Nonprofit stakeholder relations lecture 7
University of North Florida
Master of Public Administration program
PAD 6934 Nonprofit stakeholder relations
Communication
Nonprofit manager of the week
Photo credit
???
(Late semester creative block)
*
Dumont (there: just to keep intact my streak of working in „Dumont‟ at the beginning of every
lecture) has taught me much of what I formally know about communication. As I understand it,
there are four models of public relation (linked here).
Model Name
Table 1
Grunig's four models of public relations
Type of
Model Characteristics
Communication
Press
agentry/publicity
model
One-way
communication
Public Information
model
One-way
communication
One-way
asymmetrical
model
One-way
communication
Two-way
symmetrical model
Two-way
communication
Uses persuasion and manipulation to influence
audience to behave as the organization desires
Uses press releases and other one-way communication
techniques to distribute organizational information.
Public relations practitioner is often referred to as the
"journalist in residence.”
Uses persuasion and manipulation to influence
audience to behave as the organization desires. Does
not use research to find out how its public(s) feel
about the organization.
Uses communication to negotiate with publics,
resolve conflict, and promote mutual understanding
and respect between the organization and its public(s).
Source
For our purposes, the two way symmetrical model is clearly the preferred model for the nonprofit
interested in rich relationships with stakeholders.
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Nonprofit stakeholder relations lecture 7
A second model of communication seeks to emphasize the complexity of the process. A
serviceable example of this follows on the next page.
Source
The relevance to NPOs, again, should be reasonably clear. Key points:
 Message: for an individual this is hard enough: you have to figure out what message you
want to communicate. For an organization it is even more difficult, as the message has to be
developed through dialogue with others.
 Encode: The message that the NPO wants to convey has to be expressed („encoded‟). This
process is invariably imperfect, at times more than others. This is a point that I emphasize in
part in my written work grading criteria: “Remember that your reader is not inside your head,
and so may not know where you are going, or why you are going there, if you do not make this
clear.”
 Channel/signal: This information is then disseminated (channel/ signal). A medium
(channel?) is chosen, and the message put out there („signal‟?) for consumption.
 ‘Noise’ occurs, perhaps distorting the signal. In this information-rich environment we
currently live in, part of the „noise‟ that the message of an NPO has to contend with is simply
that vast amount of other information. Rather than the old query about a tree falling in a
forest and, if there is no one to hear, whether it makes a sound; today the problem is that the
forest is so dense that no one might notice it.
 If you doubt this, try scrolling down your email inbox.
 Decoder. If the message reaches the intended audience, it then has to be interpreted
(decoded) into a message. Again, the receiver may not understand what the source meant to
communicate, with myriad potential sources of confusion, e.g.:
 Context: the source incorrectly assumes the receiver understands the unspecified context.
 Jargon: too much technical language used for the audience.
 Structure: the message was not well structured by the source.
We discussed some communication ideas in lecture seven, which I‟ll copy in below by way of
reminder.
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Nonprofit stakeholder relations lecture 7
Lee’s myriad direct public reporting ideas (drawn partly from government)!
 Make a film (presumably in addition to the usual written annual report), pod cast, or
whatever the latest technology is.
 The broader point is to make the information understandable. Perhaps don‟t „dumb down‟
to the level of education of the average citizen (i.e. much can be lost through this, and
there is something to be said for not patronizing), but at least dropping to a level that the
responsible citizen can understand, with relatively little effort.
 Insert cartoons.
 Use numbers as appropriate.
 Present “upcoming policies that would need to be decided” (p. 175), by stakeholders, to
encourage input.
 Annual reports. Use annual reports to inform citizens about problems in the organization.
 Traditional media: “Mailings, pamphlets, posters, public service advertisements, lectures,
community meetings, exhibitions, and special programming events” (p. 176), as well as tollfree numbers.
 (Wait for it): use an Internet Web Site to inform stakeholders!
 New media. Other new media (beyond the „Internet Web Site‟, which might be
considered old media these days, as even I have a web site, and I‟m old!):
 Cable public access shows
 Blogs
 FaceBook
 Twitter
 Whatever else Dr. Dumont studies that I haven‟t heard of yet.
 Report both more often (monthly, quarterly) and in longer term form less often (i.e. a 5 year
plan?).
 A „sustainability report‟: “a comprehensive accounting for the environmental and social
impacts of the organization‟s operations and programs” (p. 180).
 Accountability officer. Assign one person to coordinate accountability.
A nonprofit communication (SWOT – OT®) analysis . A way to go about this is to brainstorm.
So here goes: a SWOT analysis of modes of communication that NPOs might employ, starting
with those we have identified in the course so far.
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Nonprofit stakeholder relations lecture 7
Medium
Ongoing relationships
(talk to people!)
Strengths
Weaknesses
Regular
Newsletter
Annual
Report
Social
Media
Passive
web page
Market: quality of
service
Mailings
Pamphlets/ posters
TV/ radio ads
Lectures/ public
meetings
Blogs
Facebook
Twitter
Toll-free number
Whatever else Dr.
Dumont studies that I
haven‟t heard of yet
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