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Measuring Relationships in PR (State of Knowledge (1990 (1992 (1994 (1997,…

- - - - 1994
        
        1997
        
        1999
        
        Public relations professionals know that relationships develop among publics and between organizations and publics on the Internet, but researchers still know little about the nature and quality of these cyber relationships. In the future, organizations may build most of their relationships with publics in cyberspace.
        
        The Institute for Public Relations issued a paper summarizing the state of knowledge on the measurement and evaluation of public relations.1 The report described several ways of measuring both processes and outcomes of public relations efforts. Measures of processes indicate whether messages are being sent, placed, or attended to-- such as counts of press releases or publications issued, media placement and monitoring, and exposure to or readership of the messages. By themselves, however, process indicators tell us little about the effects of public relations unless we can demonstrate that the processes have effects on the outcomes of programs, such as changes in the cognitions, attitudes, and behaviors of publics--what people think, feel, and do.
        
        Support for the idea that organizations make better decisions when they collaborate with stakeholder publics can be found in the writings of Michael Porter, a specialist on strategic management in the Harvard Business School. Porter's theory of competitive advantage was the first theory of management to demonstrate that firms may gain economic benefits from social pressures and the first to explain the economic value of collaborating with stakeholders. For example, Porter found that multinational corporations with strong competitors in their home country were better able to compete in other countries because of the pressure to excel at home.
      - In the research project on Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management, researchers searched the literature on organizational effectiveness for ideas that could explain the value of public relations.
        They believed it was necessary to understand what it means for an organization to be effective before they could explain how public relations makes it more effective. The search of the literature on organizational effectiveness revealed that effective organizations achieve their goals. However, achieving organizational goals is not a complete answer to the question of what makes an organization effective.
        The literature showed that effective organizations are able to achieve their goals because they choose goals that are valued both by management and by strategic constituencies both inside and outside the organization. When organizations choose such goals, they minimize efforts of publics to interfere with organizational decisions and maximize support from publics.
- - - - At other times, there may be a long lag between the development of a good relationship and a behavior—e.g., when good relationships with university students lead to donations of money years later when they have made their fortunes.
        As a result, public relations professionals need a way to measure relationships as they develop and are maintained rather than waiting to observe the behaviors that may or may not occur as a result of communication programs
- - - - Why do public relationships form?
        
        What are the different forms of relationships?
        
        What are the characteristics of public relationships?
        
        How can PR practitioners identify which relationships are important to their organization?
        
        Environmental Scanning
        
        All of these different forms of relationships suggest that relationships in public relations can be two-party or multiple party. And, all of these relationships are situational. That is, any of these relationships can come and go and change as situations change. Finally, these relationships are behavioral because they depend on how the parties in the relationship behave toward one another.
        
        Organizations do not have an “image” or “identity” separate from their behavior and the behavior of publics toward them. Instead, organizations have a “reputation” that essentially consists of the organizational behaviors that publics remember.
        
        an organization affects a public
        
        a public affects an organization
        
        an organization and a public form a coalition to affect another organization
        
        an organization and a public form a coalition to affect another public
        
        an organization affects another organization-public coalition
        
        multiple organizations can affect multiple publics.
        
        When management decisions have consequences on publics inside or outside of the organization or when the behavior of these publics has consequences on the success with which an organizational decision can be implemented. These relationships can be called strategic (or necessary) relationships.
    - - we must recognize that not all public relations strategies, techniques, and programs are equally likely to produce relationship outcomes.
        
        How are relationships maintained?
        
        How can relationship maintenance strategies be measured?
        
        The most meaningful evaluation of relationships involves measuring the outcomes of relationships, which is discussed later. But, public relations evaluation can be done by measuring process indicators as well. These process measures provide meaningful information for practitioners who need evidence in the short term that their programs are leading to desired long-term effects.
        For example, public relations managers can measure disclosure by publics to the organization by counting suggestions, complaints, inquiries, and other contacts that members of publics, the media, government, or leaders of activist groups make with the organization, rather than to regulatory bodies, regulators, or the media.
        Public relations practitioners can measure their effectiveness in counseling management by keeping a count of the times management seeks them out for advice or is willing to disclose its intentions, decisions, and behaviors to outside publics or the media through the public relations function.
        Other process indicators of effective maintenance strategies include counts of what management has done to show publics that their interests are legitimate, of contacts with networks of activist groups, or in social responsibility reports showing the extent to which management has worked on problems of interest to publics.
        
        Access—members of publics or opinion leaders provide access to public relations people. Public relations representatives or senior managers provide representatives of publics similar access to organizational decision-making processes. Either party will answer telephone calls or read letters or e-mail messages from the other. Either party is willing to go to the other when they have complaints or queries, rather than taking negative reactions to third parties.
        
        Positivity—anything the organization or public does to make the relationship more enjoyable for the parties involved.
        
        Openness--of thoughts and feelings among parties involved.
        
        Assurances--attempts by parties in the relationship to assure the other parties that they and their concerns are legitimate. This strategy also might involve attempts by the parties in the relationship to demonstrate they are committed to maintaining the relationship.
        
        Networking--organizations’ building networks or coalitions with the same groups that their publics do, such as environmentalists, unions, or community groups.
        
        Sharing of tasks--organizations’ and publics’ sharing in solving joint or separate problems. Examples of such tasks are managing community issues, providing employment, making a profit, and staying in business, which are in the interest of either the organization, the public, or both.
        
        Integrative. These approaches are symmetrical because all parties in a relationship benefit by searching out common or complementary interests and solving problems together through open discussion and joint decision-making. The goal is a win-win solution that values the integrity of a long-term relationship between an organization and its publics.
        
        Distributive. These strategies are asymmetrical because one party benefits at the expense of another by seeking to maximize gains and minimize losses within a win-lose or self-gain perspective. Tactics include trying to control through domination, argument, insistence on a position, or showing anger. Other forcing strategies are faulting the other party, hostile questioning, presumptive attribution, demands, or threats. Distributive strategies impose one’s position onto that of an adversary without concern for the adversary’s position.
        
        Dual Concern. These strategies have particular relevance for public relations because they take into consideration the dual role of balancing the interests of publics with the interests of the organization. These strategies also can be called mixed-motive or collaborative advocacy.
        
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        Stewardship
        
        Reciprocity. The organization demonstrates its gratitude for supportive beliefs and behaviors.
        Responsibility. The organization acts in a socially responsible manner to those who have supported it.
        Reporting. The organization meets legal and ethical requirements of accountability.
        Relationship nurturing. The organization accepts the importance of supportive publics and keeps them central to the organization’s consciousness. Providing information and involving publics are key to the organization’s work.
        
        Conflict Resolution
    - - What are the outcomes of successful relationships?
        
        How are outcomes of public relations relationships different from other public relationships?
        
        Public relations professionals add value to an organization when they develop communal relationships with all publics affected by organizational behaviors—not just those who provide the organization something in return. Communal relationships are important if organizations are to be socially responsible and to add value to society as well as to client organizations. They also greatly reduce the likelihood of negative behaviors from stakeholders mentioned above—litigation, regulation, strikes, boycotts, negative publicity, and the like. Exchange relationships are necessary for customers, stockholders, and suppliers. However, exchange relationships never develop the same levels of trust and the other three relationship indicators that accompany communal relationships. Therefore, public relations can enhance the relationships with these stakeholders by using their unique expertise to produce communal as well as exchange relationships.
        
        How can the outcomes of relationships be measured?
        
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      - Control Mutuality -- The degree to which parties agree on who has the rightful power to influence one another. Although some imbalance is natural, stable relationships require that organizations and publics each have some control over the other.
        Trust -- One party’s level of confidence in and willingness to open oneself to the other party. There are three dimensions to trust: integrity: the belief that an organization is fair and just ... dependability: the belief that an organization will do what it says it will do ... and, competence: the belief that an organization has the ability to do what it says it will do.
        Satisfaction -- The extent to which each party feels favorably toward the other because positive expectations about the relationship are reinforced. A satisfying relationship is one in which the benefits outweigh the costs.
        Commitment -- The extent to which each party believes and feels that the relationship is worth spending energy to maintain and promote. Two dimensions of commitment are continuance commitment, which refers to a certain line of action, and affective commitment, which is an emotional orientation.
        Exchange Relationship -- In an exchange relationship, one party gives benefits to the other only because the other has provided benefits in the past or is expected to do so in the future.
        Communal Relationship -- In a communal relationship, both parties provide benefits to the other because they are concerned for the welfare of the other -- even when they get nothing in return. For most public relations activities, developing communal relationships with key constituencies is much more important to achieve than would be developing exchange relationships.