Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management

This book is the initial volume coming out of the "excellence project"-a comprehensive research effort commissioned by the IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) Research Foundation. The purpose of this project was to answer two fundamental questions about public relations: What are the characteristics of an excellent communication department? How does excellent public relations make an organization more effective, and how much is that contribution worth economically? The research team began its work with a thorough review of the literature in public relations and related disciplines relevant to these questions. What started as a literature review, however, has ended in a general theory of public relations, one that integrates most of the wide range of ideas about, and practices of, communication management in organizations.

Excerpt

In 1982, the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) made a commitment to research in business communication and public relations when it formed the IABC Research Foundation. In 1985, the foundation committed itself to the largest research project in the history of public relations - a project that has come to be called the excellence project. I was fortunate to be the director of the team chosen to conduct the research. The purpose of the excellence project was to answer two fundamental questions about public relations: What are the characteristics of an excellent communication department? How does excellent public relations make an organization more effective, and how much is that contribution worth economically?

The excellence team began its work with a thorough review of the literature in public relations and related disciplines relevant to these research questions. This book is the product of that first stage of the research. The team then developed a program of survey and qualitative research to test the propositions derived from the literature review. The results of that research will be published in additional books.

Authors or editors almost always are enthusiastic about their product when they send it to the publisher. The "beating your head against the wall theory" may explain the reason: "If you beat your head against the wall long enough and hard enough you will think it was a good experience when you quit because it feels so good not to be hitting yourself any longer." Yet, I cannot help but believe this book will be a seminal book in the history of public relations.