In today's high performance business environment public relations (PR) is more important than ever before. Public relations are a two-way communication between an organization and the public. PR, a highly evolving practice that is seldom defined the same way twice, is the cornerstone of an organization or individual's reputation within the market. This paper, in addition to defining PR, will compare and contrast examples of the many definitions of PR and explain why so many definitions exist relating to a practice that all business organizations agree is vital to success.The Institute for Public relations defines public relations as, "…the planned and sustained effort to establish ...view middle of the document...
PR is it art of developing, promoting and maintaining a relationship with the media in order to reveal positive stories and actions about an organization or individual; which in turn influences the many diverse publics perceptions and opinions of an organization or individual.All three definitions reveal a facet of public relations. The PRSA definition is somewhat vague for a first time student of public relations, while McNamera's definition leans towards the actual process by which information is communicated to the public. PRSA and Seitel's definitions complement each other in the fact that both definitions underline the importance of the mutual adaptation and the communication required between organizations and their publics. Adapt mutually and mutual understanding underscores the organizations goal to understand consumers and their attitudes while creating an understanding of the organization's goal, products and services. In contrast, McNamara's definition concentrates less on communication and mutual adaptation and more on the ability of the organization to use the tools of public relations to foster an understanding of the organization.The PRSA definition is somewhat limited in that while mention of mutual adaptation between the organization and the public exists, no mention exists of public relations need for character, ethics, performance or the need to influence the public. Conversely, both Seitel's and McNamera's definitions underscore the necessity of influencing public image in order to enhance the publics understanding of the organization.Seitel's definition, in the writer opinion is the most complete definition encompassing three very important facets of public relations character, performance and mutual satisfaction in the communication between organizations and the public.One of the major reasons for the many different definitions of public relations is the fact that PR is a complex practice that society erroneously confuses or uses interchangeably with marketing and advertising. Public relations are a practice that has continued to evolve over...
