The Rise of CSR-Companies with a social conscience

Corporate social responsibility(CSR)describes the social role a company plays in society.

According to Adam Garfunkel, who spoke with us on CSR.
CSR is: What you do, how you do it and when and what you say about it. I agree that sums up CSR especially from a PR perspective.

It goes without saying that companies that are more people oriented are more profitable in the long run. The community in which a company is located is crucial because it supplies workforce, provides essential services and if angered can impose restraints on the company.

Moloney(2006)draws a distinction between CSR and philanthropy. According to him,while public relations draws attention to CSR activities to enhance an organisation's reputation,this goes against the private altruism of philanthropy.
I think CSR and philanthropy go hand in hand. If a company safeguards the environmental, social or even cultural aspects of it's community, it is looking after the best interests of the people: which is philanthropy.

Who sets the agenda for CSR activities within a company? I asked Adam how companies decide what they want to be socially responsible for. He said company's should form CSR activities according to their risks and not just jump on the bandwagon of what's going on in the media.

The government through company acts have enforced risk assessment for companies now, which will go a long way in companies taking CSR seriously.

Some companies have been quite smart and risen on the wave of their CSR activities to enhance their reputations,thus increasing their profit.

A glimpse of the runway-London fashion week

Karen Brost's collections Spring/Summer 2009

Fashion PR-vauxhall fashion show

On Friday the 23rd,feb(last week), I went for the live catwalk of the vauxhall fashion show with my fellow fashion PR mates.

It was awesome!

The vauxhall fashion organise a show for emerging fashion talents every year. It's founders are Martyn Roberts and John Walford.
John Walford has had years of experience in the fashion industry working with the likes of vivienne westwood,he was so kind to give us a lecture on the fashion industry and the role of PR a few days before the show.

A lot goes into the organisation of the shows, from invites, to sitting arrangements, to organising the photographers, models, designers etc. There are front and back house roles i.e if you work front house you would be expected to meet and greet and know who is who:journalists,sponsors, other PR people etc(although i daresay, it did seem a bit like there were no strict arrangements as regards who came in). According to my course mates who worked back house, their duties involved just about everything i.e putting goody bags together, to helping with the models etc,nothing like good hands on experience.

I sat for the very first and second shows by Julia smith and KANGst, they lasted about 20mins each and it was quite interesting to see the lovely designs on models on the catwalk up close. The photographers snapped away and the buyers in the front row were engrossed in every outfit.I took a few pictures myself.

The show was organised along side-London fashion week

Feminisation of PR and diversity issues

Numerous blogs have been written about women in PR.
PR as the pink collar profession is one that involves relationship building,empathy,communication etc. A fellow course mate Gauhar throws more light on women in the PR industry in her blog.


The role of gender can be affected by culture and the unwritten rules of what a woman/man can and cannot do.

There are different views on whether women can ever run PR organisations. Some think because women are seen as the 'weaker sex', emotional, fragile and have other roles as mothers and wives, they can never rise to the top.
However, some women are already running top positions in PR organisations. An example is Kethcum-a top PR firm which has 3 female partners in it's management team.

The birmingham post has a very interesting article which gives statistics on the fact that women outnumber men in the profession. Previously men had the board room positions but all that is changing. The career is also appealing to women because it is flexible, high powered and can be done independently with the emergence of electronic technology.

Also, it does seem like some PR roles are seen as more male dominated, like political PR, corporate PR, financial PR. Other roles such as fashion PR, NGO and event management roles are seen as more female roles.

I personally think,times are changing and women are increasingly marching forward to take up top positions in organisations regardless of the roles. Traits such as sensitivity, confidence, networking skills etc are all individual to a person whether you are male or female.

A woman can be a mother, wife, sister, aunt and boss all at once. That's the way we are wired. We know how to seperate issues at the boardroom from marital issues because we know there is no room for mediocrity at work-where there is always someone ready to take your position if you show any signs of being overly emotional or inadequate.

The Debate

We were grouped into two teams and the motion was: The only way to practise ethical PR is to work in the not for profit (NFP)sector, everything else is corporate and political propaganda.

My group were against the motion.We said: It is possible to practise ethical PR in all sectors, not for profit organisations though always deemed as ethical may not always be.
We gave examples of the not for profit sector (which is made up of charities, voluntary organisations, community and interest groups)that may be unethical in their doings.They are not always nice and fluffy (love that phrase as regards the NFPS,got it from luke). We also expantiated on propaganda as not neccesarily a bad tool.Not for profit organisations also use propaganda to stir emotions either to promote their cause or to fundraise.
Also other sectors such as the corporate sector who are profit driven use CSR(corporate social responsibility) to cater to the larger society ethically.

We won the debate.

Well done,Margarita and Luke!!!

PR and Ethics-Can PR ever be ethical?

Yesterday's class was so interesting. It tended towards the philosophical(which I love).

The issue of ethics can be discussed for days with different theories coming into play. Basically it has to do with right or wrong.

Morals are personal values shaped by upbringing and ethics is the study of morals.

Who decides what is right (or wrong)and their reasons behind this is another story entirely. I guess that's why there are ethical frameworks that try to cut down individual sentiments and give codes of conduct. The justification for building frameworks must be entrenched in the beliefs, values and objectives of a society or organisation. It makes me think that people that have no belief system can easily be given one (and sometimes people accept these beliefs without questioning)...Im thinking too much now, back to PR and ethics.PR codes of ethics

We were presented with different ethical scenarios and there were different views in class on how we would handle each. It is important for a PR practitioner to seperate personal moral codes from the ethics of a company. I must say it does take looking at an issue from as many angles as possible in line with company policy. A PR practitioner is afterall the social conscience of an organisation representing all the groups and interests concerned and should project a conscience that is clearly representative of interests(whether those interests are for the greater good is another topic entirely).

Information management as an activity in political PR

I daresay that this is the most controversial aspect of a political PR practitioners role.

Information has to be managed so as to get the right messages across. The content of messages have to reveal the intentions. People interprete things in different ways and it is so key the intended message comes across the right way. However in managing these messages, spin, propaganda and manipulation may come in.

An interesting issue is the question: Is all PR spin?

I came across an interesting newswire of Alastair Campbell(Britain's former prime minister Tony blair's former communications chief. In it he shrugs off PR's tarnished spin image in fiery debate.He said "the problem is not with PR, the problem is with politics and spin"- hence putting a distinction between the two.

Im still on about PR activities in political PR and internal communications is the third type of activity i've mentioned.

Tools like the blackberry make it easier for emails to be sent and received on the go. Im not trying to promote the blackberry in any way but I thought it was interesting that President Obama was allowed to keep his. Meaning it had been an issue. No doubt it will enhance communications between him and senior staff of the white house.

Four types of PR activity in political PR

Image management
Media management
Internal communications
Information management

PR is so interesting! It's got so many sides to it.

Firstly,image consulting has to do with style over substance,media training,voice coaching etc.Images just don't happen by themselves,before celebrities step out unto the red carpet,every detail from hair,outfit to makeup has been crafted.This also applies to political figures, government and businesses.

Secondly is Media management which involves building relationships with journalists, setting the news agenda and passing on the right messages/stories.

The media act as political influencers and that raises the question of who actually sets the agenda?
Is it the journalists, political parties, spin doctors?

Some newspapers are completely biased in their views because the owner of the paper may be a supporter of a particular party. It's no wonder some people choose to read papers that don't support any political side and give a neutral perspective.
Being that the media is such a strong influence, it does seem like owners/controllers of newspapers and television houses have alot of influence over what is reported.

New media can be seen as an attempt to bypass the media(the middleman) using: political blogs, you tube, social media, pod casts,twitter etc. These encourage more open feedback as opposed to linear one way communication.

Thirdly, Internal communications is a PR activity in political PR- Members can be kept up to date on happenings within by all sorts of medium such as blackberrys and emails.

Political communications-The role of PR

The importance of managing communications in the political arena cannot be overemphasised.
Campaigns are tools of politics used to persuade, inform, promote a cause and even influence government decisions.

Political parties always have an agenda and need to have ongoing communications in order to promote this agenda.

Also there is a distinction between government and political communication,though they may sometimes be blurred. I think the agenda of say the government of the day is different from a political party that is trying to win a seat in the house of senate.

Where does PR fit into all of this?

Political PR is concerned with political parties:it influences voters, it is funded through party donations, it is partisan & persuasive and it aims at political change.

Government PR on the other hand is concerned with the government of the day,it influences citizens, it emphasises rights and responsibilities, funded by taxpayers and it is informative & non partisan.

New media-Is PR being left behind by the new media revolution?

The development in the online world is an exciting change for PR. New media channels include blogs, forums,s ocial networks,websites,podcasts etc

Deirdre Breakenridge's book PR 2.0 is a good insight on the effect of new media on PR as it is today. My blog list has a link to Breakenridge's blog where some of her thoughts can be shared.

Journalists now get a lot of their information via blogs and other new media sources as opposed to just traditional sources like press releases. Journalists use new media to pick up public opinion about what is going on as regards different issues.

New media which is also called web 2.0 is conversational, transparent, fastmoving, international and integrated.on line sources of news are booming with 1 in 3 britons visiting on line newspapers (nielson online,2009)

According to Richard Houghton, an executive of ICCO(international communications consultancy organisation),new media creates two way conversation which will highlight the good and bad in an organisation's relationships with it's customers, prospects, employees and stakeholders. It gives communications more value as it allows companies gain insight into customer behaviour and attitudes towards products and services-what they like and what they don't like.

The downside may be the fact that negative comments can be made about an organisation but then again i think there has to be some negative feedback for improvement and growth to take place.

Who's in control?

Journalists?Audiences?Public relations?

There is a reality of two way communication with new media. Also user generated content shifts the power balance away from the linear format to a conversational format. The question of control is questioned.when information is in new media space,it's immediate, visible and cannot be controlled.
Journalists are no longer the only ones responsible for giving information. Audience i.e bloggers have a direct input into on going issues. People with similar views can easily form a coalition on line and affect public opinion.

The public relations sector is affected by new media. It is an accepted communications tactic for companies to use a blog to provide a human face to an organisation. Corporate image and perceptions of an organisation can be changed in the blogosphere. it touches people to be able to give their feedback on issues/products.