Week10 Readings - Focus on Asian PR Management

This entire reading explains briefly the different perspective and practices of PR in each of the Asian countries mentioned. A distinct difference between PR in Asian and Western countries lie in the government intent. As stated in the reading, "governments in Asia control economic and political activity far more than governments do in Western democracies". For Asian countries with strong government control and supervision, PR practices is limited and constrained.

PR is generally established in Singapore, with the majority using English as its first language and a large number of businesses requiring engaging PR practices. However, the reading stated that in Singapore, "the primary purpose of PR is government propaganda". This comes to show that strict control by the Singapore government has limited Singapore's progress as a leading nation in the practice of PR. It is further complicated by the fact that "any media relationship must first be developed as a matter of public affairs with government." In my opinion, all these constrains have restricted the development and potential of PR in Singapore.

We shall explore PR in China, since China is emerging as an economic powerhouse in the world. The 2008 Beijing Olympics opened up the floodgates for the development of PR in China. We are all aware of how how politically strict and closed up the Chinese government is in the history of China. The reading stated that in view of the Olympics, "Chinese corporations engage vast numbers of experts from the West to train them in effective public relations and media techniques". This definitely helped the growth of PR in China. In my opinion, this could only further China's growth as a nation, both economically and in the field of PR practices.

Overall, I believe that different nations differ in culture and languages. PR practices and management should be in accordance with these factors in developing methods and relationships. PR personnel should also take into strong consideration the government influence and control over the PR and media in individual nations.

Week9 Readings - New Media and PR

The emergence and powerful influence of new media has changed the face of communication. According to the reading, communication has shifted from a "one-to-many to a network paradigm of many-to-many" form. It is impossible to ignore the impact new media has on our society. Hence we shall explore the new avenues of PR practices using new media, as well as the challenges awaiting PR personnel.

An advantage the web brings to PR is the possibility of "information sharing, collaboration, social networking and relationship building among web users". In my opinion, this is an advantage and strength that PR practitioners can tap upon. This form of interactivity allows faster and effective communication forms between the organisations and publics. The speed in which information is spread should not be underestimated. The manner in which messages influence another person, especially in social networking sites such as twitter, is definitely more significant than the traditional form of word-of-mouth communication.

However, according to the reading, "anyone is a producer of information and such information cannot be controlled or managed in a top-down approach". While new media enables participative contribution from public audiences, these voices do not necessarily reflect 'corporate objectives and messages' intended. In my opinion, blogs are definitely less credible in terms of the accuracy and reliability of sources. The general public view blogs as opinionated and informal. It acts as an avenue for people to make generic comments, or express biased views. Hence, "corporate messages in blogs can be viewed with suspicion and seen as propagandistic".

All in all, PR practitioners should keep up technological advances that are constantly changing our form of communications, exploiting its strengths while limiting its weaknesses. PR practitioners should make new media work for them, rather than being constrained or controlled by it.

- Andy

Week8 Readings - An Issues-Crisis Perspective

This chapter is particularly insightful and useful in dealing with real-life situations. Crisis happens inevitably; it is how we manage them that matters the most. Proper handling can lead to minimal losses but conversely, bad management to crisis can further tarnish an organisation's reputation.

According to the reading, "the first stage of crisis, the detection or prodromal stage, is when organisations experience events that could trigger a crisis. These events are identified as issues that, if managed in a proactive manner, can prevent crisis escalation". In my opinion, anticipation is key in this stage. If a company is proactive in identifying and responding even to the slightest hint of a crisis, chances are high that the issue will not worsen further. This would save plenty of time and resources spend in crisis management.

In the event when the media picks up news of a crisis, a "lack of message management by the organisation relinquishes control to the media who will retain control throughout the remainder of the crisis and drive it towards their own agendas." It is therefore important for PR personnel to monitor the media coverage closely as well as providing them with accurate and up-to-date information. It would be disastrous if the media were to have an inaccurate or biased point of view towards the organisation.

An example of a local crisis management I can recall is the case of Prima Deli causing salmonella poisoning to 204 customers. This is an abstract of the steps they undertook.

"From the looks of it, it seems they have (as they rightly should) a crisis management plan in place to deal with such incidences. The visible steps include:
- Stopping further production
- Recalling similar products
- Set up hotlines for public enquiries
- Cooperate with health authorities on investigations and inspections"

In my opinion, the key element was openness to the media and public about their mistakes and taking deliberate steps to place public interest as their top priority. As such, all is forgiven and Prima Deli remains a strong and profitable business.

- Andy

Week7 Readings: PR Management in Organisations

This chapter explores the different links and connections PR has within an organisation. As we can see, the entire system is broad and complex. The reading defines system as a 'set of interacting units that endures through time within an established boundary'. We shall look at PR and its links to other departments within the organisation.

In PR and marketing department, I believe this co-relation is strongest among the rest. While marketing is concerned primarily with customers, PR encompasses other aspects such as employees, government, communities and shareholders. Marketing's main goal is to attain profits, while PR looks to strength existing relationships and networks. In my opinion, while their practices remain distinct, PR undertakes a greater importance than marketing. Despite great amount of effort in marketing strategies, sales is still limited to how customers perceive the brand and the image the company portrays itself. In the event of a crisis, no amount of marketing could repair the damage already done. Marketing department has to work hand in hand with the PR department to re-establish the brand and improve its image. For example, to hold press conferences, engaging the media and enhance corporate reputation. It is only then will profits be made and to ensure the company is sustainable in the long run.

Another co-relation is between PR and the Human Resources (HR) department. In my opinion, they overlap mainly in ensuring the morale and working relationship between the employees and the organisation. The reading stated that 'PR and HR departments must have strong working relationships during day-to-day operations and crisis situations'. In addition, it is important to provide a communication channel for employees to give feedback. The reading stated that 'internal communications should respect employees, provide opportunities for the exchange of honest feedback, recognise and encourage employees, and maintain well-being and safety' (Lattimore et. al. 2006).

Employees' satisfaction and well-being is in itself an asset for any organisation. It affects their productivity level and their attitude could be a direct reflection of the reputation and image the orgnisation gives to the external public. All in all, relationships between PR and other departments should work harmoniously in building and sustaining the organisation's reputation.

- Andy

Week6 Readings: PR Practices

There are eight categories of PR effectiveness identified in this chapter. In my opinion, 'work practices and approach' is a highly regarded attribute that employers would look for. Its elements include taking responsibility and commitment in work, focus on building relationships and taking a win-win approach. These are qualities that make a PR practitioner stand out in this competitive industry.

In essence, the role and theory knowledge of PR, as we all should realise by now, is constantly changing. Hence to be an effective PR personnel does not require one to solely rely on outstanding academic achievement or theory knowledge. Rather, with a positive work attitude, PR practitioners would themselves strive to keep up with changes and add upon the existing knowledge that they already have. This would help them attain up-to-date knowledge in the field of PR practices. All these attributes would also enhance a practitioner's credibility and reputation in the industry.

Another category that i find it important is 'working for the profession'. It includes building the profession and staying committed to it. In my opinion, it takes passion for a PR practitioner to last the race and build up his/her reputation in PR profession. The demands could at times be intimidating. Only with a passion for the profession would a practitioner overcome the challenges awaiting them. It also takes time and patience to build up the profession. Thus I would encourage PR graduates to carefully consider what awaits them before entering the profession.

A type of organisation that interest me is the not-for-profit sector. Community work is an area that excites me a great deal. As stated in the reading, it is 'generally cause-based, which means the values driving the organisation is clear and you can align yourself strongly with the organisation.' For example, working with world vision is an option that I am looking into. While working as a PR profession, it also allows me to know that there is a meaningful cause behind the daily work I am doing.

-Andy

Week5 Readings- Engaging with the Media

This chapter focuses mainly on how we as PR practitioners can be successful in connecting with media personnel. We will discuss two main areas of focus, building relationship with journalists and writing a good media release. In my opinion, these two areas are of utmost importance to PR practices.

The reading stated that it’s important to “get to know the journalists”. We can build relationship with them gradually via face-to-face meet-ups and keeping in constant contact. This aspect is important as a journalist has tons of other contacts and media releases to choose from. It’s a huge advantage to PR practitioners if we indeed manage to build good relations with a few journalists. At the end of the day, I believe the benefits extend to both parties. As a journalist, it’s always beneficial to receive good and up-to-date materials. As a PR practitioner, it always an advantage to have priority over other PR personnel.

The sentence that caught my attention is “We throw out 200 times more materials than we can publish”. Hence the only way to grab the editor’s attention is to create an outstanding yet simple media release. A good lead paragraph and attention-grabbing headline are first steps towards writing an outstanding media release.

In addition, PR practitioners should also ensure editors are "be able to identify the major points of the release by reading the lead". This is crucial as editors would not hesitate to throw away the media release if they are required to source the entire page to fish out the main points. Lastly, it's advisable to remain contactable at all times after submitting a media release as editors are most likely to call to verify or further enquire. As stated in the reading, we must remember to give our email address and daytime and after-hours phone numbers at the end of the media release.

-Andy

Week 4 Readings- PR Research

Reading- Public Relations Research

This chapter explains the importance of PR research to ensure the effectiveness of PR practices. Research in itself is a large component and may exhaust many resources such as budget and time. Hence there is a tendency for PR practitioners to overlook research and jump straight into the actual practices. We shall evaluate the importance and also understand the limitations of research.

In the reading, conducting research ensures that sufficient information is retrieved to help in the planning, implementation and evaluation processes. Furthermore, it creates a better understanding of the issues involved and also helps to monitor if the result matches the desired outcome. This is particularly important as research will act as a good checkpoint for PR practices. A stop-check-evaluate act serves well in ensuring that the PR practice do not deviate too much and stays on track. Research also helps in PR practitioners to be well informed of the context and issues they base their practices on. This gives the practitioners confidence to carry out their planned actions and ensure effective PR. Only with sufficient knowledge will practitioners follow through their programmes without much glitch or hiccups.

Conversely, the main issues that lie with PR research are insufficient budgets and sampling size. As stated in the reading, there is sometimes pressure to spend the money on programme activities rather than research. This is true as research generally takes up a large chunk of our allocated timeline. Hence there is a tendency for practitioners to rush into action without proper planning and research. However such a scenario may worsen the situation if the PR practices results in a far from desired outcome. I personally feel that sufficient time, money and other resources should be consciously set aside for PR practices.

The other issue is the sampling size of the research. I believe this varies from one programme to another. It depends largely on the market condition and the targeted audience that the PR practitioners want to reach out to. To save time and money, the sample size and population should be well mapped out before conducting the research. It is usually said that a specific target audience and minimal but sufficient sampling size will help to save the cost of the survey done. All in all, research remains an important component for effective PR and practitioners should discover ways to overcomes its limitations and constraints.

-Andy

Week 3 Readings- Public Relations Ethics

Ethics is often a debatable issue surrounding its definition and principles. Many questions cloud the issue of ethics, such as ambiguity, consistency and professionalism. From my understanding, ethics is defined as standards of conduct that indicate how one should behave based on moral duties and virtues. According to the reading, the attention to ethics is magnified in recent times as PR undergoes the evolution from a technical process to a managerial function. This simply means that additional factors with regards to ethical issues are to be considered in current PR practices. The main question stands: Should PR consultants stick to their ethical guidelines or leave that for external forces to govern?

The reading stated that if we leave ethics to natural instincts, we put ourselves and the organisations at risk of unconscious incompetence. This is true as one of the key component for building trust among the public is having good ethics. If ever the public discovers unethical practices, the news may get blown up and the organisation's reputation may receive negative impacts. Unethical practices may cloud the organisation's credibility and business reputation, further preventing transparency and honesty in its practices. The suggested solution is to make ethics a proactive, deliberate, planned and sustained component of our everyday PR activities. By doing so, the professionalism of PR is upheld and consciously monitored. However, while this is definitely the ideal solution, it remains easier said than done.

As mentioned earlier, the definition and practices of ethics is still debatable in current times. And within the circle of PR researchers and practitioners, there remains differing school of thoughts. One interesting quote is that "a business best serve society by increasing its profits." This is contrary to many people's idea that businesses should uphold integrity and ethics as its top priority. The argument against this is that we should allow external forces to govern ethical behaviours and practices. And since PR practitioners are hired by organisations, they should consider placing the organisation's interest as their top priority.

-Andy

Week 2 Readings- Theoretical Contexts

One of the Public Relations Theory that is of significance in this reading is Relationship Management. Ferguson (1994) suggested that relationships should be at the heart of PR. This is very critical in undermining the success of PR. Building relationship is, in my opinion, an important step leading up to any PR campaigns. For PR practices to successfully bring the best out of both parties (PR agency and clients), a harmonious working relationship is vital. Although disagreement in views may occur, such differences can always be ironed out with a good working relationship.

Trust is a fundamental element is relationship management. As stated in the reading, the development and maintenance of relationships largely depends on the strength of the personal relationship between relational partners. Trust will determine the dynamics of the working relationship. As always, it takes two hands to clap. On the PR practitioners part, they must trust the clients enough to know that clients themselves have the best knowledge of the products and target audience, as well as the awareness of the market conditions. They must also recognise that clients interest is to gain profits and clients have the final authority over decision-making. Similarly, clients should acknowledge the professionalism PR practitioners have and try to avoid insisting on their ideas in a forceful manner.

All in all, I believe that it takes alot of personal responsibility on the PR practitioners to ensure that relationship management is emphasised and properly taken care of. This would ensure a quality and harmonious PR working relationship.

Andy

Week 1 Readings- Understanding 21st Century PR

Understanding 21st Century PR

This reading covers rather mainly on Public Relations theory and its background. With regards to PR theories, I shall discuss its uses and if these theories are still relevant in the current age. As stated in the reading, PR theories are very extensive and its principles are drawn from a wide array of perspectives, research and theoretical bases.

I do agree that theories are important to a PR practitioner during his/her learning stages as a student. As PR theories are constantly evolving, they also guide and update current PR practitioners on the latest developments. All these ensure PR practitioners have a proper and sound framework to base their practices on. Without PR theories, PR practices may not be as effectively carried out as one would have liken it to. As stated in the reading, "to practice PR, you need knowledge and skill". In addition, "you need the rational and understanding of why you manage in certain ways, thereby giving context to your decision making and practice."

Yet, I personally acknowledge that PR practitioners should not be entirely reliant on current PR practices. In my opinion, theories should not hinder one's creativity and intuition in coming up with ideas and campaigns. As stated in the reading, theories have yet to address the issue of the complexity of PR practices and its extensive variation in different parts of the world. Due to rapid technological advances, the dynamism and methods of communication is constantly evolving. It can never be fixed in the current age. It is precisely why "intercultural perspectives, global relevance and applicability" can never reach a common ground that theories will similarly not have an end point. PR theories will still change and evolve in years to come.

PR theories should still be taught to students and remain useful to scholarly enquiry. However, current PR practitioners should not be bounded or restricted by these theories. They should have the freedom to explore even further, at the same time ensuring that current PR theories remain relevant to their practices.

- Andy

What makes a successful campaign? (2nd lesson)

Today marks the second lesson on Public Relations; the steps and processes required for a successful planning and implementation of campaign.

Most of us are often surrounded by advertisements and campaigns, being influenced either consciously or sub-consciously. It is intriguing to learn that hidden beneath these campaigns lie hours of research and planning. I strongly believe a successful planning is key to a successful campaign.

The issue that struck me was regarding the different routes that could be undertaken with respect to achieving the same goal. This is especially so as different people catch different interesting aspects from the analysis results. In other words, people's views and creativity varies. However regardless of the different strategies chosen and implemented, what is most important is that the goal is met.

Setting goals and objectives, in my opinion, is of utmost priority in any campaign. It gives the campaign an excellent head-start and a clear direction for the entire period of work. At any point of time, one could fall back on these objectives if the campaign deviates from its original plans. In the current age where society is fast-paced and work-rate is at its highest, it is beneficial to constantly take a short pause, and simply re-organise or re-strategise the campaign to achieve maximum output and results.

Andy

First Lesson of CMNS 1290

Today marks our first encounter with CMNS 1290. On a personal note, Public Relations is an area that i am very keen to explore in, other than Journalism.

Prior to the class, my pre-conceived definition of Public Relations is that it is the frontline representation of an organisation or product. In other words, the image of the organisation or product hinges heavily on how well its public image is being managed. However, as Ms Tanya mentioned, its definition can be broadly defined, or the more so in recent years as its borders are constantly expanding.

Contrary to a decade ago, it struck me that Public Relations has taken an entirely new form of practice. In the past, the image of an organisation is under the control of the organisations themselves. However, the power has shifted and now lies mainly in the hands of the consumers. This is due to technological advancements where organisations have little or no power in having a say in their image branding. Anyone and everyone can now contribute publicly and comment on online tools such as blogging and YouTube.

I feel that this has a direct effect on us as students as in the working world in a couple years' time, we will be the ones who will scour the internet looking for ways to improve our client's image branding, or simply finding out the general public's impression of the organisation. Hence it is important to start now as students, to familiarise ourselves with unconventional media forms and look for creative ways to garner publicity.

Andy