Course code- BA(JMC) 204
Course Title- BASICS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Unit -1 Concept and Evolution of Public Relations
Lesson – 1 “Defining Public Relations: Functions and Types of
Publics”
Two American Public
Relations Professionals, Scott
M. Cutlip and Allen H.
Center: “ Public Relations is
the planned effort to influence
opinion through good
character and responsible
performance, based upon
mutually satisfactory two-way
communication.”
British author Sam Black:
‘The fundamental purpose of
PR practice is to establish a
two way flow of mutual
understanding based on
truth, knowledge and full
information’.
American author John W.
Hill: ‘The management
function which gives the
same organized and careful
attention to the asset of
goodwill as is given to any
other major asset of
business’.
American author Edward L.
Bernays: ‘Public relations is an
attempt by information,
persuasion and adjustment to
engineer public support for an
activity, cause, movement or
institution’.
American author Herbert M.
Baus: ‘Public relations is a
combination of philosophy,
sociology, economics,
language, psychology,
journalism, communication and
other knowledges into a system
of human understanding.
Fortune
(Magazine): ‘Good
performance,
publicly
appreciated
because
adequately
communicated.’
Scott M. Cutlip and Allen H. Center: ‘The
communication of ideas from an institution to its
publics and the communication of information,
ideas and opinions from those publics to the
institutions, in a sincere effort to establish a
mutuality of interest and achieve the harmonious
adjustments of an institution to its community is
called Public Relations.
German philosopher Max K.
Adler: ‘Its objective is not to sell
a product, but to produce a
favourable image of a company
and improve on it, if necessary.
Webster’s new international
dictionary: ‘Public relations is
the promotion of rapport and
goodwill between a firm or
institution and other persons,
special publics or community at
large. Though the distribution of
interpretative or development of
neighbourly interchange and
assessment of publics’.
Authors James Grunig
and Todd Hunt: “PR is
a management function
which evaluates public
attitudes, identifies the
policies and procedures
of an individual or an
organization with the
public interest, and
plans and executes a
programme of action to
earn public
understanding and
acceptance’.
ELEMENTS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
1. Two Way Communication
2. Mutual Understanding
3. Caring For Public Opinion
4. Social Responsibility
WHAT PUBLIC RELATIONS CAN DO?
1. Prestige or favourable 'image' and its
benefits.
2. Promotion of products or services.
3. Goodwill of the company amongst publics.
4. Presentation and solution of labour problems.
5. Fostering the goodwill of communities in which
the organization has units.
6. Overcoming misconceptions and prejudices.
7. Forestalling attacks.
8. Maintaining goodwill amongst suppliers.
9. Maintaining goodwill with the government.
10. Ensuring goodwill within the rest of the
industry.
11. Investigation of the attitude of various groups
towards a company.
SCOPE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Public relations is a window of the
corporation through which management
can monitor external changes and
simultaneously a window through which
society can affect corporate policy.
We find regular conflicts between employer-
employee, consumer-manufacturer,
management-shareholders, citizens-government
and so on due to misconception and
misunderstandings. These are generally the
major challenges where public relation
practitioners can play a crucial role.
Today, the public relations profession has even
entered into the fields of non-commercial
organizations, government departments,
hospitals, universities and other non-profit
organizations.
According to Edward L. Bernays, the
fundamental laws and the necessity of public
relations may be expressed in three words-
information, adjustment and integration.
Public relations can do the following:
a) Help win friends, influence people, persuade
individuals, groups and in difficult situation bring
about goodwill where needed and maintain
goodwill where it is existing.
b) Create and build up image and reputation of
individual, organization and nation.
c) Forestall attacks by opponents or competitors.
d) Encourage vertical and horizontal
communication in an organization. Encourage
and motivate employees.
e)The possible areas where public relation plays
its role: Promotional opportunity, new image,
competitive challenge, rumour, crisis, conflict of
interest, ineffective communication.
THANK YOU
