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.     

Applicability of the Generic Principles of Excellent Public Relations in a Different Cultural Context: The Case Study of Singapore

This study used 4 generic principles of public relations based on the Excellence Theory to analyze the extent to which strategic public relations management was practiced in Singapore and whether public relations is part of senior management in 4 types of organizations: public relations consulting firms, corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Data were collected from 127 public relations professionals using a survey questionnaire based on the Excellence study. In addition, 22 in-depth interviews were conducted and organizational publications analyzed. The data revealed that the 4 generic principles studied are applicable in another culture. In Singapore, public relations has a lower status compared with advertising or marketing. Public relations is also not used as a strategic business tool and professionals do not practice strategic public relations in the city–state because of lack of proper training, among other things. Thus, although Singapore has emerged as an "Asian Tiger" the public relations profession has not developed as much as one would have expected.     

Toward excellence in public relations: identifying practices and barriers in Kuwaiti corporate,governmental and non-profit organizations

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to examine the applicability of the Excellence principles in Kuwait, generating insights into factors that affect the practice of strategic public relations management across corporate, governmental and nonprofit organizations. The findings, based on 21 semi-structured in-depth interviews with Kuwaiti public relations practitioners, revealed that the public relations profession demonstrates low levels of adherence to the generic principles of excellence. Public relations practitioners are less involved in strategic management and less empowered in the dominant coalition. Practitioners have provided various barriers including higher management’s lack of understanding of public relations, and lack of qualified practitioners, which have created disparities in understanding symmetrical communication. The sector of the organizations and the employment system in the country have also contributed to the situation.     

On the malfunction of the generic approach in small voluntary associations

Management and marketing techniques that are of great value in private firms may not prove as important in voluntary and nonprofit organizations. The author highlights problems in the direct application of the so-called generic approach to third sector organizations by examining small voluntary organizations in the Danish sports sector. He argues, first, that it may be unnecessary to apply generic management techniques; second, that it may be dysfunctional with regard to leadership and management; and, third, that the consequences of the chosen (generic) strategies may be detrimental to the function and image of the associations. Instead, theories of organization, strategic management, and marketing should recognize the special mix of competing, complementary, and overlapping values, rationales, and evaluation criteria that characterize small voluntary organizations.     

A Model of Strategic Nonprofit Human Resource Management

This article presents a model of strategic nonprofit human resource management (SNHRM) that draws from resource-based view and resource dependence theory, to explain the determinants of strategic human resources management (SHRM) in nonprofit organizations. Three guiding principles, strategy types and propositions are presented to explain the complex interactions and processes in the SNHRM system. The article lays a foundation for future research and offers managers a framework for SHRM planning and implementation in nonprofit organizations.     

Uncharted Waters: Exploring the Relationship between Strategy Processes and Management Control Systems in the Nonprofit Sector

The way in which strategy and management control combine has been the subject of much research attention, but rarely, within a nonprofit context. This is surprising, not only because of the considerable social and economic impact of this sector, but also in view of the apparent trend toward sectoral convergence in many structural and processual respects, including strategic behaviors and approaches to control. In this article, we explore the extent to which the relationship between management control and strategy, as found in for‐profit organizations, may prevail within a nonprofit context. Based on questionnaire responses from 182 Australian nonprofit organizations, we find that this relationship in nonprofit organizations is similar to that in for‐profit organizations, thereby lending support to the “convergence” argument. We reflect on the reasons for these similarities and advance an agenda for further research in this area.     

A science-based strategy for ecological restoration in South Florida

The Everglades and associated coastal ecosystems of South Florida are unique and highly valued ecosystems. One of the world's largest water management systems has been developed in South Florida over the past 50 years to provide flood control, urban and agricultural water supply, and drainage of land for development. However, this system has inadvertently caused extensive degradation of the South Florida environment, resulting in the loss of more than half the historical Everglades system and elimination of whole classes of ecosystems. The U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program (US MAB) instituted a project to develop ecosystem management principles and identify requirements for ecological sustainability of South Florida. A strategic process developed by the US MAB Project illustrates how ecosystem management and ecological risk assessment principles apply to South Florida, including the development of societal goals and objectives of desired sustainable ecological condition, translation of these goals/objectives into scientifically meaningful ecological endpoints, creation of a regional plan designed to meet the sustainability goals, and development of a framework for evaluating how well the plan will achieve ecological sustainability of South Florida. An extensive federal, state, and tribal interagency process is underway to develop a restoration plan for restructuring the regional management system, essentially following the elements in the US MAB project process. The Florida Governor's Commission was established as an institution to reflect societal values and define regional sustainability goals. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is developing a science-based plan for Congressional approval to restructure the water management system to achieve the societal goals. Thus, South Florida may become the prototype example of successful regional-scale ecosystem management.     

Moving from sustainable management to sustainable governance of natural resources: The role of social learning processes in rural India,Bolivia and Mali

The present paper discusses a conceptual, methodological and practical framework within which the limitations of the conventional notion of natural resource management (NRM) can be overcome. NRM is understood as the application of scientific ecological knowledge to resource management. By including a consideration of the normative imperatives that arise from scientific ecological knowledge and submitting them to public scrutiny, ‘sustainable management of natural resources’ can be recontextualised as ‘sustainable governance of natural resources’. This in turn makes it possible to place the politically neutralising discourse of ‘management’ in a space for wider societal debate, in which the different actors involved can deliberate and negotiate the norms, rules and power relations related to natural resource use and sustainable development. The transformation of sustainable management into sustainable governance of natural resources can be conceptualised as a social learning process involving scientists, experts, politicians and local actors, and their corresponding scientific and non-scientific knowledges. The social learning process is the result of what Habermas has described as ‘communicative action’, in contrast to ‘strategic action’. Sustainable governance of natural resources thus requires a new space for communicative action aiming at shared, intersubjectively validated definitions of actual situations and the goals and means required for transforming current norms, rules and power relations in order to achieve sustainable development. Case studies from rural India, Bolivia and Mali explore the potentials and limitations for broadening communicative action through an intensification of social learning processes at the interface of local and external knowledge. Key factors that enable or hinder the transformation of sustainable management into sustainable governance of natural resources through social learning processes and communicative action are discussed.     

Integrating gender needs into drinking-water projects in Nepal

It is argued that projects and programs designed to meet the practical needs of men, women, and children in communities should also focus on meeting the strategic gender needs of women. This paper shows what project planners can do to ensure women?s participation in the design and maintenance of development projects without increasing their workloads, and with the goal of raising their status in the family and society, as well as challenging men's prejudice. It utilizes the framework of strategic and practical gender needs in the context of the drinking-water sector, to argue that understanding how these needs are linked is important to the sustainability of drinking-water projects. Overall, this paper pointed out the great need to involve women in the management of water projects in order for it to be effective in reducing the burdens of the people. Moreover, all development initiatives, including improvements in water supply, should have explicit focus on improving women status and increasing their confidence. Meeting such gender needs requires real commitment from concerned individuals on all levels as well as budgetary provision to enhance the capacity of the involved sector, and heighten their awareness. Fulfillment of their strategic gender needs, will in turn, contribute to the sustainability of water projects.     

European Communication Monitor 2009. An institutionalized view of how public relations and communication management professionals face the economic and media crises in Europe

The European Communication Monitor (ECM) is an extensive longitudinal research project to monitor trends in public relations and communication management and analyze the changing framework for the profession in Europe. The 2009 ECM edition identifies the main characteristics of individual practitioners and the organizations where they work. The aim is to monitor the challenges for communication management in the recession and media crisis; the development of the sub disciplines, instruments and strategic issues; and the influence on management decisions. Additionally ECM 2009 evaluates three specific areas: internal communication, research in communication and interactive communication.     

Ergonomics and education as a strategy for sustainable development in business

It is part of the vocabulary of organizations, and the agendas discussed the subject of "Sustainability", but there are few companies that implement practices or even know the means of implementing sustainable practices. The objective of this paper is to discuss an approach to education for sustainable development (ESD) based on the concepts and practice of ergonomics, as a consequence of this approach allows the implementation of integration initiatives focused on sustainability, such as eg. energy efficiency and consumer awareness thus allowing a means of reducing costs and operating expenses, increased competitiveness and significant contributions to corporate sustainability. There is also the inclusion of sustainability in corporate strategic planning, and their implications in the different spheres of the market.     

Managerial Control and Strategy in Nonprofit Organizations: Doing the Right Things for the Wrong Reasons?

This article presents the second stage of a study that engages with the debate that has occurred within the nonprofit literature about the propensity and relative merits of nonprofit organizations adopting for‐profit approaches to management. Specifically, this qualitative investigation examines the ways in which nonprofit organizations use management control when implementing their chosen strategies. Although this topic has been the subject of considerable attention in the management accounting research, it has rarely been explored within a nonprofit context. This is surprising not only because of the considerable social and economic impact of this sector, but also because of the apparent trend toward sectoral convergence in many structural and processual respects, including strategic behaviors and approaches to control. Based on interviews with CEOs and senior executives in thirty‐two Australian nonprofit organizations, we find that the relationship between strategy and control in nonprofit organizations is similar to that in for‐profit organizations, but quite different reasons underlie nonprofit organizations' exercising of management control.     

The Multisectoral Trilemma of Network Management

This article presents an analysis of different network coordinationstrategies. The article extends network management scholarshipby integrating sector-based differences within a theoreticalframework encompassing extant conceptions of network management.Even as the emergent field of network management scholarshipadvances, current research tends to generalize network managementapproaches based on assumptions that organizations behave similarlywithin a network regardless of whether the organizations aregovernmental, nonprofit, or commercial. Consequently, existingresearch does not fully account for whether sector-based differenceshave implications for network management. This article providesevidence that sector-based differences within a network matterbecause the differences provide strategic opportunities andconstraints for managers involved in coordinating mixed-sectornetworks. This article makes several contributions to networkmanagement scholarship. First, this article provides a frameworkthat reviews and situates current conceptions about networkcoordination within a passive-to-active continuum of managerialapproaches. Sectoral differences are situated and integratedwithin this framework. Second, this article provides an empiricallybased investigation of a quasi-natural experiment that examinessector-based differences in mixed-sector workforce developmentnetworks in Boston. The article's findings suggest that integratingsector-based orientations within a passive-to-active networkmanagerial continuum helps clarify and categorize the strategicoptions and trade-offs that managers may consider in coordinatingmultisectoral networks.     

The quest for legitimacy and the communication of strategic cross-sectoral partnership on Facebook: A big data study

Nowadays, many wicked problems such as environmental issues require organizations from multiple sectors to form cross-sectoral alliances. Cross-sectoral alliance networks can transfer resources and signal affiliations and value alignment between strategic partners. The communication of cross-sectoral alliances is a form of CSR communication that serves organizations’ strategic goals and objectives. Drawing on the literature on digital CSR communication and legitimacy theory, this article examines which legitimacy needs shape the formation of cross-sectoral ties on Facebook in addressing environmental and sustainable development issues in the United States. Combining data-mining, text-mining, social network analysis, and exponential graph modeling, this research investigates the structure of a network among 3071 organizations across multiple sectors. Findings show that organizations’ cross-sectoral tie formation is mainly driven by social legitimacy and alliance legitimacy needs.     

Common Agency in Nonprofit Advocacy Organizations

Most theories of nonprofit organizations and nonprofit leadership recognize the multitude of stakeholders—including board members, donors and volunteers, funders, the media, and policy makers—that organizational leaders must contend with in doing their work. For nonprofits engaged in advocacy, demands from stakeholders may be even more challenging to meet. Although stakeholder theory recognizes the effect of various groups on an organization, it does not explain how leaders manage the preferences of their often‐competing stakeholders while they make choices for the organization. This study develops a common agency framework, evaluating the roles of three groups crucial to nonprofit advocacy organizations: the organization's board of directors, elected officials, and donors/members. The common agency framework is then illustrated with interviews with leaders of nonprofit advocacy organizations in California. Findings suggest that the leaders of these groups have a significant amount of discretion in guiding their organizations’ activities and operations.     

The governance of nonprofit organizations: Law and public policy

Who should have the right to set the objectives of nonprofit organizations, hire their managers, set compensation standards, and in general control these organizations? Current law and public policy do not provide answers to these questions. Often, nonprofit organizations are controlled by managers and members of the boards of directors or trustees (many of whom are appointed by management). The goals of these individuals may not best serve the interests of those who support the operation of nonprofit organizations. This article proposes a legal and policy framework for empowering consumers, donors, and sponsors—those who have an economic demand for the nonprofit form of organization. The framework establishes a formal status of membership, accords standing in the court of law to members, enhances direct information dissemination by nonprofit organizations, and empowers state-sponsored agencies to support and oversee nonprofit organizations.     

Entrepreneurial NPOs in Russia: Rationalizing the Mission

Nonprofit organizations in Russia are introducing for-profit activities as a means of gaining autonomy from external donors, and as instruments of strategic planning and sustainable development. This study focuses on organizations that work with welfare provision and explores how they reconcile entrepreneurial activities with their social mission. More specifically, we interrogate how two institutional logics, business and nonprofit, are defined and reconciled in organizational identities, structures and hierarchies. Socially oriented nonprofits define their mission through service to beneficiaries, through personal and professional dedication to beneficiaries’ well-being, and through making an impact on public policies and the society at large. They mimic a business approach in strategic planning and meticulous reporting, but subordinate profit-seeking to social mission by integrating entrepreneurial activities into already existing organizational structures, or by separating them into independent entities.     

From comparative advantage to damage control: Clarifying strategic issues using swot analysis

The principal ingredient of strategic planning is SWOT analysis—the assessment of organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT can be either a powerful management tool or a superficial and even misleading exercise. Much depends on the care with which decision makers integrate their analyses of internal and external factors affecting the future of the organization. This article presents a simple yet powerful framework for identifying and clarifying four types of strategic issues facing nonprofit organizations.     

Demands of the joint committee's standards for educational evaluation

The study examines demands placed on evaluators by the the Joint Committee on Educational Evaluation's standards. Twenty-two experts in evaluation rated the compatibility of implementing pairs of standards or rated individual standards on a series of scales. Multidimensional scaling of the compatibility judgments revealed five demands of ethical practice: evaluators must attend to the contextual and political circumstances of the evaluation; they must exhibit professionalism in their work; they must conduct the evaluation openly and consult widely; evaluators must meet canons of social science practice; and finally, evaluators' research activities must attend to the specific evaluation setting. The demand to attend to the contextual and political circumstances of the evaluation presents the greatest potential for conflict with other demands and is in greatest need of development.     

Young people with complex needs meet complex organizations: an interview study with Swedish professionals about sustainable work practices

ABSTRACT

This paper concerns preconditions for the well-being of young people with mental ill-health combined with social vulnerabilities, also referred to as youth with complex needs. Research questions are: What barriers to sustainable work practices for young people labelled as having complex needs do professionals encounter? What do professionals identify as possible ways to overcome these barriers? Sustainable work practices are reflected in three themes: empowerment, relationships and collaboration. The findings are based on semi-structured interviews with 24 professionals, 3 men and 21 women, working in psychiatric care and the social services in two Swedish municipalities in 2016 and 2017. Major barriers are lack of continuity and co-ordination in staff and support, and fragmentation of work practices. As a consequence of the increased specialization of human service organizations, young people have to interact with many different professionals which could cause disparate interventions. Possible ways mentioned to overcome these barriers are supported through good interactional skills, using keyworkers as well therapeutic alliances, wrap-around services and case management. Complexity is linked to organizations and work practices rather than to young people. An often dysfunctional service delivery system in organizations with rigid boundaries may also affect professionals’ aim for sustainable support.