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company affairs. It is part of their trust, and they are just as accountable for their co_mpany's goodwill-as they are for its 'other assets."
Public relations remains everybody's job-s-in its Conduct and execution. But overall guidance and policy- ~ maki;ng must be centralized to tnake Sure thatobjeytives are clearly understood, that performance follows a consistent pattern, and that PR planning is coordinated and controlled.
It is not enough to employ a competent public relations staff and hope for the best; management must manage the public relations activity. With direction from higher up, the public relations-man functions just as any other consultant. That is, he advises, counsels, even executes approved programs. But, like the company treasurer who might advise whether a new stock or bond issue is timely, he leaves the ultimate decision to top operating executives.
When the public relations executive reports directly to a chief operating officer rather than Someone further down the line, he is also in a position to help formulate company policy and discuss _ probable public relations consequences of a course of action before it is taken. In certain Circumstances it may be necessary for a Company to risk adverse public reaction because of overriding financial, legal, Or other reasons, This, too, is manage- : ment's responsibility. ~
The extent to which public relations will be accepted ,t
throUg?. o. ut a.n e~te.r prise cleP.end." s part. Ir. o. n .. th. e-e.x~.mple 'j.:,.: the chief executIve officer sets, partly on how well the:.
public relations department demonstrates its ability to J
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EFFECTIVE CORPORATE PUBI.IC RELATIONS 17
serve all divisions of the company. However, the closer the working relationship is between management and the PR executive..the better will'public relations activities be tailored to corporate needs."
Organizing for Public Relations
How the PR department is organized and placed in the corporate hierarchy varies with the size and type of companies, the nature of products or services, and many other factors.
At the Illinois Tool Works, for instance, the director of public relations and corporate advertising does not supervise product publicity-which is handled by advertising managers in Illinois Tool's various divisions. The PR director does coordinate divisional advertising programs, particularly as they relate to corporate identity, and he is also responsible for corporate publicity, advertising, and community relations campaigns .
. At Reynolds Metals Company, the public relations department is responsible for product publicity and also for corporate publicity, feature and technical articles; films, exhibits and booklets; community advertising of a
W, management nature; publication of internal and external ~,magazines, including management bulletins; public opin~iJ,ion research; and management of special events. In terms Ipf publicity, "perhaps two-thirds of the hundreds of ~~i§tories mentioning Reynolds that appear cnch ulllnllt in ~'rewspapers, trade journals and general dn':ltlnt!on !1!"An~ !!~~ines are the result of-news rclcnses 01' pemnnni rnlilllll~ ~1tby our PR staff," ncconlillB