CIPR diploma
3 October 2009
Hi….
Getting to know each other….…
The networking challenge
How many boxes can you tick?
The teaching team and the
schedule
What is good PR?
Nothing is as practical as a
good theory
Academic and practitioner orientations to corporate
communications
Academic
orientation
Practitioner
orientation
1. Objective
Basic understanding
Accomplishment
2. Criteria of
excellence
Validity
Effectiveness
3. Application
Abstract/general
Concrete/specific
4. Relation to
subject area
Reflection
Action and creation
Cornelissen, J (2004)
Theory and practice perspectives on
corporate communications
Communications
theory
Skills and tactics
FIELD OF
CORPORATE
COMMUNICATIONS
THEORY
Management
theory
Cornelissen, J (2004)
PRACTICE
Management
competencies
Critical thinking
“What I look for when I’m recruiting is: have they got
critical abilities? Have they got a critical mind?”
L’Etang (2008: 2)
We encourage a critical approach on this course. This
does not mean we criticise, it is more about testing
assumptions or having a healthy scepticism. Most of all it
requires being open-minded.
We encourage debate and challenging theory – if it can
be done by using arguments that can be supported with
evidence and experience from the “real world”.
Critical reading
- Is the purpose clear?
- What is the scope of the main and subsidiary questions
(aim and objectives?)
- What assumptions are made – are they implicit or
explicit?
- What sorts of arguments are used and how much
evidence is presented with them?
- Are alternative views presented or is a reason stated for
their exclusion?
L’Etang (2008: 5)
Critical reasoning test marking criteria
Structure Essay/report relevant to the topic, comprehensive coverage of key
themes and concepts
Approach Well structured and logical arguments, critical analysis of the subject,
accurate presentation of the evidence
Sources and use of literature Relevant sources adequately acknowledged,
effective use of secondary data, thoughtful critique of the literature, correct
citation of references
Conclusions/recommendations/synthesis of argument Conclusions clearly
linked to key themes, conclusions well reasoned, demonstrates original thinking
Presentation and Style Well presented, good spelling and grammar, fluent
writing, excellent use of word limit allowance
Theoretical perspectives
Perspective
Theoretical frameworks
Focus of enquiry
Communication
theory:
rhetorical and
critical
perspectives
Critical theory, social
exchange, attitudinal
change/persuasion
theory, discourse
theory, semiotic theory,
co-orientation theory
Rhetorical analyses of
organisational speech in
mass media accounts
Effects of corporate
communications on social
systems
Management
theory:
managerial and
organisation
perspectives
Decision-making theory,
stakeholder theory,
resource dependency
theory, systems theory,
power-control theory,
contingency theory,
conflict theory,
organisation theory
Management of
communication and
relationships between
organisation and
stakeholders
Organisation context of the
corporate communications
function
Cornelissen, J (2004)
Communicating about London 2012
How is it going?
Break
Why Public Relations is growing
There are 48,000 people working in public relations
in the UK, and the turnover of the profession is £6.5
billion.
Public relations work is expected to continue to
grow, for both in-house and out-of-house
practitioners.
Why do you think this is?
How would you define public relations?
Professionalism
Public relations practitioners are not licensed as
doctors or lawyers are
The membership of CIPR represents less than 25
per cent of all eligible practitioners
So, what do we mean by professionalism?
Max Clifford – professional?
Alistair Campbell – professional?
Conditions for professionalism
Specialised educational preparation to acquire knowledge and skills
Provision of a unique and essential service that is recognised by the
community
An emphasis on public service and social responsibility
Autonomy and personal responsibility of members
A self-governing association of colleagues to enforce codes of ethics
and standards of performance
Cutlip et al (1985)
Guiding principles for professionalism
Mastery of a particular intellectual skill through
education and training
Acceptance of duties to broader society than
merely one’s clients or employers
Objectivity and high standards of conduct and
performance
The 2000 Global Alliance of PR Associations
So, is public relations a profession?
What are the required skills for public
relations practitioners?
Persuasion
What about persuasion? It is not mentioned in many
definitions.
What about the effects of public relations on democracy and
society?
Moloney (2000) suggests that PR is about manipulation
against democracy – because it is used to support
government and commercial interests.
PR is multifaceted
Moloney (2000) offers the following perspectives on
definitions of PR:
Concept – communications between and organisation and
its publics
Practice – mostly dealing with the media
Effects on society – persuasive communication done
through the media or lobbying by groups to advance their
material or ideological interests
Suggested commendable practices
Be honest at all times
Convey a sense of business ethics based on your own standards
and those of society
Respect the integrity and position of your opponents and audiences
Develop trust by emphasising substance over triviality
Present all sides of an issue
Strive for balance between loyalty to the organisation and duty to
the public
Don’t sacrifice long-term objectives for short term gains
Wilcox et al (2005)
Convey a sense of business ethics based on your own
standards and those of society – loyalties and duties of
practice
Seib and Fitzpatrick (1995)
Ethical decision making: the Potter Box
Define situation
Choose loyalties
Identify values
Select principles
Tench and Yeomans (2006: 302)
Lunch
Evolution of PR - UK history
Little written about the evolution of PR in the UK - origins in the public sector. Recent L’Etang text is the
most authoritative work in this field.
Post Office first to use mass communication when it distributed a million handbills to explain the Post Office
Savings Bank in 1879
1914: concerted effort to develop an information policy using publicity as an aid to diplomacy throughout
the British Empire
Inter-war years: some government departments started press sections. Royal Household appointed a
press secretary for the King. The 1940s saw the development of the Central Office of Information
Private enterprise saw the potential of PR – particularly in combating Labour’s programme of
nationalisation
Institute of Public Relations established in 1948 and the International Public Relations Association in 1955
Stephen Tallents
In the UK, Stephen Tallents learned about propaganda used in the two world wars.
Between 1926 and 1933, Tallents' reputation as an imaginative and effective civil
servant, led to his selection as Secretary of the Empire Marketing Board (EMB), where
he specialised in promoting awareness of the British Empire through an innovative
programme of press and poster campaigns, exhibitions, shops and radio broadcasts.
With the demise of the EMB he was appointed Public Relations Officer for the GPO,
where he devised a series of marketing and advertising campaigns that were groundbreaking and bold for their time.
Tallents helped to form the IPR in 1948.
Edward Bernays
Bernays came to prominence through his work on
war time propaganda in the US, and he started the
first PR education course in 1922 in New York
University.
His uncle was Sigmund Freud and his approach
encompasses some psychological theories.
Torches of freedom
On March 31, 1929, a woman by the name of
Bertha Hunt stepped into the throng of
pedestrians in their Sunday-best clothing
marching down Fifth Avenue in what was known
in New York as the Easter Parade, and created
a sensation by lighting up a Lucky Strike
cigarette. Her action would not have created the
reaction it did had not the press already been
alerted to what was going to happen in advance.
Grunig and Hunt: historical framework
Four historical stages
Publicity/press agentry: one-way communication and is
not entirely truthful
Grunig and Hunt: historical framework
Four historical stages
Public information: which is one-sided but is truthful
Grunig and Hunt: historical framework
Four historical stages
Asymmetrical public relations: seeks feedback but
is motivated entirely by the client/organisation
Grunig and Hunt: historical framework
Four historical stages
Symmetrical public relations which practices balanced
two-way communication where the organisation seeks
accommodation with those with which it communicates and
may change its own attitudes as well as those of the target
audience.
Four models of public relations
Press
agentry/publicity
Public
information
Two-way
asymmetric
Two-way
symmetric
propaganda
dissemination of
information
scientific
persuasion
mutual
understanding
one-way
two-way but
imbalanced
effects
two-way and
balanced
one-way
truth not essential
little research
used in product
promotion
and sponsorship
Grung and Hunt (1984)
truth important
little research
used in
government and
not for profit sector
research of
attitudes
used in
competitive
business
research of
understanding
used in regulated
business
Codes of practice and professionalism
“True professionals possess a body of knowledge and have
mastered communication techniques that are not known by the
average citizen.
They also have a set of values and a code of ethics that discourage
the use of their knowledge and technical skills for antisocial
purposes”
Grunig and Hunt (1984)
PR and marketing and overlaps
Marketing
Market assessment
Customer segmentation
Product development
Pricing
Distribution
Servicing
Sales force
Sales promotion
Product advertising
Cornelissen (2004: 40)
Marketing/PR
Public relations
Image assessment
Customer satisfaction
Corporate reputation
Media strategy
Corporate advertising
Employee attitudes
Publications
Events
Issues management
Community relations
Identity/corporate
imagery
Media
Lobbying/public affairs
Social investment/CSR
Historical development of public relations and
marketing
PUBLIC RELATIONS
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FORCES
Press agentry
Public information
Two-way
(a)symmetric
(managerial)
INTEGRATION
Production
Selling
Corporate
communications
Market
(managerial)
MARKETING
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FORCES
1800-1900
1900-1940
Cornelissen (2004: 36)
1980-1990
1990-present
Break
Developing a corporate strategy
Environmental
analysis
Assessing
stakeholder
expectations
Identifying
options
Evaluating
options
Selecting a
strategy
Resource
and strategic
capability
Culture and
Managing
change
Organisation
structure
Management
processes
Building a mission statement
The Ashridge mission model
Why the company exists
Purpose
The competitive
position
and distinctive
competence
Strategy
Values
Behaviour
standards
The policies and behaviour patterns that underpin the
distinctive competence and the value system
What the
company
believes in
Mission statements and hackneyed cliches
Toy manufacturer Klutz provides a succinct example:
Create Wonderful Things
Be Good
Have Fun
According to Bennett (1999), “too often the language of mission
statements comprises hackneyed cliches assembled with little
genuine concern for their relevance to the business in question”.
The risk of strategic drift
AMOUNT OF CHANGE
Environmental change
Strategic
change
3
2
4
1
Phase 1 incremental change
Johnson (1992)
TIME
Phase 2 flux
Phase 3/4
transformational
change or demise
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.
Bob Dylan, 1963
Dynamic environments
When the sea was calm
All ships alike
Showed mastership in
floating
Shakespeare, “Coriolanus”, quoted in Peters
(1992:18)
Dynamic environments
Revolution in Information
and Communications
Technology
Lowering of trade barriers,
leading to world markets
Accelerating rate of
external change
Balance of power is
shifting from the
supplier to the customer
Marks and Spencer
Marks and Spencer is one of the
best known high street retailers in
the UK. It has over 450 stores and
employs over 65,000 people. It
also operates overseas.
In the face of more intense
competition in the UK retailing
sector, Marks and Spencer has
had to develop a new strategy.
This created a period of change for
the retailer, involving a refocusing
on core areas of quality, value and
service along with innovation and
trust.
M & S Recovering from strategic drift
Changing world, changing
fashions; unpredictability
In 1984 The Economist magazine asked people to forecast
economic variables over a 10 year period. People included
finance heads and dustmen. After 10 years the forecasts were
compared with reality and no-one came close. The experts were
no better than others.
Following IBMs spectacular collapse
into losses, the new management team
examined events in detail to see how
the company could have got it so
wrong. They found that the evidence of
shift in the market was there – IBM had
seen the move towards open
architecture, microprocessor
networking and margin potential in
software.
But nothing was done about it: to
respond would have precipitated turmoil
and instability within the organisation,
instead, senior leaders went behind
closed doors and raised prices.
Pascale (1999)
Escaping the lobster pot
If only the lobster realised that
it could use the entrance as an
exit.
We the trapped tend to take
our own state of mind for
granted – which is partly why
we are trapped.
Vickers (1972)
Structure
In the 1990s Daimler Benz was fixed in a structure of rigid
hierarchy and rules – the introduction of new models was rare. The
decision to introduce the new C class took 7 years.
Chaos
At Ben and Jerry’s there were few rules. New product development was
haphazard. It was innovative - however failed to spot the trend from fatfilled ice creams to non-fat sorbets and melted under the competition from
Hagen-Dazs. It was also unable to manage costs as there were few
controls and it was eventually acquired by Unilever in 2000.
Edge of chaos
The key to effective adaptation is to stay close to the edge of
chaos. Think of traffic lights as an example. Without lights there
would be chaos. Too many lights would cause gridlock. A
moderate number of lights creates some structure but also allows
drivers to change their routes in surprising ways to different traffic
conditions.
Brown and Eisenhardt (1998)
Managing a ski slope
Chaos often reigns on a crowded
ski slope – while the activity looks
random, skiers do not collide (at
least not too many times!).
A command and control approach
would probably not work – the ski
slope manager has to give up
control in order to achieve control.
The main issue is to know what to
control and what to let go. To do this
more openness is required for people
to provide ideas from within.
The flexible organisation
Classical
organisations
Postmodern
organisations
Perspective
Technical, rational,
closed systems
Natural, open/closed
systems
Characteristics
Orderly, planned,
stable relationships,
formal information,
predetermined goals
Disjointed/fragmented
Instinctive
Reciprocal
relationships, informal
information, individual
and group goals
Structure/processes
Mass production
Deskilled jobs
Formal employment
relationships
Flexible specialisation,
multi-skilled jobs,
networking and subcontracting
Volberda (1998: 26-27)
Change
Why do organisations find it so hard to change?
1. Dominant logic that prevents information being
received within an organisation (groupthink).
2. The need to go through a process of unlearning to
escape dominant logic.
3. The greater the pressure to change, the more
adaptive the organisation has to become
Bettis and Prahalad (1995)
Two ways of thinking about culture
Corporate culture: something that can be shaped
“values or practices that account for an organisation’s
success and that can be managed to produce better
business outcomes”
(Eisenberg and Riley 2001: 209, in Tench and Yeomans 2009: 326.)
Organisational culture: the organisation is a culture,
made up of subcultures
“the set of conscious and unconscious beliefs and
values, and the patterns of behaviour (including
language and symbol use) that provide identity and form
a framework of meaning for a group of people”
( McCollom 1993 in Eisenberg and Riley 2001:306, in Tench and Yeomans 2009:
329)
Organisational culture
Culture is often thought of as:
“the way we do things around here”
How are things done where you work:
How would you describe the culture?
Is “the way we do things” an adequate descriptor?
Cultural web
Stories – Who and what the
company chooses to immortalise
Rituals and Routines – The
daily behaviour and actions of
people that signal acceptable
behaviour
Symbols – The visual
representations of the company
Organisational Structure –
Including the unwritten lines of
power and influence
Control Systems – The ways
that it is controlled
• Power Structures – The pockets
of real power within
the organisation
Paradigm – the accepted ideas
about the organisation
Google culture
How does the culture of the organisation impact on the way that
PR is practiced?
Public relations
drivers and traps
The net generation
A new generation of people are growing up
online…..with this they bring a “new ethic of
openness, participation, and interactivity to
workplaces….”
Tapscott and Williams (2007)
Geek squad
The Geek Squad began life 12 years ago
in the US, with one college student, his
bike, a laptop bag and $200. It has since
grown to offer 24-hour technology
support for homes all over the US.
Basically, if it has anything to do with
computers and it goes wrong, they'll do
everything within their powers to put it
right.
The Geek Squad are experts in working
out what's wrong with your computer or
other devices - and putting things right.
And the scary thing is that they actually
enjoy it.
Tapscott and Williams (2007)
Geek squad
Geek Squad employees use wikis, video
games, and all kinds of unorthodox
collaboration techniques to brainstorm new
ideas, manage projects, swap service tips,
and sociliaze with their peers.
They instinctively started using online
multiplayer games to stay in touch as the
organisation grew from 60 to 12000
employees.
Founder, Robert Stephens, says, “instead
of trying to set an agenda, I’m now going to
try and discover their agenda and serve it”
Tapscott and Williams (2007)
Net generation communication
Mental model movers
Edges of chaos are good places to be – we need to support
managers and the organisation to get there
Coaching, not controlling - become a coach, then coach
managers how to coach and communicate
Use scenario principles to develop communication strategies
and tactics – plans on a page rather than boring spreadsheets
Challenges (or opportunities)
For organisations
For public relations
The challenge for
organisations in
today’s complex world
is how to reconcile the
need for rapid
responsiveness and
adaptability without
losing order and
control.
The challenge for
public relations is to
move to genuinely
transparent
communication so as
to establish
authenticity.
For internal
communications
The challenge for internal
communications is how to
enable organisations to
develop communications
systems and processes that
enable people to
communicate and
collaborate more effectively
at the edge of chaos.
Bibliography
Bennett, R (1999)
Cheney, CG and LT Christensen (2001)
Cornelissen, J (2004)
Dozier and Broom (1995)
Grant (2002)
Gregory, A (2000)
Grunig J E (1992)
Grunig and Grunig (1992)
Grunig, J.E and Hunt, T (1984)
Kotler, P (2003)
L’Etang, J (2004)
L’Etang, J. (2008)
Corporate Strategy, 2nd edition, London: Financial Times
Management
Organizational Identity: linkages between internal and
external organizational communication, in The New
Handbook of Organizational Communication
Corporate Communications, Theory and Practice,
Sage
Evolution of the managerial role in public relations
practice, Journal of Public Relations Research, 7 (2)
Contemporary Strategic Analysis, Blackwell, Oxford
Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns, 2nd
edn, Kogan Page
Excellence in Public Relations and Communication
Management, Hillsdale, NJ
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(ed) Excellence in Public Relations and Communications
Management, Hillsdale
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Winston
Marketing Management, 11the edition, Prentice Hall
Public Relations in Britain: A History of Professional
Practice in the 20th Century
Public Relations Concepts, Practice and Critique, Sage
Bibliography
Johnson G (1992)
Johnson G (2000)
Johnson and Scholes (1993)
Moloney, K (2000)
Stewart, R (1994)
Tench and Yeomans (2006)
Seib, P and and Fitzpatrick K (1995)
Tench, R and Yeomans, L (2006)
Wilcox D.L, Cameron, G.T
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Exploring Public Relations, FT Prentice Hall
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Pearson