Hi everyone,
So as I'm now at the end of my placement and getting stuck in to my final report it's got me wondering what exactly the impact of Public Relations has been on Cancer Support WA.
After these years of study I was already of the opinion that Public Relations is an important component of any successful organisation. However, it was only after working at CSWA that I came to realise the integral role it plays in the success of not-for-profit organisations in particular.
With a limited budget and a number of other departments taking financial priority the promotion of the organisation and the services it offers is expected to be done through the acquisition of media coverage and stakeholder communication free of charge through Public Relations techniques.
This strategy being adopted out of necessity means that the organisation is dependent upon the PR department to perform.
As Grunig and Hunt put it "Public Relations is the management of communication between an organisation and its publics", and it is clear to me now that if PR was overlooked at CSWA there would be no effective communication between the organisation and its stakeholders which would inevitably lead to a huge decline in the number of new clients as well as donations and volunteers. Since CSWA is a charity and not profit driven this wouldn't just jeopardise their earnings, it would ultimately mean less people in need would receive assistance.
The hard work of all of the other departments is backed up by effective public relations to make the most of the organisations potential to do good.
Well, that's about it. 20 days didn't sound like long going in, but I have learned SO much during my time with Cancer Support WA. I couldn't be happier with my internship experience and am thankful to have spent my time within such a fantastic organisation.
Kelsey
2 comments:
"The hard work of all of the other departments is backed up by effective public relations to make the most of the organisations potential to do good."
Yes effective Public Relations backs up the other departments but that doesn't mean each department shouldn't have knowledge of how the other departments work. For example I am working at a PR company right now and though we have a marketing side I am expected to sell booths to potential exhibitors which I thought was only done on marketing side. I think it is beneficial for each department to communicate thoroughly in order for a better outcome.The fine line when selling booths though ,as opposed to direct phone marketing, is that as a pr practitioner you don't want to come off too much as a salesman.
Hi Thierry,
I most definitely agree. Internal communication is vital within any successful organisations and I in no way mean to say that public relations activities are entirely seperate from other departments.
Rather I'm saying that better outcomes tend to result when public relations techniques are used in addition to the ordinary core functions of an organisation.
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