Sexual Reproductive Health Report
Research in Public Relations
A review of the use of evaluation and formative research by Jim R. Macnamara BA, MA, FPRIA, AFAMI CARMA International Asia Pacific
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Introduction
While debate continues over whether public relations1 fits within marketing or corporate management, or both, there is broad agreement that modern public relations practice needs to function as a management discipline within an organisation’s total management team. Grunig, Crable, Vibbert and others point to public relations evolving from a communication technician role focussed on producing and distributing information, to a communication manager role focussed on building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders. The extent to which public relations can realise this transition from technician to manager depends on practitioners adopting the standards and meeting the requirements of modern professional management. So what are those standards and requirements, and how well is public relations meeting these prerequisites? The management environment in both the private and public sector has undergone a major transformation in the past 20 years, and in the past decade in particular. Along with technological change, one of the major revolutions has been the demand for and growing acceptance of accountability. Over the past decade or two, management has adopted various systems and tools to monitor and measure processes and results including:
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Management by Objectives (MBO); Key Performance Indicators (KPIs); Total Quality Management (TQM); Quality Assurance (QA); Quality Accreditation (ISO 9000); Benchmarking; World’s Best Practice; Customer Satisfaction ratings; Balanced Score Card
As part of these management strategies, companies, organisations and government agencies are increasingly using informal and formal research to evaluate key areas of their operations.
1 In this discussion, the term
A review of the use of evaluation and formative research by Jim R. Macnamara BA, MA, FPRIA, AFAMI CARMA International Asia Pacific
___________________________________________________________________________
Introduction
While debate continues over whether public relations1 fits within marketing or corporate management, or both, there is broad agreement that modern public relations practice needs to function as a management discipline within an organisation’s total management team. Grunig, Crable, Vibbert and others point to public relations evolving from a communication technician role focussed on producing and distributing information, to a communication manager role focussed on building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders. The extent to which public relations can realise this transition from technician to manager depends on practitioners adopting the standards and meeting the requirements of modern professional management. So what are those standards and requirements, and how well is public relations meeting these prerequisites? The management environment in both the private and public sector has undergone a major transformation in the past 20 years, and in the past decade in particular. Along with technological change, one of the major revolutions has been the demand for and growing acceptance of accountability. Over the past decade or two, management has adopted various systems and tools to monitor and measure processes and results including:
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Management by Objectives (MBO); Key Performance Indicators (KPIs); Total Quality Management (TQM); Quality Assurance (QA); Quality Accreditation (ISO 9000); Benchmarking; World’s Best Practice; Customer Satisfaction ratings; Balanced Score Card
As part of these management strategies, companies, organisations and government agencies are increasingly using informal and formal research to evaluate key areas of their operations.
1 In this discussion, the term