Instructor: Stephen
D. Bruning, Ph. D. 118 Spielman Hall, sbruning@capital.edu
Phone:
236-6323 (w) 338-1715 (h)
Office Hours: M, W, F 10:00-11:00
T, TH 3:30-4:30
. . . And by appointment.
I. COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is based upon four overriding principles:
1. Public relations is the management function
that identifies, establishes, and maintains mutually
beneficial relationships between
an organization and the various publics on whom its success
or failure depends.
2. The building of effective relationships can
be summarized using a five-step process -- SMART
Relationship Building -- in which
you 1. Scan -- scan the environment in order to determine the
current state of relationships
and communication patterns, 2. Map -- develop a strategy in which
you set symbolic and behavioral
goals and objectives, 3. Act -- develop an action plan, conduct a
trial/pilot study of the action
plan, and assess initial effectiveness, 4. Rollout -- implement the
action plan designed to enhance
symbolic and behavioral actions of key public members, and
5. Track -- to determine
influence that organizational sponsorships and activities have had on
key public member perceptions and
behaviors.
3. Organizations and key publics have professional, personal,
and community relationships that must
be managed toward the goal of
mutual benefit. Failure to manage these relationships can impact
key public member perception of
the organization, and, ultimately the level of loyalty that is
expressed toward the sponsoring
organization.
4. In order to build relationships, you have to understand
the needs of your key publics. Thus, primary
and secondary research must be conducted.
Following the successful completion of this course, you will:
1. Understand the role of research in public relations.
2. Understand how to use research to plan programmatic initiatives.
3. Know how to use research databases.
4. Know how to access information via the Internet.
5. Know how to gather information using qualitative research methods.
6. Know how to gather information using quantitative research methods.
7. Understand the five-steps involved in
SMART Relationship Building in order to effectively manage
public relations programs
and initiatives.
8. Interpret research results and report the findings to an outside party.
9. Use research findings to advocate organizational change.
10. Understand sampling strategies, how to use them, and why they should be used.
11. Understand how to use research to monitor existing programs.
12. Understand how to use research to evaluate existing programs.
II. REQUIREMENTS
1. Do all assignments at the time scheduled. DO NOT miss assignments.
Late assignments will be
accepted, but your grade will be lowered two letter-grades.
2. Read newspapers and magazines. Listen to the radio and television
programs, and start thinking
about how these communications initiate, build, develop,
or destroy organization-public relationships.
3. All work submitted must be the student's own. Cheating (see below
for Capital University's definitions
and examples) will result in disciplinary action.
"Academic Integrity" is the expectation that all Capital
students are to be honest in their academic endeavors, and that the work one
submits for academic
evaluation must be his/her own, unless an instructor expressly
permits certain types of collaboration. Instructors are expected to
make this Academic Integrity
Policy known, in writing, at the beginning of a course.
A non-exhaustive list of behaviors which constitute academic misconduct and subject one to sanction(s) includes:
Cheating -- deceiving/misrepresenting information submitted on a paper/test/project
e.g., -- using materials/notes not permitted
by the instructor during an examination
-- collaborating on a test/project when not
authorized to do so by the instructor
-- receiving, giving or stealing parts of, or
an entire test which has not yet been administered
-- substitution of one student for another during
an examination
Plagiarism -- submitting work that is not expressly one's own as one's own
e.g., -- quoting verbatim or paraphrasing
excessively another person's words (published or unpublished) without acknowledgment
of the source
-- including facts, statistics, or other illustrative
materials that are not common knowledge without acknowledgment of the source
-- submitting another's term paper, essay test
answer, computer program, or project as one's own
Fabrication -- using "invented" information or falsifying research, data, or other findings with the intent to deceive
e.g., -- citing information not taken
from the source indicated; failure to document a secondary source material
-- listing sources in a bibliography not directly
used in the academic exercise
-- submitting lab reports or clinical data which
contain fictitious/falsified information; concealing/distorting the true
nature, origin, or function of such data
III. EVALUATION OF STUDENT PROGRESS
1. Each assigned activity will be graded on the basis of your ability to
demonstrate a thorough comprehension
of the material.
2. Two examinations (one mid-term and one final) will be administered to
measure your comprehension of
the principles of public relations research.
3. You will be involved in three research projects (the specifics of each
project will be detailed later in the
semester).
Project I: You will be assigned an organization
that you will track for five weeks. You are expected
to monitor the media coverage of the organization on a daily basis, clip articles
written about the company, and compile a report that illustrates the amount
of coverage,
the type of coverage, and any outcomes that may have resulted from the coverage.
Project II: You will be involved in the administration
of a survey for the Bexley Area Chamber of
Commerce. As a part of the assignment, we will be
coordinating data collection,
engaged in data entry and analysis, and creating a report.
The final component of
this assignment will involve a smaller group of students
going to present the results of
the investigation to the leadership of the Bexley Area
Chamber of Commerce.
Find Me What I Need: The field of public relations often is
a "mad dash" to meet deadlines. I want to
prepare you for some of that joy. Therefore, throughout the semester,
I will have three mini
"projects" that I will ask you to complete. When you are given the assignment,
you will be
provided 48 hours to complete it. Some of the assignments will be focused
on information
gathering, some will be on information synthesis, but all will be the type
of assignment you
will get when you are in the field.
The value of each assignment is as follows:
Exam I ..................................................................
150
Project I ..................................................................
100
Project II ................................................................
225
Three "Find me what I need" projects ....................... 150
Final Exam ...............................................................
150
Total: 775
Grades will be assigned based upon the following scale:
713 - 775 -- A
694 - 712 -- A-
682 - 693 -- B+
636 - 681 -- B
616 - 635 -- B-
605 - 615 -- C+
558 - 604 -- C
539 - 557 -- C-
527 - 538 -- D+
481 - 526 -- D
461 - 480 -- D-
000 - 460 -- F
IV. SCHEDULE OF WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS
The following pages contain the tentative semester
schedule. There will be ample time
for class discussion of public relations research
principles. You are urged to follow the
syllabus regularly and to note the specific dates
upon which activities and reports are due.
| Date | Activity |
|
| 1-6 |
Introduction and overview. |
|
| 1-8 | Defining public relations as relationship management The meaning of research. |
|
| 1-13 | Research and its role in public relations management Introduction to the management process. |
|
| 1-15 | The role of relationships in public relations. Open systems model of public relations. |
|
| 1-20 | PRSA code of professional standards. | |
| 1-22 | Scanning the environment. Background research. Benchmarking philosophy. Identifying key publics. |
|
| 1-27 | Focus groups, depth interviews, and roundtables, and conducting each of the above |
|
| 1-29 | Focus groups, depth interviews, and roundtables, and conducting each of the above | |
| 2-3 | Budgeting for public relations programs. Other issues that arise during the scanning phase. |
|
| 2-5 | Mapping a strategic plan. |
|
| 2-10 | Analyzing preliminary research results. Utilizing preliminary research. |
|
| 2-12 | Using research as a strategic tool. Conceptualizing public relations in strategic terms. |
|
| 2-17 | Finalize details of research project. Project I Due |
|
| 2-19 | Management by objectives. Using mission and vision statements in planning. |
|
| 3-2 | Results of effective planning. Obstacles to effective planning. |
|
| 3-4 | Writing a qualitative report. | |
| 3-9 | Workshop day — meet individually. | |
| 3-11 | Workshop day — meet individually. | |
| 3-16 | Workshop day — meet individually. | |
| 3-18 | Defining target publics. Writing program objectives. |
|
| 3-23 | Budgeting. Developing a survey. |
|
| 3-25 | Selling the plan. | |
| 3-30 | Rolling out the strategic plan. Public relations campaigns. Coordinating communication |
|
| 4-1 |
No Class |
|
| 4-6 | Tracking strategic initiatives. Pushing for measurable results. Evaluation of programs. |
|
| 4-13 |
Creating a research report. | |
| 4-15 | How to use evaluation findings. | |
| 4-20 | Recap of the role of research in public relations. |
|
| 4-22 | Recap of how to use research in public relations management. | |
| 4-27 | PROJECT II DUE. |
Final Exam: April 30, 2004; 10:30 - 12:30 AM