Week 4

This weeks readings were really helpful in again showing what kind of jobs are out there for people who have successefully completed a public relations degree. It was interesting but also humerous to find that each person giving their career experience claimed their job to be perfect for their lifestyle situation. I was suprised by the salaries that the public relations practitioners were being paid; higher then i originally expected for this work.

Both readings shaped public relations as a career revolving around teamwork. For example, this is recognised in the text 'Public Relations - Theory and Practice' (JaneJohnston and Clara Zawawi, 2004) in chapter 11 'Internal and Community Relations, in the statement;

"Senior managers are now recognising that one unhappy employee has the potential to damage a company's polished image in the community."

Therefore it is idealised that each employee must work together as a team to build a reputable position for the company and achieve a greater respect amongst the community. One disgruntled employee has the opportunity to disrupt the process of public relations campaigning.

Basically, the chapter in 'Public Relations - Theory and practice', explores the inter-relationship of employees in an organisation. Reliance on each employee to perform actively and effectively is crucial to that companies development. I thought it was interesting to read that the solution to gossip and rumours in the workplace is the provision of factual information, a theory that is basic but one that I did not expect to be discussed in this text. The focus is on the relationship between the staff and employers, as the staff rely so heavily on the information that is fed to them from the higher positioned workers within the organisation. The formula can therefore be placed as:

a happy relationship between employer and employee + an informed employee = a happy and productive practitioner which therefore leads to a successful business.

I believe that (as stated in the text) face-to-face communication would be the most formal and successful method of creating a strong relationship between employer and employee. Although other methods (for example memos, events and newsletters) may aid in building relationships, the sole reliance is on face-to face communication as it has always been the method that builds a strong and familiar connection. For example, where I work a monthly newsletter is supplied in the lunch room on organisation developments and staff experience. From observance, these newsletters are rarely looked at and if so, are only skimmed over. In contrast, the managers can provide information to employees at the start of a shift that becomes successfully memorised.

I found it interesting to observe that each of the other suggested methods of creating relationships between staff and employer, dabble with public relations as a communication role.

An organisations relationship with the community is perhaps the most important relationship for profit and professional gain. Ofcourse, in public relations, communication between the community and the organisation is the most powerful link between gaining influence in the society. The text outlines the fact that it is important to achieve opinion and response from the people that are involved in the public relations campaign. To do this successfully, the community must be provisioned with descriptive and concise information on the campaign, it's methods and purpose. I think it is important to keep the community involved in the developments of the campaign (as suggested in the text) because they can therefore see not only the aims and ideas behind such a campaign, but also the methods of obtaining the ultimate goal intended.

Thus, I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were circulated around the importance of contacts and building relationships to imply a successful organisation, both internally and externally. The company cannot rely purely on it's relationship with it's customers but must also take into account the attitude of it's staff. A company must also not only focus on the relevance of it's internal memebers (staff) but also the community as this is where the profit and development of the company is promised.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that it broadened my understanding of the jobs that are available to those that have completed a public relations degree. The information providedby the different practitioners in Melanie James text, about what people should take into account when in interviews. I have discovered that, in terms of public relations, success comes with individuality, accurate gramma, concise language and personality. From what these people describe, a formula of the above characteristics enhance your availability to become involved in a job in public relations.

Cheers guys for your advice!