What do you think of when you hear the word manager?

Do they do any work?

Here are a few things that may come to my mind:

Fancy business suit and nice car

They have the nicest office in the building

Complete control

And if you have ever watched the television show THE OFFICE you may envision a manager like Michael Scott, someone who sits around all day and lets their employees do all the work.

In reality an organizational manager has many responsibilities and is the key component to any successful organization. A public relations manager role has specific jobs and duties.

What is the role of a PR manager in an organization?

What do communication managers do?

This blog will define and refine the core elements of management in a public relations/corporate communication context.

There are two PR levels- the technician and the management level to which PR practitioners should operate. Lubbe and Puth quote Gruning to best illustrate this point, it is stated:

“Public relations practitioners occupy two major roles, the technician and the manager. Communication technicians provide technical services such as writing, editing, photography, media contacts, or production of publications. Technicians are found in all organizations with public relations departments. For excellence to be achieved in public      relations and for public relations to fulfill its management function efficiently and effectively, expertise, commitment and vision are required at both these levels. These two levels are also interdependent; the PR manager cannot implement his policies without the technical expertise and support of the public relations technician.” (Lubbe and Puth,  1994, pg 8)

Therefore a PR manager must possess both technical and managerial characteristics to be  successful.

The classical view of a manager is defined as: rational analytical planner, decision maker, and issuer of commands. They must also have the ability to switch their attention quickly from one subject, problem, and person to another. A manager should be dependent on many people, other than subordinates, with whom reciprocating relationships should be created; who need to learn how to trade, bargain and compromise.

Not only do managers appear to make choices about the job content (which aspects of a job a manager chooses to emphasize), but also about the methods (how the work is done), Dalton suggested that negotiation over job content is not only part of what managers do, but also a motif running through all managerial activity.

According to a survey conducted in the U.K. there are five dimensions or core areas that are performed by communication/public relations practitioners and what is identified as being essentially managerial responsibility:

Monitor and evaluator

  • Organizing, controlling, and monitoring the work of communication/public relations

departments from both an internal and external standpoint

  • Being responsible for setting targets, operating within budget,
  • Monitoring performance against targets, and preparing departmental reports.
  • Coordinating with other organizational management units, including top management, to

set targets for the public relations function

  • Negotiating for organizational resources
  • Commissioning external agencies to evaluate communication strategies
  • Setting targets for the PR function.
  • Working with senior management to determine appropriate targets/ benchmarks for the    PR/Communication function.

Key Policy and Strategy Advisor

  • Advising top management on a variety of important stakeholder issues
  • Advising top management on a regular basis about relevant business/communications issues and challenges
  • Advising senior management about how major strategic decisions will be viewed by the media.
  • Contributing regularly to top management policymaking meetings
  • Planning PR strategies for key internal/external stakeholders
  • Working closely with the CEO and other executive officers to ensure that the PR/communication implications of any strategic decisions are understood

Trouble shooter/problem solver

  • Monitoring external trends that might affect the organization
  • Collecting and analyze external intelligence relevant to my organization
  • Recommending how the organization should respond to the threat from major trends/issues
  • Dealing with day-to-day demands for PR support from others within the organization
  • Helping to resolve problems caused by others within the organization is one of my key responsibilities.
  • Exchanging information with others, and negotiating over who controls certain information
  • Representing the PR/communication function at meetings where policy that might affect the function’s role or resources is discussed

Issues management expert

  • Diagnosing and responding to external threats from major or minor issues.
  • Dealing with major/ minor crises affecting the organization
  • Liaising and negotiating with external stakeholders
  • Managing programs to address identified issues
  • Collaborating with other members of top management when formulating our PR strategy.

Communication Technician

  • Dealing with routine, day-to-day organizational administration
  • Handling the technical aspects of producing communication/PR materials
  • Engaging regularly in contacts with the media
  • Overseeing the visual/design materials for my organization