Public Relations

Public Relations

BUS600: Management Communications with Technology Tools (MWA 1109B)

Sean O’Leary

Communication - the human connection--is the key to personal and career success.

Paul J. Meyer

Public relations are an effective means of connecting and building relationships with organizations, companies and or individuals with the general public. A public relations specialist may be given other titles such as communication specialist, press secretary, information officer, PR person, or media specialist, but their main duty is to handle public communication for the organization or companies they work for. “When it comes to public relations, it’s hard to do anything correctly if you don’t listen to your customers (Hurst, 2011).” It can be defined as an activity that is undertaken to create a positive reputation. In order for this to be effective, those who serve in that capacity must possess skills to distribute information effectively. Public relations, driven by good communication skills, must be done effectively and accurately if an organization wants to promote its products and grasp the consumers’ attention. According to Al Ries, “You have to start with the mind of the prospect and you have to think about what’s in their minds and relate what you are doing or what your product has to offer, to what’s in their minds (n.d)” Public relations play an important role in the success or demise of an organization. When the public relation is not driven with the right intentions it can create the wrong impression. Public relations personnel must be continuously mindful of counterproductive behaviour’s among the organization's target audiences - customers, prospects, competitors and others.

The public relations specialist's role in an organization is to serve as its advocate, protecting its reputation and creating positive relationships with the public by communicating who the business or organization is, what it does and can offer and how it will make a...