Communication and Public

Relations in Business
CONTENT
Chapter 1. Public relations general framework
1.1. Definition of public relations
1.2. Terms of reference in public relations definition
1.3. Public relations principles and values
1.4. Public relations in modern society
Chapter 2. Communication objectives and models
2.1. Objectives of human communication
2.2. Communication models
2.3. Information sciences and commnunication sciences
Chapter 3. Departments and public relations firms
3.1. Public relations departments
3.2. Public relations firms
3.3. The specialists qualities in public relations
Chapter 4. Interpersonal communication and the communication inside groups
4.1. Interpersonal communication theories and models
4.2. The communication inside groups organisation
4.3. Mass-media. Information. Communication.
Chapter 5. Public relations campaigns
5.1. Definition, typology and characteristics
5.2. The plan of a public relations campaign
Chapter 6. Crisis communication
6.1. Definition and typology
6.2. Crisis management
6.3. Crisis communication strategies
6.4. The relation with press in the crisis system
6.5. Examples of crisis management
6.5.1. Tylenol case
6.5.2. The plane crash from Balotesti
6.5.3. Ecologic accident from Baia Mare
1.2. Terms of reference in public
relationsdefinition
1.2.1. Organizations
Is a generic term that includes different types of institutions:

- power structures ( govern, ministers, army, police etc)

- administrative institutions

- trade enterprises

- cultural and sport institutions etc.
The organizations are groups of people which organizes and coordinates their activity for
realizing their objectives.
The objectives are:
Main objectives

- example: an economic enterprise has as main objective the production of goods
for a certain market and the realization of profit after trading.


Secondary objectives

- example: the same enterprise may have as secondary objective the maintenance
of the community stability, providing jobs.

The enterprise is integrated in both, economic and social environments.
Public relations could be practiced in 5 different organization types.
1. Public relations Agency
- independent firm which develops based on contract, an activity of public relations
required by different organizations

2. Corporations
- inside of big economic groups exists departments of public relations which take
care of certain publics

3. Governmental structures
- the departments of public relations are organized inside of ministers, agencies,
local administrations, and they have the role of distributing information about the activity
of these institutions.

4. Non-profit organizations
- the specialists works in universities, hospitals, churches, foundations, ONGs, and
they have to keep the connection with press, donors, specific publics.

5. Independent consultants
- these specialists are hired by institutions for accomplishing public relations
activities.
1.2.2. The public
Any group of whose members have the same interest, in a certain situation or they share
the same values (example: politic party, corporation managers, a band fans, etc. )
From PRs perspective, the public is any group or individual who is involved in any way
in an organization life.
Because an organization dont have a general public, unique and homogenous, but many
publics, the researchers considers that these are, after the level of involvement:
Passive public

- the public which is not affected by the different organization actions or which
doesnt have to do something because of an organization, so its not involved.


Active public

- is influenced by the organization activity, but it influences the organization too.

Depending on communicational behavior, we have 4 categories of public:
1. The public of all problems
- it takes part at all discutions

2. The sleepy public
- is very little active

3. The public of a single problem
- is active regarding only a limited number of themes

4. The public of hot problems
- becomes active only after the press transformed a problem into a current matter
It is considered that any public relations department must inventory
publics related to the
organization and build a "map of the involved publics".

These audiences will be the main objective of communication programs
designed by specialists in public relations.

Intern same institutional identity
ex: managers, shareholders, employees etc.

The audience
Extern people from outside of institution
ex: costumers, suppliers, governmental agencies etc.

The PR Specialist must answer to the following questions:

1. How big is the capacity of each category of audience?

2. Which is the interest of the audience about the organization?

3. Who are the opinion leaders and the factors which influence the audience
decision?

4. Which is the socio-demographic profile of the audience?

5. Which is the public opinion about the organization?

6. Which is the public opinion about the specific problems referring to the
organization, under discussion at a time.

1.3. Public relations principles and values

Public relations may be defined as a process, meaning a series of actions
which lead to the reach of an objective.

RACE Formula (Wilcox, D.L. 1992)

--- Research
--- Action
--- Communication
--- Evaluation
1. Research

Discovery phase of the problems to be solved in the process of public
relations. Is used quantitative and qualitative research methods for
knowing better the organization and the challenges and opportunities
which appears.

2. Action

Implementation phase of the programme for realizing the specific
objectives for each category of audience.

3. Communication
The phase of execution of PR processes by sending messages for
each target audience.

4. Evaluation
The phase that is examining how public relations activities have met
the objectives set by the organization at the beginning of the process.

The process of public relations activities don't ever ends, it appears as
a perpetual cycle of actions.
There are 2 phases:

First phase:

a) PR specialists obtain information about the problem from different
sources

b) They analyze these data and they do different recommendations to the
managers

c) The managers make the strategies and make the decisions regarding
the needed actions

Second phase:

d) PR specialists applies the established program

e) They evaluates the efficiency of actions

According to the Public Relations Society of America, public relations must be leaded
after the following principles:

a) PR is a way for the audience to transmit to the institutions, its desires
b) PR contribute to the mutual correlation of the institution with the audience
c) PR is a safety valve of democracy
d) PR is an important element of the social communication system
e) PR is a universal feature of any activity s

Conclusion:

The common element that links PR, organizations and the public is the
notion of Effectiveness.