Module 2
Building Goodwill through Public Relations
Objectives
At the end of this module, students are expected to:
1. Understand what is public relations and its principles
2. Demonstrate how a public relations‘ activity is planned
3. Express on their own words the essence of public relations when applied to them as
future Administrative Professionals
Module 2 covers the following topics:
1. Definition of public relations
2. Principles of effective public relations
3. Planning for public relations
Needs of the environment
Goals and objectives of the business
Objectives/strategies of PR
Designing PR programs
4. Essence of public relations in the performance of the duties of an Administrative
Professionals
Assessment/Evaluation
Free writing/Reflection on selected topics discussed
Short quizzes
Case study
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Overview
At the center of all public relations is the effective and creative planning and not to mention
related activity. Our environment is a playing field that is constantly changing. This is why it is
not enough for the businesses to how to do things but it should also know the whats, whys, and
how to evaluate the effectiveness and accuracy of the approaches chosen for a particular task.
It is at this point that a need for strategic communicators who are either a public relations
practitioner, technician and manager.
Communication Technician. The role of a public relations professional as communication
technicians includes tasks such as news writing releases, drafting of speeches, video
productions, newsletter editing, displays organizing and so on. They are specialists in public
relations and marketing communications who usually perform these tasks at the direction of
others. Often these tasks are associated with jobs which are on an entry-level.
Communication Manager. As a communication manager, he or she must be competent in
directing research, make decisions, plans projects and campaign, and solve problems. He or
she may be classified either a tactical manager or a strategic manager. As a tactical manager,
he is responsible for the day-to-day decision on many practical and specific issues of the
organization. On the other hand, a strategic manager is mainly concerned on the management
trends, issues, policies and corporate structure. (Smith, 2013)
Definition of Public Relations
The formal practice of Public Relations as noted by the Public Relations Society of America
dated as early as the twentieth century. It has been understood in many different ways since
then with its definition evolving as the practice of public relations has changed. In 2012, the
PRSA members has voted with one definition of Public Relations:
Public Relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial
relationships between organizations and their publics.
PRSA emphasized that it is a process of communication, strategic in nature, with a focus on
mutually beneficial relationships.
Three important reasons to do PR in a business.
Damage Control: Fake news can negatively affect a business very quickly, so PR
personnel must implement their crisis management tactics in order to minimize the
damage this news can have on the business.
Branding: Sharing news, being transparent, and reporting positive figures regularly
can build a world-class brand that is recognized across the globe, and can sell products
without the need for marketing and sales.
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Internal Communication: As a company grows and opens offices in many different
locations it can be hard to share the same values and keep employees up-to-date with
everything that is happening. A Public Relations department can help to manage this
relationship to ensure that employees are all working toward a common goal.
Public relations functioning as a management incorporates the following (Smith, 2013):
1. Anticipate, analyze and interpret public opinion, attitudes and issues that might impact, for
good or ill, the operations and plans of the organization.
2. Counsel management at all levels in the organization with regard to policy decisions, courses
of action, and communication, taking into account their public ramifications and the
organization‘s social or citizenship responsibilities.
3. Research, conduct and evaluate, on a continuing basis, programs of action and
communication to achieve the informed public understanding necessary to the success of an
organization‘s aims.
4. Plan and implement the organization‘s efforts to influence or change public policy.
5. Setting objectives, planning, budgeting, recruiting and training staff, developing facilities.
Principles of effective public relations
The 10 public relations principles every PR practitioner should consider as they go through the
process of assembling an effective plan.
1. Know your audience.
2. Be a patient storyteller.
3. Focus on outcomes over activities.
4. Know the difference between stories and news.
5. Go beyond the echo chamber.
6. Be humble.
7. Under promise and over deliver.
8. Have a call to action.
9. Public relations is not an island.
10. Require the requirements.
Planning for public relations
a. Needs of the environment
Serve as the mediator between the environmental issues and to public
They are the one who assist in managing tough environmental conflicts
They are known as ―Environmental Specialist‖
They are the one who explain complex problems to a skeptical public
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b. Goals and objectives of the business
Goal writing does not have to be overly complicated. But, it does require commitment and
the discipline to follow through and complete the required action steps. Spend time to think
through you goals so that you can have enough detail to achieve your desired results. To
do this, many organizations use the SMART goal model to articulate their goals.
c. Objectives/strategies of public relations
Objectives are tangible and should be achievable within a year or two. When creating an
objective, keep the SMART acronym in mind.
Strategies are general approaches used to achieve objectives. A PR plan typically includes
three to eight strategies, depending on how complicated the objectives are. Strategies
should be actionable and explain how you will accomplish the objective and why you are
taking that approach.
d. Designing PR programs
Phases of designing PR programs
1. Identifying and listing out the information or message to the communicator.
2. Ascertain the existing image or awareness level about the issue in the target group or
common public.
3. Developing of communication objectives and priorities.
4. Developing the message and choosing the media to transmit.
5. Implementation of the message and media, coordination or the dissemination of message.
6. Communication process to check whether message reached properly and the expected
action or behavior or knowledge on image factors.
7. In case the message did not reach properly identified the reason for the ineffectiveness
and rectification of the same and disseminate the revised message.
Ref: Smith, 2013. pp. 15-18
Essence of public relations in the performance of the duties of an Administrative
Professionals
Administrative professionals or sometimes called as administrative support specialists perform
various kinds of administrative assistance such as handling office tasks, such as filing,
generating reports and presentations, setting up for meetings, and, reordering supplies,
transcribing minutes from meetings, creating presentations, conducting research and meet-and-
greet and sometimes assists different visitors and guests of an organization. All these tasks
that an administrative professionals perform usually require an effective public relations
communication to help an institution create a social climate favorable for its growth.
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As the International Public Relations Association (MT UVA BMS, 2012) said, ―Public relation is a
two way process. On the one hand it seeks to interpret an organization to society while on the
other it keeps the organization informed about the expectation of the society. Fundamentally
public relation is a means by which an organization improves its operating environment‖.
Similar to the principles of public relations mentioned earlier, the following can be considered as
the essence of PR in the performance of an Administrative professional.
1. Public relations deal with reality, not false fronts, and so does AP should be honest at all
times in the performance of his duties.
2. Public relations is a service-oriented profession in which public interest, not personal reward,
should be the primary consideration and AP should welcome and treat visitors, guests, and
employees of the organization without bias and prejudice.
3. Since the public relations practitioner must go to the public to seek support for programs and
policies, public interest is the central criterion by which he or she should select these
programs and policies and therefore AP should have the guts to disagree or refuse a false
representation or an ill-minded ideas or programs which may bring bad image to the
organization.
4. Because the public relations practitioner reaches many publics through mass media, which
are the public channels of communication, the integrity of these channels must be
preserved.
5. Because PR practitioners are in the middle between an organization and its publics, they
must be effective communicators and therefore AP as PR officer should convey information
back and forth until understanding is reached.
6. To expedite two-way communication and to be responsible communicators, public relations
practitioners must use scientific public opinion research extensively and AP should only
provide information with concrete basis.
7. Intuition is not enough.
8. The PR person must adapt the work of other related disciplines, including learning theory
and other psychology theories, sociology, political science, economics and history. And
so does AP should also able to do multidisciplinary tasks like research work as needed.
9. Public relations practitioners are obligated to explain problems to the public before these
problems become crisis and as AP, he/she must be alert and advise the right persons
ahead of time before the situation becomes worst.
10. A public relations practitioner should be measured by only one standard: ethical
performance and an AP should have a good reputation and integrity he or she deserves.
Assessment/Evaluation
Case Study: As a Public Relations Officer, how are you going to deal with it and execute a 4-
point action plan with four key goals?
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A small Franciscan school somewhere in New York was rocked by basketball eligibility scandal
in 2005, the flap drew the scrutiny of the national media. The ensuing scandal toppled the
coaching staff, athletic director, even the president, and the figured in the suicide of a university
trustee. The National Academic Council gave the school a three-year suspension.
The small public relations staff moved quickly to respond to the sweeping crisis, which in just
one week triggered more than 200 media inquiries and hundreds of call from outraged alumni.
The vice president of marketing and public relations of the school told reporters that they just
simply communicated their actions and said that ―It is important to state that our Board of
Trustees do the right thing‖ and he also added that it is vital that the way they communicate
reflects their core values of community and respect for all.
At this point, you were now hired by the school to lead a team on this matter.
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