Ethical Dimension of Private Corporations: Products and Danger and the Media Essay

Communication is the bedrock of any successful relationship. This doesn’t only apply to individuals as social beings but also groups both formal and informal. A breakdown in sound communication is often the source of many conflicts and at times crisis. Brad Fitch concurs with this in his book, the Media Relations Handbook of Public for Agencies, Associations, Nonprofits and Congress, when he states that communication is the conveying of message between two people. And that in public relations the message is conveyed through various vehicles, which are otherwise referred to as the public relations practitioner’s tools. These tools may vary from one organization to another but there are some basic tools that are common to most public relations shops. (23) In our contemporary world, the most reliable mode of conveying information is unarguably the media. This is because the media has diversified its mode of communication making itself accessible to audiences even in the most remote places. Above all, the media enjoys the trust of the public because it serves not only as the watch dog but also the mouth piece of the society. Alison Theaker also agrees with this fact when he alludes in his book, The Public Relations Handbook, which one of the reason public relations practitioners use media relations to get their message across is that the media plays crucial role in the forming public opinion. (Chapter 10) Subsequently, any media outlet worth its salt would utterly desist from engaging in any practice that would bring their dignity in question, and particularly so in the eyes of the public. One such practice is hinging their trust on a skewed public relation practice as the source of their news. It is thus prudent for any public relations practitioners of any organization to observe integrity in the course of their duty. This will boast the image of the organization in the perception of its various publics and more particularly the media. An organization has a lot to reap by presenting itself as a reliable source of news to the media. In any case, one of the most objective ways a media outlet can report on an organization is when they get the information through its public relations practitioners. Therefore how an organization uses the media to communicate to its other publics is of utmost importance. This not only determines the willingness of the media to cooperate but also how the targeted publics will respond. What then are the criteria an organization can employ to positively and effectively use or work with the media to reach out to its publics? Media Relations Defined The line delineating both media relation and public relations is not fine. Journalists often use the two terms interchangeably. But for starters, it is important to find out how the two terms marry and even differ. In Media Relations: Issues and Strategies, Jane Johnston argues that media relation is much more than just using the media to reach out to the targeted publics through writing press releases, and fielding media conferences. Indeed, the tenets of media relation consist of an insight on why we make communication choices and put them into practice. Therefore, a concrete theoretical underpinning is crucial for media relation, which in essence covers a broad spectrum of public relations. (28) However Johnston points out that before media relation can be theorized, it is important to get to the knowledge base of what consists of mass media itself and also what incorporate a deep understanding of the Fourth Estate, as it is often referred to and ultimately, the question of media ownership. (28) This is important in the sense that the ownership of a media outlet goes a long way to affects its objectivity or subjectivity on certain issues, especially political. In turn, this determines the audiences that will continue using that media channel as a source of news and information. And in cases a media outlet takes a radical, even controversial stand, it definitely scares away some of its audiences that don’t necessarily buy their opinion. A public relation practitioner using such a media outlet to convey its message should bear in mind that he/she is likely to miss reaching to the target audiences effectively as some, especially those contesting the media house stand may not be looking at it as a reliable source of news and information, leave alone using it. Sriramesh and Vercic agree with this in their book, The Global Public Relations Handbook: Theory, Research, and Practice. They claim that maintaining effective media relations demand that the public relations professionals understand the people who control the media outlet and whether such control does extend into editorial content. This is because some media houses operate free from the control of their people who own the outlets whereas others are only partly free. (13) Effective Application of Media Relations Every organization has communication needs by the virtue of having publics that it needs to communicate with. This could be during the launch of a certain new product or publicizing the details of an ensuing crisis. The media, though it is one of an organization’s public acts as a crucial bridge between an organization and its other publics. How well the media is used to reach out to the other publics by an organization goes a long way to determine the success of the public relations practice. For starters, the public relations department needs to come up with a campaign. This could either be to correct the image of the organization, which could be dwindling in the eyes of the public or it could be explain the features and advantages of the new product in the market. Alison Theaker points out in his book, Public Relations Handbook that to ensure the success of any such campaign, the first step that a public relations practitioner must take is to get their issue(s) into the media agenda. This is crucial because the media influence how people think. Therefore, if the public cannot buy the organization’s point of view, they will inevitably rely on the media’s point of view, even though it could be a garbled account. Often the media report inaccurately in cases where there is a crisis in an organization and there is limited news available from the public relations department. In the modern world, the ease with which varied points of views of a certain crisis reach people has increased considerably with the advancement of technology, the internet being the major source. However, most people still get most information through the media. Therefore, if the public relations practitioner of an organization is the main source of information on a subject, for instance, the launching of a new product or the fall out between the employees and the establishment, it is possible for them to shape the tone of debate about the product. The effort of getting commanding the media agenda is what Brad refers to as pitching a story. He points out that public relations practitioner of any organization has an agenda and wants the media houses to promote his/her messages. And if one wants to advance the goals of his/her organization then he/she must expend ample time by pitching story ideas to journalists. This demands preparations, the extent of which depends on the complexity of the story. The steps involved in pitching a story include: first narrowing the topic. Second is organizing and compiling the documents that may be needed to supplement the story: this could be previous reports, the organization’ in-house publications, information by the experts from a particular department in the organization. Then follows the development of talking points on the most news worthy aspects of the story; they need to be jotted down in advance and confirmed as valid arguments by the relevant experts in the organization. Then after determining the necessity of interviewing the management is when the news people can be called. Worth noting is that, it is imperative that the public relations practitioner succeed to get the attention of the media in order for him/her to get into their agenda. Apart from demonstrating themselves as credible sources of news, the public relations practitioners have to adequately prepare the message that they intend to bring to the public domain. The media is in business and wouldn’t work on any information that doesn’t fall within their criterion of news worthiness. The public relations practitioners should therefore not present to the media any message that is outside their definition of news. Such messages won’t be publicized by the media. The process of message development is one of the most difficult aspects of a public relations practitioner’s job because it demands savvy political skills, coordination among diverse interests within an organization and most importantly creativity. Developing a message and communication plan is the tangible beginning of the partnership between a public relation office and the media. 49) In order for an appropriate message to be created, the specific characteristics of the targeted public should be borne in mind, without forgetting their specific communication needs like language appropriateness and the media channel. The advantages of taking into consideration the above requirements before setting out to design a message cannot be overlooked. The failure to address them in a message means that a campaign will most definitely fail to achieve its goals. A message, according to Brad Fisch’s definition is a precise elaboration of an idea or a vision with the intent of bringing out a broad theme or to mobilize people to carry out a specific action. A good message, therefore, must be short and clear as this enables easy comprehension; it must also bear a value based image: this enhances its reception to the targeted audience. And ultimately it must connect with the targeted audience in a meaningful way. In a market place, Brad points out; a slogan sums up a product’s image. The message development does vary on the basis of the particular type of organization under which it is being crafted. The way a manufacturing company designs it message is not the way a communication company will design their. This is because the publics of the two organizations do vary, hence the particular channel and language to reach them effectively. There are two categories of messages which Brad outlines. This he defines as strategic and campaign messages. Strategic messages are broad in themes, they also bear ideas, which guide and shape all communication processes. Such messages are composed of general ideas. To add on that, they do not have a clearly measurable outcome and their goals may or may not fit into a limited time period. Strategic messages come in the form of company marketing or branding in a commercial set up; whereas, in a public affairs environment, the strategic message is tied to the overall, long-term mission of the organization. (Media Relations Handbook, 50) Campaign message on the other hand, consists of messages that predominantly intend to mobilize publics towards carrying out a certain activity. For instance, a telephone organization could be losing oodles of money through vandals who are stealing cables and booths. This heinous work is definitely interrupting the operations of the company and even affection its various publics. Using the media, the public relations office of the company can come up with a message soliciting help from the public to stop the vandalism. This message could consist of a passionate appeal to the public to forward any such vandals, with a promise of a reward and protection. The message could also outline the effects of vandalism to the public at large, one of which is the interruption of communication. In sum, a campaign message is a subset of a strategic message. This is due to the fact that its composition is made up of specific ideas. To add on that, it has a definite time limit or in other words, a particular practical result, which usually is a measurable outcome. A campaign message often results in legislations to curb a vice or legalize an idea. (51) Through the interactions between an organization and the media, the public relation facilitates a central part in presenting words and images to society which in turn shapes perceptions. Due to that, one fact that should be taken into account during the development of the message it is important that the public relations practitioner be in the know of how news is manufactured. He /she must be conversant with the qualities that add up to a news story: press men won’t get interested with a story that contains no news. These qualities include prominence, proximity, timeliness, impact, conflict, novelty, money and human interest. These news values frame an event and render it comprehensible to the public in terms of ideological system. They form the basis on which reporters use to select what makes news or not. ( Johnston, Media Relations, 29) After developing the message, the next stage is reaching out to the media which will in turn pass it over to the other publics. One way this is done is through press releases. Brad argues that press release is the fundamental tool in public relations. One of the benefits of press releases is that they form short, clear, historical records and policy positions, announcements and events of an organization. The sole goal of a press release is to convince journalists to do a story from its contents. Previously the main audience of press releases was the journalists. But technology, particularly the use of the website has nowadays expanded audiences of press release beyond journalists. In order to quickly get the attention of journalists the press release precisely proves that it’s worth their pursuit. In this case, the wording of the headline and the intro are of utmost importance. (25) The other ways through which the message can be sent out to the publics is through letters to the editor in newspapers and magazines, op-eds, advertorials or press conferences. In this discuss, we won’t focus on them for they in essence seem to play a peripheral role as the modes of communication in media relations. The successful development of the message is the threshold of successful communication. Nonetheless, far from creating a punchy message that is acceptable with the media and sending it out, it advantageous for the public relations practitioner to have an in-depth knowledge about the media industry itself. Contrary to what it seems, the news media isn’t only made up of one established conglomerate. It is rather made up of a range of different elements, and within them are many individual workers who work as independent thinkers. Thus, the news media should be considered in the context of individual news worker. This will enable a public relations practitioner to adequately developing and enhancing professional relationships with media practitioners. ( Johnston, Media Relations 42) Getting to know press men as individuals does create a fertile ground for the prosperity of media relations. For one, once a cordial relationship is established between the two, a public relation practitioner will not be trying to reach out to a stranger to get help communicate with the publics of his/her organization. Neither will he/she be having an opportunity to compromise the professionalism of his/her work or that of the press people. He/she will be enjoying an opportunity to be explained to the public through media ‘friends’ who are willing to relay his/her point of view about the product or crisis in question. Another way to enhance a robust media relation in an organization is by creating a clear cut structure of the public relations department. This will involve the job description of each and every personnel in the department. Besides erasing the duplication of duties, such an arrangement grants the onus of communicating to the media to only one person. This helps to improve consistency in the message that is reaching the publics through the media; this personnel is what Brad refers to a principal. He argues that in any public affairs-related operation there should a person who should be the leader and thus the spokes person of the organization. Much of the communication that an organization is responsible for creating will therefore have to flow through him/her. It is recommended that that principal be conversant with almost all the activities of the organization and even know the people in charge at all levels of the organization. (Brad, Media Relations Handbook, 5) Johnston posits that media relations are mostly considered not a complex issue as management; or as urgent an issue as crisis management; neither as personal as community relations nor as specialized as financial relations but rather a ‘soft’ part of public relations. However, since media relations plays a crucial in each of the areas of public relations , it is more useful to regard it as providing important access point and avenues for the industry as a whole. Subsequently, a strong working relationship with the media translates into smoother practices right across the spectrum of public relations activities and functions. The value of media relations can hardly be overlooked. The media have come to define themselves as a site where politics and public life are played out. Due to that any issue that is not validated by the media is considered less important, as not having any significance on the public agenda. The media, therefore, helps to position a person, issue, event or organization within the context of public life. Consequently, the value of media relations lies in tapping the media’s radar and ultimately the media’s agenda. (Jane Johnston, Media Relations: Issues and Strategies, 11)

A Detailed Guide On Making Atole

A Detailed Guide On Making Atole How to make Atole It was a cold day during winter break, and I was trying to catch up on my favourite show Pretty Little Liars. I was sitting in the living room and then a hot milky scent wafting from the kitchen hit me. I remember thinking that there was nothing better than a hot drink for this cold weather. I was very excited and headed straight for the kitchen. Hands holding on the edge of the doorway, peeping my head into the room, I saw my host mother making a hot beverage, and she offered me some. At first, I only tried a little bit, but then I had another sip, another one, and another one, until everything was gone. At that moment, I realized how much I liked the drink and that I would definitely need it to survive the upcoming winter days. I later found out that it was a Mexican drink called Atole. Since I was only able to enjoy the drink if someone made it for me, I decided to learn how to make it myself, which turned out to be relatively easy. There are two main stages to make this drink; th ey are buying the ingredients and then combining them to make the beverage. Before going into the instructions, it might beneficial to learn some background information about Atole. Atole is a traditional Mexican drink originating from pre-Columbian time and usually served at Dias de los muertos celebrations, which is translated as â€Å"Day of the Dead†. In Mexico, the hot thickened drink is typically made with cornmeal, water, raw sugar cane, cinnamon, and vanilla. It can also be served for breakfast on regular days or as a drink in the afternoon and late evening in place of tea, hot chocolate or coffee. With different brands, there is a wide variety of Atole flavors to choose from such as walnut, coconut, strawberry, guava, and chocolate. The only brand I had was Klass, but then I like the drink so much that I tried all their flavors and found out that walnut Atole is my favourite, which I would highly recommend to anyone. To make Klass Atole, I have to buy a package of Atole powder. Klass Atole can be found easily in grocery stores in South Texas or Northern Mexico; however, since I do not live there anymore, I have to order them online and sometimes they do not even have walnut flavor. Other than the package, the main materials needed for the process are sugar, milk, a medium-size saucepan or stockpot, a ladle, a glass or a mug, a table spoon, and measuring cups. After gathering all the materials and ingredients, all I had to do was to follow the recipe and the drink would be ready in less than half an hour. First, I put five cups of milk into a saucepan or a stockpot. After, I put the saucepan of milk on the stove on medium-high heat until the milk started to boil, which often took ten minutes. Third, while waiting for the milk to boil, I put one cup of milk into a glass or a mug and poured the entire Atole package into the container and stirred the mixture. Next, when the milk started to boil, I turned down the fire to low heat, poured the mixture into the saucepan and stirred it for one minute. Soon, I stirred about five to eight table spoons of sugar into the drink. Finally, I turned off the stove and poured out the drink into a mug and it was ready to serve. I suggest enjoying the drink with a spoon to make it easier to drink when it is still hot and delicious. As an international student who has traveled and tried new things in different parts of the United States, I have come to love Atole. I have not mastered and tried new things with Atole yet, but I am hoping to get better and better at it. It will always be a pleasure for me to introduce this appetizing drink to people all around the world.

American Recovery Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American Recovery Act - Essay Example Facts about the Act The act was developed by the Congress for fulfilling three most important goals of the country. The primary goal was to generate job opportunities within the country and at the same time perform activities for safeguarding the job opportunities that exist. The second important goal of the act was to encourage present activities for the betterment of the economy and also to invest for activities aimed at future long-term economic growth in the country. The third goal of the act was to promote ‘above standard’ levels of responsibility along with transparency in expenses of the government. The act intended to achieve its goals through provision of 288 billion Dollars to several business houses and families in the form of tax reduction sand benefits. The act also fostered provision of 224 billion dollars in the form of employment benefits and various other privileged programs. Furthermore, it was aimed to make available 275 billion dollars for the federal dealings, funding and loans. The act even made it mandatory that the individuals, families and businesses which receive recovery funds should report their mode of operating with the funds on a quarterly basis (Recovery, 2011). It is worth mentioning that despite of these wise objectives the act failed to secure the interest of the economy (Wagner, 2010). Effectiveness of the Recovery Act Wagner (2010) identified an important reason behind the failure of the Recovery Act. According to him, Keynesian multipliers have acted as stimulus towards transforming the act into a ‘failure’. The architects of the Recovery Act made use of the basic algebra to anticipate creation of job through the fiscal stimulus of the period 2009/2010. The fiscal stimulus through Keynesian multiplier is effective in providing momentary control in the economy during periods of excessive unemployment. The author downgraded the Keynesian economics on the basis of the fact that these mechanisms assist in measuring the unemployment rate but fails to recognize and apply means to put the unemployed persons back to work (Wagner, 2010). The theoretical aspect described in the above section can be supported through practical evidences from the unemployment facts of the country after the implementation of the Recovery Act 2009. The rate of unemployment of US during the month of August for the year 2009 stood at 9.7%. This percentage figure was the highest within a period of 26 years in the history of the country. The payrolls of the country declined by 6.9 million after the US economy had to face the recession which started its reign during December 2007. The Recovery Act was unable to halt the falling rate of employment that continued to decrease during the recession and reached to 14.9 million in 2009. Although the rate of decline in payrolls was below anticipation, the rate of unemployment grew up to a level which was more than the anticipated margin. In most of the sectors of the e conomy, the payroll was observed to decline except that in the sector of healthcare. The amount of total working hours in the economy also decreased by 0.3% in the same year i.e. 2009. The situation of long-run employment was even measured to have worsened than the previous years. These scenarios of employment during the year 2009, when the government took the initiative of passing the act determines a clean picture of its failure to fulfill its fundamental

Reginald Fessenden Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reginald Fessenden - Essay Example rks on electric power distribution systems for one year when he moved to Thomas Edison as a chief chemist and it is that he developed interest in the new media radio (Riley, 1999). He later became a professor of electrical engineering at Purdue in 1892 and University of Pittsburgh in 1893where he taught and did research for seven years. He then moved to the United States Weather Bureau to develop a wireless network for communication with weather stations where he invented the liquid barrater as a wave detector (Riley, 1999). In 1900, he sent the first voice via radio for a distance of 50 feet and later National Electric Signaling Company (NESCO) to develop wireless communication commercially. He then set up a 420 tower for two-way trans-Atlantic telegraph a followed by other radio inventions. In an effort by NESCO to publicize and market the wireless system, he made the first public voice broadcasts on Christmas 1906 (Riley, 1999). His other inventions include electrolytic detector, alternator development, heterodyning, sonic depth finder, efficient tuned antenna circuits, and continuous waves (Riley, 1999). In 1921, the Institute of Radio Engineers awarded Fe ssenden with its IRE Medal of Honor. His inventions spread across the world and at the age of 65 years, he left a significant mark in Engineering and

How to decrease the possibility of having financial crisis Essay

How to decrease the possibility of having financial crisis - Essay Example The financial crisis in a company is an unplanned burden which may affect its resources, capabilities, the values and the goodwill of the company. Lack of corporate governance and business ethics is one of the reasons responsible for the financial crisis in an organization. Acemoglu and Johnson (2003) have said that managers should change their way of thinking by disregarding that mismanagement of the macroeconomic policies is responsible for the lack of corporate governance. They should plan for strategies to overcome crisis in an organisation. The business leaders should focus on the policies like the legal framework of the organisation and protection of the interest of the stakeholders and investors. A good relationship between the shareholders and the managers help to achieve corporate governance within an organisation. Lack of business ethics in an organisation is responsible for weak corporate governance. Business ethics help an organization to frame a corporate governance stra tegy consisting of values, principles, a good work culture and proper decision making ability of the organizations. Wood (2002) and Lagan (2006) have said that organizations need to set the business ethics with strategic objective which can provide scope for achievement of corporate governance. ... The purpose of this research is to provide a methodology by which an organization can achieve proper corporate governance required in order to reduce its financial crisis. The main objectives of this research are: To achieve transparency and fair operations within an organization. To provide proper decision making ability in order to achieve the goals of an organization. To protect the interest of the customers, the shareholders and the investors. To understand the needs and demands of the stakeholders. To prevent the occurrence of unethical behaviour within an organization. To understand the liability of the directors to the managers and the liability of the managers to the shareholders, also known as accountability. Methodology According to Joseph and Tobin (2006) research philosophy is a procedure of collecting data, analysing it and then interpreting the result in order to work on a particular research. Research philosophy mainly consists of two approaches. One is the positivist style and the other one is the phenomenological style. Positivist research model focuses on analyzing the interdependency of the external variables and internal variables. Positivist style is selected for this research, as this style deals with understanding of the internal affairs related to a business. Positivist style of research will also help to understand the reasons behind the lack of corporate governance in an organization. There are two types of research strategies, namely quantitative research methodology and qualitative research methodology. The research strategy chosen for this research is qualitative methodology. Qualitative research model is used for descriptive research. Qualitative research can be analysed in terms of culture, ethics and behaviour. Qualitative

Unintended Consequences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unintended Consequences - Essay Example Although some countries like Cuba and China maintained it. The aim of the country was not to create enemies and stir conflicts such as the Korean and the Vietnam Wars but, such were the unintended consequences. One notable blemish that the US sustained was the infamous massacre in Mr. Lai. In this incidence, platoons marched into the village and killed every person in the village including mothers, children, and infants. Since such occurrence was not something to be proud of, the country imprisoned the man who commanded the execution of the locals in the village. President Richard Nixon, sometime later, ordered that he be transferred to a better and comfortable apartment under house arrest. Ultimately, his sentence was reduced, and he served three years only. The deaths of such huge numbers of innocent people forced America, however powerful it was in the Vietnam War, to retaliate. The idea of subduing more nations through â€Å"foreign aid† and military is still witnessed today, something that is currently referred to as â€Å"Neocolonialism†. The rivalry between the capitalist US and the communist China is still witnessed

Tensile testing Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tensile testing - Lab Report Example Data from the test is either collected through a data acquisition system and subsequently plotted using appropriate software or plotted using an X-Y plotter. The data typically consists of the load applied to the specimen and the extension or the stress and strain (since the initial cross sectional area of the specimen and gauge length are constants both the load v extension and stress v strain graph have the same shape); a typical plot for a metallic material is shown in figure 2. Tensile specimens may have a variety of cross-sections, although rectangular or cylindrical ones tend to be more common, and may be in a machined or unmachined state. The geometry of a typical specimen is shown in Figure 3, where (note that the nomenclature may vary): The mechanical properties typically derived from a tensile test include the yield stress (or more commonly the offset proof stress), tensile strength (stress), elastic (or Young’s) modulus, percentage total extension at fracture and reduction in cross-sectional area. A more detailed explanation of the range of properties that may be determined from a test and the analysis involved may be found in BS EN ISO 6892-1:2009 and ASTM E8M. It is good practice to test to a standard such as these as they stipulate various parameters, such as the speed of testing (the rate at which the load is applied) and shape of the specimen, which may affect the results obtained, although some companies will have their own procedures that will ensure compatibility between tests within that company. Stress is usually indicated by the Greek letter ÏÆ' (sigma) or S and is the measure of the force per unit area. It has the units N.m-2 or Pa (Pascal) (megapascals, MPa, are more commonly used, these being 106 x N.m-2 (106 Pa) or N.mm-2, due to the magnitude of the values encountered). Strain is usually indicated by the Greek letter ÃŽ µ (epsilon) or e and is the amount a material