Understanding public relations theory - Essay Example

? Change Management Communication Insert Insert Grade Insert Insert Change Management Communication Public relation is an issue that has been and will remain important to any organization that will want to operate in today’s highly globalised society (Lesly, 1998). Public relations is a term generally used to refer to the effective alignment of organizations and the various publics for a mutually coexistence. Organizations are continuously faced with situations related to its stakeholders and therefore the need to communicate with the affected is important for the organizations’ performance as well as retaining a reputable image. In addition, the role of mass media as an agent of communicating organizational intentions and promotion of interest can also not be ignored by organizations. Overall, the understanding and appreciation of the various approaches, theories and other related concepts of public relations is important in tackling of issues or concerns that may arise from daily operations. In response to this, this paper will examine the role of public relations practice in organizations. For applicability, the paper has identified the issue of change management communication in organizations. This will be examined through a selected article about an organization that is likely to be affected by the subject matter of discussions in this paper. The paper will discuss the components of the article that make it a media issue as well as a public relations issue. The article under examination pertains to Boral Company that operates in the building and construction industry. The company’s new chief executive having taken the reign in the top leadership has been tasked with a challenge of ensuring that the company’s financial results improve as a result in an economy downfall that has affected the construction industry in which the company operates in. One of the measures that the chief executive has been compelled to take after a 100 day review is through initiating a 700 job cut program targeting management and back office staff. Even though the move is likely to cost the company a massive 60 million dollars, if successfully implemented it has been projected to result to an annual saving of about 90 million dollars. However, the major issue that arises from this situation is that of how to effectively manage this drastic change especially by communicating the intended purposes and criteria for such changes to the stakeholders of the company that will be largely affected by this decision (Hayes, 2006). Consequently, the main purpose of the following discussions will be to analyze the contributions that public relations, which can be stated to be constituted of communication with external and internal publics, and communication management, can make in managing organizational change during an employee retrenchment exercise. The framework that will be used to analyze the situation at Boral will be in terms of a dual examination of the issue in terms of being a media as well as a public relations issue. To begin, as a media issue, the organization needs to be prepared to tackle several issues so that the image of the firm remains intact in the eyes of the public. The media plays a major role in shaping opinions and the issue of job cuts proposed by the new chief executive can result into an image backlash if not well handled. It is the job of the public relations professionals and the department in charge of the area affected, in this case the board of governors through the chief executive officer and to some extent the human resources, to learn the facts and information needed, and communicate it to the targeted audiences in a timely and effective manner. The organization's reputation and credibility with external and internal audience is at stake. This is because tackling the issue of job cuts at a time when the economy is hard an issue for the whole nation is a sensitive and important issue. Whatever is communicated internally and externally will remain forever on record. Therefore, the firm must proceed carefully and provide the facts (Langer and Thorop, 2005). It must manage the communication process and do so in a timely manner to avert a scenario where the story is eventually written without its input or consent. This is because from a business perspective, that is likely to cost the business in terms of the customers that look at the image of the company as well as the shareholders and potential investors. Internally, the identified Public Relations professional should ensure that there is a good working relationship and open door policy with top management and field management, and ongoing communications with customers and employees (Gurton, 2001). Employees should be aware of any news before it is released to the media. A knowledgeable employee base helps greatly when the company is communicating key messages and information to the mass media. This is an important issue to the organization that the top management and the public relations department should be able to take into close consideration. As a public relations issue, communication is regarded as a key issue in the successful implementation of change programmes because it is used as a tool for announcing, explaining or preparing people for change and preparing them for the positive and negative effects of the impending change. Internal communication can also increase understanding of the commitment to change as well as reducing confusion and resistance to it. Internal communication is the catalyst if not the key to organizational excellence and effectiveness. Based on the fact that internal communication is recognized by various analysts as having a role in the implementation of change management programmes, it is now important to understand what factors bar or facilitate effective communication within an organization. The publics in the issue discussed are both internal and external. While the internal publics mostly affected are the employees and the management personnel, the external publics include the government, the society, the media and the customers. First, the employees as the internal publics are going to be mostly affected hence their interest in this issue. This is because the job cut will affect them directly. In addition, the employees and top management are also to be affected by the changes as a result of the planned job cuts. Subsequently, the cooperation of the employees and top management is likely to enable appropriate implementation of the communicated changes. The customers are the most important public in this issue. They are most likely to be affected especially with concerns that the level of service may go down in the event of massive job cuts. The public relations experts in the organization must also ensure that the changes are competently communicated to them. The government as a custodian of public interest is also concerned when the economy sheds off a massive number of jobs and hence the company should be ready to explain. Organizations require different approaches to internal communication and factors that need to be considered include type of business, size of business, organizational culture, managerial style, financial resources, staff and the stability or volatility of the business environment. Managed communication should be a critical component of any corporate strategy. The obvious question will be how employees and management staff are provided with information. Further, is the information policy and the tools of communication (and solicitation of feedback) appropriate to communicate the change/transformation in an adequately transparent and comprehensible fashion? Another key ingredient of success is whether the dominant coalition (consisting of top executives who set organizational policies) has sufficient willpower to support the communication strategy and assist in measures of internal and external communication (Berger, 2005). More critically, it is vital to assess whether the dominant coalition is willing to involve the public relations and communications department in these matters. There ought to be a continuous and rapid flow of information between the top tier management and the communications department, which also confirms that the organization values communication. If this is the case, for example, the communication manager would participate in board and management meetings where organizational policies are set by the dominant coalition. The organization should also have a good working relationship with the communities in which it does business, as well as with vendors, customers, employees and the media. If it does not, should a crisis occur, the company's message and information may seem questionable to the audiences it is trying to reach, and the audience may be unreceptive. The company should already have a core message on various issues (Jones, Watson, Gardner, and Gallois, 2004). However, consider and focus on the audience that you want to reach. When developing the core message, premise statement or response, develop at least three points that support the premise statement. Consequently, this issue boils down to the role of public relations for proper management of the proposed changes in the organization. Leadership will also be charged with adopting a good approach for tackling the issue of change communication (Aldoory and Toth, 2004). In general, there are three approaches to leadership studies: trait, behavioural, and contingency. The trait-based approach focuses on the personal attributes of leaders. Personality and motivational traits such as self-confidence, stress tolerance, and managerial motivation can be said to be related to leader effectiveness. In the second approach (i.e. behavioural), leadership is conceived as an observable process or behaviour rather than as intangible characteristics. This approach centres on behaviours that are deemed necessary for effective leadership. Behaviours such as initiating structure, consideration, or empowerment are associated with team performance. The contingency approach emerged as mounting evidence suggested that the effects of behaviour and traits are not consistent across all situations. In this line of research, situational factors such as leader-member relations, task structure, characteristics of followers, and reward systems were found to affect leader behaviours and their effectiveness. Lastly, by filling the communication gap, the role of public relations in organizations cannot be overlooked. Internal communication is important integral part of employee development practice and is one of the core elements of implementing employee development (Austin and Pinkleton, 2006). It is important to develop a formal, co-ordinated, and organization-wide internal communication system that facilitates the implementation and practice of employee development. Employee development can be used to change the attitudes and behaviour of staff towards being more service and customer oriented and it is necessary to create awareness and understanding about employee development in a structured and consistent way. A lack of an internal communication system regarding employee development suggests that employee development information is not properly communicated to staff, which could hamper its effective implementation. Trust, commitment and loyalty can be developed with the help of internal marketing and empowerment of employees can be facilitated (Cornelissen and Thorpe, 2001). However, the kind of the information that is presented by management and the manner in which it is presented may be key determinants of whether employee development succeeds in the workplace. If corporate growth extends beyond the domestic market, international partners with stable media contacts and market know-how are needed. A major factor in favor of integrating an international public relations agency is the rapid utilization of existing infrastructures (Newsom, Turk and Kruckeberg, 2006). References Aldoory, L. and Toth, E. (2004). Leadership and gender in public relations: perceived effectiveness of transformational and transactional leadership styles. Journal of Public Relations Research, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 157-83. Austin, E and Pinkleton, B. E. (2006). Strategic public relations management: planning and managing effective communication programs. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Berger, B.K. (2005). Power over, power with, and power to relations: critical reflections on public relations, the dominant coalition, and activism. Journal of Public Relations Research, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 5-28. Cornelissen, J.P. and Thorpe, R. (2001). The organization of external communication disciplines in UK companies: a conceptual and empirical analysis of dimensions and determinants. Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 38, pp. 413-38. Gurton, A. (2001). The role of PR professionals. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Hayes, J. (2006). The Theory and Practice of Change Management. New York, NY: Palgrave Jones, E., Watson, B., Gardner, J. and Gallois, C. (2004). Organizational communication: challenges for the new century. Journal of Communication, Vol. 54 No. 4, pp. 722-50. Langer, R. and Thorop, S. (2005). "Building trust in times of crisis", Corporate Communication. An International Journal, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 371-90. Lesly, P. (1998). Nature And Role Of Public Relations. Lincolnwood, Ill., U.S.A.: Contemporary Books. Newsom, D., Turk, J. and Kruckeberg, D. (2006). This is PR: the realities of public relations. New York: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. APPENDICES NEWS REPORT British Airways parent firm IAG warns of job cuts as losses hit €1bn British Airways’ parent company, International Airlines Group, has warned of further job cuts at its flagging Spanish carrier, Iberia, after the aviation giant crashed almost €1bn (?865m) into the red. By Nathalie Thomas Willie Walsh, chief executive of IAG, was yesterday forced to defend the 2011 merger of profit-making BA with Iberia after the group was dragged down by €351m of operating losses at the Spanish airline. Despite a 10.9pc increase in revenue to €18bn, IAG made a €997m pre-tax loss for 2012, down from a €503m profit a year earlier, as it was also forced to swallow €545m of restructuring charges and impairments related to Iberia. BA, which bought loss-making UK carrier bmi last year, generated a €347m operating profit over the period. However, investors were encouraged by the result with IAG shares rising 8pc to close at 239.3p. IAG is slashing more than 3,800 jobs at Iberia and shrinking its route network by 15pc in an effort to stem losses at Spain’s national airline, which has suffered during the country’s deep recession, as well as having to face rising fuel bills and fierce competition from low-cost carriers such as Ryanair. Staff at Iberia will on Monday embark on another round of damaging strikes in protests at the swingeing job cuts at a time when Spain’s unemployment rate is at a record 26pc. But Mr Walsh warned that the 3,800 job losses were only the “first part” of IAG’s plans for Iberia. He signalled that the group plans further capacity cuts which “may well” result in more job losses. “You can’t just take out employees altogether on one day, this is a process that will continue over a period of time,” he said. Strikes by Iberia staff in Spain are costing IAG an estimated €3m a day. An independent mediator has been appointed to negotiate between Iberia and unions but Mr Walsh said IAG’s “disappointing” result for 2012 was proof that the Spanish carrier “must adapt to survive”. Some investors and traders have questioned the structure and value of the 2011 ?5.3bn all-share deal to tie BA to Iberia, which saw shareholders in the loss-making Spanish airline receive a generous 44pc of the combined group. “IAG’s full-year results highlight that in the airline business two halves don’t always make a perfect whole,” said Bhaven Patel, a trader at Accendo Markets. Mr Walsh insisted that BA had benefited from the deal, which was billed as a merger but structured as a takeover in accounting terms as IAG had achieved €313m of cost savings. “When you are looking at mergers and performance, you can clearly take a different view depending on what time you pick but we are in this for the long haul and I believe consolidation is absolutely the right way forward and I believe the fit between BA and Iberia still works,” he said, adding that the tie-up was approved “overwhelmingly” by shareholders at the time. “BA is definitely benefiting from this merger. BA is benefiting from the co-ordination that IAG does in relation to the activity of Iberia so Iberia is not competing with BA, it is complementing BA. I’m not trying to hide the result, the result is disappointing but the turnaround at Iberia will be successful,” said Mr Walsh. Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9899185/British-Airways-parent-firm-IAG-warns-of-job-cuts-as-losses-hit-1bn.html PRESS RELEASE Retrenchment and Re-employment, 2006 - Re-employment Prospects of Retrenched Residents at a Nine-Year High The re-employment prospects of retrenched residents improved to a nine-year high in 2006, amid increased job opportunities available. This is in spite of a number of large scale retrenchment exercises in the electronics industry that saw more workers laid-off in 2006 than a year ago. These are the key findings from the “Retrenchment and Re-employment, 2006” report by the Ministry of Manpower's Research and Statistics Department. The report examines the incidence of layoffs across different industries, three major occupational groups and the reasons for retrenchment. 2.   Amid increased job opportunities, the annual average re-employment rate (within 6 months after retrenchment) rose to a post-Asian crisis high of 66% in 2006. The improvement was felt across the various age, education and occupational groups. 3.   Specifically, the re-employment rate of residents retrenched from PMET jobs rose from an average of 65% in 2005 to a post-Asian crisis high of 73% in 2006. This exceeds the rate for the other two occupational groups, unlike in past years when clerical, sales & service workers were the most re-employable. Both younger (aged below 40) and mature (aged 40 & over) retrenched PMETs benefited from the robust job market. The rates for both groups (76% for those aged below 40 and 69% for those older) are higher than the overall re-employment rate (66%). Previously, only younger PMETs experienced a re-employment rate that is above the overall re-employment rate. 4.   In 2006, private sector establishments each with at least 25 employees retrenched 12,359 workers. This exceeded the 10,294 laid-off in 2005, but is only about half the number retrenched (25,838) during the economic downturn in 2001. This translated to an incidence of 10 retrenched per 1,000 employees in 2006, a slight increase from 9.3 per 1,000 a year ago. The incidence of retrenchment in 2006, however, was among the lowest recorded over the decade, down substantially from the last peak of 25 retrenched per 1,000 in 2001. 5.   Manufacturing had a substantially higher incidence of retrenchment (24 per 1,000) than services (4.4 per 1,000) and construction (2.8 per 1,000). While the incidence of retrenchment rose in manufacturing for the second straight year, it had steadily declined in services since hitting a high of 19 laid-off per 1,000 employees in 2001. Similarly, the incidence of layoffs for production & related workers rose for the second consecutive year to 15 per 1,000 in 2006. This is unlike the other two occupational groups where the incidence of job loss generally trended downwards after recovering from the 2001 economic downturn, to 8.4 per 1,000 for professionals, managers, executives & technicians (PMETs) and 4.7 per 1,000 for clerical, sales & service workers. 6.   With the improved economic conditions, fewer workers were retrenched due to downturn and cost factors in 2006. The most common reason for retrenching workers was reorganisation of businesses (e.g. merger or change in management). 7.   The less educated without secondary qualifications continued to be the most vulnerable with high risk of retrenchment and below-average re-employment rates, suggesting that they continued to face structural challenges in the labour market. 8.   The report is available online at the Ministry of Manpower's website. Source: http://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/Pages/PressReleasesDetail.aspx?listid=237 ABSTRACT Source: Larsake Larsson. (2007). Public trust in the PR industry and its actors. Journal of Communication Management, 11. 3 p 222-234. The PR industry has become an important actor in society and in the democratic process. The purpose of this article is to examine the opinion state of this phenomenon. More precisely the question is: what trust do people have in the PR industry and PR professionals? The question of trust for the PR and advertising industry has for some years been part of the Swedish annual national survey of public opinion with 3,000 respondents. The paper finds that the trust for PR agents as well as marketing agents is very low. Only some few percent of the population express (good) trust in these occupational groups, while over half of the population express bad/low trust. However, information (in-house) officers show that the figures are somewhat better. The survey also asks about people's views about the use of communication consultants by different types of organizations: the practice is accepted for the business sector, but not for political parties and trade unions. The low trust must be a problem for the PR occupation and its actors, and the question is whether they are willing to improve, for example, their methods, ethical behaviour and transparency. This question of trust and confidence for PR in society is rarely studied, and the Swedish study needs to be complemented by studies in other countries. Read More