DIPLOMA in QATAR
Unit 3
PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTITIONER
Uses, Knowledge,
Qualifications
Submission date – 28
January 2010/ Doha
You
have been asked to work on an assignment about any public relations field.
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44653
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I certify that the work presented in this assessment
is wholly my own work
Prepared by: MOHANNAD ABDULELAH ALKHULI
Total words:
5717
Theoretical part:
4516
Practical part (survey and
interview):
1201
Font size:
11
Table
of contents
A. Introduction: ……………………………………………………………………….3
1.
Beginnings. ……………………………………………………………………3
2.
America and public relations. ………………………………………………..3
3.
Theories. ………………………………………………………………………4
B. Public relations
officers (qualifications and requirements): ……………………5
1.
Methodology …………………………………………………………………..5
2.
Career proficiency ……………………………………………………………7
3.
Personal proficiency ………………………………………………………….8
4.
Professional practitioner ……………………………………………………...8
5.
Professionalism ……………………………………………………………….9
6.
Professionalism in public relations expert …………………………………..9
7.
The personal proficiency
- The public ………………………………………………………………………….13
- Survey and interview ……………………………………………………………...16
1. How to measure a
survey …………………………………………………….17
2. Interview ………………………………………………………………………..18
E. References …………………………………………………………………………..20
Introduction:
A. Beginnings:”it is difficult to determine the time
that I was born in the profession of public relations”. (Maihoub 2008)
Public Relations considered as a
science of interpreting human personality (the art of convincing) to create a
connection between sender and receiver.
Most people tend to mix between,
public relations job and advertising agencies business or banquets coordinators
duties. Some old fashioned scholars believed that the “public relations” is a
common phrase derived from another one “media relations.”
It can be say that the problem of the
public relations itself cannot afford a suitable view to the public. Moreover, the identity crisis of the public
relations depends on practitioners whom are supposed to defend against rumors
and bring it out to light. If public
relations could not present a positive picture, it is going to be difficult to
gain the public`s confidence.
The art of communication or
communication skills: public relations based on connections between sender and
receiver; so practitioners should be skillful in communication and have a good
idea about communication means.
Convincing is one of communications
criteria, more than that, it is one of the most useful bases for effective and
successful public relations business.
Definition: in 1985 this definition receive
unanimous acceptance: (Kitchen 2008)
Public Relations: The management
function concerned with building a mutually beneficial relationship between the
institution and the people and maintains the continuation of these relations. The
success of the institution or failure will depend on these relations.
B. America
and public relations: (Maihoub, p24, 2008) The United States of
America is home of modern public relations.
The phrase "public relations" the first time in 1807 in the
words of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson (in the seventh text message to
Congress, where he focused on the term "state of mind" and included
the term "public relations").
When you study the history of public
relations cannot be overlooked the name of the journalist (Ivy Lee), is first
to uncover the mutual relationship between positive publications in the press about
a company or a group of politicians. (Maihoub,
p25, 2008)
In 1955, Burns new book (Engineering
Accord) came to light. Burns is the author of many so-called today,
"theories of public relations", including: the importance of leaders
and leaders of public opinion, and in conformity with public and private
interests.
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In 1984, two of the earliest systems theorists, James E. Grunig
and Todd Hunt, published Managing Public relations, in which they
presented a typology of PR, based on observations of practice in the United States:
press agentry/publicist; public information; two-way asymmetric and two-way
symmetric communications.(Grunig and Hunt 1984) (Public Relations Digest p46,
2009)
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C. Theories: many scholars set multi-resource
theories about public relation. Marketing
practitioners argued that public relations is both a tow way communication
process and a management function (Cutlip and Center 1952). After J. Grunig (1976), Broom (1978) and
Smith (1979) developed the managerial concept of the public relations
practitioners argued public relations concepts as both management and
communication discipline. Grunig & Hunt counts on the turned on systems
concept, through this vision strategy role appears as the response way to
environment pressure and changes, which commercial business always experiences. (Kitchen, p72, 2008) Whittington classified
strategy factors into four categories:
1- Classical category
2-
Establishing and Rise category
3- Phases category
4- Single versified category
Whittington view of understanding the
strategy essentially differs according to:
1-
Strategy results
2-
The businesses sequence through planning for strategy.
Whittington summaries that, the above
mentioned four categories have exclusive blueprint in planning for strategy and
how to implement it.
Competitive strategy (Kitchen,
p78, 2008): Porter focuses on competition as an important issue for the following reasons:
“competition is the base of a successful
or failed companies…competitive strategy are to find an apt competition field in any commercial
business. Competitive strategy aims to assist institution to build up a
profitable site and has the ability to face the forces which bounds the
commercial competition.
Porter`s five competitive factors:
1.
Competition which is now running between current
competitors
2.
Threat of involving new competitors
3.
Threat of replacing few competitors with another
4.
Supplier ability of bargaining
5.
Buyer ability of bargaining
In conclusion, competition has two
faces: One more profits and another more confidence, in other meaning, the more
competition increased the more new challenges recovered and began another
one.
Public relations officers (qualifications and requirements):
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(Kitchen p154. 2008)
External activities of the public relations (PR practitioner
character:
This kind of job requires skillful
practitioners in communications, moreover, these skills encourage them to speak
and express trustworthy and make attractive impression about the associations
they represents. So, to what extent
directors focuses on facilitating dialogue with the public? To what extent, these directors, care about
submitting self-information to the costumers?
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Methodology:
In the middle of the twentieth
century, marketing and media experts concluded a profession can conduct the
future of media, marketing and economy world; which supposed to control these
system`s policies, rules and any potential economists or politicians (public
relations profession used for political issues -lobby-). This reason and many other ones stimulated
experts and scholar to find a new school of business, which assists the
progressing political and financial authorities. Maihoub 2008 commented: “And public relations
have become knowledge and material for the study, the year 1948 entered the
history of the British public relations, that of the founding of the Institute
of Public Relations, and Stephan Talns became its first director, then became
the British Institute of Public Relations the center of academic preparation
and vocational rehabilitation. Books, researches, pamphlets…etc (see references
last page) published to aid students and motivates others about this science,
few publications argued public relations officers` characteristics,
majority publications argued theories
and guidance of this professions( Grunig, Hunt, Cutlip).
This study assignment will focus on
public relations practitioners; discuss its character, qualifications, and
requirements.
Standard qualifications:
Requirements of public relations practitioners
differ due to the environment they are working in. Mostly, academic degree requested through
recruiting new employee, speaks second language is a privilege; writing gift is
most wanted without ignoring analytical and critical view.
S.Black pointed out to some features
of an active public relations officer (Maihoub
2008):
1. The availability of common sense (Common
thinking)
2. Innate curiosity
3. Proficiency speaks well and put
ideas in writing well.
4. More importantly, knowledge and
understanding of people, "what people liked and disliked”
5. Seek to achieve the goal.
6. Good education and knowledge
7. Attention to the details of things
8. Flexibility and endurance
Public relations are involved in
different careers; although it has same strategic aims, but it has various directions. This sort of business requires professional
and experienced candidates whom are ready to work under any circumstances or
pressures, in other word, economy business needs motivated characters and familiar with calculations but they also
needs a person who can convince their shareholders with new projects. Moreover, a review about this issue on
publication and scientific and literary researches, illustrates that there is
not enough interest in public relations methodically. In general, numbers of those who are
interested in studying public relations, year after another, are growing 25% as
well as women.
Reasons of this growing:
1.
Reputation and
benefits of this kind of businesses.
2.
Unlimited opportunities
to develop your career.
3.
Creativity.
4.
Comprehensive, this kind of business is multi-functional,
which cannot be isolated from other duties, so it is impossible to rival a
public relations officer.
The professional character of an
active public relations expert, as western scholars pointed out in the
following lines:
1.
Depends in his work on the form of bilateral analogue.
2.
Has an administrative impact at institution management, affect
any actual or manage specific activities between the institution and the
public.
3.
Recognizes the importance of conducting surveys in a
scientific basic for the benefit of public relations, and have the skills and
methods of conducting scientific studies.
4.
Unlimited personality: he has many relations and
connections inside and outside an institution, and manages internal and
external media relations.
5.
Independency in making decisions, and seeks recognition from
his colleagues and always attempt to develop his profession.
Researches in developing countries laying
lights upon public relations practitioners that they are differential in the
following patterns:
a.
Out-form: these experts do not have an obvious
way of work, they seek guidance by advantage phrases also, they do researches,
which they do not use. They are
executives with no crucial decision to make or administrative jobs to
hold. This small number of experts never
seeks a renewal business.
b.
Defender: experts who hold administrative
positions to perform their role professionally.
However, they tend to ignore researches, so they do not evaluate
reflective relationships within social circles correctly. Usually, they do not have high competent
profession, so they need more relationships.
50% of public relations officer, whom incorporated in this research,
belongs to this pattern.
c.
Impressive: prefers the journalistic method at
work, and considers social midst as an influential factor. High professional
level and respects the work values.
Practices more consultancies and solve critical cases in relation to
social circles, and use not cooperative and equivalent dialogue perfectly. This is a small group of public relations
officers.
d.
Democratic: care much about social circles
studies, tends to team work, highly concerned about institution`s character
(reputation). Attempts to play the
consultant role through crisis to control the borders and media flooding
through it and uses these media in professional business.1/3 of public
relations practitioners have these characteristics.
Career Proficiency:
The status
of the quality of the existing work reflects the authority and high capacity of
professionalism and diversity of experience and effective professional skills,
including those based on the creative solutions and possessing contemporary
skills and ways of solving contemporary professional issues, which allows carrying
out professional work with high efficiency and stable.
Personal Proficiency:
The quality
of the recipe-based work reflects high professional standards for the
development of attributes (features) Personal - important process
professionally, and the types of the peak of professionalism, high level of
creativity and alternative level of ambition, motivation, domain-oriented
approaches precious and meaningful to the development of expert forward.
The
development of professionalism in the work place occurs as well as at the
expense of personal changes that allow the absorption of new skills and ways to
resolve professional issues. In other
words, the personality to develop in action and action is improving at the
expense of personal growth promoting.
Moreover, a kind of peak that is similar to "types of
professionalism in the peak."
Types of
professionalism in the rush are the qualities and skills of a professional
core, and a number of cases, add the necessary conditions that guarantee great
stability of the effectiveness of the work, basically, regardless of the
content and privacy. And these types generally are always associated with any
specificity of professional work, reflecting the specificity of professional
work to a certain degree.
Qualities of
the professional are: (Maihoub 2008)
1.
Strength of character.
2.
Predictability (predictability of the expert).
3.
The high level of self-regulating.
4.
Capacity and determination.
5.
Proficiency in finding solutions and decision-making
variety.
6.
Higher alternative justification for achievements.
Professional Practitioner:
Public
relations practitioners attitude based
on professional work, which has indicators of high professionalism and personal
work, whom has also developed a high professional and social situation of a
natural high pace of personality and continue to develop dynamic, which always
seeks to develop self-improvement and to the personal and professional
achievements are important positive social.
In other
words, a professional is not who works high productivity, but he is that creative
character efforts to achieve significant achievements, which its behavior conducted
by standards and regulates. The true
professional cannot allow himself to neglect of work and committing acts of
inappropriate behavior that may or not worthy of his stature. It has developed the concept of peak a
general theory for the development of professional attributes of comprehensive
qualities, suitable for any organization, implementation, and achievement of
personal development - professional in various types of professional activity. Of course, it can be used in the development
of the entire craft and craft practitioner specifically in public relations.
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(Kitchen
p150. 2008)
Public relations manager activities in a retail company:
1. Writing
2. Editing
3. Media
relations
4. Special
events
5. Discussion
and speeches
6. Production
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7. Research
8. Programming
9. Training
10. Management
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Professionalism:
It seen to be in this theory, as a system
containing systems structures are interrelated.
This calls for reflection on these perceptions in the field of developing
professionalism in public relations in general. Particularly, as it is proposed
the following explanations, have been obtained by the method of empirical
estimation; the experts here are the scholars who have addressed the issue of
public relations and teachers who are studying this article, persons practicing
the profession.
a)
Work professionalism system: in proportion to the methods used in
the concept of peak, the system in the work of professional public relations
expert is supposed harmonious compatibility between professional qualifications
and professional knowledge and experience at the level of professional skill,
and also at the level of professionalism of the peak types that play a role of
private knowledge.
b)
The individual
professionalism.
c)
System of normative regulation of work and behavior.
d)
The theory of “ego” producing.
Professionalism in public relations expert:
Means the
professional field of view, the system of knowledge, is constantly evolving,
and allows him to carry out its duties with high efficiency, and a number of
issues solvable. In other words, this is what "ought to have known
specialist in order to work well". Due to the content and professionalism
of public relations expert to put it in the organization and functions, and
mainly determined by the level of basic professional culture. However, with all
this, it is primarily specialized knowledge and some of the skills associated
special.
Interference in the system of professional qualifications to a specialist in public
relations of particular species thereof, which determine the importance of
cooperation in the privacy of public relations and most important to you:
Ø
Professionalism
primarily on the ability to distinguish people, "insight" is a
subjective factor including understanding and awareness of their activities and
interests, it is necessary when establishing communications and organization of
professional cooperation and calculates the "Personal Profile:" This
type of community can evolve independently.
Ø
Communication
competence factors that appear to know the practical effectiveness of
communication and the ability to achieve the various types of communication and
the psychological impact. Due to the capacity of communication competence, connection and
communication, and it can develop through special psychological technologies.
Ø
Psychological
competence mechanism associated with awareness of self-control, and
self-efficiency and the ability to achieve self-regulation. And can develop
methods to influence the absorption of the self and psychological
self-regulation.
Ø
Disclosure
of competence conflicts that appear to know the causes of the conflict and the
tendency to identify conflicts and the ability to manage and resolve conflicts.
Evolve through a process of study and exercise psychology.
Ø The necessary administrative capacity to
organize joint action based on coordination between the objectives and
interests and to exchange value system, and return to the level of overall
capacity in the area of administrative work and develop methods by
psychological needs.
What is important is that these skills be
flexible and allow for the resolution of professional issues in all cases, in
order to continue to completion and improvement and to be based on the creative
method.
Can be a list of specific
skills specialization at all levels on the instructions and professional
duties. For example, a worker in public relations that can do the following:
1. Establish contacts with people and leave a good
impression.
2. The implementation of various practical forms of
communication and
persuasion,
influence and argument.
3. Possession of modern computer technology.
4. Writing skills and journalistic work.
5. Analyze data from studies of psychological and social bases
for the
benefit of public relations.
The personal
proficiency
The personal
proficiency in public relations in a broad sense includes the explanation and
the basic requirements of the different level of development of the personal
characteristics of the existing work that determine the high efficiency of
work. As is the case with a professional working in a professional personal
with some of interrelated structures:
A. Combination
of professional capacity: Not every person at all can be a good expert in public
relations, and for that there must be special capabilities primarily to allow
the renewal of the capacity of the underlying factor. The most important
professional capacity of the expert in public relations is primarily the
capacity to general administrative work and ability to influence. We note that
this capacity is not difficult to show and identify the level and scope of
development possible. And predict some of them even through the process of
psychological testing. There are links, including compensation. There is also
an effective means to develop them based on the use and application of
technologies and technology the concept of psychological peak.
B. Important
qualities of public relations expert professionally: the qualities which reflected
positively on the development of access to skilled professional. Including:
gravity, good memory, attention and observations, imagination, emotional
stability, ability to work and management. The level of emergence of these
qualities can be determined also by helping to predict psychological. In
psychology and the concept of peak there effective methods to develop them.
C. Public relations expert qualities (personal-practical
or professional identity): it is characterized by the qualities of the task
professionally as affecting above all in the effectiveness of professional
cooperation. The poll showed that the pilot can be primarily the ability to
rename the organization and
spirit of initiative, responsibility and clarity and a sense of duty.
D. Renewal: this capacity can be achieved through
creative tendencies in the resolution of issues, a professional in the use of
non-traditional methods to encourage creative activity and knowledge of modern technologies. Farther more, the work of an expert public
relations is very complex and often have pre-plans to be implemented, so that his effectiveness
return in many respects to the creativity inherent in the work-based. Can
determine the level of renovation, or modernization assistance, whether
psychological or choice help analyze ways to resolve issues that are not
normative.
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(Maihoub p238, 2008)
Public relations is an obvious work of modernizing in addition, to achieve professionalism is not reasonable
without innovation and the trend towards making the new, which allows to
obtain the results of new work in terms of quality. The ability of personal
retrofit cannot be determined only, but also can be developed, assisted by
the practice of meditation.
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E. The need for
professional achievements: The real professional in his work always aspire to achieve
the best results, And the need to press the self in the profession has a very
sophisticated. These qualities should also be enjoyed by the public relations
experts. We must work in a system of public relations are ambitious. At the same time, must be characterized by the need for
professional achievements of realism, the subjective expectations can be a
barrier only. Here are asked to provide psychological assistance eligible at
the level of the peak, for many experts. This relates to the selection of
professional standards or benchmarks and estimates of personal capacities.
At the end of this chapter no word to say
that the above argument concludes all Public Relations Practitioner`s
qualities, because, scholars are adding and updating everyday for new potential
receiver. So, the next chapter will discuss the standards qualities and
quantities of the receiver (the public) that are the base of Public Relations
sciences.
The Public
To
reach out our purpose to a perfect public relations` character, it is very
needed to define and analyze the
receiver very
well. This chapter
discusses definitions and types.
"The public are group of individuals, in
public relations experts' point of view, located in the range of an active
particular institution or facility, which affect and are affected of them. They
are distinguished, and developing between its member's collection of slogans
and symbols. There are similar interests and specific links among them, and the
more these links increased and tightened, the more these groups
homogeneous." (Felhi 2007 p.17).
It is a fact, study and analysis of the public (the receiver) one of the most
important pillars of successful public relations business. You need to
understand the receiver mind which assigned by campaign. You have to understand
him! You need to study, analysis and classify, or divide into several groups.
For example: customers and how to treat their needs, is a unique science.
Practically, the customers can be classified into certain types, which make
more eligible to treat their needs, type of employees require serving them, in
addition to use their desirable symbols.
Mr. Nader (1992) divided the customers, depending on the psychological
state of the following items: "regular client, aggressive client, smart
client, practical client, Skinflint client, generous client, mistrustful
client." (Nader, p115 1992).
When we obtain a proper idea, it is much easier to launch a campaign without
fear of bad reaction of the receiver, for we already have predicted the
reaction in advance.
In order to be
the public definition useful for public relations director, it should describe the
public through the following areas:
1)
How
people engaged in a situation or problem or an issue and the extent affected by
it.
2)
The
nature of these people.
3) Place of residence (or housing) of these
people.
4)
Institutions
or organizations to which they belong.
5) Actions of the people doing, and how
these acts involved with attitudes.
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Once target
audiences are identified, priorities them and agree the desired response.
Public relations objectives are nearly always achieved by influencing someone
either to take action or not to take action, the action having some effect on
the organization. The person or persons to be influenced become the target
audience. These “stakeholders” are categories of people related to the
organization by a certain issue. When writing a strategy, try to pinpoint the
target audience by identifying named individuals, or by identifying the
smallest possible groupings of individuals. Never forget that the internal
audience is the most important and, in most instances, needs to know first. (Burton)
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Public institution:
(Kitchen p126. 2008)
The public relations
area separate from the field of marketing. Marketing is to deal with the
market and public relations to deal with the people or the public. Those
institutions can create or find a market for them identified by a group of
people may be interested in specific products or may be specific products
required by this particular group. Such a separation between the market and
the public very important issue.
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There are multiple
factors which can be used either individually or collectively, to inform the
public and identify the style that should be regarded as a target of the
institution:
a) Geography: adopt the limits of natural, political,
and help guide the study to arrive at the addresses that can be used to contact
the individuals concerned.
b) Population: for, the quality of individuals, such
as sex, age and income. Such
information is usually of little use in the definition of how the learner and
the reasons for the involvement of or affected individuals to the positions of
certain issues.
c) Psychological: related to the nature and pattern of life of individuals
and descriptions, psychological and moral values as well. Adopt such a psychological study on a thorough
examination of consumer behavior, attitudes and orientation toward certain
things or reluctance of other things, the opinions and judgments about
specified issues, as well as their convictions and self-beliefs and how their
assessment of what is false or real or what is wrong or right.
d) Position: regarded by some individuals with particular importance
to the institution based on their influence and position and the role they can
play, because of the influence they enjoy.
e) Reputation: There are some individuals who have reputation or
special reputation that make them the
focus of attention of practitioners in public relations, especially as they can
serve as role models for others and an example to those who knew people in the
community.
f) Membership: some individuals belonging to certain professional
associations which are active members with or which may be members of groups
with particular interests. The importance of these individuals that they
usually receive spam from their institution.
g) Role in the decision-making
process: uses this basis to identify
those individuals who can influence decisions, in particular, in specific
situations and who are active in the decision making, as well as who can do by
an active and constructive communication.
The objective of
establishing and defining the public is to see how people become involved and
affected by an issue, a special program designed primarily for treatment. This
program was developed working in the field of public relations.
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Grunig submitted four other types of public:
1. Pattern active in all cases.
2. Pattern indifferent and non-active in
all cases.
3. Pattern active in only one of the issues
or in a limited number of them.
4. Pattern becomes active only when the
issue is the subject of modern
society as a whole.
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Public
relations practitioner needs to conduct a comprehensive survey of the vicinity
of the target audience of the campaign, from which the commitment to determine
how the influence of the people in and impact people in the organization.
Research methods include:
1.
A ballot or a vote designed to gauge public opinion on
the issues raised.
2.
A study of the media, including newspapers, academic and
technical knowledge of what it wrote and presented about the people and
institutions.
3.
Meeting with political leaders and key community members
in conferences held for purpose.
4.
Obtain advice from specialists in management issues or
provided by the competent committees in administrative
issues.
Ultimately
we have to observe that the masses are different from the market and we have to
treat them differently from those in which we interact with marketers. The duty of the public relations practitioner
to prepare communication programs to take into account all those types of
people and also take into account the issue of passive mode, which may turn at
any time to active mode to the emergence of the issue of much concern.
Public relations practitioner must
also try to communicate with all individuals, even passive of them, before
switching to activists trying to create stable, long-term relationships with
them, seeking to win the raid and support to the institution and trying to
prevent problems that could contribute to the coup to members of the activists
against the institution.
Such information generated by a researcher
is necessary to bring awareness and understanding needed to develop public
relations programs with clear objectives. The appropriate scale, which can
adopt the public relations practitioner to judge the quality of performance of
an institution, is the degree of satisfaction of this institution to the needs
of its audience.
Survey and interview
Epistemologically surveys provide one way of obtaining and validating
knowledge. Consequently, it is important that the context for this type of IS
research be considered. Hence, this section also provides a summary that
explains when survey research is appropriate and the steps required to use
the survey approach correctly. (Newsted et al. 1998)
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A survey is a way of going from observations to theory
validation. As part of a panel discussion (Newsted
et al.1998). It is approved by many scholars that eligible and
legitimate survey is accepted at all levels. Moreover, most companies and
institutions depend on survey before any action or release of new product; survey
brings forward plans and profits.
To
conduct a constructive and active survey you are requested to answer the
following questionnaire:
·
How can you improve the accuracy of your survey?
·
How to assess and interpret the quality of collected
survey data by thoroughly examining the survey instrument used.
·
Measuring reliability (including test-retest,
alternate-form, internal consistency, inter observer, and intra observer
reliability)
·
Measuring validity (including content, criterion, and
construct validity)
·
Creating and using a codebook
·
How to pilot test new and established surveys?
·
How to scale and score a survey?
Fink
and Kosecoff argue that the three primary reasons for conducting a survey are
(1985):
(l)
When a policy needs to be set or a program must be planned.
(2)
When you want to evaluate the effectiveness of programs.
(3)
When you are a researcher and a survey may provide you with needed information.
Within
the discussion of each reason, the authors provide numerous examples to
illustrate the kinds of situations where survey research is beneficial. From
their analysis, it is clear that numerous forensic studies could be enhanced by
using surveys.
For
more explanation we arranged a survey on a group of employees working for the
same company. Those employees are working for this company more than two years,
ages 25 – 42 years old, all males, multi-nationalities. The questions will be
about PR business, use of PR and affects of a PR campaign taking place at the
company. Answers will be yes / no. number of employees questioned (13).
1.
Are you familiar with public relations business?
2.
Do you know the deference between PR and marketing?
3.
Do you think PR is better than marketing?
4.
Does PR campaign affects positively on sales?
5.
Do think that this PR campaign had fulfilled its aims?
6.
Are you willing to contribute another PR campaign?
Answers
varied according to the employee`s job title as follows:
4
drivers, 3 office boys, 3 sales executives, 1 typist, 1 cashier and 1 in charge
manager.
How to measure a survey?
Six
questions and thirteen questioned (6 x 13 = 78) 78 yes / no answers, each
question can be interpreted individually; survey can be conducted for each
group of employees separately (if divided according to job title).
The
more survey specified the more results become constructive.
A
single question survey is used for weekly reports of a campaign.
Multi
questions survey is beneficial to identify mistakes and resolve it and not to
fall in again.
There
are many other methods and means to conduct a survey like internet (popular)
SMS through cell phone networks meeting people in the street and the
traditional way (ballot).
Lastly,
the results of survey can be illustrated by charts (diagrams) so, it can be
easily understood and interpreted.
Interview:
This
interview helps public relations practitioners to be modern and creative, in
other word, information from an experienced practitioners pave the way to other
practitioners not to fall in any potential mistakes.
Our
interviewer is a sales and marketing practitioner, whom his employer always
uses public relations experts before taking any decision. Questions are going
to urges the public relations in Middle East (group A) and describe how public
relations business and campaigns affects positively and negatively on both
staff and sales of his company (group B).
ID
of the guest:
Name: Emad Makarem
Job: sales and marketing executive.
Experience:
10 years
Degree: BA
Group A:
1. Do the public relations are more acceptable than propaganda?
·
Most media in Middle East
countries are effected by regimes, so public relations needs to be illegible to
be accepted by the public.
2. How can you measure the PR effects in Middle East?
·
Through media and internet in few
countries.
3. Do the public relations have enough audience in the Middle East?
·
According to the campaign`s drew
attention power.
4. Through your eventful profession with public relations, what are the
easiest and most difficult issues you faced?
·
90% of the campaigns were
fruitful, political issues were very difficult while commercial one were much
easier.
5. The use of money in public relations like propaganda (charity)?
·
Using money is perfect for short
period campaigns (elections) and in some long term campaigns for charity
purposes. But, the use of convincing strategy is far better than money.
6. Do the public relations in Middle East perfect?
·
No. because most campaigns are to
demonstrate different ideologies so it needs time and lots of money with
failure option in hand.
7. Is there a standard strategy in public relations? Define it?
·
Defense, surveillance before you
start, deep search in the target market and identify the receivers.
8. Does the public relations practitioner needs to learn more than one
language?
·
Yes. For some countries and it is
good for making researches through the internet and in some cases like Arab
Gulf Countries you to learn English to communicate with the public because of
multi cultural residents.
9. Should you hire female public relations officer for male audience and
male PR officer for females?
·
Female public relations officer
is more accepted for Arab young public.
10. The age of public relations officer?
·
35 years and above to be more
eligible and has more experience.
11. Your advices to the new coming public relations practitioners?
·
Creator, contemporary thinking, more
research, more search, specializing in public relations various fields not PR
in general so he can help increase sales and distinguish performance.
Group B:
- Do you think that PR campaign is a good solution
for any potential problem in a company?
·
Campaign can stimulate employees
to increase production also it can improve relations among staff and with
customers.
- Does the chosen slogan contain the core of the
campaign?
·
Yes it does. It reflects the
employer`s intention in relation to staff.
- Does the PR campaign recommendations being fully
implemented?
·
No. because no public relations
officer`s supervision.
- Are you willing to contribute any event regarding
the campaign?
·
Of course, to express my opinion
and debate to reach the optimal solution for improving the performance of the
company and staff.
- Do you have any ideas to share with PR campaign
controller?
·
There are ideas such as:
improving the publicity, find new sales centers, increase salaries, separation
between sales departments by product, put the right man in the right place,
establishing special training section in the company and finally setting
conditions of employment according to qualifications not according to need.
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