Public Relations
Public Relations Lecture Notes
Public Relations as a Management Tool: Research and Evaluation
The four–step process includes: 1) defining the problem or opportunity, 2) planning and programming, 3) taking action and communicating, and 4) evaluating the program.
Research, Planning, Communication, and Evaluation are the four steps in the process.
Research is the systematic gathering of information to describe and understand situations and to check out assumptions about publics and public relations consequences. Its main purpose is to reduce uncertainty in decision-making.
Methodical, systematic research is the foundation of effective public relations. In fact, studies of practitioners show a strong link between doing research and being “invited to the table” when decisions are being made—becoming part of the management team.
Problem definition begins with someone making a value judgment that something is wrong, could soon be, or could be better. That subjective judgment is followed by objective, systematic research to confirm and describe in detail the problem situation.
Useful problem statements: 1) are written in present tense, 2) describe a situation in specific and measurable terms, and 3) do not imply solution or place blame. In short, they describe what was learned in the situation analysis.
Situation analysis research gives practitioners and their employers and clients the timely, complete, and accurate information needed to understand the problem and to serve as a basis for strategic planning. It includes analyses of the internal and external factors and stakeholders. The analysis also assesses organizational strengths (S) and weaknesses (W), and identifies opportunities (O) and threats (T) in the situation (often referred to as “SWOT analysis.”)
A communication audit is a systematic documentation of an organization’s communication behavior for the purpose of understanding how it communicates with its publics.
The process of identifying who is
Public Relations as a Management Tool: Research and Evaluation
The four–step process includes: 1) defining the problem or opportunity, 2) planning and programming, 3) taking action and communicating, and 4) evaluating the program.
Research, Planning, Communication, and Evaluation are the four steps in the process.
Research is the systematic gathering of information to describe and understand situations and to check out assumptions about publics and public relations consequences. Its main purpose is to reduce uncertainty in decision-making.
Methodical, systematic research is the foundation of effective public relations. In fact, studies of practitioners show a strong link between doing research and being “invited to the table” when decisions are being made—becoming part of the management team.
Problem definition begins with someone making a value judgment that something is wrong, could soon be, or could be better. That subjective judgment is followed by objective, systematic research to confirm and describe in detail the problem situation.
Useful problem statements: 1) are written in present tense, 2) describe a situation in specific and measurable terms, and 3) do not imply solution or place blame. In short, they describe what was learned in the situation analysis.
Situation analysis research gives practitioners and their employers and clients the timely, complete, and accurate information needed to understand the problem and to serve as a basis for strategic planning. It includes analyses of the internal and external factors and stakeholders. The analysis also assesses organizational strengths (S) and weaknesses (W), and identifies opportunities (O) and threats (T) in the situation (often referred to as “SWOT analysis.”)
A communication audit is a systematic documentation of an organization’s communication behavior for the purpose of understanding how it communicates with its publics.
The process of identifying who is