ac.uk/home/about_regents_college.aspx (accessed on 16 June, 2012) 2. Creative leadership, (2012), available at: http://www.regents.ac.uk/study_at_rc/course_information/postgraduate_programmes/creative_leadership/module_descriptions.aspx (accessed on 16 June, 2012) 3. International Partnerships Office Internship, (n.d.), available at: http://www.jku.at/Auslandsbuero/content/e11656/e11617/e140079/e162545/LondonRegentsCollege_ger.pdf (accessed on 16 June, 2012) 4. Media & Public Relations, (2011), available at: http://www.regents.ac.uk/home/news_and_events/media_and_public_relations.aspx (accessed on 16 June, 2012) 5. Olusegun, O. W. (2006), PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS, available at: http://www.nou.edu.ng/noun/NOUN_OCL/pdf/jls%20610.pdf (accessed on 16 June, 2012) 6. Regent’s College, European Business School, (n.d.), available at: http://www.pace.edu/global-initiatives/sites/pace.edu.global-initiatives/files/Program%20Info_Regents%20EBS.pdf (accessed on 16 June, 2012) 7. Reynolds, P. &  Lancaste, G, (2012), Marketing,  Business & Economics 8. Strategic Planning for Public Relations, (2011), available at: http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/smithrd/PR/steps.htm (accessed on 16 June, 2012) 9. Students in Free Enterprise, (2012), available at: http://www.regents.ac.uk/student_life/sife.aspx (accessed on 16 June, 2012) 10. The evolution of public relations, (n.d.), available at: http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199565740/gordon_ch01.pdf (accessed on 16 June, 2012) 11. Who is your target audience?, (n.d.), available at: http://www.regents.ac.uk/buisness_relations/your_target_audience.aspx (accessed on 16 June, 2012) Read More