The public affairs function in American corporations: Development and relations with corporate planning

The increase of social and political turbulence has led to the development of new organizational response mechanisms. Public affairs units are among the most widely adopted forms in U.S. companies. This paper reports findings from a major research study of the public affairs function in American corporations. Analysis of the public affairs function in several hundred firms strongly suggests that a critical stage in the organization's response to environmental change involves the integration of the corporate planning and public affairs perspective. This paper reviews data from the study and discusses the planning/public affairs relationship in terms of survey and case research data.     

Revising and updating the inventory of cross-cultural sensitivity

The following article outlines research conducted to examine cross-cultural sensitivity in a sample of 949 incoming university students in the USA. The study was conducted during the process of updating an existing measure of cross-cultural sensitivity known as the Inventory of Cross-Cultural Sensitivity (ICCS), and to examine the various levels of understanding among the students. Additionally, data were gathered to determine whether there was any relationship between the results and the demographic factors commonly cited in the literature. Results of the study indicate that the updated version of the ICCS, the ICCSv2, is a more robust and reliable measure of intercultural sensitivity for a specific group of freshmen students. Recommendations are made for future research.     

The ends justify the means: The ethical reasoning of environmental public interest groups and their actions

There has been a documented, growing radicalism in the actions of some environmental public interest groups in recent years. In particular, groups pursuing the rights of animals and groups working for the environment have increased their militancy and action. What strikes these authors as curious is the total lack of debate and scholarly inquiry within the management profession over the ethics and tactics of these groups. The purpose of this analysis is to explore the ethics of public interest group activity, offer reasons for the lack of analysis by management researchers, and propose a modest research agenda for future investigations into the ethics of public interest groups.