Why Organizations Need Public Relations

We all know that people are sociable. They live in society, they don’t live alone. So through centuries they have worked out some specific rules of communication with each other: they have created the language, they have created the morals, they have created lots of other things for better communication.

Organizations, like people, must communicate with others because they do not exist alone in the world. If people had no relationships with family, neighbors, friends, enemies, or coworkers, they would have no need to communicate with anyone but themselves. But they are not alone, and must use communication to coordinate their behavior with people who affect them and are affected by them.

Organizations also have relationships—within their "family" of em­ployees and with communities, governments, consumers, financiers, supporters, detractors, and other publics. Organizations need public rela­tions, in other words, because they have relationships with publics.

For example, employees want the organization to provide them with satisfying jobs. Environmentalists want the organization to preserve na­ture. Government agencies insist on safe products. Communities want clean air, less traffic, and donations to community projects. Organiza­tions probably wouldn't choose these goals if they existed alone in their environment. If they don't choose them, however, publics will pressure them to do so—just as children pressure parents to take them to amuse­ment parks, employers pressure people to work late, or neighbors pres­sure us to keep our yards neat. Life for both people and organizations, therefore, is a constant process of negotiation and compromise. And communication is one of the most effective means we have to negotiate and compromise.

Organizations that communicate well with the publics with whom they have relationships know what to expect from those publics, and the publics know what to expect from them. They may not always agree or have a friendly relationship, but they do understand one another—and achieving understanding is the major objective of public relations.

As a result, communication and compromise make money for an organization by allowing it to sell products and services to satisfied consumers, secure funds from donors, or expand its operations. Com­munication and compromise also save the organization money that might be spent on lawsuits, regulations, boycotts, or training of new employees. Communication and compromise, therefore, are the essence of public relations.