Creating a model to measure relationships: U.S. Army strategic communication

Strategic Communication is receiving much credence for public relations planning in the U.S. Army, (Quadrennial Defense Review Report, 2010. The Office of the Chief of Public Affairs for the U.S. Army, has a Strategic Communication Division and it is home to the last vestiges of former Secretary of, Defense Donald Rumsfeld's ill-fated attempt to create such an office at the Department of Defense, (DoD) level. In 2009, Major General Mari K. Eder, deputy director of the U.S. Army Reserve, wrote of, the tragic lack of a comprehensive strategic communication focus across DoD levels, let alone at the, Army level. A “Deep Dive” Conference sponsored by the Army during the summer of 2006 focused on, measuring outcomes of its public affairs programs. In spite of the conference objectives, the Army was, not able to define strategic communication completely nor was it able to come up with adequate, operational measurement tools for measuring relationships with key publics or stakeholders within, strategic communication. It was able to produce some measurable and motivational objectives as well, as measurable process tools for media relations, but it still lacked the ability to measure quantitative or, qualitative relationships with key stakeholders.     

Strategic communication applied to nation building in Spain: The experience of the Catalan Region

This article analyzes how strategic communication is being used in the case of regions, “imagined communities,” or the so-called “stateless nations,” for nation-building purposes. It focuses on the case of Spain's Catalonia region in the years since the devolution of power and approval of the Second Statute of Autonomy in 1979. The different successive Catalan governments have made intensive use of mass media campaigns and other soft power methods to enhance Catalan identity. Main efforts have focused on the promotion of the Catalan language, culture, sports, and symbols through public relations, mass media campaigns, the implementation of laws, and the deployment of public diplomacy tactics with the dual purpose of reaching internal audiences. Although a significant part of the Catalan population is alienated from politics, the overall outcome has been positive for Catalan nationalism: identification with Spain has decreased while dual Catalan/Spanish and Catalan-only identification has grown during this period.     

To be,or not to be: Paradoxes in strategic public relations in Italy

There is a paucity of empirical studies of public relations in Italy. This study sought to assess whether public relations departments are managed strategically in Italy and whether public relations contributes to the strategic management of organizations. Using the four generic principles that deal with strategic management, this study gathered data from public relations professionals working in the three major types of organizations: corporations, government agencies, and non-profits. The study found that regardless of the type of organization, few public relations practitioners are represented in the senior management of their organizations. Senior managers of non-profits tended to value public relations more than the other two sectors. Symmetrical communication again proved to be normative. By using a conceptual framework and research instruments that have been employed in studies conducted in other parts of the world, this study has generated data that can be used to compare strategic public relations in different socio-cultural environments – thus contributing to building a global theory of public relations.     

Toward a model of NGO media diplomacy in the Internet age: Case study of Washington Profile

This qualitative study explores values, perceived effectiveness and factors that affect effectiveness of the public diplomacy-oriented international news services by a U.S.-based non-governmental, not-for-profit organization. In-depth, semi-structured interviews are conducted with the staff of the organization. Results show that the key values that guide the operations include independence from government, journalistic objectivity and balance as well as reader education. The perceived effectiveness of NGO international news service is much higher than government-sponsored news programs in terms of reaching audiences, affecting elite groups and return of investment. The factors that affect the effectiveness include use of local journalists and editors as decision-makers, the Internet, censorship by governments of the target region, vision of the NGO leaders, dialogue approach, non-governmental funding, and target elite niche audience.     

Plain old Bess in a different dress? Disruptions of public relations in the digital age

This paper focuses on the disruptions in the digital age through the lens of public relations experts from the private sector. In order to understand whether the PR profession is undergoing a major or just a minor change, this study focuses on expert attitudes toward the disruptions and the perceived change of their identity, strategy, and structure of PR. The analysis of semi-structured in-depth interviews yielded six themes: changes that are shaping the industry, changes in organizational identity, occupational definitions and roles, structural aspects, the difference between PR communication strategy and digital PR-strategy, new methods, tools, and measurement models and finally predictions for the future. Three main conclusions arise from these themes: PR agency self-identity is in a process of change from media-relations to strategic consultants; the main source of the change is perceived as media disruption rather than digital disruption (although they are interrelated); and the future in PR is predicted as the all-in-one marketing communications agency, which might develop into a new, hybrid, profession.     

全球或区域性战略研究典型案例比较

全球或区域战略研究的总体思路,通常是由分析战略环境出发,在厘清战略资源、明确战略驱动力的基础上,研究未来发展的战略风险,并制定未来发展愿景,最终提出实现愿景的对策。在实际研究过程中,基于研究主体和研究背景的差异性,各类研究会有不同的关注重点,有些特别关注某些重点环节,而有些则会进行综合分析。由于研究背景和分析视角的差异,一些模型和方法、观点和表述,并不一定适用于所有战略及规划研究。特别是,制定区域性战略规划还应结合本区域实际进行具体深入的分析研讨。     

Exploring the strategic potential of internal communication in international non-governmental organisations

The role and importance of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) has increased with globalization and the growth of global institutions. Despite this growth, academic research into INGO management remains limited and, due to their unique characteristics, management theories developed for for-profit organisations cannot be applied as is to INGOs. Internal communication is a critical area of management that has been proven to have a major impact on an organisation's effectiveness, particularly when managed strategically. Therefore this article explores the strategic management of internal communication within the INGO context. This study synthesised the current literature on this topic and included five case studies to understand the current state of internal communication within INGOs. It was determined that INGOs do not manage internal communication strategically. However, there is evidence that the implementation of strategic internal communication could help INGOs address several of their challenges and have an impact on their overall effectiveness. This study is exploratory and further research to identify the process for strategic internal communication in INGOs is needed.     

From propaganda to public diplomacy: Assessing China's international practice and its image, 1950–2009

Since World War II, government-sponsored international propaganda and public diplomacy have become more visible and sophisticated in countries around the world. China is no exception. It is not immune to the compulsion and communication imperative to reach and woo the public, both at home and abroad, for its vested interests. From propaganda to public diplomacy, the practices and activities have taken different forms and scopes, mainly including government-owned media outlets aimed at foreign audiences, state-subsidized media organizations as quasi-governmental instruments, overseas advertising and public relations campaigns designed to sway public opinion to win general support for the nation involved or to repair international relations damaged by terrorist attacks and other man-made crises, and recruiting and bribing journalists as clandestine operatives. Whether such practices have been effective in changing hearts and minds among international audiences, however, is open to debate and remains to be further explored. Within the perspective of sociology of knowledge, the main purpose of this study is to look at how China comes to be viewed as an object in international communication research over the past decades that cast the country through the prism of either propaganda or public diplomacy.     

The management of strategic alliances: cultural resistance. Comparing the cases of a Dutch telecom operator in the Netherlands Antilles and Indonesia

Since the early 1990s, European telecom operators have expanded their activities to international markets in South America, Asia and Eastern Europe and formed complex networks of strategic alliances and joint ventures. This paper examines potential dynamics in such alliances and explores the developments in the strategic alliances of a Dutch telecom operator (KPN) in the Netherlands Antilles and Indonesia. The case studies examine how local partners responded to the cross‐cultural strategies used by KPN to manage the alliances. In particular, the studies reveal that ethnocentric cross‐cultural management strategies, used by KPN to establish a dominant position in the alliances, triggered a new awareness of the cultural identities of local telecom operators. In turn, this increased cultural awareness stimulated the patters of resistance towards KPN as the dominant partner. This paper introduces the concept of ‘ethnicization’ to describe this strategy of resistance by the less dominant partner. The paper calls for more research to understand the strategic use of cultural identity in transnational alliances.     

The established, the outsiders and scale strategies: studying local power conflicts

Established – outsider theory has been a useful tool for explaining the nature and course of local conflicts since its introduction in the 1960s. However, increased mobility and changing lifestyles have led to a change in the role of the local community in people's lives. Established – outsider theory can still be very relevant in explaining the course of local conflicts, if combined with new insights on the relation between space and community and the geographical concept of scale. Then it becomes clear that groups can use a number of scalar strategies in order to win a local conflict. An analysis of local conflicts in the Dutch village of Amerongen shows the related character of these strategies.     

Strategic risk communication: Adding value to society

The purpose of this paper is to provide a concise summary of the evolvement and the current state of risk communication research and draw insights from a decade of risk communication studies [Heath, R. L., & Abel, D. D. (1996). Proactive response to citizen risk concerns: Increasing citizens’ knowledge of emergency response practices. Journal of Public Relations Research, 8(3), 151–171; Heath, R. L., & Palenchar, M. (2000). Community relations and risk communication: A longitudinal study of the impact of emergency response messages. Journal of Public Relations Research, 12(2), 131–162; Palenchar, M. J., & Heath, R. L. (2002). Another part of the risk communication model: Analysis of communication processes and message content. Journal of Public Relations Research, 14(2), 127–158; Palenchar, M. J., & Heath, R. L. (2003a). Protracted strategic risk communication: A longitudinal analysis of community's zones of meaning. Paper presented at the conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Kansas City, MO; Palenchar, M. J., & Heath, R. L. (2003b). Strategic risk communication: A longitudinal analysis of a community's emergency response awareness and practices. Paper presented at the conference of the National Communication Association, Miami, FL; Palenchar, M. J., & Heath, R. L. (2006). Strategic risk communication campaigns: Some insights from the culmination of a decade of research. Paper presented at the conference of the International Communication Association, Dresden, Germany; Palenchar, M. J., Heath, R. L., & Dunn, E. (2005). Terrorism and industrial chemical production: A new era of risk communication. Communication Research Reports, 22(1), 59–67]. A meta-analysis of the authors’ research based on qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, including professionally conducted telephone interviews, focus groups, in-depth interviews and ethnography, suggests that strategic risk communication based on the concept that ideas and meaning count, transparency, building trust through community outreach and collaborative decision making, acknowledging uncertainty, and narrative enactment are fundamental communication guidelines for good organizations communicating well; keys for risk communication if it is to add value to society.     

Rethinking the circuit of culture: How participatory culture has transformed cross-cultural communication

This paper explores the influence of digital communication ? and in particular social media ? on cross-cultural communication, based on the Circuit of Culture model. Scholarly literature supports the notion that social media has changed the speed at which we communicate, as well as removed traditional (geographical) boundaries around cross-cultural campaigns. Since the introduction of digital media, the role of the public relations practitioner has become more strategic in order to maintain relevance with even more diverse ? and dispersed ? audiences. Large scale campaigns, like the Human Rights Campaign to support Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights, have seen messages spread far beyond the country of origin, and with that, demonstrate the ability to affect advocacy campaigns in other countries. The authors argue that instead of acting as cultural intermediaries, public relations practitioners must become cultural curators, with the skills to create meaning from audiences, who are now content creators in their own rights, and encourage a true participatory environment that sees cultural values shared as part of an organic exchange process.     

美国撤军和阿富汗总统大选后的重建问题

多国部队从阿富汗撤出与新总统就职后,阿富汗局势复杂性从两个方面凸显出来：一方面阿富汗面临着安全局势恶化的可能性。军阀战争重启、塔利班卷土重来等可能性是国际社会担忧的安全核心问题;阿富汗大选已尘埃落定,新总统已经就职,但各派政治力量之间的竞争在这次选举后不会平息,旧有的民族、部族、地域矛盾依然存在,滞后的经济和社会发展状况不可能在短期内解决,这是国际社会担忧的阿富汗政治与社会的结构性问题。另一方面,这种情况并不是绝对的。因为,多国部队在撤出后的战略部署以及阿富汗自身安全力量的建设都影响着阿富汗未来的前途。例如,无人机战术的使用在很大程度上压制了各派反政府武装的攻势。阿富汗＂天下大乱＂的可能性不大,但局部不稳定却是非常可能的。     

Public relations identity and the stakeholder–organization relationship: A revised theoretical position for public relations scholarship

This paper addresses the challenge to differentiate public relations scholarship from other related communication disciplines (i.e., marketing, advertising, communication studies) by examining the concept of the stakeholder–organization relationship and public relations’ unique contributions therein. This paper proposes that public relations scholars move beyond discussing relationship attitudes and examine the central concept of a relationship, which comprises mutual orientation around a common interest point and the multiplicity of stakes and stakeholders. Research imperatives in the integration of relationship stakes and the value of social media in relationship analysis stand to further differentiate public relations from marketing.     

Ethical conflict and job satisfaction of public relations practitioners

This study attempted to explore the linkage between ethical conflict and job satisfaction, causes of ethical conflicts, and consequences of job dissatisfaction of public relations practitioners. The findings show that many practitioners confirmed the existence of ethical conflict in their workplace and suggest that ethical challenges are largely triggered by top management's ethical standard. Although practitioners resolved conflicts by leaving their companies, they also recognized the hope in resolving the ethical challenges that they had faced. Participants emphasized the importance of an open communication environment, the support of internal stakeholders, and a high professional standard.     

Applying national survey results for strategic planning and program improvement: The National Diabetes Education Program

Since the 1970s, the federal government has spearheaded major national education programs to reduce the burden of chronic diseases in the United States. These prevention and disease management programs communicate critical information to the public, those affected by the disease, and health care providers. The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), the leading federal program on diabetes sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), uses primary and secondary quantitative data and qualitative audience research to guide program planning and evaluation. Since 2006, the NDEP has filled the gaps in existing quantitative data sources by conducting its own population-based survey, the NDEP National Diabetes Survey (NNDS). The NNDS is conducted every 2–3 years and tracks changes in knowledge, attitudes and practice indicators in key target audiences. This article describes how the NDEP has used the NNDS as a key component of its evaluation framework and how it applies the survey results for strategic planning and program improvement. The NDEP's use of the NNDS illustrates how a program evaluation framework that includes periodic population-based surveys can serve as an evaluation model for similar national health education programs.     

“9·11”后美国中东战略传播管理研究

“9·11”后，美国的公共外交特别是针对伊斯兰世界的战略传播在美国对外战略中的地位急剧上升，成为美国实施反恐战略的重要手段。本文集中探讨“9·11”后布什政府对中东实行的战略传播策略。通过对美国战略目标、传播途径、策略选择、机制整合等方面进行剖析并对战略传播的实施效果进行评估，作者认为，外交政策和文化差异是影响战略传播效能的重要变量。由此，本文为中国国家形象的建构提供一定的参考价值。     

Messaging,music, and mailbags: How technical design and entertainment boost the performance of environmental organizations’ podcasts

The production and consumption of podcasts have grown exponentially since their introduction in 2004. As organizations increasingly use this social media tactic to reach their stakeholders, two theoretical frameworks – the theory of entertainment persuasion and the PodCred framework – can be used to create more meaningful messages for the podcasts’ audiences. Through a content analysis of 67 environmental podcasts, this study examined the extent to which environmental podcasts developed by organizations incorporate seven distinct communication strategies and design techniques. The study found that while inclusion of these strategies and techniques has statistical correlation to podcast popularity, organizations are only modestly incorporating them into their podcasts.     

Social media crisis communication: Enhancing a discourse of renewal through dialogic content

This qualitative study investigates through a case study how dialogic content, which is shared on social media, facilitates stakeholder support and builds relationships to advance a discourse of renewal. Prior research on crisis communication in social media thoroughly investigated crisis response theories relating to reputation management and image restoration. To date, however, a paucity of research has considered how content could facilitate stakeholder support and relationships in crisis communication.The findings show that when an organization commits to transparent, interactive dialogue during a social media crisis on a social media platform, stakeholders are pulled to authentic content because they are interested and actively seeking for relevant information. Dialogic content may also boost stakeholder support and encourage relationship building to help move the organization forward after the crisis with dialogic communication. The insights gained from this study create value for wider audiences in terms of how dialogic content can be used for social media crisis communication, to move beyond reputation and image repair to become meaningful to stakeholders.     

Strategic role of public relations in enterprise strategy,governance and sustainability—A normative framework

The purpose of the study was to suggest a normative framework for the development of an organization's enterprise (societal role/stakeholder) strategy, indicating its relationship with governance, sustainability, and CSR. The normative framework contains two dimensions: Enterprise strategy is developed within the context of enterprise governance as well as social and environmental sustainability and responsibility, to achieve the organization's strategic non-financial goals (the sustainability dimension). Corporate strategy is developed within the context of corporate governance as well as economic sustainability and responsibility, to achieve strategic financial/economic goals (the business dimension). PR/communication management plays a strategic role in enterprise strategy development but a support role in corporate strategy development. The development of enterprise strategy necessitates a Triple Bottom Line approach to strategic management.