Public Relations Management - Australia Milk Company - Case Study Example

Public Relations Management Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 2 Introduction 3 Public relations 3 Stakeholders 5 Issue 8 Publics 8 Conclusion 10 References 11 Public Relations Management Executive Summary This report makes use of public relations to analyze the ‘Stop milking it’ issue, which is the latest dairy milk campaign, branded a gimmick. Public relations definition will be provided together with the stakeholders, publics and issue. Introduction Milk permeate is a byproduct of the process of dairy production (Smith, 2008, p. 23). The byproduct is formed after milk is ultra filtered to extract protein and fat. The permeate can be added back to fresh milk in a bid to keep consistent levels of protein and fat in a process called standardization. The re-addition of the permeate to milk has caused so many controversies. The argument has been that the process waters down milk with the quest to save costs. There are no reported cases of health risks associated with permeate consumption, but the market has been flooded with dairy processors, who claim that they produce permeate-free milk. The report will analyze public relation issues that surround the campaign and how it will affect the organization as a whole. The analysis will be made possible through the definition and identification of stakeholders, publics and issues. Public relations Definition of public relations Public relations mean associations with the public. A living entity must have a relationship of a kind, which includes institutions, people and companies. Relationships can be indifferent, good or bad and have the ability to change from time to time. Some relationships work out while others do not. An organization or individual that is aware of the public around them makes an effort to behave in a way to get along with them in a better manner (Harrison, 2000, p. 1). That is the essence of public relations. Public relations involve reputation that is the result of what individuals say, do and what others say about you. It helps an organization and the public around it to adapt mutually to each other (Harrison, 2000, p. 2). It is an organization’s attempts to win the cooperation of the groups of people. It helps the organization to communicate effectively and interact with the public. It is a management function that forms mutual and beneficial relations between the organization and the public (Broom, 2009, p. 21). This determines whether the organization will succeed or fail. The roles of a public relations practitioner include communication, promotions, publicity, issues management, press agentry, integrated marketing, crisis management, minority relations, public affairs, community relations, media relation, relationship marketing, public diplomacy and event management (Johnston & Zawawi, 2009, p. 9). What public relations do for organizations in general Public relations is a management discipline. It can play a vital role in the managing of organizational relationships with the internal and external stakeholder groups. It is a social science and an art of counseling organization’s leadership, analyzing trends and implementing programmes of action. The programmes will serve both the public interest and the organization as a whole (Kitchen, 1997, p.7). Public relations is a communication function, which puts emphasis on the two-way nature of the communication process. It is concerned with the establishment and maintenance of mutual understanding or goodwill between the public and the organization. It serves as an intelligence function that analyses and interprets trends and issues. The trends and issues could exist in the environment and may have an effect on the organization and its stakeholders. It has the responsibility of assisting the organization in formulating and achieving socially acceptable goals (Kitchen, 1997, p.8). This result in the achievement of a balance, between socially responsible behavior, and commercial imperatives. Another role that public relations have is, the ability to keep the organization aware of changes that take place in the environment. This means that it helps the organization to adjust and adapt to the changing conditions it may encounter (Kitchen, 1997, p.13). It can perform strategic role acting in the capacity of intelligence, gathering feedback from the environment, counseling management, assisting organizations to provide an explanation of their policies to the public, thus winning the support and acceptance for them (Kitchen, 1997, p.16). There are several factors that influence the way an organization relates with its public. The factors include economy, organizational actions, media coverage, existing and evolving reputations, leadership, activism, new communication technologies and recent crises. Public relations need to put into consideration the culture of those involved. This is because different cultures vary in the way they relate and communicate (Bardhan & Weaver, p.51). Organizations and public institutions are different, so are cultures. Public relations practitioners face diversity within different economic, political and social systems and also varying media constraints. The practitioners seek relationships with different people that differ in religion, income, environment, technology and so on. What public relations does for our organization Public relations help our organization to deal with internal relations. This is the establishment and maintenance of relationships with the employees in the organization. It helps in the management of crisis, negative unplanned events, disaster and maximizes positive outcomes (Johnston & Zawawi, 2009, p. 9). This is evident in the crisis that arose from the launch of permeate free milk. The competitors attacked the idea terming it silly and a gimmick. They saw it as a game that was bound to fail. Public relations come in handy in such situations to help explain and prevent negative publicity. Stakeholders A stakeholder is a person, organization or group that is taken into account by managers, front-line staff and leaders. It is an individual or group who is or can affect the achievement of the organization’s objectives (Bryson, 2004, p. 22). The person, group or organization can place a claim on the organization’s resources, attention, or output; and is also affected by the output. The groups or individuals are dependent, on the organization, to fulfill their own goals and objectives. Importance of stakeholders to organizations Stakeholders take part in the decision making process. Trust between an organization and its stakeholder’s means that a long-term relationship is established. When this is done, the amount of time spent in negotiating is reduced (Alexander, Miesing & Parsons, p. 4). This is so because they all strive to obtain the best offerings at the best price in the market. Stakeholders provide advice on strategies to implement in order to succeed. Most companies manage and include stakeholders for both normative and instrumental reasons. The relationship is always interdependent and hence an organization cannot survive without them (Alexander, Miesing & Parsons, p. 2). By entering into such relationships, organizations have a hope of gaining stakeholder loyalty and satisfaction, while stakeholders seek to get quality. Stakeholder identification Stakeholders are identified using the linkage model developed by Hunt and Grunig. The model has four linkages necessary for the identification of stakeholders. They include enabling linkages, functional linkages, diffused linkages and normative linkages (Rawlins, 2006, p. 4). Enabling linkages: this recognizes those stakeholders who have authority and control over the organization. The stakeholders makes possible for the organization to have resources and operate autonomously (Rawlins, 2006, p. 5). The enabling linkages here include regulators, board of directors, stockholders, leaders and employees in leadership and so on. Functional linkages: these are the necessary factors to the functioning of the organization. They are divided into two; input functions and output functions. Input functions provide resources and labor to create services and products. Employees of the dairy firms are input functions of the organization. Output functions consumer services and products. Consumers and retailers are the output functions since they make use of the milk products (Rawlins, 2006, p. 5). Normative functions: these are groups, which the organization has an interest in. Here, stakeholders share the same problems, values and goals. As for this case, the linkages include competitor associations, and public consumers (Rawlins, 2006, p. 5). Diffused linkages: these are very hard to identify because they include those who do not recurrently participate in the business of the organization. They only involve themselves in the actions of the organization. They are those who arise in times of crisis (Rawlins, 2006, p. 5). They include activists fighting for the rights of the consumer, the media and the community around the firm. The importance of the stakeholders to our organization The stakeholders identified play a major role in our organization. They take part in the decision making process, and they provide the labor and resources necessary for the production of goods and services, and they consume our milk products and provide feedback on the product. Competitors provide the organization with a chance to identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. Activists are present to fight for the rights attributed to the consumer. This means that they represent the consumer in case a sub standard product is produced. Issue Issues management is defined depending on the functions it performs. It involves the process of issue identification and response in a bid to adjust the affiliation connecting the organization and the public (Botan & Hazelton, 2006, p. 61). A number of people have criticized the move to produce milk that is permeate free. Dr. Sherkat, a University lecturer has termed the issue as being a game of smoke and mirrors. The argument being that we have always used milk with permeates and that there was absolutely nothing to be anxious about health wise. The main reason for production of permeate free milk was to reduce the costs incurred in the production. It is however, the contrary since production of permeate free milk will be more expensive than expected. Issues management is a means by which groups or individuals overcome the issues in the organization (Halvorson, 2007, p. 18). This concept fosters an existing link between public relations and functions of management, which aids the organization in directing outer movements and promotes a culture of participation for all members of the society (Botan & Hazelton, 2006, p. 65). Consequently, this will enhance harmony in environmental relations due to complex numbers of public and issues in consideration. Issues management engages societal efforts in managing issues in a collective way and in the case of permeate milk, the community will join in addressing this issue in order to benefit all their needs as farmers, distributors and retailers (Botan & Hazelton, 2006, p. 66). Therefore, it ensures that an equilibrium is attained connecting the welfare of the community and mutual benefit in empowering their management of resources thus, is desirable by many in the society (Botan & Hazelton, 2006, p. 77). As a result, issues management should be considered by all parties involved to promote a culture of prosperity in organizational activities that meets all needs of their stakeholders. Publics Definition of publics These are stakeholders in the public relations literature. They can be shareholders, employees, consumers and so on (Rawlins, 2006, p. 3). The publics are divided by geographics, psychographics and demographics. An organization’s publics are the groups that the organization is, ought to be and wants to be in communication with. The publics include customers, competitors, suppliers and investors (Harrison, 2000, p. 4). As for our case, the publics of the dairy firm include consumers, competitors available in the market, and potential investors. Every organization has its own set of publics. The publics can be more important than the others can. Their relevance depends on their impact on the organization and what is happening currently in the organization. There are several kinds of publics as given by public relations theory. The identification is based on the involvement with the issue or the relationship they have with the organization (Heath, 2000, p. 128). Active publics: these are groups that exist and see themselves as having some type of relationship with the organization (Hallahan, 2001, p. 35). They are understood from the organization’s point of view. The groups or individuals have high involvement and high levels of knowledge. The active publics in our case are the activists since they have all the knowledge and involvement about the products in the market. Aroused publics: are the groups and individuals who have high involvement and low knowledge about the issue. They are those who recognize the issue but are not prepared to move into the activist role (Hallahan, 2001, p. 35). They are motivated but not organized, but could be active when they acquire the necessary skills and knowledge about the issue. The aroused publics here are the consumers because if they follow the criticisms, they might decide to purchase other products. Aware publics: are groups and individuals who are knowledgeable about the issue but not involved personally. If left to make their own choice, they cannot effect any action but will join initiatives made by others (Hallahan, 2001, p. 35). Activists, suppliers and regulators are aware of the issue but are not affected. Inactive publics: are the groups or individuals who have low involvement and low knowledge about the issue (Hallahan, 2001, p. 35). They might be satisfied with the way the organization reaches conclusions about the issue. Conclusion Public relations play a vital function in any organization. It deals with the connection among the public and the organization. Public relations should be used in a responsible way to deal with issues in the organization. In addition, all concepts relating to public relations should be considered by organizations to promote a culture of harmonious working relationships for all stakeholders and an environment that incorporates all their needs in an objective way. Stakeholders contribute greatly to operational activities of the organizations and play a major role in enhancing growth and effective measures during decision-making processes. Issues arising in organizational practices enable public relations officers address issues of management that promotes a healthy working environment. References Alexander, C., Miesing, P & Parsons, A. How important are stakeholder relationships? http://www.albany.edu/~pm157/research/stakeholders.pdf. Bardhan, N & Weaver, C. Public relations in global cultural contexts: Multi-Paradigmatic Perspectives. New York: Routledge. Botan, C & Hazelton, V. (2006). Public relations theory 11. New York: Routledge. Broom, G. (2009). Cutlip & Center’s effective Public relations (10th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Bryson, J. (2004). What to do when stakeholders matter: Stakeholder identification and analysis Techniques. Public Management Review, vol. 6, Issue 1, 21-53. Hallahan, K. (2001). The dynamics of issues activation and response: An issues process model, Journal of Public Relations Research, vol. 13, no. 1, 27–59. Harrison, S. (2000). Public Relations: An Introduction. New York: Cengage Learning EMEA. Halvorson, E. (2007). Exploring the empowerment effects of the internet on active publics. Oklahoma: ProQuest. Heath, R. (2000). Handbook of public relations. London: Sage. Johnston, J & Zawawi, C. (2009). Public Relations: Theory and Practice. Boston: Allen & Unwin. Kitchen, P. (1997). Public Relations: Principles and Practice, New York: Cengage Learning EMEA Rawlins, B. (2006). Prioritizing Stakeholders for Public Relations, Institute for Public Relations. Smith, K. (2008). Dried Dairy Ingredients. Retrieved from http://www.cdr.wisc.edu/programs/dairyingredients/pdf/dried_dairy_ingdients.pdf Read More