PRESIDENTIAL BUSINESS SCHOOL(Affiliated to International American University)Buddhanagar, Kathmandu

AssignmentOnPublic Relations

Under the supervision of Mr. Pukar GhimireLecturer, Presidential Business School

Submitted by:

Anuj Shrestha BBA - Fall 20117th Sem

Submitted to:

Mr. Pukar Ghimire

Submission date:

3 February 2015

Lesson -11. Describe the practice of Public Relations (PR). Discuss the concept of Spin.

Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization and the public (Grunig and Hunt, 1984). The first widespread use of PR was in the serve of politics where American Revolutionaries used techniques including symbols, slogans, events and agenda setting to promote war for independence. Samuel Adams, Father of American Independence, through his Spin, was able to remove British troops from Boston. He had told Massachusetts Gov. Thomas Hutchinson that thousand of Bostonians are ready to riot unless all British troops are removed from Boston, without knowing exactly how many people supported his cause. Then, in the late 19th century there were numerous poor business practices which led to rise of reform journalism. This led to setup of individual PR consultancies so that organization could defend themselves against muckrakers. The PR practiced was predominantly press agentry, using the media to influence public opinion. Press agentry model used persuasion and manipulation to influence audience to behave in a way as the organization desires. Then after, there was public information model which used press releases to distribute selective truth of organizational information. Both press agentry and public information model have been linked to the common notion of public relations as propaganda. Another model of PR was two way asymmetrical communications that used persuasion and manipulation to influence audience to behave as the organization desires. This model did not use research to find out how it publics feel about the organization. Last but not the least, there were influential practitioners like: Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays which gave emphasis on two way symmetrical communication. This model is practiced widely by PR professionals today. In this model, there is free flow of information that takes place between the organization and its stake holders, employees, investors and vice-a-versa. There is a two way communication taking place between both the parties and information flows in its desired form. The feedback from stakeholders and target audiences are also taken into consideration.

Spin is a form of propaganda achieved through providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor/against a certain organization or public figure (Lexbook.net). The role of PR practitioner is to persuade public; during the time of persuasion, they can come up with manipulative tactics, twisting of messages and half truths that may or may not be true. Spinning the facts may be synonymous with public relations practice. But, spinning and the actual practice of public relations are directly opposed of each other. In a world where public relations is practiced properly, credibility and reputation are at deeper risk because if you lie once, you will never be trusted again particularly by the media. So, PR practitioners must always be careful about their actions and words will influence the public. They should never, ever lie and only ethical PR practitioners will likely to emerge as winners in todays era. One of the examples of spin is September Dossier that talks about how Britain was drawn into 2003 invasion of Iraq. September Dossier is a document published by British government which contained a number of allegations according to which Iraq also owned weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including chemical weapons and biological weapons. The dossier even alleged that Iraq had reconstituted its nuclear weapons program. Also, Britains biggest selling daily newspaper The Sun came up with the headline "Brits 45 mins from doom" persuading public of a clear and present danger from Iraq and providing a basis to make war legal. Without exception, all of the allegations included within the September Dossier were false.

2. Define Propaganda. How it is related to PR?

The role of public relations is to influence public opinion and it is the reason which eventually links with propaganda. Yes, its true that both PR and propaganda, they seek to shape perceptions, uses media; target at specific audiences and they have some influential impact that is to get people to take action. However, the truth is propaganda uses lies, half-truths, manipulate cognitions and direct behavior to achieve a response which is desired by the propagandist. Propaganda uses emotional appeal not intellect. PR uses intellect and relies on logics, facts to create goodwill between the organization and its publics. PR is about shaping perceptions and achieving goals in a systematic way. Propagandas effort is unsustainable in todays technological world. Propaganda takes public for granted assuming they can be easily cheated. But today, you can get information at your fingertips and you can easily get to know the fraudulent activities.

Hence, where credibility and reputation are concerned, lie is definitely not an option to maintain good relations. So, PR is a good thing to influence public opinion as it operates on a higher ethical platform than propaganda.

3. Write short notes on:

Ivy LeeIvy Lee is one of the pioneers in PR which believed in neither public be fooled approach nor public be damned. He believed that the key to business acceptance and understanding was the public be informed and the only way business could answer its critics is to present the facts honestly and accurately. He thought a company should strive on public confidence and goodwill. He was best known for his advices to John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller used to own Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. At that time miners were on strike shutting down the entire industry. The reason behind it was due to poor working conditions faced by them and the mine owners also cared less about public sentiment and were obsessed with profits. Lee encouraged Rockefeller to create a joint labor management board to mediate all workers grievances on wages, hours and working conditions. It was a great success and Rockefeller was a soon viewed as a hero among public. Lee was among first to counsel his clients that positive public relations starts with performance. He was the one who was able to distinguish publicity and press agentry from public relations based on honesty and openness.

Edward BernaysEdward Bernays is regarded by many as the father of public relations. Bernay was a nephew of Sigmund Freud and was heavily influenced by social psychology and reflected this in his two books: Crystallizing Public Opinion (1923) and Propaganda (1928). He was one of the first people to manipulate public opinion using the subconscious. He advised public relations professionals to seek out group leaders and other key communicators (opinion leaders), who would be able to pass along ideas to other members of the public. For example, for promoting sales of bacon, he conducted a survey of physicians and reported their recommendation that people eat hearty breakfasts. He sent the results of the survey to 5,000 physicians, along with publicity touting bacon and eggs as a heavy breakfast. He broke the taboo against women smoking in public calling it Torches of Freedom by encouraging women lit cigarettes in front of the photographers. This was clearly not in the public interest. He worked for famous corporate clients, including Procter & Gamble, the American Tobacco Company, Cartier, Best Foods, CBS, the United Fruit Company, General Electric and Dodge Motors.

Robber Baron Robber Baron was a term applied to businessmen in the 19th century who engaged in unethical and deceptive business practices, exerted widespread political influence, and amassed huge personal fortunes. Due to the unfair business practices the public mood turned against them in the late 19th century. The criticism from newspapers intensified. Business leaders told that the journalist ignored much of the social good provided by business and overstated the case. They regarded reform journalism as muckraking. However fearing that too much of reform journalism will impact their business, businesses used communication techniques through the media to try and counter the situations and stabilize public opinions.

Creel Committee (CPI) and Office of war informationCreel Committee was an independent agency of the government of the Unites States established by President Woodrow Wilson to promote the war domestically and influence public regarding American participation in World War I. The CPI recruited heavily from different sectors like: media, academia and the art world. A muckraking journalist named George Creel was the leader of the committee. The committee used advertising techniques with a sophisticated understanding of human psychology to create enthusiasm for the war effort. . It primarily used the propaganda techniques to accomplish these goals. The promotional efforts also include powerful posters, painted in patriotic colors that were plastered on billboards across the country. The committee used newsprint, posters, radio, telegraph, cable and movies to broadcast its message. Most significant element of the CPI was Division of News, which distributed more than 6,000 press releases and acted as the primary conduit for war-related information (Firstworldwar.com).

Watergate Scandal and Arthur W. PageThe Watergate Scandal was a major political scandal that occurred in the United States that changed American politics forever, leading many Americans to question their leadership and think more critically about the presidency. The scandal resulted in Richard Nixon becoming the first American president to ever resign from office, and prompted a wave of political reform. In June 17, 1972 several burglars were arrested inside the office of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), located in the Watergate building in Washington, D.C. There was a direct link between those burglars and Richard Nixons reelection campaign and they had been caught while attempting to wiretap phones and steal secret document. Nixon later took steps to cover it up afterwards bribing the burglars to prevent them from disclosing information, trying to stop the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from investigating the crime, destroying evidence and firing uncooperative staff members. In 1974, his role in Watergate conspiracy finally came to light and he resigned. This scandal led to reform legislation and good government measures afterwards.

Arthur W. Page is referred as the father of corporate public relations for his work at AT&T, an American multinational telecommunications corporation. In the early 1990s, the press coverage of AT&T was 90% negative. By changing its practices and dissemination information to the press, it reduced its negative press coverage to 60%. According to business historian John Brooks, Page positioned the company as a public utility and increased the public's appreciation for its contributions to society (Brooks, 1976). With his expertise, AT&T used its advertising dollars with newspapers to manipulate its coverage and had their PR team write feature stories that were published as if they were written by independent journalists. Page is today recognized in the name of an organization called the Arthur W. Page Society, an organization for senior public relations executives.

LESSON -2

1. Why is a communication skill most important for a public relation practitioner?

Public relations refer to the practice of enhancing the reputation of organization in the eyes of public. Every organization wants to maintain good brand image and that is why they hire PR practitioners. A pr practitioner must have effective communication skills because it is through them the organization communicates to its public, stakeholders, employees, investors and so on. They represent your organization. More than anyone else in an organization, a pr must be professional in communicating so that he can have strong influence on the target audience to remain loyal towards the organization. It is through their communication skills that they earn the respect of management and become trusted advisers. A PR must have Knowledge of how and when and to whom to communicate. Moreover if your PR is excellent at communicating then your organization will not have to face much trouble during the time of crisis and it will also help in maintaining good consumer and government relations. A PR job includes representing the organization, help mitigate harmful negative publicity, represent a client to various audiences, writing press releases and success stories and so on to get the most favorable publicity as possible. You can see all those activities come under communication. You cant practice PR if you do not excel in communication. On the other hand, technologies keep emerging in short period. The use of social networking sites like: Facebook, LinkedIn and twitter are increasing day by day. So, a PR expert also must be proficient in the use of modern technology to promote and spread awareness of the company.

2. Explain the communication process and the steps that lead to understanding.

Communication is defined as sharing information and ideas so as to create mutual understanding between people. The communication process is the inter-relationship between several inter-dependent components. The different parts of communication process are described below:

i. SenderProcess of communication begins when sender feels the need for it. Sender is the source of the message so he must have a clear cut picture in his mind of what he wants to communicate.

ii. MessageMessage means what is being communicated. It may be verbal or non verbal. It is the heart of communication. The sender put his message into words, symbols, pictures, gestures which other person can understand. This process is called encoding.

iii. Channel Channel connects the sender with the receiver. A channel must be selected through which the message is sent. Channels of communication include speaking, writing, video transmission, audio transmission, electronic transmission through emails, text messages and faxes and so on.

iv. ReceiverThe person to whom the message is directed is known as receiver. The receiver decodes the words and symbols used in the message into idea and interpret it to obtain the meaning.

v. FeedbackAfter deriving meaning the receiver responds to the message. The return of flow of communication is called feedback. The process of communication is incomplete until the sender receives the feedback. If the feedback is in tune with the message, communication is said to be effective.

If communication is one way, there is no understanding. Feedback indicates the knowledge about the outcome of communication. It enables the sender to know whether his message has been properly understood and whether it had desired effect on the mind and behavior of the receiver.

3. Describe the barriers to communication.Perfect communication takes place when the receiver understands the message exactly in the way the sender intends. Quite often miscommunication arises due to one barrier or the other. The barriers to communication are described below:

i. Perception differencesEach person has his/her own way of understanding things. Every person has a perception filter. Different views between the sender and the receiver can create misunderstanding. Without thinking, one might only view a message from their mindset rather than looking to see it from another viewpoint.

ii. Jumping into conclusionsSome people form a judgment before receiving the complete message. Premature evaluation prevents effective communication because once you form a response; your mind is closed to the rest of the message. Your concentration is lost.

iii. StereotypingStereotypes are beliefs about attributes that are thought to be characteristic of members of particular groups. It makes a judgment and is inflexible and therefore makes communication ineffective.

iv. Lack of knowledgeIf the people to whom you are communicate lack the knowledge of the topic then your communication is a failure. For e.g. you cant just run to Chinese people and talk about colleges of Nepal.

v. InattentionIt is one of the common barriers to communication. Sometimes the listeners mind gets busy in guessing what the speaker will say or mounting a reply to what he has heard. As a result he may miss what is being said now.

vi. EmotionsEmotions block our mind, blur our thinking and we fail to organize the message properly. For e.g. the sender of a message fails to speak clearly when he is overexcited, nervous, worried or angry. Similarly the receiver cannot hear or read the message successfully when he is emotionally disturbed.

vii. PersonalityPersonality is the sum total ways of how an individual act and interact with others. Every person holds a distinct personality. This individual nature of personality acts as barrier to communication.

viii. LocationIt is an environmental barrier to effective communication. Say you have a report to present but if the location needed to show your presentation lacks the equipment or technology then there will definitely be difficulty in communicating.

ix. Different levels of Self-ExpressionThe ability to express is difficult when you are communicating with someone and it is even worse when you are communicating in a group. It is also necessary to understand the vocabulary level on the side of the audience so that the communicator wont use wordy/long sentences.

x. JargonEvery field of industry and commerce has their own language to communicate. So when people from different fields come in contact there are often problems created in understanding each other. Therefore, the best way is to keep the jargon out but if it is needed give some translation as you are going along.

4. Describe commodities of public opinion, attitude and actions.

The best way to understand the concept of public opinion is by splitting the word into its two components, public which means a group of people who share a common interest in a specific subject and opinion is the expression of an attitude on a particular topic. Therefore, Public opinion is the aggregate of many individual opinions on a particular issue that affects a group of people. Public opinion is set on by three major factors: attitude, opinion and actions.

Attitudes are evaluative judgments toward a particular person or an object. For example: an individual might favor a companys response to one issue whereas he might disagree with its response to another. Thus, that individuals attitude may differ from issue to issue. Attitudes are based on a number of characteristics which are personal factors, cultural factors, religious and cultural factors, social class, race and so on. An opinion is the expression of an attitude on a particular topic. When attitude becomes strong, they surface in the form of opinions. Whats more is when opinions become strong; they lead to verbal or behavioral actions. Lets take an example: If a consumer has negative attitude toward a certain product then he form different opinions like: the product is not beneficial to him or it doesnt satisfy the need. Eventually these kinds of opinions lead to actions such as he may spread bad word of mouth about the product, discouraging others to buy it and so on.

5. Explain how public opinion is influenced and how organization use public opinion to create reputation.The heart of public relations lies in attempting to affect the public opinion process. As people form strong opinion towards anything, it is hard to move them away from an opinion once they reach it. So, in order to influence public opinion, the opinion that has to be changed or modified must be clearly understood. Secondly, the target publics must be clear. And lastly, the public relations professional must have in sharp focus the laws that govern public opinion. According to Hadley Cantril, a social psychologist some years ago worked out some laws of Public Opinion, opinions are highly sensitive to important events. Important events have an impact on the public at large or a particular segment of the public. For e.g. after the 9/11 attacks, President Bushs popularity rose as Americans of every age group rallied behind the war against terrorism. Opinion is determined more by events than by words. After the attacks, Bush gave a speech to fight against terrorism, his words had a major impact on people as they came together to support his cause temporarily at least. Moreover, people become more sensitive to the sufficiency of the leadership during critical times. Few people rose voices against Bush administration during that time which brought out sweeping changes such as changes in privacy rights, torturing suspected Muslims. Once self-interest is involved, opinions are slow to change. Like in the election process you are likely to vote to the person who will be beneficial to you in the long run. Lastly, People are able to form opinions more easily on goals than on methods to reach those goals.

In todays competitive age, managing your reputation is very crucial. One negative review or comment about your business practices could lead to a decline about your business popularity. Many organizations have suffered from serious setbacks in terms of their standing with the public as a result of their actions. Public opinion in the 21st century is a combustible and changing commodity. And that is the reason why organizations hire public relations practitioners. The work of PR practitioners lies in influencing public opinion and developing the implicit trust of the people towards the organization. No business is perfect. There are bound to be some shortcomings which would cause disappointment for your customers. So, what a PR does is, it communicates with the public to build recognition, credibility and trust towards your organization. And if the public has good image towards your organization then definitely it will have a good buzz inside the market which will differentiate you among your competitors and it will have an overwhelming positive impact on your reputation.

6. Understand PR as a management function, including planning, objective setting and pivotal function that PR plays in a management system within the organization.

Public relations is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding understanding between on organization and its publics. Over the recent years, PR has developed as a management system. Every key member of a management task should involve successfully building companys awareness among public and establishing its credibility. Thus, PR is to be crucial in every element of your work like: forecasting, budgeting, product development, hiring, sales and so on. Public relation managers have one foot inside the organization and the other outside. So as boundary managers, it helps organization to communicate across organizational lines within and outside the organization. PR helps in internal communication as by engaging employees to be motivated towards their work and build trust towards the organization.PR is a strategic tool, not an occasional tactic. It emphasizes on two-way symmetrical communication of many kinds to provide publics a voice in management decisions and to facilitate dialogue between management and publics. PR practitioner integrates an understanding of the concerns and attitudes of key publics into the organizations managerial decision-making process. Furthermore, PR helps in dealing with crisis especially when an organizations operations become involved in an emergency affecting the public. The policies and procedures include the distribution of information to employees, media, government and other key publics. It also helps organization to anticipate events and recognize areas of potential danger and recommend needed changes before potential dangers develop into crisis. PR managers directly contribute towards reputation management. PR entails technical tasks, such as organizing events and trade fairs, writing a press release. Your public relations can help your organization by inviting the press, initiating contact, and getting managers prepared with newsworthy things to discuss. Also being accessible to bloggers, writers get the company on their radar so that organizations would have more areas to demonstrate its commitment to public and social responsibility and ethical behavior. Therefore, PR is a top management function and a key advisor to top management.

7. Explain the importance of reputation management.

The CIPR defines PR as: About reputation the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you. Public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behavior. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics (Institute of Public Relations 2004). Reputation is gained by what one does, not by what one says. Reputation management has become a buzzword in public relations and in the broader society. You spent years through spending time, sweat and money to build up reputation for your business. You miss your favorite football matches and ceremonies. Then one day you finally feel as though you can relax until the day your customers vanish, your phone calls stop and you don't know why. Even though you are spending millions in research, providing excellent services and your existing customer loves you, your business could still struggle just because someone has written a bad review about your company or product. Today, most of the organizations consider reputation as their valuable asset. A Reputation of an organization will directly have impact in recognition, credibility and trust among its stakeholders. It will have a huge role in providing you competitive advantage and also increases corporate worth. Lets take an example, which search engine is widely talked about? Most of the people will answer it "Google". Why not sites like: Ask or AltaVista. Because Googles reputation is greater than of its competitors and has occupied a clear cut distinctive image on people's mind. If your organization is well admired by your main customers, they will prioritize to deal with you first ahead of others. They will also help in spreading good word of mouth. Suppliers will be inclined to trust your organization and if any problem occurs in trading relationship, your suppliers will be more willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Moreover, government regulators will not make sudden changes in rules and regulations that could impact your business. And lastly, a potential employee will be more likely to sign up with you if you have a good reputation for your treatment of staff. Losing reputation means collapsing the share value and consumer confidence. Reputation itself may be difficult to measure but the value it provides to an organization or an individual is undeniable. Therefore, managing reputation is a front-line responsibility which will help to see your business grow and flourish.

8. Explain principle goal of PR.Public relations link the company and the public, with all the professionalism and in an ethical way. It includes activities so that the company would have a strong public image. An important goal of pr is to make people aware of what your organization is what it does and what it offers. Different PR tools like: news releases, press conferences, speaking engagements, and community service programs are used to generate goodwill. Also PR helps to maintain good relationships with employees, investors, suppliers, community and the general public. Even the non charitable funds practice PR for fund generating and its visibility. It reduces the gap between how an organization sees itself and how others outside the organization perceive it. It encourages two way communications which involves constituencies on which an organization depends as well as analyzing and understanding the attitudes and behaviors of that audience. Another major goal is to create, maintain and protect organization's reputation. Also it includes creating a favorable image and enhancing the prestige. We all know consumer purchase decision of a particular product links with the reputation an organization has in the market. So this will eventually lead to major boost in revenue and sales. Furthermore, public relations use persuasion rather than manipulation in new product introductions by creating awareness or by changing consumer behavior. It also helps existing products a boost by renewing visibility through different media events and promotions. In addition, PR becomes heavily involved in crisis communications. Crisis like: management wrongdoings, bankruptcy, product failures can affect company image. So, PR experts recommend and help business owners prepare a plan in advance to deal with potential crises in an honest way. Hence, PR is an essential management function for the survival of any organization.

9. Discuss pros and cons of impact of email communication.

Email is one of the digital technologies which have influenced the way we communicate with each other. Email allows users connected to a network to exchange files without having to be logged in at the same time. Email has both its pros and cons. There are number of benefits using an email service. Emails are free; once youre online there is no further expense. You can send a single message all over the globe to multiple users. Thus, it saves a lot of time. Emails also allows your message to be encrypted if you are sending crucial information Also, you can request proof of receipt or the proof of email being opened. The email service providers offer the customers enough storage space. Also, the process of sorting and arranging mails, as per the subject, date sender etc is made easier for users. Emails can also be used as an advertising tool and it is also one of the secured ways of communicating online.The challenges of email are both you and the person receiving the email must have an email address and a device that can access the internet. It is impossible to take back once an email is sent. So an email sent in the heat of the moment can cause problems. Emails lack immediate feedback and emotions in comparison to interpersonal communication. Email is one of the commonest ways for viruses to travel and infect computers. Though there are some drawbacks, email has largely improved the ease and effectiveness of communicating.

10. Explain the elements involved in Reputation management.

Reputation management is becoming one of the most important components while operating a business. It does not matter whether your business is small or big or online based, reputation management is crucial for every organization. Reputation management is all about managing a company's brand, position, goodwill or image. Good reputations is something which helps an organization reach their goals, stay competitive and prosper and it paves the organizational path to acceptance and approval by stakeholders. An organizations reputation is composed of two elements: the more 'rational' products and performance and more 'emotional' behavioral factors such as customer service, CEO performance and so on. Ethical business practices are also one major element of ethics. Even the best public relations campaign in the world can't build trust when the reality is destroying it. If youre a liar, if your service stinks or if your product does not work no amount of "public relations" will change that. That is why doing ethical business is a must in order to gain credibility and reputation among public. Moreover, the organization must treat its stakeholders well so that they will have a distinctive image of your organization. Such distinctive organizations as TATA, HCL, and GOOGLE are all examples of entities with unique and positive reputations. Moreover, ensuring transparency and assuring your stakeholders with profitability and growth aspects are also a part of reputation building process. Moreover, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities also let people know that the organization support social causes. IDEA, a leading Indian mobile network company advertisements are totally based on social cause which is why the brand value of idea is popular everywhere. Being environmentally responsible by practicing sustainable business practices also enhance the reputation of the organization. Furthermore, emotional appeal also plays a greater role, if people think your organization is kind, fun and good, it will definitely lead to positive impact on your reputation. Hence, good reputation is one of the greatest assets which leads to competitive advantage and increases corporate wealth.

11. What is the management process of PR? Why it is imperative that PR office should report to top management?

PR is a top management activity. The management process of PR includes four activities: Defining the problem/opportunity, Programming, Action and Evaluation. Defining the problem includes researching current attitudes and opinions about the issue, product or company in question and determining the essence of the problem. It also covers finding out everything about your client like: reputation, financial status, competitive environment, mission and goals, identity and demographics of the customers and so on. Programming is the formal planning stage which addresses key constituent publics, strategies, tactics and goals. This is the stage where PR practitioners will decide what publics do they need to communicate and how will it take place? This process addresses various objectives. Objectives can be informational like: retention, message exposure or attitudinal like: formation of new attitudes, changing existing attitudes or behavioral like: reinforcing existing behaviors, change of behaviors. The third process is the action phase which includes the communication phase and when the program is implemented. Effective communicating tools include news releases, stunts, feature stories, print, broadcast and so on. The final step is the evaluation process where assessment is done of what worked, what didnt and how to improve in the future. Above mentioned four steps are the management steps of PR.

The role of PR is to serve as a true interpreter and it is why PR office should report to top management. The departments like: advertising and marketing only promotes the product whereas PR promotes the whole organization. As we all know for top managers to make good decisions, they need information and what is going both inside and outside the organization. PR professionals have one foot inside the organization and the other outside. So as boundary managers, it helps organization to communicate across organizational lines within and outside the organization. Moreover, PR office provides managers with enough information so that they will have confidence that their decision making will result in positive consequences. For this, PR has to be independent, credible and objective. This also explains that PR professionals have not only communication competence but also an intimate knowledge about the organizations business. Public relations should be the corporate conscience and should enjoy freedom to deal openly and honestly with management. If a product fails or if an idea does not make sense, it is the duty of the PR professionals to challenge the consensus. Therefore, public relations should never shrink its responsibility to enhance the organizations credibility by ensuring corporate actions are in the public interest. And to perform that function potentially it needs to report to top management.

Chapter -3

1. Discuss the essence of PR ethics.

Ethics is the discipline which is concerned what is morally good and bad, right and wrong. Ethics are the values that guide a person, organization or society- concepts such as right and wrong, fairness and unfairness honesty and dishonesty. PR practitioners must show highest standards of personal and professional ethics. Success of PR in the 21st century will depend on how the field responds to the issue of ethical conduct. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has been a leader in the effort to foster a strong sense of professionalism among its membership. The code of ethics comprises of 6 core values that justify behavior of any pr professional. The 6 core values are described below:

i. AdvocacyPR practitioners are there to serve public interest by acting as responsible advocates. For e.g. PR practitioners should never reveal confidential information even if a client demands it. The only way information to be revealed is after a thorough discussion with the client.

ii. HonestyPR people should never lie or manipulate things. They must ensure transparency and reveal all the necessary information diplomatically if a client demands information.

iii. ExpertiseIn serious and sensitive matter, an organization/client should be guided by PR people. PR must offer expertise and counseling in problem solving and decision making issues.

iv. IndependenceA PR must be given freedom to communicate and express his opinions in the organization. For example, when every department - finance, marketing, hr all agree with CEO's rock headed scheme to disguise bad news, it is the duty of PR to strike an independent one.

v. LoyaltyA PR professional must be loyal towards his organization. If the competing client offers him more money to abandon his employer, he should understand his loyalties should remain constant

vi. FairnessA PR's responsibility is to treat everyone fairly. For e.g. at the time of press conference if a rude journalist demand information, a pr professional should not be hot headed, he must treat the obnoxious reporter with fairness.

Above principles are the proper pr practices which separate it from pr being deceivers, spinners, liars in the eyes of public.

2. Discuss the differences between PR ethics and Legal ethics.

The difference between PR ethics and legal ethics is that PR ethics is all about truth. Public relations consultants counsel their clients in an ethical direction, towards accuracy and candor and away from lying and hiding the truth. Legal ethics are the rules governing the conduct of lawyers and judges that are adopted by each state. Most of the companies have contracted lawyers to help ensure compliance with business and industry related laws. During the time of crisis in an organization, pr practitioners what they do is get themselves equipped with all the necessary information, persuade public by ensuring transparency and get out of the situation. This is not in the case of legal ethics as you are brought in the court, you remain silent and your lawyer does the entire job for you by telling lies, destroying facts to get you out of that situation. In PR, such kinds of activity can result in loss of credibility and reputation. PR ethics is all about maintaining good reputation in the eyes of the stakeholder. Legal ethics does not address all the ethical dilemma of the business. Once you are brought to court your reputation is affected and the results also dont matter, either you are charged guilty or you walk free the lawyer doesnt guarantee this. On the other hand, PR practitioners ensure no harm to your organization's credibility.

Chapter - 4

1. What is the difference between a PR profession responsibility and a lawyers responsibility?

Lawyers and PR practitioners, they both are advocates in adversarial climate in an organization. Their responsibility includes safeguarding the client. But there are differences in steps that they take in protecting their client. The lawyers role is to protect clients from and defend them during litigation; PR practitioners are often focused on managing, protecting and rebuilding the clients reputation. A lawyer protects its client by manipulating and obstructing facts. On the other hand pr practitioner deals with reputation management; he relies on facts and transparency to persuade the public opinion. In lawyer's case you remain silent and the information is kept confidential. A law does not care much about reputation, what he wants is to get his client out of the court anyhow. But, in a world where is transparency is given much preferences you may win in the court but lose in the court of public opinion causing damage to reputation. So, that is why PR is there in order to ensure no harm to your reputation and this is why it makes their job different than that of lawyers.

2. Describe how PR practitioners deal with media and attract publicity?

Public relations professionals are there to improve the relationship between the organization and media, whether print, electronic or internet-based. They engage with the media in an honest and interactive way to convey organizations view point of view in a manner that may worth being reported. First, an organization establishes a formal media relations policy. Second, an organization must establish a philosophy for dealing with the media keeping in dozen of principles which are described below:

i. A reporter is a reporter.You must be aware of what you are communicating being aware that a reporter is never off duty. Anything you say to a journalist is fair game to be reported.

ii. You are the organization.PR practitioners represent the organization in todays era. That is why every word that comes out of their mouth is either recorded on a camera or quoted by name by the media. So, they must think twice before speaking.

iii. There is no standard issue reporter.Many business managers regard press and reports as villains. But that isnt necessarily true as they are simply trying to do their job. Therefore, each reported should be treated as fair individual by the organization.

iv. Treat journalists professionally.A journalist is always in search of a new story, whether good or bad. A public relations job is to present the organization in the best light. As long as they understand your job is different and treat you with respect, you must do the same.

v. Dont sweat the skepticism.Journalists are always dubious which is why PR practitioners must understand its territory while communicating the information with them.

vi. Dont try to buy a journalist.Activities such as trying to bribe or threaten or coerce a journalist should be avoided. No self-respecting journalist will tolerate someone trying to bribe him for a positive story.

vii. Become a trusted source.PR practitioners know more about the company and the industry than a reporter does. So, they can be a trusted source of information for journalist to report on whats going on which ensures positive relationship in the long run.

viii. Talk when not selling.Reporters are in need of new leads and stories. Therefore, PR practitioners can become a source of sharing information even the information has nothing to do with their organization. This will help to maintain good contacts.

ix. Dont expect news agreement.A reporters view of news and an organizations view of news will differ. So, one should not complain if a story does not make it into publication. x. Maintain good attitude.All reporters share one trait which is they remember. So, PR practitioners must be friendly and give all the required information to them.

xi. Never lie.If you ever lie with the media then you wont be trusted again. This is what PR practitioners need to follow.

xii. Read the paper.Journalists criticize pr people by telling them that they dont have any idea what the journalist writes, comments or blogs about. This makes journalist angry when he is approached on a story pitch.

PR practitioners attract publicity through numerous ways. Publicity is most often gained by dealing directly with the media, either by initiating the communication or by reacting to inquiries. Publicity through news releases, writing success stories, press conferences, and stunts are some of the PR tools. With the help of them, newsworthy information about your company and its product is passed to the general public. The main objective of publicity is not sales promotion, but creation of an image through editorial.

3. What is the power and value of publicity in print, broadcast and internet?Mass Media can be categorized into 3 different types: Print media, Broadcast media and Digital media. Publicity is most often gained by directly dealing with the media. Despite growth of internet and electronic media, print media still stands as an important medium for publicity. Print media includes newspapers, magazine, business cards, and brochures. Print media is the ideal publicity tool because of its tangibility and it is also the most preferred place to look for advertising. Furthermore, the power of publicity in print can trigger emotional reactions that can leave a greater impact on peoples mind. The print media is accessible by all people. That is why it becomes easy for PR professionals to reach a much targeted audience in a specific geography. The broadcast media like: radio and TV reaches a wider audience than print media. Through radio, you can deliver more timely messages to promote current business activities and promotions. On the other hand, TV offers you a strong audio and video combination which is a must for drawing peoples attention towards you. The digital technology like Internet provides a new and different dimension for publicity. Some of the tools of gaining publicity through internet are ads on search engine result pages, rich media ads, banner ads, social network advertising, and email marketing and so on. Publicity cost is inexpensive in the internet and once you are in the internet, everything is viral. You can send invitation about your events, get people know about your organization through videos, deliver news releases through email and do different promotional activities and so on. Hence, all three media have an immense impact in publicity and helped business get their word out in a tremendous way.

4. Describe how communication with employees is one of the most important categories of public relations work.

Public relations is not just about maintaining good relationship with people outside the organization. For any organization to successfully communicate with outsiders it must first ensure that there is a structure in place for effective internal communications. Dealing with employees is a complex job because employees cannot be conned, they live with the organization every day. They generally know whats going on and whether management is being honest with them. That is where PR stands out to make it easy by acting as a bridge to connect them to organization every day. PR passes clear, candid and credible information to the employees and persuades them to feel that management has utmost respect for them. PR eases to remove grapevine rumors in an organization and build a strong sense of trust from employees to top management level. Your employees are your ambassadors; they feel important that they are helping to make a difference. Today, there are numerous opportunities in the world. At sometimes, if employees feel they are granted and if the management did not take this into consideration then the organization will have to lose its staffs. This results in more expenses for recruiting, hiring and training new employees. Therefore, a solid internal public relations program can improve loyalty and help retain valuable employees and members. Hence, PR ensures enhancing credibility and winning trust of the employees and so is the reason why communication with employees is regarded as one of the most important categories of public relations work.

5. Explain the importance of management credibility in communications and describe employee communication tactics from print to online.

Credibility is all about feeling of trust and respect and it is one of the essential ingredients for collaborative and effective communication. In the todays workplace, employees cannot be conned because they live with the organization every day. They generally know what is going on and whether management is being honest with them. Any lies, manipulation to them can jeopardize the business and brings negative reputation. Gone are the days when management could say, Trust us, this is for your own good. Today, employees seek facts and they want managers to level with them. They are also keen on knowing how they are doing. Credibility in organizations would increase if management communicated earlier and more frequently, demonstrated trust in employees by sharing bad news such as downsizing as well as good and get employees involved in the process by asking their views. Credible management attracts enthusiastic and committed followers and more people would like to work with them. Credibility in communication builds strong relationships and everyone in the organization would be convinced that the management would do the right things for the right reasons. Therefore, enhancing credibility in communication must be primary objective of management. A variety of tactics for are used to reach the staff in the organization. Tactics ranges from print to online. Print communication still plays a particular role in helping create a climate that bears the stamp of management. Typical entry-level pr responsibilities include writing and editing employee newsletters. Notice boards, articles can also be an excellent way to engage your staff in two way communication. Internal television including streaming video can be demonstrably effective. A video of an executive announcing a new corporate policy imparts hundreds of times more information than printed text of the same message. The Age of online communications has ushered in a whole new set employee communication vehicles from instant messaging to email to voice mail to intranets and blogs. Such vehicles are more immediate and more likely to be read, listened to and acted on. Online communication tactics such as open forums provides an easy way for employees to post opinions and views of the company. Moreover, these kinds of tactics will also help an organization to reach virtual employees. Using as many as other possible tactics such as face to face communication, suggestion box and town hall meetings can help ensure your employees get the information they need.

References

Firstworldwar.com,. 'First World War.Com - Feature Articles - Of Fraud And Force Fast Woven: Domestic Propaganda During The First World War'. N.p., 2009. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.

Grunig, James E; Hunt, Todd (1984), Managing Public Relations (6th ed.), Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

John Brooks (1976). Telephone: the first hundred years. Harper & Row.

Lexbook.net. 'Damage Limitation - Dictionary And Translator Lexbook - Synonyms Of Damage Limitation, Definition And Translations Of Damage Limitation'. N.p., 2015. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.