The article, Differences between public relations and corporate social responsibility: An analysis by Cynthia E. Clark, focuses on these two aspects of corporate communication and compares them, providing a timeline as to how both Public Relations and CSR evolved throughout the years from the 1920's and beyond (Clark).
The 1973 Texas Gulf Sulfur case concluded in a ruling that forced businesses to disclose any information that could effect it's stock to other investors, which helped lead to major efforts in the field of corporate social responsibility (Clark).
Our class article indicated that Public Relations objectives were relegated to all constituents and the media while Community Relations focused on image building objectives for communities, media and non-governmental organizations (Argenti, Howell & Beck, 87).
As our group attempted to analyze stakeholders and develop a communications analysis, Clark adds a step and calls this the Communications Management Approach, in which she "uses the knowledge of identifying stakeholder groups and a corporation's responsibility to them with the ability to strengthen these relationships through effective communication" (Clark).
Clark concludes that the connection between Public Relations and CSR is still developing and that "this connection suggests that public relations and CSR have similar objectives; both disciplines are seeking to enhance the quality of the relationship of an organization among key stakeholder groups" (Clark, 380).
References
Argenti, P., Howell, R., Beck, K. (2005) The Strategic Communication Imperative, MIT Sloan Management Review, 46 #3, pp. 83-89
Clark, C. (2000) The difference between public relations and corporate social responsibility: An analysis, Public Relations Review, 26 #3, pp. 363-380
Phillip, I think your post touches on Nik's assignment which discussed the tensions between PR and CSR. What do you see is the main difference between the communications management approach you mention above and strategic communication?
ReplyDeleteWere there some specific examples of the tensions between PR and CSR in the marketplace?
ReplyDeleteThese days, it seems like CSR is requiring a larger slice of almost any large company's attention.
Good questions. It's tough to find a major difference between the two approaches, only that there seems to be more thoroughness when it comes to strategic communication. Both strive to send messages to targeted groups but as Clark mentions, CSR is still evolving and I was left with the impression that so is the information or scholarly work. Sttrategic communication seems to be concerned with what's good for the organization while CSR, Clark mentions, is the "outcomes of corporate and human action that can be observed and evaluated."
ReplyDeleteThis is where it sort of segue ways to Paul's question. Clark compares the two disciplines with the Republican and Democratic parties, saying that the two parties are "sounding more and more similar." There aren't specific examples of tension mentioned in the article, but I sensed that as public relations evolved, theorists and practitioners must have clashed as the two concepts became more and more similar. Where PR was once considered one-way communication from company to public, businesses began to develop a conscience, so to speak, and started paying closer attention to societal issues.