REMARKS FROM THE EDITOR

Everyone virtually has a working knowledge of the changes occuring in society and in world business, yet each one of us has somewhat different experiences with these changes. With the ever increasing development of information technology, you can imagine how such a paradigm shift would have affected not only science but every part of society and every individual in it. 

The old paradigm is  reflected as people who would not even know what a paradigm was, swept so much under the carpet that they could not stand anymore. The new paradigm that is replacing the old scientific one has many aspects, but its foundation is the notion that is consciously causal – that the world is as we see it and that the power of the individual is far more vast than we could have previously imagined. 

The new paradigm is more than just a move to the powers of technology or the individual mind. It is a move to the spirit; to inner qualities such as intuition, will, joy, strength and compassion. The new paradigm refers to the power of inner wisdom. In business, the new paradigm is illustrated by the surprising breakthroughs in personal creativity that occur when people are given responsibility for their actions in new paradigm sorts of organizations. 

Leaders in any organization, profit and not for profit, from very small start-ups to multinational corporation, are recognizing and more importantly, acting on the shift to the new paradigm. Let’s practice the new paradigm, as the old one is no longer effective. With the new leader, new spirit we will have new paradigm in public relations practice in Indonesia. Changing paradigm in Public Relation – A review on Theory and Practice, a public seminar – Saturday, October 9th. Gain Knowledge, Strategy, Experience, and Networking. See You!

Best Wishes, 

Elizabeth Goenawan Ananto
Editor

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TIPS OF THE MONTH

You Can Reach the Top

1. If we do more than we are paid, finally we are paid more than we do
2. If we really love our jobs, they will pay us well
3. Always remember that ‘a free cheese’ is always on a mouse trap
4. Those who have vision, will further and faster in reaching their achievement in life
5. Persistence makes the impossible possible, the greater possibility – and finally it turns to be the reality
6. Don’t wait until you are motivated to take positive action. But do it and then you will be motivated
7. What you do outside your job is significant to your success. How many best book do you read every year? How often do you attend seminar or workshop? With whom do you spend your valuable time?

1. If we do more than we are paid, finally we are paid more than we do
2. If we really love our jobs, they will pay us well
3. Always remember that ‘a free cheese’ is always on a mouse trap
4. Those who have vision, will further and faster in reaching their achievement in life
5. Persistence makes the impossible possible, the greater possibility – and finally it turns to be the reality
6. Don’t wait until you are motivated to take positive action. But do it and then you will be motivated
7. What you do outside your job is significant to your success. How many best book do you read every year? How often do you attend seminar or workshop? With whom do you spend your valuable time?
8. You can be a great person by doing small things big
9. You will get the best from others, if you give the best to them 
10. If you want to change your life, you need to do it now with great enthusiasm

(Source : You Can Reach the Top, Zig Ziglar)

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PUBLIC RELATIONS RESEARCH

The practice of public relations has undergone dramatic changes in the past few years due to the development of internet-driven technology. Globalization of worldwide markets and organizational restructuring are two major influences on the practice of public relations as a profession. Public relations practitioners are no longer merely doing technical things to disseminate information from their organizations to the public, they are demanded to be professionals who shape the relationship between an organization with its strategic constituents. 

Public relations practitioners must shift the traditional communication skills to broaden and more strategic roles. They must bring the ability to do research prior to planning the program. They must create effective messages and able to show the effectiveness of the program.

In spite of this development in the concept, the old myth of public relations still remains in the mind of some people in Indonesia. Public relations is still perceived and associated with ‘smile’ and ‘feeling’, ‘public figure’ and ‘beautiful girl’, ‘external affairs’ only, ‘dealing with journalist alone’ or even ‘photographer and envelopes’.

To have wider understanding about public relations practice in Indonesia, let us have a closer look at the following data. The reader can interpret this data, and if you need to know more detail – please come to Public Seminar on 9th October in Hotel Atlet Century Park, Senayan. Meet the researcher and discuss it with PR experts in this country. 

Respondents profile :

1. Work status
   PR Practitioners (85%), Academia (4%), PR Consultant (6%), Entrepreneur(3%) and Observer (2%)
2. Age
   31 – 40 years (37%), 41 – 50 years (30%), 20 – 30 years (25%), 51 – 60 years (2%)
3. Educational background
   S1 (52%), S2 (15%), Akademi (24%), S3 (4%)
4. Position in the Organization
   PR Officer (36%), Manager (31%), Assistant Manager (10%), Director (8%), General Manager (5%), Supervisor (5%)
5. Where they work
   Private companies (49%), BUMN (12%), Education (11%), Government offices (8%), Consultancy (6%)
6. Reason for entering 
   PR is challenging profession (56%)
   PR gives more opportunities for self development (23%)
   PR is a promising career (21%)
7. How they feel about their salary
   Properly paid (43%), Not properly paid (34%), Well paid (20%)
8. Respondents expertise
   Public relations (34%), Media relations (22%), Government Relations (10%), Strategic Planning (8%), Financial Relations (5%), Crisis Management (5%), Issue Management (3%)
9. Most time is spent on
   Coordination (38%), Planning (35%), Negotiation (17%), Event Management (10%)
10. Respondents perception on public relations practice
    Strategic management function (49%)
    Image building (41%)
    Strategy to increase sales (6%)
    To combat negative media coverage (4%)
11. What level needs improvement
    Top management (23%), Specialist (20%), Middle Management (19%), Technical Expert (20%), Technician (13%)
    
    (Source : Ananto (1997, n=292, master thesis)

Respondents profile  – PR Practitioner (76%), Academia (16%), Consultant (8%) – S1 (59%), D3 (22%), S2 (11%) and S3 (3%)

Where they work  – Private companies (37%), Government offices (32%), Non profit (23%), Consultancy (5%)

Most time is spent on – Coordination (36%), Planning (26%), Event Organizing (25%), Negotiation (12%)

What level need improvement – Top Management (53%), Specialist (31%), Technical Expert (12%)

Respondents profile – PR Staff (52%), PR Manager (39%), PR Director (9%) – In house PR (66%), Academia (18%), Observer (9%), Consultant (7%) – Private sector (48%), Government sector (32%), Multinational (20%)

Respondents perception on public relations – Important function in organization (89%) – Strategic management function (82%) – Strategic counseling to management (91%) – Independent management function (86%) – Should be responsible directly to CEO (84%) – Should be active in change management (73%) – Should be research oriented (82%)

Respondents perception on current status of public relations practice – PR has not developed as a real profession (68%) – PR is developing with no direct vision (59%) – PR practice is handicapped by closed system in organization (82%) – PR practitioner cannot reach the top management (70%) – Professional organization has not developed as it should (72%) – Public relations ethics should be put into action (89%)

• Research population and sample
  Government (31%), Private institutions (40.8%), Multinational (28.2%)
• Line of business
  Service (49.4%), Merchandising (12.2%), Manufacturing  (6.1%), Others (25.7%)
• Designation
  Manager (36.7%), PR officer (36.3%), Director (13.9%), Vice President (5.3%)
• Years of experience in public relations
  < 5 years (47.8%), <10 years (23.7%), <15 years (11.4%), < 20 years (6.5%)
• Number of personnel in PR department
  1 – 5 (29%), more than 20 (27.3%), 6 – 10 (23.7%), 11 – 15 (13.5%)
• Number of employee in the company
  <100 (26.1%), <500 (21.6%), <5000 (16.3%), <1000 (13.9%), >10,000 (9%)

Comparative ‘mean’ of each variable in the different sectors

	Government	Private	MNC
Management values on public relations – Attitude	4.1035 4.1447	4.0039 3.8750	4.2633 4.3116
Public Relations function – Model of public relations	3.9556 3.8553	3.9951 3.9467	4.2293 4.1111
Resource allocation – Budgeting	3.6653 3.6249	3.6322 3.6114	3.9615 3.8965
Public relations strategy – Managerial	4.0785 4.0395	3.9936 3.9954	4.2955 4.3200

Literatur review

• Grand theory Excellence theory (Grunig, et.al., 1992, 1995, 2001, 2002)
• Strategic choice theory (Child, 1972)
• Power control theory (Burrel and Morgan, 1979)
• Cutlip, Centre and Broom (1985, 1994, 2000)
• Four Models of public relations (Grunig and Hunt, 1984)
• Four Role Typology (Broom and Smith, 1985)
• Managerial and Technical Category in Public Relations (Dozier, 1986)
• Contingency Theory (Donaldson, 1996)
• Marketing Mix theory (Carthy, 1993; Kotler, 1994, 1996, 1998)
• Performance measurement framework (Likely, 1997)

Conclusion 

The findings of this five and a half year study contribute more empirical evidence to excellence theory that the generic principles of excellence are mostly applicable to multinational sector. Principles of excellence is problematic to government and private sector investigated in this study.