Chapter 13 - Global Public Relations
- 2. Key learning outcomes • Explain why issues of public access and usage of digital communication technology are critical in planning for global public relations. • Analyze cases of international public relations involving intercultural communication. • Compare high-context and low-context communication. • Apply cultural dimensions (e.g., uncertainty avoidance, masculinity-femininity) to public relations strategy and practice. • Explain the relationship between intercultural public relations, international public relations, and public diplomacy. • Discuss the ethics of balanced dialogue in global public relations. Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 2
- 3. Digital divides— at home and abroad Access divide: the first digital divide, focused on the gap between people with access to digital technology and those without access Usage divide: the second digital divide, focused on differences in how people from different groups actually use the technologies to which they have access Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 3
- 4. Divides and differences • World Bank data from the same year showed that India was second only to China in the number of mobile cellular telephone subscriptions. • Another important indicator of technology access and use is the speed of Internet connections. • Even in Silicon Valley, the world’s hub of Internet innovation, citizens of the Fremont, CA community are constantly reaching for more, faster and cheaper. • The United States barely cracks into the top 20 list of countries for average connection speeds. Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 4
- 5. Case Study One Laptop Per Child • In 2005, Nicholas Negroponte founded the non-profit One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization. Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 5 Negroponte envisioned a program that would bridge both the access and usage divides. Unfortunately, even with an inspirational vision, the program was not as successful as hoped.
- 6. Public relations and culture Every public has its own cultural dimensions. • Naturally, Chinese groups will have different cultural characteristics than German, Pakistani or American groups. • A public comprised of mostly Latinos will differ culturally from African Americans, Caucasian Europeans, Eskimos or Pacific Islanders. Of course, the concept of culture applies to any group, not just groups defined by race, ethnicity or nationality. Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 6
- 7. Case Study Intercultural communication and potty talk • Intercultural scholar Gary Fontaine has called it ‘one of the world’s most persistent intercultural challenges.’ • Archaeologists study it as a cultural artifact. • You would likely approach it carefully when traveling abroad. • What is it? Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 7
- 8. Low-context vs. high-context communication Low-context communication Most of the meaning of a message is stated explicitly in the message itself and requires little understanding of context. High-context communication Most of the meaning of a message is based on context or something internal to the communicators rather than being directly stated in the message. Public relations professionals need to carefully consider branding, as in Nike’s successful “Just Do It” campaign. Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 8
- 9. Communication context The distinction between high-context and low-context communication can be useful to people studying and practicing international communication. • People from Western cultures, such as America, Switzerland, Germany, and Scandinavia, tend to use more low-context communication. • In low-context cultures, web users are more likely to use search features and links to seek specific information and facts about an organization. • People from high-context cultures, such as Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, tend to rely more on interpersonal exchanges and social recommendations online Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 9
- 10. Five major cultural dimensions Hofstede identified five major cultural dimensions useful for understanding and improving how people of different cultures communicate. • Power distance • Individualism-collectivism • Uncertainty avoidance • Masculinity-femininity • Long-term orientation Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 10
- 11. Cultural intelligence Successful communication takes cultural intelligence. London Business School Professor Christopher Earley and University of Colorado Professor Elaine Mosakowski define cultural intelligence as someone’s ability to interpret the cultural nuances of others’ communications, even as an outsider: “A person with high cultural intelligence can somehow tease out of a person’s or group’s behavior those features that would be true of all people and all groups, those peculiar to this person or this group, and those that are neither universal nor idiosyncratic.” Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 11
- 12. Head (cognitive) Earley and Mosakowski recommend developing strategies for this immersive type of cognitive learning: • Think about what you hope to achieve. • Learn from your experiences when you encounter something new in a different culture. • Use those experiences to inform future actions and communication. • Plan ahead for introductions to new people. Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 12
- 13. Body (physical) Physical actions such as body motions, eye contact and gestures are a huge part of intercultural communication. • When do you shake someone’s hand? How firmly? • Do you ever hug someone in a professional setting? • Who sits where at a conference table? • How should you dress for an in-person press conference? What about a Skype interview? Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 13
- 14. Heart (emotional/motivational) The more experience we have in intercultural interaction, the more confidence we build in our ability to learn and adapt. Social psychologists call this self-efficacy, our belief that we can perform certain behaviors to achieve certain outcomes. Prior experiences and successes help us build self-efficacy, which motivates us to persist in difficult situations and learn new strategies, which leads to more success, which leads to more self- efficacy, etc. It’s a virtuous cycle if you can maintain it. Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 14
- 15. International public relations The interaction of an organization and publics across national boundaries Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 15 Benefits of globalization Increased scope of operations More money in new markets Positive social and environmental impact Risks of globalization Unintended consequences Miscommunication Negative social and environmental impact
- 16. Public diplomacy An important subset of international public relations that deals with communication designed to promote national interests • In most cases, this means that the organization, a key public, or both, are nations. • In certain cases, diplomatic actors may include non-state organizations such as NGOs or corporations. Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 16
- 17. Publicdiplomacyas publicrelations In discussing public diplomacy as a form of public relations, Professor Guy Golan defines two key perspectives: Mediated public diplomacy: when a nation uses media strategically to promote its agenda and “impact opinions held by targeted foreign audiences” Relational public diplomacy: when a nation and its foreign publics engage in cultural exchange and two-way communication with the goal of achieving mutual benefits Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 17
- 18. Ethics Dialogic ethics Philosopher Martin Buber developed the concept of dialogue to explain how people come to understand their own existence through their interactions and relationships with others. Dialogic communication: when people enter into an exchange with an understanding of their own views and backgrounds but also with complete openness to seeing the world as others do Monologic communication: when communicators strive to impose their view on others Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 18
- 19. Summary • Explain why issues of public access and usage of digital communication technology are critical in planning for global public relations. • Analyze cases of international public relations involving intercultural communication. • Compare high-context and low-context communication. • Apply cultural dimensions (e.g., uncertainty avoidance, masculinity-femininity) to public relations strategy and practice. • Explain the relationship between intercultural public relations, international public relations and public diplomacy. • Discuss the ethics of balanced dialogue in global public relations. Kelleher,PublicRelations,1e OxfordUniversityPress 19