Week 5

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were the planning aspects of public relations. Johnston and Zawawi's public relations theory and practice include the following:

1. Organisational Strategy - a series of planned activities that will determine goals and objectives, develop action plans and use various communication tools to implement strategy. Questions such as what business are we in? Why does the business exist? can help to develop the planning phase.

2. Public Relations Strategy - Practitioners should have direct access to the decision-making body, to educate management about the value of strategic PR to ensure their influence in the planning and development of an organisation's objectives such as crisis management and their publics interests.

3. Value of Public Relations - As previously mentioned, it is important for a practitioner to be linked directly to the head of an organisation to effectively promote their strategies within management, their various publics and throughout the organisational structure. Studies show that organisations willing to foster this relationship often enjoy the benefits of good sales economics, fewer crises as well as attracting loyalty from their publics.

4. Vision and Mission Statements - these will define what you are doing and the direction you are heading. The vision statement will usually determine future direction. The mission statement closes the gap between an unsatisfactory present and an ideal future. PR mission statements are developed from these.

5. Key Performance Indicators - (KPI's) indicators that are used to measure progress towards achieving their mission, such as percentages from a financial point of view. However, this is not always effective in measuring the intangible aspects of business.

6. Strategic Planning - Johnston and Zawawi's 10 point plan.
-executive summary
-vision and mission
-background and situation analysis
-define strategy
-define publics
-define main message
-select tactics and communication methods
-implementation and scheduling
-monitoring and evaluation
-budget.

This week's readings allowed me to understand the importance of the term 'strategy' within the realms of public relations. While an organisation may develop its direction according to its business needs, the readings indicate that the practitioner not only aligns their values to that of the business, but will also anticipate its future needs by formulating strategies and developing policies. These are most effective when backed by top management.