PRPA 602 LECTURE NOTES (PDF Flip) WEEK 1.0. - Foundations of Strategic Planning and Research

The Graduate School: PRPA 602 Public Relations Tactics and Techniques

Lecture Notes Foundations of Strategic Planning and Research
Week 1.0.

Why This Course Is Important and Necessary

Writing may be the most visible and technically demanding component of the public relations
process and as Broom (2009) noted, the skill public relations employers most desire in their
employees is the ability to write well. A study, “National Assessment of the Perceived Writing Skills
of Entry-Level PR Practitioners,” found that these desires are not being met and that there was a
great dissatisfaction with the quality of public relations writing as well as general business writing
skills of entry-level PR practitioners (Cole, Hembroff, & Corner, 2009). Finally, it is estimated that
poor writing costs American businesses nearly $3 billion annually (Cole et al., 2009).

Whether you are entry-level practitioners or further along in your
career, the message of the Cole et al. (2009) study is clear—good
writing is fundamental in the public relations profession and
experienced PR professionals, especially those with advanced degrees
in the discipline, simply will be expected to have good, even
exemplary, writing skills. Therefore, even if you are a good writer,
there is always—ALWAYS—room for improvement. The best, most
accomplished writers have teams of editors for this reason.

As one PR textbook author observed, “Public relations writing is an
integral part of communication, the third component in the public
relations process of research, planning, communication, and
evaluation” (Wilcox, 2005, p. 1). I personally think Wilcox is very wise to point out the value of
research, planning and evaluation in the process of public relations given that this is exactly what
we will be doing in this course.

Bivins (1999) supported this notion by pointing out that knowledge and critical thinking skills
must precede and complement writing. “What is needed before you begin to write … is
knowledge,” wrote Bivins. “Being able to spell and string words together effectively does not make
a good writer. First and foremost, a good writer must be able to think. A good writer must be
aware of the world around him or her and understand how his or her writing is going to affect that
world” (p. 2).

Public relations writing can be enhanced through an understanding of various communication
and persuasion theories, such as the elaboration likelihood model and cognitive dissonance theory.
(Treadwell and Treadwell, 2005). You can read on your own about these theories in the text. Some
other important communication theories not covered in the text include agenda setting theory,
spiral of silence, framing, co-orientation and the diffusion of innovations. If you decide to learn

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The Graduate School: PRPA 602 Public Relations Tactics and Techniques

about these theories on your own, you’ll notice that there is much theoretical cross-pollination
between the disciplines of communication, psychology and political science.

The Importance of Understanding Systems Theory as it Applies in this Important Course

Treadwell and Treadwell (2005) touch on systems theory. Open systems theory explains how
public relations should be conceptualized; the organization should be aware of and adaptable to
factors and other entities in its environment. This is aligned with what Bivins (1999) was talking
about, quoting him again: “A good writer must be aware of the world around him or her and
understand how his or her writing is going to affect that world” (p. 2).

An open systems approach to the managerial and
technical work of public relations (see Dozier, L.A.,
Grunig, and J.E. Grunig, 1995) helps to explain the
program’s approach to public relations at a macro level
as well as this course’s approach to writing. How can
we best understand how to write for our various
masters, namely our organization or client,
organizational publics and the media, given the environmental context in which they all exist?

“Grunig, Grunig, and Dozier state that the systems perspective emphasizes the interdependence
of organizations with their environments, both internal and external to the organization. According
to the systems perspective, organizations depend on resources from their environments, such as
“raw materials, a source of employees, and clients or customers for the services or products they
produce. The environment needs the organization for its products and services.” Organizations
with open systems use public relations people to bring back information on how productive
their relationshipsare with clients, customers, and other stakeholders. Organizations with
closed systems do not seek new information. The decision makers operate on what happened in
the past or on their personal preferences” (Heiman, Suzette; Baskin, Otis; Lattimore, Dan; Toth,
Elizabeth, 2011 [emphasis added]).

And what of that environmental context? Today’s socio-political-economic environment is, in
systems theory language, a “turbulent field,” the most complex organizational environment (Emery
& Trist, 1965, p. 26). This environment type is dynamic not only from the inter-organizational
interaction taking place “but also from the field itself. The ‘ground’ is in motion” (p. 26). The
increasingly competitive demands of such a dynamic environment disturbed-reactive environment
and the “deepening interdependence between the economic and the other facets of the society” (p.
26) move the ground, so to speak.

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The Graduate School: PRPA 602 Public Relations Tactics and Techniques

If presented with information demonstrated in the graphic below, how would your organization
react regarding its public communications? How might use such information to your benefit to get
your organization to be more open—if it’s “closed,” for example—using Grunigs’ hypothesis?

(Mitchell, 2016)

Every organizational action requires extra consideration and analysis:

 Is this the right message or action today, even if it will not be tomorrow?
 What reaction will the message or action elicit?
 Would today's reactions be any different from that of tomorrow’s?

“Grunig and Hunt theorized that publics range from those who actively seek and process
information about an organization or an issue of interest, to those publics who passively receive
information. According to these researchers, three variables predict when publics will seek and
process information about an issue: problem recognition, constraint recognition, and level of
involvement. The key is that publics are situational. That is, as the situation, problem,
opportunity, or issue changes, the publics, with which the organization must communicate, change”
(Heiman, Suzette; Baskin, Otis; Lattimore, Dan; Toth, Elizabeth, 2011 [emphasis added]).

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The Graduate School: PRPA 602 Public Relations Tactics and Techniques

For example, this recent analysis published by the Pew Research Center provides interesting
insight regarding news source preferences by “types” of people interested in news; can be
considered “situational”?

(Mitchell, 2016)

Also, in line with the Grunigs’ thoughts, how might you use research information, such as
represented in the above two graphics figure into developing PR plans, strategies, goals and
objectives, and the tactics to achieve them? These are questions that we will address as we move
through this course.

The successful public relations professional can think strategically so to work through these
very questions. The successful public relations professional will also utilize his or her superlative
writing skills so to effectively and optimally communicate on behalf of the organization or client.
This course represents the nexus of strategic thinking and writing skills as applied to various public
relations materials.

Time to get to work!

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The Graduate School: PRPA 602 Public Relations Tactics and Techniques

References

Bivins, T. H. (1999). Public relations writing (4th ed.). Lincolnwood, IL: NTC.

Broom, G. (2009). Cutlip & Center’s effective public relations (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall.

Cole, R. T., Hembroff, L. A., & Corner, A. D. (2009). National assessment of the perceived writing
skills of entry-level PR practitioners. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 64(9), 10-
26.

Dozier, D. M., Grunig, L. A., & Grunig, J. E. (1995). Manager’s guide to excellence in public
relations and communication management. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Emery, F. E., & Trist, E. L. (1965). The causal texture of organizational environments. Human
Relations, 18, 21-32.

Heiman, Suzette; Baskin, Otis; Lattimore, Dan; Toth, Elizabeth (2011). Public Relations: The
Profession and the Practice. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education

Mitchell, A., Gottfried,J., Barthel, M., and Shearer, E. (2016), The Modern News Consumer,
retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/2016/07/07/the-modern-news-consumer/
July 12, 2016.

Treadwell, D. & Treadwell, J.E. (2005). Public Relations Writing: Principles in Practice (2nd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Wilcox, D. L. (2005). Public relations writing & media techniques (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Pearson.

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