Public Relations Past Year Questions
Public Relations – Past Year exam Papers
2013
1. Crises are often categorised as being either ‘python’ or ‘cobra’ events, requiring different PR approaches to handle them. Choose one of each type of crisis to describe and illustrate the differences. Go on to describe ideal PR strategies for anticipating and handling each, critically evaluating common mistakes made in practice, providing additional examples where you can.
2. Modern companies are expected to have a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy: define CSR, debate why this is important, and whether most companies do this well. Describe what approaches you think are important for modern day CSR, and why a boundary spanning approach is important, using examples to illustrate your answer.
3. Investor relations is one of the highest paid disciplines in PR: debate why it is so important to modern business, describing both the requirements of the routine calendar of investor relations activities, and one off events that require PR input. Critically evaluate the roles of investor relations in an era of stricter regulations and changing media.
4. Almost every organisation wants a social media strategy – but should every organisation have one? Debate the role of social media in public relations, giving examples of organisations that do this well and others that do not, describing the pitfalls of social media for modern businesses and other organisations. Debate how social media strategies relate to your strategies across other media, old and new, using examples throughout.
5. Private lobbing has a poor reputation in the UK, with Public Affairs practitioners concerned for their industry image. Debate why private lobbying is sometimes seen as damaging to democracy, while considering why it is important that business gets the chance to lobby government. Contrast this to public lobbying, comparing the tactics, cost and aims of public lobbying to those of private lobbying.
6. International PR
2013
1. Crises are often categorised as being either ‘python’ or ‘cobra’ events, requiring different PR approaches to handle them. Choose one of each type of crisis to describe and illustrate the differences. Go on to describe ideal PR strategies for anticipating and handling each, critically evaluating common mistakes made in practice, providing additional examples where you can.
2. Modern companies are expected to have a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy: define CSR, debate why this is important, and whether most companies do this well. Describe what approaches you think are important for modern day CSR, and why a boundary spanning approach is important, using examples to illustrate your answer.
3. Investor relations is one of the highest paid disciplines in PR: debate why it is so important to modern business, describing both the requirements of the routine calendar of investor relations activities, and one off events that require PR input. Critically evaluate the roles of investor relations in an era of stricter regulations and changing media.
4. Almost every organisation wants a social media strategy – but should every organisation have one? Debate the role of social media in public relations, giving examples of organisations that do this well and others that do not, describing the pitfalls of social media for modern businesses and other organisations. Debate how social media strategies relate to your strategies across other media, old and new, using examples throughout.
5. Private lobbing has a poor reputation in the UK, with Public Affairs practitioners concerned for their industry image. Debate why private lobbying is sometimes seen as damaging to democracy, while considering why it is important that business gets the chance to lobby government. Contrast this to public lobbying, comparing the tactics, cost and aims of public lobbying to those of private lobbying.
6. International PR