An Overview of the Public Relations Function

This book provides an executive review of the field of public relations with a focus on what managers need to know in order to master the function quickly and effectively. Throughout the text, we integrate the academic with the professional by asking, How can an executive use this knowledge to make the most of the public relations function, department, and initiatives in order to help their whole organization be successful? Throughout this book, you will learn valuable details on the managerial pursuits in public relations, such as strategic relationship maintenance, segmentation of publics, and conducting research. The authors offer insight into the managerial activities of issues management, lobbying and advocacy, creating stakeholder relationships, reputation management, ethical counsel, and corporate communication. They examine the most current thought in public relations to help the busy manager master the most important concepts in the field quickly, accessibly, and with an eye toward helping an organization or client achieve the most effective results through cutting-edge, modern, research-based strategic public relations management. Whether you are reading this book to learn a new field, simply to update your knowledge, or as part of an educational program or course, you will value every moment that you spend with it. Therefore, the authors have eliminated much of the academic jargon found in other books, and used a straightforward writing style. They have tried to make the chapters short enough to be manageable, but packed with information, without an overreliance on complicated examples or charts and diagrams.

Shannon A. Bowen is Associate Professor in the Public Relations Department of the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University. Bowen specializes in public relations ethics, strategic communication management, internal relations, and public relations pedagogy. Bowen s Ph.D. (2000) is from the University of Maryland, working with James and Larissa Grunig, of the excellence theory, as well as business management scholars. Bowen is considered an expert on issues management, Kantian ethics, and executive decision making. She is Contributing Editor of Media Ethics magazine and Joint Editor of peer-reviewed Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. Brad Rawlins is a tenured Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Communications at Brigham Young University. He teaches courses in public relations, research methods, and ethics. He has spearheaded efforts to assess and measure the learning outcomes of the curriculum and has developed an undergraduate course on PR research and measurement. Thomas R. Martin serves as Executive-in-Residence in the Department of Communication at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. He was named to the position, the first of its kind, in February, 2007 and joined the faculty in August, 2007. In this role, Martin works with the students, faculty and administration of the College to enhance the relationship between the Communication Department and the business community and to help its students successfully transition into the business world.