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PUBLICRELATIONSTHEORY…
percentageofcomplaintsnotdealtwithwithin5days,orcustomersatisfaction
withhowtheirphonecallstotheirlocalcompanieshavebeendealtwith
28.It
couldalsobearguedthattheprogrammewaspaidforbythecommunities
themselveswhoarethecompany’scustomers.Finally,howoneevaluatesthis
campaignwillhavetotakeintoaccounthowthecompanybehaves(orwhat
happenstoitscommunityrelationsbudget)inthefollowingyears.Thuswhile
ononelevelthecompanycouldperhapsclaimlong-termrelationship
managementinthecommunity,itcanbearguedequallystronglythatthe
company’sbehaviourwasmotivatedbyitsneedtomanagedatausedbythe
regulatorandthustoensureitsowngoodstanding.Soifintheshort-temthere
mightbebenefitsbothtothecommunityandthecompany,lookingatthe
relationshiplongterm,wewouldsaythattheextentofthe‘mutuality’might
beshrunkorexpandeddependingonthestrategicneedsofthecompanyinany
givenperiodoftime.
Whatconclusionscanwedrawfromthisexample?Firstly,practitioners
tendtosee(touseAbbott’sterms:diagnoseandtreat)problemsthataretodo
withawareness,attitude,behaviourand,perhapswecouldalsoadd,farming.
Theyapplycommunicationmethodstoputcertainmessagesintopublic
circulationortopersuadepublic.Theuseofcommunicationfocused
specificallyonachievingsymmetricaloutcomesorrelationaloutcomesis
fairlylimited.Extensivelydiscussedandcommonlyreferredtoinacademic
writing,conceptsofsymmetry,relationshipandresponsibility,seemtohave
lesspracticalvalue.
Thismaybeexplainedbythefactthattheprofession,broadly
understoodaspractitionersandacademicteachers,writersandresearchers,
resorttodifferenttypesofknowledgeinordertoachievedifferentaimsin
relationstotheprofessionalproject.Toputitdifferently,therearedifferent
audiencesanddifferentbasisforlegitimacyclaims:clientsneedsolutions
acceptabletothemontermstheycanunderstandforproblemstheyagreeto
handovertopublicrelationsexperts.Whatworkistobedoneandhowitisto
bedefinedisajointactivityoftheexpertandtheclient,andunsurprisinglythe
core,mosttraditionalneedforpublicrelationsspecialists(mediarelations)is
widelyrecognised.
Academicsideoftheprofession,however,reliesstronglyonacademic
legitimacyachievedincompetitionwithandcomparisontootheracademic
28„Ofwat(theWaterServicesRegulationAuthority)isanon-ministerialgovernmentdepartment.Wewere
establishedin1989whenthewaterandsewerageindustryinEnglandandWaleswasprivatised.Our
statutoryroleanddutiesareprimarilylaidoutintheWaterIndustryAct1991”(http://www.ofwat.gov.uk);
Ofwat,ServiceandDelivery–PerformanceoftheWaterCompaniesinEnglandandWales2008-2009,
availablefromhttp://www.ofwat.gov.uk/regulating/reporting/rpt_los_2008-09.pdf(accessed23October
2009).
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