Mississippi State University: Principles of PR: Exam 3: John Forde

basic theory

Understanding ___________ can help public relations practitioners become managers and leaders.

Idea that organizations are interdependent; they rely on each other for success; interaction w/ each other; PR should strive for integration within various communities

What is the ecological approach of PR?

open; proactive; interactive

You want to strive for _________ systems and ________ public relations; being _________with various groups is even more effective

reactive; closed

Being __________ and _________ leads to many problems.

-Environment (green movement)

-Animal rights

-Education

-Health care reform

-AIDS

-Globalization in trade (NAFTA, GATT, etc.)

-Changing families

-Civil rights & individual power

What are the major issues & trends that now impact PR and the world?

systems theory

Focuses on coordination of various interacting units by PR and attempts for mutually beneficial relationships when possible; PR practitioners have to consider the social systems and varying goals within different publics.

-News and media

-Education

-Politics

-Weather

-Other issues

What are systems and environments affected by?

-Suprasystem: over another system

-Subsystem: under another system

-PR works as management subsystem--monitor & adapt other subsystems

What's the difference between a suprasystem and a subsystem? What type is PR?

Closed: how China used to be (built a wall around country)

Open: US

What is a good example of a closed system? Open system?

In context of structure (what it is) and process (what it does)

How do systems need to be viewed?

Equilibrium; homeostasis

________________ refers to systems adapting to keep balance (which may imply too little change), while _______________ refers to relatively stable conditions that may change based on inputs (related more to open systems).

Morphogenesis

Refers to changes in structure and process; there can be positive & negative feedback that tell you to do something or not to do something

Cybernetics

The input-output self-regulating process in the system; great example is a thermostat;PR must gather feedback to make proper adjustment; organizations should not just react automatically to situations w/o being flexible.

AT&T

Which company is mentioned in the chapter as a great example of an organization adapting to the environment and still thriving? They knew they would be broken up, and they planned for it

Functionary; functional

____________ PR relates to closed systems, while __________ PR relates to open systems.

Closed: reacts to something

Open: build in plans; practitioners must conduct research to gather feedback

What is the difference between closed and open systems?

Craft: applies communication techniques as an end to itself

Professional: has a strategic & coordinated purpose for an organization

What's the difference between craft & professional PR?

social science

PR involves transmitting info & applying ____________ techniques.

Agents of change, managing the communication inside and outside the organization

What are PR professionals managers of?

filters

We have _____________ that enable us to not get too overloaded.

Senders of messages must get the attention & interest of targeted publics, then we have to get people to desire to do something or think something, and then we usually want them to act in a certain way

What is the process that senders go through?

Dissemination; just because something is sent out does not mean it is communicated or accepted by the audience

_______________ does not equal communication.

-Research

-Planning and programming

-Action and communication

-Evaluation

What are the 4 steps that PR includes?

Communication

The process of message transmission

Shannon and Weaver

Who developed the communication model when they were scientists for Bell Laboratories?

-Senders or sources

-Messages

-Channels or media

-Receivers

What does the communication model consist of?

Semantics

The study of what words really mean; communication has to be considered in context of other words

two

Communication should be _______ way, not just sending out info.

credibility

Senders must have ____________; they vary a great deal, but without this their messages will normally not "stick"

people; words (we attach meanings to words)

Meaning is housed in ______________ and not ___________.

Sanctions, altruism, arguments, and circumvention

What are some ways to gain agreement through communication?

both sides

With message you want to present -- of the argument, unless everyone in the audience agrees with you

Primacy

Means that the first part of the message affects those with initial low interest

Recency

Means that the last part of a message has the most impact on those with initial high interest

fear

With -- appeals, receivers consider how bad something is, how it affects them, and how easy it is to correct the directed behavior

channels

There is now a huge expansion in the choices of ____________ available for communication

Medium; media

___________ refers to one source and _____________ are more than one.

hypodermic

Marshall McLuhan and others were scared of a ____________ model, where receivers blindly "obeyed" what communication they are exposed to; relationship between people will also greatly affect their communication processes

Nonverbal communication

Amounts to a great percentage of the message; includes proximity, smiling, touching, eye contact, etc.

pictures

The media create ____________ for us that give us perceptions of the world

what really happened, what perception are, what the responses are

We have pictures in our heads of events; factors include ___________, ____________, and ____________.

Old: refers to idea that media tell us what to think about, but not specifically what to think; tell us what topics are most important

New: by telling us what issues are important (what to think about) in essence we are told what to think (opinions)

Explain the old vs. the new version of agenda-setting theory

Two-step flow

Refers to the idea that media messages flow to opinion leaders and then to others through conversations

Multi-step flow

More accurate, as media channels spread info directly to people (and through opinion leaders)

Through interpersonal communication

How do people determine their specific opinions on an issue?

-Awareness

-Interest or information

-Evaluation

-Trial

-Adoption

-Sometimes reinforcement

What does the diffusion process include?

Spiral of silence theory

Suggests that those who think their opinion is different from the majority are often silent; sometimes the loudest or most vocal sometimes appear to be the majority, but often they are not; PR professionals must determine if the apparent majority really is

Opinions

Can be very volatile and powerful; often hard to determine and manage

DISISS

-Direction (yes-no)

-Intensity (how strongly)

-Stability (for how long)

-Informational support (why and what background info)

-Social support (what others around them think)

What do you need to remember when researching public opinion?

They must recognize there's a problem, see what they can do about it, and see themselves involved

How can publics go from latent to active?

all-issue publics, apathetic publics, single-issue publics, hot-issue publics; demographics, psychographics, etc.

What are the different types of publics? What should research include?

News releases; not advertisements

What are VNRs supposed to look like?

Salience (experience or background)

Pertinence (importance)

What do we look at to understand someone's orientation toward an issue?

Attitudes

Express something deep and typically include values, knowledge, feelings, and intentions

Opinions

May be fleeting or temporary, but often express an attitude

Our backgrounds and how important we think certain issues or ideas are

What are opinions and attitudes influenced by?

Coorientation

When more than one person has the same view on something

Monolithic consensus

When there is perceived agreement and there is agreement

False consensus

When there is perceived agreement and there is really disagreement

Pluralistic ignorance

When there is perceived disagreement, but there really is agreement

Dissensus

When there is perceived disagreement and there is disagreement

To facilitate two-way communication

What is a major goal of PR?

perception or presentation

Often the -- of the truth is just as important as the truth itself

moves; relationships

Public relations -- information and defines --

Chapter 9

Internal Relations and Employee Communication

Controlled media

Those where the PR practitioner has the last say over what's included such as brochures, newsletters, advertising, etc.

Uncontrolled media

Refers to media or messages that the practitioner loses control over and someone else decides the eventual content, such as news releases, news stories, news conferences, etc.

interactive

More and more media (such as many websites) are becoming more --

"Demassification"

Related trend; messages are being targeted more and more; bow and arrow aiming toward a target vs. fishing in an ocean where you can't see the fish

New (Internets, Intranets, e-mail, etc.)

-- media must be understood and used to work well in PR

Employee communication (internal communication)

Often considered the most important element of public relations

Employees

-- should usually be considered an organization's most important public

Organizational culture, power

______________ and _____________ affect internal and external PR.

dominant coalition

There exists a -- in many organizations that has a major role in leading the organization; there also exists formal and informal power

-Power-distance (how employees perceive they can rise in the organization or have impact)

-Individualism rewards

-Uncertainty avoidance (high need clear communication and low can tolerate vague or broad)

-Masculinity aspects of the organization

What should practitioners consider with regard to employee communication?

Asymmetrical: achieve goals w/o internal change; Symmetrical: achieve goals through cooperation

What is the difference between asymmetrical actions & symmetrical actions?

Safety and compliance (OSHA, EPA, etc.), labor relations, mergers, and many other issues

What issues should practitioners work with?

Vision statements, mission statements, policy documents, other planning materials

What materials should be developed?

Managers and other employees; they must have trust, communication, and mutual support

Who must work together and communicate openly for organizations to prosper?

Disloyalty

-- to employers costs organizations millions of dollars a year (through theft and lack of work effort)

From supervisors & the grapevine; most people want to receive info from their immediate supervisor and do not want to receive most of their info from the grapevine

Where do employees receive info from? Where do they want to receive info from?

publications; electronic media (between employees and management)

There is now a major trend toward two-way communication in organizations related to ______________ and _________________.

Inform, encourage, recognize, and many other functions

What purposes do publications serve?

Newsletters

Still the most common type of internal publication, now electronic and printed; usually quick and easy to produce and inexpensive (many now being produced electronically or sent through e-mail); PR writers must balance views of employees with those of management

Letters and memos

Still important inside organizations; still used for important messages-promotions, firings, congratulations

Inserts and enclosures

Often developed to communicate specific messages

Grapevine

Used a lot, but not often accurate

Bulletin boards

Here to stay, but have changed in scope-many are now electronic

Hotlines (for employees and others)

Have become major communication channels; often provide anonymous feedback channels

Meetings

Important, but should only be held when truly needed

Face-to-face communication

Still often the most preferred, memorable, and quickest form of communication

Speeches and speakers' bureaus

Used by a great deal by organizations to make a connection with various groups

Speakers' bureaus

Consists of individuals going out from an organization and speaking to different groups; sometimes these speeches are directly promoting their organization, and other times they are more of a public service function

Video

Still used a great deal in PR; is the next best thing to being live

displays; exhibits

PR coordinators also coordinate ____________ and ________________, and basic goals of these have to be understood; they may be permanent or temporary and in various locations; they have many purposes.

Feedback

-- must be sought from employee communication

external

Internal communication is often somewhat controlled & many internal communication methods become also -- communication methods

employee (public that is most important)

Entry-level practitioners often start in -- communications

Chapter 10

Media and Media Relations

Choosing media for PR efforts

Long-term process and typically an important aspect of PR