Public Relations as
a Function and Philosophy of Management
The philosophy of
public relations is the creation, building and maintenance of mutual
understanding and respect based on truth and effective two-way communication
process for the betterment of corporate institutions and enhancement of social
and economic development. This philosophy postulates that an organization
should do right, pursue the greatest good of the largest majority and support
only those things that will improve the welfare of humanity. In public relations,
it is believed that in the event of any observable weakness or error of judgment
in any area, an organization should be sufficiently courageous to admit it and
indicate preparedness to rectify it.
Ogunsanya (1991) is
right in observing that a public relations is an inalienable lubricant in the
wheel of strategic management. It demands from the Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) an open management system, the installation of a responsive information
management system, preparedness to share power without abdicating
responsibility and decision-making machinery that accommodates the overall
interest of the society and ensure equity/justice in all ramifications.
To be effective, a
public relations philosophy must be expressed in action. Good public relations
involve acting in the public interest. There can be no escape in today’s world
from the effects of public opinion and public attitudes. The increased power of
public opinion (both domestic and international) and recognition of that power
constitute one of the mainsprings propelling the function of public relations. As
you can observe, we now live in an era of “The public be pleased” “the customer
is always right”. It is clear that in today’s business environment, no
individual or institution can prosper in the long term without public support
or at least public approval. Institutions are judged by what they do, not by
what they say. For as one of the definitions of public relations explain that public
relations can be seen as good
performance that is
publicly recognized.
Public relations is the
philosophy of doing things people like and doing them the way they like. In
other words, the doing is more important than the saying, but there must be
saying after the doing. This requires publicity. In the words of Daramola, “publicity
should cloth institutions with acceptable personality”. All the publicity in
the world is of no value unless the organization being publized does good works
and acts in a positive and responsible manner.
................Syekeye Mathayo M...........................
