UNIT - 1

Concept and
Evolution of
Public Relations
 U-I 1. DEFINING PUBLIC
RELATIONS: FUNCTIONS AND TYPES
OF PUBLICS
1.(A) PUBLIC RELATIONS
 Public Relations
⦿ Public Relations is the way organsations,
companies and individuals communicate with
public and media.
⦿ Acc. to Edward Bernays, the three main elements of public
relations are:
◼ informing people
◼ persuading people
◼ integrating people

⦿ “Public relations is the management function

which evaluates:
◼ public attitudes,
◼ identifies the policies and procedures of an
individual or an organization with the public
interest,
◼ plans and executes a program of action to earn
public understanding and patience.”
DEFINITION
⦿ Public relations can be defined as a
‘management function that helps achieve
organisational objectives, define philosophy
and falicitate organisational change.’
-Baskin, Aonolf & lattimore
⦿ It is the deliberate, planned and sustained
effort to establish and maintain mutual
understanding between the organisation and its
various publics (all groups of people and
organisations which have an interest in the
service company).
- The British Institute of Public Relations
⦿ One of the first textbooks in the field, Effective
Public Relations by Scott Cutlip and Allen
Center, stated, “Public relations is the
management function that identifies,
establishes, and maintains mutually beneficial
relationships between an organization and the
various publics on whom its success or failure
depends.”
⦿ The management function was also emphasized
in Managing Public Relations by James E. Grunig
and Todd Hunt. They said, “Public relations is
the management of communication between an
organization and its publics.” National and
international public relations organizations,
including the PRSA, also have formulated
definitions.
1.(B) ELEMENTS OF PUBLIC
RELATIONS
1. Deliberate: Public relations activity is intentional. It is designed to
influence, gain understanding, provide information, and obtain feedback
from those affected by the activity.
2. Planned: Public relations activity is organized. Solutions to problems are
discovered and logistics are thought out, with the activity taking place over
a period of time. It is systematic, requiring research and analysis.
3. Performance: Effective public relations is based on actual policies and
performance. No amount of public relations will generate goodwill and
support if the organization has poor policies and is unresponsive to public
concerns.
4. Public interest: Public relations activity should be mutually beneficial to
the organization and the public; it is the alignment of the organization’s
self-interests with the public’s concerns and interests.
5. Two-way communication: Public relations is not just disseminating
information but also the art of listening and engaging in a conversation with
various publics.
6. Management function: Public relations is most effective when it is a
strategic and integral part of decision making by top management. Public
relations involve counselling, problem solving, and the management of
competition and conflict.
1.(C) WHY DO WE NEED A PR?
◼ To win new customers
◼ To retain the existing customers
◼ To create and maintain a postive public image
◼ To establish and maintain mutual lines of communication
◼ Understanding
◼ Acceptance
◼ Co-operation between an organisation and its publics
Therefore, PR specialist create and maintain good
relationship among the media and the customers which in
turn increaces the sales.
1.(D) FUNCTIONS OF PUBLIC
RELATIONS
⦿ In general PR functions as:
1. It monitors the attitude of the public in favour of the
company.
2. It sends out information and spreads communication to the
public.
3. It builds goodwill of the organisation.
4. It counsels the top management to adopt positive
programmes.
5. It eliminate questionable practices so that negative publicity
does not arise against the company.
In particular PR functions as:
1. Counselling: PR departments advise the top
management on matters related to policies,
relationships, communications, public issues or
product mishap.
2. Research: Determining attitudes and behaviors of
publics in order to plan public relations strategies
can be used to:
(1) generate mutual understanding and
(2) influence or persuade publics.
3. Media relations: Working with journalists and
bloggers in seeking publicity or responding to their
interests in the organization.
4. Publicity: Disseminating planned messages through
selected media, including social media, to further
the organization’s interests.
5. Employee/member relations: Responding to
concerns, informing, and motivating an
organization’s employees or members.
6. Community relations: Planned activity with a
community to maintain an environment that benefits both
the organization and the community.
7. Public affairs: Developing effective involvement in
public policy and helping an organization adapt to public
expectations. The term is also used by government
agencies to describe their public relations activities and
by many corporations as an umbrella term to describe
multiple public relations activities.
8. Government affairs: Relating directly with
legislatures, government officials and regulatory agencies
on behalf of the organization. Lobbying can be part of a
government affairs program. Lobbying: means dealing
with legislators and government officials to promote
or defeat unfavourable legislation and regulation.
(Professional lobbyists are employed in order to
influence the key decisions of the government
affecting company’s prospects.)
9. Financial relations: Creating and maintaining investor
confidence and building good relationships with the financial
community. Demonstrating the need for and encouraging the public
to support an organization.
It is also known as investor relations or shareholder
relations.
10. Industry relations: Relating with other firms in the
industry of an organization and with trade associations.
11. Multicultural relations/workplace diversity: Relating with
individuals and groups in various cultural groups.
12. Special events: Stimulating an interest in a person,
product, or organization by means of a well-planned event;
also, activities designed to interact with publics and listen to
them.
13. Marketing communications: Combination of activities
designed to sell a product, service, or idea, including
advertising, collateral materials, publicity, promotion, directs
mail, trade shows, and special events.
1.(G) PUBLICS
⦿ Publics may be defined as a group of people sharing a common
interest or common values in a particular situation.
⦿ In PR, public encompasses any group of people who are tied
together, however, loosely by some common bond of interest or
concern and who have consequences for an organization.
⦿ Longman dictionary of Mass Media and Communication defines,
public as “people, who have the same relationship to same
person or group, constantly changing and not necessarily
organized, the individual of a public may or may not knew and
communicate with each other.”
⦿ Public in Public Relations management, by and large are
divided into two broad categories as internal public and
external public.
◼ Internal public refers to the employees and
◼ External public is referred to customers.
◼ In the wake of globalization and information revolution,
international public has also emerged.
CATEGORIES OF PUBLICS:

1. Employees
2. Financial Publics
3. Suppliers
4. Distributors
5. Customers
6. Government
7. Opinion leaders
8. Media publics
9. General Community
10. Special Publics
11. International Public
CATEGORIES OF PUBLICS:
1. Employees – Internal Publics
⦿ Employees are the first in any organization. The
functioning of any organization-be it a
commercial or government department-is linked
with the employees working in the organization.
⦿ However, employees are the first among the
public relations publics, for the organization
cannot function without employees in providing
services either to investors or to the customers.
2. Financial publics-
⦿ The growth of any organization depends upon the financial
resources.
⦿ Without initial investment, one cannot start any company.
⦿ Investors who purchase shares or invest money constitute
financial public for an organization.
⦿ Investors rely on growth in share price over time and any
sudden or consistent fall may generate a merger or takeover
of the company.
⦿ The financial market is closely linked to investors and
bankers.
⦿ The financial public can be divided into three broad
categories:
a. shareholders
b. investment analysts, financial analysts, stockbrokers,
institutional buyers of large blocks of shares such as
insurance companies, unit trusts, pension funds
c. financial media of both print and electronic
3. Suppliers- the suppliers of materials and services
are of great importance to any manufacturing
company.
⦿ Without raw material, no products can be
manufactured.
⦿ The maintenance of good relations with suppliers and
services will help in smooth running of the
organization.
4. Distributors- One of the Ps in marketing represents
‘Place’ where the product is sold through distributors.
⦿ For manufacturers and service providers, distributors
mean wholesalers, department stores, supermarket
chains, malls and appointed dealers or agents,
franchises, hotels, Internet retailers, exporters and
overseas importers etc.
⦿ Distributor relations is an aspect of public relations
and marketing support which no manufacturer or
service provider can afford to neglect distributors
are unlikely to sell a new product in which they
have no confidence.
5. Customers- “Customer is the master” and the “customer
is always right” are the adages (proverb) that are followed
by all organizations.
⦿ A business will not be successful unless people like its
products.
⦿ The customers are vested with rights under the Consumer
Protection Act 1986. One of the rights is the right to be
informed, about the quality, quantity, purity, standard and
price of goods and services.
⦿ The target of public relations communication is not only
the current customer but also the potential customer of
the future.
⦿ The customers are to be carefully identified for
communication purpose and treated as very important
persons.
⦿ “Customers meet” is an important tool of customers’
public relations.
 6.Government- Central, Local State Government Departments,
Regulatory bodies, Bureaucrats, Ministry of Petroleum
⦿ In government, bureaucracy is the key role player.
⦿ All organizations need the support of the government,
f
consisting of several departments and regulatory authorities.
⦿ The government affects business through taxes and monetary
r
policies
ves.
⦿ It provides water, power, sanitation and municipal services.
⦿ Government departments, ministries, secretaries, heads of the
departments who run the public administration constitute the
key government public for most of the organizations both in the
government and in the private sector.
⦿ In government relations, business organizations primarily are
concerned with weighing impending legislation for its impact on
the company.
⦿ Therefore, it is necessary to identify government as a public
and make contacts to improve communications with
government officials and departments.
⦿ At the grassroots level, village panchayat president and its
secretary are the key government public.
7. Opinion Leaders- Community and Caste
Leaders, M.P.s, MLAs
Opinion leader is an important person in a
particular group of people who, as a ‘public
though leader’ will have an impact on thinking.
They are knowledgeable and articulate in
specific issues and subjects, well-informed on
the issue than an average person, avid
consumers of mass media, early adopters of
new ideas and good organizers who can get
other people to take action.
Therefore, we can describe them as
intellectuals in their subject and are well
respected in the society.
8. Media publics- Newspapers, radio, TV, films, Internet
9. General Community- Neighbourhood community
10. Special Publics- Women, Farmers, Tribals, Minorities,
Youth, Community Relations
11. International Publics Relations Association (IPRA)
TYPES OF PUBLICS
⦿ A public is any group whose members have a
common interest or values in a particular
situation.
⦿ Publics differs from one organisation to
another.
⦿ Four types of Publics:
◼ Functional publics
◼ Enabling publics
◼ Diffused publics
◼ Normative publics
FUNCTIONAL PUBLICS
⦿ They are those publics which enable the
organisation to perform its chosen tasks.
⦿ Example:
◼ Customers – who pays for the goods and services
◼ Consumers – who uses goods and services
◼ Business firms with which it relates
◼ Employees
◼ Trade unions
◼ Supplier
ENABLING PUBLIC
⦿ These are publics which permit the
organisation to function within the
framework of the society to which it belongs.
Such publics include regulatory bodies:
◼ Malaysian Institute of Public Relations
◼ Advertising practioners council of Malaysia
◼ National Broadcasting Commission
◼ Community leaders
◼ Politicians
◼ Share holders
DIFFUSED PUBLICS
Within this group are varied audiences
◼ Media organisations
◼ Pressure groups
◼ Local residents
NORMATIVE PUBLICS
⦿ This term refers to trade associations and
professional bodies.
⦿ It also include political parties.
TRADITIONAL AND NON-TRADITIONAL
PUBLICS
⦿ Refer to groups with which your organisation has
ongoing, long term relationships.
⦿ They include:
◼ Employees
◼ The news media
◼ Governments
◼ Investors
◼ Customers
◼ Multicultural community groups
⦿ These publics are always there, however they
must not be taken for granted as they can in one
minute be allies.
⦿ And in another minute could be foes depending
on how your organization relates to them.
Non-traditional publics are the groups that usually
are not familiar with your organisation.
⦿ That is your organisation had not had an ongoing,
long term relationship with them.
⦿ It emerge either due to changes in you
organisation, the society or those publics
themselves.
⦿ They have always been there but not very
relevant to you organisation but due to those
changes, it could become imperative for them to
form one of your publics.
⦿ Some traditional publics of some companies
today were at some point non-traditional
publics.
⦿ After several years of relevance and interaction
between an organization and its non-taditional
publics, such publics could become traditional
publics.
LATENT, AWARE AND ACTIVE PUBLICS
A latent public is one which, by evolving
developments, common grounds of relationship is
opening up between it and your organization.
⦿ There is no active relationship between both
parties presently.
⦿ The members of that public are not aware of the
existence of the relationship.
An aware public is that whose members are aware
of the existence of a commonality of values or
interest with your organization, but have not made
any organized effort to respond to such
relationship
Active public has realised the relationship between
itself and your organization, and is working to
manage that relationship on its own terms.
INTERVENING PUBLICS
⦿ Any public that helps you to send a message
to another public.
⦿ Naturally the mass media fall into this group.
⦿ Without the media, there is very little any
organization can achieve in its relationship
with other publics.
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY PUBLICS
If a public can directly affect your organisation’s goals
so that you have to take them into consideration
virtually on all PR matters, then that public is definelty
a primary public
⦿ Primary publics are of great importance to any
organisation:
◼ Employees
◼ Your immediate community
◼ The media
◼ The government
◼ The shareholders
◼ The financial institutions
⦿ Secondary public is equally important and you must
strive to have a good relationship with them.
⦿ However, the degree to which they affect your
organisation’s pursuit of its goals is minimal.
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PUBLICS
Internal publics exist within your organisation
while external publics are outside.
For a higher institituion of learning for instance,
some of its publics would include:
◼ Students
◼ Academic staff
◼ Non-academic staff
◼ Food vendors
⦿ External publics include:
◼ its immediate community
◼ providers of social amenities like water and
electricity
◼ other institutions in its state or country of location,
education ministry.
DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL PUBLICS
⦿ Domestic public are those within your country.
⦿ International public exist beyond your
country’s borders.
⦿ More and more organization are realising the
place of international publics in their overall
corporate success.
⦿ International public relations is not just about
the specific group or persons that your
organization relates to in another country, it
entails knowledge of such a country in such
areas as culture, believe and value systems,
taste and preferences, religion, business,
ethics, important holidays, weather.