The Mexican Statement, agreed on by the World
Assembly of Public Relations Associations in Mexico City in August 1978
(Seitel, 1992, 8), reads,
"Public
relations practice is the art and social science of analysing trends,
predicting their consequences, counselling organisation leaders, and
implementing planned programmes of action which will serve both the
organisation's and the public interest."
Strengths
1. The emphasis
that public relations practice is an art and social science.
By stating that
PR practice is an art implies the element of specialised skill, knowledge and
methods involved (Tymson, 1996, 4). It also implies that PR practice is not
completely objective, as there are subjective factors involved. PR practice
deals with the human element, which is by nature unpredictable; therefore not
completely objective. PR practice also considers the inputs which social
sciences (eg. psychology, sociology, anthropology, statistics) can contribute.
For example, a PR practitioner would have to consider cultural factors when
planning a programme or campaign for its targeted publics so that there would
be less risk of unintentionally offending other segments of the society.
3. The emphasis
on "analysing trends, predicting their consequences, counselling
organisation leaders, and implementing planned programmes of action".
Here a trend is established for PR practice.
"Analysing trends" would imply the need for employing proper research
methods to gain feedback on audience attitudes (Tymson, 1996, 5). "Predicting
their consequences" emphasises the importance of forecasting, based on
research results. "Counselling organisation leaders" show the need
for PR practitioners, whether consultants or in-house PR managers, to advise
organisational leaders on PR issues and activities, for example, sponsoring a
charity event to boost the company image and improve goodwill between the
organisation and its publics. "Implementing planned programmes of
action" emphasises the execution of carefully planned PR activities and
programmes. Within this definition a 4 step process for PR practice is
summarised, implying that PR practice is a meticulously planned process. The
factor of social trends implies that PR practice is an on-going process as
trends are ever-changing. This emphasises the need for continuos research to
monitor trends and attitudes as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of the PR
programme (Tymson, 1996, 5).
4. The emphasis
on public interest.
Consideration for the public interest is an
important responsibility as PR practice stresses the need for the building and maintaining of
goodwill, mutual understanding and two-way communication between an
organisation and its publics. Successful PR programmes depend on the public for
feedback for guidance (Tymson, 1996, 4). PR also has social, political and
economic responsibilities (Tymson, 1996, 4).
Weaknesses
1. Does not
emphasise specific publics which are targeted as the audience.
Every PR programme or campaign must have
specific targeted publics. The Mexican Statement does not clearly emphasise
this important factor, only alluding to the general public. This definition
leans towards a more macro view on PR practice, ignoring important factors such
as the internal publics within an organisation.
A good example for this definition is the
Courtesy campaign which the Singapore government has launched. Research has
shown that Singaporeans lack social graciousness (analysis of social trends),
and the government has therefore developed the Courtesy campaign in an
attempt to educate the public on the
need to develop a gracious society (after predicting dire consequences, eg. a
self-centred culture). Messages are emphasised through the various mass media,
with the Prime Minister as the main spokesperson. The messages are aimed at the
role-models of society, for example, parents and teachers (counselling
organisation leaders) as well as the general public. The programme lasts a
month every year, and rewards are given to those who are found to be exemplary in their
behaviour (implementation of plan). The use of the mass media as a podium for
two-way communication (eg. the public can write in to the newspapers' forum
pages, television and radio talk show discussions etc.) and the highlighting of
those responsible for gracious behaviour are just examples of some elements of
the PR campaign the Singapore government has developed in an effort to educate
the public on the need to change social behaviour.
Another
definition of public relations, by Frank Jefkins (Jefkins, 1992, 8) is as
follows,
"Public
relations consists of all forms of planned communication, outward and inward,
between an organisation and its publics for the purpose of achieving specific
objectives concerning mutual understanding"
Strengths
1. Emphasises
that PR communication (through programmes) is planned.
Planning would indicate that PR practice is
must be organised, and that forethought is essential. Planning would also mean
that PR has clear, well-defined objectives, though not necessarily rigid.
Planning would also involve the setting up of programmes and would imply the
need for a pre-determined budget.
2. The emphasis
on "outward and inward" communication.
Outward - refers to publics that are not within the
organisations
planning the PR campaign.
Inward - refers to the publics within the
organisation ie. staff relations or
employer-employee relations.
Jefkins mentions the need for organisations to
consider the inward publics, the employees or members within an organisation.
Most organisations do communicate to their internal publics through house
journals, mainly in the form of newsletters (Jefkins, 1992, 110). A good
example is the newsletters circulated by the Civil Service Club in Singapore
(Appendix 1). Members get a monthly update on the latest happenings and
developments pertaining to the club. Another example of organisations planning
activities for their internal publics are the year-end D&Ds (dinner and
dance). This yearly affair is part of management effort to communicate its
appreciation of the employees, thus also promoting goodwill. Such efforts keep
up relations with employees or members within an organisation.
3. Emphasis on
"achieving specific objectives".
This implies that there are different
objectives for different organisations. Each organisation has their unique
objectives for PR programmes. Jefkins (1992, 8) also argues that PR, having
pre-determined objectives, is not intangible as some have suggested. The
management by objectives method (Drucker, 1974, 430-42) is applied here. With
objectives, results of PR programmes can be measured against them, making PR
tangible. This implies the need for continuous research to measure results.
4. Emphasis on
"mutual understanding".
Mutual understanding implies the importance of
two-way communication between an organisation and its publics. A good example
of two-way communication leading to mutual understanding was shown two years
ago, when there was an accident between two subway trains. The Land Transport
Authority (LTA) held several press conferences and prepared several press releases to calm the
public, who felt uncertain of their safety when travelling on the subway, or
MRT as it is known in Singapore. Questions raised by the concerned public were
answered promptly by the LTA public relations personnel. The open communication
between the LTA and the public led to the understanding that the accident was a
one-off, and that a repeat was unlikely. In this way, the perceptions and
attitudes of the public changed, and it was not long before everything was back
to normal.
Weakness
The definition does not clearly emphasise the
need for PR as an on-going process. As public opinion and attitudes are
ever-changing, PR must be continuous in terms of research and planned necessary
action taken (Tymson, 1996, 9).
Both definitions do not emphasise PR as a
management function as Seitel does (Seitel, 1992, 8-9). Seitel also emphasises
that performance is the underlying factor of all definitions for PR, and that
"without proper performance, good public relations is impossible"
(Seitel, 1992, 9). These two factors are also important ingredients in all PR
practice. Having said that, any definition can never fully capture the entire
essence of public relations, as with any other subject.
References
Drucker, Peter F.
(1974) "Management - Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices", Allied
Publishers Pte Ltd, London.
Jefkins, Frank
(1992) "Public Relations (4th Edition)", Pitman Publishing, London.
Seitel, Fraser P. (1992) "The Practice Of
Public Relations (5th Edition)", Maxwell Macmillan, New York.
Tymson, C. and
Sherman, B. (1996) "The New Australian & New Zealand Public Relations
Manual", Millennium Books, Australia.
Appendix 1
8
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