Public Relations (PR) Disciplines
The oil industry is developing on a quotidian basis and is becoming a vital driver of the worldwide economy. The public and community relations constantly face herculean challenges- both internal and external- that need to be dealt very carefully and strategically. Today, the oil industry operated differently, with the management of these companies not being solely reported to stockholders but to wider range including stockholders but also employees and the community where it operates. Consequently, the role of public relations has increased within this industry and this great shift in paradigm on the understanding of how the oil companies operate makes it quite vulnerable and open to crisis.
The role of the public relations personnel as the spokespeople of the oil companies is of paramount importance and they have a crucial duty to perform in order to be constantly alert, responsive, turning crisis into opportunities, maintain corporate governance and ensure robust community relations.
Public relations are a profession that is emergent- developed from the 19th century- rapidly expanding during the 20th century. Harlow (1976), gathered 472 definitions of the word Public Relations to summarize it in one single paragraph which is as follows:
‘’ Public relations is a distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communication and understanding, acceptance and cooperation between an organisation and its publics; involves the management of problems or issues; helps management to keep informed on and responsive to public opinion; defines and emphasises the responsibility of management to serve the public interest; helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilise change, serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends; and uses research and ethical communication techniques as its principal tools. ‘’
(Wilcox et al, 2003:7)
Since then, many attempts have been made to define PR, some involving the
The role of the public relations personnel as the spokespeople of the oil companies is of paramount importance and they have a crucial duty to perform in order to be constantly alert, responsive, turning crisis into opportunities, maintain corporate governance and ensure robust community relations.
Public relations are a profession that is emergent- developed from the 19th century- rapidly expanding during the 20th century. Harlow (1976), gathered 472 definitions of the word Public Relations to summarize it in one single paragraph which is as follows:
‘’ Public relations is a distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communication and understanding, acceptance and cooperation between an organisation and its publics; involves the management of problems or issues; helps management to keep informed on and responsive to public opinion; defines and emphasises the responsibility of management to serve the public interest; helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilise change, serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends; and uses research and ethical communication techniques as its principal tools. ‘’
(Wilcox et al, 2003:7)
Since then, many attempts have been made to define PR, some involving the
References: IPR.a (1987). Developing excellence.IPR. IPR.b (2012). Public Relations (PR) Disciplines. Available: http://www.ipr.org.uk/public-relations-pr-disciplines.html. Last accessed 22/05/2014. IPR.c (2012). How Can PR Boost Your Business. Available: http://www.ipr.org.uk/how-can-pr-boost-your-business.html. Last accessed 22/05/2014. McElreath, M.P (1996). Managing systematic and ethical public relations campaigns. Brown and Benchmark Theaker, A (2012). The Public Relations Handbook. 4th ed. USA and Canada: Routledge. 22-65. Wilcox,D.L; et al (2003). Public relations, strategies and tactics ( 7th ed), New york: Allyn and Bacon.