Excellence in

Public Relations
Group 2: Isaiah, Jessica, Karissa, Troy
 Introduction

Public relations is a four step relationship-building communicative process.

As PR students, this presentation covers Chapter one of the textbook and will
help you understand important concepts about Public Relations.

We will define organizations as social systems, describe the processes of

communication, explain the four models of public relations, and define ethics
as it relates to public relations.
 Practicing Excellent and Ethical Public Relations

What is the ultimate goal for Public Relations Practitioners?

1. Professional Relationships
2. Ethics Equals Satisfaction
3. Strategic Planning

Public Relations is “the management function that establishes and maintains mutually
beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics on whom its success
or failure depends.” -Cutlip et al. (1994), p.2.
 Organizations as Social Systems

Organizations Are Socially Constructed

Organizations work smoothly within discrete boundaries by using hierarchical
systems to achieve goals.

Organizations are socially constructed through person to person interactions, which

is what makes them social systems. School, work, and club activities are all social
systems.

Why Is This Important?

Everything you do everyday happens in one of two types of systems:
 Organizations as Social Systems: Systems Theory

Open Systems-Open systems exchange

resources with their external environment.

External resources are used as inputs, and by a

process called throughput they are exchanged
into an output.

Closed Systems-Entirely self-contained; no

exchange with their environment.

Nothing that happens on the outside of the

organization will impact their ability to work.
 Y’all Got Anymore
Examples?
Can anybody tell us a new
example of an Open or
Closed social system?
 Understanding the Process of Communication

Lasswell’s One-Way Model of Communication:

WHO is saying WHAT, using WHAT CHANNELS, to WHOM, and the EFFECT.

Information Receiver
Transmitter Channel Destination
Source (Decoder)

Message Signal Received Message

Signal
 Understanding the Process of Communication
Schramm’s Two-Way Model of Communication:
Both participants are transmitting and receiving communicative messages.

Each participant brings their own Field of Experience, and communication

happens within the Field of Common Experiences.

Field of Experience Common Field of Experience

Experience
Source Encoder Decoder Destination
Signal
 Understanding the Process of Communication

Osgood & Schramm’s Circular Model of Communication:

Both parties are reciprocal senders and receivers.

Message

Encoder Encoder

Interpreter Interpreter

Decoder Message Decoder

 Grunig and Hunt’s Four Models of Public Relations
One-Way Communication Two-Way Communication

Characteristic Press Public information Two-way Two-way symmetrical

agentry/publicity asymmetrical

Nature of Persuasion and Objective information Scientific persuasion;

manipulation dissemination; propaganda Dialogic communication
communication
Persuasion

Ethical perspective Truth not essential Truth important Truth important Truth essential

Research used Almost none: Little: readability and Formative methods and Formative methods and
“counting house” readership evaluative of evaluative of
understanding, understanding,
attitudes, and behaviors attitudes, and behaviors

Area typically Sports and Government; nonprofit Businesses; agencies Regulated businesses;
practiced entertainment; organizations; agencies
product promotion businesses
Press Agentry and Publicity

Nature of communication: Example:

Persuasion and manipulation

Ethical perspective: Truth not

essential

Research used: Almost none:

“counting house”

Area typically practiced:

Sports and entertainment:
product promotion
Public Information

Nature of communication: Example:

Objective information
dissemination; Persuasion

Ethical perspective: Truth

important

Research used: Little:

readability and readership

Area typically practiced:

Government; nonprofit
organizations; businesses
Two-way Asymmetrical

Nature of communication: Example:

Scientific persuasion;
propaganda

Ethical perspective: Truth

important

Research used: Formative

methods and evaluative of
understanding, attitudes, and
behaviors

Area typically practiced:

Businesses; agencies
Two-way Symmetrical

Nature of communication: Example:

Dialogic communication

Ethical perspective: Truth

essential

Research used: Formative

methods and evaluative of
understanding, attitudes, and
behaviors

Area typically practiced:

Regulated businesses;
agencies
 Practicing Excellent and Ethical Public Relations
Ethics: Ethics is a branch of philosophy that addresses such concepts as good and evil, right and wrong, and
other issues of morality. Generally speaking, ethic refers to value decisions made by individuals.

Key Ethical Imperatives for public relations

1. Public relations practitioners can find themselves in situations that divide loyalties. While journalists
typically have a responsibility to severe the general public, Pr professionals are the ones advocating for a
client.
2. Public relations often involves such powerful strategies as mass media, social media, personal networking,
and the printed word . Practitioners must be mindful of this power, recognize the potential for
manipulation of the public opinion, and consider potential unintended consequences of their plans before
implementation. Research and thought should precede action.
3. Public relations as a profession, ironically, continues to labor under the weight of the Press Agentry model
and struggles with its own image management. For example, terms like “spin doctor” and “flack” continue
to permeate the business world, and practitioners have been unable to rehabilitate the public image of PR
as a high quality, reputable profession.
 Practicing Excellent and Ethical Public
Relations
The four-step public relations process.

1. Research: Gathering pertinent information about the

client, environmental factors, the client's industry, the
target publics, the product or service, economic
forecasts, and other data to inform the PR plan and
make strategic decisions.
2. Planning: Establishing goals and objectives, timelines, Acronym: RACE Acronym: ROPE PRSA Language
budgets, implementation strategies, tools, tactics, and
methods that will be used to evaluate program Research Research Research
success. Action Planning Objective Setting Planning
3. Implementation: Putting the plan into action, Communication Programming Implementation
continuing to gather information, implementing the Evaluation Evaluation Evaluation
tactics that were laid out in step 2.
4. Evaluation: Measuring program success in terms of
the stated objectives. Often requires research
methods used in Step 1.
 Conclusion
During this presentation we have covered:

● How public relations is a form of communication that establishes and maintains

relationships.
● Organizations as social systems.
● The communication process through traditional models.
● Grunig and Hunt’s four models of public relations.
● Ethics and the four-step communication process.
 Any
Questions?