Defining Public Relations
The term public relations can mean slightly different things to different people and yet have the same outcome. After researching this topic, it has become evident just how different these definitions can be. I have my own definition of public relations. There are definitions as well in public relations textbooks, and others can be found in places such as the internet.
When I attempt to define public relations, I think about a part of an organization that makes every effort to convey a positive image to the public. This could be done various ways such as publicly donating to a worthy cause in either services, goods, or monetary means. Service organizations are particularly sensitive to what image they are portraying to the public. I work in a public school. Periodically parents and people in the community are asked to respond to a survey in which the district is assessing public perceptions. What we are doing is as important as what the public thinks we are doing. Without a positive perception, we would not get community support. That is detrimental to a school whose purpose is to serve a community.
According to the Public Relations Society of America (n.d.) (PRSA), the concept of public relations has only been in practice for less than 100 years. During that time, organizations have come up with their own versions of what public relations means. These definitions became more and more complicated and some "tended more to describe what public relations does than what it is" (prsa.org, n.d.). In 1988, the PRSA adopted a formal definition that states ?"Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other"' (prsa.org, n.d.). On the first reading, this definition seems very simplistic. However, its global w ...