Is Public
Relations Institute for Southern Africa’s (PRISA’S) Definition of PR Correct?
By Andrew Bishop Mkandawire (AB Deevado)-MC Yr 4
4th May, 2012 Share World Open University-BT
Campus
The Public Relations Institute of Southern
African (PRISA) - Institute for Public Relations & Communication Management
is the professional body which represents the interests of public relations and
communication management professionals in Southern Africa.
PRISA according to (www.saaci.co.za) defines Public Relations
as the management, through communication, of perceptions and strategic
relationships between an organization and its internal and external
stakeholders.
Therefore by understanding this definition it can be argued
that the PRISA’s PR definition really expresses the principle of professional
PR because it caries major components that public relation indeed does. However
evidence will be attached by relating this definition of public relations to
those of Institute of Public Relations (IPR), the Mexican Statement which
erupted in 1978 from an International conference of public relations held in
Mexico as well as the Arens PR definition.
The PRISA’s PR definition has the following components.
Management tool,
Public relations is a management tool. This is because all levels of management
from strategic or corporate, to tactical and operational, depend on proper
communication. The organization's marketing, human resources, stakeholder
relations, and mapping all depend on public relations communication function. The PR programs and activities are not
spontaneous, haphazard, or impromptu they are planned, organized, controlled,
implemented, and monitored for proper assessment of its effectiveness.
For example during planning,
problem situation, the costs, tools, strategies, tactics, type of campaign,
type of staff, type of equipment necessary, objectives are all identified
before organization stage comes in.
Communication of perceptions, the business may be perceived
differently by groups or individuals who are all direct or indirect interests
of the business. At most good perceptions will help enable the business
communication mechanism to succeed.
For example, when the organization's
image is good, the positive response of its stakeholders becomes manageable usually
with the drive of undoubted success. Press releases, sponsorship programs, press
conferences, attitude surveys, marketing education, are all welcomed with
attention and desired support. This can enable the business to know what its
customers want and don’t want. This position in business is very important
because it helps to offer what the market wants and possibly educate the market
why it is necessary to adopt news products if the business has introduced the
new one as Unilever is advertising
the new Lifebuoy bar soap with Yvonne Tchakatchaka as the advert testimonial.
It was also public relations function that changed perception through PR
Transfer that leads to making publics adopt electronic typewriters and
computers and abandon manual typewriters through market education.
Only the business which shares
good and positive perceptions with its stakeholders do face fewer
difficulties in communicating with them. However, this position is highly helped
with the function of business research which is the ‘planning, collecting,
analyzing of data relevant to business decision making and the communication of
the results of this analysis to the management’, (Guler & Gani 2004 p. 02).
And finally, Strategic relationships between internal and
external stakeholders is another component the PRISA’s PR definition has.
This component states the strategic relationship between the organization and its
stakeholders. This relationship cannot just strategically exist without mutual
understanding and possible benefit. This relationship is not a mere
relationship but with specific functions no wonder the ones involved in this
strategic relationship are grouped into different categories under that term
stakeholder.
There are three types of
stakeholders. Internal; these have a direct influence on the day to day
operations of the business. They constitute employees, customers (usually
existing than that potential), stockholders like shareholders or owners of
the business. Connected; these are calm with fact that they do not have
direct influence to the day to day administrative activities of the business
like to execute pressure of competition. But surely play a very important part
in ensuring the survival of the business is guaranteed. For example, insurance
companies, banks, security companies. And External; these have direct
influence of the business and they execute a lot of competition that brings
threats and opportunities when the business weaknesses are solved with
positioned strength. Examples of these groups are consultants (financial,
research and development, marketing, advertising, public relations), customers,
competitors, government, investors, community, etc.
These groups need to be approached
strategically so that long term relations continue to mutually benefit them
(the organization and the public). In short, the business cannot operate
without them and these stakeholders cannot access products and services in
absence of the producing firm.
An extended understanding of PR
as a definition can be supported by (Jefkins 1998, p. 06) who argues that PR is
‘the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and a mutual understanding between an organization and its publics..
In this IPR definition, there are
related issues to that of PRISA’s.
PR is ‘the planned and sustained effort, this supports that Public
relations are a managerial tool. It is not done haphazardly but it is planned
with the objective of sustaining its communication activities that create value to
both the organization and its publics.
The purpose of PR is “to establish and maintain mutual understanding”, this
is an effort to ensure that the organization is understood by other-publics-and
that the relationship created through the process of understanding and to be
maintained is not for nothing but the mutual understanding that has a reflection
of mutual benefit.
And the Mexican Statement holds
Public Relations is the ‘art and social
science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling
organization leaders, and implementing planned programs of action which will
serve both the organizations and the public interest’ (Jefkins 1995, p. 08).
This definition has extended
subjects that actively play an important function in an organizational setting
but revolving around the two components of PR being a management tool as well
as a communication function to the organization.
It opens by exposing that PR
function is both an art and science-meaning the effort to chose or select a program, generation of objectives, and communication
messages, just to mention a few, depend on PR practitioners skills and
understanding while the actual implementation of the Pr programs, assessment of
goals and objectives, evaluation of research or tactic effectiveness depends on
scientific approach.
And PR since uses research scientific techniques can
predict the consequences of every communication message sent to the public or
any campaign conducted. Because it is a management tool, it counsels the
corporate management on public relations issues or and communications programs
ranging from human resources, marketing, finances, production, and lobbying of
government and export trade. PR also implements its programs that aim at servicing
the organization and the public interest-benefit.
Public Relations can be a
profession that has produced a thousand definitions describing what it is. For
example, in 1976 the Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education in The USA, 65 of its professionals sifted through 472 different definitions, (Baran 2002).
Efforts to define PR will never extinct but all tastes of the definition will
revolve around the Management tool
and the Communication function.
For example, PR definition of marketing
educator William F. Arens (1999) has two major components of Management and Communication. The definition argues that ‘PR is the management the function that focuses on the relationships and communications that individuals
and organizations have with other groups (called publics) for the purpose of
creating mutual goodwill’, (Baran 2012 p. 308).
In short Arens, PR definition revolves around the management
and communication functions as the three definitions above have specified.
Therefore, PRISA’s definition has the PR value of the practice.
Due to this, it can be accepted that it is a right Public Relations definition.
REFERENCES
Baran, SJ 2002, Introduction to Mass Communication, 2nd
Edition, Boston: Mc GrawHill
Guler, O & Gani, AS 2004, Business Research, Cape Town: Juta and
Company Ltd
Jefkins, F 1995, Public Relations Techniques. 2nd
Edition, Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann
Jefkins, F. 1998. Public Relations FrameWorks, 5th
edition, Harlow: Pearson Education
‘Southern
African Association for the Conference’ 2012, PRISA Public Relations Definition, Viewed 27th February,
2012, http://www.saaci.co.za/content.asp?pageID=349
Which other PR topic would you like to get discussed? Leave a comment.
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