50650 Public Relations Professional Practice

The second part of assessment one requires students to develop a poster of A2 size to present to the class to show the issue analysis process linked to an organisation and range of stakeholders. The poster will be a visual representation of the analysis process highlighting one organisation to explore that would be appropriate to escalate into a crisis. Students will present the poster in class (5 minutes) summarising its content and potential evolution into a crisis and respond to questions.

• Select an appropriate issue in the public domain and analyse it and its current status;
• Identify stakeholders/publics and analyse their position in relation to the issue, isolating one major organisation to explore further;
• Provide evidence of appropriate academic research to analyse your issue and link to stakeholders/publics and an organisation (media reports, literature on issue identification, environmental scanning etc);
• Prepare a poster to provide a clear and creative representation of the major components of the issue and link to stakeholders, highlighting one major stakeholder- organisation to explore further;
• Create an interesting and informative presentation for class interaction;
• Present your poster and critique the potential of the issue to escalate into a crisis.

1. Develop client profile
   Your client is an organisation that could be considered vulnerable to a crisis. Provide a fictitious name, a brief history and a profile for your client identifying its major publics and current issues. Use informal (desktop) research methods to learn what you need to know about this type of organisation so that you can make your profile as realistic as possible without using existing company procedures.
2. Scan your organisation for current issues
   Analyse your organisation's current issues through environmental scanning. Prioritise issues and justify the likelihood of issues escalating into a crisis. Select one issue to explore as a crisis for your organisation.
3. Devise a crisis communication plan
   Develop a comprehensive crisis communication plan for your client. The plan must be sufficiently detailed to enable someone other than you to understand exactly what needs to be done and how every part of the plan should be implemented. You must provide an explanation for each element of the plan to show how it contributes to communicating through a crisis. This plan should be self-contained within your assignment.
4. Implementation and evaluation
   Anticipate a crisis scenario in which this crisis communication plan could be used by your client and explain how the plan would be implemented in chronological sequence and how you would evaluate the organisation's response to the crisis. Use a table format for this segment of your assignment, with specific times in the far left-hand column with actions/events noted in the next. Evaluate its effectiveness with literature support.

• Profile of your organisation;
• Major publics for your organisation and an assessment of their relationship with/to your client;
• Identification of potential issues for this organisation, with accompanying brief rationale;
• Selection of an issue which will escalate into a crisis for this assignment and justification for choice (use Assessment 1 to complete and elaborate on for the above sections);
• Objectives for crisis communication management plan and implementation (against which your plan can be evaluated).

Rationale
You should provide the rationale for the design of your plan, based on current literature reflecting the current world climate.

The Crisis Scenario
In this section you describe the crisis as it unfolds, along with your client organisation's actions or responses and your communication with your publics. This is best achieved in a chronological sequence with reference to external events, as well as to aspects of the crisis communication plan as they are implemented in this particular crisis. Be very specific here, noting times, events, actions and the people involved.

Evaluation
This section assesses whether you have met the objectives for your plan and its implementation by applying the objectives (as criteria) to your own assignment. It should be set out as a repeat of your objectives with evaluation underneath each.

• provide a useful and credible organisational profile;
• develop and apply useful assessable objectives for the plan and its implementation;
• develop a comprehensive, technically correct and appropriate crisis communication plan;
• explain and support the processes which would operate in a particular crisis, according to your plan;
• demonstrate your understanding of the place of public relations in crisis management;
• explain and support the means of evaluating your plan;
• provide a comprehensive reference list used in the preparation of this assignment;
• prepare a report to a professional standard including structure, referencing, spelling and punctuation, grammar and clarity of expression, absence of typographical errors;
• implement strategies to successfully work together to develop an effective report within the prescribed word limit.

Students must submit three separate segments to document the structure and outcomes of this learning experience. They should also submit their host organisation supervisor's completion report.

1. Proposal. This includes the learning contract which specifies at least three learning goals and the strategies and resources required to achieve these goals as well as the backgrounder on the host organisation. This is a copy of the document approved prior to starting your internship.
2. Internship journal. Consisting of a daily log and critical incident analyses.
• Daily log. This is an outline of significant work related events, actions or duties that you observe or are involved in producing. Provide enough detail to remind you of what happened each day so that you are able to discuss the events/activities. Try to make three to four entries each day.
• Critical incident analyses. These are coherent pieces of writing based on your daily log entries. Each analysis should focus on providing an in depth discussion of one topic or situation that you think warrants some attention. Over the period of your internship you need to provide two of these analyses. Each should be 600 words, in total 1,200 words and will refer to the pertinent literature from your studies in the course, to provide intelligent and reflective analyses.
3. Exit report. This report provides your general assessment of the overall internship experience and should have two sections; a reflective statement and an evaluation of the experience, including recommendations for improvement.
• Reflective statement. This statement will explain those internship experiences which you found the most rewarding or profound and those likely to have possible long term influence on your thinking, knowledge or understanding. This statement will also include a degree of self reflection and self learning.
• Evaluation/recommendations. When you designed your learning contract you were asked to describe the strategies and resources you would use to achieve your learning goals. This section of your exit report should evaluate your internship experience in light of your learning goals and, perhaps, your expectations (which may have been implicit). You may also wish to include some recommendations for improvement of the experience.

  A copy of the exit report may be made available for your host organisation supervisor as well as your lecturer. The exit report in total should be 800-1000 words in length.

4. Completion report. A brief written report from your host organisation supervisor

1. a systematic and thorough approach to developing a learning contract;
2. a comprehensive daily log of activities undertaken during the internship;
3. thoughtful analyses which relate these work experiences to a wider knowledge of public relations (including references to appropriate concepts in the literature);
4. the depth of comment and discussion provided in your exit report, demonstrating reflection;
5. inclusion of host organisation supervisor's report;
6. professional and correct presentation of material.

1. Written material prepared for the journalist (journalist briefing);
2. An analysis of the questions a journalist is likely to pose and developed responses to these questions, with rationale (mini-report analysis);
3. A mock media interview (media skills test) with an investigative journalist for a current affairs television program.

As the public communication manager for the organisation described in your second assignment, you are to represent it as spokesperson in the crisis scenario you have developed. You then prepare yourself for an interview for a current affairs television program and decide what objectives you wish to achieve in the interview. You will need to anticipate the questions likely to be asked and prepare notes to help you to answer them. Finally you undertake the mock interview.

Journalist briefing (due 23 October)
On separate pages, provide the following:

• A backgrounder on your organisation addressing the following questions: what is the nature and size of this organisation, what is its history, where is it positioned in the market place (leader), who are the key staff and areas of operation?
• A written statement about the situation at the time the interview occurs. A chronological account would be most appropriate, perhaps in a table format.

• Your written objectives for the interview itself (at least three) explaining what you hope to achieve by participating in the interview.
• Examples of questions you anticipate the journalist may ask of you in this scenario and at this stage in this situation. These should include at least one of each of the following: closed question; open question; leading question; hypothetical question; follow-up question; mirror question; and stress question.
• Examples of answers you might proffer to these questions.
• Your rationale for the questions and answers you have developed.

• devise achievable and appropriate objectives for your client, the situation and your publics;
• achieve your stated objectives for the interview;
• be well prepared for the interview (anticipating and responding to questions, etc.);
• perform well as a spokesperson/interviewee, appearing credible, honest, sensitive and professional;
• display appropriate personal presentation for the interview;
• provide a relevant, useful, accurate and well written backgrounder and statement about the situation;
• analyse the situation for your organisation, assess the likely interests or concerns expressed by the journalist, address the anticipated questions with appropriate, sensitive and accurate answers which reflect well on the honesty, integrity and reputation of the organisation;
• prepare written materials to professional standard including appropriate structure, accurate referencing, spelling, punctuation and grammar, clarity of expression, and absence of typographical errors.