Public Relations

PRO285 Public Relations in Society

International and intercultural public relations Topic 11

Intercultural Public Relations

• Intercultural communication research concentrates on exploring culture’s impact on communication at the individual or interpersonal level (Zaharna, 2000).

• Culture-specific studies look at each culture separately and culture-general studies identify commonalities across cultures.

• Effectiveness in intercultural communication means the degree to which interactants are able to avoid misunderstanding (Gudykunst, 1991, 1993).

• Research has traditionally been functionalist and managerialist but now more focussed on dialogic and relational (cultural diversity and relationships) (Kent & Taylor, 2011).

Culture and its influences on PR • Personal influence model of PR:

organisational success is achieved behind the scenes and people with connections to people of influence are more successful (Sriramesh, 1992).

• Dialogic communication model of PR: organisations and publics are equal. Dialogic organisations do not enact managerial strategies but rather serve the needs of stakeholders and public stakeseekers by developing long- lasting stable relationships (Pearson 1989; Kent & Taylor, 1998, 2002, 2011).

• The genre approach to international and intercultural PR emphasises a genuine approach to understanding other cultures. Correctly interpreting others is key to reducing relationship uncertainty and ambiguity (Kent & Taylor, 2011).

International Public Relations can be about: • The planned and organised effort of an organisation

to establish mutually beneficial relations with the publics of other nations (Wilcox, Ault and Agee, 1989).

• Government, organisations and individuals influencing the public attitudes and opinions of citizens of another country in an attempt to affect another government’s foreign policy decisions (Delaney 1968).

• Until the turn of the century, the literature on International Public Relations tended to focus on how Western organisations could operate in other countries (Culbertson & Chen, 1996).

Globalisation

• Globalisation tells us that what happens in one country can have an immediate effect on people and organisations in another (Kent & Taylor, 2011).

• A trend of large organisations establishing branches worldwide and smaller firms networking around the globe (Zaharna, 2000).

• Perhaps globalisation is associated with a particular philosophical outlook tied into the collapse of the Soviet Union and the triumph of capitalism as the superior mode of production and now on a mission to bring its benefits to the rest of the world? (Milward, 2003, p. 2).

Hofstede’s work on culture

• Looked at value differences as a culture- comparative piece of work.

• Explored culture through detailed questionnaires (116,000) of hundreds of people at IBM from 40 different countries at two points in time (1968/1972).

• Used theoretical reasoning and statistical analysis (1973–1978) to interpret data.

• Presents evidence of differences in culture from carefully matched samples from a large number of nations (40, 70, 48, 50, 101, 109, 118).

Geert Hofstede: 5 dimensions on culture • ‘Culture’ is the collective programming of the mind

(thinking, feeling, and acting, with consequences for beliefs, attitudes, and skills) that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.

• Mental programs are developed in the family in early childhood and reinforced in schools and organisations ... these mental programs contain a component of national culture.

• People in different countries have different values and those values can be ordered.

• See http://www.geerthofstede.nl/ and http://geert- hofstede.com/

PDI – Power Distance Definition Australia Power distance is defined as the

extent to which the members of a society ‘accept’ that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally.

Australia scores low and does not accept the unequal distribution of power.

Within Australian organizations, hierarchy is established for convenience, superiors are always accessible and managers rely on individual employees and teams for their expertise.

Both managers and employees expect to be consulted and information is shared frequently. At the same time, communication is informal, direct and participative.

IDV - Individualism Definition Australia Individualism stands for a preference

for a loosely knit social framework in which individuals are supposed to take care of themselves and their immediate families only

Opposed to collectivism, which stands for a preference for a tightly knit social framework in which individuals can expect their relatives, clan, or other in-group to look after them, in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.

Australia is a highly individualistic culture. This translates into a loosely-knit society in which the expectation is that people look after themselves and their immediate families.

In the business world, employees are expected to be self-reliant and display initiative.

MAS - Masculinity Definition Australia Masculinity stands for a society in

which social gender roles are clearly distinct: men are supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success; women are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life.

Femininity stands for a society in which social gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life.

Australia is considered a “masculine” society.

Behaviour in school, work, and play are based on the shared values that people should “strive to be the best they can be” and that “the winner takes all”.

Australians are proud of their successes and achievements in life, and it offers a basis for hiring and promotion decisions in the workplace.

Conflicts are resolved at the individual level and the goal is to win.

UAI – Uncertainty Avoidance Definition Australia Uncertainty avoidance has to do

with the degree to which the members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity, leading them to support beliefs that promise certainty and to maintain institutions that protect conformity.

Australia is a fairly pragmatic culture in terms of uncertainty avoidance and scores mid-range. This means that both generalists and experts are needed.

There is focus on planning, and they can be altered at short notice and improvisations made.

Emotions are not shown much in Australia, people are fairly relaxed and not adverse to taking risks.

Consequently, there is a larger degree of acceptance for new ideas, innovative products and a willingness to try something new or different, whether it pertains to technology, business practices, or foodstuffs.

LTO – Long-Term Orientation Definition Australia Michael Harris Bond, as published in

the 2nd edition of "Cultures and Organizations, Software of the Mind"(2005).

The long term orientation dimension is closely related to the teachings of Confucius and can be interpreted as dealing with society’s search for virtue, the extent to which a society shows a pragmatic future-oriented perspective rather than a conventional historical short-term point of view.

Australia is a short-term oriented culture.

As a result, it is a culture focused on traditions and fulfilling social obligations.

Given this perspective, Australian businesses measure their performance on a short-term basis, with profit and loss statements being issued on a quarterly basis. This also drives individuals to strive for quick results within the work place. There is also a need to have the “absolute truth” in all matters.

Criticisms of Hofstede

• He generalises to nation states from a few questionnaire responses.

• IBM employees cannot represent nations. This is a leap of faith because IBM had many atypical characteristics (e.g. selective recruitment of the ‘middle-class’).

• His conception is too static. He ignored extensive literatures which argue for recognition of multiple, dissenting, emergent, organic, counter, plural, resisting, incomplete, contradictory, fluid, cultures in an organisation and in a single nation (Sweeney, 2002).

Some crucial points

• Cultures are fluid, heterogeneous, evolving, pluralistic and resisting

• Learning about other cultures helps put our own culture into perspective

• As public relations professionals, to be able to build relationships with culturally diverse individuals and publics, you need to understand why people act and communicate the way they do.

• Are you up to the challenge of building meaningful relationships in complex cultural environments?