2011 Center for Global Public Relations March 15, 2011
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Research Conference
UNCC Charlotte
The New Age of Public Relations in Russia and Evaluating Employer Communication Competency
Expectations In Kazakhstan Sergei Samoilenko, Ph.D., George Mason University
]
THE NEW AGE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN RUSSIA Abstract The practice of public relations in Russia became popular in the 90s. Most scholars attribute the birth of Russian public relations to the end of the Cold War and the downfall of Communism. The development of democracy and free market economies, together with the information revolution, have brought two worlds together to form a new profession and academic discipline. The overall image of the profession was influenced by public perception of electoral public relations and the handling of the aforementioned political campaigns. The rapidly evolving nature of the Russian consumer market provided great opportunities for innovative, Western-standard PR campaigns. Even when the West and East become economically closer, Russian social, economic and political institutions preserved unique cultural trends and features, – including the institute of public relations. In the mid-00s the Central Russian Government began to develop a new concept in delineating authority between the federal and regional powers and local government. It resulted in several authoritative decisions, including assigning local governors by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The president retained the power to appoint and remove presidential representatives, who act as direct emissaries to the jurisdictions in overseeing local administrations' implementation of presidential policies. Another major transformation of in the field of the Russian public relations has been undoubtedly due to the rapid development of new communication technology, which has made a giant step over the past decade. The above political transformations affected the money and power distribution on the Russian PR market and forced the majority of PR practitioners to switch to the business sector. This report summarizes the most current trends in public relations practices and discusses many challenges and changes for modern PR practitioners in Russia since 2004. Despite the aforementioned issues, “black PR� so typical for 1990s, is likely to have a limited future nowadays as respected international communications networks become more established, and Russian companies appear more transparent and seek to integrate themselves into the world economy.
EVALUATING EMPLOYER COMMUNICATION COMPETENCY EXPECTATIONS IN KAZAKHSTAN Abstract The changing nature of organizations and the "Internet era" are the realities of our lives, which place increasing importance on our individual communication competencies. Organizations of today and tomorrow must depend on specialists to creatively solve problems and adapt to rapid organizational change, global marketplace and constantly emerging publics and communities. According to several recent professional panels by the National Chapter of Public Relations Society of America, effective consumption, production, and participation in today’s media environment requires not only familiarity with the various social tools available, but also understanding and critical reflection on the roles these tools play in shaping public discourse and shared realities. In this fast-paced environment, organizational excellence is directly related to individual communication competence which is best understood as a complex interaction of knowledge, sensitivity, values and skills to strategically plan, create and evaluate integrated marketing communication campaigns tailored for specific publics by utilizing a variety of multimedia resources and applications. In order to prepare for the communication responsibilities and opportunities of the future, individuals need to develop broad-based communication competency which are best understood as a complex interaction of Knowledge, Sensitivity, Skills, and Values. Knowledge-the ability to understand the organizational communication environment. Sensitivity--the ability to accurately sense organizational meanings and feelings. Skills--the ability to accurately analyze organizational situations and to effectively initiate and consume organizational messages. Values--the importance of taking personal responsibility for effective communication, thereby contributing to organizational excellence. An organizational communication competency scale has been developed to survey the expectations of business leaders in the Republic of Kazakhstan regarding the necessary communication competencies of public relations specialists working in the business sector. The results of this study have been used for developing guidelines for a new curriculum in public realtions, a discipline recently introduced at departments of communication and media in Kazakhstan universities. Moreover, this study helps better prepare students in Kazakhstan media departments for their future professions and increase opportunities for their employment.