COM 259 1st Edition Lecture 3I. Public relations theory A. ecology and trends 1. Cutlip and Center introduced the term ecology to public relations in 19522. Deals with the interdependence of organizations and others in their environment3. To survive organizations must:a) Accept the public responsibility imposed by an increasingly interdependent societyb) Communicate, despite multiple barriers with publics that are often distant and diversec) Achieve integration into the communities that they were created to serveB. Systems Perspective 1. Unlike physical systems, social systems are not dependent on physical closeness but rather on the specification of organization-public interactions defines systems2. Practice-Universitya) Student Recruitmentb) Capital Campaign for Computer CenterC. Adjustment and Adaptation 1. March of Dimes2. United Way3. Tuna-canning4. If the response to environmental issues is unmanaged the systems tend to degenerate to maximum disorder---entropyD. Open and Closed Systems 1. Closed systems-impermeable boundaries and cannot exchange matter, energy, information2. Open systems, exchange inputs and outputs through permeable boundaries3. Social systems are relatively so4. Homeostasis-goal states that are relatively stable but subject to change from system inputsE. Closed System Approach 1. Assumes to have power to “correct” the environment2. Attempts to change undesirable states in the environment 3. Takes the form of non-information or low-information value output4. Emphasizes persuasive communication5. Attributes great powers to messages placed in the media F. Open Systems Approach G. Monitor the environment1. “What’s happening out there that affects our relationship with stakeholders?”2. Determine the system’s evolutiona) “How did things get this way?”b) “How will things be in the future?”H. How the theory appears in practice 1. Grunig and Hunt – Four Models2. Press agentry3. Public Information4. Two-way asymmetrical5. Two-way
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