Public Relations Office
Public Relations
In every organization, public relations serves as a system for establishing effective, close, and constructive communication between the organization’s management and its various internal and external departments. By establishing such communication, it becomes possible to align the organization’s activities with external needs and expectations.
One of the fundamental factors that plays a significant role in determining the future of any institution, group, or individual, and helps them achieve their objectives, is the quality of their relationships with the individuals and institutions with which they interact, as well as with the public opinion of the society in which they operate. The more effectively such relationships are established and developed, the more successful the individual, group, or institution will be in achieving its goals. It is now widely accepted as a fundamental principle of management that individuals and institutions, in order to achieve their objectives more effectively and efficiently, need to establish good relationships, mutual understanding, and a shared sense of understanding with one another and with their broader audiences.
For the reasons mentioned above, managers of institutions have established offices, units, or departments known as Public Relations within their organizational structures. Through these units, they seek to establish useful and effective communication with people both inside and outside the organization and, by informing, encouraging, and motivating them, to achieve managerial objectives more quickly, easily, and at a lower cost. The professionals working in such departments strive every day to use public relations techniques and professional expertise to promote mutual understanding and effective communication with their audiences.
In essence, public relations is a dual-purpose instrument: on the one hand, it enables managers to become aware of their surrounding environment, while on the other hand, it ensures that the organization’s activities are accurately communicated and reflected to its audiences. The establishment of this two-way communication at every level is directly indicative of the degree of success of public relations. Therefore, several points concerning public relations activities are particularly important:
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First, public relations activities always emphasize the establishment of “two-way communication.”
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Second, in the communication processes of public relations, the fundamental principle is always “mutual understanding.” In this field of communication, not only does “imposition” have no place, but even “persuasion” is avoided, because persuasion itself may conceal a form of a domineering approach. In the long term, such an approach can cause audiences to resist the message being communicated.
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Third, reliance on “research” in the true sense of the word is a fundamental principle of this profession. Relying on research means examining the unembellished reality of every phenomenon. This enables public relations to guide organizational decision-makers in the best possible direction. “Research” and the attainment of objective reality are possible only through the continuous and systematic measurement of audience opinions. It is only through this process that public relations can gain the “trust” of management and participate in its decision-making process by providing and communicating accurate and effective information to the management system.
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Fourth, “ethics” is an indispensable principle of public relations. Adherence to professional ethics is essential not only from the perspective of higher ethical values, but also from a technical and professional standpoint. Without adherence to this principle, accurate and reliable information will not be properly conveyed to management and the organization.
It is in this sense that public relations should be regarded as part of the organization’s management process, rather than merely as a tool for exercising management. Public relations helps an organization and its management establish appropriate interaction with their environment. Accordingly, public relations is not merely a passive reflector of organizational activities; rather, it is a participatory force that contributes to shaping and improving what is ultimately communicated and reflected to the organization’s target audiences.