How public relations is a strategic management function

1 Explain how public relations is a strategic management function and how can you prepare for the practice in the future when the future is difficult to predict.
Student 1 response
Every organization's management must include public relations as a strategic management function. The public relations function aids the organization in interacting with its stakeholders in order to meet its goals and act responsibly. Communication with top managers and the general public is controlled by communicators in strategic positions in a strategic management role. They coordinate management and public communication in order to create relationships with individuals who are most likely to influence or be affected by the company. Communication tools that promote conversation between management and the broader public impact organizational behavior.
I believe it is safe to predict that public relations will continue to thrive for many years to come, based on present trends. Inevitably, there will be a larger emphasis on online content and less on print.
In terms of public relations' future, I believe we will see an increase in the number of individuals going to the internet for relatable information and organic, real-time reactions. There is and will continue to be a substantial shift away from journalist/writer-based public relations toward a customer-focused approach.
Public relations have changed to a more customer-focused approach in recent years, with customers playing a much larger role in how agencies pitch their clients to the media. I believe it is an important consideration, and strategies should be tweaked slightly to reach clients' target customers with content that will result in a quick and valuable turnaround for the client, whether through product or service purchases, collaboration opportunities, impressions, or other means.
Student 2 response
In some organizations, Public Relations could be easily relegated to a functional communications role- simply responding to questions from reporters or the public and helping frame the conversation around a crisis. Strong organizations however know that Public Relations should have a seat at the table in terms of strategic management. PR teams at these types of organizations would be performing active market research to determine what the public thinks about their company/products, and could then inform other managing members so that adjustments could be made if needed. They could also determine what the public actually wants and steer the organization in that direction. And of course, they could be conducting proactive campaigns the help shape what the public wants and how the public perceives the organization/product.
Taking such a proactive approach can also help PR teams prepare for the future. They are actively helping to form attitudes before problems arise; essentially, they can control public opinion. Like with many things, studying the past can help predict the future as well. Looking back through the evolution of the PR practice and studying problems that cause it to come into existence can help prepare teams for the future, or even become future proof. They can learn about the tides of public option, delve into why prior strategies did or did not work, and learn from the mistakes and successes of others.