Week 3- Chapter 7

This weeks reading was all about applying theory to practice- strategy and planning. The two are inter-woven and integral to the other one's success. While designing plans and developing strategies may seem time consuming, they should be considered as a recipe for success as opposed to a necessary evil.

Mintzberg 2003 as cited in Johnston and Zawawi, 2009) suggests that strategy should follow the five P's- Perspective, Position, Ploy, Plan and Pattern.

Broken down into these five fundamental aspects, they can be adapted in a contemporary public relations situation to create success. It's sort of like writing an essay. Yes, the essay plan/draft is long and tedious, but once you're typing you just need to follow the outline and YES- you're finished. In order for a strategy to become a success, there needs to be a plan behind it. And for a plan to be successful, there must be a strategy. Think of them as Corona and lime. You can't have one without the other.

The graphs in the chapter such as the PERT network shed some light on the practicalities practitioners face daily in regards to time management and task setting- which again, relates back to strategy and planning.

The chapter also emphasised the importance of practitioners to 'check back', and constantly be aware of how the strategy and plan has worked or hasn't worked for the client. It closed with an interesting statement that resonated with me, as it made me realise that there is a lot more to public relations than what meets the eye- a good practitioner is the unsung hero of any successful event or campaign. "Getting to grips with the sometimes imprecise science of strategising and the flexible nature of planning are crucial skills for public relations practitioners who want to operate more frequently at the new managerial, rather than the old technical, levels".

If you want to get to the top you need to work haaaard!


- Johnston, J & C Zawawi, Public Relations: Theory and Practise. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, 2009. 3rd ed.