Global Public Relations: Spanning Borders, Spanning Cultures
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9780415448147_1_pre.qxd 11/26/08 3:40 PM Page i Global Public Relations This innovative text provides a structured and practical framework for understanding the com- plexities of contemporary public relations. It is an instructional book that guides the reader through the challenges of communication and problem-solving across a range of organizations and cross- cultural settings. Written in a straightforward, lively style, the book covers: ■ foundational theories, and factors that shape the discipline; ■ communication across cultures; ■ trends affecting the public relations profession throughout the world. Incorporating case studies and commentary to illustrate key principles and stimulate discussion, the book also highlights the different approaches professionals must consider in different contexts, from communicating with employees to liaising with external bodies such as government agencies or the media. Offering a truly global perspective on the subject, Global Public Relations is essential reading for any student or practitioner interested in public relations excellence in a global setting. Alan R. Freitag is Associate Department Chair in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA. Ashli Quesinberry Stokes is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA. 9780415448147_1_pre.qxd 11/26/08 3:40 PM Page ii 9780415448147_1_pre.qxd 11/26/08 3:40 PM Page iii Global Public Relations Spanning borders, spanning cultures Alan R. Freitag and Ashli Quesinberry Stokes 9780415448147_1_pre.qxd 11/26/08 3:40 PM Page iv First published 2009 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2009 Alan R. Freitag and Ashli Quesinberry Stokes All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Global public relations : spanning borders, spanning cultures / edited by Alan R. Freitag and Ashli Quesinberry Stokes. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-415-44814-7 (hardback) — ISBN 978-0-415-44815-4 (pbk.) 1. Public relations—Cross-cultural studies. 2. Intercultural communication. 3. Culture and globalization. I. Freitag, Alan. R. II. Stokes, Ashli Quesinberry. HM1221.G56 2008 659.209—dc22 2008014022 ISBN 0-203-89018-3 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0-415-44814-X (hbk) ISBN10: 0-415-44815-8 (pbk) ISBN10: 0-203-89018-3 (ebk) ISBN13: 978-0-415-44814-7 (hbk) ISBN13: 978-0-415-44815-4 (pbk) ISBN13: 978-0-203-89018-9 (ebk) 9780415448147_1_pre.qxd 11/26/08 3:40 PM Page v Contents List of tables vii List of figures viii Foreword by Hugh M. Culbertson ix Preface xiv Acknowledgments xvi Contributing authors xvii Part 1 1 Common ground 3 2 Evolution of the profession 17 3 Theories and methods 32 Part 2 4 Comparative cultural metrics 53 5 Structural comparisons 71 6 The state of the public relations profession 87 Part 3 7 South and Southeast Asia 117 8 Evolutionary public relations in China, Japan and South Korea 137 9 The Middle East 162 9780415448147_1_pre.qxd 11/26/08 3:40 PM Page vi vi Contents 10 Public relations in sub-Saharan Africa 178 11 Latin America 206 12 Central and Eastern Europe 228 13 Western Europe and “legacy” countries 261 14 A look to the future 280 Index 304 9780415448147_1_pre.qxd 11/26/08 3:40 PM Page vii List of tables 4.1 Characteristics of high- and low-context cultures 57 4.2 Characteristics of individualistic and collectivist cultures 60 4.3 Chronemic Assessment Instrument 68 10.1 Basic human development indicators for sub-Saharan Africa 179 10.2 Cultural dimensions 182 12.1 May 2007 World Audit 230 12.2 Power distance, degree of individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long- versus short-term orientation scores among Central and Eastern European countries 231 12.3 Public relations evolution in Poland 242 13.1 Bentele’s German public relations periods 272 9780415448147_1_pre.qxd 11/26/08 3:40 PM Page viii List of figures 1.1 Cumulative Cultural Competence Spiral 13 2.1 World illiteracy rate 1970 to 2015 (projected) 25 12.1 The role of transitional public relations 234 9780415448147_1_pre.qxd 11/26/08 3:40 PM Page ix Foreword Hugh M. Culbertson The young discipline of public relations has given birth to an infant subdiscipline: international PR. This book bears witness to the fact that the infant, while still striving for maturity, has at least reached early adolescence. The book is at least the fourth – all published since 1996 – that seeks to define and explain public relations worldwide. The first two were written by and for scholars and research-oriented graduate students. The authors and editors sought to describe the practice in varied nations and regions. Also, they tried to articulate the cultural, political, social and economic forces that have shaped it in ways that might later be disseminated more widely (Culbertson and Chen 1996; Srisamesh and Vergig 2003). This volume defines public relations practice in a readable way for a larger audience – gradu- ate and advanced undergraduate students, and practitioners gearing up to work in and with societies other than their own. The authors are experienced executive-level practitioners turned academics. They present a balanced, comprehensive look at the scholarly literature that helps shape international public relations in 2008, and they do so with a lively text. Prior to the 1980s, the public relations discipline developed largely in North America and Europe. Early writings on international PR sought to help Western – especially US – practitioners survive abroad (Wouters 1991). However, it soon became apparent that public relations practiced in, say, Beijing or Manila differed greatly from that in New York, London, or Caracas. That realization came about partly as a by-product of three developments in Western scholarship. First was a focus on clients’ social, political and economic contexts (SPE) in domestic PR. The author of this foreword noted two problems when he began teaching in the mid-1960s. Most research in the field then consisted of evaluation surveys conducted at or near the end of a program or a year’s work. While useful in pleasing a client and recruiting new clients, such research often came too late to aid plan- ning or execution. It seemed a bit like “crying over spilled milk”. There was a need for front-end research done in time to help set policy and communicate about it. Such research could help the practitioner understand a client’s social, political, economic, and cultural contexts. Spurred by his brightest students, the author conducted a series of applied studies to clarify such contexts and the theoretical notions useful in articulating them. He and three former 9780415448147_1_pre.qxd 11/26/08 3:40 PM Page x x Foreword students eventually summarized their work in a book (Culbertson et al. 1993). They argued that such analysis was especially important in light of a second major development in the field: issues management. This concept came to the fore in the 1960s and 1970s, a time of great turmoil, change and challenge in the United States. Organizations found that they needed to be proactive, not reactive, in identifying emerging problems and issues before these reached crisis proportions. Only then could communicators prepare clients and publics for what might happen in the future. The saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” kept coming to mind as the author discovered an increasing number of practitioners writing not only for clients’ publics but also to inform clients themselves. This trend, in turn, brought to the fore a third concept: environmental scanning. Identifying issues as they appeared on the distant horizon, in time to act and speak effec- tively, required careful study. Among the concepts that seemed most important in defining SPE contexts were cultural and subcultural beliefs. These were stable assumptions held by all – or almost all – members of a soci- ety or other large group with shared identities and interests. Such ideas deal, at a basic level, with what is, what is right, and what is important. They help shape fundamental values and behavior (Culbertson et al. 1993, pp. 53–63). As he began to study abroad, the author found that differences in such beliefs appeared to help account for many problems in cross-cultural communication. For example, gift-giving by a client to government officials or suppliers smacks of bribery to Americans, yet it is built into the cultures of the Philippines, Thailand, China and other Asian societies. How can one condemn as clearly unethical a practice that his or her host culture mandates? The author learned more about the role of culture – as well as of political and economic devel- opment – as he advised a dissertation on Chinese public relations by Ni Chen, a contributor to this volume (Chen 1992). The two of them edited the first book that really sought to describe and define public relations in varied nations as practiced and viewed by people in those nations (Culbertson and Chen 1996).