An Overview of The Public Relations Function PDF

This book provides an executive review of the field of public relations with a
Public Relations Collection
bowen • rawlins • martin

focus on what managers need to know in order to master the function quickly
and effectively. Throughout the text, the authors integrate the academic with Don W. Stacks and Donald K. Wright, Editors
the professional by asking, How can an executive use this knowledge to make
the most of the public relations function, department, and initiatives in order
to help their whole organization be successful?
Throughout this book, you will learn valuable details on the managerial
pursuits in public relations, such as strategic relationship maintenance, seg-
An Overview
mentation of publics, and conducting research. The authors offer insight into
the managerial activities of issues management, lobbying and advocacy, cre-
ating stakeholder relationships, reputation management, ethical counsel, and
of the Public
corporate communication. They examine the most current thought in public
relations to help the busy manager master the most important concepts in
the field quickly, accessibly, and with an eye toward helping an organization
or client achieve the most effective results through cutting-edge, modern, re-
search-based strategic public relations management.
Relations
An Overview of the Public Relations Function

Whether you are reading this book to learn a new field, simply to update
your knowledge, or as part of an educational program or course, you will value
Function
every moment that you spend with it. Therefore, the authors have eliminated
much of the academic jargon found in other books and used a straightforward
writing style. They have tried to make the chapters short enough to be man-
ageable, but packed with information, without an overreliance on complicated
examples or charts and diagrams.
Shannon A. Bowen is Associate Professor in the Public Relations Depart-
ment of the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse Uni-
versity. Bowen specializes in public relations ethics, strategic communication
management, internal relations, and public relations pedagogy. Bowen’s Ph.D.
(2000) is from the University of Maryland, working with James and Larissa
Grunig, of the excellence theory, as well as business management scholars.
Bowen is considered an expert on issues management, Kantian ethics, and
executive decision making. She is a contributing editor of Media Ethics maga-
Shannon A. Bowen
zine and joint editor of peer-reviewed Ethical Space: The International Journal of
Communication Ethics.
Brad Rawlins is a tenured Associate Professor and Chair of the Department
of Communications at Brigham Young University. He teaches courses in public
relations, research methods, and ethics. He has spearheaded efforts to assess
Brad Rawlins
and measure the learning outcomes of the curriculum and has developed an
undergraduate course on public relations research and measurement.
Thomas Martin
Thomas R. Martin serves as Executive-in-Residence in the Department of
Communication at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina.
He was named to the position, the first of its kind, in February 2007 and joined
the faculty in August 2007. In this role, Martin works with the students, fac-
ulty and administration of the college to enhance the relationship between
the communication department and the business community and to help its
students successfully transition into the business world.

Don W. Stacks and Donald K. Wright, Editors
ISBN: 978-1-60649-099-0
90000
9 781606 490990
www.businessexpertpress.com www.businessexpertpress.com
An Overview of the
Public Relations Function
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ibe-bowen-00fm.indd ii 4/19/10 10:49 AM
An Overview of the
Public Relations Function
Shannon A. Bowen
Syracuse University
Brad Rawlins
Brigham Young University
Thomas Martin
College of Charleston
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Copyright © Business Expert Press, LLC, 2010.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations,
not to exceed 400 words, without the prior permission of the publisher.
First published in 2010 by

Business Expert Press, LLC
222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017
www.businessexpertpress.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-60649-099-0 (paperback)

ISBN-10: 1-60649-099-0 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1-60649-100-3 (e-book)

ISBN-10: 1-60649-100-8 (e-book)
DOI 10.4128/9781606491003.
A publication in the Business Expert Press Public Relations collection
Collection ISSN (print) forthcoming

Collection ISSN (electronic) forthcoming
Cover design by Jonathan Pennell

Interior design by Scribe, Inc.
First edition: April 2010
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
ibe-bowen-00fm.indd iv 4/19/10 10:49 AM

Abstract
This book provides an executive review of the field of public relations with
a focus on what managers need to know in order to master the function
quickly and effectively. Throughout the text, we integrate the academic
with the professional by asking, how can an executive use this knowledge
to make the most of the public relations function, department, and ini-
tiatives in order to help their whole organization be successful?
Part I of the book provides the busy manager with the taxonomy
of the public relations field, provides research on the theory of public
relations, and examines the structure of organizations and where public
relations fits within that structure. Part II examines how public relations
should be conducted in order to achieve maximum results and provides
a comprehensive review of public relations strategy, including how to
conduct a public relations campaign. Part III discusses the organizational
settings most common in public relations: corporate, agency, govern-
ment, or public affairs and nonprofit or advocacy groups and the pub-
lic relations approaches common in each. We review what research finds
regarding the most excellent ways to manage public relations and the best
ways to analyze and address the ethical challenges to be faced in public
relations. We occasionally use short case examples to illustrate and apply
the main points managers will need to know in order to manage public
relations effectively.
Throughout this book, we focus on the managerial pursuits in pub-
lic relations, such as strategic relationship maintenance, segmentation of
publics, and conducting research. We offer insight into the managerial
activities of issues management, lobbying and advocacy, creating stake-
holder relationships, reputation management, ethical counsel, and cor-
porate communication. We examine the most current thought in public
relations to help the busy manager master the most important concepts
in the field quickly, accessibly, and with an eye toward helping an orga-
nization or client achieve the most effective results through cutting-edge,
modern, research-based strategic public relations management.
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Keywords
Strategic public relations management, reputation, organization-
public relationships, corporate communication, ethics, excellence, issues
management
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Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
PART I MASTERING THE BASICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 1 The Importance of Public Relations:
Case: UPS Faces Losses in Teamster’s Union Strike . . . 3
Chapter 2 What Is Public Relations? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter 3 Models and Approaches to Public Relations. . . . . . . . 15
Chapter 4 Public Relations as a Management Function . . . . . . . 25
PART II ORGANIZATIONS AND PROCESSES . . . . . . . . 37

Chapter 5 Organizational Factors Contributing to
Excellent Public Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 6 How Public Relations Contributes to
Organizational Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Chapter 7 Identifying and Prioritizing Stakeholders
and Publics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Chapter 8 Public Relations Research: The Key to Strategy . . . . . 77
Chapter 9 The Public Relations Process—RACE . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
PART III THE PRACTICE AND BEST PRACTICES . . . . 103

Chapter 10 The Practice of Public Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Chapter 11 Ethics, Leadership and Counseling Roles,
and Moral Analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Chapter 12 Best Practices for Excellence in Public Relations . . . 151
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
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Preface
Our purpose in this volume is to introduce you to the concepts of strate-
gic public relations. Our basic assumption is that you have some general
knowledge of management and business terminology; we will help you to
apply that to the discipline of public relations. Our text is based in cur-
rent research and scholarly knowledge of the public relations discipline as
well as years of experience in professional public relations practice.
Whether you are reading this book to learn a new field, simply to
update your knowledge, or as part of an educational program or course,
we value every moment that you spend with it. Therefore, we have elimi-
nated much of the academic jargon found in other books and used a
straightforward writing style. We tried to make the chapters short enough
to be manageable, but packed with information, without an overreliance
on complicated examples or charts and diagrams. We hope that our no-
nonsense approach will speed your study.
We use a few original public relations case studies that we have writ-
ten for you so that you can see the concepts we discuss illustrated and
applied. This book is divided into three large parts:
• Part I: Mastering the Basics. Chapters 1 through 4 focus on

the importance of the profession, its taxonomy, the academic
research showing how public relations should be conducted,
and the function as a part of management.
• Part II: Organizations and Processes. Chapters 5 through 9 offer
a look at organization, its structure, effectiveness, and how the
public relations process is managed—through the relationships
with publics and stakeholders, conducting research, and the
process of strategically managing public relations.
• Part III: The Practice and Best Practices. Chapters 10 through
12 provide an advanced discussion of public relations special-
ties by types: corporations, agencies, government and public
affairs units, nonprofits, NGOs, and activist groups. We offer
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x PREFACE
guidance for perhaps the most difficult situations in public

relations—counseling upon ethics and taking a leadership
role—and finally we discuss what research shows regarding
how to make the public relations function the best it can be.
We recommend reading the book in this order to build upon the logi-
cal flow of terminology, processes, and management knowledge. Here is a
closer look at what we discuss.
To introduce the critical function of public relations to an organiza-
tion and to show how public relations can work to prevent issues and
crises, we begin with a case study of United Parcel Service in Chapter 1.
Then we emphasize what was learned in this case from the failure of public
relations in order to prepare in advance for any contingency. In Chapter 2,
we introduce the taxonomy of the profession and the concepts prevalent
in the strategic management of relationships with publics, and intro-
duce some different names associated with this function. Chapter 3 is
an exceptionally important chapter because it introduces the models and
approaches to public relations that provide a taxonomy for evaluating
communications efforts. The models of public relations are introduced
through a brief history of the field, and we also examine the subfunc-
tions or specialties within the profession. Numerous key definitions are
provided to help you rapidly master the lexicon of public relations and its
professional practice.
Chapter 4 discusses the inclusion of public relations as a manage-
ment function, roles and access to the C-suite, decision making, and
the core competencies for working in business, including knowledge of
strategy and profit motivations. We discuss how chief communications
officers (CCOs) earn their seat at the executive table. Much real-world
professional experience in business settings provide the backbone of the
chapter. Chapter 5 is extremely important because it discusses how pub-
lic relations should be organized and structured, and how it should “fit”
within the larger organizational culture in order to provide it with the
maximum opportunity for success. The chapter draws on research from
public relations scholars, business management scholars, and organiza-
tional theory. Chapter 6 provides an in-depth discussion of how organi-
zations define success, and how the stakeholder management approach to
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PREFACE xi
public relations can provide a concrete strategy for enhancing organiza-

tional effectiveness and can contribute to the long-term sustainability of
organizations.
How strategic public relations is practiced is covered in Chapter 7.
Strategic public relations begins with identifying and prioritizing your
publics, and building ongoing relationships with them, based on the
advanced concepts of stakeholder management. Research is an essential
element in strategic public relations and an overview of those methods
is provided in Chapter 8, as well as an explanation of the importance of
research in strategy and in management. Chapter 9 gives an overview of
the four-step process of strategic public relations management, abbrevi-
ated as RACE, and associated processes of analysis and planning.
The more advanced discussions of public relations as a strategic man-
agement function begins with Chapter 10. It provides a detailed look at
the profession by highlighting the locales in which it is practiced, and
it offers a discussion and application of the concepts presented earlier
throughout this text. We attempt to integrate these theoretical concepts
into the real-life structure of day-to-day public relations, and include a
couple of case examples for illustration. Chapter 11 establishes the ethi-
cal and moral guidelines for practicing principled public relations that
enhance the social responsibility of organizations and allows public rela-
tions managers to take leadership roles in advising the top levels of their
organizations. We follow that discussion with a look inside the top level
of the Home Depot Corporation. Finally, Chapter 12 sums up the book
by illustrating the best practices for excellent public relations. That sum-
mary of current research will reinforce your understanding of the lexicon
of modern public relations management, how research says that it can
be practiced most effectively, and the importance to an organization of
strategic communication. That importance can be seen in the Entergy/
Hurricane Katrina case that concludes our book.
We hope that you enjoy this executive text as we seek to help you
master the dynamic field that is strategic relationship creation and main-
tenance through communication management.
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PART I
Mastering the Basics
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CHAPTER 1
The Importance of
Public Relations
Case: UPS Faces Losses in
Teamster’s Union Strike 1
Public relations can truly mean the difference between life and death for
an organization, or the difference between profitability and failure. The
following case illustrates the importance of public relations as a means
to maintain ongoing, beneficial relationships, to systematically listen to
and understand the concerns of publics—in this case, internal publics
and a labor union and the external public of news media. Ongoing pub-
lic relations initiatives, such as strategic issues management, could have
prevented the problems encountered by the organization in the following
case. The case also demonstrates that an organization can recover its foot-
ing and repair its reputation and relationships, once it acknowledges its
mistakes and commits to changing course. The following series of events
highlight the importance of ongoing, strategic public relations as the very
lifeblood of an organization.
A Conflict Unfolds
United Parcel Service (UPS), the world’s largest transportation and logis-
tics company, faced a difficult set of challenges as the year 1997 began.
The company, founded in 1907, plays a vital role in both the U.S. and
global economy. UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories and
delivered more than 3.8 billion packages—15 million packages a day—in
2008. The company achieved $51.5 billion in 2008 revenues and has
more than eight million customer contacts per day. It is the second largest

4 AN OVERVIEW OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS FUNCTION
employer in the United States and the ninth largest in the world with
427,000 employees. UPS carries approximately 6% of U.S. gross domes-
tic product (GDP) and 2% of global GDP.
UPS had a long and, for the most part, positive relationship with the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union that has represented UPS
employees since the 1920s. In 1997, that relationship would be severely
tested and the resulting impact on the company would be profound.
Negotiations with the Teamsters began in early January of that year,
even though the existing contract didn’t expire until 12:01 a.m. on
August 1, 1997. UPS negotiates a national contract with the union every
4 to 6 years, and prior to 1997 there had never been a national strike by
the union against UPS. The company is the largest employer of Team-
sters in the country, with 225,000 members.
The president of the Teamsters was Ron Carey, a former UPS driver
from New York City, who—according to many accounts—had left the
company with a profound dislike for UPS. Carey had won reelection as
president of the Teamsters in 1996, an election that later resulted in an
investigation based on allegations of illegal fund-raising and kickbacks.
As negotiations with the Teamsters began, Carey’s opponents within the
union were attacking him, seeking to erode his support and petitioning
for possible new elections. Many believed there was a high likelihood
that the federal investigation would result in Carey’s election being over-
turned. Although UPS was not aware of it as negotiations began, Carey
had been quietly preparing the union for a strike. He needed to make a
show of force and leadership to galvanize his support in anticipation of
rerunning for the presidency if the election was nullified.
At the start of negotiations the primary issues focused on traditional
areas such as wages and health and retirement benefits. But two other
areas proved to be far more important, especially in the communication
battle that developed as negotiations began to break down. One of these
was job security. UPS had utilized part-time employees for many years,
and the Teamsters wanted the company to commit to the creation of a
higher percentage of full-time jobs, with a guaranteed minimum number
of these jobs.
A second underlying issue that heavily influenced the negotiations
was control of the pensions for UPS employees in the union. At the time

THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 5
negotiations began, the Teamsters union controlled the pension fund, one
of the largest funds in the United States. UPS questioned how the fund
was being managed, the future pension security of its employees, and
wanted a separate pension fund for its employees who were Teamsters.
As the negotiations began to deteriorate, the company began plan-
ning contingencies at all levels, including public relations. In 1997, UPS
was still a privately held company. The public relations department was
small, with only 10 management employees and a limited budget of
$5 million in the United States. There were few trained spokespeople,
since the company did not have the public disclosure obligations typi-
cal of publicly traded firms. The public relations department functions
included product publicity, financial communications, reputation man-
agement, and executive communications through a speaker’s bureau.
The function was also responsible for overall message development, crisis
management, sponsorships, and event support. But it was understaffed
and underfunded to deal effectively with the global attention UPS was
about to face.
The contract negotiations continued to unravel throughout the summer
of 1997 and culminated with the Teamsters rejecting UPS’s final contract
offer on July 30. At that point, federal mediators intervened and continued
negotiations through August 3. As the talks concluded at the end of the
day, the union indicated it would return to the table the next day.
Without any forewarning, the Teamsters union announced to its
members that evening that it would strike. Ron Carey held a press con-
ference early in the morning on August 4 confirming a national strike
and encouraging all UPS workers to walk out. The Teamsters had been
developing a full-court media blitz, which they launched that day with a
well-coordinated campaign using television, radio, and print.
The UPS strike instantly became the top national and local news story
throughout the United States. The strike affected operations in more than
1,800 locations in all 50 states and generated media interest in every large-
to medium-sized city. The UPS public relations office received more than
20,000 phone calls during the strike. According to Ken Sternad, who
headed the function at the time, “We got slaughtered in the press.”
The strike lasted 15 days and had a severe impact on U.S. and
global commerce, costing UPS $750 million in lost revenue and related

expenses. In the view of Sternad, the Teamsters won the communication

battle largely because they had “key messages that played well.”
“They focused their messaging around the theme of ‘Part-time Amer-
ica won’t work’ and that caught on with the media,” said Sternad. “The
Teamsters had clearly tested and researched this message and the others
they used. They communicated early and often, including holding twice-
daily press briefings in Washington, DC. The Teamsters stayed in control
of the message and it worked for them.”
Sternad also pointed to the way in which the union put a human face
on the issue by showcasing unhappy UPS workers, especially those with
part-time employment. They effectively engaged third-party experts and
made effective use of the Internet.
During the strike, UPS established a clear set of guiding principles and
never wavered from these. The company’s number one objective was to get
a good contract; winning the public relations battle was not an objective.
“We had decided early on that we would not attack the union leadership
and not make our people a target,” remembers Sternad. He continued,
We knew that we would need our people with us for the long term
and we didn’t want to do or say anything that would tarnish the image
of the UPS driver. They will always be the face of the company and
our link to our customers and we didn’t want to alienate them.
In preparing for the strike, UPS did have a formal crisis communica-
tions plan in place and they had developed a specific communications
plan in the event of a strike. The public relations team had compiled
extensive facts and figures about the company and had trained regional
spokespeople in advance of a strike. They had also identified third-party
experts who could point out the many positives of the company.
In retrospect, the company acknowledges that they could have done a
better job of handling the communication before and during the strike.
Says Sternad,
We had essentially no communications in the first 24 hours.

Our messages simply didn’t resonate with the media or the gen-
eral public, including our customers. We realized that we had not

THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 7
adequately tested our messages before or during the crisis. And we

were much slower to utilize the web than the Teamsters. In the end
we just didn’t have the proper resources aligned to manage the crisis.
UPS learned valuable lessons from the experience that have served
them well in preparing for future crises. Sternad notes,
The real work begins before the crisis hits. The PR team must
make decisions for the long-term and stay focused on priorities. As
in all crises, the first hours are the most critical. How the company
responds initially sets the tone for the rest of the crisis period. That
is why advance research is so critical. Message testing is fundamen-
tal to effective communications, but it must be done before the
crisis hits.
We also saw clearly that in your messages you need steak and
sizzle, facts along with powerful images that touch people’s emo-
tions, not just their intellect. We now cultivate and use third par-
ties on an ongoing basis so that we know them and they know us
long before a crisis. We maintain standby web sites that can be
turned on instantly in the event of a crisis. As painful as it was at
the time, I think we’re a much stronger and better prepared com-
pany because of this experience.
Though UPS may have failed to gets its point across in the heat of the
1997 battle, the longer term story turned out differently. After the strike
was settled, Teamsters president Ron Carey was removed from office,
expelled from the union, and banned from participating in labor activi-
ties for life as a result of his involvement with election irregularities.
The Teamsters had retained control of the pension plan after the 1997
strike, but its financial health continued to erode in the years that fol-
lowed. Pension benefits were cut, the retirement age was raised, and UPS
ultimately negotiated a separate pension plan for more than 40,000 of
its Teamster employees previously in the union plan. It cost UPS more
than $6 billion to exit the union plan and cover its liabilities, compared
to a fraction of that amount it would have cost if they had been granted
control in 1997.

Following the resolution of the strike, UPS saw its strongest growth
and most profitable years in 1998 and 1999. In 1999, UPS became a
publicly traded company through the largest initial public offering of its
stock in the history of Wall Street.
A year later, UPS was named by Forbes magazine as its “Company
of the Year.”
What Can Be Learned From the UPS Case?

Although UPS ultimately overcame the setbacks it incurred from the
Teamsters strike of 1997, the company would have much preferred
avoiding the strike altogether. Clearly, the strike had an adverse impact
on the company’s reputation, an impact that took years to reverse. The
case demonstrates the importance of developing and maintaining rela-
tionships, even with those whom you may feel are adversaries. In this
case, the company underestimated the Teamsters willingness to call for
a strike. They also miscalculated the underlying resentment of Teamsters
members toward the company. Once the strike was under way, the com-
pany began to regain its footing. Management consciously chose not to
vilify its employees, even though they had walked off the job. This strat-
egy proved to be a key in limiting the long-term damage from the strike
and allowing UPS to recover its reputation and rebuild labor relations
within a relatively short time.

CHAPTER 2
What Is Public Relations?

Public relations is a conduit, a facilitator, and a manager of communica-
tion, conducting research, defining problems, and creating meaning by
fostering communication among many groups in society. The United
Parcel Service (UPS) case illustrated the importance of this communica-
tion, both in financial terms—the strike cost UPS about $750 million—
and in terms of reputation with strategic publics.
Public relations is a strategic conversation. As you might imagine, it
is an ephemeral and wide-ranging field, often misperceived, and because
of the lack of message control inherent in public relations, it is difficult
to master. Public relations is even difficult to define. Is it spin or truth
telling? Either way, the public relations function is prevalent and grow-
ing; the fragmentation of media and growth of multiple message sources
means that public relations is on the ascent while traditional forms of
mass communication (such as newspapers) are on the decline.
You can find public relations in virtually every industry, govern-
ment, and nonprofit organization. Its broad scope makes it impossible to
understand without some attention to the taxonomy of this diverse and
dynamic profession. Learning the lexicon of public relations in this chap-
ter will help you master the discipline and help your study move quicker
in subsequent reading.
Corporate and agency public relations differ. These concepts are
discussed in detail in a later chapter, along with nonprofit public rela-
tions and government relations or public affairs. For the purposes of an
overview, we can define corporate public relations as being an in-house
public relations department within a for-profit organization of any size.
On the other hand, public relations agencies are hired consultants that
normally work on an hourly basis for specific campaigns or goals of the
organization that hires them. It is not uncommon for a large corporation
to have both an in-house corporate public relations department and an

external public relations agency that consults on specific issues. As their

names imply, nonprofit public relations refers to not-for-profit organi-
zations, foundations, and other issue- or cause-related groups. Govern-
ment relations or public affairs is the branch of public relations that
specializes in managing relationships with governmental officials and
regulatory agencies.
Defining Public Relations

Among the many competing definitions of public relations, J. Grunig and
Hunt’s is the most widely cited definition of public relations: Public rela-
tions is “the management of communication between an organization and
its publics.”1 One reason this definition is so successful is its parsimony, or
using few words to convey much information. It also lays down the foun-
dation of the profession squarely within management, as opposed to the
competing approaches of journalism or the promotion-based approach
of marketing and advertising that focuses primarily on consumers. The
component parts of Grunig and Hunt’s famous definition of public rela-
tions are as follows:
• Management. The body of knowledge on how best to coordi-

nate the activities of an enterprise to achieve effectiveness.
• Communication. Not only sending a message to a receiver but
also understanding the messages of others through listening
and dialogue.
• Organization. Any group organized with a common purpose;
in most cases, it is a business, a corporation, a governmental
agency, or a nonprofit group.
• Publics. Any group(s) of people held together by a com-
mon interest. They differ from audiences in that they often
self-organize and do not have to attune to messages; publics
differ from stakeholders in that they do not necessarily have
a financial stake tying them to specific goals or consequences
of the organization. Targeted audiences, on the other hand,
are publics who receive a specifically targeted message that is
tailored to their interests.
ibe-bowen-02.indd 10 4/12/10 1:42 PM

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS? 11
As “the management of communication between an organization

and its publics,” public relations has radically departed from its historical
roots in publicity and journalism to become a management discipline—
that is, one based on research and strategy.
The Function of Public Relations

In 1982, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) adopted the
following definition of public relations that helps identify its purpose:
“Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to
each other.”2 In its “Official Statement on Public Relations,” PRSA goes
on to clarify the function of public relations:
• Public relations helps our complex, pluralistic society to

reach decisions and function more effectively by contribut-
ing to mutual understanding among groups and institu-
tions. It serves to bring private and public policies into
harmony.
• Public relations serves a wide variety of institutions in
society such as businesses, trade unions, government agen-
cies, voluntary associations, foundations, hospitals, schools,
colleges and religious institutions. To achieve their goals,
these institutions must develop effective relationships with
many different audiences or publics such as employees,
members, customers, local communities, shareholders and
other institutions, and with society at large.
• The managements of institutions need to understand the
attitudes and values of their publics in order to achieve
institutional goals. The goals themselves are shaped by the
external environment. The public relations practitioner acts
as a counselor to management and as a mediator, helping to
translate private aims into reasonable, publicly acceptable
policy and action.3
As such, the public relations field has grown to encompass the building
of important relationships between an organization and its key publics
ibe-bowen-02.indd 11 4/12/10 1:42 PM

through its actions and its communication. This perspective defines

the field as a management function and offers insight into the roles and
responsibilities of public relations professionals. The PRSA definition,
however, is not perfect: A main weakness of that definition is that it
requires public relations “to bring private and public policies into har-
mony.”4 In reality, we know that the relationships an organization has
with all of its publics cannot always be harmonious. Further, that defini-
tion obligates us to act in the best interest of both the organization and
its publics, which could be logically impossible if those interests are dia-
metrically opposed. A few examples would be class action litigation, boy-
cotts, and oppositional research and lobbying; despite the negative nature
of those relationships, they still require public relations management
and communication.
The unique management function of public relations is critical to the
success of any organization that engages people in its operation, whether
they are shareholders, employees, or customers. Although many people
think of publicity as the sole purpose of public relations, this text will
help you understand that publicity is a subfunction of the overall purpose
of public relations and should not be confused with the broader function.
Naming the Public Relations Function

A plethora of terms has come to be associated with modern-day public
relations practice. Because of the disreputable beginnings of public rela-
tions that we will briefly discuss next, it is often the case that organiza-
tions will choose to name their public relations function by another
moniker. These various terms create much confusion about the respon-
sibilities of public relations versus overlapping or competing organizational
functions. The term corporate communication is the most common
synonym for public relations in practice today,5 followed by marketing
communication and public affairs. We view the term corporate com-
munication as a synonym for public relations, although some scholars
argue that corporate communication only applies to for-profit organi-
zations. However, we view corporate communication as a goal-oriented
communication process that can be applied not only in the business world
but also in the world of nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations,
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WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS? 13
educational foundations, activist groups, faith-based organizations, and

so on. The term public relations often leads to confusion between the
media relations function, public affairs, corporate communication, and
marketing promotions, leading many organizations to prefer the term
corporate communication.
We believe that the key component of effective public relations or
corporate communication is an element of strategy. Many scholars prefer
to use the phrase strategic public relations to differentiate it from the
often misunderstood general term public relations, or “PR,” which can
be linked to manipulation or “spin” in the minds of lay publics. Stra-
tegic communication management, strategic public relations, and
corporate communication are synonyms for the concept displayed in
the preceding definitions. To scholars in the area, public relations is
seen as the larger profession and an umbrella term, comprising many
smaller subfunctions, such as media relations or public affairs or investor
relations. The subfunctions of public relations will be delineated later in
this chapter. Academics tend to use the term public relations, whereas
professionals tend to prefer the term corporate communication. Do not
be distracted by the name debate and the myriad of synonyms possible.
Whatever name you prefer or encounter, a strong body of knowledge in
the field, based on academic study and professional practice, has solidi-
fied the importance of the concepts supporting the strategic communica-
tion function that we will discuss in this text.
Chapter Summary
This chapter has provided an introduction to the purpose of public rela-
tions. Although the public relations function goes by many different
names, it is essential to understand that it is a unique management func-
tion that contributes to an organization’s success through its focus on
developing and maintaining relationships with key publics. Those pub-
lics are generally employees, financial stakeholders or shareholders, com-
munities, governments at many levels, and the media. It is also important
not to confuse the overall purpose of public relations with its subfunc-
tions, such as publicity and media relations. These subfunctions will be
defined in the next chapter and covered in more detail in Chapter 10.
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ibe-bowen-02.indd 14 4/12/10 1:42 PM
CHAPTER 3
Models and Approaches

to Public Relations
Although there were ancient public relations—as far in the past as
ancient Greece—modern-day public relations in the United States began
with a group of revolutionaries mounting a public relations campaign to
turn public opinion in favor of independence from England and King
George. The revolutionaries effectively used words and actions to mount
a successful activist campaign leading to the Revolutionary War. Thomas
Paine’s Common Sense, published in 1776, gave rise to the sentiment that
England’s governance under King George III was unjust. The subsequent
Declaration of Independence and outward acts of protest were largely influ-
enced by the rhetorical arguments found in Paine’s pamphlet, which has
been called the most influential tract of the American Revolution. Slo-
gans, such as Don’t Tread on Me, and use of printed materials, such as
Colonial newspapers, were key message tactics used to sway opinion in
favor of a revolution and a war for independence. Following the indepen-
dence, The Federalist Papers were used to ratify the United States Consti-
tution. These 85 essays were, according to the assessment of Grunig and
Hunt, exemplary forms of effective public relations.1
These founding fathers of the United States used public relations to
build the public consensus necessary for a budding nation to form a new
kind of government and establish the human rights necessary for the
nation to survive.
The Historical Development

of Modern Public Relations
Modern public relations in the United States can also be traced back
to less illustrious beginnings than the creation of a new democratic
ibe-bowen-03.indd 15 4/12/10 1:42 PM

republic.2 P. T. Barnum, of circus fame, made his mark by originating and

employing many publicity or press agentry tactics to generate attention
for his shows and attractions. Barnum was famous for coining the phrase,
“There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”3 He was even known to pen let-
ters to the editor under an assumed name outing some of his attractions
as hoaxes just to generate publicity and keep a story alive. Unfortunately,
Barnum’s ethics left much to be desired.
One-Way Communication Models:

Publicity and Dissemination of Information
Barnum thought that honesty was not the domain of a press agent, and
infamously stated, “The public be fooled.”4 Droves of press agents fol-
lowed in Barnum’s tracks, in efforts to get free space in the news for their
clients, ranging from Hollywood figures to private interests, such as rail-
roads, and also politicians. This approach to public relations was termed
press agentry by Grunig and Hunt because of its reliance on generat-
ing publicity with little regard for truth. For modern-day examples, we
have to look only to the entertainment publicity surrounding a new film
release, or the product publicity around a new energy drink or a new
technological gadget. Publicity and press agentry are synonymous terms
meaning simply to generate attention through the use of media.
The next historical phase resulted in a new model of public relations
that Grunig and Hunt termed public information. In this approach to
public relations, a former journalist works as a writer representing clients,
issuing news releases to media outlets in the same style as journalistic
writing. The idea of the public relations specialist acting as a counselor
to management, as opposed to a simple practitioner of press agentry tac-
tics, was born. The pioneering public information counselor was a man
named Ivy Ledbetter Lee, who revolutionized public relations practice
at the time with the idea of telling the truth. Lee studied at Harvard
Law School, but went on to find a job as a journalist. After working as a
successful journalist for a number of years, Ivy Lee realized that he had
a real ability for explaining complicated topics to people, and had the
idea of being a new kind of press agent. Rather than tricking the public,
Lee saw his role as one of educating the public about truthful facts and
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MODELS AND APPROACHES TO PUBLIC RELATIONS 17
supplying all possible information to the media. Ivy Lee opened the third
public relations agency in the United States in 1904, representing clients
such as the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Rockefeller family, and the Anthra-
cite Coal Roads and Mine Company.5 Lee became the first public relations
practitioner to issue a code of ethics in 1906, based on his declaration that
“the public be informed”—to replace railroad tycoon Commodore Cor-
nelius Vanderbilt’s infamous statement, “The public be damned.”6 Ivy Lee
ushered in a more respectable form of public relations that is objective and
factual. His public information approach is still in use today, especially in
government reporting, quarterly earnings statements, and similar reports
intended simply to inform.
Both the press agentry and public information models of public rela-
tions are based on writing and technical skill with images, words, Web
sites, and media relations. These concepts are based on a one-way dissem-
ination of information. They are not management-based models because
strategic management is based on research. Research is what makes man-
agement a strategic pursuit based on knowledge and data that comprise
two-way communication, as opposed to a simple one-way dissemination
of information based on assumptions.
Two-Way Communication Models:

Strategic Management of Public Relations
The next two models of public relations are based on research. Using
research to gather public opinion data led scholars to label these models
two-way rather than one-way because they more resemble a conversation
than a simple dissemination of information. Grunig and Hunt termed
the two management models asymmetrical and symmetrical.
The asymmetrical model was pioneered between 1920 and 1950
by Edward Bernays, nephew of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, and is
based on the principles of behavioral psychology. Public relations research
seeks to determine what publics know and understand or believe about
the client organization, issues of importance, and so on. Then, in the
asymmetrical model, once these beliefs are learned through polling and
other means, they are incorporated into the public relations messages
distributed by the organization. It is called asymmetrical because it is
ibe-bowen-03.indd 17 4/12/10 1:42 PM

imbalanced in favor of the communicator; the communicator undergoes

no real change, but simply uses the ideas she knows will resonate in com-
municating with publics with the purpose of persuading them on some
issue or topic. For example, if I am a politician running for reelection and
my research identifies tax cuts as an important topic with publics, then I
include the importance of tax cuts in my next campaign speech. Research
is a key component of this model, as it seeks to persuade publics to adopt
the attitudes and beliefs that are favorable to the organization based on the
collection of data about their existent beliefs.
The symmetrical model was also pioneered by Edward Bernays
and several prominent public relations practitioners and educators
between about 1960 to 1980. It seeks also to use research on public
opinion just as the asymmetrical model does. However, it does not use
research with the intent to persuade, but to build mutual understand-
ing between both publics and organizations. Organizations are open
to changing their internal policies and practices in this model based
on what they learn from their publics. It is a collaborative approach to
building understanding, and, although not perfectly balanced, it is a
moving equilibrium in which both sides in the communication process
have an opportunity to have input and change an issue. To revise this
example, after research identifying tax cuts as an issue, a symmetrical
politician would actually incorporate tax cuts into her belief system and
offer ideas supporting those beliefs on the campaign trail.
In modern public relations, we often see a mixing of the public rela-
tions models among multiple tactics or communication tools within one
public relations campaign. It is best to think of the models as theoreti-
cal constructs that, in implementation, become combined through the
mixed motives of public relations. In most cases, public relations profes-
sionals not only want to aid their employer or client but also to assist
the publics outside the organization to access and understand the inner
workings of the firm. This mixed-motive approach is based on the real-
world contingencies that impact public relations decisions, and the desire
to facilitate communication on both sides of an issue, both for organiza-
tions and for publics.
ibe-bowen-03.indd 18 4/12/10 1:42 PM

Summary of the Models of Public Relations
In summary, the historical development of the field showed four distinct

models of public relations, as identified by Grunig and Hunt. With this
brief background in the history of public relations, you likely know enough
about the models now to begin employing each in your public relations
management. All are still in use in public relations practice today, and
these terms are used in the academic literature and in public relations man-
agement. The one-way models are not based on social scientific research
but on a simple dissemination of information. The two-way models are
based on research, which is what makes them the two-way management
model. In order of their development, the models are as follows:
• Press agentry. One-way (information) dissemination focusing

on publicity for persuasion/attention.
• Public information. One-way (information) dissemination
providing information.
• Two-way asymmetrical. Two-way (research), which is imbal-
anced in favor of persuading publics to support the organiza-
tions’ interests.
• Two-way symmetrical. Two-way (research), which is more
balanced in terms of creating mutual understanding; moving
equilibrium.
Due to the mixed-motives inherent in the public relations process, public

relations professionals will most likely use a combination of these models
in public relations management. These models suggest an overall phi-
losophy of public relations, while situations require different approaches.
Therefore, it is also useful to have public relations strategies that reflect a
contingency of varying approaches, as discussed later in this volume.
The Subfunctions of Public Relations

Before we delve deeper into the profession, we would like to introduce
you to the subfunctions or specialties within public relations. Think of
the public relations function as a large umbrella profession encompass-
ing many subfunctions. Those subfunctions are often independent units
ibe-bowen-03.indd 19 4/12/10 1:42 PM

within an organization, sometimes reporting to public relations and

sometimes reporting to other organizational units such as legal, market-
ing, or human resources. Learning the subfunctions and the lexicon of
terminology associated with this function is crucial to understanding how
to manage an integrated and effective public relations function. The fol-
lowing subfunctions will be discussed in more detail later in this volume.
Although there are many subfunctions that make up public relations,
most people would identify two major types, corporate and agency. Corpo-
rate, or “in-house,” is a part of the organization or business. It functions
to create relationships between an organization and its various publics.
The second type of subfunction is associated with the public relations
agency; its purpose is to assist organizations in a specific area of expertise.
Typical Corporate Public Relations Subfunctions

It is important to note that each subfunction may differ according to orga-
nizational structure and size, as we discuss in Chapter 5, “Organizational
Factors Contributing to Excellent Public Relations.” Sometimes the public
relations subfunctions overlap and one department (or even one person)
is responsible for many or all of these activities. Large organizations, par-
ticularly those with multiple locations doing business internationally, will
sometimes have multiple units covering just one of these subspecialties in
public relations. Oftentimes the public relations function is structured with
a separate department handling each of the responsibilities.
Issues Management
Issues management is arguably the most important subfunction of public

relations. Issues management is the forward-thinking, problem-solving,
management-level function responsible for identifying problems, trends,
industry changes, and other potential issues that could impact the organi-
zation. Issues management requires a formidable knowledge of research,
environmental monitoring, the organization’s industry and business
model, and management strategy.
ibe-bowen-03.indd 20 4/12/10 1:42 PM

Media Relations
The media relations subfunction is likely the most visible portion of pub-
lic relations that an organization conducts because it deals directly with
external media. The media relations subfunction is a largely technical
function, meaning it is based on the technical skill of producing public
relations materials, or outputs. Outputs are often related to tactics, and
examples of tactics include news releases, podcasts, brochures, video news
releases for the broadcast media, direct mail pieces, photographs, Web
sites, press kits, and social media (digital media).
Community Relations
As the name implies, the community relations subfunction is responsi-

ble for establishing and maintaining relationships with an organization’s
communities. Normally this territory implies a physical community, as in
the borders of manufacturing facilities with their residential neighbors.
Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Oftentimes the functions of strategically donating funds or services and

a corporate social responsibility endeavor are part of the public relations
department’s efforts. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires corpora-
tions to hold to a code of ethics and to report on their socially responsible
conduct. The public relations subfunction responsible for this reporting
usually is called the CSR unit or department and often is combined with
or managed by community relations.
Financial and Investor Relations
Many managers do not realize that public relations is the function

responsible for writing an organization’s annual report, quarterly earnings
statements, and communicating with investors and market analysts. This
type of public relations normally requires experience with accounting and
financial reporting.
ibe-bowen-03.indd 21 4/12/10 1:42 PM

Marketing Communications
Marketing communications is also known as integrated marketing com-

munications or integrated communications. Publicity and product promo-
tion targeting the specific public consumers is the focus of this subfunction.
Public relations strategies and tactics are used primarily through a press
agentry model meant to increase awareness and persuade consumers to try
or buy a certain product.
Government Relations and Public Affairs, Including Lobbying
The public affairs of an organization are the issues of interest to a citi-

zenry or community about which an organization must communicate.
Government relations handles maintaining relationships with both regu-
latory agencies and appointed and elected officials.
Internal Relations
Maintaining an effective and satisfied workforce is the job of internal rela-

tions. Public relations professionals who specialize in internal relations
have the primary responsibilities of communicating with intraorganiza-
tional publics, executives, management, administrative staff, and labor.
Typical Public Relations Agency Subfunctions

In addition to the general media relations activities offered by many public
relations agencies, seven specializations or subfunctions commonly exist.
Crisis Management
Crisis management involves both planning for and reacting to emergency

situations. Organizations have a need for quick response plans and fast
and accurate information provided to the news media that public rela-
tions agencies specializing in crisis or risk management often provide and
implement in the case of a crisis.
ibe-bowen-03.indd 22 4/12/10 1:42 PM

Lobbying
As an adjunct to the government relations or public affairs unit of the cor-

poration, an external lobbying firm may also be hired. Lobbyists normally
have expertise with the industry for which they are hired to communicate,
and maintain relationships with legislators, press secretaries, and other
governmental officials. They often provide educational documents, policy
analysis, and research to those in government on behalf of clients.
Member Relations
The public relations subfunction known as member relations, as the name

implies, is responsible for maintaining good relationships with members
of an organization. These members may be alumni, donors, members of
activist or support groups, or virtually any group distinguished by a com-
monality and requiring membership.
Development and Fund-Raising
The public relations subfunction of development fund-raising often over-

laps with member relations in that it seeks to build support, particularly
in the form of financial donations or government grants.
Polling and Research
Polling and research are carried out to such an extent within public rela-
tions that specialized firms exist to conduct these activities full time, usu-
ally on a contract or retainer basis. It should be noted, however, that very
large organizations often have their own research “departments” within
one or more public relations subfunctions.
Sports, Entertainment, and Travel Public Relations
Specialized forms of public relations exist as public relations subfunctions

for each of these very large industries.
ibe-bowen-03.indd 23 4/12/10 1:42 PM

Advertising
Although advertising is a separate profession from public relations, it is

usually employed as part of a public relations campaign.
Chapter Summary
This chapter has provided the basic knowledge of public relations models
and subfunctions (both corporate and agency) necessary to understand
and expand your knowledge of this vast and ever-changing profession.
The models and subfunctions are those that generally comprise public
relations, although they do vary by industry. The organization size, type,
amount of government regulation, and even the organization’s compe-
tition will determine whether it has all or some of these subfunctions
present in-house, outsources them as needed, or relies on public relations
agencies. Normally an organization will have a majority of the subfunc-
tions on this list. They may be structured as part of the public relations
department, or as independent units reporting to it, to another function,
or to senior management.
Knowing the terminology related to the subfunctions helps to iden-
tify different forms of public relations and combinations of these efforts
in practice. In order to achieve the most with public relations initiatives,
it is important to know which subfunctions must exist, which work well
with one another, and which need independence or autonomy. Further
in the book, we will apply this knowledge to examine the structuring of
the public relations department and subfunctions. We will examine how
organizational structure has an impact on the models of public relations
employed and the subfunctions that exist in practice.
ibe-bowen-03.indd 24 4/12/10 1:42 PM

CHAPTER 4
Public Relations as a
Management Function
In the opening chapters, we provided an overview of public relations,
including definitions, a brief history of the profession, and a descrip-
tion of the models and subfunctions common in the profession. In these
chapters, public relations was defined as a unique management function
that uses communication to help manage relationships with key publics.
In this chapter, we will expound on this management function, explain-
ing why companies need public relations and how the public relations
function is comprised of specialized roles.
Functions of Management
Organizations usually have several management functions to help them
operate at their maximum capacity: research and development, finance,
legal, human resources, marketing, and operations. Each of these func-
tions is focused on its own contribution to the success of the organiza-
tion. Public relations’ unique function is to help the organization develop
and maintain relationships with all of its key publics and stakeholders by
effectively communicating with these groups. Communication is key in
maintaining a satisfactory, long-term, trusting relationships with publics
and stakeholders.
As described earlier, public relations provides the greatest value to an
organization when it is used strategically. But what does this really mean?
Think of it this way: In an effective organization, all the major func-
tions are linked together by a common set of strategies that tie in to an
overall vision of the future and an underlying set of values. Perhaps a
computer company has as its vision, “To become the low cost provider
of computing power to the developing world.” From this vision, senior
ibe-bowen-04.indd 25 4/12/10 1:42 PM

management develops a set of strategies that address areas like sourcing,

the manufacturing footprint, marketing, design, human resource devel-
opment, and product distribution. When all the elements are in sync, the
company grows in a steady, profitable manner.
An important component of this set of strategies is a communication
strategy. For example, it will be critical that all employees in the organiza-
tion understand that strategy and their role in executing it. Many busi-
ness failures are ultimately attributable to the confusion caused by poor
communication. How many times have you received poor customer ser-
vice from an employee in a restaurant or retail outlet? In all likelihood,
the organization that employed this worker intended for him or her to
deliver good service to you. But somewhere along the line the communica-
tion flow broke down. Perhaps the employee’s direct supervisor or the store
manager was not an effective communicator. Whatever the cause, the end
result is a dissatisfied customer and diminished loyalty to the relationship.
In addition to reaching employees, a successful organization must also
communicate effectively with its customers, its suppliers, and if it is a
public company, its shareholders. For each key public, a set of messages
must be developed as well as a plan to reach the public in the most effi-
cient way. If the company is targeting young people with its message, a
high-impact article in the Wall Street Journal is going to completely miss
the mark for this strategic public. If instead the public is high net-worth
investors, a clever YouTube video may also not be the right answer.
Although public relations has a unique and important function within
organizations, it is often practiced differently depending on the role the
top communicator plays within the organization, as we discuss next.
Public Relations Roles

In general, public relations professionals can be communication manag-
ers who organize and integrate communication activities, or they can be
communication technicians who primarily write and construct messages.
Research in this area led to the identification of four specific roles: the
technician role and three types of communication managers.
Most practitioners begin their careers as communication techni-
cians. This role requires executing strategies with the communication
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PUBLIC RELATIONS AS A MANAGEMENT FUNCTION 27
tactics of news releases, employee newsletters, position papers, media

placements, Web site content, speeches, blogs, and social media messag-
ing. Practitioners in this role are usually not involved in defining prob-
lems and developing solutions, but base their tactics on the technical skill
of writing. The expert prescriber is similar to the role a doctor performs
with a patient: He or she is an authority on a particular industry, prob-
lem, or type of public relations and is given the primary responsibility
to handle this function as a consultant or with little input or partici-
pation by other senior management. The communication facilitator is
a boundary spanner who listens to and brokers information between
the organization and its key publics. According to Cutlip, Center, and
Broom, the goal of this role is “to provide both management and publics
the information they need for making decisions of mutual interest.”1 The
problem-solving facilitator collaborates with other managers to define
and solve problems. This role requires that the professional is a part of
the dominant coalition of the organization and has access to other senior
managers. The problem-solving facilitator helps other managers think
through organizational problems using a public relations perspective.
Research on these four roles found that the communication techni-
cian role was distinct from the other three roles and that the latter three
roles were highly correlated.2 In other words, an expert prescriber was also
likely to fulfill the role of the communication facilitator and the problem-
solving facilitator. To resolve the lack of mutual exclusiveness in the latter
three roles, they were combined into one role: communication man-
ager. The dichotomy between the communication technician and the
communication manager more accurately explained the responsibilities
of public relations practitioners within organizations.
Research indicates that practitioners in a predominantly technician
role spend the majority of their time writing, producing, and placing
communication messages.3 Typically, those in this role are creative and
talented with language and images. Their capacity to create and produce
messages with powerful imagery and evocative language is very important
to the execution of public relations tactics. However, technicians rarely
have a seat at the management table and do not have a voice in the strat-
egy of the organization. Once the strategy is decided, the technician is
brought in to execute the deliverables (or tactics) in the strategy.
ibe-bowen-04.indd 27 4/12/10 1:42 PM

The communication manager is involved in the strategic thinking of

an organization and must be able to conduct research and measurement
and share data that informs better decisions for managing relationships
with key publics. The communications manager thinks strategically, which
means he or she will be focused on the efforts of the organization that con-
tribute to the mutually beneficial relationships that help an organization
achieve its bottom-line goals. These efforts are not limited to communica-
tion strategies, but include monitoring an organization’s external environ-
ment, scanning for issues that might impact the organization, and helping
an organization adapt to the needs of its stakeholders.
A study on excellence in the practice of public relations found that
one of the major predictors of excellence was whether the role of the
top public relations executive was a manager role or a technician role.4
Those in the management role were much more likely to have a positive
impact on the organization’s public relations practice. In order for corpo-
rate communication to function strategically, the executive in charge of
the function must have a place at the decision-making table.
The C-Suite
Virtually all organizations are run by a senior leadership team that is
responsible for setting strategy and carrying out the organization’s vision.
Although publicly traded companies, as well as nonprofit organizations,
may be governed ultimately by a board of directors, this board looks to
the chief executive and his or her senior team to operate the company on
a day-to-day basis.
The key functions in an organization include finance, headed by a
chief financial officer (CFO); legal, which reports to the General Counsel;
human resources, led by a chief personnel officer (CPO); information ser-
vices, reporting to the chief information officer (CIO); marketing, often led
by a chief marketing officer (CMO); and communication, which reports
to the chief communications officer (CCO). These functional areas serve
the operations of the company, which in some cases report to a president
or chief operating officer. In many cases the CEO also is president/COO
(chief operating officer) of the organization.
ibe-bowen-04.indd 28 4/12/10 1:42 PM

Although organizational structures vary from company to company,

these basic functional areas are usually present in the senior team. In
some cases, the communication function is subordinated under another
area, such as marketing, legal, or human resources. When this is the case,
it becomes more difficult for the senior communications leader to play a
meaningful role in the strategic decision-making process. The commu-
nication function brings to the senior team a different perspective from
these other areas. The legal function is focused primarily on compliance
with the law; marketing is focused primarily on the company’s competi-
tive position with the customer; human resources (HR) is focused almost
exclusively on employee compensation and development issues. In other
words, communication is the only function with eyes on all the publics
inside and outside of the organization, and should be included in strate-
gic decision making.
Role of Communication in Decision Making

One of the common denominators for officers in the C-suite is the
imperative to make good decisions that affect their ability to positively
contribute to the goals of the organization. The ability to make good
decisions often defines a valuable manager. To make good decisions,
managers need good information. By definition, good information helps
reduce uncertainty in making a decision. Rarely is a decision made with
utter certainty, but managers need enough information to have confi-
dence that their decisions will result in positive consequences. This infor-
mation is provided as data regarding these various functions: product
testing, market research, legal precedents, and financial statements. Since
public relations’ role is to help the organization develop and maintain
good relationships, it must provide data or information about how the
organization can achieve this. This is how strategic public relations earns
its seat at the executive table.
The communication function looks at all the stakeholders in the
organization and uses a variety of tools and tactics to enhance relation-
ships with these publics. At its best, the communication function uses
research and monitoring methods to keep a finger on the pulse of inter-
nal and external perceptions of the organization. It uses a variety of
ibe-bowen-04.indd 29 4/12/10 1:42 PM

communication channels to enhance the organization’s reputation. And

most importantly it provides strategic counsel to the organization’s lead-
ers to help the team make better decisions.
Some have suggested that the communication function serves or
should serve as the corporate conscience. They contend that communica-
tion leaders have a uniquely objective perspective that allows them to
weigh the sometimes conflicting needs of different publics and to help
the organization make more balanced decisions. Although there is much
truth to this perspective, we add that the conscience of the organization,
its moral obligation to do the right thing, is one that is shared by all who
lead it, including the CEO, the board, and the senior management team.
As the top communication professional, the CCO has an important
responsibility to ensure that all key stakeholders are given due consider-
ation when critical decisions are made. In that regard, the CCO acts as
the voice for many who are not in the room when choices are made. He or
she must keep in mind the minority shareholders, overlooked employee
segments, nongovernmental organizations, special interest groups, elected
officials, community leaders, and others who may be affected by the deci-
sion and who have influential roles in their respective areas.
By providing this overarching perspective, the CCO does much more
than deliver tactical communication products. This strategic counsel is
what CEOs and other leaders are increasingly seeking in all members of
the senior team. By delivering it, the CCO enhances the value of the
function and ensures ongoing participation in charting the future course
for the company.
Strategy and Profit Motivation
Public relations as a profession is often thought of as nothing more than

a simple set of tactics. Far too often those in the profession are portrayed
in the media and in popular culture as a group of empty-headed party
planners or deceptive flacks willing to say anything to get publicity for
their clients. The tools of the trade—news releases, press conferences,
media events, employee newsletters—are considered as discrete tactics
that rarely if ever are driven by an underlying strategy.
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This, like other stereotypes, is simply not supported by fact. As prac-

ticed by most large organizations and agencies, public relations is an
integral part of overall strategy. Communication programs are developed
based on extensive research to address specific business objectives with
stated outcomes, target audiences, and key messages. The results of these
efforts can be measured, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Think of it this way: When an organization develops a strategic plan,
it usually does so with a relatively small number of key executives. These
leaders look at the company’s strengths, organization, challenging issues,
and potential problems that could arise. They consider the organization’s
financial position, its growth prospects, its competitive position, and the
changing landscape in which it operates.
When they have considered all of these factors, they map out a strat-
egy that will build on the company’s current strengths, address its relative
areas of weakness, take advantage of opportunities, and prepare for loom-
ing threats. They may decide, for example, to be the low-cost provider
in their industry segment. Or they may decide to take advantage of their
expertise in new product development, or to exploit their superior distri-
bution network.
At some point, the strategy must be executed by a much larger, geo-
graphically dispersed network of employees. This is where the commu-
nication strategy becomes crucial. If a company has a long track record
of fighting with its employees over issues like pay, benefits, union repre-
sentation, child care programs, or workplace safety, it will be much more
difficult to call upon them to launch a new initiative aimed at improving
customer service.
In large measure, an important role of the communication func-
tion team is to help balance the needs of all publics—employees, inves-
tors, customers, communities—as the organization makes key decisions.
For example, assume that a company is facing financial difficulties due to
declining market share in one part of the United States. They are faced with
the decision of closing a regional plant since that level of manufacturing
capacity is no longer needed. In the past, they simply might have turned
to the public relations executive and said, “We’re closing the Milwaukee
plant. Try to put a good face on it.” An organization that views the com-
munication function as a strategic partner instead would say,
ibe-bowen-04.indd 31 4/12/10 1:42 PM

We’ve got too much manufacturing capacity; operations is recom-

mending that we close Milwaukee. We’d like you to take a look
at the impact this will have with our employees, customers, and
the community there and help us measure this as we examine the
alternatives. There may be another choice that won’t be as painful
to the organization.
Balancing the needs of publics is just one facet of the impact public
relations can have on achieving organizational goals. It obviously depends
on the organization, but in almost every case, effective communication
programs help drive strategy from conception to delivery. Successful
internal communication programs can improve the ability of supervi-
sors to motivate employees and build pride in the organization. Creative
external communication programs can improve customer relationships,
build brand recognition, encourage investor interest in a publicly traded
company, and increase the effectiveness of traditional advertising and
marketing efforts. Community outreach programs can help local resi-
dents appreciate the impact of a company on the surrounding area in
which it operates. The impact of well-conceived strategic communication
programs can be profound, and many companies have already benefitted
by recognizing this importance and building upon the strengths public
relations brings to the table.
In 2007, the Arthur W. Page Society, a membership organization
of chief communications officers at the largest corporations, agency
CEOs, and leading academics, produced a white paper called The
Authentic Enterprise.5 The report examined the evolving role of the
senior communications executive in 21st-century business. According
to this report, the role of the CCO is much broader than it was even a
few years ago. The CCO of today and tomorrow must assert leadership
in the following:
• Defining and instilling company values

• Building and managing multistakeholder relationships
• Enabling the enterprise with “new media” skills and tools
• Building and managing trust6
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The communication executive does not own these responsibilities

alone. They are shared with other members of the leadership team. But
the communication executive can and should take a lead role in ensuring
that these responsibilities are fulfilled by the organization.
Business Acumen
Having a seat at the decision-making table is not a right, it is a privilege.
Think of it this way: If you were planning an extended trip to Mexico,
you would probably want to brush up on your Spanish before embark-
ing. You could probably get by without speaking Spanish, but you would
be far more effective and much better accepted by the locals if you at least
made an attempt to speak their native language.
It is not so different at the management table. There the participants
are speaking the language of business. They are talking about margin
performance and market capitalization and earnings growth. They are
discussing business strategy and market share and competitive position.
If you are not conversant in this terminology and the thinking behind
it, you are at a distinct disadvantage as a team member.
The Page Society surveyed chief executive officers at large multina-
tional corporations to determine how these CEOs viewed the role of the
chief communications officer in a successful executive team. According to
results reported in the Authentic Enterprise white paper, the most impor-
tant attribute of an ideal CCO or communications manager was detailed
knowledge of the business.
This is far and away the most critical quality for a top communi-
cations executive. All CEOs believe that their businesses are large
and complex entities, and that their companies cannot be commu-
nicated well if their top communications executives do not inti-
mately understand them.7
Why does this understanding matter to CEOs and other members of

the C-suite? In order to build persuasive communication programs that
advance the objectives of the organization, the communication team,
especially those who lead it, must first understand these objectives. They
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must also understand the context in which the organization is pursuing

the objectives—both the business context and in external forces.
It is extremely important to build credibility with the publics you are
trying to reach. When a spokesperson for an organization cannot convey
anything beyond what is contained in carefully scripted talking points,
the recipient of the information loses trust and confidence in the indi-
vidual. Many reporters are reluctant to speak to a media relations pro-
fessional if they believe that individual does not really understand the
organization or the industry in which it operates. Communication pro-
fessionals who have a thorough understanding of business, government,
community issues, and the specific organization they serve are simply
more valuable contributors to the overall effort.
Gaining knowledge about an organization and its business objectives
does not mean gaining the expertise needed to be CFO, General Counsel,
or head of accounting. There are some fundamental areas that are impor-
tant to understand, general principles that will help communications pro-
fessionals speak more credibly and work as more valued team members.
For example, publicly traded, for-profit companies all operate within
a set of guidelines, standard benchmarks, and mileposts that help their
publics gain insight about their financial health, prospects for growth,
and competitive position. These measures can provide a quick snapshot
of an organization’s health in the same way that temperature, pulse rate,
and blood pressure readings can give a physician a measure of a patient’s
well-being.
Maintaining Core Competencies

How does one gain much of the knowledge referenced earlier in addition
to staying current with rapid changes? In some cases it makes sense to do
so by pursuing additional educational opportunities. A number of courses
are offered, for example, that teach basic finance for nonfinancial managers.
Some communication professionals return to school to pursue a Master of
Business Administration (MBA) or executive Master of Arts (MA).
Even without taking these steps, we can learn a great deal by sim-
ply following the business media, especially the Wall Street Journal; the
major business magazines such as Business Week, Fortune, and Forbes; and
ibe-bowen-04.indd 34 4/12/10 1:42 PM

broadcast media such as CNBC or Fox Business. The Internet also pro-
vides an endless source of information about individual companies and
issues that affect all types of organizations and industries.
In the end, conversations with colleagues can provide incredible edu-
cational opportunities. The ability to listen, to ask insightful questions
and to learn from others enables the communication professional to gain
ample knowledge of the workings of business in general and a single
company or organization more specifically. This knowledge, combined
with an understanding of the industry and the ability to utilize commu-
nication expertise, provides a valuable combination of specialized abilities
that can be used to benefit the entire organization.
Chapter Summary
Research on best practices of public relations sponsored by the Interna-
tional Association of Business Communicators suggests that excellent
public relations occurs when the senior communications officer is part
of the dominant coalition and has a presence in the C-suite.8 When the
public relations function is relegated to a communication technician role,
it is not fulfilling its unique management function.
As mentioned previously, this status must be earned. Public relations
professionals gain that access by providing essential information and
counsel necessary for making important decisions. When these commu-
nication professionals have the advanced knowledge of strategic public
relations, including research and evaluation, and demonstrate business
acumen, they should be a part of that management team.
The next chapter will identify other organizational factors that also
influence how public relations is practiced.
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ibe-bowen-04.indd 36 4/12/10 1:42 PM
PART II
Organizations and
Processes
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CHAPTER 5
Organizational Factors
Contributing to Excellent
Public Relations
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) study
on Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management (Excel-
lence Study) found three primary variables for predicting excellence: com-
municator knowledge, shared expectations about communication, and the
character of organizations.1 As mentioned in Chapter 4, public relations
professionals who demonstrate greater management skills are more likely
to participate in the C-suite. However, there are also organizational factors
that influence the role that public relations plays in an organization. First,
management must value the contributions that public relations can make
to an organization; second, there must be a participative culture; and third,
the organization must support diversity of people and ideas.
The Excellence Study found that communicator expertise was not
enough to predict the best practices of public relations.2 There had to
be shared expectations between the communications function and senior
management or dominant coalition. If the chief executive officer (CEO)
and other top managers expect the public relations function to be stra-
tegic and contribute to the organization’s bottom-line goals, they often
require and support practices that included research and strategic plan-
ning and management rather than simply press releases and media place-
ment. Such demand for advanced, two-way communication influences
the actual practice in these organizations. It requires hiring and retaining
professionals who can conduct research and analyze data that allows for
more strategic practices.
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Value of Public Relations

In order to gain a strategic management role in the organization, the
public relations function must show its value to management. Hambrick
said that coping with uncertainty is the basis for demonstrating value.3
Technology, workflow, and external environments all contribute to creat-
ing uncertainties and, therefore, strategic contingencies. Excellent public
relations should help an organization cope with the uncertainties. This
can be achieved only with data and useful information. Information the-
ory posits that data are only useful inasmuch as they reduce uncertainty.
When the public relations function provides information and feed-
back about stakeholder needs and expectations, it performs a critical task
for the organization that is unique to its function. Saunders suggested
that reducing uncertainty, performing a critical task, and being nonsub-
stitutable and pervasive all contribute to the influence of any function in
an organization.4 Influence is increased when public relations can show
that it is unique and cannot be substituted by another function within the
organization (it is nonsubstitutable) and when it is connected throughout
the organization in such a way that it can help manage relationships with
all the key stakeholders (it is pervasive). This unique task is much more
critical to the organization when it is focused on establishing, maintain-
ing, and repairing relationships with key stakeholders who are needed to
help the organization be successful. When the function is simply public-
ity and media relations, these outcomes may be considered less critical
and somewhat disposable when budgets become limited.
Organizational Culture
Organizations that scored high on the Excellence Study indicators had
a culture that was participative rather than authoritarian. An organiza-
tion’s formal structure can often predict how much participation occurs
in making decisions. Organizations that have very centralized and formal
structures keep the decision-making function in the hands of a few top
managers. Such hierarchical structures often have difficulty dealing with
dynamic external environments, because their insulated structures are
slower to respond and depend on few voices for making decisions. Rob-
bins argued that centralization is the most detrimental factor impeding
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ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS 41
organizational effectiveness.5 As L. Grunig summarized, decentralization

“has the advantages of reducing the probability of information overload,
providing more voices in the decision-making process, responding rap-
idly to new information, instilling motivation, and helping train manag-
ers to make good decisions.”6 Mintzberg identified two decentralization
strategies to help organizations deal with dynamic environments: verti-
cal and horizontal.7 Vertical decentralization is delegating formal deci-
sion-making power downward through the chain of command, so that
the person closest to the situation can make the appropriate decision.
Horizontal decentralization occurs when decision-making power flows
informally to people in operating core (people who directly produce the
goods and services), technostructure (staff who design, maintain, and
adjust work flow processes and structure), and support staff (people who
provide indirect support to the rest of the organization: human resources,
public relations, legal counsel).
To allow for participative cultures, organizations need to be relatively
decentralized because organizational culture can actively shape an organiza-
tion’s management style and employees’ day-to-day behaviors.8 Culture has
been defined in the organizational behavior literature as the set of values,
ideologies, and cognitions that are shared and understood through social inter-
action and that determine appropriate behavior. Some organizations have
strong (cohesive) cultures, whereas others can be relatively weak (ambigu-
ous). Weak cultures have been tied to increases in political behavior because
the values establishing expected behavior are not clearly understood.
For excellent public relations, the values that encourage participative
decision making need to be present. The IABC study found the following
variables described participative cultures: people feeling part of the team,
working together, management caring about employees, everyone treated as
equals, participation in decisions, management sharing power and respon-
sibility, and the promotion of teamwork.9 Organizations with authoritative
cultures often correlated with centralized decision making and include such
variables as rigid control by management, competition between depart-
ments, influence (who you know being more important than what you
know), decisions based on authority, and fear of senior management. Not
surprisingly, the Excellence Study found greater job satisfaction within par-
ticipative cultures. More importantly, the organizations with participative
ibe-bowen-05.indd 41 4/12/10 1:43 PM

cultures were also more likely to practice public relations that used two-
way communication and research and that was more effective in helping
the organization meets its goals and objectives.
Another important predictor of quality cultures in an organization
is the treatment of women and employees from culturally diverse back-
grounds. As the Excellence Study summarized, employees from diverse
backgrounds provide a better picture of the reality outside the organiza-
tion. Senior managers tend to be isolated from outside factors when they
surround themselves with people just like them. Weick recommended
requisite variety for senior management, which refers to the concept of
striving to have inclusiveness in the management team that reflects out-
side publics.10 Without variety among employees and leaders, an orga-
nization can get out of touch with the diversity of its stakeholders. This
isolation can lead to awkward interactions and misunderstandings with
these publics. Communication can be a difficult endeavor and requires
shared experiences to eliminate misinterpretation. Diversity begins
within the organization that demonstrates respect for all individuals. This
respect for all individuals then extends to all stakeholders and becomes
an essential condition for establishing mutually satisfactory relationships.
Organizational Structure
Organizational structure can, of course, have an impact on communi-
cation because of the reporting structures and flow of information in
the organization. The typical structure of a simplified organization can
be seen in Figure 5.1, with direct reporting relationships represented as
solid lines.
In this figure, a service or information arm would likely be present,
but our concern is to focus on the role of the chief communications offi-
cer (CCO) relative to the other members of the dominant coalition, or
C-suite, all reporting to the CEO. Those executives may vary from orga-
nization to organization and industry to industry, depending on the size
of the pursuit, how complex it is, and how many sites it operates. Imag-
ine that there are many levels of employees as we move down the organi-
zation who are not represented in this chart.
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Figure 5.1. Simple organizational structure.
In an organization with a production component, such as any

manufacturing-based organization, a more complex understanding of
the organization begins to emerge. We can see in Figure 5.2 how the
chief production officer, or CPO, is added into the dominant coalition
mix, alongside the chief finance officer (CFO), chief marketing officer
(CMO), legal counsel, and CCO.
Most organizations of this type would have a very wide base of hourly
production workers reporting to the CPO, as well as numerous supervi-
sors and administrative staff of various kinds and levels throughout the
chart. Simplifying it to the direct-reporting relationships involved in the
management chain of command allows us to see how the corporate com-
munication function both reports to the CEO and interacts with the rest
of the dominant coalition across functional areas.
Finally, the public relations agency structure can vary a great deal
from firm to firm, but it is based upon a consulting relationship to the
client. A direct reporting relationship with a senior account executive or
vice president of accounts is normally established, as well as a dotted-
line, or as-needed, less frequent and more informal reporting relationship
ibe-bowen-05.indd 43 4/12/10 1:43 PM

Figure 5.2. Organizational structure with a production

(manufacturing) component.
between an account executive (AE) and the lead of the agency, often the
president or CEO. (See Figure 5.3 for an example of public relations
agency structure.)
The AE would have more routine contact with the client on a day-to-
day working basis, and the CEO would have only infrequent but impor-
tant contact with the client. The senior AE would normally oversee the
account and all of its operations. The agency would provide creative ser-
vices, such as graphic design and layout, media relations activities and
story placement, and some marketing promotions activities for the client.
Some firms have a relationship with advertising agencies, or have an in-
house liaison for working with advertising initiatives. The technical skills
role in public relations is normally an entry-level position focusing on
writing and the creation of tactics or messages that will be disseminated.
The larger portion of the chart on the bottom level would be comprised
of many technicians of varying production specialties, and also normally
employs administrative staff and some interns.
ibe-bowen-05.indd 44 4/12/10 1:43 PM

Figure 5.3. Public relations agency structure.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, we reviewed findings from the Excellence Study and other
sources about the important impact that organizational culture and
structure have on the communication function, the view the CEO holds
of the public relations practice, and the reasons for encouraging a partici-
pative organizational culture as a factor that builds effectiveness. Research
supports the notion that public relations is more effective for organiza-
tions when it is valued by the dominant coalition or C-suite, the orga-
nizational structure is relatively decentralized allowing decision-making
autonomy, and there is a direct reporting line between the CCO and
the CEO. Further, the Excellence Study argued that the best organizations
value participation and diversity.
Obviously, these organizational factors are going to vary from orga-
nization to organization, and the structure and organizational cultural
elements often reflect the unique needs of each.11 Some may be more cen-
tralized and more participative in culture, whereas others might be more
decentralized but less participative.
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ibe-bowen-05.indd 46 4/12/10 1:43 PM
CHAPTER 6
How Public Relations

Contributes to
Organizational Effectiveness
Contemporary public relations as noted in earlier chapters is defined as
existing within the management of the organization. As public relations
has shifted from an emphasis on the technical role of the communicator
to the strategic communication role of the manger, the public relations
professional has had to become educated in how organizations are man-
aged. This chapter introduces you to several different management theo-
ries that help define organizational success and the public relations role in
managing that success.
Management theory has defined organizational effectiveness in a
number of ways. Early theories of management stressed meeting goals
as measures of effectiveness. This approach proved to be rather simplistic
and did not recognize the interconnectedness of organizations with their
environments. A systems model approach was developed as a reaction
to the limitations of the goal-attainment perspective. However, the sys-
tems approach tends to be too abstract to measure effectiveness. A third
approach, which recognizes the dependency of the organization on its
environment, places specific focus on key constituents and is more mea-
surable because of its focus on relationships with these stakeholders. This
approach, which is often called stakeholder management, recognizes
the value of strategic constituents to the success of any organization, and
recognizes that the interests of these stakeholders often conflict. Each
impacts on how public relations is practiced within the organization.
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Goal Attainment Approach

Traditionally, an organization’s effectiveness has been defined in terms of
attaining goals.1 In the earliest theories of organizational behavior, orga-
nizations were viewed as rational institutions whose primary purpose is
to accomplish objectives. The more efficiently and effectively an orga-
nization can achieve its goals, the more successful it is according to this
approach. Quite often, the bottom-line goals of organizations are focused
on profitability.
Financial Goals
One way to look at the success of organizations is to assess their size rela-
tive to competitors. This type of measurement is usually done by looking
first at annual revenues, the sum total of all products or services sold to
customers. But this may not be the most meaningful measure since some
very large companies are not always successful. Financial analysts usually
look at other ratios to determine financial health. They look at profitabil-
ity in a number of ways to assess the return that the company is generat-
ing for its owners—the shareholders—for each dollar of investment in
the business, a concept known as ROI or return on investment. In doing
so, they consider the gross margins the company achieves, which are the
revenues generated from the sale of its products minus the cost of those
goods. They also consider the organization’s net earnings, which are the
profits remaining after all interest, taxes, and other costs such as deprecia-
tion are factored in.
These net earnings are then divided by all the shares of stock out-
standing to determine earnings per share, or EPS. This EPS number
provides a good ratio for making comparisons to other companies regard-
less of their size. Financial analysts eagerly await the earnings numbers
when publicly traded companies release these results each quarter, as
they are required to do by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC). Analysts estimate what they expect a company to earn, sometimes
a year or more in advance of the actual results. When companies exceed
these estimates, their stock prices generally increase—sometimes dramat-
ically—after the release of earnings. When they disappoint the analysts
and underachieve on projected earnings, their share prices can plummet.
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ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS 49
Another measure of size is market capitalization. That measure is

determined by multiplying the current price of a single share of a compa-
ny’s stock by all the shares outstanding. In some cases, this “market cap”
number may be significantly higher than the annual revenues a company
achieves. In such cases the financial markets believe that the company has
growth potential far in excess of its current sales. Companies with mar-
ket caps far higher than revenues are more highly valued than companies
whose market caps are similar to or much lower than annual revenues.
Companies work to achieve higher valuation by delivering consistent per-
formance, meeting or exceeding earnings estimates, and providing a cred-
ible growth story that is supported by the facts.
There are countless other financial measures. However, the most
important thing to remember is that communicators have a special
responsibility to educate themselves on the measures that are deemed
most important by their colleagues in other functions. That includes
more than the numbers. They must also understand the business chal-
lenges that are most pressing to the company.
For nonprofit public relations, the most important measures may relate
to the donor community or to the volunteer network on which the organi-
zation relies. For governmental public relations it may require an increase
in knowledge of policies, legislative initiatives, sources of tax revenues, or
judicial rulings that will have an impact on the department’s operations.
Limitations of Goal Attainment Approach

One critical limitation to the goal attainment approach to evaluate orga-
nizational effectiveness is that it does not take into consideration the very
human nature of organizations, nor the outside influences that affect the
efforts to reach these goals. People are not cogs in a wheel, and a man-
ager could become easily frustrated with the unrealistic expectation that
organizations can run as smoothly as a piece of machinery. This makes
engagement of employees a problem for the public relations professional,
and his or her focus is often more on goal attainment than maintaining
positive relations with publics.
Robbins criticized the goal-attainment approach because it does not
consider the political or power-control nature of organizations and how
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they choose goals.2 Most organizations are composed of coalitions, which

lobby for goals that benefit them or their function in the organization.
He argued that the interests of decision makers and of their organization
are not always congruous and that the typical manager tries to increase
the size and scope of his or her domain regardless of the effect on the
organization as a whole. He contended that organizational interests are
subordinated to the special self-interests of different groups within the
organization. The most powerful of these coalitions are successful in
defining the organization’s goals, and meeting these goals adds power
and influence to these coalitions. In addition, there is evidence that the
goals of each coalition may not directly reflect the needs and purposes of
the organization.
Another criticism leveled at the goal-attainment approach is that it
viewed organizations as rational and mechanical systems that could con-
trol whether these goals were reached. As scholars noted, these manage-
ment theories presumed that the organizations were closed systems that
had autonomy from and control of their environments.3 However, orga-
nizations are interconnected with their external environments.
Systems Theory Approach

The view of organizations as open social systems that must interact with
their environments in order to survive is known as the systems theory
approach. Organizations depend on their environments for several essen-
tial resources: customers who purchase the product or service, suppliers
who provide materials, employees who provide labor or management,
shareholders who invest, and governments that regulate. According to
Cutlip, Center, and Broom, public relations’ essential role is to help orga-
nizations adjust and adapt to changes in an organization’s environment.4
The open-systems approach was first applied by Katz and Kahn,
who adapted General Systems Theory to organizational behavior.5 This
approach identifies organizational behavior by mapping the repeated
cycles of input, throughput, output, and feedback between an organiza-
tion and its external environment. Systems receive input from the envi-
ronment either as information or in the form of resources. The systems
then process the input internally, which is called throughput, and release
ibe-bowen-06.indd 50 4/12/10 1:43 PM

outputs into the environment in an attempt to restore equilibrium to the

environment. The system then seeks feedback to determine if the out-
put was effective in restoring equilibrium. As can be seen, the systems
approach focuses on the means used to maintain organizational survival
and emphasize long-term goals rather than the short-term goals of the
goal-attainment approach.
Theoretically, systems can be considered either open or closed. Open
organizations exchange information, energy, or resources with their envi-
ronments, whereas closed systems do not. In reality, because no social
systems can be completely closed or open, they are usually identified as
relatively closed or relatively open. The distinction between closed and
open systems is determined by the level of sensitivity to the external envi-
ronment. Closed systems are insensitive to environmental deviations,
whereas open systems are responsive to changes in the environment.
The systems approach is an external standard that measures effective-
ness based on long-term growth or sustainability. Effective systems are
characterized by a steady state that systems theorists call homeostasis in
order to “avoid the static connotations of equilibrium and to bring out
the dynamic, processual, potential-maintaining properties of basically
unstable . . . systems.”6 If an organization is able to maintain homeostasis,
which includes not just survival but also growth, then it is effective. This
perspective is broader and more comprehensive than the goal-attainment
approach because it is not limited to measuring effectiveness as meeting
goals determined by powerful internal coalitions that may or may not
be propitious for the whole organization. Pfeffer and Salancik defined
effectiveness as “how well an organization is meeting the demands of the
various groups and organizations that are concerned with its activities.”7
Most effective organizations, according to systems theory, adapt to
their environments. Pfeffer and Salancik described the environment as
the events occurring in the world that have any effect on the activities
and outcomes of an organization. Environments range from “static” on
one extreme to “dynamic” on the other. Static environments are relatively
stable or predictable and do not have great variation, whereas dynamic
environments are in a constant state of flux. Because environments can-
not be completely static or constantly changing, organizations have vary-
ing levels of dynamic or static environments.
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Organizations that exist in dynamic environments must be open sys-

tems in order to maintain homeostasis. Because dynamic environments
are constantly changing, they create a lot of uncertainty about what an
organization must do in order to survive and grow. The key to dealing
with uncertainty is information. An open organization monitors its envi-
ronment and collects information about environmental deviations that
is labeled as input. Input can also be thought of as a form of feedback.
The most important information is negative input, according to systems
theorists, because this information alerts the organization to problems
that need to be corrected. Negative input tells the organization that it is
doing something wrong and that it must make adjustments to correct the
problem; positive input tells the organization that it is doing something
right and that it should continue or increase that activity.
Organizations then organize and process this information to for-
mulate solutions or responses to these changes. As Cutlip, Center, and
Broom noted, open systems use information to respond to environmen-
tal changes and adjust accordingly. The adjustments affect the structure
or process of the organization, or both. The structure is what the organi-
zation is, whereas process is what the organization does. Adjustments are
“intended to reduce, maintain, or increase the deviations.”8 For example,
an organization can alter its structure by downsizing to remain competi-
tive. Other organizations may change their processes in order to adhere to
new environmental laws. Processing positive and negative input to adjust
to environmental change is called throughput. In the throughput of
information, the organization analyzes it and tailors it strategically to fit
with the organization’s goals, values, and within the relationship context
it holds with publics.
After an organization adapts to environmental changes, its actions
and messages represent its output. The automobile industry is con-
stantly enticing car consumers to try the latest models, hoping that it
has responded to changing expectations. Recently, many auto manufac-
turers have attempted to color their products as “green” or environmen-
tally friendly. However, messages are not enough. If the cars are not really
friendlier to the environment, then these messages eventually will fall on
skeptical ears and impugn the credibility of the organization. An organi-
zation measures the effectiveness of its output by seeking feedback. If its
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actions and messages were not effective then the process is repeated until
the appropriate solution is found. If the organization is not able to adapt
to the environmental variation then it will eventually cease to exist. The
public relations professional engaged in an organization that takes a sys-
tems approach is continually focusing on feedback as a way of measuring
organizational success.
The public relations professional can use the academic concept of
systems theory to implement protocols for regular feedback to the orga-
nization, thereby aligning it with the desires of publics in its environ-
ment. This theory can also be useful in understanding the role of research
and feedback in creating a thoroughly analyzed and consistent strategy
(the throughput stage of information in systems theory). The analysis
of information and creation of strategy known as throughput helps to
conceptualize and justify not only the research budget of the public rela-
tions department but also the need for making decisions that strategically
align the public communications of an organization with the informa-
tion needed by publics. The practical implementation of this approach
keeps public relations from being used as a simple publicity function, and
places the function squarely in the strategic planning process.
Systems theory, however, is not without some shortcomings. The
first shortcoming relates to measurement, and the second is the issue of
whether the means by which an organization survives really matter. Rob-
bins noted that one criticism of this approach is that its focus is on “the
means necessary to achieve effectiveness rather than on organizational
effectiveness itself.”9 Measuring the means, or process, of an organization
can be very difficult when compared to measuring specific end goals of
the goal-attainment approach.
Stakeholder Management Approach

The stakeholder management approach adds focus to the systems
approach by building “strategic constituencies.” Robbins declared that
an organization should be concerned only with the “strategic constituen-
cies”10 in the environment who can threaten the organization’s survival.
This approach recognizes that an organization must deal with external
and internal publics who can constrain or enhance its behavior.
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Although organizations would prefer to have complete autonomy,

they are often confronted with constraints and controls. Constraints are
often considered undesirable because they “cost money—to comply with
regulations or to make changes to accommodate pressure groups,”11 and
they “restrict creativity and adaptation.”12 However, it is inevitable that
an organization meets with some constraints, especially in heavily regu-
lated industries. Examples include labor strikes, government regulations,
boycotts, and protests by special interest groups.
To be effective, an organization “must be aware of environmental
publics such as customers, suppliers, governmental agencies, and com-
munities and interact successfully with them.”13 They must also be aware
of the internal publics, such as employees and labor unions, who can
affect or be affected by the organization. The relationship between an
organization and its stakeholders is called interdependence in systems
theory literature. Although these interdependent relationships limit
autonomy, good relationships with stakeholders limit it less than bad
relationships. When organizations collaborate with key stakeholders the
end result is often an increase of autonomy. Good relationships are devel-
oped when an organization voluntarily interacts with its stakeholders to
find mutually beneficial solutions. Poor relationships can result in forced
compliance to restrictions and regulations. When organizations volun-
tarily establish relationships with stakeholders they have more autonomy
because they are not forced into these relationships.
The Stakeholder Management Process

Stakeholder management centers on a six-step process as summarized in
Figure 6.1. The process requires that the public relations function first
identify key stakeholders, describe their stakes in the organization, and
determine if those stakes are significant. Once these steps have been
accomplished, opportunities and challenges must be evaluated, deter-
mine the organization’s responsibility to the stakeholder, and finally cre-
ate relationship strategies.
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1. Identify stakeholders.
2. Describe the stakes.
3. Consider the significance of stakes/claims.
4. Evaluate opportunities.
5. Consider responsibilities to stakeholders.
6. Consider relationship-enhancing strategies and actions.
Figure 6.1. Six steps in the process of stakeholder management.
Step 1: Identify the Stakeholders
According to Carroll, the stakeholder management process begins by

identifying the stakeholders.14 Establishing these relationships is often
advantageous for both organization and publics, as the relationships can
be genuinely developed before they are urgently needed in a crisis situ-
ation. (In the next chapter we will show you how to construct a stake-
holder map and analyze the connections between the organization and
its publics.)
Step 2: Describe the Stakes
The next step is describing the stakes or claims these groups have in the
organization. A stake is an interest or a share in the performance or suc-
cess of an organization. Employees, shareholders, and other groups may
have such a stake. A stakeholder group could also assert a claim on the
organization if it believes the organization owes them something. For
example, environmental groups believe that corporations have a respon-
sibility to care for the environment. The legitimacy of the stakeholders’
stake or claim must also be considered. The legitimacy of the stake or
claim will be influenced by what the organization values. When man-
agement gives profits highest priority, then the interests of the owners,
including shareholders, is paramount. Other values, such as concern for
the environment, good working conditions, and customer satisfaction,
would consider the needs of other stakeholders in an organization hold-
ing these values in addition to a profit motive. Stakes or claims can also
be in conflict with each other. For example, the pressure to report prof-
its may lead an organization to lay off employees, which would conflict
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with the benefits of having greater employee morale. The difficult part of
stakeholder management is being able to manage the potential conflicts
of interests among the stakeholders, and it is often a challenging pursuit
to achieve a balance of stakeholder interests.
Step 3: Consider the Significance
The third step is to consider the significance of the stakeholders’ stake or

claim. Mitchell, Agle, and Wood developed a comprehensive model that
included the stakeholder attributes of legitimacy, power, and urgency as a
way to evaluate the priority of stakeholders.15 Legitimacy is determined
by whether the stakeholder has a legal, moral, or presumed claim that
can influence the organization’s behavior, direction, process, or outcome.
Stakeholders have power when they can influence other parties to make
decisions the party would not have otherwise made. Urgency exists when
the issue is immediately pressing (time sensitive) or when it is critical
to the stakeholder. They used the combination of the three attributes to
develop a prioritization strategy. Accordingly, latent stakeholders possess
only one of the attributes; expectant stakeholders possess two attributes,
and definitive stakeholders possess all three attributes. The more attri-
butes stakeholders possess, the more critical their claim.
Step 4: Evaluate Opportunities
The fourth step is evaluating the opportunities and challenges the stake-
holders present to the organization. According to Carroll, opportunities
and challenges might be viewed as the potential for cooperation and the
potential for threat. Opportunities are situations that advance the goals
of an organization if they are seized, whereas challenges usually have to be
overcome. Stakeholders can either help or hinder the efforts of an organi-
zation, and each group should be analyzed according to what it brings to
the table in each situation.
Step 5: Consider Responsibilities to Stakeholders
The fifth step is to consider the responsibilities an organization has to its

stakeholders, meaning the ethical obligations that are held with regard
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to decision making, disclosure, and maintaining long-term relationships

that engender trust. Beyond the assessment of opportunities and threats,
what legal, moral, citizenship, community, and philanthropic responsi-
bilities should be followed in order for the organization to be considered
a valuable member of society?
These responsibilities include the financial, environmental, and social
impact the organization has on society as a whole, and consist of such
areas as fiscal accountability to shareholders, safe work environments for
employees, and reduced negative impact on the environment. More is
said on the ethics of decision making elsewhere in this book, and using
a philosophical framework to rigorously analyze responsibilities is help-
ful in practicing effective public relations. Such a framework leads to
more understandable, consistent, and defensible decisions than a more
relativistic ethical approach that can be attacked as capricious, biased, or
worse. Determining organizational values can help to articulate the vari-
ous responsibilities that decisions should seek to fill.
Step 6: Consider Relationship Enhancement
The final step is to consider the strategies and actions an organization

should take to enhance its relationships with key stakeholders. Since that
is the primary function of public relations, the responsibility for develop-
ing strategic plans should fall on its shoulders. Public relations profession-
als have been trained in a strategic process that focuses the organization’s
communications and actions toward enhancing these relationships.
Employing stakeholder management techniques in professional
practice means that the public relations professional holds the reins and
responsibility for the relationships that are the very lifeblood of an orga-
nization. Using stakeholder management allows the professional to accu-
rately assess the situation, prioritize resources, and make decisions that
are the most strategic, helping to build long-term relationships with the
most important publics and enhancing organizational effectiveness.
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Chapter Summary
It is important to understand how organizations define their success
because they place more value on the functions that contribute to that
success and tend to reward those efforts the most. This chapter identified
three ways that organizations evaluate their effectiveness. Most organiza-
tions set goals and measure themselves against those goals. These short-
term benchmarks are easier to measure, but may blind the organization
from the forest for the trees. An organization must also consider its long-
term sustainability and growth, and a systems theory approach helps an
organization keep its eye on the horizon. Key constituents are essential
to reaching immediate goals and sustaining long-term growth. A stake-
holder management approach helps an organization understand how
critical these constituents are to meeting the purpose of the organization.
Using the six steps of the stakeholder management process, public rela-
tions professionals can better understand challenges facing the organi-
zation and can help to integrate the interests of those stakeholders into
management. Doing so strategically aligns the policy of the organization,
allowing it to build more enduring relationships with publics and inte-
grate public relations as a primary contributor to the bottom line and
overall organizational effectiveness.
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CHAPTER 7
Identifying and Prioritizing

Stakeholders and Publics
One of the most important steps in strategic and effective public relations
is accurately identifying the publics with which you want to build mutu-
ally beneficial relationships. A popular axiom for public relations is that
there is no such thing as a “general public.” In other words, an organiza-
tion has a variety of key groups who bring different expectations for their
relationship with the organization. These differences help an organiza-
tion segment its publics into groups with similar values and expectations
and to focus communication strategies.
Stakeholder Management and Prioritizing Publics*

Experts in stakeholder management and public relations have provided
many different ways of identifying key stakeholders or publics. At the
heart of these attempts is the question, “How much attention does each
stakeholder group deserve or require?”
Because it is impossible that all stakeholders will have the same inter-
ests in and demands on the organization, Winn specified that stakeholder
management be about managing stakeholders’ potentially conflicting
interests.1 Once organizations have identified their stakeholders, there is
a struggle for attention: who to give it to, who to give more to, and who
to ignore. Sacrificing the needs of one stakeholder for the needs of the
other is a dilemma with which many organizations struggle. When these
conflicts arise it is important to the success of the organization that it has
prioritized each stakeholder according to the situation.
* This section is revised with permission from Rawlins (2006).
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This chapter will provide a model that moves from the broadest
attempts at identifying all stakeholders, to the more specific need of
identifying key publics for communication strategies. The model is sit-
uational, and priority of stakeholders and publics will change according
to the situation.
Defining Stakeholders and Publics

A stakeholder is a group or individual who is affected by or can affect the
success of an organization.2 The definition has been expanded to include
groups who have interests in the corporation, regardless of the corpo-
ration’s interest in them. Employees, customers, shareholders, commu-
nities, and suppliers are those most commonly classified as stakeholders
within an organization
Grunig and Repper differentiated the terms “stakeholder” and “pub-
lic” in the following way: Organizations choose stakeholders by their
marketing strategies, recruiting, and investment plans, but “publics arise
on their own and choose the organization for attention.”3 This classifica-
tion relied on John Dewey’s definition of a public: That it is a group of
people who face a similar problem, recognize the problem, and organize
themselves to do something about it.4 Therefore, publics organize from
the ranks of stakeholders when they recognize an issue and act upon it.
Stakeholder Linkages to the Organization

Organization should attempt to identify all stakeholders before narrow-
ing them by their attributes. One way to do this is by considering how
these groups are linked to the organization. A model by Grunig and
Hunt breaks these links into four groups by linkage: enabling, functional,
diffused, and normative stakeholders (see Figure 7.1).5
• Enabling stakeholders have some control and authority over

the organization, such as stockholders, board of directors,
elected officials, governmental legislators and regulators, and so
on. These stakeholders provide an organization with resources
and necessary levels of autonomy to operate. When enabling
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ibe-bowen-07.indd 61
IDENTIFYING AND PRIORITIZING STAKEHOLDERS AND PUBLICS
Figure 7.1. Grunig’s organizational linkage model.

61
Source: Rawlins (2006) adapted and used with permission from Grunig.
4/12/10 1:43 PM
relationships falter, the resources can be withdrawn and the

autonomy of the organization limited, restricted, or regulated.
• Functional stakeholders are essential to the operations of the
organization and are divided between input—providing labor
and resources to create products or services (such as employees
and suppliers)—and output—receiving the products or services
(such as consumers and retailers).
• Normative stakeholders are associations or groups with which
the organization has a common interest. These stakeholders
share similar values, goals, or problems and often include com-
petitors that belong to industrial or professional associations.
• Diffused stakeholders are the most difficult to identify
because they include publics who have infrequent interac-
tion with the organization, and become involved based on the
actions of the organization. These are the publics that often
arise in times of a crisis; linkages include the media, the com-
munity, activists, and other special interest groups.
Going through the linkage model should help an organization iden-

tify all its stakeholders. The diffused linkage stakeholders would be dif-
ferent according to situation, but the enabling, functional, and normative
linkage stakeholders are likely to be constant.
The Situational Theory of Publics

Predicts Active or Passive Behavior
Grunig developed a situational theory of publics to explain and predict
why some publics are active and others are passive. Within the stake-
holder categories he notes that situational theory can identify which
publics will “communicate actively, passively, or not at all about organiza-
tional decisions that affect them.”6
Those publics who do not face a problem are nonpublics, those
who face the problem but do not recognize it as a problem are latent
publics, those who recognize the problem are aware publics, and those
who do something about the problem are active publics. He identified
three variables that explain why certain people become active in certain
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ibe-bowen-07.indd 63
IDENTIFYING AND PRIORITIZING STAKEHOLDERS AND PUBLICS
Figure 7.2. Grunig’s situational theory of publics.

63
Source: Rawlins (2006) adapted and used with permission from Grunig.
4/12/10 1:43 PM
situations: level of involvement, problem recognition, and constraint rec-

ognition (see Figure 7.2).
Level of involvement is measured by the extent to which people
connect themselves personally with the situation. However, people do
not seek or process information unless they recognize the connection
between them and a problem, which is the level of problem recognition.
Whether people move beyond information processing to the informa-
tion seeking behavior of active publics often depends on whether they
think they can do something about the problem. Constraint recognition
is the level of personal efficacy a person believes that he or she holds, and
the extent to which he or she is having an impact on the issue is possible.
Those who think that nothing can be done have high constraint recogni-
tion and are less compelled to become active in the resolution of the prob-
lem. Another consideration, referent criteria, is the guideline that people
apply to new situations based on previous experiences with the issue or the
organization involved.
Active publics are likely to have high levels of involvement and problem
recognition, and lower levels of constraint recognition. Because they recog-
nize how the problem affects them and they think they can do something
about it, Grunig theorized that this public will actively seek information
and act on that information. Aware publics will process information and
might act, but are limited by lower levels of involvement and problem rec-
ognition, or higher levels of constraint recognition. Latent publics are not
cognizant of how an issue involves them or don’t see it as a problem. They
are simply not active on the issue. This public could become active or aware
as information changes its cognitions about the issue.
Grunig tested the theory using problems that would create active and
passive publics. He found four kinds of publics:
1. All-issue publics, which are active on all issues.

2. Apathetic publics, which are inattentive to all issues.
3. Single-issue publics, which are active on a small subset of the issue
that only concerns them.
4. Hot-issue publics, which are active on a single issue that involves
nearly everyone and which has received a lot of media attention.
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IDENTIFYING AND PRIORITIZING STAKEHOLDERS AND PUBLICS 65
To summarize this step, active publics will have more priority over
aware and inactive publics because their urgency is greater. Whether
stakeholders will become active publics can be predicted by whether
the problem involves them, whether they recognize the problem, and
whether they think they can do anything about it.
One dimension missing from this model is whether the public is sup-
portive or not. Each of these groups could be supportive or threatening,
and stakeholder strategies would be contingent on the level of support.
A comprehensive model of stakeholder prioritization should also identify
whether active or aware publics are supportive or threatening.
Communication Strategy With Stakeholders

Stakeholders who are also active publics become the obvious top priority
publics. Although it would be convenient if active publics were always
definitive stakeholders, human nature precludes this from happening in
a constant and predictable way. Therefore, an organization must develop
strategies to help mediate issues with priority publics. These strategies
will depend on whether the stakeholders are supportive or nonsupport-
ive and active or inactive. Therefore, you would develop strategies based
on four groups, advocate stakeholders (active and supportive), dormant
stakeholders (inactive and supportive), adversarial stakeholders (active
and nonsupportive), and apathetic stakeholders (inactive and nonsup-
portive), as shown in Figure 7.3:
1. Advocate stakeholders. This is the group that you want involved in

supportive actions such as third-party endorsements, letter-writing
campaigns, donations, investments, and attendance at functions.
Communication should be action and behavior oriented.
2. Dormant stakeholders. This is a group that is not ready to be
involved. If inactivity is due to lack of knowledge, messages should
focus on creating awareness and understanding of the issues that
affect them. If the publics are aroused, but not active, then commu-
nication should address potential causes of apathy by reducing per-
ceptions of constraints or using affective cues to increase emotional
attachment.
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3. Adversarial stakeholders. The initial response to this group is to

be defensive. However, defensive communication will not work on
this group, it will only entrench them in their position. Defensive
communication is better intended for aroused publics who have
not decided whether they are supportive or not. Instead, organiza-
tions should use conflict resolution strategies that involve nonsup-
portive stakeholders to seek win-win solutions.
4. Apathetic stakeholders. Again, the gut reaction to this group is to
ignore it. But if this group faces an issue but is not aware of it or does
not see its resonance yet, it may still move to an aroused, then aware,
and then active public. A better strategy is to increase awareness of the
issue with an invitation to collaborate with the organization on the
issue before it becomes a problem or crisis. Since it would be difficult
to get this group involved, most of the communication effort should
be focused on increasing the salience of the issue and invitations for
involvement.
Once strategies have been developed that address the stakehold-

ers, there is one last prioritization step. According to Wilson, there are
three types of publics involved in communication strategies: key publics,
Figure 7.3. Stakeholder by communication strategy.
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intervening publics, and influentials.7 Key publics are those whose par-
ticipation and cooperation are required to accomplish organizational
goals. In relation to the first two steps, they are the stakeholders who
have the highest priority according to their power/dependency/influence
attributes, the urgency of the issue, and their level of active involvement
in the issue. In Grunig’s model, the key publics are called priority pub-
lics. To communicate effectively with these stakeholders, an organiza-
tion must understand them as much as possible. Priority publics can be
profiled by their demographics, lifestyles and values, media preferences,
cooperative networks, and self-interests. Effective strategies appeal to the
self-interests of the priority publics and reach them through the most
appropriate channels (as discussed further in Chapter 9).
The intervening publics pass information on to the priority publics
and act as opinion leaders. Sometimes these publics, such as the media,
are erroneously identified as priority publics. If an organization is satis-
fied when the message stops at a public, then it is a priority public. If the
expectation is that the message will be disseminated to others, it is an
intervening public. In most cases the media are intervening publics. Other
influentials can be important intervening publics, such as doctors who
pass information on to patients, and teachers who pass information on to
students. The success of many campaigns is determined by the strength
of relationships with intervening publics.
Influentials can be intervening publics, but they also affect the suc-
cess of public relations efforts in other ways. Influentials can either sup-
port an organization’s efforts or work against them. Members of some
publics will turn to opinion leaders to verify or refute messages coming
from organizations. The opinion of these personal sources is much more
influential than the public relations messages alone. Therefore, successful
campaigns must also consider how messages will be interpreted by influ-
entials that act as either intervening or supporting publics.
In summary, stakeholders that become active publics and that can
influence the success of an organization, or can appeal to the other stake-
holders with that influence, should become priority publics for commu-
nication strategies. Publics that are critical to getting the information to
the priority publics, such as the media, need to be recognized as inter-
vening publics and critical to the success of the communication strategy.
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Influential groups or individuals may not be stakeholders in the organiza-

tion, but may be important in shaping or framing the way the message
is interpreted by the priority public, and therefore must be a part of the
public relations professional’s communication strategy.
A Contingency Approach to Public Relations Strategy

In order to understand how public relations should be best managed,
we propose a model of contingency, mixed-motive, situational strat-
egies based on the dimensions of (1) reactive versus proactive, and (2)
self interest versus public interest. Each dimension should be seen as a
continuum of more reactive/more proactive and more self-interest/more
public interest rather than either/or. The interaction of these two dimen-
sions results in four distinct approaches: defensive, responsive, assertive,
and collaborative (see Figure 7.4). We will discuss each strategic approach
in detail in the following pages.
Reactive Versus Proactive Dimension

Probably the two most common terms used to describe current public
relations efforts are reactive and proactive. Organizations are reactive
when they have to deal with existing problems that need correcting and
are proactive when steps are taken to prevent or avert problems before
they develop. As Liechty has noted, some public relations work is neces-
sarily reactive because practitioners “often lack either sufficient time or
freedom to respond with collaborative tactics.”8 We note that resources
and the support level of the CEO might pose further constraints to pub-
lic relation’s ability to be collaborative.
However, organizations can take different approaches to reactive pub-
lic relations, often still holding and enhancing relationships if the strategic
response is carefully formulated. For example, comparing the actions of
Johnson & Johnson in the Tylenol case and Exxon’s response to the Valdez
oil spill illustrates how companies can differ in their response to products
that present a danger to their consumers. Johnson & Johnson, although
victims of malicious tampering, voluntarily pulled its product from the
shelves of stores in order to ensure the safety of the customer. Exxon, on
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Figure 7.4. The contingency approach to public relations strategy.
the other hand, was slow to accept responsibility and to show its concern
to the media and the general public. In the end, even though Exxon spent
billions of dollars more than Johnson & Johnson, one came out looking
like a hero while the other’s reputation has become tainted as a villain to
the environment. So even though both organizations had to use reactive
public relations, their approaches could not have been more divergent.
Forward-thinking organizations often practice proactive public rela-
tions. This term means that rather than fighting change, which often
proves to be a losing battle, or simply accommodating themselves to
change, organizations attempt to influence change by becoming involved
in the public policy process. Thus, an organization can attempt to influ-
ence public opinion with respect to specific social issues or with regard to
social issues of concern to society, and attempt to influence the legislative
and regulatory process with regard to specific laws and regulations.
Some organizations proactively conduct research to identify possible
issues that could affect the organization and launch persuasive pub-
lic information campaigns as attempts to influence public opinion and
eventually the outcome of issues. Other organizations seek to collaborate
with their concerned constituencies to find solutions that incorporate
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the interests of all parties involved and that might require change on the
part of the organizations. Both of these approaches work to help prevent
problems, but they use different means as preventative measures. What
appears to separate how these organizations act lies in whether they are
concerned primarily about their self-interests or if they also are concerned
about the interests of their publics.
Self-Interest Versus Public Interest Dimension

According to the capitalist ideal, the free market economy is dependent
on self-interest as a powerful motivating factor that elicits more energy
and creativity than would the pursuit of someone else’s interests. From
a financial perspective, self-interest is defined as maximizing one’s return
on investment (ROI). As Buchholz explains,
Entrepreneurs are expected to maximize profits, investors to max-

imize their returns in the stock market, and sellers of labor are
expected to obtain the most advantageous terms to themselves.
On the consumption end of the process, consumers are expected
to maximize the satisfaction to themselves through their purchases
of goods and services on the marketplace.9
Although not all social organizations have the goal of making money,
even nonprofit organizations are motivated by the self-interest of sur-
vival. Therefore, all public relations approaches will be motivated by some
form of self-interest.
Public interest is more difficult to define and defend. Fitzpatrick and
Gauthier suggest that
serving the public interest simply requires public relations profes-

sionals to consider the interests of all affected parties and make a
committed effort to balance them to the extent possible while avoid-
ing or minimizing harm and respecting all of the persons involved.10
Decisions are almost never made with pure self-interest or pure public
interest as their motivations. Often decisions are made with collaborative
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interests, which allows them to “be represented as in the public inter-

est, even if their ultimate motivation is the financial benefit of the com-
pany.”11 At the same time, Buchholz acknowledges that those in position
to define the public interest can never divorce themselves from their own
self-interests.
The Four Strategic Approaches Defined
The defensive approach is a reactive behavior that acts principally in the

self-interest of the organization. The responsive approach is a reactive
behavior that considers its impact on stakeholders. The assertive approach
is proactive behavior that promotes self-interests in an attempt to con-
trol an organization’s environment. And, the collaborative approach
is proactive behavior that uses dialogue to create mutually beneficial
solutions that incorporate the interests of both the organization and
its stakeholders.
Defensive Approach
The primary form of communication for the defensive approach is

planned one-way communication. The defensive approach uses the tools
of publicity and public information to disseminate “facts” and “edu-
cate” publics about an organization’s actions or policies in response to
criticisms or crises. Sometimes a defensive approach is the only one that
can be used because the organization is falsely accused of certain behav-
iors or standards; defending itself from such erroneous information is a
legitimate and logical recourse. The defensive approach becomes a neces-
sary response to certain situations and problems, but it is not an ideal
approach if used exclusively for all situations. If public relations is rel-
egated to practicing primarily the defensive approach in an organization,
then its function is limited to damage control that results in the loss of
credibility and trust with valuable publics. It is predictable that public
relations professionals who are confined to practicing this approach are
often representative of communication technicians and have very little
power or participation in the decision-making process of an organization.
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Responsive Approach
The responsive approach is also used to react to situations, but in this

approach an organization acts in a fashion that demonstrates its con-
cerns for society. This approach has become more prominent as orga-
nizations have lost the trust and confidence of their stakeholders. Social
responsibility has become a rallying cry for consumer and environmen-
tal advocates. Some organizations learned that certain crises were better
resolved when communication and actions showed remorse and concern
toward publics and toward society. These organizations would also try to
shift into a more proactive mode by identifying actions they were taking
to prevent such crises in the future.
The much-documented Tylenol case set the standard for this approach.
The introduction of the tamper-proof seals revolutionized product pack-
aging. Kathie Lee Gifford’s response to reports that her clothing line was
using “sweatshops” is also representative of this approach. Gifford and
her husband went to one of the shops with hands full of dollars to offer
to the workers and pledging to campaign against sweatshops and to allow
independent monitors to visit factories that made her clothes. Although
skeptics could easily argue that she did this to preserve her business rather
than as a response to her conscience, it is not easy to analyze motive. The
responsive approach in these cases was apparently more effective than a
defensive approach would have been.
Assertive Approach
Bernays’s “Torches of Freedom” publicity stunt in the 1920s is a good

example of the assertive approach. Bernays helped George Washington
Hill and the American Tobacco Company break down the social taboo
that discouraged women from smoking in public by having young debu-
tants, or paid representations of such figures, walk in the Easter parade
smoking Lucky Strike cigarettes. Using publicity and Freudian psychol-
ogy of attitude change, Bernays was able to condition the marketplace to
accept female smokers and thereby increase the market for Lucky Strike.
Bernays played an important role in the development of this asymmetrical
approach as he promoted public relations as the “engineering of consent.”
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Organizations that use this approach see public relations as an asymmet-

ric strategic function that helps control the external environment.
Many corporations have used the assertive approach to shape market-
ing, social, and regulatory conditions that would favor them. Sometimes
the assertive approach is used to the detriment of society’s best interests.
An example of an assertive measure that had a negative social impact is
the criminal conspiracy by General Motors (GM), with Firestone Tires
and Standard Oil of California, to eliminate the electric streetcar system
in Los Angeles. Los Angeles had one of the best electric streetcar systems
in the country before GM bought it out and converted it to GM buses
that used Firestone tires and Standard Oil gasoline. In 1947 the Federal
government found GM and its coconspirators guilty of criminal actions
and fined them $5,000.12 Since then, the city of Los Angeles, with sup-
port of federal grants, has spent billions of dollars on building an electric
subway system to reduce pollution and public transportation problems.
At the same time, there is an abundance of prosocial examples of the
assertive approach, such as the civil rights movement and health aware-
ness campaigns to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and
lung diseases.
Collaborative Approach
The collaborative approach is, or should be, used by organizations when

building consent and support. Collaboration relies on an organization’s
ability to show how its actions will benefit or not harm its stakehold-
ers. A collaborative approach requires interaction with the publics that
invites participation and involvement along the conditions of honest and
genuine dialogue that respects the rights of each side and is nonmanipu-
lative in intent or action. Collaboration emphasizes that the publics who
are affected by or who can affect the action of an organization decision
should participate in the decision-making process. It involves coopera-
tion to develop equilibrium between the interests of the two parties. As
Murphy noted, conflict always exists, but how the conflict is handled
is usually on a continuum ranging between pure competition (a zero-
sum approach) and a pure coordination approach that attempts to obtain
a mutually beneficial outcome (win-win approach).13 The collaborative
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approach uses the coordination motive to negotiate outcomes that will

help strengthen relationships with key stakeholders, helping both an
organization’s self-interest and relationship maintenance.
Case: Building a Corporate Headquarters

in a Prestigious Neighborhood
As an example of the collaborative approach, consider the case of a large
corporation in Memphis, Tennessee, that desired to build its new head-
quarters in a very prestigious neighborhood. The planned site was a park-
like property that the corporation owned. On the multiacre property was
a large, and historical, mansion that the corporation used as an overflow
office. The corporation wanted to add an additional building that would
house the entire headquarters. However, this was going to be a difficult
task because the city’s most prominent citizens owned most of the homes
in the area and recently the neighborhood had fought against converting
an abandoned school building into an office and won.
Although the corporation already owned the property, it decided to
collaborate with the neighborhood to find mutually satisfactory solutions
rather than face a possible court injunction. The public relations director
met with the homeowners association to understand the concerns and
anxieties about building a corporate headquarters in the neighborhood.
The major concerns were the following:
• The noise and disturbance of building the office

• The appearance of the office building
• The possibility of diminished property values, some of which
exceeded a million dollars
• Other possible agitation such as increased traffic, loss of pri-
vacy, and the eyesore of an office building in their daily lives
Taking this information back to management, the public relations

director worked with the CEO and other senior officers to develop strate-
gies that would generate support for the construction of their building.
Through further meetings and negotiations with the association, the cor-
poration agreed to the following conditions:
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• It would build soundproof baffles between the construction

site and the neighboring homes.
• It would keep all the old-growth trees, and the office height
would not exceed the height of the trees so that the building
would not be visible from the homes or the adjacent streets.
• The original mansion would remain on the property with a
few minor renovations.
• The new office building would be attractive even though most
people wouldn’t know it was there (several floors were built
underground so that the office wouldn’t extend above the trees,
but the innovative design allowed natural light to reach the
lower levels).
• A study of the community’s commuter behavior showed that
most residents had a half-hour drive to work. So the corpora-
tion set its hours from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. to avoid traffic
problems with its neighbors.
• To protect the sense of lost privacy that might result from cus-
tomers visiting the office building, the corporation offered the
neighborhood the use of its guards to watch the surrounding
community for suspicious behavior.
The corporation built its new headquarters with vocal support from
its neighbors and neighborhood relations were very positive for several
years to come. The public relations director often posted notes from
neighbors who wanted to thank a security guard for helping find a lost
dog or for contributions to neighborhood fund-raising efforts to benefit
charities. Using the collaborative approach, this corporation was able to
achieve a win-win solution through two-way communication.
Chapter Summary
Developing positive relationships with stakeholders is a necessity for orga-
nizations. The first step is to identify your stakeholders and then prioritize
them according to organizational goals and situations. A common ten-
dency is to respond to the squeaky-wheel stakeholder. If the organization
has not properly prioritized its stakeholders and their relationships, this
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group may get more attention than is deserved. This model demonstrates
that the squeaky wheel may not be the stakeholder with the greatest prior-
ity. By using the steps outlined in this chapter, organizations can take a
more systematic and comprehensive approach to prioritizing stakeholders.
To help organizations deal with varying situations, the four segment
approach of the contingency model helps to create an effective public
relations strategy. The understanding of these four main approaches
offers you a theoretical foundation and a practical guide to practicing
strategic public relations.
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CHAPTER 8
Public Relations Research
The Key to Strategy

If you previously ascribed to the common misconception that public rela-
tions is a simple use of communication to persuade publics,1 you might
be surprised at the important role that research plays in public relations
management.2 We can argue that as much as three quarters of the pub-
lic relations process is based on research—research, action planning, and
evaluation—which are three of the four steps in the strategic manage-
ment process in the RACE acronym (which stands for research, action
planning, communication, and evaluation).
Importance of Research in
Public Relations Management
Public relations professionals often find themselves in the position of hav-
ing to convince management to fund research, or to describe the impor-
tance of research as a crucial part of a departmental or project budget.
Research is an essential part of public relations management. Here is a
closer look at why scholars argued that conducting both formative and
evaluative research is vital in modern public relations management:
1. Research makes communication two-way by collecting information

from publics rather than one-way, which is a simple dissemination of
information. Research allows us to engage in dialogue with publics,
understanding their beliefs and values, and working to build under-
standing on their part of the internal workings and policies of the
organization. Scholars find that two-way communication is generally
more effective than one-way communication, especially in instances
in which the organization is heavily regulated by government or
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confronts a turbulent environment in the form of changing industry

trends or of activist groups.3
2. Research makes public relations activities strategic by ensuring that
communication is specifically targeted to publics who want, need,
or care about the information.4 Without conducting research, public
relations is based on experience or instinct, neither of which play large
roles in strategic management. This type of research prevents us from
wasting money on communications that are not reaching intended
publics or not doing the job that we had designed them to do.
3. Research allows us to show results, to measure impact, and to refocus
our efforts based on those numbers.5 For example, if an initiative
is not working with a certain public we can show that ineffective-
ness statistically, and the communication can be redesigned or elimi-
nated. Thus, we can direct funds toward more successful elements of
the public relations initiative.
Without research, public relations would not be a true management

function. It would not be strategic or a part of executive strategic plan-
ning, but would regress to the days of simple press agentry, following
hunches and instinct to create publicity. As a true management function,
public relations uses research to identify issues and engage in problem
solving, to prevent and manage crises, to make organizations responsive
and responsible to their publics, to create better organizational policy,
and to build and maintain long-term relationships with publics. A thor-
ough knowledge of research methods and extensive analyses of data also
allow public relations practitioners a seat in the dominant coalition and
a way to illustrate the value and worth of their activities. In this man-
ner, research is the strategic foundation of modern public relations
management.6
Purpose and Forms of Research

The purpose of research is to allow us to develop strategy in public rela-
tions in order to (a) conduct our campaigns with specific purpose and
targeted goals, (b) operate as a part of the overall strategic management
function in an organization, and (c) measure the effectiveness of pub-
lic relations efforts. By conducting research before we communicate, we
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PUBLIC RELATIONS RESEARCH 79
revise our own thinking to include the views of publics. We can segment
those publics, tailor communications for unique publics, send different
messages to specifically targeted publics, and build relationships by com-
municating with publics who have an interest in our message. This type
of planning research is called formative research because it helps us form
our public relations campaign.7 Formative research is conducted so that we
can understand what publics know, believe, or value and what they need or
desire to know before we began communicating. Thereby, public relations
does not waste effort or money communicating with those that have no
interest in our message.
Research also allows public relations professionals to show the impact
made through their communication efforts after a public relations cam-
paign. This type of research is called evaluation research. Using both
forms of research in public relations allows us to communicate strate-
gically and to demonstrate our effectiveness. For example, formative
research can be used to determine the percentage of publics who are aware
of the organization’s policy on an issue of concern. Through the use of a
survey, we might find that 17% of the target public is aware of the policy.
Strategically, the organization would like more members of that public to
be aware of the organization’s policy, so the public relations department
communicates through various channels sending targeted messages.
After a predetermined amount of time, a survey practically identical
to the first one is conducted. If public relations efforts were successful,
the percentage of members of a public aware of the organization’s policy
should increase. That increase is directly attributable to the efforts of the
public relations campaign. We could report, “Members of the commu-
nity public aware of our new toxic waste disposal initiative increased from
17% to 33% in the last 2 months.” Measures such as these are extremely
common in public relations management. They may be referred to as
benchmarking because they establish a benchmark and then measure the
amount of change, similar to a before-and-after comparison.8 The use of
statistically generalizable research methods allows such comparisons to be
made with a reasonable degree of confidence across various publics, geo-
graphic regions, issues, psychographics, and demographic groups.
In this section, we will provide a brief overview of the most com-
mon forms of research in public relations management and providing
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examples of their uses and applications and professional public relations.

Building upon that basic understanding of research methods, we then
return to the theme of the purpose of research and the importance of
research in the public relations function.
Formal Research
Research in public relations can be formal or informal. Formal research
normally takes place in order to generate numbers and statistics that
we can use to both target communications and measure results. For-
mal research also is used to gain a deeper, qualitative understanding of
the issue of concern, to ascertain the range of consumer responses, and
to elicit in-depth opinion data. Formal research is planned research of
a quantitative or qualitative nature, normally asking specific questions
about topics of concern for the organization. Formal research is both for-
mative, at the outset of a public relations initiative, and evaluative, to
determine the degree of change attributable to public relations activities.
Informal Research
Informal research is collected on an ongoing basis by most public rela-
tions managers, from sources both inside and outside of their organi-
zations. Informal research usually gathers information and opinions
through conversations. It consists of asking questions, talking to members
of publics or employees in the organization to find out their concerns,
reading e-mails from customers or comment cards, and other informal
methods, such as scanning the news and trade press. Informal research
comes from the boundary spanning role of the public relations profes-
sional, meaning that he or she maintains contacts with publics external to
the organization, and with internal publics. The public relations profes-
sional spends a great deal of time communicating informally with these
contacts, in an open exchange of ideas and concerns. This is one way that
public relations can keep abreast of changes in an industry, trends affect-
ing the competitive marketplace, issues of discontent among the publics,
the values and activities of activist groups, the innovations of competi-
tors, and so on. Informal research methods are usually nonnumerical and
ibe-bowen-08.indd 80 4/12/10 1:43 PM

are not generalizable to a larger population, but they yield a great deal
of useful information. The data yielded from informal research can be
used to examine or revise organizational policy, to craft messages in the
phraseology of publics, to respond to trends in an industry, to include
the values or priorities of publics in new initiatives, and numerous other
derivations.
Types of Research
Research in public relations management requires the use of specialized
terminology. The term primary research is used to designate when we
collect unique data in normally proprietary information, firsthand and
specifically relevant to a certain client or campaign.9 Primary research,
because it is unique to your organization and research questions, is often
the most expensive type of data to collect. Secondary research refers to
research that is normally a part of public domain but is applicable to
our client, organization, or industry, and can be used to round out and
support the conclusions drawn from our primary research.10 Secondary
research is normally accessed through the Internet or available at libraries
or from industry and trade associations. Reference books, encyclopedias,
and trade press publications provide a wealth of free or inexpensive sec-
ondary research. Managers often use secondary research as an explor-
atory base from which to decide what type of primary research needs to
be conducted.
Quantitative Research
When we speak of research in public relations, we are normally refer-
ring to primary research, such as public opinion studies based on surveys
and polling. (Figure 8.1 lists quantitative research methods commonly
employed in public relations.) Surveys are synonymous with public opin-
ion polls, and are one example of quantitative research. Quantitative
research is based on statistical generalization. It allows us to make numeri-
cal observations such as “85% of Infiniti owners say that they would pur-
chase an Infiniti again.” Statistical observations allow us to know exactly
where we need to improve relationships with certain publics, and we can
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then measure how much those relationships have ultimately improved

(or degraded) at the end of a public relations initiative. For example,
a strategic report in public relations management for the automobile
maker Infiniti might include a statement such as “11% of new car buy-
ers were familiar with the G35 all-wheel-drive option 3 months ago,
and after our campaign 28% of new car buyers were familiar with this
option, meaning that we created a 17% increase in awareness among the
new car buyer public.” Other data gathered might report on purchas-
ing intentions, important features of a new vehicle to that public, brand
reputation variables, and so on. Quantitative research allows us to have a
before and after snapshot to compare the numbers in each group, there-
fore allowing us to say how much change was evidenced as a result of
public relations’ efforts.
In quantitative research, the entire public you wish to understand or
make statements about is called the population. The population might
be women over 40, Democrats, Republicans, purchasers of a competi-
tor’s product, or any other group that you would like to study. From that
population, you would select a sample to actually contact with questions.
Probability samples can be randomly drawn from a list of the popula-
tion, which gives you the strongest statistical measures of generalizability.
A random sample means that participants are drawn randomly and have
an equal chance of being selected. You know some variants in your popu-
lation exists, but a random sample should account for all opinions in
that population. The larger the sample size (number of respondents), the
• Internet-based surveys
• Telephone surveys
• Mail surveys
• Content analysis (usually of media coverage)
• Comment cards and feedback forms
• Warranty cards (usually demographic information on
buyers)
• Frequent shopper program tracking (purchasing data)
Figure 8.1. Methods of quantitative data collection.
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smaller the margin of error and the more confident the researcher can be
that the sample is an accurate reflection of the entire population.
There are also other sampling methods, known as nonprobability
samples, that do not allow for generalization but meet the requirement
of the problem or project. A convenience sample, for instance, is drawn
from those who are convenient to study, such as having visitors to a shop-
ping mall fill out a survey. Another approach is a snowball sample in
which the researcher asks someone completing a survey to recommend
the next potential respondent to complete the survey. A purposive sam-
ple is when you seek out a certain group of people. These methods allow
no generalizability to the larger population, but they are often less expen-
sive than random sample methods and still may generate the type of data
that answers your research question.
Quantitative research has the major strength of allowing you to
understand who your publics are, where they get their information,
how many believe certain viewpoints, and which communications cre-
ate the strongest resonance with their beliefs. Demographic variables are
used to very specifically segment publics. Demographics are generally
gender, education, race, profession, geographic location, annual house-
hold income, political affiliation, religious affiliation, and size of fam-
ily or household. Once these data are collected, it is easy to spot trends
by cross-tabulating the data with opinion and attitude variables. Such
cross-tabulations result in very specific publics who can be targeted with
future messages in the channels and the language that they prefer. For
example, in conducting public relations research for a health insurance
company, cross-tabulating data with survey demographics might yield a
public who are White males, are highly educated and professional, live in
the southeastern United States, have an annual household income above
$125,000, usually vote conservatively and have some religious beliefs,
have an average household size of 3.8 people, and strongly agree with
the following message: “Health insurance should be an individual choice,
not the responsibility of government.” In that example, you would have
identified a voting public to whom you could reach out for support of
individualized health insurance.
Segmenting publics in this manner is an everyday occurrence in pub-
lic relations management. Through their segmentation, public relations
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managers have an idea of who will support their organization, who will
oppose the organization, and what communications—messages and val-
ues—resonate with each public. After using research to identify these
groups, public relations professionals can then build relationships with
them in order to conduct informal research, better understand their posi-
tions, and help to represent the values and desires of those publics in
organizational decision making and policy formation.
Qualitative Research
The second major kind of research method normally used in the public
relations industry is qualitative research. Qualitative research generates
in-depth, “quality” information that allows us to truly understand public
opinion, but it is not statistically generalizable. (Figure 8.2 lists qualita-
tive research methods commonly employed in public relations.) Qualita-
tive research is enormously valuable because it allows us to truly learn
the experience, values, and viewpoints of our publics. It also provides
ample quotes to use as evidence or illustration in our strategy docu-
ments, and sometimes even results in slogans or fodder for use in public
relations’ messages.
Qualitative research is particularly adept at answering questions from
public relations practitioners that began “How?” or “Why?”11 This form
of research allows the researcher to ask the participants to explain their
rationale for decision making, belief systems, values, thought processes,
and so on. It allows researchers to explore complicated topics to under-
stand the meaning behind them and the meanings that participants
ascribe to certain concepts. For example, a researcher might ask a partici-
pant, “What does the concept of liberty mean to you?” and get a detailed
explanation. However, we would expect that explanation to vary among
participants, and different concepts might be associated with liberty
when asking an American versus a citizen of Iran or China. Such complex
understandings are extremely helpful in integrating the values and ideas
of publics into organizational strategy, as well as in crafting messages that
resonate with those specific publics of different nationalities.
Public relations managers often use qualitative research to support
quantitative findings. Qualitative research can be designed to understand
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• In-depth interviews
• Focus groups
• Case studies
• Participant observation
• Monitoring toll-free (1-800 #) call transcripts
• Monitoring complaints by e-mail and letter
Figure 8.2. Methods of qualitative data collection.
the views of specific publics and to have them elaborate on beliefs or

values that stood out in quantitative analyses. For example, if quantita-
tive research showed a strong agreement with the particular statement,
that statement could be read to focus group participants and ask them
to agree or disagree with this statement and explain their rationale and
thought process behind that choice. In this manner, qualitative research-
ers can understand complex reasoning and dilemmas in much greater
detail than only through results yielded by a survey.12
Another reason to use qualitative research is that it can provide data
that researchers did not know they needed. For instance, a focus group
may take an unexpected turn and the discussion may yield statements
that the researcher had not thought to include on a survey question-
naire. Sometimes unknown information or unfamiliar perspectives arise
through qualitative studies that are ultimately extremely valuable to pub-
lic relations’ understanding of the issues impacting publics.
Qualitative research also allows for participants to speak for them-
selves rather than to use the terminology provided by researchers. This
benefit can often yield a greater understanding that results in far more
effective messages than when public relations practitioners attempt to
construct views of publics based on quantitative research alone. Using
the representative language of members of a certain public often allows
public relations to build a more respectful relationship with that pub-
lic. For instance, animal rights activists often use the term “companion
animal” instead of the term “pet”—that information could be extremely
important to organizations such as Purina or to the American Veterinary
Medical Association.
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Mixed Methods/Triangulation
Clearly, both quantitative and qualitative research have complementary
and unique strengths. These two research methodologies should be used
in conjunction whenever possible in public relations management so
that both publics and issues can be fully understood. Using both of these
research methods together is called mixed method research, and schol-
ars generally agree that mixing methods yields the most reliable research
results.13 It is best to combine as many methods as is feasible to under-
stand important issues. Combining multiple focus groups from various
cities with interviews of important leaders and a quantitative survey of
publics is an example of mixed method research because it includes both
quantitative and qualitative methodology. Using two or more methods
of study is sometimes called triangulation, meaning using multiple
research methods to triangulate upon the underlying truth of how pub-
lics view an issue.14
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, we examined the vital role of research in public relations
management, both in making the function strategic and in adding to
its credibility as a management function. Because research comprises
such a large part of the public relations process—three of the four steps
in the strategic management process—we discussed the purposes and
forms of commonly used research in public relations. The roles of formal
and informal research were discussed, as well as the major approaches
to research: quantitative (numerically based) and qualitative (in-depth
based) as well as the types of types of data collection commonly used in
public relations in the mixing of methods.
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CHAPTER 9
The Public Relations

Process—RACE
Public relations works best when it is a strategic management function.
Strategic public relations is focused on achieving goals and objectives that
contribute to the overall purpose and mission of an organization. To be
strategic, public relations practitioners need accurate information about
the situations they face, the audiences they communicate with, effective-
ness of their communication efforts, and the overall impact the program
has on building and maintaining relationships with critical stakeholders,
without whom the organization could not fulfill its purpose. Public rela-
tions practitioners may be tempted to start with tactics—such as press
releases, a blog, an event, and so on—but these first should be deter-
mined by research, to help inform the overall goals and strategies of the
function, otherwise they may be wasted efforts.
Constructing the Strategic Plan

for a Public Relations Campaign
This process is primarily composed of four steps: using research to
define the problem or situation, developing objectives and strategies
that address the situation, implementing the strategies, and then mea-
suring the results of the public relations efforts. Sometimes acronyms,
such as John Marston’s RACE (research, action planning, communica-
tion, evaluation) or Jerry Hendrix’s ROPE (research, objectives, program-
ming, evaluation) are used to describe the process.1 You’ll notice that that
the process always starts with research and ends with evaluation.
Although it is easier to remember such acronyms, the four steps are
essentially the following:
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1. Use research to analyze the situation facing the organization and to

accurately define the problem or opportunity in such a way that the
public relations efforts can successfully address the cause of the issue
and not just its symptoms.
2. Develop a strategic action plan that addresses the issue that was ana-
lyzed in the first step. This includes having an overall goal, mea-
surable objectives, clearly identified publics, targeted strategies, and
effective tactics.
3. Execute the plan with communication tools and tasks that contribute
to reaching the objectives.
4. Measure whether you were successful in meeting the goals using
evaluation tools.
Step 1: Formative Research to Analyze the Situation

The first step in the process is analyzing the problem or opportunity. This
involves research, either formal or informal, to gather information that
best describes what is going on. Research used to understand the situa-
tion and help formulate strategies is called formative research.
For example, a natural gas company may be considering the route
for a new pipeline. It must conduct research to understand what pos-
sible obstacles it might face. Are there any environmentally protected or
sensitive regions in the area? Are there strongly organized neighborhood
groups that might oppose the project? What is the overall public sup-
port for natural gas and transportation pipelines? Community relations
professionals are very familiar with the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard)
sentiment. Additionally, are there acceptable alternatives to the pipeline
construction? Alternative routes? Alternative drilling procedures? Alter-
native construction times? All of these questions should be considered
before the first shovel breaks ground.
According to Cutlip, Center, and Broom, research “is the systematic
gathering of information to describe and understand situations and check
out assumptions about publics and public relations consequences.”2
Much of this information may already exist and may have been collected
by other agencies. Research that has previously been conducted is called
secondary research. For example, the Interstate Natural Gas Association
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THE PUBLIC RELATIONS PROCESS—RACE 89
of America has conducted surveys on public opinion and communication

practices of pipeline companies. Research on NIMBY and other social
behaviors is also available through a review of academic and professional
literature. Secondary sources are the least expensive way to gain back-
ground knowledge.
However, you may need to conduct primary research or data you col-
lect yourself for your purposes. You may need to conduct interviews or
focus groups with neighborhood associations or environmental groups.
You might consider surveys with homeowners and business that might be
located near the pipeline (see Chapter 8). There are many different meth-
ods to collect the data that is needed to fully understand the situation.
Analysis of previous news stories about pipelines in this region would
give you a good idea about the way this story might be framed by media.
Another analysis of blogs and other social media about pipelines also
would be a good idea. Again the purpose for gathering the information is
to help with understanding the situation.
Using a SWOT Analysis
A very popular tool for analyzing situations is the SWOT (strengths,

weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. This breaks down a situation
by looking at the internal and external factors that might be contributing
to the situation before developing strategies. The internal factors are the
Strengths and Weaknesses of the organization. The external factors are
the Opportunities and Threats existing in the organization’s environ-
ment (see Figure 9.1).
The first step is to look internally at the strengths and weakness of
the organization. For example, the energy company may find that it has
very strong relationships with members of the media, has good employee
morale, is financially sound, and has a culture that values innovation. It
may also find that it has weak relationships with environmental groups
and neighborhood associations, has a culture that promotes confidence
in its decisions (perhaps even bordering on arrogance), and has dedicated
few resources in the past toward community relations. This information
helps inform the possible strategies it needs to take regarding the con-
struction of a new pipeline.
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Figure 9.1. SWOT analysis.
The external factors, opportunities and threats, are usually the reasons
the organization finds itself in the situation. In the case of the energy
company, it sees an opportunity to drill into a new methane gas deposit
and provide that energy to its clients. To the energy company, this appears
to be a win-win situation because it can continue to provide energy to
meet the demand of its consumers. However, it also needs to assess the
possible threats, which include probable legal actions from opposition
groups that could lead to court injunctions. Other threats might include
negative coverage of the project by the media, leading to a damaged repu-
tation and lower public support for the project.
After conducting the SWOT analysis, you can couple the internal fac-
tors with the external factors to suggest possible strategies.
• SO strategies focus on using organizational strengths to capital-

ize on the external opportunities.
• ST strategies also use organizational strengths to counter exter-
nal threats.
• WO strategies address and improve organizational weak-
nesses to be better prepared to take advantage of external
opportunities.
• WT strategies attempt to correct organizational weaknesses to
defend against external threats.
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Constructing a Situation Analysis
Once enough data and information has been collected so that you really
do understand the core contributing factors and not just the surface con-
ditions, then it is time to write a two-paragraph statement that summa-
rizes the situation. The first paragraph should redefine the situation using
the data collected by your research. Highlight the insights gained through
formal and informal research. The second paragraph should identify the
problems, difficulties, and potential barriers to resolving the issue. These
also should have been identified in the research, and the research also
should help you recommend solutions to these barriers. For example, the
energy company would address the opportunity to provide a new energy
source to its customers using innovation and technology for efficient and
effective delivery of the natural gas, asking its employees to be ambassa-
dors to the community, and working with the media to tell the positive
story of the project. It would also need to identify that previous pipeline
projects have been delayed, and in some cases halted, because of the effec-
tive opposition of environmental groups and neighborhood associations,
and that it needs to improve its efforts with community relations before
starting the project.
From the description paragraphs, a succinct one-sentence problem/
opportunity statement is written that cuts to the core of the situa-
tion and identifies the consequences of not dealing with the problem or
opportunity. For example, for the hypothetical utility pipeline situation,
because environmental and neighborhood groups have been influential
in stopping pipeline projects in the past and this pipeline route is planned
to go through sensitive regions, the company needs to build better rela-
tionships with the community through communication and action that
will eliminate or reduce obstacles to building the pipeline.
Step 2: Strategic Action Planning

The strategic plan should be focused on resolving or capitalizing on the
situation identified in the problem/opportunity statement. It begins by
flipping the problem/opportunity statement into a goal. In the case of
the energy company, the goal might be the following: “To use commu-
nication and actions that improve relationships with key members of
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the community in order to successfully complete a pipeline that delivers

newly found methane gas to customers.” Notice that there is room for
change with the pipeline plans in this goal statement. The end goal is
to build a pipeline, and in order to achieve this the company may need
to make adjustments to the routes or construction of the pipeline. Care
should be taken not to write goals that suggest that the public will do
something you want them to do. Because publics cannot actually be con-
trolled, it might set up the organization for failure. Instead, focus should
be on what can be done to achieve the goal, such as communicate and
act in such a way that earns the consent or endorsement of these publics.
The goal provides the direction for the strategic plan and objectives
provide the direction of specific and measurable outcomes necessary to
meet the goal. A good objective meets the following criteria: it should be
an end and not a means to the end; it should be measurable; it should have
a time frame; and it should identify the public for the intended outcome.3
• End and not means to an end. An objective should be an

outcome that contributes to the goal. There are three possible
outcomes for these objectives: cognitive (awareness, under-
standing, remembering), attitudinal (create attitudes, reinforce
positive attitudes, change negative attitudes), and behavior
(create behaviors, reinforce positive behaviors, change negative
behaviors). The opposite of these outcome objectives are what
Lindenmann called “Output Objectives,”4 which are the means
to an end. They include the communication efforts to reach
the objectives such as placement of messages in influential
media. These are actually strategies and not objectives (more
on this later).
• Measureable. Objectives also help hold public relations profes-
sionals accountable for their efforts. Public relations should
engage only in strategies and tactics that actually contribute to
larger organizational goals. Measurable objectives often require
a comparative number, such as 65% awareness of a product
or program. An objective cannot be set to increase awareness
by 20% if the current level of awareness is unknown. This is
why formative research is needed to establish benchmarks. If
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no such benchmark exists, then it is customary to establish a

desired level, such as “increase awareness to 85%.” The prob-
lem with this is that you do not know how close you are to that
figure before the campaign. This might be an easy objective to
achieve (if your level of awareness is already at or above 85%)
or a very difficult one (if your awareness level is around 20%).
• Time frame. When will the objective be met? If there is no
time frame specified, then it cannot be accountable.
• Identify the public. It is a good idea to identify overall objec-
tives before tying them to a public. This helps to think about
which publics are connected to the objective. However, to
make an objective truly measurable it must identify a public,
because different publics will be at different levels of awareness,
attitudes, and behaviors. For example, the objective may be to
increase attendance at employee benefits meetings. Research
may find that the messages are getting clogged at middle man-
agement, which has many people who have a negative attitude
about the meetings and are not encouraging employees. One
objective might focus on increasing the level of awareness of
employees while creating another objective focused on increas-
ing positive attitudes of middle management. Of course, this
also means that you should look into your meetings and find
out how to improve them.
The objectives should advance overall business goals such as increase

sales, increase share values, retain employees, improve social responsibil-
ity, or reduce litigation. They should also be written within the param-
eters of possible public relations outcomes. For example, this might look
like a good objective:
• Increase sales of product X by 20% over the next 6 months

among younger consumers (ages 18–24).
However, there are many variables that contribute to increased sales

of the product that are not under the control of public relations such as
price, product quality, and availability. Unless the public relations effort
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can be isolated to show that it was the variable that moved the needle on
sales (such as positive publicity in one market that showed increases to sales
while all other elements in the marketing mix remained the same), you may
be setting yourself up for failure. And, if sales do increase, you will not be
able to take credit for the increase because of the other important variables.
You would have to share credit with marketing, quality control, and sales
representatives. Public relations can contribute to this larger goal through
increased awareness, improved attitudes, and possible consumer trials of
the product. Provided that the product is of high quality, reasonably priced,
and available to consumers, these activities should contribute to increased
sales. So the following might be the reworked objective:
• Increase awareness of product X among young consumers

(18–24) by 20% within the next 6 months.
Generally there is a hierarchy to the different levels of objectives.

Lindenmann identified three levels of objectives: outputs, outtakes,
and outcomes.5
As mentioned previously, output objectives are focused on the effec-
tiveness of meeting strategies such as the number of placed messages in
the media, the size of the audience that received the message, the percent-
age of positive messages that were contained in the stories, and so forth.
It is helpful to measure output objectives because they provide a good
indicator of how well the strategy has been implemented. However, they
are not considered objectives as defined in this section because they are
not ends but means to an end. For example, an output objective might
read, “Place 30 stories in prominent newspapers about the product in
the next 3 months.” This is a means to the end of increasing awareness
and could be measured by the output of the message but not the impact
of the message. Therefore, output objectives should be relegated to the
strategies section.
Outtake objectives are focused on increasing awareness, understand-
ing, and retention of the key message points. It is far more important to
know that the audience received the message than whether it was sent
out. For example, you may send out a message in an employee newsletter
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that reaches 10,000 employees. You need to be more concerned on the

impact that message had than the number of people it reached.
Outcome objectives are perhaps the most important, but also the
most difficult to achieve. For example, let’s say the public relations pro-
gram is for the state highway patrol to increase awareness of the impor-
tance of seatbelt usage and the objective is to decrease the number of
fatalities caused by not using a seatbelt. There is a diffusion process that
occurs with adoption of this behavior. First, drivers need to be aware and
understand the safety advantages of seatbelts. Next, they need to have
a positive attitude about wearing seatbelts. Finally, this positive attitude
will hopefully translate to increased use of seatbelts. However, because
people are not always the rational beings we would like them to be, there
is a declining measure of success at each level. People who know what is
good for them do not always like it. “But seatbelts are uncomfortable.”
“What if the seatbelt traps me in the car after an accident?” “Seatbelts
wrinkle my clothes.” Even if someone has a positive attitude toward an
issue, they may still not behave congruently with the attitude. It could be
out of habit, laziness, or dysfunction. So to increase behaviors by 30%,
attitude needs to increase by a higher level (50%) and awareness by an
even higher level (80%).
Once the goal of the public relations program and measurable objec-
tives have been established, it is time to turn attention to strategies.
Strategies provide the means by which objectives are reached. There are
certain elements that should be included in this step. First, identify what
is trying to be accomplished with each public (tie the strategy to an objec-
tive). Second, segment audiences based on common characteristics. Third,
create communication strategies that are focused on the self-interests of
the publics. And, fourth, identify how publics will be reached with mes-
sages or actions.
Tie Strategy to Objective
Too often public relations programs have been primarily tactical and have
skipped the strategic step of creating objectives. Public relations profession-
als are doers and often want to get to the action first. However, too many
tactics have been executed because of tradition (“We always send out press
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releases”) than because of strategy. What makes public relations strategic is

having the action tied to the real needs of the organization. If you come up
with a really clever tactic but it does not help meet any objectives it should
be seriously reconsidered. Far too many resources often are wasted on cre-
ative tactics and fall short of addressing the needs of the issue. At the same
time, brainstorming on strategies may lead to a legitimate idea that was not
considered during the objectives phase, and it may require reevaluating the
objectives. But if a strategy cannot be tied to an essential outcome, then it
should not be executed.
Segment Audiences
All groups within publics should be differentiated based on common

characteristics such as demographics, geographics, or psychographics.
Demographics include variables such as gender, income, level of educa-
tion, and ethnicity. Females may be connected to the issue very differ-
ently than males. College graduates may have different attitudes than
high school graduates. Geographics describe your public by their loca-
tion. People living within a thousand feet of a pipeline may have different
attitudes toward energy companies than those who live a mile or farther
from those lines. Psychographics segment your audience based on their
values and lifestyles. People who are single, adventurous, drive fast cars,
and spend a lot of their income on entertainment may have very differ-
ent opinions about seatbelts than people who have small children, drive
minivans, and invest most of their money on securities. It is important
to segment your key publics because it will help you identify their self-
interests. (See Chapter 7 for more information on identifying and priori-
tizing publics.)
Create Communication Based on Self-Interests
People pay more attention to communications that are tied to their val-
ues, needs, and goals. You should ask yourself what your publics value
and care about (based on research). Knowing the demographic, geo-
graphic, and/or psychographic differences of key publics, you can create
a message that connects them to your program. For example, for young
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adventurous drivers you may want to show how seatbelts allow them to
have more fun by showing how someone on a curvy road stays snug in
the seat, whereas someone without a seatbelt is sliding around and has
less control. Meanwhile, a soccer mom would be more interested in seat-
belt safety messages geared toward children. Once the self-interests have
been identified, a primary message can be created that will give direction
to the communication efforts. These can become slogans if they are clever
and effective enough. The “Click it or Ticket” campaign uses the threat
of police monitoring to encourage compliance. For the young adven-
turous drivers it might be more effective to have a message from sports
adventurists such as race car drivers or stunt drivers explain how they rely
on seatbelts.
Choose Communication Channels
The last element in the strategy is identifying the channel or medium

through which you can reach target publics. The channels can be mass
media, such as newspapers or television or radio programming. They
can be transmitted by other mediated channels such as e-mail, blogs, or
Twitter. They can also be town hall meetings, mediated slide shows, and
face-to-face (interpersonal) communication. Sometimes the channel is
a group of people, usually opinion leaders, such as teachers, scientists,
doctors, or other experts. For example, if we wanted to reach parents in
our seatbelt campaign, information kits could be sent to teachers to use
in classrooms with students. These materials could be designed to take
home and complete with parents. The messages found in these kits could
be supported with billboards and radio public service announcements,
reaching parents while they are driving. Usually the target audience is
reached through multiple points of contact to reinforce the message.
So the following could be one strategy for the seatbelt campaign:
“Appeal to young parents’ concern for family safety through educational
materials that require interaction between parents and their children
enrolled in elementary schools.” Often, there are several strategies for
each public and for each objective.
The most creative element in the strategic planning stage is the tac-
tic. Tactics are the specific communication tools and tasks that are used
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to execute the strategy. In the case of the seatbelt campaign, the tactics
would be the elements found in the educational kit, such as crossword
puzzles, coloring books, or interactive games. They would also be the bill-
boards, public service announcements, Internet Web sites, social media
applications, and other materials. The challenge is to create tactics that
cut through the clutter of all the messages competing for the audience’s
attention. A great deal of brainstorming takes place during this stage to
develop the most creative and clever messages, designs, and activities.
However, there is also the temptation to get carried away with the cre-
ativity and lose sight of the tactics’ purposes. A cardinal rule is to always
evaluate your tactics within established strategies and objectives.
Step 3: Communication Implementation

The best public relations programs include both communication and
action. The old adage “actions speak louder than words” is as true for
public relations as it is for other business disciplines. Sometimes an orga-
nization needs to act, or react, before it can communicate. For example,
if employees are not attending training seminars it might not be enough
to try more creative and persuasive messages. The seminars might need to
be more relevant and interesting for the employees providing something
to communicate that might change behaviors. Organizations should not
only expect stakeholders to behave in ways that benefit the organization;
sometimes the organization needs to change its actions and behaviors to
improve these critical relationships.
Two additional components to the public relations process usually are
developed during the communication and action stage: the planning cal-
endar and the budget. Once the tactics have been determined it is best
to plan the development and execution of the tactics using a calendaring
tool such as a Gantt chart (see Figure 9.2). A Gantt chart is a horizontal
flow chart that provides a graphic illustration of when tasks should begin
and end in comparison to all other tasks.
The costs for developing, distributing, and executing the tactics
should also be determined. You might want to start with the wish list
of all tactics and pare them down to those that will provide the greatest
return on investment. Some tactics may fall by the wayside when you
project their costs against their potential of meeting your objectives.
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Figure 9.2. Sample Gantt chart (numbers within bars are days to
accomplish task).
Step 4: Evaluation
According to Paine, four concerns should be addressed when evaluating
the effectiveness of a public relations campaign:
• Define your benchmark.

• Select a measurement tool.
• Analyze data, draw actionable conclusions, and make
recommendations.
• Make changes and measure again.6
If you have followed the steps in the public relations process then
you have already identified your audiences and established objectives for
each. If your objectives are measurable then you already have the criteria
by which to evaluate the success of your program. If you set the objective
of increasing awareness by 40% then a benchmark has been set against
which to measure. The benchmark compares your current situation to your
past. Paine also recommends comparing the data gathered to other orga-
nizations, such as key competitors. Comparative analysis makes the data
much more relevant. Instead of knowing how much press coverage has
been achieved; it can be compared to how much the competition is get-
ting to determine what is called share of voice.
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Based on this evaluation, the tools that will best help measure against
stated criteria are selected. Generally, the same tools that helped establish
the benchmark data are used. If primary research was used to establish
benchmarks then the same methods are repeated to evaluate success. If
you surveyed employees to establish awareness and attitude benchmarks,
then a follow-up survey is the obvious measurement tool. If you used
attendance at employee meetings to establish behavior benchmarks, then
counting attendance after the public relations program is the appropri-
ate measurement tool. As noted previously, primary research is the most
expensive and requires the most expertise, but it is the best measure of the
real impact of a public relations effort on stated outcome objectives, such
as changes in awareness, attitudes, and behavior.
Probably the most popular evaluation tools used in public relations
measure the output objectives. There are several ways to measure the
effectiveness of communication output, but some are better than others.
One of the earliest methods was clip counting. A clip is an article, broad-
cast story, or online message that mentions the company or product. You
can either hire a clipping service or collect your own clips. At the end
of a predetermined period, the number of clips obtained is examined.
This measure is the most simple and convenient way to measure output
and is one way to monitor media coverage. It is also the least informative
because you do not know what the clips mean (they are only counted,
not evaluated) except that, perhaps, it has stroked the egos of some senior
management by getting their names in the media.
Many public relations measurement services will analyze media cov-
erage to evaluate the percentage of articles that contain program key
messages, the prominence of the message (for a press release, whether
it was printed on page 1 versus page 16; in a broadcast, how much time
was allocated to the story and where it appears in the program), the tone
of the message (positive, neutral, negative), and how the media efforts
compare with key competitors (share of voice). These organizations pro-
vide metrics that help establish benchmarks pertaining to program out-
put objectives and strategies. However, to know if these communications
actually affected people’s awareness, understanding, attitudes, or behav-
iors, primary research such as surveys needs to be conducted.
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Evaluation and measurement should not take place only at the end
of your efforts. You should be monitoring the media constantly to deter-
mine whether your message is available for people to see (what advertisers
call “reach,” public relations professionals call “opportunities-to-see,”
or OTS). If the media strategy is not working, course corrections in
the middle of the program are required, not after the program has been
completed.
Although sophisticated measures of communication output have been
developed over the years, it is still more critical to consider the outtake
and outcomes of those messages. Getting the communication into vari-
ous channels, be they traditional or new media, is only the means to the
end of affecting attitudes, opinions, and behaviors. The outcomes need
to be measured in order to tie back to organizational goals and purposes.
Cost comparisons between public relations and advertising messages
are not generally used or encouraged as an evaluation tool because of
the difficulty in measuring the actual impact of these messages. However,
we do know that although public relations and advertising generate the
same amount of product awareness, brand recall, and purchase intention,
public relations content produces higher levels of product knowledge and
positive product evaluation than advertising.7
To measure attitudes and opinions, the most popular tool remains the
survey. Public opinion polls and attitude surveys can be conducted and
compared to benchmarks to determine whether the messages and behav-
iors of an organization have had the intended effect. Intentions to behave
and preferences for purchasing can also be measured through surveys,
providing some figures on people’s inclinations.
Behaviors can also be measured against benchmarks. Increases in
employee retention, increased donations, and improved sales and invest-
ments could all be used to measure behaviors. Often the connection
between communication strategy and behavioral changes could be due
to other variables, so it is important to isolate and track the impact of the
public relations efforts in order to evaluate whether they are the driving
force in the change.
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Chapter Summary
This chapter reviewed the process by which strategic public relations
efforts are accomplished. The process is very structured. It suggests that
formal research be conducted for formative and evaluative purposes. It
requires connecting communication efforts with goals, objectives, and
strategies. This process works best with planned efforts such as public
relations campaigns. You may wonder how it fits for everyday tasks such
as responding to a reporter’s inquiry or writing a speech for an employee
meeting. Because these steps are required for strategic public relations,
they fit everyday duties as well. Regardless of the situation, before acting
or responding the public relations professional asks, “What do I know
about this situation?” (situational analysis); “What do I want to accom-
plish with my messages?” (goals and objectives); “How will I accomplish
this with my messages?” (strategy); and “What will I say?” (tactic). This
process should be ingrained if the public relations professional is to become
a strategic communicator.
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PART III
The Practice and

Best Practices
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ibe-bowen-10.indd 104 4/12/10 1:44 PM
CHAPTER 10
The Practice of
Public Relations
Public relations is a large discipline that can be subdivided into many
types of functions. There are four primary areas of functional respon-
sibility or different locales in which we can categorize the profession of
public relations:
1. Corporate public relations

2. Agency public relations
3. Government/public affairs
4. Nonprofit/NGO/activist public relations
These primary functional areas differ but also have the commonality
of using the strategic management process. In the earlier chapter briefly
outlining public relations subfunctions, we promised more specificity on
how those functions actually operate within an organization. Now that
we have thoroughly discussed the strategic management of public rela-
tions, we will relate how they operate in day-to-day corporate and agency
settings, and how they relate to government and public affairs as well as
nonprofit, NGO, and activist public relations.
Corporate Public Relations

Unlike some corporate functions, such as legal and finance, the com-
munication function does not have as its primary mission fulfilling spe-
cific regulatory or compliance requirements. As a result, the function is
rarely organized in a uniform fashion from one organization to the next.
Similarly sized organizations can vary widely in the resources and num-
ber of employees devoted to communication. Reporting relationships
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and functional responsibilities also differ depending on the nature of

the company.
For example, companies that are heavily focused on building and
sustaining strong consumer brands may devote far more employees and
greater attention to the communication function than organizations that
operate exclusively in the business-to-business sector. A company that
sells directly to consumers has a greater need for a large media relations
team since it can field dozens of calls each day from both mainstream
and trade media. When a new product is being launched, the staff will be
called upon to plan press conferences, conduct satellite media tours with
local television stations, and organize customer events.
Companies that sell their products to other businesses rather than
directly to consumers may have similar needs from time to time, but they
are usually on a much smaller scale. Some industries, such as fashion,
entertainment, packaged goods, and travel, place a greater emphasis on
communication than those with longer selling cycles, such as construc-
tion, manufacturing, and engineering. Newer fields, such as computing,
also tend to rely more on public relations and social media programs than
through traditional advertising channels.
In many organizations, the senior leader of the communication team
reports directly to the CEO, whereas in others, that individual may
report to the head of legal, marketing, or human resources. Regardless
of the specific reporting relationship, in virtually all companies, the func-
tion is responsible for communicating with the media and usually has the
lead role in developing employee communication as well. Public relations
activities, such as the management of corporate events, press conferences,
product launches, large employee gatherings, and leadership meetings
normally also are managed by the chief communications officer (CCO)
and his or her team.
In some companies the function is also charged with managing inves-
tor relations—that is, communicating with the company’s shareholders
and financial analysts who follow and report on the company. In a pub-
licly traded company, the investor relations function must comply with
a number of securities regulations regarding the company’s disclosure of
its financial results. These activities involve the release of quarterly and
annual financial results and providing timely information to shareholders
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THE PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 107
regarding any event that meets the definition of materiality, an event that
could have a positive or negative impact on the company’s share price. In
fulfilling these requirements, the investor relations function works closely
with the finance and legal departments, as well as the company’s outside
audit firm.
Most CCOs would maintain that there is no such thing as a typical
day. Some of the most important qualities of successful CCOs are flex-
ibility, patience, analytical ability, and the ability to remain calm under
pressure. All organizations face potentially damaging issues every day.
The CCO must monitor these issues on an ongoing basis, much like a
chef watching many simmering pots on the stove. The objective in this
pursuit is not to let any of these issues boil over into full-fledged crises.
This task has been made harder by the ubiquitous presence of the Inter-
net. The Web has provided the means for unhappy customers, disgrun-
tled employees, or disappointed shareholders to voice their concerns in a
very public manner with a few computer keystrokes.
Although the corporate public relations function is extremely com-
plex and varied by industry, what follows are a few of the main responsi-
bilities and areas of focus for any CCO.
Responsibilities and Focus of the

Chief Communications Officer
Although not every organization is newsworthy or wishes to be, most
larger size organizations seek to develop ongoing relationships with local,
national, and international media. These relationships facilitate the flow
of information to and from the organization to publics outside its bound-
aries. The size of the media relations staff is relative to the amount of
press coverage the company receives. For example, a firm with a large
headquarters in a major city will probably have a more active relationship
with the press than a smaller organization located in a small town. Due
to their level of controversy or public interest, some industries generate
more media attention than others. Organizations with highly visible chief
executive officers (CEOs) also tend to attract more press interest, and
many CEOs have a presence on social media forums, such as Facebook or
Twitter, to facilitate public interest. The CCO normally has some hand
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in managing these communications, as well as preparing executives for

major media appearances, key industry speeches, employee meetings,
testifying before government entities, and participating in community
events. This facet includes speechwriting, ghost writing op-eds, and
rehearsing key messages for media interviews.
Many CCOs are also responsible for overseeing internal relations
and conducting research on employee publics. Though sometimes under-
valued, a company’s communication efforts with its own employees can
yield the highest returns. Employees often feel they are the last to hear
of major developments within their organizations, but the most success-
ful organizations are now placing greater emphasis on keeping employees
well informed, conducting an ongoing dialogue with internal publics, and
incorporating their views into management policy in a symmetrical man-
ner. Much of the focus in internal communication is now centered on the
role of the first line supervisor. When that individual does a good job of
communicating about issues, employees are more willing to pay attention
to organizationwide initiatives.
Many corporate CCOs spend a great deal of time interacting with the
chief marketing officers (CMOs), or marketing heads, of their organiza-
tions. Although the marketing function usually has primary responsibil-
ity for managing product brands, the corporate communication function
normally manages the corporate or organizational brand, as well as the
overall reputation of the organization for quality, customer service, and
so on. This activity may include corporate advertising that speaks to the
attributes and values of the entire organization rather than of a specific
product or service. It also includes participation in industry coalitions,
thought leadership forums, and academic panels. Recent research by
Stacks and Michaelson found parity between public relations messages
and advertising messages, meaning that public relations should be equally
incorporated into the marketing mix alongside, rather than as subservient
to, advertising.1
Increasingly, key messages must be delivered through Web-based
channels since that is the source of information for a growing percentage
of the audience. Most organizations also operate internationally, mean-
ing that messages must be tailored for global audiences. The communi-
cation strategy must include adequate feedback mechanisms so that the
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organization knows how effectively key messages have been received and
what further steps must be taken to provide informative and useful con-
tent to publics.
CCOs have the weighty responsibility of issues management, and
that may include crisis and risk management in industries that are prone
to hazards, risks, or product failure (such as the airline industry, the auto-
motive industry, pharmaceuticals, and so on). The key to issues man-
agement is providing wise counsel to the senior team whenever major
decisions are debated. Organizations face many choices in the course of
business and virtually all the major ones have a communication dimen-
sion. As stated earlier, the CCO and the communication team act in
many ways as representatives of the many publics who are not in the
room when these decisions are made. An effective corporate communi-
cation function counsels the organization of potential risks, provides its
publics a constant voice that can be heard by decision makers, and helps
the organization translate strategy into action. The effective CCO has a
thorough understanding of the organization’s business objectives and the
role of the communication function in helping meet these objectives.
The best counselors are those who take the time to listen carefully to
the issues and concerns of the other functions to whom they are provid-
ing advice and the publics whose views they represent. In order to under-
stand the position of these publics, the communication team relies on
research. This research, which was covered more extensively in a previous
chapter, provides the team with a better sense of how employees, custom-
ers, shareholders, and others view the organization generally, as well as
specific issues that relate to the organization. Indeed, it is research that
allows our decisions to be strategic rather than happenstance.
Finally, in a day-to-day environment, much of the time and attention
of the CCO is focused on managing the public relations staff. Recruiting
and developing the best talent, as in all corporate functions, is fundamen-
tal to building credibility within the organization and being positioned
to offer the most useful counsel. CCOs are constantly seeking employees
who can think critically, write and present articulately, and develop and
maintain excellent personal relationships with their internal publics, as
well as external publics. They can help their colleagues become better
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leaders by enhancing their skills in listening empathetically to employees

and increasing their focus on workgroup communication.
The overriding mission of the CCO is to enhance the relationships
an organization has with its publics by helping the organization make
better, more informed decisions that take into account the impact and
likely reaction to those decisions. The CCO uses all the tools available
to accomplish this goal. In fulfilling this mission, the CCO works with
his or her team to develop and distribute key messages that advance the
organization’s mission. Corporate communicators who understand this
mission and can deliver tangible results are highly valued by the organiza-
tions they serve.
Agency Public Relations

In addition to in-house departments, most organizations—from small firms
to huge global entities—work in partnership with public relations agencies to
develop and implement communication programs. These agencies generate
billions of dollars in revenue, employ thousands of counselors, and serve as
the source of training and development for hundreds of young entrants to
the field each year.
Agency Definitions
There are four major types of public relations agencies. They range from
full service agencies to specialists who fill a particular organizational or
client need. Further, they range from being units of larger, umbrella orga-
nizations to individually owned agencies.
Full Service Agencies
Some of the largest agencies offer a full spectrum of services, from tradi-
tional media relations and event planning to highly specialized research,
training, and social media expertise. Some of these large agencies, such
as Ketchum, Burson Marsteller, Weber Shandwick, Porter Novelli, and
Fleishman-Hillard are part of large media conglomerates like Omnicom,
WPP, and Interpublic. A number of large agencies, most notably Edel-
man, have remained independent.
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Public Affairs Agencies
Agencies such as APCO Worldwide are recognized primarily for their

expertise in public affairs. These agencies focus on developing advocacy
positions for or against legislative initiatives, organizing grassroots cam-
paigns, lobbying members of Congress and other government leaders or
coaching their clients to do so, and participating in and often leading coali-
tions that link together like-minded members.
Strategic Counsel Services
Kekst, Sard Verbinnen, Abernathy MacGregor, and others focus specifi-

cally on what often is referred to as “strategic communication,” includ-
ing mergers and acquisitions, investor relations, and defending hostile
takeovers. These agencies are brought in to supplement corporate staff
and agencies of record when a company decides to make a major move,
such as buying another company or selling a large subsidiary. They are
also retained when a company is facing an unwanted takeover by another
firm. It is common for both parties in hostile takeover attempts to retain
competing strategic agencies. These are often waged in highly publicized
battles that command the front pages of major media for days. The stra-
tegic counselors develop long-term relationships with a few key mergers
and acquisitions (M&A) reporters for The Wall Street Journal, New York
Times, and others, which they try to use as leverage on behalf of their
clients.
Corporate Identity Services
Corporate identity specialists—Landor, FutureBrand, InterBrand, and

others—develop branding strategies and programs for both organiza-
tions and brands. These agencies utilize extensive research to develop
brand platforms for their clients that build on the existing perceptions
of companies or their products. Their expertise includes graphic design,
naming, brand engagement programs for employees, and complete
identity systems.
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Corporate Social Responsibility
In recent years a number of agencies have chosen to specialize in corpo-

rate philanthropy programs. They work with clients to determine areas in
which they can match their areas of expertise with global human needs,
such as hunger, health, the environment, and poverty. They design pro-
grams that help address these needs by utilizing the employees, technical
expertise, and financial resources of their clients.
Trends in Agencies
Regardless of their particular area of focus, all of these agencies are being
affected by a number of new industry trends.
According to a survey conducted by the Council of Public Relations
Firms, the industry’s trade association, agencies are finding that their cli-
ents are increasing their outsourcing practices. With pressures on profit
margins intensifying, many companies find that they can better man-
age the ebbs and flows of communication activity by hiring an outside
agency for certain communication activities in lieu of using internal
staff.2 When times are good and the needs multiply, organizations can
increase the amount of agency support they receive; when times are lean
they can cut back the support of outside firms.
Companies and agencies are also using more virtual teams, meaning
teams that include the client’s employees, the agency’s employees, and
independent contractors all working on the same project.3 In many cases,
these teams are located in different offices, cities, time zones, even conti-
nents, all connected through the Internet.
Most agencies are expected to provide strategic counsel, not just
tactical solutions that involve executing programs. In order to do this
effectively, the agency team must employ thorough external research that
identifies pending issues and opportunities for the client. Their recom-
mendations often go beyond the realm of communication, challenging
the organization to consider the implications of policy changes or major
operational decisions.
Regardless of how the agency-client relationship is structured, clients
expect the agency to anticipate issues and provide a fresh perspective
that can assist them in making critical decisions and recommendations
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to their CEOs and internal publics and colleagues. To do this well, the
agency team must spend time conducting internal research—getting to
know the unique aspects of their client’s business. These aspects normally
include competitive threats, labor relationships, legislative and regula-
tory constraints, and the global trends that will affect the future of the
business.
Most large agencies have a global reach, they operate global networks,
with major offices in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Some
do this with their own employees and others form partnerships and net-
works with independent agencies in other countries. Either way, it is
increasingly important for multinational clients to be able to call upon an
agency that can offer counsel throughout the world.
Agency Life Versus Corporate Life
The resumes of many practitioners often include experience in both

agency and corporate positions, and many of the management responsi-
bilities of the corporate CCO are also conducted by agency professionals.
Agency professionals oftentimes build an area of expertise with long-term
service for a client or within an industry, and work as expert prescribers
resolving problems and crises as an outside consultant from the agency,
and return to their agencies once the problem is solved.
The agency world offers the opportunity for varied assignments with
multiple clients. A career path through the agency can provide opportu-
nities in a wide range of areas, including media relations, issues manage-
ment, crises management, brand building, event planning, and corporate
reputation work. To some, one of the negative aspects of entry-level jobs
in agencies is that they are highly focused on conducting events, public-
ity, and media pitching.
On the corporate side, most employees, especially at the entry level,
are focused on a single industry or line of business. Since corporate
departments are often smaller, the career path may be more limited,
whereas agencies may have a diverse client list and numerous opportuni-
ties for travel. On the other hand, corporate communication positions
can provide a more strategic focus, depending on the company. From
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a practical standpoint, the benefits offered in corporations are usually

better for new hires, though this is not always the case.
Clearly, the line between corporate and agency roles is becoming less
distinct. With the use of virtual teams increasing, clients are more focused
on results than on the demarcation between the agency and the corpora-
tion. In both worlds, leaders are looking for ways to improve their value
to the organization, whether they are serving internal or external clients.
Government Relations and Public Affairs

Government relations and public affairs are the types of public rela-
tions that deal with how an organization interacts with the government,
with governmental regulators, and the legislative and regulatory arms of
government. The government relations and public affairs are discussed
together in this section; the two functions are often referred to as syn-
onyms, but there are very minor differences. Government relations is
the branch of public relations that helps an organization communicate
with governmental publics. Public affairs is the type of public relations
that helps an organization interact with the government, legislators,
interest groups, and the media. These two functions often overlap, but
government relations is often a more organization-to-government type
of communication in which regulatory issues are discussed, communica-
tion directed to governmental representatives takes place, lobbying efforts
directed at educating legislators are initiated, and so on. A strategic issue
is any type of issue that has the potential to impact the organization, how
it does business, and how it interacts with and is regulated by the gov-
ernment. Heath contends that “public policy issues are those with the
potential of maturing into governmental legislation or regulation (inter-
national, federal, state, or local).”4
Public affairs is the external side of the function that deals more
broadly with public policy issues of concern among constituents, activ-
ists, or groups who lobby the government on behalf of a certain per-
spective. Public affairs are often issues of public concern that involve
grassroots initiatives, meaning that everyday citizens organize and create
a movement in favor of a certain issue or perspective. In that case, public
affairs specialists would work to resolve conflict or negotiate on behalf of
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an organization, working with these groups to create an inclusive solu-

tion to problems.
Public affairs specialists act as lobbyists on behalf of their organiza-
tions, and they interact with publics who are interested in lobbying the
government for legislation regarding particular issues. Public affairs spe-
cialists might focus on a particular area of public policy, such as inter-
national trade agreements or exchange rates, security and terrorism,
equitable wages and working conditions, the regulatory process, safely
disposing of production by-products, and so on. The list of public policy
issues with which an organization must contend is practically endless.
In some organizations, the governmental relations arm or public
affairs unit is coupled with issues management, or it can even be the same
public relations executive responsible for both roles. Issues management
and public affairs are extremely close in their responsibilities, goals, and
activities. Both issues management and public affairs seek to facilitate
interaction between organization and the government or governments
with whom it must deal, and to incorporate and update organizational
policy in accordance with governmental standards. However, issues
management is the larger function because it deals not only with gov-
ernmental and regulatory publics but also many other types of publics.
The governmental relations or public affairs function is more narrowly
focused on legislative, regulatory, and lobbying issues.
Public affairs can be used in a corporate setting to interact on policy
and legislation with the government, interest groups (or, as discussed in
the following section, activist publics), and the media. An organization
must also use public affairs to communicate about policy and procedures
with investors, regulatory publics, employees, and internal publics, as
well as communities and customers.5
Case: Horse Public Policy

Public affairs issues often center on a conflict of ethical values or rights
between organizations and publics, and sometimes organizations, pub-
lics, and one or more branches of the government. An example would be
the grassroots movement in the United States to protect wild horses from
slaughter for human consumption in Europe and Asia. Many animal
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protection and rights organizations have lobbied officials on behalf of the

horses, and those officials introduced legislation to make horse slaughter
for human consumption illegal. According to the Associated Press, the
U.S. House of Representatives voted 263 to 146 to outlaw the killing of
horses for human consumption based on the active public affairs initia-
tives of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and grassroots
initiatives, such as “Fans of Barbaro.”6
A sponsor of the slaughter-ban legislation, former Congressman
Christopher Shays (R-CT) said, “The way a society treats its animals,
particularly horses, speaks to the core values and morals of its citizens.”
Defenders of horse slaughter, including the meatpacking industry and
its public affairs lobbyists as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture
argue that it provides an inexpensive way to dispose of these animals.
“These unwanted horses are often sick, unfit or problem animals,” said
Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN). Clearly, the two sides of this debate and
all the businesses and organizations involved on each side are lobbying
their point of view with governmental officials and also using the mass
media to build public understanding and support for their position.
At the core of this debate is an ethical divergence over the value of
equine life and the role of horses in America’s society and history. At contest
is the future of both those horses who live free in American herds and for-
mer sport or pet horses, and even stolen horses sold to the slaughter indus-
try. Much money is at stake for the ranching and meatpacking industries,
the Bureau of Land Management, the Department of Agriculture, and the
resources invested in this legislation by the animal rights lobby.
Issues Management and Public Policy

A large part of public affairs is ongoing issues management, and the
issues management function is often grouped within the same depart-
ment or set of responsibilities as public affairs. For example, the public
relations function at Johnson & Johnson is divided into several functional
departments, the highest level being “public affairs and group issues.”7 In
most organizations, especially in corporations, issues management and
public affairs are inextricably linked. Organizations must manage public
policy issues that they create as a consequence of their doing business.
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Organizational policy must continually be revised and updated to reflect

the current regulatory environment as well as the demands placed on it
by publics.
Issues management is the process through which an organization
manages its policy, and identifies potential problems, issues, or trends
that could impact it in the future. The issues management process is a
long-term, problem-solving function placed at the highest level of the
organization through which it can adapt organizational policy and engage
in the public affairs process. Issues management allows the top profes-
sional communicator to interact with government and publics, advising
the CEO about the values of publics and how they enhance or detract
from the organization’s reputation with those publics.
Heath defines the issues management function in the following way:
“Issues management is a process for establishing a platform of fact, value,
and policy to guide organizational performance while deciding on the
content of messages used to communicate with target publics.”8 Those tar-
get publics include key executives of the organization, legislators, govern-
ment regulators, interest groups, and so on. Heath explained, “An issue is a
contestable question of fact, value, or policy that affects how stakeholders
grant or withhold support and seek changes through public policy.”9
Why is issues management so important? Grunig and Repper noted
that if an organization is unresponsive to the appeals of publics, they will
lobby the government to regulate the organization or seek other public
policy changes forced onto the organization in the public policy arena.10
In that case, the organization loses its autonomy, meaning that key deci-
sions are legislated and regulated rather than made by top management,
often costing the organization a great deal of money or resources. Ideally,
the organization would know how to best allocate its own resources and
would manage issues in a more efficient and effective way than having
those legislated and standardized across an industry, so maintaining its
autonomy is generally the goal of issues management.
In issues management, we not only look for emerging issues that
can affect our organization, but we also seek to build long-term, trust-
ing relationships with publics, both governmental and grass roots. Heath
explains how communication is used to help in the issues management
process by noting that “the more that an organization meets key publics’
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need for information, the more likely they are to be praised rather than
criticized.”11 Of course, managing the organization in a way that is ethi-
cal and does not seek to exploit publics or other groups allows the issues
management function to truly contribute to organizational effective-
ness: “Issues communication is best when it fosters mutual understand-
ing that can foster trust. This communication must be two-way and
collaborative.”12
Issues management should be collaborative, based on the research
that the issues manager has conducted. The research is what makes
the issues management process “two-way,” meaning in that it is based
on understanding the view of publics by bringing input into manage-
rial decision making from outside the organization. This research can be
used to provide vital information at each stage of the strategic planning
process. However, Heath notes that “communication may not suffice to
reconcile the differences that lead to the struggle.”13 Thus, issues manage-
ment cannot resolve all problems with communication or make all deci-
sions mutually beneficial. It can help to incorporate the values of publics
into strategic decision making whenever possible so that less resistance
from those publics is evidenced, and their lobbying initiatives do not tar-
get the organization, which could lead to a loss of decisional autonomy
through legislation.
Issues management is normally conducted on a continual, ongoing
basis in which the manager is monitoring, researching, advising, and
communicating about a number of concurrent issues at any given time.
How many issues are managed will depend on the size of the organiza-
tion and the turbulence of the industry in which it operates. Successful
issues managers are those who hold in-depth knowledge of their indus-
try, problem-solving ability, negotiating skill, and the analytical ability to
examine the issue from numerous perspectives. Let us take a closer look
at the process of conducting issues management.
In the mid-to-late 1970s, Chase posed an early and widely accepted
model of issues management. That model included the following steps:
1. Issue identification
2. Issue analysis
3. Change options
4. Action program14
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The Chase model, though easy to remember, is a bit simplistic, and

others have elaborated on the steps in great detail. For example, Renfro’s
book on issues management summarized the process thus: “1) scanning
for emerging issues, 2) researching, analyzing, and forecasting the issues,
3) prioritizing the many issues identified by the scanning and research
stages, and 4) developing strategic and issue operation (or action) plans.”15
Although Renfro’s model is an excellent one, we believe that Buchholz,
Evans, and Wagley offered a slightly more comprehensive, six-step model
for managing issues that is directly designed for the public policy needs of
management.16 (See Figure 10.1.)
Arguably, the most important phase of issues management is the
issues scanning, monitoring, and analysis phase. If an issues manager
fails to identify an emerging issue, the hope of creating a proactive plan
to manage the issue diminishes. Once an issue emerges into the pub-
lic policy arena, the organization loses control of defining the issue and
time is of the essence in its management. Monitoring for emerging issues
and predicting the future importance of issues is called issues forecast-
ing. Issues forecasting is a bit like fortune telling; we can never accurately
predict the future emergence of an issue with all of its nuances and the
dynamic interactions of the issue with publics.
Another argument could be made that the research and analysis of an
issue is the most important phase for determining priorities and how to
best handle the new issue. The more research an organization can gather,
the more informed its decisions should be. Still, an element of strategy
exists within the collection of data, its analysis, and its interpretation into
managerial policy. But as Heath cautions, “Data azre only as good as the
insights of people who analyze them.”17
A large part of government relations and public affairs is the lobby-
ing process in which the research, knowledge, and policies formulated
through issues management are communicated to legislative publics.
This communication often takes place while educating elected offi-
cials on an organization’s point of view, contribution to society, regula-
tory environment, and business practices. The legislative process is one
in which organizations can integratively and collaboratively participate,
helping to inform legislation. Oftentimes, lobbyists are hired to advocate
for or against legislation that would potentially impact the organization.
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1. Identify public issues and trends in public expectations

• Scan the environment for trends and issues
• Track trends in issues that are developing
• Develop forecasts of trends and issues
• Identify trends and issues of interest to the corporation
2. Evaluate their impact and set priorities
• Assess the impacts and probability of recurrence
• Assess the corporate resources and ability to respond
• Prepare the issue priorities for further analysis
3. Conduct research and analysis
• Categorize issues along relevant dimensions
• Ensure that priority issues receive staff coverage
• Involve functional areas where appropriate
• Use outside sources of information
• Develop and analyze position options
4. Develop strategy
• Analyze position and strategy options
• Decide on position and strategy
• Integrate with overall business strategy
5. Implement strategy
• Disseminate agreed-upon position and strategy
• Develop tactics consistent with overall strategy
• Develop alliances with external organizations
• Link with internal and external communication networks
6. Evaluate strategy
• Assess results (staff and management)
• Modify implementation plans
• Conduct additional research
Figure 10.1. The steps of issues management.

Source: Buchholz, Evans, and Wagley (1994), p. 41.
Regulatory impact, or “constraints imposed by outside groups or inter-

ests,”18 is thought to be costly and is normally argued against by orga-
nizations that seek to maintain their autonomy in order to create more
effective management.19
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Nonprofit, NGO, and Activist Public Relations

Nonprofit or not-for-profit groups are those that exist in order to edu-
cate, fund research, advocate, or lobby on behalf of a public cause or
initiative. Oftentimes, nonprofit groups are those with an educational
mission existing on behalf of the public interest. For instance, the Cancer
Research Foundation of America educates consumers about what food
products to eat to increase healthiness and lessen cancer risk. Public rela-
tions efforts on behalf of nonprofits generally involve disseminating pub-
lic information, persuading publics to adopt the ideas of the organization
through the use of press agentry and asymmetrical public relations, and the
use of symmetrical public relations to increase donor funding and govern-
mental funding of the initiative.
Nonprofit public relations may exist for educational purposes, to
promote an idea or cause, or to raise funds for research on an issue
or problem. A well-known example would be the many cancer research
foundations that exist to raise awareness about cancer and its risk
factors, educate the public about preventive measures, lobby the govern-
ment for further funding of cancer research, and occasionally provide
grants for cancer study. Much of nonprofit public relations includes lob-
bying the government through educating legislators about the problem,
ongoing research initiatives, and how the government can increase sup-
port for both funding and preventive measures. Nonprofit public relations
often relies heavily on member relations, meaning that it seeks to maintain
and develop relationships with supportive publics who can distribute the
organization’s message, and often pay a membership fee to assist in pro-
viding an operational budget for the nonprofit. Member relations is often
conducted through the use of Internet Web sites, magazines, newslet-
ters, and special events. Fund-raising or development is the final, vital
part of nonprofit public relations. Development is tasked with raising
funds from both large fund donors, writing grants for governmental
support, and conducting fund-raising with smaller, private donors.
Nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, are “soft-power” groups
who do not hold the political appointees of governmental agencies, and
do not have the profit motivation of corporations. They exist in order to
carry out initiatives, such as humanitarian tasks, that governments are not
willing to handle. NGOs often form around social issues or causes to act
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in concert with the government but not to be controlled by it, although

their sovereignty is at question in some nations. The employees of NGOs
are often former government workers or officials. NGOs often partner
with local groups or leaders to accomplish specific initiatives. Gass and
Seiter noted that “non-governmental (NGOs) also are particularly good
at demonstrating goodwill” and that goodwill is a part of establishing
credibility.20 They explained, “Goodwill is much more likely to be com-
municated via ‘soft power’”21 such as NGOs. Examples would be groups
such as Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch.
Activist groups are special interest groups that arise around an orga-
nization in order to establish some type of change around their particular
issue of concern. Activist groups normally arise from a “grassroots move-
ment,” meaning that it comes from everyday citizens rather than those
who work in government. That fact makes it slightly different from an
NGO and oftentimes activist groups are less official in the formal struc-
ture of their organization and its nonprofit status, compared to nonprof-
its or NGOs. Activist groups can be small and informal, such as a local
group of parents banding together to protest a school board decision,
or they can be large and more organized, such as People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals.
Activist groups can differ in their purposes and reasons for existing,
and in the amount of action-taking behavior that they undertake. For
example, some activist groups are termed “obstructionist” because they
obstruct a resolution to the problem in order to gain media notoriety for
their issue and new membership. Greenpeace is an example of an obstruc-
tionist activist group.22 Other activist groups might use more collaborative
or integrative strategies of problem solving in an attempt to resolve their
problems with an organization and have those changes integrated into
organizational policy.
Activist groups also differ in the issue with which they are concerned,
with some issues being broadly defined (such as “the environment”) and
other issues being very specific (such as “toxic waste runoff ”). Grunig’s
study on activist group’s issues is informative here; she found that “two
out of every three activist groups were concerned with a single issue.”23
That single issue could be as specific as the impending destruction of a
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local, historic building. Or it could be a larger issue such as the amount of

pollutants exuded from a manufacturing process.
Activist groups exert power on organizations in many forms of pres-
sure, such as appearances at “town hall” type meetings, rallies and dem-
onstrations, boycotts, anti–Web sites, e-mail campaigns, letter-writing
campaigns, phone calls to legislators, lobbying, and events designed spe-
cifically to garner media attention. Activist groups are usually filled with
young, educated, and motivated ideologues with a strong devotion to
acting on behalf of their cause. These groups are normally quite effective
in their efforts to have organizations integrate their values into organiza-
tional policy.
How to Respond to Activism

Organizations might attempt to “ignore” activist pressure, but that
approach simply does not work because it often prolongs or exacerbates
the activist group’s campaign. When the organization stonewalls, activist
groups normally approach elected officials and ask for the organization to
be investigated, fined, and regulated. Activists also employ various forms
of media that can both influence legislators and change public opinion,
building support for their perspective that can be used in creating turbu-
lence for the organization.
The most effective way that public relations can deal with activist
groups is to engage them in a give-and-take or symmetrical dialogue to
discover their issues of concern, values, wants, and priorities. Collabora-
tive efforts to resolve conflict normally lessen the damage resulting from
conflict for organizations; refusing to deal with activist groups protracts
the dispute. The efficacy of activist groups, even very small ones, is well
documented in the public relations body of knowledge. The Excellence
Study contends that “regardless of the link of the dispute, the intensity of
the conflict or the media coverage involved . . . all activist groups studied
had disrupted the target organization.”24
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Integrative Decisions
Holding face-to-face meetings with activist leaders and members, brain-
storming sessions, or joint “summits” tend to work well in building under-
standing between the organization and its activist. The activist group must
also understand the organization’s business model and constraints, and the
requirements of the regulatory environment in which it operates. Asking
for the opinion of activists on organizational policy is never a popular idea
with senior management; however, it can result in novel adaptations of
those ideas that provide a win-win solution to issues. Hearing and valu-
ing the concerns of activist sometimes offers enough resolution to their
dilemma for them to target less collaborative organizations. The crucial
point of your response is that activists must be included rather than
ignored. Using conflict resolution, negotiation skill, and symmetrical
dialogue to understand the activist group helps the public relations pro-
fessional incorporate their ideas into strategic decision making. A collab-
orative approach lessens the damage that activists cause to the reputation
of the organization, as well as the amount of resources and time that must
be spent on responding to activist pressure.
Activism Case: No Place for Gaddafi to Pitch His Tent

In late 2009, the leader of Libya, Col. Muammar Gaddafi, visited the
United States for the purpose of addressing the United Nations (UN)
general assembly. His visit to the United States led to citizen activism
through which we can see many of the preceding principles of citizens
acting on behalf of a cause or belief and pressuring the government to aid
in their efforts. First, a brief look at the history of United States–Libya
relations and specifically those with Col. Gaddafi provides important
context for this case of activism. In 1979, the United States embassy in
Libya was attacked by a mob and set on fire, causing the withdrawal of all
U.S. government personnel.25 Col. Gaddafi directly and publicly claimed
responsibility for the 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in
which 270 people died over Scotland, including many Syracuse Univer-
sity students returning home from a study abroad program.26 Accord-
ing to the U.S. Department of State, diplomatic relations with Libya
were not reopened until 2006.27 However, much hostility remains over
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the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 and Libya’s other support of terrorist
activities.
Col. Gaddafi is known for taking a Bedouin tent with him on foreign
visits. A recent occasion in which this tent was problematic was when he
requested to erect it on President Sarkozy’s grounds in Paris in 2007, a
move that caused consternation and reportedly “flummoxed presidential
protocol service.”28 Gaddafi did erect this tent when he traveled to Bel-
gium for official talks in 2004, and again when he visited Rome in 2009,
using the tent to receive official guests. However, these European nations
do not consider themselves as personally affected by the terrorist actions
of Gaddafi in Libya. In terms of Grunig’s situational theory of publics,
discussed in Chapter 7, citizens of these European countries have lower
problem recognition with Col. Gaddafi than do Americans. The level of
involvement that Americans experience is higher than that of Europeans,
both from the burning of the U.S. Embassy, severed diplomatic relations,
and the Libyan terrorist downing of flight 103. High levels of both prob-
lem recognition and involvement, coupled with a feeling that one can per-
sonally impact the situation (known as low constraint recognition) all predict
the rise of an activist public.
To further complicate matters with America, general outrage ensued
when Scotland decided to release from prison the terrorist who was
responsible for bombing Pan Am flight 103. The convicted terrorist,
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, was released just weeks before Gaddafi’s UN
address to the general assembly. Al-Megrahi received a hero’s welcome
upon return to Libya, while the families of many American victims
watched the news stories vented their outrage in television interviews,
letters to the editor, tweets, and blogs.
When Gaddafi and his associates began planning his trip to speak at
the United Nations, to take place on September 22, 2009, they also began
looking for a place to erect the Libyan tent. The Libyan embassy owns
property in suburban New Jersey, where Gaddafi planned to stay and
erect a tent. However, after public demonstrations outside the property,
the town of Englewood, New Jersey, blocked Gaddafi from erecting the
tent. Residents protesting Gaddafi’s potential stay in the Libyan mission
spoke frequently to the news media. Rabbi Boteach said, “I live right next
door to the Libyan embassy. We want them to leave our neighborhood,”
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adding that even the area’s Muslims were against Gaddafi’s visit.29 Syra-
cuse University alumni also appeared on broadcasts voicing their outrage
at Gaddafi visiting the very state of that university.
Gaddafi petitioned to assemble the tent in Central Park, and New
York City planning and other governmental officials also rejected that
request. One news report led with the headline, “Have you got a permit
for that Bedouin tent sir? Col. Gaddafi meets his match . . . New York
planning officials.”30 Finding no home for the tent, the Libyan delegation
resorted to subterfuge, impersonation, and using intermediaries to find a
temporary place for Col. Gaddafi in the United States.
At this point, Gaddafi’s delegation impersonated Dutch officials and
attempted to rent space for Gaddafi’s tent on the roof of a Manhattan
townhouse, but that deal fell through.31 Gaddafi used intermediaries to
rent a Bedford, New York, estate owned by Donald Trump. Aerial photos
taken from helicopters buzzed on the news media as the Bedouin tent
was constructed on the 113 acre estate, known as “Seven Springs.” As
Gaddafi wound up his 90-minute address to the UN general assembly,
outrage was growing in Bedford. Citizens and media began to congre-
gate at the front gate of the estate, and media helicopters circled. Bed-
ford town attorney Joel Sachs said a stop work order was issued on the
tent just after 5 p.m., because it is illegal to build a temporary residence
without a permit. The town official called the tent an “illegal structure.”32
News anchors commented on the power of citizen activists. Helicopters
provided visuals of the tent being deconstructed that played across media
outlets for the rest of the day.
Clearly, Gaddafi underestimated the power of activist publics operat-
ing within a representative government to prevent him from engaging in
the normal activities of a dictator. The day following the stop work order
on the tent, after it was taken down, work began again to build the tent.33
However, Gaddafi did not visit the tent, as is his usual custom, to receive
state visitors or other official visits. Perhaps Gaddafi had finally under-
stood the message issued by activist publics, and governmental officials
at their behest such as Congresswoman Nita Lowey, who said Gaddafi
is “unwelcome throughout the New York area.”34 The battle over where
Gaddafi could pitch his tent was easily won by civic activists, demonstra-
tors, and governmental officials who acted on behalf of residents in their
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districts. Perhaps the case of erecting a tent is a small one, especially for
a country such as Libya. It must address concerns of terrorism, human
rights violations, and weapons of mass destruction, to name but a few.
However, if activists can place the issue of Gaddafi’s tent onto the media
agenda and the agenda of elected officials, they clearly hold the power to
impact his official visit to the United States.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, we explained the typical functions of public relations
for an organization. Corporate settings were discussed, along with the
importance of access to and advising the dominant coalition of func-
tion managers who often sit at the management table, experience and
knowledge of one’s industry, and navigating the organizational structure
to gather information and be able to best advise management. Agency
settings were discussed, with regard to teamwork, strategic counsel, the
fast-paced environment of consulting for clients, the changing dynam-
ics of the news media in relation to social media applications such as
Facebook and Twitter, and current trends affecting agencies. Government
relations and public affairs were each defined and discussed for their role
in the discussion and management of public policy issues. Issues man-
agement was discussed, and the six steps to effective issues management
initiative were delineated. Finally, nonprofit, nongovernmental organi-
zation (NGO), and activists public relations were discussed in light of
both their ability to impact public policy and how research shows that
an organization should best respond to pressure from these groups. As
case examples, the public policy issue and interest groups surrounding
the horse slaughter for human consumption was discussed. The chap-
ter concluded with a detailed examination of citizen activism and local
government response to the United States visit of the Libyan leader
Col. Muammar Gaddafi as an illustration of the power of activists to
change their environment.
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ibe-bowen-10.indd 128 4/12/10 1:44 PM
CHAPTER 11
Ethics, Leadership and

Counseling Roles,
and Moral Analyses
Beginning in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the role of ethics in business
took on new meaning. Part of this was driven by business excesses that
provoked the U.S. Congress to introduce and pass the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act, an act in part driven by business’ failure to conduct its business
ethically. Public relations professionals have argued for years that ethical
business practice is the key to establishing and maintaining relationships
with key publics—whether they be stockholders or stakeholders. Ethical
considerations in the practice of public relations have been on the forefront
of public relations education for years, but because public relations prac-
titioners had seats at the management table, they were not always taken
seriously. This chapter introduces and examines ethics and its role in orga-
nizational leadership, the public relations professional’s role in decision
making, and what constitutes moral analysis.
Ethics
Questions of how to guide behavior and differentiate between right and
wrong have intrigued mankind for thousands of years. From the ancient
philosophy of Plato and Aristotle to the Enlightenment of Hume, Kant,
Mill, and the theoretical approach of Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, Moham-
mad, and Aquinas, to modern-day philosophy, we explore the questions
of right versus wrong, good versus evil, light versus darkness. Singer
averred, “Ethics is about how we ought to live.”1 Given Singer’s simple
definition of ethics, public relations ethics is about how we ought to com-
municate. Much goes on behind that communication for the public
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relations professional. Issues managers must identify potential problems,

research must be conducted, and both problems and potential solutions
must be defined in an ethical manner. Therefore, ethics can be defined
for public relations as how we ought to decide, manage, and communicate.
Ethics and Trust

Communication is not the ultimate goal of public relations. Our goal is
building relationships through the use of ethical communication, listen-
ing, and strategic alliances, while collaboratively incorporating the ideas
of others into organizational policy. We try to build both the means and
fluency to create dialogue with our publics. If the purpose of public rela-
tions is to build relationships with publics, trust is an essential part of any
ongoing relationship. Whether those publics are inside the organization,
such as employees, management, administrative workers, or outside the
organization, such as suppliers, distributors, retailers, consumers, com-
munities, and governments, ethics is the linchpin that holds together
relationships.
To understand the importance of ethics in relationships, imagine
the following scenario. If you purchased a product from a company that
advertises that it is the highest quality, you might feel exploited were you
to find out that the organization sold the product knowing it was manu-
factured with defective components. Chances are, you would not want
to have a long-term relationship with that organization, meaning that
you would not become a repeat purchaser of their product. Through this
simple example it becomes apparent that the ethics of an organization
have a nebulous yet certain impact upon relationships with publics.
Ethical Culture
Ethics intersects with all levels of an organization. From the assembly line
to middle management, ethics must play a role in decision making in
order for an organization to be the most successful that it can possibly be.
To be certain, much of the responsibility for ethics rests at the top of the
organization, because without a vision and leadership from the top instill-
ing the importance of ethics and the values of the organization, ethical
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ETHICS, ROLES, AND MORAL ANALYSES 131
behavior tends not to flourish. In other words, public relations should act
as the ethical conscience of the organization by including the views of pub-
lics in decision making, but everyone in the organization must value eth-
ics, most importantly the leaders of an organization.
This multipronged ethics function is what ethicists call “institution-
alizing corporate conscience.”2 The ethics function must be a part not
only of public relations but also of the corporate culture. This section
will show you how to identify values, instill ethical values throughout the
organization’s culture, and consider and resolve ethical dilemmas.
Systems Theory Rationale for Ethics

Many entry and midlevel public relations professionals often wonder
how they got into the territory of philosophy and ethical decision mak-
ing. Allow us to explain the answer in terms of systems theory and you
will soon understand why a working knowledge of moral philosophy is
an absolute must for the public relations manager.
As a specialized field, public relations is in danger of being myopic or
atomized. Laszlo explained that such specialized knowledge can form a
barrier to entry and result in isolation, meaning that reality is viewed in
fragments rather than holistically.3 The contrasting view is systems the-
ory, similar to biological systems or ecological systems, such as the body
being comprised of a circulatory system, a nervous system, a digestive
system, and so on. This organic view of systems was applied to society
by the philosopher Luhmann to explain society as comprised of interde-
pendent but somewhat autonomous social systems comprising the larger
whole.4 In organizational terms, an organization is a system comprised of
smaller subsystems. Public relations is the function that communicates
both among the subsystems of an organization and with its external envi-
ronment, comprised of consumers and other publics. In systems theory
terms, the environment is anything outside of the conceptual “bound-
ary” of the organization. Those inside the boundary of the organization
normally have a financial relationship with it; those in the environment
can come and go across the boundary of the organization as consultants,
for example, or they can exist wholly within the environment. Informa-
tion freely crosses this boundary both as inputs to the organization when
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research is conducted, and output from the organization when it com-

municates with external publics.
In systems theory terms, public relations is a part of the management
subsystem (see Figure 11.1). Similar to a nervous system, management is
the brain of the organization and communication is used to coordinate
its activities. The other subfunctions in a typical organization are occu-
pied with their own areas of expertise, yet public relations must interact
with them both in collecting data, identifying potential issues or prob-
lems, socializing new employees, and building organizational culture.
These activities require an enormous amount of communication, listen-
ing, collaborative problem solving, and management skill. Public rela-
tions managers enact this internal communication function both across
organizational subsystems, from management in a top-down fashion,
and back to management when reporting on the internal state of affairs.
Essentially, public relations acts as a communication conduit that facili-
tates the smooth internal operations of an organization.
Boundary Spanning and Counseling on Ethics
Public relations practitioners also span the boundary of an organization

in maintaining relationships with publics in the external environment.
1. Management (coordinates and directs all other activities)

2. Disposal (marketing and sales)
3. Production (manufacturing)
4. Adaptation (research and development)
5. Maintenance (physical surroundings)
An open system is interdependent with its environment;
the environment supplies many necessities of production,
including labor, and the information necessary to adjust
to market trends and manage the organization effectively.
Closed systems are rare, as most organizations have varying
degrees of interdependence with their environments, and
thus, varying degrees of openness.
Figure 11.1. The organizational subsystems within systems theory.
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When they cross this boundary in order to collect data, either formally
or informally, they are known as “boundary spanners.” Public relations
managers scan the environment looking for messages of concern, and
changing trends, thereby identifying problems with their publics within
their industry. This process of monitoring the environment for potential
issues of concern is called environmental scanning.5
By acting as boundary spanners, maintaining relationships with publics
outside the organization, and collecting information from outside the orga-
nization through environmental scanning, the public relations function is
perfectly situated to advise on ethical matters. Understanding the values
of publics with whom the organization has relationships is enormously
valuable because their ethical values can be represented in management
decision making by the public relations manager. She or he is already
familiar with the strategic publics in the environment of the organiza-
tion, their desires, priorities, and issues with the organization. The rela-
tionships the public relations managers seek to build and maintain are a
source of valuable input and information during ethical decision making
because those publics can be consulted on issues important to them. The
public relations manager is tasked with representing those views in top
management decision-making sessions. No other organizational function
is better suited to understand the needs and values of external publics
than is the communication function. The legal department, no doubt,
is well versed in understanding government and regulatory publics, but
will have little knowledge of the values of publics extending beyond the
legislative arena. Likewise, the marketing function will be knowledgeable
about the values of consumers, but will have little knowledge of the val-
ues of the communities surrounding manufacturing sites. Only public
relations fills this knowledge gap in terms of systems theory. By under-
standing and incorporating the values of publics, more ethically inclu-
sive, diverse, pluralistic decisions can be made. These decisions result in
a greater harmony between the organization and publics over time, fewer
lawsuits, fewer disgruntled publics, fewer boycotts, and can prevent an
expensive loss of reputation.
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Ethics Counseling: Pros and Cons
One caveat to using a systems perspective to justify why public relations

should act as an ethical counsel to senior management is that few public
relations practitioners have actually studied ethics in a rigorous manner.
Those who have studied ethics are likely to be more senior-level profes-
sionals, reporting to the top of their organization (normally the chief
executive officer [CEO]), earning an above average salary, and the major-
ity are male. This finding does not mean that younger, entry or mid-
level and female professionals have less ethical reasoning ability, only that
they have fewer chances in which to advise their organizations on ethical
choices. Ethics study and training are encouraged as a way to remedy this
problem; we will delve into moral deliberation shortly.
Is Public Relations in the Dominant Coalition?
A caveat of using public relations as an ethics counsel is that the public

relations manager must have a seat at the senior management table in
order to advise on these matters. The worldwide International Associa-
tion of Business Communicators (IABC) study discussed later found that
30% of public relations professionals report directly to the CEO, 35%
report one level below the CEO or have a dotted line (indirect) report-
ing relationship to the CEO. That finding is good news because it means
that about 65% of public relations professionals worldwide have access to
their CEOs and say they advise at least occasionally on ethical matters.
However, the remaining 35% of public relations professionals reported
no access to their senior management, meaning that they are not at the
table when important ethical decisions are made, nor can they advise or
give input on these decisions. Professionals oftentimes have little influ-
ence on policy, and the ethical decisions they must face are smaller in
magnitude, often dealing with only technical aspects of the public rela-
tions function. For those, ethics study is often needed in order to advance
their ascent into management.
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Public Relations: Ethical Conscience Adviser

Should public relations advise on ethics? The public relations practitio-
ners in a worldwide study reported the highest levels of agreement to
these statements: “Ethical considerations are a vital part of executive deci-
sion-making” (mean 4.61 of 5.0 maximum) and “public relations practi-
tioners should advise management on ethical matters” (mean 4.12 of 5.0
maximum).6
Clearly, there is agreement in the industry that management must
consider ethics and that the role of ethical counsel falls on the shoul-
ders of the public relations manager. Managers of communication need
to consider two ethical roles and learn the basis of ethics to foster their
ability to enact each. These two distinct ethical roles were first identified
by the IABC Business of Truth study and also have been found in subse-
quent research.7 The first role is managing the values inside the organiza-
tion, including conducting ethics training. The second role is helping to
analyze and deliberate ethical decisions alongside top management incor-
porating the knowledge of publics gained through boundary spanning.
We will study each role thoroughly to prepare you for the many ethical
challenges to be managed as a professional communicator.
Ethics Role 1: Organizational Values—

The “Chicken Versus Egg” Dilemma
All organizations have a certain personality that scholars call organiza-

tional culture, and that culture also has values or values certain concepts
above others.8 Even a lack of concrete values is a value of sorts. Will orga-
nizations, particularly profit-seeking businesses, take a citizenship role in
society? Or will they use society to achieve their own ends? These types
of questions can help you discern the values of organizations. Looking
specifically at an organization, you can assess the values it holds by read-
ing mission statements,9 policy documents,10 codes of conduct, and eth-
ics statements;11 examining the statements of leaders12 and its statements
toward publics13 and communities;14 and the use of the organization’s
Web site as a dialogue building tool or simply as an advertisement.15
The reason we referred to a chicken and egg dilemma is because it
is very difficult to determine whether ethical individuals drive ethical
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behavior or organizational culture drives ethical behavior, and which one

comes first. Is it possible to turn an organization that holds little regard
for ethics into an ethically exemplary one? Can ethics thrive in an orga-
nization in which the CEO cares little for such pursuits? What if the
CEO exemplifies ethical leadership but takes over a historically unethical
organization? Public relations is inextricably involved in questions such as
these because it is responsible for communicating with internal publics,
for helping to create and drive an enduring mission of the organization,
and for helping foster an organizational culture that is responsible and
includes the views of publics outside the organization.
The answer to the chicken and egg dilemma certainly varies according
to organization and industry. However, ethicists generally hold that an
organizational culture valuing ethics is more important than individu-
als.16 Even the most ethically conscientious employee could not have pre-
vented the bankruptcy of Enron.17 One study exploring the chicken and
egg dilemma concluded that an ethical organizational culture must be in
place to foster and reward ethical decision making, lest an ethical individ-
ual making commendable decisions will not be encouraged or rewarded
for doing so and thus cannot change the organizational culture toward
the ethical.18 In fact, organizations supportive of ethical decision making
incorporate ethical debate and deliberation as a highly valued activity in
their organizational culture.19
In order to act on this knowledge, the public relations function is
responsible for helping to learn the values of the organization through
conducting internal research and to refine and encourage the laudable
values. Building an organizational culture focused on ethics takes much
time and effort and a consistent commitment to communicate about not
only the importance of organizational values but also the crucial role and
decision making of ethical analyses. Contrary to what some managers
believe, ethical decisions are not “easy” but come into play when many
valid and competing views are present.20 Building an organizational cul-
ture in which ethical debate is encouraged comes from delineating the
organization’s values, then reiterating those values consistently so that all
employees know them, thereby encouraging the application of discussion
of those values. Requiring ethics training at all levels of the organiza-
tion is also necessary, as is insisting that leaders “walk the talk” to acting
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ethically and modeling ethical behavior.21 They should evaluate employ-

ees based on their identification of ethical issues or conflicts, and reward
ethical behavior. Ethics training is normally conducted by the public rela-
tions function or an internal relations specialist from the public relations
department. It can take many forms, from online training to in-person
retreats, to workbook modules, or discussion of case studies. The essential
component of acting as a values manager for your organization is in iden-
tifying what the organization holds as a value and working to keep that
concept central in all decisions throughout the organization.
For example, Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) well-publicized credo val-
ues the patients who use their products first, as their primary public.
Therefore, patient-centered decisions dominate the decision-making
framework when ethics are discussed at J&J. We can contrast that with
an organization who values the bottom line above all other pursuits, a
company who values innovation, one who values responsibility, or one
who values respect. Different values of importance in the decision-mak-
ing framework will result in a different organizational culture.
Through the communication outlets of internal relations such as
employee Web sites, intranet, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and other
communication channels, the public relations function can work to both
understand the current values of internal publics and to instill the desired
ethical values into the organizational culture. Ethical training programs
could be used to educate employees of all levels on the values and ethical
decision-making paradigm of the organization. It is important to have
clarity and a vision of ethical values that is reinforced at all levels of the
organization. Consistency, clarity, repetition, and a reward system in place
for ethical decision making often speed the rate at which internal publics
adapt to and adopt the values of the organization.22
Ethics Role 2: Ethical Counselor to Management
A second approach to ethics that public relations managers can take

in an organization is to advise or counsel senior management on ethi-
cal decisions. The public relations counselor is perfectly situated in an
organization to know the values of publics, and can help to incorporate
those views of publics into strategic decisions and planning. She or he can
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discuss these issues with the CEO and advise him or her on how ethical
decisions would impact the reputation of the organization.
Ethical decision-making paradigms and analyses are not usually neces-
sary if there is a clear right and wrong in the situation. Ethical paradigms
for moral analyses are helpful when there are two or more conflicting
arguments of merit. If there are many “right” points of view then it is
time to use an ethical decision-making paradigm to decide which deci-
sion alternative is most congruent with the values of the organization.
The issues management team meetings can include the views of pub-
lics when the public relations professional is present to represent them in
these meetings. Additionally, the public relations manager can use ethi-
cal decision-making frameworks to analyze the situation from multiple
perspectives, and to advise the CEO and executive management on the
morally desirable course of action.
Advising the CEO on ethics requires a number of qualifications on
the part of the public relations manager. Training in ethics or moral phi-
losophy is essential for ethical analysis, and that training can be academic
or professional in nature. It is a must that the public relations manager
understand the basics of moral reasoning in order to conduct thorough
analyses and advise the CEO on ethics. The analysis of competing and
valid decisions is a difficult, exceedingly complex pursuit. Having a pub-
lic relations manager devoted to conducting these intensive analyses is
sometimes the only way that a CEO can hear a countervailing point of
view, as these executives are often surrounded by “yes men” who provide
no critical analysis in the decision at hand. To prevent the sort of group
think that often occurs in these situations, it is vital that the public rela-
tions executive be as objective as possible in the analyses of ethical deci-
sions. Providing an objective ethical analysis to the CEO is one way that
public relations adds value to the effectiveness of the organization.
Conducting Moral Analyses

As an objective decision maker, the public relations professional must
have a high degree of autonomy and not be beholden to serving only
the interests of the organization.23 Objective autonomy requires that all
the merits of each argument, from various publics or from the CEO,
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be considered equally. Although we know that no analysis can be purely

objective, the goal of moral philosophy is to eliminate bias and strive to
be as thorough and unbiased as possible.
Ways that the public relations practitioner can encourage, and further,
autonomy include being a proficient boundary spanner, representing one-
self as an objective, autonomous voice in strategy meetings rather than as an
advocate of the organization’s will, and seeking to use information collected
from the publics in the organization’s environment to enrich strategic deci-
sion making and organizational policy. Oftentimes, public relations practi-
tioners report that they spent years developing a trusting but autonomous
relationship with their CEOs, and that autonomy was granted on a gradual
and slow basis.24 Many public relations executives report that they had to
be assertive in airing their analyses and that they were granted autonomy
only after proving the credibility and accuracy of their analyses over time.25
The merits of each perspective, from publics and from the view of the
organization, are considered according to ethical paradigms that help to
judge the best or most ethical course of action. There are essentially two
perspectives that are helpful in the analyses of the types of moral dilem-
mas common in public relations: consequentialism and deontology.
Consequentialism
As the name implies, consequentialism is based on the outcome or con-
sequences of making a particular decision. If there are more positive con-
sequences than negative consequences, the decision is determined to be
ethical. One caveat of using consequentialism is obviously the limited
ability we have to predict future consequences of potential actions. How-
ever, this type of decision making is common in public relations practice
and is well suited for making decisions involving less complex scenarios.
We will study two main branches of consequentialism: enlightened self-
interest and utilitarianism.
Enlightened self-interest is a form of decision making in which the
consequences of a potential decision are analyzed and preferential treat-
ment is given to the decision makers’ desires but not to the exclusion
of the wishes of others. Thus, the decision is self-interested, but is said
to be “enlightened” through the consideration of the consequences that
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decision will have on others. Enlightened self-interest is the most com-

mon decision-making framework in public relations practice in general,26
especially at those in lower levels of responsibility or experience in the
field.27 This framework is sometimes called professional ethics, or respon-
sible advocacy. Because of the preferential treatment of self-interest in
this paradigm, many ethicists believe that it does not reach a standard
of decision making that we can call moral.28 Many times, the decisions
made using enlightened self-interest become obsessively self-interested
and therefore rather unenlightened.29
Utilitarianism advocates a standard of judging what is ethical based
on how much it serves the interest of society, or advocating that which
is ethical serves “the greater good for the greatest number” of people.30
The tricky part of utilitarian reasoning is how we define “the good” so
that you can make decisions furthering it for the majority. Originated by
Bentham and refined by Mill, utilitarianism is a philosophy that analyzes
the impact of decisions on groups of people, making it popular for use
in public relations. However, we have to be careful in its implementation
because it is easy to serve the interests of a majority and to forget the valid
points of a minority, creating a disequilibrium in the system that would
require a revision of the decision at a later date.
Utilitarians diverge over whether the specific decision (or act) or the
general moral principle (or rule) should be put to the utilitarian test. The
most common form of utilitarianism in public relations management is
specific to the act under consideration, considering it in all of its detail,
including the potential consequences arising from different decision
alternatives. The option to resolving an ethical dilemma that creates the
most positive outcomes and the least negative outcomes is considered to
be the ethical option. Although utilitarianism is normally used to justify
the sacrifice of one for the gain of many, Mill’s theory holds that the ethi-
cal decision cannot result in harm to a public, even if they are small in
number.31 Therefore, the utilitarian test becomes a more stringent test
than simply weighing numbers of people.
Creating decisions with the most positive outcomes comes naturally
to most public relations managers. The resulting cost–benefit analy-
sis arising from the use of a utilitarian paradigm is a frequently used
approach to resolving ethical dilemmas in public relations. Christians
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explained that utilitarianism holds a “natural affinity today in democratic

life toward determining the morally right alternative by comparing the
balance of good over evil.”32 Seeking to create the most good in society
with organizational decisions is a worthy goal. However, utilitarianism
has a number of pitfalls that must be considered and compensated for in
order to arrive at an ethical decision. The pitfall most concerning to ethi-
cists is that utilitarianism judges outcomes based on sheer numbers rather
than on moral principle. If a small public instituted a membership drive,
for example, the utilitarian calculus would change the ultimate decision
based upon the number of members, rather than on a changing of moral
values. Complexity also poses problems for utilitarianism. Christians
argued, “Practitioners [sic] usually find themselves confronting more than
one moral claim at the same time, and asking only what produces ‘the
most good’ is too limiting.”33 In fact, how do we decide the best course of
action when there are equal amounts of goods to be produced?34
Utilitarianism also requires the public relations manager to be able to
accurately predict the future consequences of each decision alternative. In
reality, we know that few decisions can be made in which consequences
are predicted with certainty. The dynamic world of publics, government
regulators, communities, activist groups, and the mass media make pre-
dicting the consequences of organizational decisions that much more
complicated, if not impossible. Finally, utilitarianism holds that the
majority always benefits. What if a small but vocal minority has a valid
point of concern with the organization? In utilitarianism, those views are
dismissed in favor of the status quo, or larger public. Such a system can
create a dangerous disequilibrium within the organization. The result of
such a disequilibrium could be high employee turnover, outrage, lawsuits,
or class action suits; negative coverage in the news media affecting the orga-
nizations reputation is then a distinct possibility.
The strength of utilitarianism is that it can be used to arrive at a rela-
tively speedy analysis, and that benefit is particularly helpful in crisis situ-
ations (see Table 11.1 for an example of this speedy analysis). Utilitarian
theory holds a particular affinity for business in a democratic society and
the media’s belief in the public’s right to know. The use of utilitarian-
ism as a method for analyzing ethical dilemmas serves public relations
best when it is combined with another means of ethical analysis. Keeping
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Table 11.1. An Example of Consequentialist Analysis

Utilitarian Analysis, Maximizing Public Interest and Greater Good
Decision option A Good outcome versus bad outcome
Decision option B Good outcome versus bad outcome
Decision option C Good outcome versus bad outcome
Decision option D Good outcome versus bad outcome
Ethical option result—aggregate Most good; least bad
these caveats in mind when using a utilitarian analysis can also help the
public relations practitioner be mindful of the potential problems arising
from this approach.
Principles and Rights: Deontology
Deontology is a nonconsequentialist-based means of moral analysis.

The moral analysis is not conducted in order to be based upon predict-
ing future consequences; consequences are but one small consideration
among many in a deontological approach. This paradigm places duty,
principles, and rights as the things defined as “the good” that should be
taken into account in order to make a decision ethical. Ross explained,
“Whatever is ultimately good is also intrinsically good, i.e. is good apart
from its consequences, or would be good even if it were quite alone.”35
Moral principles are the underlying values that guide decisions, and
are beliefs that are generally held to be true or good. Examples could
be “the sacredness of life, justice, nonviolence, humanity, accountability,
dignity, and peace.”36 Most rational people across various societies and
cultures hold that those principles are morally good. Deontology seeks to
eliminate capricious decision making by eliminating bias and holding to
standards that have a universal acceptance as right or good.
Determining moral principles when conflicting perspectives are pres-
ent is never an easy task. Deontology is a demanding form of moral
analysis, requiring much information and the time and autonomy to
thoroughly consider numerous competing perspectives. Deontology
takes time and study of the philosophy in order to implement its three
tests correctly, just as you are doing here. However, these drawbacks are
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also strengths because deontology results in very strong and enduring

moral analyses.
Deontology was created by the 18th-century philosopher Kant, who
used the virtue ethics of Aristotle to create a more concrete decision-mak-
ing paradigm. Aristotle viewed the character of the speaker as an impor-
tant part of the message and held that the power of persuasion should be
held by only those of virtuous character who would not abuse that power
by seeking to further anything but the truth. Along these lines, Kant
imbued his philosophy with a sense of duty that is supposed to govern
all moral decisions.37 All rational human beings are equally able to reason
through the duty of their decisions in a characteristic called moral auton-
omy by Kant; therefore, all rational beings are equal. Kant views equality
as ethical, and the concept also means that everyone is equally obligated
by that equality with the duty of making moral decisions.
Under that equal obligation, Kant posed three decision tests that he
called the categorical imperative. These three decision tests are used to
test decision alternatives under consideration to determine whether they
maintain moral principle for those involved, including publics. Decisions
must meet the standard of all three of the tests before they can be said
to be ethical. Please see Figure 11.2 for a summary of the three decision
tests or standards to be applied in a deontological analysis. A situation
may have numerous alternatives to resolving an ethical dilemma in public
relations; those alternatives can be put through the three tests to reveal
any ethical flaws.
The first form of the categorical imperative states, “Act only on
that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should
1. Could you will the decision to become universal? That is,

could you obligate everyone else to always do the same thing
you are considering, even if you were on the receiving end?
2. Does the decision maintain the dignity and respect of publics,
without ‘using’ anyone simply to accomplish organizational goals?
3. Is the decision made from a basis of good intention?
Figure 11.2. Deontology’s three decision standards based on the
categorical imperative obligating all people equally.
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become a universal law.”38 This form of the categorical imperative tests

the same universal standards as would be applied to others, if we could
be on the receiving end of a decision, and is useful in public relations
because it “leaves little room for subjective interpretation or self-inter-
ested decisions.”39
Kant’s second decision-making test, formula two of the categorical
imperative, commands dignity and respect. Kant obligates decision mak-
ers to respect themselves, their organizations, as well as all other human
beings. If the decision does not maintain the dignity and respect of the
involved publics, then we know that it is not ethical.
Formula three of Kant’s categorical imperative tests the intention
behind making a decision. Kant wrote, “If our conduct as free agents
is to have moral goodness, it must proceed solely from a good will.”40
Good intention is the only morally worthy basis for decision making in
the Kantian view because it maintains autonomy and duty and prevents
people from being used simply as a means to achieving an end.41 This
third categorical imperative test means that an organization must proceed
out of good intent rather than from a basis of selfishness, greed or avarice,
deception, falsity, and so on. Pure good intention should guide decision
making in public relations ethics.
Kant’s test is considered the most rigorous standard in moral philos-
ophy. Once you have put an organization’s potential decisions through
these three tests, you can be certain that a decision with an affirmative
answer on all three tests is ethical. Publics may still be able to disagree
with the decision or policy, but it does allow the organization a com-
prehensive, systematic, and thorough means of making those decisions.
Therefore, ethical dilemmas resolved through a deontological paradigm
are more defensible, both in the media eye and to publics, than those
made using other means. The defensibility arises from using a rational
paradigm that does not privilege or bias self-interest, so the publics can be
sure their view was considered by the organization.
Case: Home Depot’s Leadership Crisis42

In January 2007, Home Depot was facing a leadership crisis. After
months of pressure from shareholders, the company’s board of directors
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had ousted high-profile CEO Robert Nardelli and replaced him with a
much less visible executive named Frank Blake. The stylistic differences
could not have been more striking. Though both Nardelli and Blake had
joined Home Depot from General Electric, they seemed to come from
different planets. Nardelli was regarded as a tough authoritarian manager
who had shunned much of the cultural foundation of Home Depot and
given a cold shoulder to its founders, Arthur Blank and Bernard Marcus.
Blake decided from early on to try to reconnect Home Depot to its
roots. Whereas Nardelli and his team had enjoyed catered lunches on the
top floor of the headquarters building, Blake instructed the senior execu-
tives to eat in the first floor cafeteria with everyone else, and pay for it
themselves. He reached out to Blank and Marcus and asked them to serve
as advisers as the company worked to reconnect with its customers.
Blake based his communication platform on two images, one called
“the value wheel” and the other “the inverted pyramid” (see Figures 11.3
and 11.4).
In his talks with employees, Blake began showing the Value Wheel
and Inverted Pyramid from the very first day of his tenure as CEO. The
wheel portrayed Home Depot’s core values and the inverted pyramid
Figure 11.3. Home Depot’s value wheel.

Source: Used by permission of Home Depot, Inc. (2009).
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Figure 11.4. Home Depot’s inverted pyramid.
Source: Used by permission of Home Depot, Inc. (2009).
emphasized that the company’s most important objective was the focus
on customers and the frontline associates who directly served them.
Blake coupled this outreach to employees with some strategic deci-
sions, as well. He made the difficult decision to spin off HD Supply, one
of Nardelli’s pet initiatives, and invest instead in the core retail business.
At the same time, new investments were made in improving frontline
customer service.
To get the message across to associates, Blake made use of some exist-
ing Home Depot channels. For example, all 300,000 Home Depot asso-
ciates are required to take a monthly safety and protection quiz. The
company tracks participation in this essential activity. Blake decided
to use 1 minute of the quiz each month to present a brief message to
all frontline associates. He also asked employees to offer suggestions on
how to improve the company through an existing In-Box program. Even
though headquarters receives from 300 to 400 of these ideas each week,
Blake reads them all.
As Brad Shaw, Home Depot’s head of communication, explained,
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We’ve taken our frontline associates and given them ongoing

access to the CEO. Frank used to be practically unknown and
now he’s instantly recognized when he visits our stores. We bring
in frontline folks, 20 year associates, on a regular basis and Frank
meets with them to provide an opportunity to reflect on what
has made HD great. We haven’t changed the tools we use, we’ve
changed the message.43
Shaw maintains that the message conveyed by Blake’s action is really

quite simple. “You have to listen to your people,” he says. “The days
of centralized top-down communication are over. It’s a two-way com-
munication process. Frank understands that and our frontline associates
understand it. We’re working to educate our management in the middle
of how important this is.”
Blake has emphasized the need to listen to the frontline employees
particularly at the company’s headquarters. When the CEO is reading the
company suggestion box and spending time with frontline employees,
other executives tend to follow the example. “What we’re finding is that
when Frank asks a question about a comment he read in the In Box, other
executives want to be prepared with answers, so they’re paying closer atten-
tion to the comments themselves,” says Shaw.
In declaring the importance of the frontline employees, Home Depot
has backed its words with definitive action. Though the company is coping
with the impact of the recession along with other retailers, it had chosen to
maintain the 401(k) match for employees. Unlike many of its competitors,
Home Depot is continuing to grant merit increases and has paid record
employee bonuses. “Other companies are fighting not to lay people off,”
says Shaw. “We want to stay focused on enhancing Home Depot’s reputa-
tion as a good place to work.”
Home Depot is also seeing positive results in terms of increases in
same-store sales, which have recently been better than its primary com-
petitor. Even though the company’s gross revenues have fallen, profit in
recent periods has exceeded forecasts.
Blake’s primary audiences remain customers and frontline employees,
but he will occasionally grant media interviews if he feels they provide an
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opportunity to raise the company’s profile, rather than his own. “Frank is
authentically humble, he doesn’t want media attention but he will do it
if we feel it is critically important in advancing other Home Depot mes-
sages,” Shaw explains. He continued,
He is also active in social media on his own. In some cases he will

respond to blog postings on his own. He is creating a presence in
social media and we don’t try to control that. It is about engage-
ment and the best way to use social media is in an unfiltered way.
In Blake’s 3 years at the helm, the company has shown marked

improvement in customer service. An important measure that many
retailers use is called the Net Promoter Score. The company collects over
150,000 responses from customers each week and counts only positive
scores about its service that rate it 9 or above on a 10-point scale. By this
measure, customer satisfaction has increased over 1,000 basis points in 3
years. “The example Frank uses is that he can pick up a bottle of pack-
aged water and there is no direct correlation between that bottle of water
and the employees who packaged it. It’s not easily apparent if they are
happy or not,” Shaw observes. “But in our case if one of our employees is
unhappy you as a customer can feel it directly in the way they serve you.”
The Home Depot and Frank Blake’s example demonstrates the power
of the chief executive officer also serving as a chief communicator to
employees. In this case, it is clearly achieving results.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, the importance of public relations as a boundary span-
ner who can counsel the dominant coalition on ethics and the ethical
values of publics and stakeholders was emphasized. Ideally, the public
relations professional should be a member of the dominant coalition who
can represent the views of publics in the strategic decision making of the
organization. Research on the two primary ethics roles of (a) advising on
organizational values and (b) ethical counselor to management were dis-
cussed, highlighting the importance of ethical leadership and values in an
organization. Means of actually conducting moral analyses in order to be
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a more effective ethical advisor were delineated. The moral frameworks

of both consequentialism and deontology were offered as means of ethi-
cal analyses. Consequentialist analysis advises focusing on the outcomes
and effect of potential decision options to maximize good outcomes and
minimize bad outcomes. Deontology offered three tests through which
to analyze decision options: universal duty, dignity and respect, and good
intention. A case in which the role of values and ethical leadership in an
organization can be seen in use in public relations and managed to help
the organization achieve its goals and manage relationships was presented.
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ibe-bowen-11.indd 150 4/12/10 1:45 PM
CHAPTER 12
Best Practices for Excellence

in Public Relations
How do we define and measure effectiveness and excellence in public
relations management? This is a crucial question to the field because it
allows us to know how to help our organizations achieve their goals and
to be the most effective that they can be. Studying these factors of effec-
tiveness and excellence tells us how public relations, ideally, should be
conducted in order to achieve the best results.
Effectiveness and Excellence

For more than a decade, J. Grunig and his team of researchers studied
this very question as part of a nearly half-million-dollar grant from the
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). Grunig’s
project is called the Excellence Study, and the results are known as the
excellence theory. We will review those findings here in order to help you
learn how to make your public relations efforts the most effective they
can be and to help your organization or clients achieve excellence.
What is organizational effectiveness? We can say that organizational
effectiveness is helping any type of organization be the most efficient at
what it seeks to do and the most effective it can be in accomplishing
its goals and mission. Organizational effectiveness can be defined in two
primary ways:
1. The strategic constituencies perspective

2. The goal attainment perspective
The strategic constituencies perspective holds that organizational

effectiveness means that constituencies who have influence or power over
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the organization are at least partially satisfied with that organization.

Those constituencies, such as consumers or regulatory agencies, have the
power to decide whether the organization thrives or fails. When those
constituencies are satisfied, an organization thrives. In this sense, orga-
nizational effectiveness means maintaining strategic relationships with
constituencies that help an organization achieve its goals, such as profit,
education, or continued existence.
In the goal attainment perspective, an organization sets clear goals
that are measurable, such as rankings, market-share figures, or sales num-
bers. The organization knows that it has accomplished its goals when the
actual figures match its stated goals. In this way, the organization is seen
as effective when its stated goals are fulfilled.
An ineffective organization is termed one with “competing values”
in which “the organization is unclear about its own emphases” or crite-
ria for success.1 This type of organization might change goals over time,
have inconsistent or unclear goals, and therefore it flounders and fails to
achieve effectiveness.
Organizational effectiveness involves the entire organization, not just
the communication function. However, the management of communica-
tion is an important part of helping the organization as a whole achieve
greater organizational effectiveness. Plus, the concepts of effective or
excellent public relations can also be used to optimize the organization,
structure, and management of the public relations function itself.
Grunig’s Excellence Study identified numerous variables that contrib-
ute to organizational effectiveness. After many years of study, Grunig and
the Excellence Study’s of researchers distilled the most important variables
for public relations in making contributions to overall organizational
effectiveness. These variables were distilled through both quantitative and
qualitative research. The variables that emerged from the data did not
vary across cultures or national boundaries, or by size of organization, or
industry, therefore they were termed generic principles of excellence.
The Excellence Study team identified 10 generic principles of excellent
public relations:
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BEST PRACTICES FOR EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC RELATIONS 153
1. Involvement of public relations in strategic management

2. Empowerment of public relations in the dominant coalition or a
direct reporting relationship to senior management
3. Integrated public relations function
4. Public relations as a management function, separate from other
functions
5. Public relations unit headed by a manager rather than a technician
6. Two-way symmetrical (or mixed-motive) model of public relations
7. Department with the knowledge needed to practice the managerial
role in symmetrical public relations
8. Symmetrical system of internal communication
9. Diversity embodied in all roles2
And the team later added the last principle
10. Ethics and integrity3
These principles can be used to design the public relations function

in an organization to structure its inner action with management and
the rest of the organization, and to staff the public relations department
in a way that predisposes it toward effectiveness. The more of these factors
that are present in a public relations function, the more excellent that func-
tion should be. Another important consideration is that the chief executive
officer (CEO) must be aware of the contributions that public relations and
communication in general can make toward the effectiveness of the overall
organization. He or she is probably aware of how reputation can impact
the bottom line of the organization, and that reputation can be enhanced
and protected by the public relations function.
Explaining the Generic Principles of Excellence

Here is a brief review of why each of the 10 generic principles of public
relations is important to organizational effectiveness:
1. The involvement of public relations in the strategic manage-

ment function allows for more inclusive decision making, better
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organizational policy from the perspectives of publics, and more

enduring decisions. Higher levels of satisfaction with the relation-
ship are reported by publics who were considered by an organization
in its strategic management process.
2. The public relations function must be empowered to report directly
to the CEO in order to advise on matters involving publics, values,
and ethical decision making. Although the researchers posited that
a direct reporting relationship to the dominant coalition would also
enhance excellence in public relations, later research found that public
relations is the most excellent when reporting directly to the CEO.
3. An integrated public relations function has access to and authority
in all levels and functions of the organization. It is not isolated or
pigeonholed, and it is not encroached upon or subsumed by market-
ing or other functions, but has its own degree of autonomy.
4. It is important for public relations to be a separate management
function in the organization in order to prevent encroachment by
marketing or legal departments into the role and responsibilities
of communication management. When these areas are usurped by
other organizational functions, it is common for smaller or less stra-
tegic publics to be ignored in organizational decision making.
5. The public relations unit should always be headed by a professional
public relations manager, rather than someone who is simply adept
in the technical skill of writing. Managers have the research knowl-
edge necessary to collect information, to facilitate conflict resolu-
tion, to engage in issues management, to create budgets, to resolve
ethical dilemmas, and to manage the staff of the public relations
department. Technicians are normally specialists in writing or other
technical aspects of production, but are not normally trained in
management. Without a manager in charge of the public relations
function, it is likely to be pigeonholed as media relations rather than
as a true management function.
6. It is important for an excellent public relations department to use
the two-way symmetrical model of public relations because a dia-
logue-based approach has been shown more effective than any other
in resolving conflicts, preventing problems, and to building and
maintaining relationships with publics.
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7. An excellent public relations department has the knowledge neces-

sary to manage public relations symmetrically in that it can conduct
sophisticated research to understand publics, and it can also engage
in negotiation and collaborative problem solving.
8. Dialogue-based systems of internal communication are important
for building teamwork, increasing employee morale and job satis-
faction levels, and decreasing employee turnover. Issue research also
allows issues managers to identify problems early so that they can be
resolved before they escalate.
9. It is important for public relations departments to have diverse pro-
fessionals in all roles of the function so that decisions and commu-
nications will be inclusive of varying viewpoints. Inclusivity breeds
excellence because it lessens the feelings of alienation created by
excluding or not soliciting the ideas and opinions of some publics.4
10. The excellence researchers added ethics and integrity as important
considerations 4 years after the publication of the Excellence Study,
remarking that ethics is important enough to be a standalone princi-
ple of excellence.5 Bowen’s research found that ethics were included
in the decision making of the most successful organizations issues
management, leading to higher levels of organizational effective-
ness when ethics is planned, trained, and instilled throughout the
organization.6 She elaborated on ethics as the tenth generic prin-
ciple of public relations, and indicated that the rational analysis of
ethical dilemmas could be the most important facilitator of organi-
zational effectiveness.7
How organizations measure excellence depends on the industry, the

size of the organization, its goals, and whether those goals are measured
through the satisfaction of strategic constituencies or through the goal
attainment approach. However, the excellence study has shown that these
generic principles of excellence apply to any type of organization, size of
pursuit, any industry, and across cultures.
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Best Practices Case:

Energy Responds to Hurricane Katrina8
Entergy is a large-scale utility operating primarily along the Gulf Coast
of the United States. In the late summer and early fall of 2005, Entergy
weathered the two worst hurricanes in the company’s history within the
same 26-day period: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The one-two punch of these powerful storms devastated the region
served by Entergy. Almost 2 million homes and businesses lost power
during the height of the storms’ wrath. Dozens of Entergy power genera-
tion plants were forced to close, and thousands of miles of transmission
and distribution lines were downed. In all, more than 1,700 structures
and 28,892 utility poles were destroyed or damaged by the storms. It was
devastation without precedent in modern times.
For the communication team at Entergy, the crisis caused by Katrina
and Rita was more severe than any they had ever experienced. The pres-
sure to communicate quickly with Entergy employees, customers, com-
munities, and other publics was intense. To add to this pressure, members
of the communication team had themselves suffered losses from the
storms. While they grappled with how to get their jobs done, they were
also trying to cope with the loss of their own homes and the impact the
hurricanes had caused in their own personal lives.
Arthur Wiese Jr., Entergy’s vice president of corporate communica-
tions, noted that “major storms are more than just an operational crisis
for a utility company. They also pose major communications hurdles,
directly impacting corporate reputation and the company’s relationship
with its employees, its shareholders, and its customers.”
In Entergy’s headquarters city, New Orleans, the damage was cata-
strophic. Thousands were dead or missing; tens of thousands were home-
less. Electrical power was virtually nonexistent; the gas distribution
system was inundated with corrosive saltwater; 1,500 displaced Entergy
employees were scattered across the nation—from Los Angeles to Bos-
ton—after the company’s evacuation on August 27. It was hard to know
where to begin.
In the hours after the winds subsided and the scope of the damage
became clear, Entergy faced multiple challenges. The company had to
assemble the largest restoration workforce in its history to safely begin
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repairing the worst damage ever incurred to its system. To do this,

Entergy had to address the logistical needs of its workers, providing a
constant supply of food, water, and medication. It had to find shelter
for the workforce, many of whom had lost homes. Entergy improvised
a system to get workers their paychecks and to communicate with them
in the absence of cell service, computers, and other traditional channels.
In addition to meeting these basic human needs, Entergy needed to con-
tinue to manage its business, despite the fact that its corporate headquar-
ters was shut down.
The communication team had actually begun preparing for Katrina
long before the storm hit. As Katrina began bearing down on New
Orleans, Entergy activated its system command center in Jackson, Missis-
sippi, and moved a multidisciplinary team there on August 27, which was
2 days before Katrina made landfall. The command structure included
additional transmission centers in Jackson and New Orleans, and distri-
bution operations centers at utility operations headquarters in Louisiana,
Mississippi, Texas, and Arkansas.
At these headquarters, personnel began coordinating preparation
efforts, recruiting outside restoration help through mutual assistance
agreements with other utilities, and lined up safe staging areas for materi-
als and crews. Additionally, customers as well as crews in the suspected
impact zone were put on alert as arrangements were being made to sup-
port the lodging of crews once the restoration began.
The company had learned some valuable lessons in the aftermath of
Hurricane Ivan, which had struck its service area the previous year. Hur-
ricane Ivan was the strongest hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane
season, and it had forced Entergy to mount a full company evacuation,
which had not been done before. Employees were confused about their
own responsibilities during the evacuation versus those that belonged to
the company. For example, Ivan demonstrated the limits on the com-
pany’s ability to provide evacuation lodging, which many employees
had been expecting. Through the experience with Ivan, Entergy learned
how important it was to communicate clearly with employees about the
differences between the company’s responsibilities and the individual’s
responsibilities in a catastrophe.
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Entergy assembled a cross-functional team in the spring of 2005 to

address the lessons learned from the Ivan evacuation. The team found
several key areas that posed problems for the company. The past practice
of individual business units independently implementing evacuation pol-
icies resulted in chaos, including internal competition for lodging. Many
employees did not fully appreciate the potential danger of a major hur-
ricane, since the area had not experienced a direct strike in decades.
The communications team targeted these areas of confusion and
implemented a new communications plan. The goal was to educate
employees on the company’s new evacuation policies and procedures and
to provide them with information to help them prepare their own indi-
vidual hurricane evacuation plans. This approach emphasized the severity
of the danger posed by a major hurricane and the need to plan ahead.
The company needed to explain why it was implementing more consis-
tent storm policies, and how these changes would help Entergy’s ability
to implement the storm restoration plan for customers.
Communication began with supervisors, who were sent talking points
and an overview of materials that would be mailed to employees in June
2005. They were also invited to attend a Webcast that provided an over-
view of the changes and an opportunity to ask questions. These supervi-
sors were asked to meet with their employees within 2 weeks to explain
these changes and to distribute a communications packet outlining the
new procedures.
The communications team also developed a new Web site titled
“IEStormNet.” This Web site was designed to communicate important
information before, during, and after a natural disaster. This site was
made available to both employees and their families and promotional fli-
ers were distributed that highlighted the information available through
the site.
Entergy also wanted to make sure its customers were better prepared.
In May 2005, Entergy constructed a corporate communications plan that
aimed to help customers better appreciate the challenges it would face in
restoring service in the event of a major storm. Ivan had demonstrated
how difficult it would be for Entergy to restore service quickly and the
company wanted customers to better understand the challenges it would
face in getting them back on line. Although Ivan was a serious storm, the
ibe-bowen-12.indd 158 4/12/10 1:45 PM

company had no idea at the time just how bad the 2005 hurricane season
would be.
On August 29, Katrina made landfall near New Orleans. Approxi-
mately 1,500 Entergy employees were forced to evacuate. They were scat-
tered across the nation and hard to reach since cell phone circuits were
overrun and conventional telephone service was wiped out.
The company had to utilize other methods to locate, mobilize, and
inform the large restoration workforce. Entergy CEO J. Wayne Leonard
sent out daily e-mails to over 14,000 employees, including those unaf-
fected by the storm. An employee information line was kept up to date
with recorded messages and detailed information. The recently created
IEStormNet produced daily online newsletters, which were also printed
and distributed at crew staging sites. Entergy posted toll free numbers on
its Web site and broadcast public service announcements on the radio
asking employees to call in for information.
Maintaining employee morale during the restoration process was a
major objective. Many employees had lost family members and friends
to the storm. Their homes and possessions were damaged or destroyed
by the winds and flood waters. These same men and women were being
asked to work 18-hour shifts in hot, humid conditions, surrounded by
unimaginable tragedy and destruction.
Slowly, conditions for the restoration force began to improve. By Sep-
tember 7, the company had set up tent cities in seven locations through-
out Louisiana and Mississippi equipped with cots, food, water, and
medical supplies for all of its workers. Entergy continued to pay workers
until it found them jobs within the firm because it recognized the need to
offer devastated employees incentives to come back to work.
Entergy CEO Leonard posted letters on IEStormNet and asked for
supervisors to deliver them to crews at campsites and even in remote areas
where they were working. These letters focused on the progress of the res-
toration efforts. In one letter, just days after Katrina hit, Leonard wrote,
“Please work safely and know that this organization of caring people is
working night and day to help you pull your life back together.”9
Just days after Katrina, Entergy established the Power of Hope Fund,
which aimed to help employees and customers rebuild their lives after
the storms, with an initial corporate investment of $1 million. To spread
ibe-bowen-12.indd 159 4/12/10 1:45 PM

news of the Power of Hope Fund, Entergy embarked on a 2-week media

campaign and spread the word via television, radio, print, and the Inter-
net. Over the period of a few months, the fund received over $4 million
in donations from around the world.
Entergy also established Operation ReSTORE Hope. This project
had both distribution centers and a virtual store where people could
donate clothes, furniture, and household supplies for employees. Entergy
employee volunteers and retirees staffed the distribution centers, which
benefited more than 2,000 employees whose lives had been affected by the
hurricanes.
The company provided redeployment coordinators in each major
hub where displaced employees and their families would be relocating.
These coordinators helped displaced employees and their families make
a smooth transition to new work locations. They helped to provide valu-
able information on schools, neighborhoods, churches, local services, and
resources available in the area.
Only 26 days after Katrina, just as restoration was beginning to take
hold, Hurricane Rita made landfall on September 24 as a Category 3 hur-
ricane near the mouth of the Sabine River on the Texas-Louisiana border.
Rita caused even greater damage to Entergy’s transmission system, severing
the ties between generating plants and customers, and plunging the area
from Conroe, Texas, to Jennings, Louisiana, into darkness. Over 400 sub-
stations were knocked out of service. Rita brought damaging winds to the
territory of all five utility subsidiaries in the Entergy system and interrupted
service to over 750,000 customers. This second storm further complicated
Entergy’s efforts to restore service to customers, care for the human needs
of its employees, and maintain its viability as a public company.
Throughout the Katrina and Rita restoration, Entergy made every
effort to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with the media.
Winning the media’s support was critical to winning the support of pub-
lic officials and Wall Street. Through past experience, the company had
come to understand that the media’s perceptions would be shaped in large
measure by how well Entergy took care of its employees and customers.
Entergy used a strategy it called “One Voice” to work with the media.
This strategy was effective in keeping the messages coming from all
ibe-bowen-12.indd 160 4/12/10 1:45 PM

company representatives consistent and accurate during the restoration,

thus minimizing any confusion about progress.
To achieve this objective, the company gave all company spokesper-
sons, including the 45 communicators in its corporate communications
department who were working on the storm restoration effort, the same
sets of talking points up to four times a day to keep them informed.
Entergy issued over 50 news releases and held multiple news conferences
and media conference calls throughout the restoration.
Communication officials produced and managed over 40,000 radio
ads, 15,000 television ads, and 700 newspaper ads. They participated in
more than 300 conference calls or meetings and held dozens of coordi-
nation calls of its own to ensure the proper coordination of all messages
being dispersed, both internally and externally.10
Reporters were looking for complete access and unique story angles
regarding Entergy’s restoration process. The media had been highly criti-
cal of the government’s response to Katrina at the federal, state, and local
levels. Entergy thus had to deal with individuals who were already skepti-
cal of how the situation was being managed.
Using its “one voice” strategy, Entergy opened up its doors to the
media. The company aggressively pushed its story with reporters and did
virtually every interview that was requested. The company invited report-
ers to tour the command center and even to visit crews in the field. (The
first to do so were from the New York Times, the Associated Press, and USA
Today.) When Entergy used helicopters to assess the damage, a seat was
usually reserved for a photographer or journalist.
Such transparency affected how the public and the government per-
ceived Energy’s restoration efforts by making available a steady flow of
information to media outlets. The resulting media exposure in many
cases boosted employee moral by projecting Entergy’s workers as heroes.
After Katrina, Entergy New Orleans, Inc. (ENO), the smallest of
Entergy’s subsidiary companies, not only faced major damages to its
infrastructure, but also a drastic reduction to its customer base in the
city. Almost 2 months after Katrina, only 24% of Entergy’s New Orleans
customers had returned.
To protect its customers from drastic rate increases and to ensure con-
tinued progress in restoring power and gas service to New Orleans, Entergy
ibe-bowen-12.indd 161 4/12/10 1:45 PM

Corporation filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy reorganization on

September 23, 2005. It also asked for federal funding to alleviate its
financial situation.
Entergy faced opposition from the Bush Administration when asking
for this federal funding. ENO had hoped to be included in a $17.1 billion
package passed by Congress in October 2005 for Katrina relief, but the
request was denied. In the administration’s view, federal aid for damage
incurred in natural disasters rarely goes to private, for-profit companies
such as Entergy. A long, bitter public struggle ensued over getting federal
assistance that would enable ENO to limit rate hikes to its customers in
New Orleans. By November 2006, some federal funding began to appear.
However, rate hikes for ENO customers were inevitable.
When funding from the federal government was in question, Entergy
made predictions in June 2006 that they would have to increase utility
rates for its customers by 25%. However, by October 2006, the Louisiana
Recovery Authority had approved block grants the company sought to
obtain with the Chapter 11 filing. At the same time, improving conditions
in the city had contributed to faster population growth. These factors led
to a much more modest rate increase of 7.5%. Built into the rate increase
was a plan to create a $75 million storm reserve for future hurricanes.11
Entergy has learned a number of lessons from the Katrina and Rita
restoration that have aided in the further development of its disaster
response protocol. The company better understands that employees are
its most important public, surpassing even customers. If employees do
not perform, company messages to other publics are diminished. Entergy
has also learned that it must anticipate significant emotional strain with
its employees when they are faced with such difficult personal impacts.
As a company, Entergy was reminded of the importance of having
detailed operational, communications, and business continuity plans and
learned that they should conduct frequent drills to test these plans. When
a major storm is approaching, it is vital to get communicators to a pre-
equipped command center quickly.
Entergy also learned how important it was to make its own evacua-
tion decisions, and not rely solely on the government. In reacting to the
approach of Katrina, Entergy got a head start in relocating its hurricane
command center—and ultimately its whole headquarters—to Jackson,
ibe-bowen-12.indd 162 4/12/10 1:45 PM

Mississippi. This decision proved to be pivotal in allowing the restoration

process to begin as quickly and effectively as possible.
Entergy also learned the value of having backup communication tac-
tics with IEStormNet. When conventional communication systems were
down, this internal Web site helped Entergy and its employees communi-
cate much more effectively.
Finally, the company learned the importance of taking calculated
risks, especially in dealing with the media. By opening its doors to the
media and demonstrating the tangible steps it was taking with both
employees and customers, Entergy was able to restore trust that had
been damaged in the immediate aftermath of the storm. The focus on
one voice, the accessibility of key executives, and the recognition that its
employees were the most critical public for communication all enabled
Entergy to emerge from the chaos of Katrina and Rita and regain its foot-
ing as a profitable and sustainable organization.
Chapter Summary
This chapter briefly reviewed the core knowledge of regarding what it takes
to make public relations the most effective or “excellent” that it can be,
based on the findings of the IABC Excellence Study.12 Being excellent is
contributing to organizational effectiveness, whether that effectiveness
is defined through goal attainment perspectives, strategic constituency
building, or continued growth and survival. The 10 principles of excel-
lence reviewed in this chapter are said to be “generic” because they apply
across cultures, industries, types of organizations, and sizes of pursuit.
The more of these factors that an organization has, the more effective its
public relations function should be.
ibe-bowen-12.indd 163 4/12/10 1:45 PM

ibe-bowen-12.indd 164 4/12/10 1:45 PM
Notes
Chapter 1
1. Case based on classroom lecture and interviews with Kenneth Sternad
(personal communication, March 30, 2009; September 2009). Information also
based on United Parcel Service (2009).
Chapter 2
1. Grunig and Hunt (1984), p. 4. Emphasis in original.
2. Public Relations Society of America (2009b).
3. Public Relations Society of America (2009a).
4. Public Relations Society of America (2009b).
5. Bowen et al. (2006).
Chapter 3
1. Grunig and Hunt (1984).
2. Cutlip (1995).
3. Grunig and Hunt (1984), p. 28.
6. Hiebert (1966), p. 54.
Chapter 4
1. Cutlip, Center, and Broom (2006).
2. Dozier and Broom (1995), pp. 3–26.
3. Broom and Dozier (1986), pp. 37–56.
4. Grunig, J. E. (1992).
5. The Authentic Enterprise (2007).
6. The Authentic Enterprise (2007), pp. 29–30.
7. The Authentic Enterprise (2007), p. 44.
8. Bowen et al. (2006).
ibe-bowen-13n.indd 165 4/12/10 1:46 PM

166 NOTES
Chapter 5
1. Grunig, J. E. (1992).
2. Grunig, Grunig, and Dozier (2002).
3. Hambrick (1981), pp. 253–276.
4. Saunders (1981), pp. 431–442.
5. Robbins (1990).
6. Grunig (1992b), p. 469.
7. Mintzberg (1980), pp. 322–341.
8. Waters and Bird (1987), pp. 15–22.
9. Sriramesh, Grunig, and Buffington (1992), pp. 577–596).
10. Weick (1969).
11. Argenti (2007).
Chapter 6
1. Griffin (2008).
2. Robbins (1990).
3. Grunig and Grunig (1992), pp. 285–326.
5. Katz and Kahn (1966); Bertalanffy (1951), pp. 303–361.
6. Buckley (1967), p. 14.
7. Pfeffer and Salancik (1978), p. 11.
8. Cutlip, Center, and Broom (2006), p. 181.
9. Robbins (1990), p. 62.
10. Robbins (1990).
11. Grunig, Grunig, and Ehling (1992), p. 68.
12. Pfeffer and Salancik (1978), p. 15.
14. Carroll (1996).
15. Mitchell, Agle, and Wood (1997), pp. 853–886.
Chapter 7
1. Winn (2001), pp. 133–166.
2. Freeman (1984).
3. Grunig and Repper (1992), p. 128.
4. Dewey (1927).
5. Grunig and Hunt (1984). Grunig and Hunt developed the model based
on the work of Esman (1972); Evan (1976); Parsons (1976).
6. Grunig (2005), p. 779.

NOTES 167
7. Wilson (2005).
8. Liechty (1997), p. 48.
9. Buchholz (1989), p. 79.
10. Fitzpatrick and Gauthier (2001), p. 205.
11. Fitzpatrick and Gauthier (2001), p. 197.
12. United States v. National City Lines, Inc., et al.
13. Murphy (1991), pp. 115–131.
Chapter 8
1. Bowen (2003), pp. 199–214.
2. Bowen (2009a), pp. 402–410.
3. See, for example, Grunig (1984), pp. 6–29; Grunig (1992a; 2001);
Grunig, Grunig, and Dozier (2002); Grunig and Repper (1992).
4. Ehling and Dozier (1992).
5. Dozier and Ehling (1992).
6. Stacks and Michaelson (in press).
7. Stacks (2002).
8. Stacks (2002); Broom and Dozier (1990).
9. Stacks (2002).
10. Stacks (2002); Stacks and Michaelson (in press).
11. Yin (1994).
12. Miles and Huberman (1994).
13. Tashakkori and Teddlie (1998).
14. See Stacks (2002); Hickson (2003).
Chapter 9
1. Marston (1979).
3. Anderson and Hadley (1999).
4. Lindenmann (2003).
5. Lindenmann (2003).
6. Paine (2007).
7. Stacks and Michaelson (2009), pp. 1–22.
Chapter 10
1. Stacks and Michaelson (2009), pp. 1–22.
2. Council of Public Relations Firms Web site (2009).
3. Council of Public Relations Firms Web site (2009).

168 NOTES
4. Heath (1997), p. 45.

5. Lerbinger (2006).
6. The source of information for this case example is “House OKs ban on
horse slaughter for meat” (2009).
7. Hoover’s Handbook of American Business (1997).
8. Heath (1997), p. 45.
9. Heath (1997), p. 44.
10. Grunig and Repper (1992).
11. Heath (1997), p. 149.
12. Heath (1997), p. 149.
13. Heath (1997), p. ix.
14. Chase (1984).
15. Renfro (1993).
16. Buchholz, Evans, and Wagley (1994).
17. Heath (1997), p. 100.
19. Mintzberg (1983).
20. Gass and Seiter (2009), p. 160.
21. Gass and Seiter (2009), p. 160.
22. Murphy and Dee (1992), pp. 3–20.
23. Grunig (1992a), p. 515.
24. Grunig (1992a), p. 523.
25. Embassy of the United States in Tripoli, Libya (n.d.).
26. Halpern (2006).
27. Embassy of the United States in Tripoli, Libya (n.d.).
28. Sage (2007).
29. Wordsworth (2009).
30. Hazleton (2009).
31. Goldman, Radia, and Berman (2009).
32. Goldman, Radia, and Berman (2009).
33. “Qaddafi Tent Back Up on Trump’s N.Y. Estate” (2009).
34. “Qaddafi Tent Back Up on Trump’s N.Y. Estate” (2009).
Chapter 11
1. Singer (1994), p. 3.
2. Goodpaster (2007).
3. Laszlo (1996).
4. Luhmann (1984).
5. Stoffels (1994).
6. Bowen, Heath, Lee, Painter, Agraz, McKie, et al. (2006).

NOTES 169
7. See Bowen, Heath, Lee, Painter, Agraz, McKie, et al. (2006); Bowen
(2008), pp. 271–296.
8. Goodpaster (2007); Sims and Brinkman (2003), pp. 243–256.
9. Bowen and Broom (2005).
10. Seeger (1997).
11. Murphy (1998).
12. Kidder (2005).
13. Curtin and Boynton (2001).
14. Leeper (1996), pp. 163–179.
15. Bowen (2009b, August 7).
16. Sims (1994).
17. Sims and Brinkman (2003), pp. 243–256.
18. Bowen (2000).
19. Bowen (2004b), pp. 311–324.
20. Bowen (2002), pp. 270–283; Goldberg (1993).
21. Parks (1993).
22. Goodpaster (2007).
23. Bowen (2006), pp. 330–352.
24. Bowen and Heath (2006), pp. 34–36.
25. Bowen (2009c), pp. 427–452.
26. Martinson (1994), pp. 100–108.
27. Wright (1985), pp. 51–60.
28. De George (2006).
29. Martinson (1994), pp. 100–108.
30. De George (1999), p. 57.
31. Elliott (2007), pp. 100–112.
32. Christians (2008), p. 33.
33. Christians (2008), p. 33.
34. Ross (2002).
35. Ross (2002).
36. Cooper (2009), p. 3.
37. Baron (1995).
38. Kant (1785/1964), p. 88.
39. Bowen (2004a), p. 73.
40. Kant (1963), p. 18.
41. Paton (1967).
42. Case based on interviews with Brad Shaw (personal communication, Sep-
tember 2009). Information also based on Home Depot, Inc. (2009).
43. Interviews with Brad Shaw (personal communication, September 2009).

170 NOTES
Chapter 12
1. Robbins (1990), p. 77.
2. Vercic, Grunig, and Grunig (1996), pp. 37–40.
3. Vercic, Grunig, and Grunig (1996), p. 58.
6. Bowen (2004b), pp. 311–324.
7. Bowen (2004b), pp. 311–324.
8. Case based on Entergy company documents and interviews with Art Wiese
(personal communication, 2009). Information also based on Entergy’s (2009)
corporate Web site, http://www.entergy.com
9. IEStormNet Update. Entergy New Orleans and city council agree to mod-
est, phased-in rate plan (2006, October 27).
10. Entergy, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Final Executive Summary Report
(2005, October 18).
11. IEStormNet Update. Entergy New Orleans and city council agree to mod-
est, phased-in rate plan (2006, October 27).
12. Grunig, J. E. (1992).

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Index
Note: Page numbers in italics refer to figures and tables.
A organizational, 48, 50
proactive, 71
account executive (AE), 43–44 reactive, 71
acronyms, 87 beliefs, 17–18, 77, 83, 85, 124, 142
activism, 123–24 benchmarks, 79, 92–93, 99–101
activist groups, 78, 80, 122–24, 141 Bernays, Edward, 17–18, 72
activists, 13, 23, 62, 105, 114, billboards, 97–98
122–25, 127 blogs, 27, 87, 89, 97, 125, 137
advertising messages, 101, 108 bottom-line goals, 28, 48
AE. See account executive boundary spanners, 27, 133, 148
agencies business goals, 93
governmental, 10, 54, 122 business model, organization’s, 124
service, 110 business objectives, 31, 34
analyses buyers, 82
speedy, 141
utilitarian, 142
analysts, financial, 48, 106 C
approaches
assertive, 72–73 campaigns, 9, 67, 72, 78, 81–82, 93
collaborative, 18, 73–75, 124 persuasive public information, 69
defensive, 71–72 seatbelt, 97–98
ethical, 57 Cancer Research Foundation of
goal-attainment, 49–51, 53 America, 121
responsive, 72 career path, 113
strategic, 68 CCO (chief communications officer),
Aristotle, 129, 143 28, 30, 32, 33, 42–43, 45,
associates, frontline, 146–47 106–10
attitudes, negative, 92–93 CEO (chief executive officer), 28, 30,
awareness 33, 39, 42–45, 68, 74, 106–7,
increasing, 94, 99 113, 117, 134, 136, 138–39,
level of, 92–93 145, 147–48, 153–54
CFO (chief financial officer), 28, 34,
43
B chief communications officer. See
CCO
bankruptcy reorganization, 162 chief executive officer. See CEO
behaviors chief financial officer. See CFO
ethical, 136–37 chief information officer. See CIO
ibe-bowen-15in.indd 179 4/13/10 10:38 AM

180 INDEX
chief marketing officer. See CMO comparative, 99

chief personnel officer. See CPO competition, organization’s, 24
chief operating officer. See COO conflict, 47, 55, 59, 73, 114–15, 123,
CIO (chief information officer), 28 137
CMO (chief marketing officer), 28, consequentialism, 139, 149
43, 108 consequentialist analysis, example of,
coalitions, 50, 111 142
communication constituencies, 69, 151–52
battle, 4, 6 strategic, 53, 155
channels, 30, 97, 137 constraint recognition, 64
conduit, 132 constraints, 54, 64–65, 68, 120,
dimension, 109 124–25
effective, 7 construction, 74, 89, 92, 106
efforts, company’s, 108 consumers, 10, 22, 52, 62, 68, 70,
expertise, 35 72, 90, 94, 106, 121, 130–31,
facilitator, 27 133, 152
function, 29–31, 45, 105–6, 109, contacts, 80, 82, 97
133, 152 COO (chief operating officer), 28
function, internal, 132 corporate communications plan, 158
integrated, 22 corporate headquarters, 74, 157
leaders, 30 corporate public relations, 105
management, 154 department, 9
managers, 26–27 function, 107
officials, 161 corporations, 10, 21, 23, 55, 60,
outlets, 137 73–75, 114, 116, 120, 122, 162
platform, 145 Council of Public Relations Firms,
professionals, 34–35 112
programs, persuasive, 33 counsel, strategic, 30, 112, 127
programs, well-conceived strategic, CPO (chief personnel officer), 28, 43
32 culture
strategic, 111 organization’s, 131
communications participative, 39, 41
hurdles, major, 156
manager, 33
packet, 158 D
plan, formal crisis, 6
plan, new, 158 damage, 123–24, 156, 160–62
professionals, 34 data, 17–18, 29, 39–40, 78, 81–83,
team, 33, 109, 156 85, 89, 91, 99, 119, 132–33, 152
technicians, 26–27, 71 decentralization, 41
tools, 18 decision-making framework, 137
communication strategies, 28, 31, 60, most common, 140
66–67, 95, 101 decisions
public relations professional’s, 68 good, 29, 41
stakeholders in, 66 guide to, 142, 144
community issues, 34 key, 31, 117
community relations, 21, 89, 91 making, 27, 40, 53, 139
company messages, 162 organizational, 62, 84, 141, 154

INDEX 181
patient-centered, 137 expectations, shared, 39

potential, 139, 144 Exxon, 68–69
strategic, 29, 118, 124, 137, 139,
146, 148
decision tests, 143 F
defensive communication, 66
demographics, 67, 83, 96 factors
deontology, three decision standards, external, 89–90
143 internal, 89–90
diversity, 42, 45, 153 organizational, 35, 39, 41, 43, 45
dynamic environments, 41, 51–52 finance, 25, 28, 105, 107
financial communications, 5
focus groups, 85, 89
E forecasting, 119
effectiveness foundations, 10–11, 13, 78
defined organizational, 47 functional areas, 28, 43, 120
enhancing organizational, 57 functions
organization’s, 48 communications, 39
egg dilemma, 135–36 corporate, 105, 109
employee communication, develop- decision-making, 40
ing, 106
management-level, 20
employees, 156, 159
marketing, 108, 133
displaced, 160
frontline, 147 problem-solving, 117
Entergy, 156–63 strategic, 73
environmental groups, 55, 89, 91 funding, federal, 162
ethical
analyses, 136, 138, 141, 149; objec-
tive, 138 G
challenges, 135
decisions: deliberate, 135; impor- Gantt chart, sample, 99
tant, 134 GDP. See gross domestic product
dilemmas, 131, 140–41, 143–44, generalizability, 82–83
154–55 General Motors (GM), 73
issues, 137 geographics, 96
leadership, 136, 148–49 GM. See General Motors
matters, 133–35 goal attainment approach, 48–49, 155
organizational culture, 136 goals, 9–11, 27, 29, 42, 48–50, 53,
paradigms, 138–39 56, 58, 62, 70, 87–88, 91–92,
ethicists, 136, 140–41
94–96, 102, 151–52, 155
ethics
code of, 17, 21 governmental relations, 49, 115
professional, 140 gross domestic product (GDP), 4
studied, 134 growth, 8–9, 34, 49, 51, 58, 163
training, 136–37 Grunig, J.
value, 131 organizational linkage model, 61
excellence, measure of, 155 situational theory of publics, 63

182 INDEX
H issues forecasting, 119

issues management
Home Depot, 145–47, 148 conducting, 118
inverted pyramid, 146 ongoing, 116
value wheel, 145 and public policy, 116
Hope Fund, 159–60 steps of, 120
horse slaughter, 116, 127 issues managers, 118–19, 130, 155
hostile takeovers, 111
HR. See human resources
human consumption, 115–16, 127 J
human resources (HR), 20, 25,
28–29, 41, 106 Johnson & Johnson, 68–69, 116, 137
Hurricane Ivan, 157
Hurricane Katrina, 156–57, 159–63
hurricanes, 156–57, 160, 162 K
key competitors, 99–100
I key publics, 11, 13, 25, 27–28,
66–67, 96, 117, 129
IABC. See International Association of
Business Communicators
important decisions, making, 35 L
income, 96
annual household, 83 Lee, Ivy, 16–17
industry, 9, 23–24, 27, 34–35, legitimacy, 56
42, 80–81, 106–7, 109, 113, lobbying, 12, 23, 115–16, 119, 121,
117–18, 127, 133, 135–36, 152, 123
155, 163 local groups, 122
meatpacking, 116 lodging, 157–58
informal research methods, 80 long-term relationships, 57, 78, 111,
information 130
good, 29
processing, 64
simple dissemination of, 17, 19, 77 M
timely, 106
input, negative, 52 management
integrated marketing communica- crisis, 5, 22
tions, 22 function, unique, 12–13, 25, 35
interest groups, 114–15, 117, 127 middle, 93, 130
interests models, 17
issues of, 22, 120 risk, 22, 109
organizational, 50 skills, 39, 132
International Association of Business stakeholder, 55–56, 59
Communicators (IABC), 39, strategic, 17, 78, 105, 153
134–35, 151, 163 team, 35, 42
inverted pyramid, 145–46 theories, 47, 50
investments, 48, 65, 70, 98, 101 top, 117, 133, 135
investor relations, 13, 21, 106, 111 managers, top, 39–40

INDEX 183
manufacturing capacity, 31–32 organization

marketing, 10, 20, 25–26, 28–29, 73, client, 17
94, 106, 132, 154 collaborative, 124
communications, 12, 22; inte- effective, 25
grated, 22 external, 120
mass communication, 9 for-profit, 9, 12
Master of Arts (MA), 34 ineffective, 152
Master of Business Administration manufacturing-based, 43
(MBA), 34 membership, 32
measure, preventive, 121 monitors, open, 52
measurement tool, 99–100 nongovernmental, 30, 127
media nonprofit, 9, 28, 70
social, 21, 89, 148 rights, 116
media relations, 13, 17, 21, 34, 40, simplified, 42
113, 154 sized, 105
traditional, 110 social, 70
meetings, employee, 100, 102, 108 sustainable, 163
member relations, 23, 121 target, 123
mission, organization’s, 110 umbrella, 110
models unethical, 136
asymmetrical, 17–18 values, 55, 135
management-based, 17 organizational
morals, 116 culture, participative, 45
effectiveness, 41, 47, 49, 51, 53,
55, 57–58, 118, 151–53, 155,
N 163
functions, 133, 154
negotiations, 4–5, 74, 155
goals, 32, 67, 75, 92, 101, 143
neighborhood associations, 89, 91
leadership, 129
networks, external communication,
linkage model, 61
120
news media, 3, 22, 125–27, 141 performance, 117
NGOs, 105, 121–22, 127 policy, 78, 81, 115, 117, 122–24,
NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard), 130, 139, 154
88–89 problems, 27
strengths, 90
structure, 20, 24, 29, 42, 43,
44–45, 127; manufacturing,
O 44
objectives subsystems, 132
levels of, 94 survival, 51
output, 92, 94, 100 units, 20
senior communications officer, 29, weaknesses, 90
32, 35 organization-to-government type, 114
officials, governmental, 10, 23, 116, organizationwide initiatives, 108
126 outcomes
one-way communication models, 16 most positive, 140
opportunities, external, 90 possible public relations, 93

184 INDEX
P publicity
bad, 16
participation, 27, 40–41, 67, 71, 73, entertainment, 16
108 function, simple, 53
best organizations value, 45 generating, 16
part-time employees, utilized, 4 positive, 94
People for the Ethical Treatment of public opinion, 15, 18, 69, 89, 123
Animals, 122 data, 17
philosophy, moral, 131, 138–39, 144 polls, 81, 101
pipeline projects, 91 public policy, 11–12
plan, strategic, 31, 87, 91–92 arena, 117, 119
policy, organization’s, 79 changes, 117
positive attitude, 92, 95 issues, 114–16, 127
power flows, decision-making, 41 process, 69
Power of Hope Fund, 159–60 public relations
press agency tactics, 16 agencies, 17, 22, 24, 110
press agents, 16 agency structure, 45
principles campaign, 15, 18, 24, 79, 87, 99,
generic, 152–53, 155 102
moral, 140–43 department, functions of, 5
priority issues, 120 industry, 84
problem/opportunity statement, 91 management, modern, 77–78
problem recognition, 64 models, 18, 24
process reactive, 68–69
decision-making, 41, 71, 73 staff, 109
strategic, 57 strategies, 19, 22, 68–69
profitability, 3, 48 subfunctions, 20–21, 23, 105
PRSA. See Public Relations Society of tactics, 27
America team, 6
public affairs, 9, 12–13, 22, 105, 111, unit, 153–54
114–16, 119, 127 public relations practice, 19, 28, 45,
and group issues, 116 139–40
function, 115 modern-day, 12
initiatives, active, 116 revolutionized, 16
issues, 115 Public Relations Society of America
lobbyists, 116 (PRSA), 11
process, 117 public relations strategy, approach
specialists, 114–15 to, 69
units, 23, 115 public service announcements, 97–98,
public 159
communications, 53
consensus, 15
demonstrations, 125 Q
disclosure obligations, 5
domain, 81 qualitative research, 84–86, 152
expectations, 120 methods, 84, 85
information, 16, 71, 121 quantitative research, 81–83, 85
interest, 68, 70–71, 107, 121 methods, 81, 82

INDEX 185
R shareholders, 11–13, 26, 48, 50, 55,

57, 60, 106, 109, 144, 156
RACE (research, action planning, Shaw, Brad, 146
communication, evaluation), 87 social media messaging, 27
regulations, 54, 69, 114 staff, administrative, 22, 43–44
relationships stakeholder management, process, 55
company’s, 156 stakeholders, key, 30, 40, 54, 57, 74
customer, 32 steps, strategic, 95
maintaining, 8, 13, 21–22, 87,
stop work order, 126
129, 132–33, 154
storms, major, 156, 158, 162
managing, 10, 28
strategic
ongoing, 107, 130
agencies, competing, 111
positive, 4, 75
communication function, 13
trusting, 25, 117
reputation, organization’s, 30, 117 communication management, 13
reputation management, 5 decision-making process, 29
research management function, 78, 87, 153
cancer, 121 management process, 77, 86, 105,
conduct, 28, 39, 69, 88, 120 154
conducting, 9, 78, 108 management role, 40
evaluative, 77 planning process, 53, 118
formative, 79, 88, 92 public relations efforts, 102
fund, 77, 121 relationships, maintaining, 152
initiatives, ongoing, 121 strategies
internal, 136 organizational, 84
knowledge, 154 possible, 89–90
market, 29 relationship, 54
methodologies, 86 relationship-enhancing, 55
methods, 78, 80, 84, 86 situational, 68
mixed method, 86 stakeholder, 65
oppositional, 12 success
primary, 81, 89, 100 organizational, 47
public relations uses, 78 organization’s, 13
social scientific, 19 supervisors, 32, 43, 108, 158–59
specialized, 110 suppliers, 26, 50, 54, 60, 62, 130
stages, 119 surveys, 79, 81, 83, 85, 89, 100–101,
ROPE (research, objectives, program- 112
ming, evaluation), 87
survival, organization’s, 53
sweatshops, 72
SWOT analysis, 89, 90
S systems
sales, increased, 93–94 approach, 47, 51, 53
self-interests, 67, 70–71, 95–97, closed, 50–51, 132
139–40 open, 51–52, 132
enlightened, 139–40 theory, 51, 53, 132; organizational
organization’s, 74 subsystems within, 132

186 INDEX
T utilitarianism, 139–41
Teamsters union, 5
threats, external, 90 V
two-way communication
models, 17 values
process, 147 ethical, 115, 131, 133, 137, 148
moral, 141
organizational, 57, 135–36, 148
U value wheel, 145
vision, organization’s, 28
understanding, mutual, 11, 18–19, 118
union plan, 7
United Nations (UN), 124–26 W
United Parcel Service. See UPS
UPS (United Parcel Service), 3–9 weaknesses, 12, 31, 89
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 116 workgroup communication, 110

This book provides an executive review of the field of public relations with a
bowen • rawlins • martin

focus on what managers need to know in order to master the function quickly
and effectively. Throughout the text, the authors integrate the academic with Don W. Stacks and Donald K. Wright, Editors
the professional by asking, How can an executive use this knowledge to make
the most of the public relations function, department, and initiatives in order
to help their whole organization be successful?
Throughout this book, you will learn valuable details on the managerial
pursuits in public relations, such as strategic relationship maintenance, seg-
An Overview
mentation of publics, and conducting research. The authors offer insight into
the managerial activities of issues management, lobbying and advocacy, cre-
ating stakeholder relationships, reputation management, ethical counsel, and
of the Public
corporate communication. They examine the most current thought in public
relations to help the busy manager master the most important concepts in
the field quickly, accessibly, and with an eye toward helping an organization
or client achieve the most effective results through cutting-edge, modern, re-
search-based strategic public relations management.
Relations

Whether you are reading this book to learn a new field, simply to update
your knowledge, or as part of an educational program or course, you will value
Function
every moment that you spend with it. Therefore, the authors have eliminated
much of the academic jargon found in other books and used a straightforward
writing style. They have tried to make the chapters short enough to be man-
ageable, but packed with information, without an overreliance on complicated
examples or charts and diagrams.
Shannon A. Bowen is Associate Professor in the Public Relations Depart-
ment of the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse Uni-
versity. Bowen specializes in public relations ethics, strategic communication
management, internal relations, and public relations pedagogy. Bowen’s Ph.D.
(2000) is from the University of Maryland, working with James and Larissa
Grunig, of the excellence theory, as well as business management scholars.
Bowen is considered an expert on issues management, Kantian ethics, and
executive decision making. She is a contributing editor of Media Ethics maga-
Shannon A. Bowen
zine and joint editor of peer-reviewed Ethical Space: The International Journal of
Communication Ethics.
Brad Rawlins is a tenured Associate Professor and Chair of the Department
of Communications at Brigham Young University. He teaches courses in public
relations, research methods, and ethics. He has spearheaded efforts to assess
Brad Rawlins
and measure the learning outcomes of the curriculum and has developed an
undergraduate course on public relations research and measurement.
Thomas Martin
Thomas R. Martin serves as Executive-in-Residence in the Department of
Communication at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina.
He was named to the position, the first of its kind, in February 2007 and joined
the faculty in August 2007. In this role, Martin works with the students, fac-
ulty and administration of the college to enhance the relationship between
the communication department and the business community and to help its
students successfully transition into the business world.

Don W. Stacks and Donald K. Wright, Editors
ISBN: 978-1-60649-099-0
90000
9 781606 490990
www.businessexpertpress.com www.businessexpertpress.com

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This book provides an executive review of the field of public relations with a

Public Relations Collection

bowen • rawlins • martin

An Overview of the Public Relations Function

Public Relations Collection

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

First published in 2010 by

ISBN-13: 978-1-60649-099-0 (paperback)

ISBN-13: 978-1-60649-100-3 (e-book)

A publication in the Business Expert Press Public Relations collection

Collection ISSN (print) forthcoming

Cover design by Jonathan Pennell

First edition: April 2010

Printed in the United States of America.

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PART I MASTERING THE BASICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

PART II ORGANIZATIONS AND PROCESSES . . . . . . . . 37

PART III THE PRACTICE AND BEST PRACTICES . . . . 103

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• Part I: Mastering the Basics. Chapters 1 through 4 focus on

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guidance for perhaps the most difficult situations in public

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public relations can provide a concrete strategy for enhancing organiza-

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Mastering the Basics

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expenses. In the view of Sternad, the Teamsters won the communication

We had essentially no communications in the first 24 hours.

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adequately tested our messages before or during the crisis. And we

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What Can Be Learned From the UPS Case?

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What Is Public Relations?

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external public relations agency that consults on specific issues. As their

Defining Public Relations

• Management. The body of knowledge on how best to coordi-

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As “the management of communication between an organization

The Function of Public Relations

• Public relations helps our complex, pluralistic society to

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through its actions and its communication. This perspective defines

Naming the Public Relations Function

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educational foundations, activist groups, faith-based organizations, and

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Models and Approaches

The Historical Development

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