The public affairs unit was highly critical in understanding important topics for the creation of good relationships with the public and employees. One of the major topics that managers must understand from this course is the role of CSR in creating enabling public relations (Lim & Greenwood, 2017). CSR refers to the policies and practices incorporated by organizations with the intent of influencing the world. They are built to ensure that companies have a good socio-economic relationship with the public. All managers must understand how to use CSR to create good public relations within their organizations.
Building strong CSR improves organizations’ ability to build sustainable brands. In essence, CSR can bolster organizational image because it gives the perception that organizations value the role played by the public. Consequently, the public feels more attached to the organizations, thus resulting in competitive advantages over other players in the industry (Lim & Greenwood, 2017). Social responsibility is also crucial for managers because it empowers their employees, who must leverage the available corporate resources for better social relations with the public.
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Understanding the role of CSR in public relations will also help managers understand how they can adopt the right policies for better relations with the local communities, customers, and suppliers. With this knowledge, there are higher chances for customer loyalty, as they feel part of the organization. Managers must, therefore, leverage CSR to build good relations for both social and economic benefits to their organizations. CSR also makes employees more productive because of the appreciation they get from their employers (Pompper et al., 2017). Employees are more likely to be more productive if they feel that their jobs help society by contributing to their wellness. In the end, CSR builds good relations while also increasing productivity and competitiveness within organizations. With good CSR, the public reputation becomes positive, thus attracting more investors and better-skilled employees.
Managers should also learn the topic of ethics in public relations. In essence, PR practitioners relate with various stakeholders within their organizations, thus the need for upholding ethical conduct to ensure good influence with both the society and the stakeholders. For managers, understanding the role of ethics is critical to ensure that their companies do not suffer poor public reputations. PR acts as an organization’s image; thus, any unethical conduct in the unit could have detrimental consequences on the general outlook of the companies (Bortree et al., 2018). With ethical conduct, companies can gain public trust, become more innovative, and retain the existing employees. In this case, having ethical conduct in PR implies that employees are proud to work with organizations, thus higher chances of employee retention. Managers should also learn the existing ethical issues affecting the PR. For instance, they must understand how to tackle misinformation in the digital age. In this case, managers have to take the right approach in solving contradicting public information to ensure that they protect their companies from poor reputations (Bortree et al., 2018). PR must involve ethical values like openness, fair-mindedness, integrity, communication, and honesty. In cases of conflicts of interest, the PR must handle the issues ethically to ensure that they do not taint the organizational name.
The topic of communication ethics is also crucial for managers who want to create viable public relations. Managers must always uphold ethical communication practices to ensure that all the stakeholders feel appreciated and valued. In this case, communication ethics refers to the ways in which leaders use language and media to address arising organizational issues. Managers must always uphold honesty and truthful communication, which ensures that companies provide accurate information to their stakeholders (Alyammahi et al., 2020). In essence, honesty communication increases the stakeholder trust in managers as they can always rely on the information from them. Managers should also uphold active listening as part of their ethical conduct in communication. In essence, giving everyone an opportunity to express their views through active listening empowers employees and other stakeholders by increasing their confidence in a leader’s approach. Responsibility in communication is also a crucial part of communication ethics that leaders must understand. As a manager, one must understand the implications of their words or promises to employees or the public. Managers must give promises that they can meet and also avoid giving reckless information. Finally, managers must also ensure transparency as part of enhancing their public administration. With transparent communication, leaders can easily influence their stakeholders due to increased confidence.
Managers should also understand the topic of strategic public relations, which involves the selection of the right communication channels and objectives. In this area, managers should understand their audience before communicating key messages. For instance, they must filter their information depending on the type of audience they want to meet. Before adopting a PR strategy, managers must also consider what they want to achieve at the end of their tenure (Pompper et al., 2017). For example, a manager could aim to increase stakeholder confidence through public relations. In this case, they should use strategies that show openness, honesty, and transparency for increased stakeholder confidence. Managers should also conduct research to understand their stakeholders and how to best meet the set goals.
Finally, managers should also learn about the role of social media campaigns in building good public relations. Social media plays a crucial role in the modern business environment, whereby companies can easily market themselves and their products, thus attracting new employees and customers (Bogomoletc, 2019). Managers must adopt the right social media campaign strategies to ensure effective public administration. They can also interact with their customers and employees through social media campaigns to create brand awareness and good public reputations for their companies. Managers should, therefore, know how to use this tool to increase their public reputation.
References
Alyammahi, A. et al. (2020, October). The impacts of communication ethics on workplace decision making and productivity. In International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Systems and Informatics (pp. 488-500). Springer, Cham.
Bogomoletc, E. (2019). Carolyn Mae Kim, Social Media Campaigns: Strategies for Public Relations and Marketing. International Journal of Communication , 13 , 4.
Bortree, D. et al. (2018). Ethics: The distinctive commitment that defines public relations as a respected profession. Commission on Public Relations Education 2017 report on undergraduate education , 65-70.
Lim, J. S., & Greenwood, C. A. (2017). Communicating corporate social responsibility (CSR): Stakeholder responsiveness and engagement strategy to achieve CSR goals. Public Relations Review , 43 (4), 768-776.
Pompper, D. et al. (2017). Corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and ethical public relations.
