Transcript Chapter 3
COM 215.800 Taejin Jung, Ph.D. Week 4: Organizational settings Humble beginnings In organizations Answering customer letters Writing an ad Preparing an annual report Giving a plant tour, handling visitors Liaison between organization and neighborhood Economic change affects organizational structure Reorganization - Acquisitions, mergers - Divestitures - Downsizing - Reengineering Downsizing - Layoffs, outsourcing Globalization Toward an “Integrated Perspective” 1. 2. 3. Downsizing and reengineering of organization. Tight budget lead to avoid “advertising” - Building buzz word of mouth - Targeting influentials - Web marketing - Grassroot marketing - Media relations and product publicity - Event sponsorship “PR creates the brand. Advertising defends the brand” Marketing of products and services can be affected by public and social policy. Importance of Organizational Structure The type of organization - Large & complex organization (e.g., IBM, GM…) - Small-scale with low complexity Perception of top management The capability of PR executive - Knowledge base in research - Environmental scanning - Problem solving - Managing total communication strategies We report to . . . Internal counsel Directly to CEO (55 percent by PRWeek) Human resources Marketing officer (39 percent by PRWeek) Legal officer External counsel Agency – the client-firm relationship → Tailor-made to suit a particular organization The Internal Department Advantage - Team membership - Knowledge of the organization - Economy to the organization - Availability to associates Disadvantage - Loss of objectivity - Domination/subservience - Confused mission and roles The Outside PR Firms Advantages - Variety of talents and skills - Objectives - Range of prior experience - Geographical scope of their operations - Ability to reinforce and upgrade a client’s internal staff - Media contact - Industry insiders Disadvantages - Costs - Resistance to outside advice - Unforeseen conflicts of personality or conviction - Lack of understanding of PR by clients - Unavailability of client - Superficial grasp of organization’s unique problems Playing well with others Marketing - May not understand PR, just “publicity” or “journalism” - Customers vs. publics Advertising - “Will it increase sales?” vs. “Will it make friends?” Legal counsel - Court of law (no comment) vs. court of public opinion (virtues of openness) - Communication styles (esp. writing) - Ex) Labor contract negotiation, product recalls, layoffs… Human resources - Turf wars (who is responsible for employee communication !!!) Be aware of “encroachment” Management sets the tone Integrity, social responsibility Ex) Source Perrier’s bottle water / Exxon Valdez / TWA vs. Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol crisis Commitment to PR Retains PR counsel Incorporates PR perspectives in policy making Two-way symmetrical communication Clearly defined goals, objectives Staff Role Line vs. staff functions - Line function: Engineering, production, and marketing - Staff function: Finance, legal, human resources, and public relations - A compulsory-advisory position (Johnson & Johnson vs. Enron) Qualities of PR pro - Loyal - Counsel in decision making - Communication skills - Inspiration to help others - Honest, trustworthy, discrete Needed to do the job R-E-S-P-E-C-T Inclusion of PR in planning, meetings, etc. Cooperation, teamwork Budget $$$ Proximity Access Organizational charts Top PR executive’s place on the organizational chart and reporting relationship to CEO Reporting relationships & job function (pp. 65-66 in text) Mega Agencies Young & Rubicam, Inc. http://www.yr.com/yr/ WPP Group http://www.wpp.com/ Omnicom Group Inc. http://www.omnicomgroup.com/ Boutique agencies vs. mega agencies Organizational Chart Workshop Charting your dream organization What are . . . Some organizational settings where PR is practiced?