Kristianus Ratuain-135120207121020____RESUME - Excellence Theory in Public Relations: Past, Present, and Future

RESUME

Excellence Theory in Public Relations: Past, Present, and Future

James E. Grunig & Larissa A. Grunig  

Public Relations Research, 2007 : pp.327-347

University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States

The authors described the excellence theory as a general theory of public relations that resulted from a fifteen years' study of best practices in communication management funded by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Research Foundation. This Publication is part of the book that is the final product of so called the "excellence project" which was a comprehensive research effort commissioned by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Research Foundation.

The purpose of this publication is to describe the result of the underlined researches that brings along a gradual production of the excellence theory as the added theories of public relations roles which has evolved into a general theory of public relations as a strategic role and management function, and also to extend the excellence theory to a global theory by adding concepts and tools that public relations professionals who serve in a strategic role can use.

Methodology used in this paper is a timeline exploration of the development of theories that went into the excellence theory, specific findings of the excellence study, researches conducted by a thorough review of the literature in public relations and related disciplines relevant to the aspect of underlined purpose throughout the researches.

There were the major middle-level theories of public relations that alows J. Grunig (1992a) integrated into a general theory of public relations as a theory of communication management which specifies how public relations makes organizations more effective, how it is organized and managed when it contributes most to organizational effectiveness, the conditions in organizations and their environments that make organizations more effective, and how the monetary value of public relations can be determined. And these aspects has indicated as the excellence conditions. And today, we often call the excellence theory a theory of public relations as a strategic management function because the excellence study established participation of public relations in strategic management as the critical component that ties together the middle-range theories we integrated into our general theory.

And as the esthablishment of this excellence theory commenced, and researches findings were gradually elaborated in to theory building,  the authors came across two major ways of thinking or approaches about public relations both in practice and in the academic world which are; the symbolic interpretive paradigm and the strategic management, or behavioural paradigm. Both approaches are crossed-influental and contains elements of both modernism and postmodernism, although the authors do not adhere rigorously to the assumptions of either stereotyped approach. However, in the contrary of critical scolars, counter reality, paradigm and past theoritical logic of public relation has produced the overview of the excellence theory and its evolution into the strategic management paradigm in mind.

            And as the authors explain the formulation of the behavioural, strategic management, paradigm by first tracing its origins in their conducted research with many colleagues and students, they finally developed several crucial middle-range theories that have become part of the strategic management approach to public relations: publics, the role of public relations in organizational decision-making, the symmetrical model of public relations, and concepts to define objectives of public relations programmes and measure their accomplishment.

Grunig’s situational theory of publics eventually developed into a tool to segment stakeholders into publics and provided a tool that strategic public relations practitioners can use to scan their environment for stakeholders. Grunig believed that characteristics of organizations would explain why so many of them practice public relations in this ineffective way and why others practice it in a more excellent manner. Its follows by his identification of independent variables from organizational theory that seemed likely to explain why public relations was practiced differently by different organizations. These variables included organizational structure, environment, technology, size, age, culture, worldview, and power structures. The first dependent variables were simply one-way and two-way communication; but he eventually identified the now well-known four models of public relations: press agentry/publicity, public information, two-way asymmetrical, and two-way symmetrical.

The excellence study, which began in 1985, then provided the means for unifying these concepts and adding other theoretical building blocks to the strategic management theory of public relations. In addition to explaining the value of public relations, the excellence study provided solid theory and empirical evidence of how the function should be organized to maximize this value.

They were finally developed a generic benchmark of critical success factors and best practices in communication management, which does not provide an exact formula or detailed description of practices that a communication unit can copy to be excellent. Rather, it provides a set of principles that professionals can use to generate ideas for specific practices in their own organizations.

They tested the excellence theory through survey research of heads of public relations, CEOs, and employees in 327 organizations in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, followed by qualitative interviews with heads of public relations, other public relations practitioners, and CEOs in 25 organizations with the highest and lowest scores on a scale of excellence produced by statistical analysis of the survey data.

Result.

The 15 years of research and studies has ended in a general theory of public relations, one that integrates most of the wide range of ideas about, and practices of, communication management in organizations. It produces the characteristics of an excellent public relations function can be placed into four categories, each containing several characteristics that can be audited as follows:

1.        Empowerment of the Public Relations Function

2.        Organizing communicator roles or organizing Public Relation as a managerial role.

3.        Integrating all communication programs through the public relation functions and not subordinating public relation function to other management function.

4.        Practicing what is called “models of public relations, as a two way communication process and with a symmetrical of using communication to foster between organization and their publics.

Today, we often call the excellence theory a theory of public relations as a strategic management function because the excellent study established participation of public relations in strategic management as the critical component that ties together the middle-range theories we integrated into our general theory.

Conclusion.

The word “excellence” attributes to the best quality services and condition, high or eminent degree of performance, and outstanding achievement, so every aspect that is relevant and related should also take the aim to achieve something “excellence” in Public Relation.

The excellence theory provides such theoretical profile, a theoretical benchmark, of critical and counter factors and best practices in public relation, which has constructed through past researches, theoretical logic and empirical evidences. And by on going further studies and benchmarking at present, the excellence theory can serve as a theoretical profile that explains the best practise of theory in the future.

The excellence theory required “the excellence criteria” of how Public Relation should well functioned in the organization, and it should be tested, benchmarked and require the knowledge, professionalism, and support from the organization. Knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods are also crucial to develop this theory in the future.

Since the completion of the excellence study, scholars in this research tradition have continued to improve and enlarge the theory by conducting research to help public relations professionals participate in strategic decision processes. This research has been on environmental scanning and publics, scenario building, empowerment of public relations, ethics, relationships, the return-on-investment of public relations, evaluation, relationship cultivation strategies, conflict resolution, complexity theory, specialized areas of public relations, and global strategy.

Recommendation.   

The authors provide some recommendation to be considered for further practice and studies as follows:

§  The excellence criteria to be practiced in PR should bear in mind the differences in contextual conditions, as it necessary to apply the generic principles differently if the local condition is sensitized.

§  The authors proposed that the principles identified in the excellence study are generic, therefore public  relations professionals must consider six contextual conditions when they  apply the principles: 

-          Culture, including language.

-          The political system.

-          The economic system.

-          The media system.

-          The level of economic development.

-          The extent and nature of activism.

§  And some method should be carried out in a structured way as follows:   

1.        Involvement in strategic management was the critical characteristic of excellent public relations. Public relations executives played a strategic, managerial role as well as the administrative manager role. Public relations also was empowered by having access to key organizational decision-makers (the dominant coalition).

2.        The study showed that public relations lose its unique role in strategic management if it is sublimated to marketing or other management functions. Sublimation to another function resulted in attention only to the stakeholder category of interest to that function, such as consumers for marketing. Sublimation to marketing also usually resulted in asymmetrical communication. An excellent public relations function did work with other management functions to help them build relationships with relevant stakeholders.

3.        The excellence study showed that a symmetrical system of internal communication increased employees’ satisfaction with their jobs and with the organization. However, internal communication generally was not practiced unless organizations had a participative rather than authoritarian culture and a decentralized, less stratified (organic) structure rather than a centralized, stratified (mechanical) structure.

4.        The excellence study examined the effect of the growing number of women in public relations and evidence that women had difficulty entering managerial roles. The research showed that organizations with excellent public relations valued women as much as men for the strategic role and developed programs to empower women throughout the organization. The emphasis on gender also led to inclusion of diversity of race and ethnicity as a fifth part of the excellence theory. This focus, along with the international nature of the project, expanded the theory to make it appropriate for use outside the United States – in diverse cultural, political, and economic contexts. Replication of the study in Slovenia (L. A. Grunig et al. 1998) showed that the excellence theory is generic to many contexts, as long as the theory is applied differently when contextual variables are different. The research in Slovenia also resulted in the addition of ethics to the excellence theory – a sixth component (→ Public Relations Ethics).