- Email: [email protected]
“Business 101” in public relations education: An exploratory survey of senior communication executives
G Model PUBREL-1372; No. of Pages 3
ARTICLE IN PRESS Public Relations Review xxx (2015) xxx–xxx
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Public Relations Review
Research in Brief
“Business 101” in public relations education: An exploratory survey of senior communication executives Matthew W. Ragas a,∗ , Nur Uysal b,1 , Ron Culp a,2 a b
College of Communication, DePaul University, 1E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604, USA Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University, Johnston Hall, 408, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 25 October 2014 Accepted 18 February 2015 Keywords: Public relations education Public relations training Business 101 Business acumen Chief communication officers Arthur W. Page Society
a b s t r a c t This study, based on a national survey of senior communication executives (specifically Arthur W. Page Society members), assesses the role of “Business 101” knowledge in public relations education. The results of the survey suggest that senior communication executives place high importance on business acumen; that such competencies help professionals attain higher compensation; and that executives believe public relations educators should place a greater focus on “Business 101” in curricula. Recommendations for teaching and future research are provided. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Public relations is often defined today as a strategic management function that contributes to the attainment of organizational goals and objectives (Verhoeven, 2014). As the expectations and responsibilities of the profession have grown more complex in recent years (e.g., contributing to corporate social responsibility and corporate governance), practitioners and academics alike have argued that public relations curricula should focus more attention on “Business 101”—financial and business management concepts and issues (e.g., Duhé, 2013; Kolberg, 2014). This expansion in the knowledge, skills and abilities expected for future public relations professionals is evident in the recommendations of the Commission on Public Relations Education, a group of educators and practitioners representing more than a dozen communications-related associations. In its recent report regarding the standards for a master’s degree in public relations, the Commission (2012) concluded that all graduates should “gain an understanding of business principles that would include, but not necessarily be limited to, management, marketing, accounting, economics and finance” (p. 14). While the Commission and others make a compelling case for incorporating more “Business 101” coursework into public relations curricula, nationally representative surveys of the senior leaders in the field to gather empirically derived insights on this important topic are lacking (Verhoeven, 2014). This exploratory study, based on a survey of the Arthur W. Page Society, an influential organization of senior communication executives, helps fill this gap. The following research questions guided this investigation:
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 312 362 6003. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M.W. Ragas), [email protected] (N. Uysal), [email protected] (R. Culp). 1 Tel.: +1 414 288 7370. 2 Tel.: +1 312 362 6212. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.02.007 0363-8111/© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: Ragas, M. W., et al. “Business 101” in public relations education: An exploratory survey of senior communication executives. Public Relations Review (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.02.007
G Model PUBREL-1372; No. of Pages 3
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RQ1. Do senior communication executives believe that professionals should demonstrate competence in “Business 101”? RQ2. Do senior communication executives believe that “Business 101” competence contributes to greater compensation? RQ3. Do senior communication executives believe that college and university PR programs provide sufficient “Business 101” training? RQ4. According to senior communication executives, what topics are most important to include as part of “Business 101” coursework? RQ5. Are there significant differences in senior communication executives’ perceptions regarding “Business 101” based on their industry (corporate, agency or non-profit)? 2. Method This study conducted an online, self-administered questionnaire with Arthur W. Page Society members. Founded in 1983, the Page Society is a professional association for senior public relations and corporate communication executives, including chief communication officers (CCOs), the CEOs of agencies and distinguished academics. The sample frame was the Page Society membership roster as of spring 2013. The survey was conducted from May 1–14, 2013. An invitation with a unique questionnaire link was delivered to the email addresses of Page Society members (n = 428). Based on 4 opt-outs and 14 emails that bounced back, the total number of possible survey responses was 410. Based on this process, a total of 116 responses were received, resulting in a satisfactory response rate of 28%. The survey instrument was purposely kept short given the busy schedules of the survey recipients. Respondents were first asked several questions about the importance of Business 101 education, whether universities and colleges are providing sufficient training in this regard, and whether demonstrating business competency results in higher compensation. Next, respondents were asked to check off from a list of 14 topics (derived from a review of extant literature) the three topics they believe are the most important in a Business 101 education. A free response option was included. The final section consisted of demographic questions, including an industry classification question, as respondents’ opinions may vary based on whether they work in agencies, in-house departments, or non-profit settings (Wolf, 2010). Among the respondents sharing this information, 48.7% (n = 56) reported working in corporations, 41.7% (n = 48) were in agencies or consultancies, and the remainder (9.6%, n = 11) were in non-profits, including education and government. Nearly seven out of 10 (68.2%, n = 77) respondents had more than 25 years of experience. The ratio of male to female was 65/35. 3. Results RQ1 found that senior communication executives place very high importance (M = 4.8, SD = .423) on Business 101 coursework as part of a public relations education (based on a 5-point Likert-like scale where ‘1’ is “not at all important” and ‘5’ is “extremely important”). RQ2: Further, nine out of 10 of these executives (93%, n = 107) indicated that demonstrating business competence results in higher compensation for PR professionals. Only 7% (n = 8) marked they were unsure. RQ3: In addition, eight out of 10 (82%, n = 95) respondents indicated that colleges and universities are not doing enough when it comes to providing PR students with sufficient business competency. Only 2% (n = 2) marked “yes” and 16% (n = 19) said “not sure.” RQ4 probed which specific Business 101 topics senior communication executives would like to see incorporated into PR curricula. Respondents could mark three choices from a list of business-related topics. The top five selected were: (1) financial statement basics (75%, n = 86), (2) financial terminology primer (70%, n = 70), (3) communication’s contribution to company strategy (39%, n = 45), (4) S.E.C. and public company disclosure requirements (34%, n = 39), and (5) corporate governance basics (21%, n = 24). RQ5 assessed whether there were differences in respondents’ opinions regarding Business 101 education (Wolf, 2010) based upon their industry classification (agency, corporate, or non-profit).3 No significant differences were found regarding the importance of Business 101 [F(2, 28.98) = .012, p = .988], its impact on compensation (FET = 2.47, p = .278), and the sufficiency of business training in PR programs (FET = 4.47, p = .317). A series of Fisher’s exact tests (FET) also revealed no significant differences by industry sub-groups based on the percentages selecting the top five business topics. In sum, views were quite consistent across these groups. 4. Discussion The findings of this exploratory study provide strong preliminary evidence that senior communication executives believe that knowledge of “Business 101” is a highly valued component of public relations education and training; that such competencies help professionals attain higher compensation; and that public relations programs are generally not doing enough to provide this foundation. The finding that greater business acumen is associated with greater compensation could signal that senior communication executives believe that this knowledge increases the organizational contribution that practitioners can make.
3 Due to the presence of unequal variance across sub-groups and some small cells, it was appropriate to run a Welch’s F-test correction for the one-way ANOVA, and Fisher’s exact tests (FETs) rather than chi-square tests.
Please cite this article in press as: Ragas, M. W., et al. “Business 101” in public relations education: An exploratory survey of senior communication executives. Public Relations Review (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.02.007
G Model PUBREL-1372; No. of Pages 3
ARTICLE IN PRESS M.W. Ragas et al. / Public Relations Review xxx (2015) xxx–xxx
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Based on this survey, Page Society members would particularly like to see junior PR professionals become better versed in the basics of reading financial statements and in understanding financial and business terminology. Such skills can help public relations professionals at three levels: (a) counseling management on corporate policies and performance, including CSR and corporate governance; (b) developing, conducting, and evaluating programs of action and communication across the business; and in (c) setting goals, budgeting, and managing organizational resources. For example, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a dramatically expanding area of activity for public relations professionals (Bartlett, 2011). To claim the field of CSR, public relations professionals likely need more and better training on “the business of the business” (Duhé, 2013; Kolberg, 2014; Verhoeven, 2014) so as to contribute to the organization at the strategy level (outcomes)—rather than be isolated to solely communication programs (outputs). For PR educators, options include: (1) incorporating more “Business 101” elements into existing required courses, (2) developing new stand-alone courses, such as Business Foundations, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Corporate Governance, and/or (3) encouraging students to take business school classes as electives. This is a two-way street, though, and if senior communication executives expect more business acumen from junior colleagues, then they should consider devoting more time to working with educators and academic associations. While the sample size is relatively small, the surveyed respondents—all members of the elite Page Society—are opinion leaders in the field responsible for the hiring and management of thousands of public relations professionals. Future research is needed on early- and mid-career professionals to understand if they place similar importance on “Business 101” training. Future studies should also examine the impact of business training on practitioners’ compensation and promotion trends across industries and internationally. References Bartlett, J. L. (2011). Public relations and corporate social responsibility. In Ø. Ihlen, J. Bartlett, & S. May (Eds.), The handbook of communication and corporate social responsibility (pp. 67–86). Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons. Commission on Public Relations Education. (2012, October). Standards for a master’s degree in public relations: Educating for complexity. New York: The Commission on Public Relations Education. http://www.commpred.org/ uploads/report5-full.pdf Accessed 14.07.14 Duhé, S. (2013, December 12). Teaching business as a second language. Institute for Public Relations. http://www.instituteforpr.org/ teaching-business-second-language Accessed 14.07.14 Kolberg, B. (2014). Getting down to business at public relations agencies. PR Update, 49(March 2), 6–7. http://www.aejmc.us/PR/newsletter/ newsletter 2014 march.pdf Accessed 14.07.14 Verhoeven, P. (2014). Communication officers and the C-suite: A study of Financial Times Global 500 companies. Public Relations Review, 40, 606–608. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.01.003 Wolf, K. (2010). Fast track opportunities for high achievers? A comparative investigation into career advancement patterns for in-house and consultancy practitioners. Journal of Promotion Management, 16, 235–246. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10496490903579566
Matthew W. Ragas (Ph.D., University of Florida) is an Assistant Professor and Academic Director of the public relations and advertising graduate program at DePaul University. Nur Uysal (Ph.D., University of Oklahoma) is an Assistant Professor of strategic communication in the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University. Ron Culp is an Instructor and Professional Director of the public relations and advertising graduate program at DePaul University.
Please cite this article in press as: Ragas, M. W., et al. “Business 101” in public relations education: An exploratory survey of senior communication executives. Public Relations Review (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.02.007
ARTICLE IN PRESS Public Relations Review xxx (2015) xxx–xxx
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Public Relations Review
Research in Brief
“Business 101” in public relations education: An exploratory survey of senior communication executives Matthew W. Ragas a,∗ , Nur Uysal b,1 , Ron Culp a,2 a b
College of Communication, DePaul University, 1E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604, USA Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University, Johnston Hall, 408, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 25 October 2014 Accepted 18 February 2015 Keywords: Public relations education Public relations training Business 101 Business acumen Chief communication officers Arthur W. Page Society
a b s t r a c t This study, based on a national survey of senior communication executives (specifically Arthur W. Page Society members), assesses the role of “Business 101” knowledge in public relations education. The results of the survey suggest that senior communication executives place high importance on business acumen; that such competencies help professionals attain higher compensation; and that executives believe public relations educators should place a greater focus on “Business 101” in curricula. Recommendations for teaching and future research are provided. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Public relations is often defined today as a strategic management function that contributes to the attainment of organizational goals and objectives (Verhoeven, 2014). As the expectations and responsibilities of the profession have grown more complex in recent years (e.g., contributing to corporate social responsibility and corporate governance), practitioners and academics alike have argued that public relations curricula should focus more attention on “Business 101”—financial and business management concepts and issues (e.g., Duhé, 2013; Kolberg, 2014). This expansion in the knowledge, skills and abilities expected for future public relations professionals is evident in the recommendations of the Commission on Public Relations Education, a group of educators and practitioners representing more than a dozen communications-related associations. In its recent report regarding the standards for a master’s degree in public relations, the Commission (2012) concluded that all graduates should “gain an understanding of business principles that would include, but not necessarily be limited to, management, marketing, accounting, economics and finance” (p. 14). While the Commission and others make a compelling case for incorporating more “Business 101” coursework into public relations curricula, nationally representative surveys of the senior leaders in the field to gather empirically derived insights on this important topic are lacking (Verhoeven, 2014). This exploratory study, based on a survey of the Arthur W. Page Society, an influential organization of senior communication executives, helps fill this gap. The following research questions guided this investigation:
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 312 362 6003. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M.W. Ragas), [email protected] (N. Uysal), [email protected] (R. Culp). 1 Tel.: +1 414 288 7370. 2 Tel.: +1 312 362 6212. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.02.007 0363-8111/© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: Ragas, M. W., et al. “Business 101” in public relations education: An exploratory survey of senior communication executives. Public Relations Review (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.02.007
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ARTICLE IN PRESS M.W. Ragas et al. / Public Relations Review xxx (2015) xxx–xxx
2
RQ1. Do senior communication executives believe that professionals should demonstrate competence in “Business 101”? RQ2. Do senior communication executives believe that “Business 101” competence contributes to greater compensation? RQ3. Do senior communication executives believe that college and university PR programs provide sufficient “Business 101” training? RQ4. According to senior communication executives, what topics are most important to include as part of “Business 101” coursework? RQ5. Are there significant differences in senior communication executives’ perceptions regarding “Business 101” based on their industry (corporate, agency or non-profit)? 2. Method This study conducted an online, self-administered questionnaire with Arthur W. Page Society members. Founded in 1983, the Page Society is a professional association for senior public relations and corporate communication executives, including chief communication officers (CCOs), the CEOs of agencies and distinguished academics. The sample frame was the Page Society membership roster as of spring 2013. The survey was conducted from May 1–14, 2013. An invitation with a unique questionnaire link was delivered to the email addresses of Page Society members (n = 428). Based on 4 opt-outs and 14 emails that bounced back, the total number of possible survey responses was 410. Based on this process, a total of 116 responses were received, resulting in a satisfactory response rate of 28%. The survey instrument was purposely kept short given the busy schedules of the survey recipients. Respondents were first asked several questions about the importance of Business 101 education, whether universities and colleges are providing sufficient training in this regard, and whether demonstrating business competency results in higher compensation. Next, respondents were asked to check off from a list of 14 topics (derived from a review of extant literature) the three topics they believe are the most important in a Business 101 education. A free response option was included. The final section consisted of demographic questions, including an industry classification question, as respondents’ opinions may vary based on whether they work in agencies, in-house departments, or non-profit settings (Wolf, 2010). Among the respondents sharing this information, 48.7% (n = 56) reported working in corporations, 41.7% (n = 48) were in agencies or consultancies, and the remainder (9.6%, n = 11) were in non-profits, including education and government. Nearly seven out of 10 (68.2%, n = 77) respondents had more than 25 years of experience. The ratio of male to female was 65/35. 3. Results RQ1 found that senior communication executives place very high importance (M = 4.8, SD = .423) on Business 101 coursework as part of a public relations education (based on a 5-point Likert-like scale where ‘1’ is “not at all important” and ‘5’ is “extremely important”). RQ2: Further, nine out of 10 of these executives (93%, n = 107) indicated that demonstrating business competence results in higher compensation for PR professionals. Only 7% (n = 8) marked they were unsure. RQ3: In addition, eight out of 10 (82%, n = 95) respondents indicated that colleges and universities are not doing enough when it comes to providing PR students with sufficient business competency. Only 2% (n = 2) marked “yes” and 16% (n = 19) said “not sure.” RQ4 probed which specific Business 101 topics senior communication executives would like to see incorporated into PR curricula. Respondents could mark three choices from a list of business-related topics. The top five selected were: (1) financial statement basics (75%, n = 86), (2) financial terminology primer (70%, n = 70), (3) communication’s contribution to company strategy (39%, n = 45), (4) S.E.C. and public company disclosure requirements (34%, n = 39), and (5) corporate governance basics (21%, n = 24). RQ5 assessed whether there were differences in respondents’ opinions regarding Business 101 education (Wolf, 2010) based upon their industry classification (agency, corporate, or non-profit).3 No significant differences were found regarding the importance of Business 101 [F(2, 28.98) = .012, p = .988], its impact on compensation (FET = 2.47, p = .278), and the sufficiency of business training in PR programs (FET = 4.47, p = .317). A series of Fisher’s exact tests (FET) also revealed no significant differences by industry sub-groups based on the percentages selecting the top five business topics. In sum, views were quite consistent across these groups. 4. Discussion The findings of this exploratory study provide strong preliminary evidence that senior communication executives believe that knowledge of “Business 101” is a highly valued component of public relations education and training; that such competencies help professionals attain higher compensation; and that public relations programs are generally not doing enough to provide this foundation. The finding that greater business acumen is associated with greater compensation could signal that senior communication executives believe that this knowledge increases the organizational contribution that practitioners can make.
3 Due to the presence of unequal variance across sub-groups and some small cells, it was appropriate to run a Welch’s F-test correction for the one-way ANOVA, and Fisher’s exact tests (FETs) rather than chi-square tests.
Please cite this article in press as: Ragas, M. W., et al. “Business 101” in public relations education: An exploratory survey of senior communication executives. Public Relations Review (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.02.007
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Based on this survey, Page Society members would particularly like to see junior PR professionals become better versed in the basics of reading financial statements and in understanding financial and business terminology. Such skills can help public relations professionals at three levels: (a) counseling management on corporate policies and performance, including CSR and corporate governance; (b) developing, conducting, and evaluating programs of action and communication across the business; and in (c) setting goals, budgeting, and managing organizational resources. For example, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a dramatically expanding area of activity for public relations professionals (Bartlett, 2011). To claim the field of CSR, public relations professionals likely need more and better training on “the business of the business” (Duhé, 2013; Kolberg, 2014; Verhoeven, 2014) so as to contribute to the organization at the strategy level (outcomes)—rather than be isolated to solely communication programs (outputs). For PR educators, options include: (1) incorporating more “Business 101” elements into existing required courses, (2) developing new stand-alone courses, such as Business Foundations, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Corporate Governance, and/or (3) encouraging students to take business school classes as electives. This is a two-way street, though, and if senior communication executives expect more business acumen from junior colleagues, then they should consider devoting more time to working with educators and academic associations. While the sample size is relatively small, the surveyed respondents—all members of the elite Page Society—are opinion leaders in the field responsible for the hiring and management of thousands of public relations professionals. Future research is needed on early- and mid-career professionals to understand if they place similar importance on “Business 101” training. Future studies should also examine the impact of business training on practitioners’ compensation and promotion trends across industries and internationally. References Bartlett, J. L. (2011). Public relations and corporate social responsibility. In Ø. Ihlen, J. Bartlett, & S. May (Eds.), The handbook of communication and corporate social responsibility (pp. 67–86). Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons. Commission on Public Relations Education. (2012, October). Standards for a master’s degree in public relations: Educating for complexity. New York: The Commission on Public Relations Education. http://www.commpred.org/ uploads/report5-full.pdf Accessed 14.07.14 Duhé, S. (2013, December 12). Teaching business as a second language. Institute for Public Relations. http://www.instituteforpr.org/ teaching-business-second-language Accessed 14.07.14 Kolberg, B. (2014). Getting down to business at public relations agencies. PR Update, 49(March 2), 6–7. http://www.aejmc.us/PR/newsletter/ newsletter 2014 march.pdf Accessed 14.07.14 Verhoeven, P. (2014). Communication officers and the C-suite: A study of Financial Times Global 500 companies. Public Relations Review, 40, 606–608. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.01.003 Wolf, K. (2010). Fast track opportunities for high achievers? A comparative investigation into career advancement patterns for in-house and consultancy practitioners. Journal of Promotion Management, 16, 235–246. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10496490903579566
Matthew W. Ragas (Ph.D., University of Florida) is an Assistant Professor and Academic Director of the public relations and advertising graduate program at DePaul University. Nur Uysal (Ph.D., University of Oklahoma) is an Assistant Professor of strategic communication in the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University. Ron Culp is an Instructor and Professional Director of the public relations and advertising graduate program at DePaul University.
Please cite this article in press as: Ragas, M. W., et al. “Business 101” in public relations education: An exploratory survey of senior communication executives. Public Relations Review (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.02.007