Global Alliance Newsletter – September 22, 2009 Chairman’s notes

Among the many subjects of interest in this issue of the Global Alliance Newsletter (thank you, editors Jennifer, Cathy and Thorsten), you may want to pay special attention to these reports on new services to members:

(1.) Public Relations Research

The Global Alliance Newsletter – and website – will now present regular reports on new public relations research of significance to public relations practitioners and educators around the world. The Global Alliance is providing additional “global reach” for the research work of the highly-respected Institute for Public Relations, A Global Alliance affiliate member association. You may well want to share the first report, “A Win-Win Model: Facing Activist Pressure” with your colleagues.

(2.) News from the European Union

Under the auspices of Confédération Européenne des Relations Publiques (CERP) Brussels office, each issue of this Newsletter beginning November 2009 will bring you news and commentary from one of the world’s most influential centers of public affairs. Correspondent Allah Grazhdan will begin the series with a report on PR news in Europe. Of course, public relations news from all other parts of the world are, and will be, presented regularly in these pages (See Articles Below).

(3.) The World Public Relations Forum -- Stockholm , June 14-15, 2010

It’s by no means too early to mark your calendar for this event, arguably the most important global public relations conference to be held in 2010. A conference task force is already at work forming a program that will have lasting impact for the practice of public relations as well as the profession’s reputation.

As always, your Global Alliance Board is interested in your response to GA’s current and planned services to members as well as to news and commentaries from you and the members of your associations.

John Paluszek, GA Chair

  

Action Update

Since the last Newsletter, the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management has undertaken a number of actions including:

• Established a Board of Directors with regional representation globally. *

• Initiated review and revision of Articles of Association. *

• Accelerated transition of administrative center to Universita della Svizzera Italiana (Lugano, Switzerland).

• Developed a revised financial plan. *

• Refreshed the GA Newsletter and Website.

• Issued 2009 member subscription notices (with new membership rates).

• Developed a broad-based Sponsorship/Partnership program.

• Initiated planning the 2010 World Public Relations Forum with host association.

• Engaged the Institute for Public Relations for regular research reporting.

• Began planning new services such as webinars and association management.

• Supported “Landscapes”, global curriculum and credentials programs/services.

• Explored new relationships re external communications/awareness/advocacy **

• Extended geo outreach with supplemental GA regional reps, as well as contact with “correspondent associations” and individuals.

_________________________________________________________________ * To be approved at the mid-November 2009 GA Special General Meeting.

** Preliminary discussions with global media. Also, Chair will address Slovenian Public Relations Society, FERPI and MedCom

(Mediterranean) association this fall.

  

Dan

iel T

isch

, GA

Cha

ir El

ect

GA Chair Elect Highlights Challenges Ahead

Raising standards in public relations education and practice, sharing

knowledge and becoming good advocates. Just a few of the challenges

ahead, according to Dan Tisch, Chair-Elect of the Global Alliance. His

views on the role of the Global Alliance and future directions for national

associations can be found in his comments below.

With a solid background in Canadian public affairs and now head of Argyle,

one of Canada’s leading consultancies, Dan Tisch will be bringing a wealth of

experience with him when he succeeds John Paluszek as Global Alliance

Chair.

Dan has been an active member of the GA board in recent years and sees the

Global Alliance as a unifying force for public relations worldwide. The GA, he says, can work towards elevating the

status of public relations at a macro level, supporting national associations in their local endeavours as well as

enhancing education and credentials.

“We face many challenges, particularly in tough times when every dollar counts. By sharing knowledge, working at a macro

level and becoming a global advocate for the profession, the Global Alliance will be able to help strengthen public relations

associations around the world.

“We would encourage practitioners to become active members of their associations, wherever they are based, as through

their membership and participation they will be able to access leading-edge information that will help them progress in their

careers as valued and essential counsel within their organisations.

“The GA strategy agreed at the AGM this year looks to support national associations and act as advocates for the profession

and to this end, we have strengthened our representation with regional board members across all the continents so that we

meet this aim”.

  

GA Member News

Austrian PR Association ‘walks the talk’ proving expertise in Corporate Social

Responsibility

A World Café session, a focus on the Global Reporting Initiative and intense

practical training awaits attendees at CSRLab’s second round, run by PRVA, the Austrian Public Relations

Association. Markus Pirchner outlines the concepts and activities in detail below.

Founded in 2007, the PRVA CSRLab aims to strengthen the association’s corporate social responsibility management and its

responsibility to claim a major role in CSR for the PR profession.

PRVA believes that practitioners are indispensable in responsibility management as it is their fundamental task to develop and

manage internal and external relationships of organisations, often, says PRVA, a role that the profession is denied by its

critics, who accuse PR of a lack of qualifications and ethical competency.

Since it began, the CSRLab also operates also as an educational resource exclusively for members of the PRVA. In two-term

courses the participants not only receive an intense introduction to aspects of CSR, they receive extensive practical training in

monthly workshops as well as contributing to the further development of the CSR policy of the association.

The main focus of CSRLab for 2009/2010 will be:

a CSR report for 2009, based on the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

stakeholder management for a whole range of selected issues

communicating the results of its CSR efforts to the other members of PRVA

As an intermediate step a “World Café” (open space event) for members and external stakeholders will be held later this year.

The Austrian PR association is confident that the CSRLab 2 will not only further enhance the credibility of PR but also lead to

an increased importance of CSR in corporate behaviour and in management decisions.

  

Featured Events

World Public Relations Forum, Stockholm June 14 -15, 2010

Public relations professionals from around the world with meet

in Stockholm, Sweden in mid-June 2010 to participate in The

Global Alliance’s Sixth World Public Relations Forum * -- a global conference that will help raise standards for public

relations practice and generate greater appreciation for the profession.

The program is being developed jointly with the host national association, Global Alliance-member The Swedish

PR Association. “We can confidently promise the several hundred anticipated Forum participants two days that

will engage, motivate – and, yes excite – all who attend,” GA Chair John Paluszek

Forum planners have already built a framework for the program. A just-concluded five-year SPRA research study

that projects a new, more substantive

role for public relations professionals in management will be a centrepiece of the conference. The study, “The

Communicative Organization”, will be supported by case histories from companies where this is being achieved.

The Global Alliance is now actively identifying sponsors for the Forum. Inquiries should be addressed to John

Paluszek. Registration details will be announced in the next Newsletter issue.

Sixty Years on, Australian Public Relations looks to Changing Climates

The PRIA National Conference next month (26-27 October 2009) celebrates the PRIA

60th anniversary and with its theme of Public Relations in Changing Climates will explore

the practice of public relations and communication in new and challenging

environments.

Read more on this key event here

As Australia’s comprehensive communication event, this two-day conference will explore the hottest topics in public relations.

As the PRIA celebrates its 60th Anniversary in 2009, this year’s conference will also provide the opportunity to celebrate this

important milestone with professional peers from across Australia and around the world.

The event will provide both practical case study analysis and visionary insight designed to communicators get to grips with

Public Relations in Changing Climates. Sessions include demonstrating value in tough times, the view from the boardroom,

leadership – having what it takes - and the evolving role of the communicator.

  

The PRIA Academic Forum has been running in parallel with the PRIA annual conference since 2004. The Forum aims to

contribute to the body of knowledge in public relations and provide an opportunity for the discussion of learning and teaching

issues faced in our discipline and is a great opportunity to showcase and discuss academic research and thought and its

relevance to the practice.

Dynamics of Power – Indonesia puts Corporate Communications in the spotlight

Dr Ahmad Mukhlis Yusuf, CEO of the Indonesian News Agency is one of the leading

speakers at the PR Society of Indonesia’s Annual International PR & Communication

Management Conference. Titled: 'The Dynamics of Power Corporate Communications in a Rapidly Changing Global Environment' the two-day event will be held on November 18-20, 2009 in Jakarta.

Indonesia’s seventh public relations and communications conference will tackle excellence in corporate communications, with

speakers from the Ministry of Communications and Informatics, PT Smart Telecom and Kompas Daily among those examining

best practice in protecting brand equity, developing government relations, investor relations management and the trends and

opportunities presented in our rapidly changing cyber world.

  

GA Featured Research Article Internal Communications Benefits From the Current Financial Crisis

 

According to the study “Trendmonitor 2009”, conducted by German universities and the German PR Association

DPRG, the current financial downturn will rather strengthen the work in the area of internal communications. The

economical situation is of course a priority topic for those working in internal communications. 

500 companies and organisations in Germany participated in this project, most of them stated that they, as the ones

responsible for electronic and printed employee communications, are important problem-solvers in the wake of the current

crisis.

In the analysis, it was stated that, in order to be even more successful in the future, experts in internal communications need

to strengthen their role within their companies. They need to be considered as the experts for informing and motivating

employees. They need to build a strong network with colleagues to get all relevant information first hand. It is not enough to be

“his masters voice”, internal communications should take the opinion of the actual workforce into consideration in order not to

lose trust within the company.

The intranet has a major role to play for internal communications, and most experts in Germany stated that they would like to

improve their intranets in the future. For example, they would like to introduce new media technologies such as pod-/vodcast,

as well as blogs and social media applications.

Also, internal campaigns and the re-launch of existing employee magazines seems to be a priority for the future of internal

communicators.

In times of crisis, direct and personal communications grows in importance, followed by e-mails and newsletters to employees.

Another finding was that corporate intranets are still not as user-friendly as they should be, and companies are willing to put

more efforts into new designs and usability-tests to increase the acceptance of this tool amongst employees.

  

GA Featured Knowledge Article Role Modeling in Public Relations: The Influence of Role Models and Mentors On Leadership Beliefs and Qualities By Bruce K. Berger, Juan Meng and William Heyman

Abstract

This study examined perceptions of 222 PR practitioners regarding qualities and characteristics of excellent leadership in the

profession. Limited research has been devoted to leadership qualities and practices in public relations. However, technical

and managerial roles have been studied extensively (Broom & Dozier, 1986; Dozier & Broom, 1995; L. Grunig, J. Grunig and

D. Dozier, 2002), and some qualities and practices of excellent leadership are implicit in the managerial role. These include

ethical practice and counsel, involvement in strategic decision-making and professional knowledge and expertise.

In addition, Excellence theory (D. Dozier, L. Grunig, & J. Grunig, 1995; J. Grunig, 1992; L. Grunig, J. Grunig, & D. Dozier,

2002) suggests that public relations leaders should be members of the dominant coalition, practice two-way symmetrical

communication and report directly to the CEO or president, among others.

This study specifically examines two of the national survey questions that probed respondents’ perceptions about 1) factors

that influence their beliefs about excellent leadership and 2) the most valuable sources of leadership skills and development. A

majority of respondents said role models and mentors exerted the greatest influence on their beliefs about excellent

leadership. In addition, role models, on-the-job-experiences and individual initiative and desire were the most important

sources of leadership development. These findings support the idea that leaders communicate values primarily through their

behaviors, which influence organizational culture and those they lead (Schein, 1985). The study bears implications for practice

and education and contributes to an emerging area of research regarding leadership in the field.

Download full article from the Institute of Public Relations (IPR)

Up Coming Events Calendar MedCom

MedCom 2009 is the first Inter-Mediterranean Simposium on Public Relations which will take place the 13th and 14th November 2009 in Catania (Sicily - Italy) at the University of Catania. The theme of the first edition is "Public Relations as support to the economic development of the Mediterranean Area". For more information visit: http://www.med-com.it/medcom/about_us.asp

Organizer: (CERPMED) Study and Research Centre on Public Relations in the Mediterranean Area

Type: Conference Location: University of Catania, Sicily Date: November 13 - 14, 2009

  

31st All India Public Relations Conference

Communication Challenges in the Globalised World:

This annual summit, the 31st All India Public Relations Conference at Chandigarh shall focus on the communication challenges bringing together some of the best brains in the field of public relations, and corporate communication. The aim of the Conference is to promote best practices in Public Relations practice, sensitise the participants about the challenges, and encouraging internal dynamics to show the way to innovation and creativity in bringing about the desired changes for the larger good of the humanity. For more information visit: www.prsi.in GA Online Social Networking You can follow GA on any of the following social networking and information sites that also include a live RSS Feed packed with industry news from around the globe. Visit our website or click the relevant buttons to get connected. If you can’t find us please don’t hesitate to contact the GA Center: info@globalalliancepr.org

  

Note from the Global Alliance Center GA Website Updates GA member organizations are reminded that they can update their individual website pages by using the proper login instructions. The Individual member pages can help to promote an association’s projects, initiatives and events. The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management is the umbrella organisation linking PR Professional Associations worldwide. The Global Alliance builds on the cooperative efforts of PR Professional Bodies (who build on the cooperative efforts of PR Professionals) to tackle common problems with a global perspective. By partnering with national bodies to increase professionalism in Public Relations, this Alliance works to enhance the influence of the Public Relations industry among its constituents around the world. http://www.globalalliancepr.org/. The Global Alliance Center, which is based in Lugano, Switzerland, supports the Global Alliance's projects and initiatives through the oversight of Membership, Sponsorship & Partnership, Website and Events. Jennifer Hayes | Global Alliance Center | Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management Università della Svizzera italiana | via Giuseppe Buffi 13 | 6900 Lugano | Switzerland phone +41 58 666 46 05 | fax +41 58 666 47 39 | e-mail info@globalalliancepr.org | website www.globalalliancepr.org

Organizer: Public Relations Society of India Type: Conference Location: Hotel Shivalikview, Chandigarh, India Date: December 11 - 13, 2009