Is Public Relations without a Future? A South African Perspective

doi:10.4236/sm.2012.23039

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Sociology Mind

2012. Vol.2, No.3, 293-301

Published Online July 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/sm) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/sm.2012.23039

Is Public Relations without a Future?

A South African Perspective

Ben-Piet Venter, Faan Louw

International Business School, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China

Email: [email protected]

Received January 24th, 2012; revised February 29th, 2012; accepted April 2nd, 2012

The praxis of public relations seems to be under threat, owing to a bad reputation among other things.

However, it is a fundamentally important partner in the organization’s value chain, and could be benefi-

cial if used in a proper manner. This paper finds, however, that (at least in South Africa), public relations

practitioners are not clear about their potential contribution to organizational value and success, and may

be prone to be exploited by the “real” spin doctors—managers with little or no ethical conscience.

Keywords: Communication; Public Relations; Value; Value Chain

Introduction and Literature Review

Public relations may become extinct. Defined in South Af-

rica as the “management, through communication, of the per-

ceptions and strategic relations between an organization and

its internal and external stakeholders” (Skinner, Von Essen,

Mersham, & Motau, 2007: p. 4), it is facing a number of issues

threatening its very praxis. The term itself faces extinction if

attempts to change its name are successful. The profession

faces extinction if it cannot clearly define its organizational role.

Integrating public relations with other business functions is

under threat if it continues being outsourced. It faces ethical

attrition if the practice of using public relations merely to put a

spin on organizational misbehaviors continues. A study in

South Africa investigated these issues (Venter, 2008).

Public relations is facing a number of challenges to its prac-

tice and academic standing. Some of these challenges were the

focus of two studies conducted in South Africa among mem-

bers of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa

(PRISA) who are mostly public relations practitioners (Venter,

2004; Venter, 2008). Findings of these studies resonate with

opinions of others who feel public relations to be at odds with

management in many contexts.

A major cause of concern for public relations practitioners is

the fact that public relations in the organization is not taken

seriously, and that it is not used to its full strategic potential,

but merely as a tool to “save” the organization from unsavory

public comment. Rensburg & Cant (2003) argue that public

relations’ role in the organization needs clarification; they are

echoed by Steyn & Puth (2000) who advocate the elevation of

public relations to strategic management level, since it is a stra-

tegic, not technical, function. Skinner et al. (2007), and Cutlip,

Center, & Broom (2006) agree. Outsourcing public relations

may reinforce its technician rather than strategist role.

Steyn & Puth (2000), Parsons (2004), Gibson & Gonzales

(2006), Smythe, Dorward, & Reback (1992), and Pedersen

(2006) all point out that the term “public relations” has devel-

oped a bad reputation, and propose that it be renamed; a re-

naming that will remove negative associations with public rela-

tions. However, the challenge to public relations is greater than

semantics. Van Slyke Turk (2006) argues that public relations

should re-train its practitioners, and re-examine and restructure

its practice and education. The discipline will benefit only if it

reinvents itself as a responsible academic discipline firmly

rooted in business a well as communication sciences. This ar-

gument is supported by the South African definition, which

implies that public relations should use communication to build

and maintain strategically significant organizational relation-

ships.

In spite of these issues, the function of public relations is re-

quired in the modern organization; especially its communica-

tion expertise and relationship-building abilities. Jüttner, Chris-

topher, & Baker (2007) express a need for someone to manage

relationships between marketing and the supply chain. Manag-

ing relationships is one of the key precepts of public relations.

Supply chain management is considered a major contributor

to organizational success, and is defined as a process focusing

on the integration and management of “the flow of goods and

services and information through the supply chain in order to

make it responsive to customer needs while lowering total

costs” (Russell & Taylor, 2006: p. 415). The emphasis in this

flow falls on collaboration, cooperation, and communication

among and between members of the supply chain. Communica-

tion and relationships as key concepts in supply chain man-

agement is identified not only by these authors.

Cravens & Piercy (2006: pp. 311-313) describe relationships

between the members of the supply channel, collaboration,

information sharing, competitive positioning, and product pro-

motion as important issues in supply chain management. While

they mention relationships and information sharing, they do not

mention public relations by name, although the reference to

promotion (given the marketer’s perspective on public rela-

tions) could be inferred to include public relations. They also

mention communication as an important element in designing

market-driven organizations (Cravens & Piercy, 2006: p. 418).

It is apparent that communication, information sharing, rela-

tionship-building and maintenance, and positioning of the or-

ganization as well as its product/s are key elements in the sup-

ply chain management approach.

B.-P. VENTER, F. LOUW

A concept closely related to supply chain management is its

antecedent, value chain analysis. Doyle & Stern (2006: pp.

82-84) view value chain analysis as a useful tool for analyzing

utility and cost drivers. Value chain analysis helps managers to

lower cost, while simultaneously improving utility. Corporate

image is a utility driver, while the cost of communication is a

cost driver. Organizations typically analyze all activities identi-

fied by the value chain by driving down costs while increasing

utility, thus creating value for the customer and the organiza-

tion.

Phillips & Caldwell (2005: p. 347) state that organizations

outsource those activities that they do not deem necessary for

the delivery of value to customers. Is it an indication of the

perceived low value of public relations that it is frequently out-

sourced, or is it the failure of public relations to create value?

Lee (2000: p. 33) argues that communication and relationships

play a vital role in supply chain management by pointing out

that good communication and “tight relationships” between the

partners of the supply chain are prerequisites for success.

Lummus, Vokurka, & Krumwiede (2008) argue that the flow of

information in the supply chain, through a variety of communi-

cation channels, improves integration of the supply chain. Min

& Mentzer (2004) underline the importance of company-wide

training sessions that will support organizations in implement-

ing and executing supply chain activities. These include rela-

tionship-building and communication. Arnulf, Dreyer, & Gren-

ness (2005) introduce the role that trust plays in the supply

chain by stating that, without trust among the various partners,

the supply chain is vulnerable. Communication is one way in

which organizations build trust, while another is the building

and maintenance of relationships between supply chain part-

ners.

Legner & Schemm (2008: p. 121) propose using the term

“information supply chain”, which focuses on the problems

experienced in sharing information throughout the supply chain.

They advocate that information be seen in two ways: transac-

tional and contextual. Where transactional information deals

with production-related information such as orders and ship-

ping notes among others, contextual information will have a

focus on “partner and product information”. The understanding

of contextual information may well be widened to include in-

formation on the organization’s other activities, such as its so-

cial responsibility.

Ellinger (2007: p. 101) states that marketing and business

education has been too functionally focused to “make the proc-

ess oriented integrative decisions that are inherent to industry

today”. He advocates that marketing majors should spend more

time and effort to study supply chain management. While his

arguments centre on marketing, they are also true of public

relations, still currently inclined to take a too narrow and func-

tionalist approach to its role in the organization or the supply

chain.

Against the brief theoretical overview of public relations, its

position and function in the organization, it is important to

point out that the praxis of public relations is in dire straits.

Within the organization, the public relations function is typi-

cally placed either within the public relations department,

within marketing, or outsourced. Participation at strategic

management level therefore varies and thus the status of public

relations. It does not receive the same level of recognition as

finance, production, or human resources. Public relations prac-

titioners are often from academic backgrounds with little rele-

vance to management, such as communication, media studies,

or journalism. This dichotomy between what public relations

ought to be and what it is, is perhaps a natural consequence of a

number of circumstances, not completely outside the bounda-

ries of control of public relations practitioners. A number of

threats for public relations as an occupation and science is visi-

ble on the horizon and must be accounted for as soon as possi-

ble.

The term “public relations” is negatively associated with un-

ethical practices conducted in its name (Steyn & Puth, 2000;

Parsons, 2004; Gibson & Gonzales, 2006), and it should be

renamed. Proposed new names include “corporate communica-

tion, strategic communication, reputation management, corpo-

rate diplomacy”. Arguments in favor of renaming centre round

the changed role/focus/perception implied by the new name.

Renaming the discipline will not solve much, other than cre-

ate confusion, and energy should rather be devoted to changing

behaviors causing the bad reputation. Renaming is a short term

solution diverting attention from those factors contributing to

its bad name in the first place.

Public relations would benefit from fundamental restructur-

ing and should be firmly rooted in business and communication

sciences (Van Slyke Turk, 2006). Not all public relations prac-

titioners are formally trained in the discipline (Venter, 2004;

Newsom, Turk, & Kruckeberg, 2004), and are recruited from

other fields such as law, journalism, or marketing. These practi-

tioners have little or no theoretical foundation in public rela-

tions or business management, and may well contribute to its

low status in the organization and its unprofessional and even

unethical image. The practice of appointing untrained public

relations practitioners will only cease if the educational re-

quirements of the discipline are addressed. This threat will dis-

appear when decision-makers in organizations understand the

need for recruiting and appointing adequately trained and edu-

cated public relations-trained practitioners.

Outsourcing public relations is globally practiced. Skinner et

al. (2007) differentiate between “corporate” and “consulting”

public relations, where the former situates public relations

within the organization itself and the latter outside the realm of

the organization. Newsom et al. (2004) refine this distinction by

identifying “staff member”, “agency employee” and “inde-

pendent PR practitioner”. Cutlip et al. (2000) provide further

refinement by identifying six different permutations of public

relations practice. The outsourcing of public relations, an option

long used by organizations, leading to the formation of the

public relations consultancy as a viable business in its own

right, poses a threat to the functioning of public relations within

the organization, especially as a significant contributor to the

organization’s strategic management. The outsourcing of public

relations also leads to ethical problems, especially when con-

sultancies are tempted to accept clients representing conflicting

interests. In order to maintain a steady stream of income, con-

sultancies may be less likely to act strictly in the ethical inter-

ests of the organization.

The term “public relations” is sometimes associated with

“spin doctoring” (Gibson & Gonzales, 2007; Sterne, 2008),

presenting an obvious threat to its practice. However, is the

discipline itself to be blamed for its spinning transgressions, or

is it being used by marketing management using it to obtain

favorable publicity or top management wishing to manipulate

public opinion? If true that not public relations itself, but top

management is indeed the real spin doctor, this threat should be

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B.-P. VENTER, F. LOUW

removed.

The praxis of public relations is vulnerable to potential ex-

tinction. Threats identified in literature are found in practice as

the results of a study conducted in South Africa show (Venter,

2008). We wanted to find out more about the challenges facing

public relations identified by Venter (2008), and decided to do

it in two phases. Phase one (reported in this paper) consists of a

more in-depth statistical analysis of available data generated by

Venter (2008), while phase two outlines new research.

Methodology

The methodology used could be described as exploratory,

that is, it was not based on some theoretical construct in public

relations. The methodology included an exploratory factor

analysis to identify possible latent variables. Latent variables

were constructed that were used in regression analysis. Regres-

sions were constructed by selecting those variables that corre-

lated meaningfully and appealed to logic and experience.

A structured self-reporting questionnaire taking between 10 -

15 minutes to complete was e-mailed to members of PRISA

during April 2008. While 1239 questionnaires were sent out,

101 responses were received after four weeks, putting the re-

sponse rate at 8.1%, within acceptable levels even if low.

However, it was felt that respondents had sufficient knowledge

of public relations (most have in excess of 10 years’ experience

in the field of public relations), and by virtue of their paid-for

membership of the official body PRISA had sufficient interest

in the field of public relations to make a meaningful contribu-

tion to this research. In spite of limitations we decided to do a

deeper statistical analysis of available data from Venter (2008)

before embarking on new research.

The questionnaire results used in this analysis are based on

the Likert scale construct (Likert, 1932; Spector, 1992). The

Likert scale assigns numbers to questions in order to measure

attitudes or beliefs. The respondents had to indicate whether

they 1) strongly agree; 2) agree; 3) neither agree nor disagree;

4) disagree; or 5) strongly disagree. The important features of

Likert scaling are:

 The respondent’s ratings reflect some strength of the atti-

tude or belief.

 The ratings for different questions can be added to obtain a

summated index of the respondent on the attitude or belief

being measured.

The popularity of the Likert scale for research in humanities

and social sciences is undeniable. The Likert scale is de facto

based on ordinal scales. The ordinal scale is the cause of sub-

stantial debate on how to analyze responses. This debate has the

following major features:

 Individual items (questions) should not be used in the

analysis.

 Parametric statistics should not be used to analyze individ-

ual observations.

 The summative approach is recommended in which indi-

vidual questions are grouped according to predetermined

(pilot study results) clusters also called latent variables us-

ing confirmatory factor analysis. Alternatively, exploratory

factor analysis could be used to determine latent variables

(DiStefano, Zhu, & Mîndrilă, 2009).

 Cronbach’s alpha is then used to test how well the variables

included in the latent variable fit.

 The summated latent variables can then be used for further

regression analysis.

The Likert scale questionnaire contained five different

groups of questions. Each group of questions relate to some

critical issue that public relations employees face on a daily

basis. An explanatory factor analysis was done on each group

of questions. Based on the obtained results, latent variables

were developed by adding the identified variables and then

dividing by the number of variables added. Those questions

that were asked in the negative were reversed before the adding

was done. Table 1 shows the different statistics related to the

factor analyses that were done:

Table 1 shows some detail of the factor analysis outcomes.

The Likert scale items, within their respective groups, do not

correlate strongly with each other, as is confirmed by the fac-

tors identified within each grouping. This result was somewhat

unexpected, since the questionnaire was designed around fac-

tors that were perceived to be common within groupings. Three

reasons were identified to explain the poor performance of the

questionnaire:

 Very few individuals will voluntarily admit to unethical

practices.

 Public relations agency employees and “in-house employ-

ees” may respond differently to some of the questions.

 The relatively small number of observations used in the

analysis. Almost 40 per cent of the questionnaires could not

be used because of missing values.

Table 2 reports Cronbach’s alpha for the different groupings

used in the questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha measures internal

consistency, that is, how closely related a group of scale items

are as a group. A “high” value of alpha is often used as evi-

dence that the items measure an underlying (or latent) construct.

Table 1 confirmed that the different groups are not close to unit

dimensional. Table 2 confirms the multidimensional nature of

the different groups, since the unstandardized alpha coefficients

rarely make it beyond 0.7, even if some of the poorer perform-

ing scale items are deleted.

Summary of Results

The results from Tables 1 and 2 clearly indicate towards

some data inadequacies, especially the number of useful obser-

vations. Because of this it was decided to focus on broad ten-

dencies contained in the data rather than focusing on specific

detail. The factor analysis revealed interesting insights in the

opinions of respondents. Likert scale items were clustered into

factors and assigned descriptive titles as shown in Table 3.

In coming to an understanding of the identified latent vari-

ables, it was decided to make certain assumptions describing

the different latent variables. The assumptions are based on a

literature survey by Venter (2008), and are reported in Table 4.

Findings and Discussion

The normative assumptions (Table 4) as generic descriptors

of latent variables were used to develop a set of hypothesized

relationships between the identified latent variables (lv) which

is shown in Table 5. See Table 3 for full description of latent

variables.

These relationships are not based on any theoretical construct.

The hypothesized relationships are based on deductions from

observed praxis of public relations. These relationships will be

used to evaluate the results obtained from the regression analy-

ses. Because of the data inadequcies it was decided not to use a

B.-P. VENTER, F. LOUW

296

Table 1.

Factor analysis outcomes and test statistics.

Grouping Items in scales Factors Chi-sq p-val Cum var expl

B13 11 5 9.85 on 10 df .454 .55

B14 6 2 2.95 on 4 df .566 .43

C15 11 3 15.95 on 25 df .916 .44

D16 10 3 15.76 on 18 df .609 .42

D17 12 5 17.93 on 16 df .328 .56

Table 2.

Cronbach’s alphas for the different groupings used in the survey.

Groupings Items in scale Sample size Unstandardised Standardised Likert scales excluded

Survey 50 62 .78 .8083

11 85 .6099 .6027

B13

7 85 .6902 .689

B13_2, B13_3, B13_8, B13_11

6 85 .6524 .6403

B14

4 85 .7155 .7194

B14_1, B14_5

11 81 .6013 .6603

C15

7 81 .6662 .6984

C15_4, C15_6, C15_8, C15_9

10 77 .6394 .6927

D16

6 77 .6789 .7181

D16_3, D16_4, D16_5, D16_9

12 71 .6949 .6951

D17

10 71 .7005 .7063

D17_1, D17_4

detailed regression results, but rather focus on the trend (posi-

tive or negative relationship) between the independent and de-

pendent variables. Using Tables 4 and 5 it is possible to get a

general impression of how the respondents perceived their

unique positions in the public relations industry in South Af-

rica.

 Regression 1: Mission: Public relations should strive for an

environment with high mission compliance and avoid spin.

As such, it should also support governance and be involved

in mission development. If public relations has an ethical

mandate, it could play a significant role in ethics guidance,

since as a function it deals with relationships and trust be-

tween the organization and its stakeholders. The fact that

respondents see it in a similar vein supports the involve-

ment of public relations on a strategic level.

 Regression 2: Spin: Surprisingly, when strategic/ethics

guidance is high, spin is also high. Could this be that re-

spondents want to be involved in strategic/ethics guidance,

but find themselves in high spin environments? The desire

of public relations to be taken seriously as a strategic part-

ner is clear in this regression. Respondents in high spin en-

vironments feel that they should be involved in providing

mission and ethics guidance. That strategic/ethics guidance

and spin correlate positively is untenable, since the correla-

tion should be negative, where public relations provides

guidance on, inter alia, ethics, thus reducing spin. It also

points to the ethical conscience of those finding themselves

in high spin situations, expressing a wish to help eliminate

spin.

 Regression 3: Ethics: The negative correlation of outsourc-

ing to ethics shows that respondents agree that outsourcing

has a negative effect on ethical conduct. Outsourcing is thus

a thorn in the ethical side of public relations practice.

Should public relations be able to demonstrate the value it

adds to the organization and defend its central role in the

value chain, it would not be outsourced.

 Regression 4: Order-takers: The positive correlation of spin,

as well as the negative correlation of training sufficiency to

order-takers is not surprising, since order-takers will be

prone to executing orders to put a spin on organizational

misbehaviors; they will also, acting as technicians possibly

without any full-rounded public relations training, perceive

their training to be sufficient. That interdependence is posi-

tively, and outsourcing negatively, correlated to order-tak-

ers is puzzling. Our assumption was that greater awareness

of interdependence would lead respondents to be less in-

clined to order-taking. It could be that order-takers perceive

themselves to be dependent on others to complete their

tasks. Those in outsourced environments are by definition

order-takers. As seen previously, outsourcing creates a

laboratory for unethical conduct, and outsourced agencies

may be more inclined to put the spin into public relations.

 Regression 5: Strategic/ethics guidance: The positive cor-

relations of mission, organizational ethics, and training suf-

ficiency paint an interesting picture. A high sense of mis-

sion would lead to a high desire to be involved in strategy

B.-P. VENTER, F. LOUW

Table 3.

Factor analysis.

Factor Questions Cluster title

D13fac1

 Public relations practitioners always act in an ethical manner (like telling the truth).

 All the workers in my organization understand its mission.

 The organization’s mission is communicated well to all employees and other stakeholders in the

organization.

Mission

D13fac2

 People suspect that most organizations hide the truth from them.

 Top management expects public relations practitioners to lie in order to save the organization’s

reputation.

Spin

D13fac3

 It is the job of public relations practitioners to always present the organization in a favorable

light.

 Even when the organization does something wrong (like polluting the environment), it is the job

of public relations practitioners to defend the organization’s actions.

 Public relations practitioners always act in an ethical manner (like telling the truth).

Ethics

D13fac4  Top management expects public relations practitioners to do as they are told. Order-takers

D13fac5  Public relations practitioners should provide guidance on ethics in my organization.

 Public relations should develop the organization’s mission. Strategic/ethics guidance

D14fac1

 Customers in general get the service they are promised in advertising.

 When a company explains its actions to its publics, the explanation can be trusted.

 Organizations never tell lies to customers.

 Corporate social responsibility programs are sufficient to demonstrate the organization’s

corporate citizenship.

Organizational ethics

D14fac2  It is not possible for organizations to practice good corporate governance since it is difficult and

expensive to comply. Governance

D14fac3  Not enough is being done to safeguard consumers’ rights.

 Customers in general get the service they are promised in advertising. Consumer ethics

D15fac1

 Public relations practitioners can benefit from more training in business-related fields of study.

 In delivering support to all other line managers, public relations practitioners need training in all

business functions.

 In order to do my job well, I have to have a relevant tertiary qualification.

 In order to function on a strategic level, public relations practitioners need training in strategic

management.

 Public relations practitioners should cooperate closely with all other line managers in the

organization.

Interdependence

D15fac2

 Public relations practitioners are well-trained for their jobs.

 Public relations practitioners have a good understanding of how other business departments

function.

 Public relations practitioners do not understand the production/operations function of the

organization.

 As public relations practitioner, I have a good relationship with all of the other functional

managers.

Interaction

D15fac3  Public relations practitioners can benefit from more training in business-related fields of study. Business training

D16fac1

 Public relations practitioners require training in business subjects like operations management to

add value to the organization.

 Other line managers need to be informed of the role that public relations plays in the

organization.

 Ethics training is an important component of the practice of public relations.

 Public relations as a function is generally disregarded by top management because they do not

understand the full impact of public relations activities.

Public relations value

D16fac2

 Public relations practitioners require training in business subjects like operations management to

add value to the organization.

 Line managers other than public relations managers are not trained in communication

techniques, and should rely on public relations practitioners to manage relationships with groups

such as suppliers.

 My training in public relations prepared me well to perform my function in the organization.

 Public relations textbooks provide sufficient guidance for the “real world”.

Training sufficiency

D16fac3  Public relations as a function should NOT be outsourced. Outsourcing

B.-P. VENTER, F. LOUW

Table 4.

Normative assumptions.

Normative assumptions

1) Mission Mission is the glue that binds all functions in the organization to a common purpose.

2) Spin Covering up unethical transgressions of the organization’s brand promise.

3) Ethics Ethics of public relations.

4) Order-takers Public relations practitioners are treated as technicians.

5) Strategic/ethics guidance Public relations practitioners provide guidance on strategy development and ethics.

6) Organizational ethics The way in which organizations treat stakeholders in light of the brand promise.

7) Governance Commitment to good governance.

8) Interdependence Cross-functional management ability.

9) Interaction Public relations’ interaction with other business functions.

10) Business training Public relations practitioners require business training.

11) Public relations value Appreciation of the value added by public relations.

12) Training sufficiency Public relations training sufficiency.

13) Outsourcing Outsourcing of public relations.

Table 5.

Hypothesized relationships.

lv 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

1 1

2 − 1

3 + − 1

4 − + − 1

5 + − + − 1

6 + − + − + 1

7 + − + − + + 1

8 + − + − + + + 1

9 + − + − + +/− + + 1

10 − − − + − − + + + 1

11 + − + − + + + + + + 1

12 + − − − + + + + + − − 1

13 − + − + − − − − − − − + 1

development and ethics guidance. The same could be said

of organizational ethics—where the sense of the ethical

treatment of customers by organizations is high, the desire

to provide ethics guidance would follow. However, and this

is surprising, the perception that public relations training is

sufficient is positively correlated to a wish to provide stra-

tegic guidance by developing the organization’s mission

opens a curious question: do public relations practitioners,

and them alone, develop the organization’s mission, or do

they do so as part of a team? Literature on the subject is

clear: Well-defined and executed mission is the result of

collaborative efforts on management level, and not domi-

nated by any single function. If some respondent feels

his/her training to be sufficient (where literature questions

the sufficiency of training), he/she may be tempted to grasp

for a position (dominating mission development) out of ig-

norance. Public relations practitioners are generally not

trained in business subjects, so how could they think they

should play a leading role in a core business process? It is

significant that governance is negatively correlated to stra-

tegic/ethics guidance. Surely ethics guidance implies that a

person understands the necessity for good governance, re-

gardless of costs of compliance? This shows a fundamental

misunderstanding of ethics, and again speaks to public rela-

tions training.

 Regression 6: Organizational ethics: The fact that training

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B.-P. VENTER, F. LOUW

sufficiency and order-takers are positively correlated by re-

spondents is alarming, since someone with a highly devel-

oped sense of mission and governance should realize that

his/her training needs to be supplemented, speaking to a

false sense of security about his/her public relations training.

A picture emerges of a public relations practitioner who re-

alizes the importance of mission and governance, but who

is insufficiently trained to participate in strategic actions,

and in general only acts as technician (order-taker). This

picture is further colored by the negative correlation be-

tween interaction and organizational ethics, with the re-

spondents seemingly not realizing the importance of ethics

as a team (indeed organizational) responsibility. Techni-

cians are supportive of mission and governance, but unable

to participate. This shows that public relations is marginal-

ized and not necessarily seen as integral to organizational

functioning.

 Regression 7: Governance: Public relations is marginalized

in organizations where their added value is not appreciated,

in spite of the fact that the practitioners thus marginalized

believe in the importance of good governance. This indi-

cates that organizations prone to spin will not necessarily

regard advice supporting good governance, and also indi-

cates that public relations and its proclaimed role as ethics

guide is not fully seen as integral to organizational man-

agement. The positive correlation between training suffi-

ciency and governance in this context shows that public re-

lations curricula do in fact prepare practitioners for the im-

portance of mission and governance. However, they are

powerless to the real forces of spin—unscrupulous man-

agement. The marginalization of public relations may be at-

tributed to its own false sense of training sufficiency.

 Regression 8: Interdependence: The fact that order-takers is

positively correlated to interdependence is surprising, since

interdependence by definition requires some measure of

independent thought and action, and not only order-taking.

This echoes a previous observation where order-takers

positively correlated to interaction. This demonstrates the

potential powerlessness of public relations practitioners in

the organization, and their perceived added value. Respon-

dents agree that interaction and interdependence are needed,

but still act as technicians, showing a low regard for the

value that public relations adds to the organization, further

marginalizing it. The negative correlation between organ-

izational ethics, governance, and interdependence is seen as

a cry for help from respondents, wishing to portray these

two areas as solely belonging to public relations, where

they have indicated a strong wish to provide guidance on

mission and ethics. This negative correlation again shows

that respondents are grasping at functions that they can

claim as their own, regardless of the fact that they need to

work as part of a value chain of activities and across func-

tions in the organization.

 Regression 9: Interaction: Why would spin correlate posi-

tively to interaction? Is it that the other business functions

such as marketing expect public relations to spin? If so, this

speaks directly to the misunderstanding discussed in litera-

ture that other business functions have of public relations as

a tool to communicate propaganda. Public relations may

have contributed to this picture by its own inability to

demonstrate the critical value that it adds to the organiza-

tion.

 Regression 10: Business training: The higher the commit-

ment to governance, interdependence and the perceived

added value by public relations, the higher the realization

that business training is required by public relations practi-

tioners. Thus, the greater the integration of public relations

into the organization and its activities, the greater the need

for public relations practitioners to be trained not only in

public relations, but also in business subjects. This supports

calls in literature for public relations to have a foundation in

business, not only communication. It is significant that a

greater need for business training is experienced where spin

is low, and where public relations training is found to be

insufficient. This supports the notion that public relations is

an integral part of the organization wishing to be ethical,

and where it may identify the need for well-trained public

relations practitioners. It also supports the wish to be inte-

grated into the organization.

 Regression 11: Public relations value: The positive correla-

tion of training sufficiency and outsourcing to the apprecia-

tion of the value that public relations adds to the organiza-

tion is disturbing. Previous regressions clearly show that

outsourcing diminishes the value perception of public rela-

tions, while previous regressions also show that a perceived

sufficiency of public relations training is detrimental to the

strategic function of public relations. Could it be that those

respondents working in outsourced agencies influenced

these responses? It is natural to assume that an outside

agency would perceive itself to be sufficiently trained, and

would perceive itself to be adding value to the organization.

If it were true that perceptions of the value added by public

relations to the organization is positively correlated to out-

sourcing (as it is), it is a disturbing accusation against the

praxis of public relations, and forms the foundation for its

irritation at not being included in strategic management. If

outsourced and consequently valued, it is a clear indication

that public relations is not regarded as an essential value-

add component of the organization’s value chain, and that it

could and should be outsourced. If outsourced respondents

perceive their public relations training to be sufficient, it

also means that they are prone to act as technicians, with

little input in the organization’s strategic planning processes.

This also helps to explain how organizational ethics in this

regression negatively correlates to public relations value. If

the organization is happy to delegate the spin to the outside

company, it is demonstrating its low commitment to ethics,

and expects the outside agency to handle media and other

related public relations crises on its behalf and at arm’s

length.

 Regression 12: Training sufficiency: Interdependence leads

to the perception that public relations training is sufficient.

This could well mean (if read against the context of previ-

ous regressions) that technicians have to rely on other func-

tions to execute their tasks.

 Regression 13: Outsourcing: This is a strong argument

against outsourcing if the argument that public relations

should be an integral strategic partner in the organization is

accepted. If the perception of the value that public relations

adds to the organization increases when the function is out-

sourced, it clearly shows that other business functions re-

gard public relations as a non-essential business function

that adds more value by being outsourced. It is in the fiscal

interest of outsourced agencies to complain that governance

B.-P. VENTER, F. LOUW

is expensive and cumbersome, since governance expenses

may erode retainer fees.

 Summary: Organizations need to guard against the ravages

of spin. Continuing with practices contributing to spin such

as the appointment of ill-trained public relations practitio-

ners who are mere order-takers; outsourcing public relations

to outside agencies who could not care about the organiza-

tion’s mission; defining public relations as a mere commu-

nication tool used to create favorable impressions at all

costs all contribute to the diminishment of the organiza-

tion’s mission—the way in which it views and defines itself,

and which is the guiding principle giving meaning to the

very existence of the organization.

A positive influence from the guardians of public relations

would greatly enhance the organizational mission. Public rela-

tions as a discipline and praxis should do the following:

 Restructure its body of knowledge to enhance professional-

ism not only of communication skills of public relations

practitioners, but also its business-oriented foundation.

 Ensure high levels of professional integration with business

by finding a model that will aid in integrating it into busi-

ness processes.

 Lift the barriers of entry into public relations by enforcing

strict ethical codes of conduct, based in an integrative

model of public relations/business interaction.

 Stop the practice of outsourcing any but the most technical

(printing, design) aspects of the public relations process.

The section on methodology in this paper outlined a small

respondent base as a major shortcoming of this research. This

shortcoming should be addressed by replicating this study using

a larger sample base. The sample was also restricted to public

relations practitioners, and the understanding of the problematic

and solutions could be vastly expanded by including other

business functions such as marketing, operations, and finance to

establish whether they agree with the respondents cited in this

study. This study could also be replicated in countries other

than South Africa.

Research should also be conducted to describe and under-

stand the specific value that public relations should add to the

organization within the understanding of the value chain. Fu-

ture research should also focus on the ethical role of public

relations in the organization, so that it may be safeguarded

against manipulation by unethical managers.

The research reported in this article shows a readiness among

respondents to accept a potential realignment of the role of

public relations in the organization, whereby:

 Public relations is not outsourced, but rather woven into the

fabric of organizations.

 Public relations takes a more active role as the organiza-

tion’s ethical conscience.

 Public relations re-examines its body of knowledge and

theory base to expand its organizational role.

This compels the authors to revisit the definition of public

relations given in the introduction of this article:

“Public relations is managing value-added communication

and relationship-building activities to support the organization

in its strategic goals of building maintaining strategically sig-

nificant relationships with internal and external stakeholders”.

It is the contention of this article that a realigned public rela-

tions function, whereby it serves the entire organization as

communication technician on the one hand, and a strategic and

ethical rudder on the other, may contribute measurably to or-

ganizational credibility, relationships and, thus, organizational

value. The answer to this realignment may well lie in a discus-

sion on Porter’s value chain analysis.

Acknowledgements

This article is, in part, based on the doctor’s thesis of B. P.

Venter at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. His

study leader, Prof. Johann van der Merwe, is hereby acknowl-

edged.

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