Journal Resume : An Open-System Approach to Building Theory in Public Relations

This is a resume about a journal which topic is Public Relation in the term of Communication science. This journal was published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. on 2006. Journal, An Open-System Approach to Building Theory in Public Relations was written by Glen M. Broom, who comes from School of Communication, San Diego State University. This writing concern on the best way to develop Public Relations theory.

            This Journal tried to explain how to theorizing Public Relations theories. It is stated from looking for the focal concept, then validating the concept and finally explicating the concept. Below are the explanation about the steps how to theorizing Public relations:

1.      Found and defining the Focal Concept

This is about how the researcher capture the most important concept as a practitioner. So the concept is originally from the practitioners then it is valued as important by the practitioners themselves. Not only finding it, in this step we need to analyze and critisize it to make it become a proper theory. Thus the theory would be really effective if it is taken from the reality in the field.

2.      Validating the concept

After choosing the concept we need to test the concept. The concept that we found along the process need to re-test in order to get a valid a concept. The theory will be credible and applicable since it has a valid concept.

3.      Explicating the concept

To make theory ready we need to make sure that this theory is valid, reliable, credible and applicable. Then we need to find out all the things in our theories by making all possibility questions and need to find out all the answers deeply by making surveys, and all the way to research,

              In the end, on theorizing a theory it backs to the fundamental concept on how we theorize it. This journal believe that Public Relation must be theorize by using open system, not a close system. This is because Public Relation is not a science which comes from theory but from practices and phenomenon, those things (phenomenon, practical and theories) are reciprocal, it is influencing each other. In other hand the phenomenon and practices of Public Relation are influenced by any other fields. Public relation actually is not a field that only influenced from the theory itself but influenced by any other fields’ theories, perspectives, and phenomenon. For example in Public Relation we need to know how to do lobby, whereas lobbying is also a well-known terminology in politics field. It also has proven that Lobbying and Public Relation has a correlation, you can check it in http://www.ruforum.org/sites/default/files/Annex%203%20Finding%20the%20connection%20between%20Lobbying%20PR%20%26%20Advocacy.pdf.  Those reasons make us jump into the conclusion that Public Relation need to be observed, theorized, and analyzed by using Open System Approach.

An Open System receives matter and energy from its environment and passes matter and energy to its environment. (Littlejohn & Stephen, 2002). This definition is appropriate to be used while theorizing Public Relation like the reasons have been told above. In other hand, this statement is strengthen by argument  Public Relation is the part of communication science which is Willbur Schramm in Chaffee and Rogers (1997) has ever said, “A further intellectual integration in which communication study would merge with anthropology, psychology, sociology, economics, and political science—and perhaps other disciplines—to form a science of human behavior. Schramm expected that communication study would lead this drive toward unification … of all behavioral sciences around a communication core. (p. 177)” The thing is, Schramm as one of the expert in Communication science isn’t originally from communication field. Other experts such, Lasswell, Paul Lazarsfeld, Shannon & Weaver aren’t originally come from communication field. Thus implied to the communication theory become in varies.

From the journal we conclude that Public Relation theory cannot be observed, theorized, analyzed, by using closed system approach, it needs to use the open system approach. Because close system is a system that has no interchanged with the environment (Littlejohn & Stephen, 2002). Thus close system approach doesn’t suitable to the Public Relation theories because its character opposite with the Public Relation theories that has been told above.

Bibliography

Berg, K. T. (2009). Finding Conections Between Lobbying, Public Relations and Advocacy. Public Relations Society of America, 1-19.

Broom, G. M. (2006). An Open System Approach to build Theory in Public Relations. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 141.

Littlejohn, & Stephen, W. (2002). theories of Human Communication. Boston: Mc Graw Hill.

By Ananda NIbras Khairunnisa (135120207121018)