Strategic Management in PR Practice (part 1)
by:
Charles Lamson
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Role and Character of the Organization
To simplify today's issue of The Rant with Charles Lamson. let us consider organizations falling into one of three categories; government, profit and nonprofit. Of course there are many variations in each of these. Dramatic differences are found in the levels and branches of government, the profit-making organization that deals directly with consumers versus one that does not, the nonprofit organization that is strictly charitable such as a foundation versus one that provides services. ("This is PR: The Realities of Public Relations, 9th ed."; by Doug Newsom, Judy VanSlyke Turk and Dean Kruckeberg; pg. 216).
Government at any level is always involved with the public agenda because it serves a constituency. In democracies it serves at the will of the people which means power and politics are a part of all decisions for profit-making companies. The key word is profit. The bottom line is always important, because making money is the reason the company exists, and investors depend on getting some returns, if the company is publicly held. There is a big difference though because of laws affecting the public obligations of these companies. If a company is a nonprofit it is subjected to much more scrutiny than either of the other two types because people have contributed out of trust alone, without any expectations of /services or products in return. Violation of public trust always damages an organization but especially nonprofits (Newsom, Turk, Kruckeberg; pg. 216)..
The communicators climate within each of these organizations is significant too. The communication climate is tied to top management style rather than to the type of the organization. Some top managers operate on a need to know basis and are reluctant to have open communication within the organization. They know information is powerful and want a tight hold on it. Other top managements want information shared throughout the organization so informed decisions can be made individually and collectively. Communication at the first extreme is very top down with little communication coming from employees back up. Policies are likely to be strictly enforced. In the open communication environment, information comes from internal dialogue facilitated by management. Employees are empowered to make independent decisions. and although they are expected to report these decisions, management supports employees in taking the initiative (Newsom, Turk, Kruckeberg; pg. 216).
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The communication climate is effected by the organization's core values, usually set forward in its mission statement. The corporate culture comes from this, again attributable to top management. The corporate culture affects everyone in the organization. Even the lowest level employee is likely to be told "this is how we do things." What that may mean in a rigid communication system is, "Don't deviate." In a looser corporate culture, it might mean, "Go for it" (Newsom, Turk, Kruckeberg; pg. 216).
Internal public relations people as employees are most affected by the tone of management, but outside public relations practitioners working under contract are too. Even when a public relations firm has been hired at great cost it may find it nearly impossible to get the information they need in a closed information system. If the PR firm is going to do the job, it has to depend almost entirely on outside information. In a more open communication climate. The firm can bring outside information inside for verification, and find employees in all areas accessible and willing to say what they think. Needles to say, both planning and troubleshooting are much easier in that situation. The advantage the outside firm has comes from having more independence. Although no firm wants to lose a valued client, an outside firm can "walk away" from a bad situation more easily than an employee can (Newsom, Turk, Kruckeberg; pg. 216).
End
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