Chapter Contents
3. Crisis Communications Theory
3.2 The Excellence Theory
The Excellence Theory states that organisations are effective when they have the expertise needed to respond to threats and opportunities in their environment (Grunig, Grunig & Dozier, 2002). The expertise needed to respond to a threat is the essence of crisis communications.
The Excellence Theory was developed in 1984 following an extensive review of relevant literature and theory and an empirical study involving over 300 organisations and thousands of employees across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The objective was to analyse how public relations was and should be practiced in order for it to add value to an organisation and to society. The result was the identification of four specific characteristics that the Theory states are required in public relations programmes or departments in order for them to be effective for an organisation.
The four categories are as follows:
- Empowerment of the public relations function
This considers the relationship of public relations to the overall business management and requires that communications is recognised as a critical management function. The theory states that communications or public relations executives should be part of the strategic senior management team within the organisation and that two-way symmetrical communications programmes are designed to reach out to specific publics that have been identified in the organisation’s business objectives. Campaigns should be built on formative research and have measurable outputs. Communications tools and tactics should be varied and activity should be evaluated and demonstrate that objectives have been met and relationships have been improved between an organisation and its publics. Diversity is recognised as important to empower the public relations function and is required to ensure that the organisation’s workforce reflects that of its environment. This benefits the practitioners and assists the organisation in building relationships with its publics and stakeholders. In a time of crisis, it is
extremely useful for the chief executive or managing director to have a close tie with the head of communications to ensure that a strategic communications response is devised that is closely aligned with the business’ objectives.
- Communicator Roles
The Excellence Theory identifies four roles that a communications professional can play within an organisation: a manager, senior adviser or communications liaison, technician and a media relations role. The research revealed that in less excellent departments, all the practitioners are operating as technicians and carrying out day-to-day communications activities. The theory proffers that the public relations professional must be operating at a strategic managerial level in the organisation in order for the public relations function to be effective. It states that the communications unit should be headed up by a strategic manager rather than a technician or an administrative manager and that team members should have acquired the required knowledge through education to progress in the department. The Theory proposes that men and women must have equal access to the managerial communications role within organisations. At the time of the research the majority of public relations professionals were identified as women and were therefore more likely to possess the required knowledge to progress to managerial roles. A study on the PR industry in the UK however would indicate that over 30 years later, this is not the case. In the 2019 census from the Public Relations Consultancy Association in the UK, it found that the industry in the UK is female dominated (67% female and 33% male). However, there is an industry gender pay gap at 13.6% with the pay disparity between female and male employees reported to be at £6,412 (PRCA, 2019).
The high percentage of females in the industry and the identification of this pay-gap would indicate an inequality between the experiences and trajectory of men and women in the public relations workforce. Furthermore, the European Communications Monitor (2020) found that despite the fact that three out of four communications departments and agencies in Europe employ more women than men, only one out of two top leaders are women. The topic of diversity is one that has evolved since the publication of the Theory of Excellence with many societies in the UK, US and Canada becoming more multi-cultural. However, in the UK, the census reveals that the industry in the Western World is overwhelmingly White and British with White professionals making up to 89% of the public relations industry there. If PR is to achieve Excellence, according to this theory, the workforce needs to be more diverse with men and women and employees of all cultures and religious beliefs employed across the various roles and at the top managerial levels.
In times of crisis, a larger team and a workforce that is reflective of the environment in
which the organisation operates, carrying out clearly defined communications roles will assist the organisation in managing and responding to crisis.
- Organisation of the Communication Function and its Relationship to other Management Functions
The third category identified in the Excellence Theory focusses on organisations having an integrated communications function. The theorists explain that in some organisations, they found that there were separate departments aimed at different publics and in some instances, organisations placed communications under another discipline such as marketing, human resources or finance. Organisations were also found to work with external consultants for specific communications requirements such as the announcement of an annual report. In the Excellence Theory, these specific components are integrated into and co-ordinated by one department, the ultimate purpose of which is communications. The Theory specifically addresses the issue of the relationship between marketing and public relations and states that public relations should not be sublimated to other functions such as marketing as this will prevent it from strategically managing the organisation’s communication with its publics. At a time of crisis, the gulf between the professions of marketing and public relations that is so often blurred by those who do not understand one or sometimes both professions, is laid bare.
Marketing activity tends to be well structured and financed one-way communication that serves to extoll the virtues of a brand in order to have a direct impact on revenues. The role of crisis communications in protecting the reputation is one that is very different and requires a different skillset built on knowledge, practical and interpersonal skills. If the PR department is sublimated into the marketing or another discipline, this role can become undervalued and diluted and may not be in a position to fulfil its potential in a time of crisis.
- Models of Public Relations
This category looks at the role the Four Models of PR plays in Excellence and specifically the Two-Way Symmetrical model of PR which is identified as the most ethical and effective framework for public relations practice. The theory states that this model is the most effective in managing relationships with an organisation’s publics. This model is also specified in the Theory as the most desirable model for internal communications within the organisation (between management and employees). Two-way symmetrical practitioners are loyal to the organisation and to its publics, they are concentrated on balancing the interests of organisations and its publics, base their strategies on research and use communication to manage conflict. A characteristic of an excellent public relations programme or department according to Grunig et al (2002) is a Two-Way Symmetrical one that focusses on activism and
the environment. Such a programme will have worked with activist groups within the community to listen to their concerns, will have conducted risk assessments and will be prepared for a potential crisis that could impact on the reputation of the company.
Criticism of the Excellence Theory suggests that the theory is over simplified and is too centred on consumers and on organisations as opposed to the environment, cultures and markets in which organisations operate. Critics have issues with its foundations in the Four Models of PR and the assertation that the Two-Way Symmetrical Model is the most practiced or preferred model of communications. Other criticisms centre around the identification of publics as groups waiting to be discovered rather than groups that form as a result of the conversation in which they participate (Waddington, 2012). The Excellence Theory however is a huge and possibly the only such sized body of research that is specific to the public relations industry. It therefore holds merit and value for today’s PR practitioners and crisis communications planners in that context. However, the world has changed considerably since the original research was conducted and in the context of communications, the evolution of technology has broadened the reach for many companies enabling them to communicate with a global audience now quickly and efficiently. This has impacts on the formation of publics which are now global in a way that would not have been considered in the original research. The communicator roles identified in The Excellence Theory have evolved with content creation becoming an important role now in the PR department. Gender equality and cultural diversity are areas that need to be addressed and as we have seen, the indications are that the PR industry has not progressed far enough here since the original research. Further research and analysis of public relations in different countries and continents, including in the developing world would offer an indication as to why this is and what the PR industry needs to do to really achieve ‘Excellence’.
The Excellence Theory does a service in that it makes an attempt to explain public relations and to evolve the profession from one that is focussed solely on persuasion, propaganda and tactical media relations to one that is a recognised function of strategic management that operates ethically and adds value to organisations. It is an important reference point in establishing functional communications departments and in developing excellent or effective communications and crisis communications plans. The Theory lays the foundations for further research as the public relations profession matures and evolves in an increasingly digitised, diverse and globalised market. In the meantime, an organisation that addresses each of the four categories identified by the Excellence Theory in a time of crisis will be better placed to develop a strategic communications plan that is aligned with the business’ objectives and culture.