The Truth According to Rosie...Honestly!

When it comes to public relations is honest and responsible regard the same as telling the truth? I doubt this is an area of discussion that can produce a conclusive and concrete answer; but then again I’ve never known the truth to be definitive both in theory and practice.

There’s no denying that we have become a race of gossips and observers; yet does this really extend beyond the trivial genre of celebrity culture? Society’s fascination with a scandal and uncovering the supposed truth has the potential to lead us down a dangerous path – if every fragment of the news is sensationalised, this would inevitably detract from the weighting behind the material and eventually people would suffer form over exposure and become disinterested.

That’s not to say that this can be prevented by merely censoring or withholding information. A balance must be found between the two; this is where the role of a PR practitioner comes into play. If our aim within a communication strategy is to help establish and manage relationships that are beneficial to all parties involved, deciding what is of interest to the public as opposed to just plain interesting is crucial. Dealing with a situation like this one reinforces the idea that information should be managed as opposed to censored.

It seems obvious that a clear shift must be made away from trying to control information that reaches the public domain and move towards the idea that the information and the associated consequences can be managed. With this ideal though comes a warning. Truth and the associated transparency especially within the world of commerce does not equate to accountability. It is not enough to simply lay your cards on the table and presume that this will suffice.

"Put simply the dilemma should not arise at the point of whether to tell the
truth, but at the point of when the action that determines the truth occurs."

As the boundaries and corporate situating of PR is changing so must the attitude towards how the truth is handled. Speaking to a community manager for a national newspaper I learnt an interesting approach to deal with uncomfortable truths

“It’s not about withholding the truth; instead you are simply holding it.”

OK so I said that with the new era of PR there should be a clean departure from the old world of spin. Yet if I’ve learnt anything from my time at university it’s that PR isn’t perfect and rebranding it under the umbrella of communications won’t change what is often required of PR practitioners. And not even a hundred pairs of rose tinted glasses could hide that from me.

In the PR industry Rosie Corriette is a brand – albeit a very small and hopefully emerging brand – but one still the same! Therefore me and my truth is key to establishing my reputation defining my personal ethics. If I know something is wrong then I hope it will be simple enough not to do it. But what happens when you convince yourself what you’re doing is ethical, or even that the end justifies the means?

PR is about communication and more specifically relationships. If in our personal lives we are encouraged to strive for both trust and respect as fundamentals, then it can be no bad thing to aim for this in our careers as well.

Truth and regard for public interest should not be viewed as the albatross of PR. Instead it should be seen as a tool of engagement. The role of PR is not to change the truth but to use it to your advantage.

FIFA, the Prime Minister and a BBC documentary

So what is the difference between of interest to the public and in the public interest? It’s a topic which can spark the good old debate between public relations and journalism.

Sport and politics are two areas of conversation that are bound to provoke response, so imagine my delight when I found an example of what happens when the two are combined. Now before you start to lecture me on the finer points of politics within sport, yes I know however it’s not often that the prime minister gets involved in a corruption scandal within football.

I am referring to England not being successful in the bid to host the 2018 World Cup. However it isn’t the fact that England lost out to Russia that caught my attention. On the BBC News at Six on Friday 26th November 2010 Fiona Bruce reported on the apparent frustration of David Cameron on the BBC’s decision to air Panorama on the following Monday. The show was centred on the alleged corruption within FIFA in particular when it comes to deciding the hosting nation for a World Cup. With the decision being announced by FIFA only a few days later on the Thursday, it was thought by many in the football industry and those involved with the World Cup bid that it was nothing short of disastrous for England’s campaign. Up until this point the feature still is strongly anchored within the sporting section.

A clip from an interview David Cameron which was recorded for Soccer AM, focused the attention of the media and social commentators. Was it necessary for the prime minister to give comment on the situation? Or perhaps a classic example of knee jerk damage limitation which government are ever so keen to do:

“We have a free country with a free media – obviously those of us who are
passionate about this bid and about us winning. It is frustrating that panorama
are doing this programme a few days before, of course it is but it’s a free
country and we have to just roll with that. I think FIFA will understand that.”

There is significance in David Cameron voicing his opinion on this as it signals the timing of the investigation could be somewhat problematic for England’s bid. However he is clear in also defending the rights of a free press. There was great pressure on the BBC not to air the panorama investigation until after FIFA’s decision; however the BBC upheld the scheduled slot for the programme and responded by saying that Panorama has always been known for investigative journalism and that the findings were in the public interest.

This all sounded pretty common place, however one point that got me thinking was: Just who decides what is and isn’t of interest to the public? If this example is anything to go by then the decision ultimately lies with the journalist who chooses whether to run the story or not. Surely some responsibility should sit with the public relations function of said organisation.

The fact that FIFA seemed to offer no response to the scheduling of Panorama suggests perhaps that this is not as important to them as it is to the England 2018 bid; albeit understandable seeing as they were set to be affected by the consequences if any from the documentary. Andy Anson, the chief executive of the England 2018 bid reacted strongly to the BBC’s plans "To do it the week before the vote - I don't think it's patriotic." He also said that whilst the BBC argues that the panorama documentary will be in the public interest, the opportunity for England to host the World Cup in 2018 is in the public interest too. Whilst it’s good to see the chief executive passionate about the bid, it’s not appropriate for Anson to place a higher level of importance on the winning the World Cup bid as opposed to uncovering corruption. That’s not to say that the World Cup wouldn’t be of interest to the public, especially when it’s considered how much could be generated through marketing, brand sponsorship and not to mention the event itself.

So what do you think? Should Panorama’s investigation into FIFA been broadcast just days before the successful bid was announced? Is the BBC as Anson put it ‘unpatriotic’ for airing the programme? The truth may not always be convenient but that doesn’t mean it can be changed, lying or withholding information simply compounds the problem. This case in point is a perfect example of how the honest and responsible regard for the public interest is far too subjective to be placed higher than the fundamental ethics of truth.

The pillars of truth – but whose truth?

As I look for my first graduate role with the PR industry I thought it would be important to refer myself back to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations; after all I am a student member and utilise the resources offered to me as part of my membership. I found this:

“Reputation has a direct and major impact on the corporate well-being of every organisation, be it multinational, a charity, a Government Department or a small business…That is why the professionalism of those people who guard and mould reputation – public relations practitioners is so important.”

It’s clear that regardless of what sector or on what scale you work within the communications industry reputation is key but how does that fit in with ‘Honest and responsible regard for the public interest’ ? It could be taken by those with morals less scrupulous that as long as your reputation is not affected then whatever it takes to get the job done… surely this can’t be right?

Jane Crofts my dissertation tutor at the University of Lincoln introduced The Pillars of PR Ethics. There are five pillars: Veracity, non-malfeasance, beneficence, confidentiality and fairness. How will this guide me in abiding by CIPR’s code of conduct?

Veracity
Telling the truth is bread and butter of keeping regard for the public interest in an honest manner or is it? The challenge comes when you have to decide what is classed at the truth. Just because it is my truth doesn’t make it your truth. Honesty is something that is often regarded as easy as long as you tell the truth nobody will get hurt. You don’t need a degree in public relations to realise that this isn’t the case. Tensions and differing areas and level of interest mean that by telling the whole truth all the time people will get hurt. Veracity is not a desirable trait for a crowd pleaser.

Non-malfeasance
This refers to doing no harm; of course not many people would intentionally inflict harm on a particular public, yet this can be hard to enforce across the board when communicating information that will affect numerous stakeholders and not all in a positive way. However I think it may be important to maintain an approach that remembers that whilst there may not be much control over the content of the message – what you say, there is a great deal to be learnt by how people say things. This is especially true for instances within internal communications where employees may not necessarily have a direct affect on a company’s corporate strategy but they can still be involved in the communication of the strategic development.

Beneficence
‘Doing good’ even with my naïve experience of the industry is something that I imagine all graduates strive for, but whose good is best? Is it a case of the greater good of the people? It seems that with all potential moral dilemmas it is case of striving for the equilibrium between the good of the microenvironment and the macro environment of the wider community.

Confidentiality
Maintaining confidentiality is fundamental especially when it comes to client relations. At what point does it become appropriate to break confidentiality? Unlike medicine and education there are no black and whites as to when and how to break confidentiality, it falls to the individual to judge whether the information they possess breaks codes of conduct that bind that particular industry of indeed law.

Fairness
Being fair and socially responsible is something I hope I already am – as a PR practitioner it is important to establish exactly what context socially responsible is to be applied. For which society am I responsible for? Am I only to be concerned with the society in which I operate? It goes much further than simply your horizons; fairness must extend into society as a whole.

Ethics within PR are not simply there to add moral structure to the practice. They are intrinsic to the integrity of an individual’s character. Incorporating all these principles into everyday practice is something that will require application and at some points dedication. I think for me it will rest on what my personal boundaries are. I recognise that it will be a balancing act of telling the truth with doing no harm, doing good whilst respecting privacy and being fair and socially responsible. As long as personal ethics and values remain constant within my conscience I am confident that I will be able to channel these into my offererings to the world of PR… Come back to me I ten years to see how I get on!

My Truth

My relationship with the truth is one that until now I hadn’t given much thought. Yet it appears consistently throughout my life.

As a child I was taught to always tell the truth and like most children had a refreshingly honest take on life. However as my teenage years loomed it seemed that the truth was irrelevant especially when it came to telling my mother where I was (there’s only so many science booster classes a girl can invent!). Then came the introduction of alcohol to the mix and with it brought the bluntness that only appears after a cider and black or six.

And now in my final year of university it seems that the truth is not only paramount to my dissertation – to be accused of plagiarism is the modern day equivalent of witchcraft – but also in the context of public relations and how it is viewed within the strategic planning of an organisation.

Regardless at which level you look at truth, one thing is for sure... nobody likes a liar.

A taste of things to come

Over the next week I will be publishing a series of blogs with one common theme, truth and in particular, how this sits within PR? I will be taking the opportunity to focus on a specific topic that is of current interest not just to PR professionals but to the wider community:

"Honest and responsible regard for the public interest is not
the same as telling the truth"

I'd be really interested in hearing people's experience of truth and the associated ethics and morals that come into play with PR.

So, what's your truth?

And the winner is?... CHARITY

In case you were worried, I survived the 10th Annual Asics British 10k last Sunday. Not only did I survive the 6.6 mile course but I completed it in a respectable 1 hour 17 minutes and 58 seconds, knocking over six minuted off my previous time at the Lincoln 10k.

I'm not going to lie there were many times throughout the 77 minutes that I wanted to give up but something kept me going and that was the promise I had made at the beginning of my year of running. It's not just completing the races for the purpose of sponsorship that is important but the knowledge that I'm standing up to help fight for something that affects us all - death.

Morbid as it may sound it is truly the one thing that we cannot escape and Bassetlaw Hospice like so many other hospices strive to provide peace and dignity at the end of our lives and help to form a support network for the family and friends left behind.

So as I crossed the finish line, hot sweaty and seriously dehydrated I jumped for joy as I thought of the motivation that spurred me on... This is for you Grand-ma xx

The new Sahara is Lambeth Hill...

I've just sneaked a peek at the weather forcast for Sunday and for the first time ever I'm distruaght at the thought that it could exceed 31 celcius on Sunday! Now normally I would be over the moon, however this Sunday is no ordinary Sunday.



In two days time I will be running the 10th Annual Asics British 10k in London http://www.thebritish10klondon.co.uk/ and with the MET office predicting record temperatures, so not only will I be battling with the prospect of waging war on just over six and a half miles, but also surviving the scorching sun!



But hey when I stop to think of the reason behind me not only running the 10k on Sunday but my year of running, the sweltering heat seems like the least I can endure if it helps Bassetlaw Hospice.



So whilst you're sunning yourself this weekend sipping on something suitably delicious, please take five minutes to visit www.justgiving.com/rosiecorriette and help me to reach my target of £1000.



Have a great weekend and I promise to try and upload a hilarious photo of me cooking on the streets of London!!



R xx

The Wonderer Returns

After almost two months of silence I'm back, and this time I promise never to leave you in the dark about my oh so amazing life (you can't blame me for selling myself in!!)



So where have I been, I hear you all asking? The answer is nothing glamorous yet certainly exciting! I've been really busy what with my course, my fundraising and the associated training, plus I've been settling in at my placement at the amazing Lava PR - think I'll have to devote a whole blog post to do it justice!



My previous blog posts have tended to be structured pieces of writing that had a central theme that could be linked to throughout. This however often means that when I'm strapped for time I neglect my blog due to being reluctant to post a short and sweet update.



So from now on I'm blogging with a simple aim, to let my avid followers what the Rosie Affair really is so I apologise in advance for slightly of track posts but hey!



In the meantime for those of you that like me are part of the PR clan, I need your help: With one race done and another six to do, the campaign could really benefit if we could increase the level of exposure and perhaps introduce the idea of corporate sponsors who would pay to feature on race shirt. Seeing as you all have brilliant contacts, I think this would be a fantastic opportunity to show your support by donating your skills and ideas!!



Looking forward to hearing all of your amazing ideas and remember to re tweet the link to this post, so we can increase peoples awareness for my Year of Running for Bassetlaw Hospice.



Thanks x

Aint No Mountain High Enough - apart perhaps the Lincoln One!

In seven days time it'll hopefully be all over - assuming that I don't incur a massive injury such as a broken bone I will have completed the Annual Lincoln 10K Road Race. In aid of BassetlawHospice which you all should know by now is the charity I am choosing to fund raise for by embarking on a year of runs!

Over the last few days something very disturbing has started to happen. People have been asking me what time I'm aiming to complete the race and also what my race pace is. I think it is important at this stage to get a few things straight...
As long as I finish the course I will be ecstatic, I have never proclaimed to be the next Paula Radcliffe and quite frankly can you really see me weeing myself just to maintain my personal best!

I will admit that with less than a week to go I am beginning to feel that this is going to be way harder than I ever imagined - and this is where you come in. Rosie i.e. me has the habit of talking myself into a panic when all that matters is that I'm doing this to raise some money for charity.

So over the next six days I need all of you that read this to visit my just giving page and pledge money for my year of running!

Wish me luck for my last week of training... any hints or tips on how to prepare for race day will be greatly received!!

Shrove Tuesday... The Start of Something Big?

It took me an evening of pancakes - trust me much better in theory than in practice, to finally decide what I would give up for Lent. Ash Wednesday is not just a lingering day of obligation in the Catholic calender - it conjures for those die hard Catholic girls and boys memories of abstaining from chocolate and in more recent years alcohol!

Rather than the usual promises of no sweets or crisps I have decided this year to rather than give something up I will be embracing a sense of thinking: positive thinking and courage are the order of the next 40 days and 40 nights!

Why such a touchy feely proclamation I hear you mumble whilst scoffing your third pancake - If you've dabbled in reading my previous ramblings aka blog posts you will know that I am due to run the Lincoln 10k Road Race on Sunday 21st March with the aim of raising money for Bassetlaw Hospice http://www.bassetlawhospice.org/ However just over a week ago I fell ill with what I thought was a troublesome yet simple infection, the clever doctors seem to think otherwise - apparently my long standing yet mild bowel disease has most probably progressed to Crohn's.

This new disease will take some dealing with and all the other things that come with being ill - I am determined to keep my promise of dragging my reluctant bones around the city of Lincoln in the name of charity. Yes the remaining period of training will be increasingly tough but the sense of achievement when I cross the finish line (albeit with the added incentive of a Brunch time glass of champagne!) is something that I hope will keep my spirits high when my shin splints are playing up.

A final thank you to the sacrificial pancakes this evening for providing me with the eureka moment as to my direction through the Lent of 2010, Lets hope it doesn't take me to Emerald City in search of my much needed courage.

Well you can't run a race in Spanx pants... or can you?

Spanx pants sum up my approach to any type of physical activity... no work and all the perceived gain! However when it comes to a 10km road race apparently they have these clever little digital chips which record just how long it took you to complete the run - and what's more they publish this information on the Internet for all to see and in my case laugh their socks off!!

Why is this of any concern I hear you say? Well Rosie has entered the 14th Annual 10km Lincoln Road Race which takes place on Sunday 21st March... so in 56 days I will have to endure the torture of running 10km aka 6.2 miles around the town of Lincoln finishing in the shadow of Lincoln Castle. Apart from the obvious downside of having to rise before lunchtime on the day (race starts at 11.ooam) I have failed to mention so far that I have yet to start any form of training; and as Jane and my fellow students in Managing Public Relations will know my arse is one that leaves a trail of destruction behind it!

So what's the plan Stan? This is where you guys come in, as of tomorrow I will be rising at the ungodly hour of 6am to drag myself to the gym and pound the treadmill for 45 minutes! I plan to do this on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. However I have a terrible track record for not keeping to any sort of physical activity programme, therefore I am relying on all of you to motivate me in the hope that I will stick to the regime and eventually run the race and finish in a respectable time of under 90 minutes!

So why am I going to all this effort to run round Lincoln on a Sunday morning?!?! Well it's all in the name of Public Relations. My group and I have been set a task for our group assignment to create a PR campaign for a charity. We chose Bassetlaw Hospice in Retford http://www.bassetlawhospice.org/- it is where both my Aunt and Grandmother lost their battle with cancer and I feel that hospices in general whilst not a trendy topic for people to discuss (no one likes to broach death at the dinner table) is a sad necessity in the fight to ensure dignity and calm in the often dark and painfully final stage of many lives. To kick start the campaign I jokingly offered myself up like a sacrificial lamb to do the race in order to raise some media attention and of course well needed funds!!

So here I am on the eve of my training and to be honest while sat curled up on my sofa sipping coffee nothing fills me with more dread than rising three hours earlier than needed to physically exert myself but I promise that I will give it 100% but I do need your help, if you see me challenge me to make sure I've been to the gym and for god's sake if you see a chocolate bar on route to my mouth: backhand me, the harder the better!! I am going to blog over the coming weeks updating you all on my highs and the definite lows!

I can't do this on my own, so I look forward to all of you helping me, together we can do this! Are you with me? Right better dig my running trainers out... do platform heels count?!?!?!

References...

And now for the boring part - Still not 100% confident that I would have been abe to successfully refernence in the style on blog so to cover my back here are the lists of references in the harvard system!

Beard, M, (2002) Running a public relations department 2nd edition. London: Kogan Page

Crofts, J. (2009) Where does PR fit in Managing PR lecture slides: University of Lincoln

Tench, R, Yeomans, L (2009) Exploring public relations 2nd edition. London: Prentice Hall

Gregory, A (ed) (2006) Public relations in practice 2nd edition. London: Kogan Page

Gannon, D. (2009) Internal communications in practice PR organisational communication lecture slides: University of Lincoln

Reflection, Reflecting, Reflective

Does that even make any sense? Three words that in effect mean the same, but by misuse can create a whole new semantic, and in PR unless deliberate this could spell disaster.

So what have I really learnt from the group exercise? Perhaps a few different faces – will that have a massive impact, I doubt it. There is no easy solution to creating My Dream Team much to my sorrow. Instead it is a culmination of confidence, consideration and communication.

The confidence to be honest with your team members but more importantly with yourself; if something is not working speak up don’t always think that if you plough on in mental solitary confinement that everything will be ok – ok it may perhaps be but a good team and work definitely not.

Consideration of others is something I have to admit that does not come that naturally to me, I often just see the task ahead and little regard for what people may have going on outside of the team. Now I know that you’re there to get a job done and it is indeed not a social support group but it does help if you can get to know your fellow team members, recognise if there are any issues and look as a group for any solutions that may improve the situation both for the individual and for the good of the team.

Communication is the one tool that if I had to pick I would say held the key to my dream team. It is a sorely underestimated part of any team work; however it is not a prized pony which is only brought out to impress prospective clients. Make it part of everything that you do, that way in time it will become a natural part of every part of the working day. Corny as this may sound –it is the simple yet vital component to ensure a successful team

‘Companies with strong communications across functions and widely shared information tend to have more productive external relationships’ Rosabeth Moss Kanter (taken from David Gannon’s Lecture slides – internal communication in practice, 17/12/09)

The thought that I wish to leave you with is very simple: knowledge is power. Yes so you may not be able to always choose who you are going to work with you may not even like them; however this I merely an opportunity for you to demonstrate as an individual how adaptable you are, get to know them (that doesn’t necessarily mean go and manicure together) try and find out what their working style is and see if it can compliment others in the group, you just may be surprised at useful they can be. And for goodness sake do The Belbin Test before you embark on group work. My dream team isn’t about whom I do and don’t have for me it’s about looking for the best combination and output productivity possible from what is available, I am under no illusion that it will be perfect next time or the time after that, but practice makes perfect.

Is disengagement a crime?

Before the group task my response would have been a resounding yes. My answer to that now is the complete opposite. One valuable lesson that I have learnt is that not everybody is in this for the same reasons; be it studying for a degree at university or working as part of a PR team. The key to successfully managing disengagement is to identify those that could be considered as disengaged and to try and minimise or even isolate any negative effect they may have on the group.
Whilst a subject which is often shied away from in the business environment, PR unlike other disciplines can be seen to be an area within an organisation where these sorts of potential eventualities are in an ideal setting planned for with a clear internal PR – this stems from PR having a boundary spanning role. Too often than not PR is able to identify such issues in other areas of the organisation and help those respective departments in creating a framework that can be applies to such situations.
This is where we see the great similarities of PR in general and the attainment of a dream team. As work progressed on the brief, it became apparent that what people wanted to put into the task varied enormously, the biggest challenge was whilst recognising this fact and wanting to allow everybody the chance to do everything their own particular way, there was still work to be done. At this stage communication could and should have been the saviour for the team, however it just crumbled by the whey side. Anne Gregory (Public Relations in Practice, 2006 p. 50) includes The virtuous circle of communication
Whilst simple in its approach its message is clear. We as a team failed to value the importance of communication especially offline – more is needed than pleasantries at meetings. Yes this may seem idealistic but this is the team I would choose time and time again; this framework applies to both the individual within the team and the team as a whole – both striving to deliver the message in a coherent and relative fashion to the desired stakeholders.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder... Yeah right!

Whilst at the beginning I promised to be unbiased and retain a level of professionalism I can feel myself literally seething at the sight of this topic. Missing team meetings is a challenge in itself, and something unless on your death bed (sick note would be preferable) I cannot see a reason for. The attitude of receiving an e-mail from the missing member(s) with a shopping list style note of what is apparently their contribution is nothing more than an insult, not a catastrophic one though! However whilst the impact is not immediately apparent, the effect on the team and how we worked together is best akin to erosion, slow but just as damaging. It creates an environment whereby the remaining group members become disengaged. However one friend who has been listening ear throughout the project said to me ‘At least if they don’t turn up then you don’t have to force smile when they come up with a rubbish idea’. Hilarious I know but is this really how I want to view team work as, surely I want the best group of people who together we can create work which not only meets the brief but is intellectually stimulating.

You can’t force people to turn up – this I found out much to my peril; we ended up delivering the pitch with two members missing (one with completely mitigating circumstances, which couldn’t be helped). The other member however failed to show due to be plain drunk/hungover. This I have to say is one of the worst positions I have been in, during all my group work whilst at university. Apart from the complete embarrassment felt, came much worse; when it finally sunk in that we were going to have to deliver our presentation without certain people there, pure panic started to set in. I had absolutely no idea what the script was to accompany his assigned slide and the topic that it covered was not one of my strong points. Upon reflection this gave me one of the most important lessons; which is whilst it may be good for each team to contain specialists who are able to contribute; this in practice can lead to nobody having either interest or tangible knowledge on subjects that they are not working on. Instead a level of a generalist attitude is needed to ensure a complete and rounded piece of work is produced. That by the way is not a free pass for me to take control of everybody’s work – simply perhaps a little familiarising presentation given by each member so people can become more comfortable with each other’s task. Team work is not a new concept yet it continues to be an albatross around the necks of most leaders. The topic as to whether and if so to what extent this concept varies dependent on the setting that the PR is taking place, be it in house, consultancy, agency or perhaps a hybrid is one that will continue long after my collection of blogs, sp who knows it could even become the topic for my dissertation.

There’s no I in DREAM TEAM but there is ME

I think it is paramount that before I become critical of other members of the team that I first take good long hard look at myself. I think it is safe to say that if I had to do this particular task again there would be many things that I would like to change and that includes my contribution to the team and our work. One thing about me that people who know me would say is that I am very good at spotting where things could be improved up if I was looking at somebody else’s team however when it comes to my own, I can be a bit slow on the uptake. I am also extremely conscious of the fact that I like to be the team leader or at least one of those who are regarded as someone to come to if clarification is needed; perhaps this is where a portion of the problem lies. I become so engrossed with making sure that everyone stays on track and focused that I soon become some sort of matriarchal figure head who is seen as the point of call for all issues or simply somebody to wipe the arses of those less capable.

But what does this achieve for both me as an individual and the team? Surely no long term good will come of there being a continuous cycle whereby I treat the other members as if they know no better, all this can lead to is my insanity and a weak piece of team work being produced.

However it isn’t me going mad Fawkes and Tench found ( 2004, cited in Table 3.2 Tench & Yeomans 2009, p. 52) that 84% of employers regarded team work as ‘very important’ – they can’t all be wrong. The solution is simple, in future I will embrace being more a member of the team rather than someone who is there merely there in an organisational and sometimes yes I admit nagging capacity – who wants to be a talking clock!

PR and Dream Team

So where do PR and its management function really fit in? Isn’t team work intrinsic to every corporate setting – why should PR be any different? The answer lies in good old fashioned turf wars and these in themselves can affect the whole direction that a project and its potential success or failure will take. The four level framework for excellent PR as discussed by Grunig (Grunig et el 2002 cited Crofts, 2009, p. 15) shows the clear need for concise and efficient productivity by the PR department as a whole, this can only be helped by attaining the ‘dream team’. PR as a function often has to contend with hostility and disdain from other departments –many thinking that PR merely involves paid for lunches and sessions on the golf course, clearly they are wrong but when has that ever stopped people thinking what they want to think. Accountability and transparency can really come into play here – these are core to managing PR; accountability relates to both other departments in the organisation and also as importantly to the client. Transparency is a must and should be demonstrated from the top downwards.
Figure 2.3 Organisational subsystems theory Source: Grunig and Hunt 1984: 9 Managing Public Relations Exploring Public Relations Tench & Yeomans 2nd Edition
This diagram relates to in-house PR departments and shows how apart from just existing in a way that is concerned with external communication and it’s relevant stakeholders – they are there also in the capacity of to a supporting subsystem which is charged with 5 main areas within the setting of internal communication.

So how did it all begin? Whilst I had not previously worked with the other members of the team, there were plenty of opinions offered by peers and tutors as to how suitable and productive they may or may not turn out to be; take it from me that did not help one little bit. it created preconceptions that really weren’t even my own – yes we all like a gossip, especially me however in future I will take great care in allowing myself to form my own opinions, I don’t tend to normally have a problem with that! The fact that the offered opinions did in fact in some cases turn out to be completely accurate didn’t help with supporting this viewpoint but none the less, it should be aimed for at all times.

The workings of a dream team must start with measured and strategic planning, boring it may be to those more creative however it is essential that this is done properly. Group meeting in my setting were the best way of getting to know everybody else and trying to get a feel for how people work, this again didn’t go to well for our group as a people were missing from the initial meeting and we didn’t manage to get together again for nearly a whole week. This gave us an immediate disadvantage along also with not setting out clear boundaries and expectations that we all should have agreed to work to, how can we truly look back and say that out goal in regards to the pitch that we would deliver to the client was united and clear, not forgetting that it meets the brief

My Dream Team

For a phrase so commonly used, it has taken me weeks if not now months to truly understand what this means, and more importantly how this relates to me as an individual; whilst searching for the holy grail answer I was confronted with some at times unpleasant and harsh truths about myself. It is my intention to publish over the coming days a series of blogs serving as reflective pieces of writing. The experience upon which the reflective blog will be about is a group task set for the Managing PR unit. We were placed in groups with the goal of to both commission a brief and also create a pitch to put to the corresponding commissioning group. I endeavour to be honest even if to my personal detriment this after all is a reflective blog implying that lessons should be learnt from introspection and not slander. However whilst so, I will be truthfully evaluating the success of both the contributions of individuals to the group and the actual dynamics of our working team. It is important at this stage to point out that points expressed throughout this blog are my opinion – it is, never have been and never will be my intention to libel any particular person or to cause any offence or upset.

So what’s so important about having a dream team isn’t it just easier to get the job done yourself, therefore bypassing any problems that may arise from working within a team? Unfortunately that’s not the case, especially within the setting of Public Relations, quite simply we’re not super humans there are only a certain number of hours in a day and two pairs of hands. I find this thought that at some point throughout the project I was going to have to be reliant on other members both for their expertise and physical man power a daunting prospect. Yes I admit it I am a complete and utter control freak, assuring myself (often in the middle of the night rushing to finish a piece of work before a deadline!) that this is the best course of action to ensure the least amount of trauma to the project. Is this really healthy and more arguably sustainable? Or am I doomed to a fate of being carted off during some board meeting in years to come simply because I had finally cracked – I pray not!! “Leadership, communication and teamwork are vital factors in delivering achievement and job satisfaction, however tough the tasks may be” (Beard, 2002, p. 95)

The idea of the team and its necessary success is core to the function of public relations –how can a relationship be created and sustained if the hymn sheet upon which the message is sung from is either incomplete, lacking in copies or entirely missing. In an industry where more often than not campaigns and projects are embarked upon in a responsive rather than proactive manner, the need for team cohesion and efficiency is more important than ever. But how is this achieved and what is truly for the best. That’s where I come in; it is my hope that at the end of this I will be able to describe what my dream team is how to achieve it.