International Public Relations

- Even as interest in international public relations continues to grow,

 there has been confusion over the concept of

international public relations.
- To some, there is no such thing as international public relations,
o and to others, international public relations is “one
of the fastest-growing areas in this field”
o International public relations is a relatively new
subarea of public relations
o that suffers from the lack of theoretical
foundations
- because public relations itself is still a growing area in the field of mass
communications.
- The generic principles of public relations excellence are (Vercic,
Grunig, & Grunig, 1996).
 involvement of public relations in strategic management,
means that public relations plays a significant role in:
 identifying organizational goals,
 leading communication
management to achieve those
goals, and, most important,
i. building good
relationships with strategic
 publics both internally and
externally.
 empowerment of public relations in the dominant
coalition or a direct reporting relationship to senior
management,
- Means that the public relations unit and the public relations head:
 should be a part of a powerful group of managers who
are responsible for strategic decisions for the
organization.
 an integrated public relations function
- Means that public relations functions should be operated:
 by a single unit or
 by a coordinating system.
- Only this integrated system can adapt to changing strategic publics.
 public relations as a management function separate from
other functions
- Means that the public relations unit should be independent from other
organizational units.
- In many organizations, public relations functions are subdued to other
units:
 e.g., marketing, law, consumer management,
 human resource, advertising
 which makes public relations less effective.
 - Simply put, communicating with publics is different from dealing with
markets.
 The role of the public relations practitioner /PR head’s
managerial leadership/
- Means that excellent public relations can be secured
 by a managerial role (strategic program management)
 not by a technician role (writing and editing publications).
 A two-way symmetrical model of public relations
- Means that excellent public relations uses social scientific research:
 to communicate with strategic publics and
 actively seek out a mutually beneficial relationship
 (win-win zone) with them.
Mutual understanding:
 is a key purpose of communication.
 a symmetrical system of internal communication,
- Means that, excellent organization allows autonomy to employees
 and creates participatory organizational culture to increase job
satisfaction.
 the PR department’s knowledge potential for a
managerial role and symmetrical public relations, Means
that excellent public relations practitioners
 should have acquired a body of knowledge in public relations and
 be active in professional development.
 diversity embodied in all roles
- Means that an excellent public relations unit needs:
 variety to effectively communicate with diverse publics in society.
- Diversity in:
 gender,
 racial,
 ethnic, and
 cultural backgrounds is highly pursued
- Specific contexts for applying the general principles are:
(1) the level of development in a country,
- Economic prosperity and private entrepreneurship are:
 crucial for the growth of public relations.
(2) the local political situation,
 It is found democracy and political freedom as very important factors in
the growth of public relations
o because “strategic public relations flourishes in pluralistic
societies”.
(3) the cultural environment,
- Public relations in any particular country is:
 influenced by the societal and organizational culture within that
country.
 Knowing cultural norms and assumptions at both the national and the
organizational levels is
 crucial to every stage of strategic planning for public relations.
(4) language difference
 (5) the potential for activism,
 Activism is considered as both an opportunity as well as a threat to
public relations professionals.
 Organizations can transform and innovate themselves to meet change
pressures from activist groups,
 and as a consequence, they can be more competitive and socially
responsible.
- However, the opposite consequence occurs when organizations fail to
successfully adapt to this pressure from activist groups.
(6) the role of the mass media
- Media environment can be elaborated on by examining three dimensions of
media:
(1) media control (Who owns the media?),
(3) media access (Who can access the media?), and
(3) media outreach (Who consumes the media?).
- All three dimensions vary from country to country.
- Public relations professionals need to know this environment in a given
society:
 because the media is a powerful conduit to influence the target publics.
Major Areas of International Public Relations
Public Relations and Multinational Organizations
- Stohl (2001) examined the effects of globalization on organizations by
introducing five types of organizations according to predominant
national orientation:
1. domestic,
A domestic organization has identification with one country and one
dominant culture.
2. multicultural
A multicultural organization has identification with one country but a
culturally diverse workforce
3. multinational
A multinational organization has identification with one nationality while
doing business in several countries. It has a multinational workforce,
management, clients, and environment; however, it represents one national
interest.
4. International
An international organization has identification
 with two or more countries,
 each of which has distinct cultural attributes.
 Workforce, management, and clients are recognized as representing
diverse national interests.

5. global
A global organization has identification with the global system transcending
national borders and
 is basically a stateless organization.
 In a global organization, organizational membership supersedes
national orientation.
- Many nongovernment organizations (NGOs, hereafter) promote their
cause globally.
  For example,
Green Peace international is headquartered in the Netherlands and
 has branch offices in 42 countries and regions.
 They are very active in influencing environment policy
o at the national and global levels, and
o their public relations campaigns often attract worldwide attention.
Public Diplomacy and National Reputation
- Public diplomacy is defined as:
“the way in which both government and private individuals and groups
influence directly or indirectly those public attitudes and opinions
which bear directly on another government’s foreign policy decisions”
- Public diplomacy is:
 a communicative struggle in “a global marketplace of ideas” to create
favourable and intended attitudes and opinions toward a nation.
The objective of public diplomacy is:
 “to influence the behavior of a foreign government by influencing the
attitudes of its citizens”.
- Building and maintaining a positive national image:
 enable a nation to achieve a more advantageous position in global
economic and political competition.
- A positive national image
 may drive other nations’ foreign policies in favor of a country,
 increase revenues from trade, and
 draw tourists and foreign investment.
 - Cognizant of these benefits,
 many governments are active in practicing public relations
o to improve their national images throughout the world.
Lee (2006) found that in 2002,
 more than 150 countries signed public relations contracts with agencies
in the United States,
 based on his analysis of Foreign Agency Registration Act (FARA) data
administered by the U.S. Department of Justice.
- He mentioned that
 “Asian countries were the most active in public relations in the U.S.
 followed by Western European and Middle East countries.

- Analyzing individual countries,

 Japan was ranked as the first, remotely followed by the UK, Mexico,
Taiwan, South Korea, and Germany” (p. 99).
- He also found that building a relationship with the U.S. partners was
the most frequent activity type of international public relations,
 followed by information dissemination
 event promotion,
 advertising, and
 media relations.
- The major U.S. partners were
 governmental officials,
 Congress leaders,
 media owners,
 journalists,
 corporate leaders, and
 investors,
o who are generally considered opinion leaders in the United
States.
- The foreign news media have become a major target for governments
 trying to influence news content about international issues and
 foreign affairs, especially with regard to their own countries.
- However, governments also reach foreign publics directly:
 by disseminating information about their countries and
 launching government-sponsored international broadcasting channels
(e.g., Voice of America)
 and Web sites.
- Governments also try to influence public opinion in foreign countries
through cultural exchange programs
 e.g., artistic performances,
 film
 festivals,
 second-language training, and
 student exchange programs.
- To effectively execute public relations programs overseas,
 many governments hire public relations firms in target countries.
- According to Gilboa (2000), contracting public relations firms in the
target country is believed to be:
 more effective than any other governmental strategy in international
public relations
 in reaching and affecting both foreign publics and
 the foreign media
 because it can “strengthen the legitimacy and authenticity” of the
public relations campaigns.
- In addition, geographic proximity of the resident PR firms operating in
the target country:
 enables quick reactions when a crisis related to the target country
occurs.
- Hosting the Olympic Games has been considered by many countries:
 as an effective public diplomacy tool,
 through which the host country could promote a desired national
identity and image among foreign publics
 Considering the exceptional amount of attention they get from
spectators all over the world, the Olympic Games provide a unique
opportunity to appeal to foreign publics through maximum media
exposure of the host country.
 For example, the 1988 Seoul Olympic Committee tried to change South
Korea’s image:
o from that of a war-stricken developing country
 o to a prosperous country with economic success and advanced
technology.
 More recently, China did the same by converting her negative image:
o e.g., that of a controlled communist country with human rights
issues,
o lack of environmental protection, and
o poor quality of products, into a positive one by hosting the 2008
Beijing Olympics.
- China promoted the three themes of the Beijing Olympics:
1. green Olympics,
 which emphasizes China’s effort to improve
environmental protection;
2. high-tech Olympics,
 which highlights China’s economic success and
development accelerated by technological advancement;
and
3. people’s Olympics,
 which puts “people” at the center of the Olympic spirit
and sends messages to the outside world that China
cares about human rights and tries to improve them
- It must be an intriguing question whether the desired outcomes of the
host country can really happen.
- Overall, many studies support “the Olympic effect”.
Culture and Public Relations
- Scholars and practitioners interested in international public relations:
 need to look beyond their cultural biases and assumptions, the U.S.-
centred understanding of public relations.
- Banks (2000) developed three principles of communication policy in
international public relations by focusing on cultural interpretations and
community building:
1. Facts and values are culturally conditioned.
 Development is a Western concept with positive values in the
West.
 But elsewhere, development often looks like exploitation and
cultural imperialism.
2. Knowing other cultures’ rituals, languages, social norms, and values is
necessary but not sufficient preparation for forming international
community relationships.
 It is necessary also to remain open to the possibility of
conducting business within others’ worldviews and effectiveness
criteria.
3. The practitioner and researchers should be ready to redefine the nature
of public relations situationally.
- We must leave open to interpretation and negotiation what constitutes
the forms and goals of practice, depending on the cultural context.