A ‘biased’ present/onversation on where global research on/in/for public relations is going…

1. While you all work hard…this is what is coming your way…from public relations research around the world A ‘biased’ present/onversation on where global research on/in/for public relations is going… toni muzi falconi (www.prconversations.com) for the Public Relations Global Network April 27 2006

2. Consolidated XX century models for public relations practice • Press agentry (1850-today) (media, one way, manipulative, universal, descriptive) • Public information (1906-today) (media, one way, more symmetric, public sector, descriptive) • Scientific persuasion (1923-today) (opinion leaders, more two way, marketing oriented, all sectors, descriptive) • Personal influence (embedded) (universal, questionable, embarassing and not described…from personal to organizational influence?) • Two way symmetric communication (1984-today) (two way, tendentially symmetric, changes organization, normative and descriptive)

3. Who are we today? • From 2.5 to 3.5 million professionals • From 200 to 400 billion economic impact • Only 10% in professional associations • 40% private sector, 50% public sector, 10% social sector • 90% technical role, 8% managerial role, 2% strategic role

4. What we do (in the best of worlds…) • Technical: implement communication programs prepared by others to impact on organizational influential publics • Managerial: assist organizations in improving their communication processes and programs towards influential publics • Strategic: -assist organizations in improving quality of their decision processes and accelerating their implementation by listening to influential publics expectations before decisions are taken; -assist peer managerial functions in developing their own relationship systems with respective stakeholder groups

5. Why change? • Consolidated models disseminated throughout the world with significant results but many collateral effects; • Publics change and want into decision making processes; • Loss of credibility of mainstream media and (up)rise of social media; • Globalization makes us more aware of diversities than introduces standard practices; • As profession gains relevance and impacts on public interest, it also and consequently…increases social criticisms (ethics, accountability, responsibility); • Hundreds of thousands of students major today in public relations in every country and have new and different expectations; • …….

6. Desired prerequisites for new model • a systemic and organizational worldview of the profession • based on dialogue and conversation • two way • tendentially symmetric • focussed on content and relationships, rather than messages and communication-to

7. Desired characteristics • communicating one-with-one, one-with-few and one-with-many • capitalising on diversity as a relationship base: a unique feature of public relations • ethics as basic professional mode and philosophy • public interest with priority both over client and other conflicting stakeholder interests

8. Towards a new global framework (a) • Based on the paradigm of: generic principles (desirable organizational and professional characteristics to enable effective public relations in any part of the global arena) and specific applications (mandatory variables to be carefully considered and implemented in each territory, topether with application of the generic principles)

9. Towards a new model (b) • Generic principles -public relations is a management function (or a function of management) and supports the organization in developing relationships with its influential publics, also by improving the quality and accelerating the implementation of decision making processes, and its value is determined by the dynamic quality of those relationships; -this function is directly enabled by the leadership of the organization, is not subordinated to other managerial functions, and interacts with these on a peer-to-peer basis.

10. Towards a new model (c) 6 specific applications: °legal system °political system °economic system °level of activism °socio cultural system (5 Hofstedte indicators: power distance, collectivism/individualism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance, short term/long term) °media system (control, outreach, access)

11. Towards a new model (d) • Hence this new concept of the public relations infrastructure of a given territory. Thank you for your attention!