Week 4- The mechanics of Public Relations

Week 4

Bolts and nuts- The mechanics of Public Relations

Halo...Greetings fellow PR strategist.....

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were the key elements associated in the formulation, processing and execution of a Public Relation strategy. In addition, a strategic collaboration between the PR practitioner and top executives is critical for its success. To facilitate this, it becomes necessary for PR managers to be involved in strategic decision making process or at least have direct access to CEO in the organisational chart.

It is also important to note that PR operators understood the workings of businesses and not merely bound themselves as the role of ‘technicians’.

I have summarised the key terms from Ch 7 readings.

Vision Statement	determination of the organisation's future state
Mission Statement	formulated to reign in on the 'unsatisfactory present'
KPI	Yardsticks to measure progress
Strategic Planning	possible adoption of 1. Lester Potter's 'ten- step strategic communication
	2. Zawawi- Johnston strategic PR plan
Budgeting	Management of resources & expenses
Scheduling	Implementation of plan through scheduling
Checklists	flowcharts, calenders, and Gantt Charts

I found the readings on A typical PR programme from ‘The new Australian and New Zealand public relations manual’ to be quite comprehensive outlining a step by step process illustrating various stages and its rationale and methodologies. This article would certainly prove valuable in the preparation for the PR plan and presentation assignment due towards the end of this course. I also found it useful that generally a template could be used in the formation of a PR plan in the form of Lester Potter's 'ten- step strategic communication and Zawawi- Johnston strategic PR plan.

However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results. - Winston Churchill

In the discussion about strategic communication and planning which has been mentioned as being parallel to a marketing plan, I was brought to attention that the measurement for success for a PR strategy would differ greatly from a marketing plan. This as discussed in the readings could be attributed to the intangibility factors associated with Public Relations. Hence, the deployment of qualitative methodologies as benchmark.

The readings made me think about Public Relations practice in that as one progress steadily into senior management roles in the PR industry, it becomes necessary to adopt a ‘bird eyes view’ on varied management issues including finance, operations and communications. As suggested strategy is manifested in the role of a military commander who would naturally requires the PR practitioner moving away from the constraints of specialisation to an overseer.

Overall, I drew conclusion that a comprehensive Public Relations plan would require substantial amount of resources, time and effort from various departments working in a coordinated fashion. I would consider the setting up of a clear vision as the most important step towards success for such a plan. For that it requires a Master Artisan to lay the foundations to a well structured construction.