Global Public Relations

Spanning Borders, Spanning Cultures

Alan R. Freitag, Ashli Quesinberry Stokes

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9781134061280
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

This text provides a structured and practical framework for understanding the complexities of contemporary public relations. It is an instructional book that guides the reader through the challenges of communication and problem solving across a range of organizations and cross-cultural settings.

Written in a straightforward, lively style, the book covers:

• foundational theories, and factors that shape the discipline
• communication across cultures
• trends affecting the public relations profession throughout the world.

Incorporating case studies and commentary to illustrate key principles and stimulate discussion, this book also highlights the different approaches professionals must consider in different contexts, from communicating with employees to liaising with external bodies, such as government agencies or the media.

Offering a truly global perspective on the subject, Global Public Relations is essential reading for any student or practitioner interested in public relations excellence in a global setting.

A companion website provides additional material for lecturers and students alike: www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415448154/

Part 1

Implied with the notion of studying public relations practice across borders and cultures is the notion that comparisons must be made among nations and among various paradigms within which public relations efforts are conducted. If we are to make those comparisons in a meaningful, productive way, we must first establish common ground in terms of definitions or descriptions of terms and concepts as well as the scope of what is to be addressed in this text. This we attempt in the first chapter. Next, we must make the case that what we now customarily call the public relations discipline, practiced in a variety of hybrid forms throughout most of the globe, was initially spawned in its fundamental contemporary iteration in the United States, shaped by a variety of converging dynamic forces and trends that coincidentally emerged there over the course of more than two centuries. As those forces and trends spread globally, so did public relations practice, though further refined by unique social, cultural and other influences. Finally in this first section of the text, we shall examine how scholars are applying theories, concepts and models to move forward our understanding of the complexities of professional communication across borders and cultures as well as the unique development of the discipline in national and regional settings. Equally importantly, we shall suggest directions for current and emerging scholars to continue building this critical body of knowledge.

Chapter 1
Common ground

Summary

Communication is a complex concept but a function critical to virtually all human interaction. Continued improvement of the human condition depends upon our effective conduct of communication interactions, but despite more than 10,000 years of recorded history we’re still perplexed by our frequent inability to encode, transmit and decode even the simplest messages, either interpersonally or via the burgeoning spectra of mass-media channels. Communication between and among individuals, organizations and states has grown rapidly in volume and frequency but not necessarily in effectiveness. Current and future public relations professionals and scholars are uniquely positioned and prepared to lubricate and bolster communication effectiveness at micro and macro levels. This chapter aims to describe the common dimensions of the discipline upon which we can build a logical framework for understanding and pursuing global practice.

Chapter goals

• Understand the need for considering international public relations as a distinct facet of the discipline.
• Describe the public relations profession and establish basic standards of excellence.
• Distinguish public relations from related disciplines.
• Stress the importance of ongoing study of and preparation for international public relations practice.

The August 23, 2005, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports the results of a small study comparing how European-American and native Chinese students interpret a photograph. Not surprisingly, the students differed in their take on the photograph, but the underlying cultural differences that led to those distinctions are deep, profound, and represent the tremendous challenges facing today’s public relations practitioners. The North American students looked at the photo and marked primarily the objects in the foreground of the scene. Chinese students, on the other hand, studied the background equally, assessing the entire scene collectively. Researchers Hannah-Faye Chua and Richard Nisbett of the University of Michigan see cultural differences manifested in the experiment. “They literally are seeing the world differently,” Nisbett said. Asians, he said, see the world as socially more complex, while Westerners are individualistic, paying less attention to things beyond the individual object. He links this to our separate roots. Western culture sprang in part from ancient Greece, he says, with an emphasis on individual property ownership and individual businesses. Asian history was more defined by the need for integration and cooperation, such as the need for a system of irrigated agriculture that required farmers to get along, share, and ensure no one was cheated.

Interesting, but what has this to do with public relations practice? Quite a lot; and practitioners who understand and plan for these subtle and not-so-subtle differences among nations and cultures will enjoy the greatest success and satisfaction in the decades ahead. Additionally, they will contribute, as public relations practitioners ought, to making the world a better place.

What has occurred, and continues to occur, in the practice of public relations is the same sweeping trend that has affected virtually all dimensions of society: exponential progress in transportation and communication technology commingle with tectonic political changes to alter the fabric of global commerce and exchange. At the same time, unique cultural differences restrict the development and application of universal templates for public relations practice. The result is a vastly redesigned and dynamic playing field with a host of component forces reshaping the traditional public relations strategies and tactics that have characterized its practice. In Chapter 2 we shall discuss how those practices evolved, principally in the United States, and how US practitioners have tended, ethnocentrically, to export and superimpose those principles globally as universal absolutes. This is an approach not likely to meet with success given inherent cultural and societal differences that affect human communication, illustrated by the University of Michigan study described above.

You’re probably an advanced public relations student at the graduate or undergraduate level, or a seasoned professional. You have likely heard the litany of blunders and disasters that have stemmed from failure to account for cultural differences: the attempt by General Motors to market the Chevrolet Nova in Latin America where “no va” means “It doesn’t go”; a US campaign that employed the color white as a symbol of purity or freshness in Japan, where white is associated with death; the US vendor hawking T-shirts commemorating the Pope’s visit to Cuba which, because of a misunderstanding of the importance of capitalization, said not “I saw the Pope” (el Papa) but “I saw the potato” (el papa); and there are many more. This, however, is not a text aimed at listing examples of PR goofs. Rather, it is a text designed to prepare the practitioner dedicated to professionalism for success in this 24/7, borderless, interconnected world and, in doing so, to advance the profession while perhaps, at least in some small way, improving the human condition.

Describing the discipline

A good way to begin is to establish common ground regarding the discipline of public relations. Just what do we mean by the term? Public relations scholar Rex Harlow once attempted to collect all published definitions of the term and found more than 500. They include the very simple, such as the Public Relations Society of America definition: “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other”, or as some have quipped, not without basis, “Doing good and letting people know it”. Other definitions are more complex, but introduce greater precision. Here’s a good one from an introductory text:

Public relations is a leadership and management function that helps achieve organizational objectives, define philosophy, and facilitate organizational change. Public relations practitioners communicate with all relevant internal and external publics to develop positive relationships and to create consistency between organizational goals and societal expectation. Public relations practitioners develop, execute, and evaluate organizational programs that promote the exchange of influence and understanding among an organization’s constituent parts and publics.

Lattimore et al. 2004, p. 5)

If we disassemble this definition, we shall find a number of components that make it a useful one even for international practice.

First, we should agree that public relations practice includes, as this definition does, the component of management and leadership. Some have said leadership is doing the right thing, and management is doing the thing right. That is simple, but accurate. We have come to understand that practitioners must not only have direct access to top organizational management, but must also possess and exhibit qualities of top management. The remainder of the definition’s first sentence explains why: (1) practitioners must ensure their efforts support and contribute to overall organizational goals and objectives; (2) practitioners must participate actively and influentially in establishing and monitoring organizational values; and (3) practitioners must have the confidence of top management in order to recommend needed adjustments to organizational policies and procedures.

The second sentence of the definition describes the process by which practitioners create an environment in which these lofty responsibilities can be carried out: practitioners, more than any other organizational component, engage in an ongoing communication effort with all the constituencies that matter to the organization. Internally that could include employees, members, students, volunteers, and so on. Externally, as you probably know, that could include media (general and specialized), community members, government agencies at all levels, customers and clients, and so forth. Then there are hybrid publics that do not fit neatly into the external/internal categorization such as retirees, alumni, investors, and so on. Any good introductory public relations textbook will provide exhaustive lists and explanations of potential publics, so there’s no need to delve deeply into that here. The point is that public relations practitioners build long-term relationships with these constituencies through ongoing dialogue. After all, these are the constituencies upon whom the success and prosperity of the organization depend. Implied in this process is the organizational core value that it is genuinely concerned about the values, motivations and welfare of these publics, and is willing to take reasonable measures to harmonize its own operations to address discord. Who better to facilitate this complex but mutually beneficial process than public relations professionals steeped in the highest forms of its practice?

The third and final sentence of this simple but comprehensive definition introduces the specific craft elements of the discipline that enable practitioners to carry out this challenging brief. While our intentions may be nobly elevated, we must still, on the one hand, recognize the art of the possible and, on the other hand, acknowledge limitations such as finite resources, legal and ethical constraints, and overarching issues. Doing so means that practitioners, whether engaged in local, regional, national or international projects and programs, must bring to the table fundamental skills including the ability to design, conduct and analyze qualitative and quantitative research; develop comprehensive, cohesive, purposeful plans and programs; supervise the preparation of collateral materials and events; and evaluate program effectiveness in order to make necessary adjustments. All this, and be a superb manager and leader as well! It is a tall order; but a dynamic global environment demands it, and our discipline has matured sufficiently to develop a reputation for meeting these responsibilities.

That, then, is what this text implies when it uses the simple term public relations. Actual practice may vary from nation to nation, from culture to culture, and this text will address those differences. However, it is this author’s contention, and a position held by the discipline’s leading scholars and practitioners, that any definition of the profession should include references to a planned, management-oriented, process-centered program, characterized by ongoing dialogue with internal and external publics, and contributing to and participating in responsible decision-making by top organizational leaders. Anything less diminishes the status of the term and should be labeled more accurately with terms such as publicity, event planning, press agentry, and so on.

The discipline in context

The reader may observe that this definition may apply to more fully developed nations such as the United States or nations of western Europe, but is unrealistic for developing and transitional nations such as in eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia. Perhaps that is partially true in practice, but the possibility is well established. Literature suggests that scholars and practitioners believe it is feasible to transcend cultural barriers and pursue public relations objectives effectively on a global scale, with the important caveats that goals be identified, pursued and gauged one public at a time, that standards of excellence be considered a desirable objective, and that, to do so, the practitioner must take into account variations in cultural contexts and syndromes (discussed in depth in Chapters 4 and 5). Most prominent among this body of literature is the landmark study by Verčič et al. (1993, pp. 17–30).

Verčič and his colleagues emphasized that public relations is influenced by its contextual cultures and political systems, and aimed for a “middle ground theory between cultural relativism and ethnocentrism”. The researchers, in fact, developed a list of nine general principles of excellence they argued applied to the practice of public relations universally. A brief summary of those principles and a comment on their application to international public relations practice is in order.

Verčič and his colleagues consolidated a list of characteristics of excellent public relations compiled by the Grunigs (Grunig and Grunig 1992, pp. 285–325), and argue that these characteristics “will be generic, normative factors of excellent public relations applicable across cultures and political/economic systems” (Verčič et al. 1993, p. 36). Following is a summary of their conclusions:

1. Involvement of public relations in strategic management: The organization sets goals and missions relevant to the environment. Public relations units are involved in the planning process. Relationships are cultivated with relevant publics.
2. Empowerment of public relations in the dominant coalition or a direct reporting relationship to senior management: Strategic management of public relations is linked directly with strategic management of the organization.
3. Integrated public relations function: All public relations functions are integrated into a single department, or are very closely coordinated by other means.
4. Public relations as a management function separate from other functions: While public relations counselors provide advice and guidance to all other management functions on communication and relationship issues, it must remain separate and distinct from those other management functions.
5. The role of the public relations practitioner: At least one member of the organization’s public relations unit must function as a communication manager (as opposed to a technician) who strategizes and directs communication programs.
6. Two-way symmetrical model of public relations: The organization’s public relations function is dominated by two-way symmetrical modeling, though elements of the other three models may be evident.
7. A symmetrical system of internal communication: Internal organizational communication, central to effective management, must reflect symmetrical patterns. Organizational mission and goals must reflect employee input at all levels.
8. Knowledge potential for managerial role and symmetrical public relations: Among the organization’s public relations unit must be managers who possess knowledge of public relations theory.
9. Diversity embodied in all roles. Organizations, and especially their public relations units, reflect diversity in order to communicate most effectively with varied internal and external publics.

As Verčič and his colleagues point out, the implementation of any or all of these characteristics may prove challenging in cross-cultural contexts. Consequently, the development of a cadre of public relations practitioners capable of accommodating those challenges is essential if an organization hopes to compete in such an environment. In fact, Verčič and his colleagues identify a number of specific variables with the potential to prevent effective implementation of these standards of excellence: the political-economic system; the culture; the extent of activism; the level of development; and the media system. In Chapters 4 and 5 we shall present approaches to constructing a framework to help practitioners incorporate consideration of these and other facets in their communication program and campaign planning.

What PR is not

The discipline of public relations is frequently blended with related disciplines, most often journalism, advertising and marketing. This is especially true in some international settings, and the global practitioner must be prepared to explain patiently the factors that distinguish public relations from these other important disciplines. Though there are similarities among the professions, and each borrows from the others to some extent, they vary on several planes. The manager who can distinguish among them will be able to apply them collectively and synergistically to the greater benefit of the organization.

Public relations shares a great deal with journalism, and public relations certainly evolved more from this dimension than from any other. Each heavily involves writing, and that writing must be characterized by economy, accuracy and precision. Practitioners of each must work to deadlines, and they must conduct extensive research as part of the writing process. For these reasons, many have successfully made the transition from journalism to public relations, ...