Theoretical Aspects Of Public Relations

The Role of Public Relations in Corporate and Political Communication

Discuss about the Theoretical Aspects of Public Relations.

The theories are standpoints that are explained and enforced by the actions. The theories on one hand help explain the practical concepts and actions of a certain party or some issue that has no common definition. The theories are based on the prediction of the normal responses of the people to certain stimulants and there are specific theories in all fields to explain certain reactions to the stimulant that the parties are exposed to. The different theories apply different frameworks and use different reasons for a reaction therefore the different theories can shed light on the different aspects of the same reaction or action (Ledingham, 2003).

The public relation is the way the corporate and political entities influence the target population. They use different theoretical frameworks to control the response of the people to some actions or steps they take or the normal practices that are used in the achievement of their goals. The public relations can be described as a bridge that spans the gap between the agenda of the entity and the overall desires of the people they target with the public relations (Seitel, 1998). This should be the only purpose of the organization in the public relations sector but it is much more than that in practice. The public relations from the definition can be the increasing of understanding of the others goal and purpose and increase the relation with the public the true purpose is to present the image and facilitate the change in the public perceptions to make the image of the political or corporate entity the primary one so that the people think about the entity what they what the people to think. This is one of the legal ways to manipulate the perception of the people for their own benefit and the corporate and political entities take full benefit of this to promote their public image which helps them gain profit in one form or another (van Es and Meijlink, 2000).

There are many different issues where the public opinion carries much weight and in these cases the management of the response of the people are paramount not only to the benefit of the entity in many cases they are used to raise public awareness and possible consequences of the situations. The governing body of the many sovereign states use public relations to draw attentions of the citizens to various issues that might have potential impact on the sovereignty of the state or the wellbeing of its citizens. Therefore, in these cases the public opinion is valued as it incites the citizens into actions that will help stop the issue. The fact can not be denied that this is also a form of manipulation but as the benefits will ultimately reflect on the people and their wellbeing it is not in any way harmful. But the benefits that the entities gain in the form of personal benefits or gains in terms of the advantage over the competitors can not be condoned. These actions prove that there are two sides to the public relations campaign that is carried out by the corporate and political entities (Deephouse, 2000). The main factors defining the effects of the persuasion are the reasoning, the character of the speaker and the emotion that the statement of facts induces in the people. Therefore, the religious leaders and leaders of the different nations and celebrities can make a statement much of effective weapon of persuasion than the common people.

Persuasion in Public Relations

The theoretical concept of persuasion is based on the concept that the opinion of groups and individuals can be changed by influencing their beliefs and values. The concept is based on the fact that the reaction of the people to a specific issue can be controlled and even directed in a specific direction by changing, modifying and reinforcing their beliefs and the change can be evident in the attitudes and behaviour towards the issue. Therefore, the persuasion is one of the main methods used by the news media to rouse public opinion for or against some issue. The anti terrorism perspective is one of the main issues that are the concern of the people all over the world. This is one of the most frequent topics of discussion in the news media that both positively and negatively influence the anti terrorism sentiment (Daymon, and Holloway, 2010). The way of persuading the people are based not on the content but in the way the content is presented to the population. Many real world examples can be given in the context as the terrorism is one of the main threats to the peace and prosperity of the world. The positive example can be given in the form of the reports in the news media shoeing the victims of the terrorist attacks and their family members and their devastation is shown in the news will garner sympathy from the people and even the people who tentatively support the cause of the terrorists when the result of what they were able to achieve is presented in a manner that pictures the terrorists as the blackest of villains and remorseless killers of innocents (Dinnie, 2015). This makes the people more adverse from the effect that might influence them to become sympathetic to the cause. There is also a downside to the persuasion theory which points out that the influence that is used to affect the people need not be altruistic but the influence can easily be used to make them react in a way that conductive to the ultimate goals of the people controlling the news media (Dozier, Grunig and Grunig,2013). The same examples of terrorism can be used in these cases as there are many religious groups that have chosen terrorism as the way of proving the supremacy of their religion. These cults in many cases are supported by the news media of the region and often they portray the victims of their attacks as criminals or disbelievers who deserved nothing better than the end they got. The influence of the new media is used in this case in a negative way and the terrorists are presented as the crusaders who are fighting for the justice and the anti terrorisms are attempts to curb the religious rights of their specific faction or group (Hanzaee and Farsani, 2011).

Propaganda in Public Relations

This disparity in the news media leads to mixed faiths and beliefs among the populace and the persuasion is used in the war against terrorism as the opinion painting the terrorists in the blackest colour are much more dominant that the other faction. Therefore, the persuasion theory of the public relations is effective to some degree in giving the terrorist groups negative publicity and influence the people to act actively and passively to hinder the operations of the terrorist groups.

The theory of propaganda is based on the same principles of persuasion but whereas the persuasion is based on the truth or some variations of it the propaganda is based on emotional aspects driving the human nature instead of the rational part. The propaganda in the wartime is a common political move to induce hatred towards the enemy and by presenting them as monsters and thus dehumanizing them making the hate towards them a common reaction. The reason or why of the statement is ignored in the aspect of influence.

The theoretical concept of systems theory is based on the similar principle and the different parts of the definition of the system is capable of describing the process of PR which has an established process and a clear boundary. The PR process has a clear boundary and the facts that are p[resented need to be based on the concept of truths and the incidents and however likely it might be to influence the audience the wrong way the truth of the statements can not be altered. For an example the PR process that the American army used to gain public support in the operations in Iraq by playing on the dictatorship of the leader Saddam and the condition o ht general populace and their condition compared to those favoured by the leader in a light that painted him in bad light and the goods he had done was ignored. This process followed a certain pattern where the facts were presented first and then analysed and then the reviews and opinions were used to put the facts into context. This is not a one sided process as the same was done by the opponent in releasing the abu ghraib tape of the military interrogation which pointed out the fact that the American military where outsiders who tortured their prisoners in inhumane ways. Here the system was quite simple and the facts were all presented by ignoring the obvious facts that Americans were indeed outsiders or the fact that the prisoners whose plight was so inhumane were the same treatment they put the people through year after year.

Systems Theory in Public Relations

In the same way the corporate entities make PR their priority as the many subsystems to the organization running the organization and the PR is the way the control over all the subsystems are exercised by the people in the management. The public relations in the business organizations are used as tools of developing a relationship between the different parts of the organization and the customers who are from the target population. The business benefits of the organizations a side of the system of making sure that the process of PR is doing its job is to promote a positive persona. The businesses suffer if there is escalating tension in the background so they also conform to the response that will allow the people from the target population and their nation to support eh business and their moves. Oftentimes the businesses are vague about their allegiance to stop either side from avoiding business with them. The anti terrorism sentiments are also same in the cases as the organizations express their condolence at the loss of the people but never makes some overt gesture about incriminating any party.

From the essay it is evident that the different theories are part of the PR practices and can efficiently describe the practices and their different nuances in an analytical way. The persuasion and propaganda and the systems concept is used to describe the issue of anti terrorism and the PR issues that describes the process of the entities and the how to of handling of the situation. To conclude it can be said that the different theories that predetermine the response of the populace or the different functions that are to be targeted by the PR effort is important in determining the success of a PR campaign for both political parties and the corporate entities. The companies and the governments use the new media to influence the people in a specific direction and these are the practical implementation of the theories whose examples are given in the essay. 

Reference List

Seitel, F.P., 1998. The practice of public relations.

Ledingham, J.A., 2003. Explicating relationship management as a general theory of public relations. Journal of Public Relations Research, 15(2), pp.181-198.

Daymon, C. and Holloway, I., 2010. Qualitative research methods in public relations and marketing communications. Routledge.

Dozier, D.M., Grunig, L.A. and Grunig, J.E., 2013. Manager’s guide to excellence in public relations and communication management. Routledge.

Deephouse, D. L. (2000). Media reputation as a strategic resource: An integration of mass communication and resource-based theories. Journal of management, 26(6), 1091-1112.

van Es, R. and Meijlink, T.L., 2000. The dialogical turn of public relation ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 27(1-2), pp.69-77.

Hanzaee, K.H. and Farsani, F.T., 2011. The effects of brand image and perceived public relation on customer loyalty. World Applied Sciences Journal, 13(2), pp.277-286.

Ihlen, Ø., Van Ruler, B. and Fredriksson, M. eds., 2009. Public relations and social theory: Key figures and concepts. Routledge.

Dinnie, K., 2015. Nation branding: concepts, issues, practice. Routledge.

Grunig, J.E., 2013. Excellence in public relations and communication management. Routledge.

Grunig, J.E. and Dozier, D.M., 2003. Excellent public relations and effective organizations: A study of communication management in three countries. Routledge.

Wasesa, S.A., 2005. Strategi public relation. Gramedia Pustaka Utama.