Sunday, March 7, 2010

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.

5 comments:

  1. Great Post! Yeah I agree that with different cultures emerging in PR I think that language is often a hurdle for people from different countries.

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  2. Heya,
    I agree that different countries have got different cultures, and thus, the public relations practices varies for these countries. Also, the government in Singapore controls the media and this limits the practices of PR. Hopefully, the government can help public relations grow in the future..:)

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  4. Hi Jo! Would you consider taking up another language then? ;) Anyways it's true language is a common barrier. Hence to minimise the damage as such, I personally feel it is very important to be culturally sensitive and relevant in our actions too. Even greeting gestures such as shaking of hands to bowing differs from one nation to another. Hence to show our sincerity, we can learn such aspects of cultural relevancy.

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  5. China is a good example to describe the effectiveness and widespread implementation of PR in Asian countries. Excellent description.

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