Defining Public Relations

Paper Summary:

This paper attempts to explain the term public relations by presenting several existing definitions. The paper also discusses the role of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the PR professional organization. The writer concludes that PR is a form of communication that enables an organization, and its public, to adapt to each other in a better and more practical manner.

From the Paper:

"How can one define the term 'Public Relations'? This is difficult indeed, if only because of the fact that there are very many definitions of the term, and although the essence may be the same in all the definitions, the term is widely used and is also widely applicable to the management and the employees of an organization. As a matter of fact by examining the history of the two words crisis and consensus one can learn much. The word 'crisis' in Greek and Latin meant 'discrimination' and 'decision', and in old English, it meant a sudden change in a disease, while 'consensus' referred to the opposite of disease, perhaps, health. These are the two words that, in fact, are reminders of the very basis of all communication, which must either lead to a crisis, or to a consensus. (Roach, 2006) "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Grunig, James E. (1992) "Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management" Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• "Public Relations Definition" Retrieved From http://www.learnthat.com/define/view.asp?id=52 Accessed 27 June, 2006
• "Public Relations" Info Scouts. Retrieved From http://www.infoscouts.com/misc/Public-relations.htm Accessed 27 June, 2006
• "Public Relations" Luminor. Retrieved From http://www.luminor.com/pr.html Accessed 27 June, 2006
• "Public Relations Society of America" Retrieved From http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Public_Relations_Society_of_America Accessed 28 June, 2006

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