Building organisation–public relationships: Towards an understanding of the challenges facing public relations

Abstract

The main aim of this article is to investigate the challenges facing public relations professionals in building organisation–public relationships (OPRs), by means of an overview of related modernistic literature, mainly within a modernistic paradigm. Dominant business developments have historically impacted the broader role of public relations in organisations and society, and it is maintained that the change in the domain of public relations to a relational perspective is yet again a consequence of the efforts by business to survive in the new millennium. There can be no doubt about the strategic importance of relationships to the survival of organisations and to public relations. A relational approach to public relations has major strategic value, and embracing its challenges is vital for the profession. The relational approach offers a two-fold opportunity to public relations professionals, namely to confirm their contribution to achieving organisational goals through the measurement of their relationship-building efforts, and the prospect of realigning themselves with other business functions in the organisation. The main objective of this article is to review the change in the domain of public relations to a relational perspective, and to investigate the current challenges facing public relations professionals in building mutually beneficial OPRs on the basis of the relational perspective of public relations.     

Growth–volatility tradeoff in the face of financial openness: a perspective of developing economies

This paper analyses optimal tradeoffs between economic growth and economic volatility given the risk of open capital markets in developing countries due to their financial vulnerability to unfettered capital flows. It is argued that free policy choices are efficiently superior to free capital mobility and that a developing country can be open to higher growth and lower volatility only if its financial system is substantially strengthened.     

A new model of Asian regionalism: does the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation have more potential than ASEAN?

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an established player in Southeast Asia, while the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an emergent force in Central Asia. This article comparatively assesses ASEAN and SCO to investigate the nature of each organization's model of cooperation and their utility in the contemporary political landscape in Asia. It argues that SCO differs from ASEAN on a few significant points: its composition and level of institutionalization. At the same time, both organizations have similar agendas and models of cooperation, emphasizing a common spirit, flexibility and a focus on regime security. The paper concludes that ASEAN's model of cooperation continues to be relevant to the contemporary Asian landscape, and its brand of loosely codified, informal and norm driven multilateralism continues to be durable and robust.     

The European Union, Burma/Myanmar and ASEAN: A challenge to European norms and values or a new opportunity?

The recent events in Burma/Myanmar, beginning with the November 2010 elections and the subsequent series of reforms, have taken Europe by surprise. For the last 20?years, the European Union (EU) has been one of the most vocal critics of the junta regime, thus jeopardising its constructive relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its members. In a new context of transition, the EU has to show that it can quickly adjust to an unanticipated scenario if it does not want its credibility to remain deeply undermined in a regional space that is undergoing structural transformations. Europe and ASEAN should together find a way to consolidate both the socio-political transitions in Southeast Asia and the validity of European values.     

The UK response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan: proposals for a neutral and non-aligned Afghanistan, 1980–1981

Although not unexpected, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was still largely a shock to the West. It was the first time since the Second World War that the Soviets had directly intervened in a country outside the Warsaw Pact. Despite the intervention eventually being seen as Moscow's ‘Vietnam’ the West was initially unsure about what the invasion meant for stability in the region or the future conduct of East–West relations. In response to the crisis the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) proposed that Afghanistan revert to a neutral and non-aligned status in an attempt to create the basis for a viable political settlement, one that would allow the Soviet Union to withdraw troops without losing face. It launched the proposal in early 1980, lobbying other countries to support and champion the idea, culminating in a visit to Moscow by the Foreign Secretary, Lord Carrington, in July 1981. In this early phase of Soviet intervention the British proposals were premature but not without merit. They anticipated the strategy the Soviets would eventually adopt in their attempt to achieve an orderly withdrawal.     

Amnesty: a ‘conversation’ within the medium of culture. A dialogue approach to the strategy of amnesty in protracted social conflict situations

In contemporary conflict resolution there are various strategies in place to assist the liberal peace-building project. This article investigates the controversial strategy of amnesty within protracted social conflict situations. It challenges the juridical approach towards the strategy by exploring amnesty as a ‘dialogue’ or ‘conversation’ within the medium of cultures. The author will utilise Feller and Ryan's eight multidisciplinary characteristics of ‘dialogue’ to explore amnesty as a conversation among its participants and wider society. This is supplemented by a case study examining the amnesty process under the Amnesty Act 2000 in the East-Central African nation of Uganda. It concludes with theoretical and policy implications for both scholars and practitioners of conflict resolution.