Week 2- Theories- Viewing with different sets of glasses at varying shades & angles.

Week 2

Theories- Viewing with different sets of glasses at varying shades & angles.

Halo...Greetings once again.....

Theories provides framework and stimulate intellectual rigour in the knowledge marketplace.

Whilst discussing different theories, I couldn’t resist but hijack some thoughts from Aristotle’s Dialectic inquiry pertaining to unravelling of theories.

A theory is:

(1) Tested by questions designed to refute it , and

(2) Defended by answering those questions as truthfully as possible.

If the dynamic of dialectic is effective, a theory may be refuted (or not) regardless of the initial convictions of the participants.

This may prove useful, especially for Public Relations theories which draw its inspiration from a diverse body of knowledge involving cross disciplinary studies of communication, sociology, culture and organisation.

In expressing my personal thoughts, I could sketch a mental parallel between Habermas’ s critical theory and the methodology from which Aristotle’ Dialectic inquiry functions with regards to the use of rationality- the use of reason rather than emotion(pp52).

Nevertheless, Habermas mentioned of the need for equal footing in terms of power relations for such favourable conditions to be met. With regards to Public Relations, Habermas provides a bleak assessment of Public Relations expressing “it is a concept for theorising how to manipulate democracies in ways that serve the people who hold financial power”. This in my humble opinion discounted PR activities arising from other contextual settings such as promotion of health and social issues.

Grunig’s four models approach

As mentioned in “Public Relations Research at the Crossroads” by Karla K. Gower, the four models stems from traditional view of the historical development of Public Relations. The evolutionary progression of the PR industry has indeed contributed towards a more accommodating nature as seen by the model of two-way asymmetric and symmetric approach. (the other two being the press agentry and public information model).

This begs the question. Whether this shift reflects a natural progression towards professionalism or caved out of necessity in response to contemporary realities?

I suspect it’s a bit of both but leans towards the expanded role of Public Relations in the modern context. As mentioned in the abovementioned article, “one of the apparent goals of the early theorists was to professionalize public relations and to promote the field as a management function”.

The readings made me think about theories in that it would not be prudent to flatly categorised PR efforts conveniently into certain prescribed model or theory. The influence of agenda setting theory, relationship management approach and the use of semiotics should also be taken into consideration.

Secondly, I was made to realise that theories may not measure up when mounted against the realities and practicalities of the world.

For example two-way symmetrical approach, which considered by some to be an ideal model, has been criticised of ignoring the power disparities between the public and the organisation (Curtin & Gaither, 2005).

Regardless, in the readings on the SARS crisis by Mark Chong, it was mentioned that “public participation in risk management is akin to the two-way symmetrical approach”. The fact that Singapore’s handling of the crisis was widely praised by the international community was discussed in the tutorial lesson.

A student had pointed that Singapore’s relatively small geography, contributed to its success and added it would not be as effective if it was applied in a bigger country with larger population size.

I would not disagree with the point made but would tend to view it from an organisational perspective. In addition to political willingness, efforts by various governmental departments in a coordinated fashion contributed to a swift response to the situation. I believe, given the same resources, a bigger country might be able to replicate this at provincial, state and national level. Of course, the role of health spokesman could not be discounted as described in the article where physicians took on the role of media spokesman hence, developing a high level of trust amongst the community.

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were the comprehension on the development of theories with regards to Public Relations. Appreciation of its origins and its development could shed light on the expanding role of Public Relations field. It is also worthy to note that Public Relations research being at this “crossroads”, offers excellent opportunities for academia to shape its future direction.

(706 words)