What Public Relations does?

What Public Relations Does
• Public relations help our complex, pluralistic society to reach decisions and function more
effectively by contributing to mutual understanding among groups and institutions. It serves to
bring private and public policies into harmony. Public relations serves a wide variety of
institutions in society such as businesses, trade unions, government agencies, voluntary
associations, foundations, hospitals, schools, colleges, and religious institutions. To achieve their
goals, these institutions must develop effective relationships with many different audiences or
publics such as employees, members, customers, local communities, shareholders, and other
institutions, and with society at large.
• The managements of institutions need to understand the attitudes and values of their publics in
order to achieve institutional goals. The goals themselves are shaped by external environment.
The public relations practitioner acts as a counselor to management and as a mediator, helping
translate private aims into reasonable, publicly acceptable policy and action. As a management
function, public relations encompasses the following: