Judy Turk and Linda Scanlan are back with the third edition of The Evolution of Public Relations: Case Studies from Countries in Transition. The book, published free online by the Institute for Public Relations, was made possible by generous project funding from Philips and Schering-Plough.
More than 18 authors from 13 countries produced 16 cases and briefs for the book. The underlying premise is that students, professors and working professionals around the world can learn from case studies developed in a wide variety of cultural settings – not just westernized markets.
Writing on the Institute’s blogs, the editors say, “One thing really struck us this time around: The practice of public relations in these countries in transition has gained maturity from edition to edition of the casebook. Understandably, the practice of public relations revolves around media relations and other technical functions in its early stages of development. But we’re seeing a growing understanding of governments, companies and NGOs that public relations is truly a strategic function. That’s a very good sign for the development of public relations as a global profession.”
Scanlan was a Fulbright Senior Scholar teaching journalism and public relations in Bulgaria, a USIS teaching fellow in Latvia, a Freedom House advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Romania, and a Fulbright Senior Specialist in Kosovo. Turk served as founding dean of the College of Communication and Media Sciences at Zayed University, a public university for women in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. She has consulted and lectured on journalism curriculum development, press freedom and public relations in Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The response to our third edition has been wonderful. Every day seems to bring reminders that the globe is getting smaller. But, while geographic boundaries don’t count for much anymore, cultural sensitivities seem to be more important. We thank our contributors for sharing theirs with us and with you, our readers.
It’s great to see some response to our blog postings.
The theme of cultural variation runs through most of the postings — and I certainly agree that we must address cultural differences in approaching public relations in countries other than our own.
As a student who is enrolled in a Public Relations program at Humber College, one of the classes that I am required to complete is entitled “Corporate and International PR”. This class teaches the individual about the policies and dealings of international public relations and, in addition, requires me to do a research assignment on how public relations is conducted in a foreign country.
This class allows me to comprehend the various different cultural aspects in foreign countries, such as language, body language, woman’s rights, and laws. As a public relations professional, it is essential to know that there are several valid resources out there to aid in dealing with both domestic and foreign countries.
As a young Public relations student, Reading this story as helped me to understand the importance of case studies around the world and not just westernized Public Relations because understanding the global market helps students and working professionals in the west develope in a wide variety of cultural views which is very vital in a diverse world.
There are many fascinating papers and other resources available at the Institute for Public Relations site and I promote it extensively to my students as it is a great example of high quality material available online from some strong authors. It is good to see international work there in particular enabling more reflection on practice and theoretical developments within a wide range of cultural and situational contexts.
This is great, Frank. One of the most fascinating areas of business, I find, are cultural variances. I have to agree with the notion that case study’s should be studied cross-culturally; you never know when you might have to advise your CEO on how to properly receive a business card in China or Japan (it varies greatly from our practices in Canada!)