Week 6: Communities and Public Relations

This week’s reading on communities and public relations made me think about public relations theory and practice by bringing to the fore the vital importance of operating ethically and socially responsibly within social, political, and cultural contexts.
The importance of operating in this manner can be addressed by incorporating the community and its needs and wants into the public relations plan or strategy. And while this can occur as a result of the ever present sense of community responsibility, a close relationship can benefit both parties. Public relations theorists argue that “the mutually beneficial relationships common to definitions of public relations are in fact the ‘social capital’ of an organisation (Ihlen 2005 pg. 492).
One of the most important ideas I took from the reading was the positive rapport that can be built with community publics on the basis of a free-flow of information and the recognisable consideration of community ideals. The information and theories presented where similar to those in some articles I read recently for an assignment in Managing the Organisation. These articles suggests that the alignment of value between an employer and employees was the key to developing a strong and adaptable organisational culture. This can be said for the Public Relations Practitioner and the community as the information suggested that people are more likely to adopt specific values or practices if it is made clear to them the potential positive effects for themselves and the organisation at large. Comparatively, the “role of public relations and in particular of community consultation, should be seen as a process of communication, engagement and negotiation (Carson and Gebler 2001:7). As a result of this open dialogue and involvement of publics in decision-making, benefits of increased public trust, improved relationships, higher quality decisions, greater legitimacy and a sense of ownership of the outcome can be felt.
Essentially the reading illuminated the consideration of the community as yet another integral aspect of a successful public relations plan or strategy. The importance of social inclusion and common values a most beneficial in embracing diversity and fostering the building of relationships. These evolving relationships should be viewed by public relations practitioners as being in a constant state of flux, maintained by on-going communication and dialogue. Overall, an organisation can better respond to its publics by proving in their practice that they value and consider the community’s perceptions, values and concerns (Johnston and Zawawi, 2004).