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Public relations practice and political change in South Africa
Public Relations Review 31 (2005) 407–416
Public relations practice and political change in South Africa夽 Derina R. Holtzhausen ∗ School of Mass Communications, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., CIS 1040, Tampa, FL 33647-7800, USA Received 27 September 2004; received in revised form 24 March 2005; accepted 1 May 2005
Abstract South Africa has undergone one of the most drastic political changes of the late 20th century. Its 45-year tradition of public relations practice and education allows for the study of change on practice. Results indicate public relations becomes more important and strategic during times of change, and while affecting change it is also affected by change. Practitioners felt they made an important contribution to social upliftment and black economic empowerment. The more democratic political environment forced practitioners to be more aware of important political constituencies, particularly community and grassroots publics who hold high symbolic value. Cross-cultural communication became more important but also problematic. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Political environment; Organizational environment; Social change; Empowerment; Activism; Intercultural communication; Public relations
1. Introduction The effects of the external environment on public relations practice have long been established in public relations literature (e.g. Sriramesh & White, 1992; Culbertson, Jeffers, Stone, & Terrell, 1993; Culbertson & Chen, 1996; Hatch, 1997; Van Ruler & Verˇciˇc, 2004). Several studies specifically mention the role public relations play in democratizing society (Sharpe, 1992; Hiebert, 1992; Turk, 1996; Bentele 夽
This is an abridged version of a much longer article. Scholars who are interested in the original version, which addresses a broader theoretical perspective and a more comprehensive qualitative analysis with figures and tables, can request a full copy from the author. ∗ Tel.: +1 813 974 6800; fax: +1 813 974 2592. E-mail address: [email protected]. 0363-8111/$ – see front matter © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2005.05.011
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& Peters, 1996). However, the countries in these studies did not have well-established public relations communities before democratization. South Africa, on the other hand, offers the opportunity to study the impact of political change on public relations practice. While the country has undergone one of the most drastic political changes of the late 20th century, it also has a 45-year tradition of public relations practice and education.
2. Political change in South Africa As a result of the South African government’s apartheid policies white South Africa continued to exist as a developed Westernized country with a modern infrastructure, while black South Africans were removed to live in homelands skirting the borders of the country. The impact of this political system on public relations was that the practice in white South Africa continued to develop along Western lines, with largely white practitioners subscribing to U.S. and U.K. public relations practices (Holtzhausen, Petersen, & Tindall, 2003). On the other hand, black practitioners, mostly living in the homelands and working for homeland governments, performed the development communication role so typical of other African countries (Van Leuven & Pratt, 1996). The country had its first democratic election in 1994, won by the African Nationalist Congress (ANC). This election resulted in political changes that have transformed the country at every level and strengthened the trend begun in the late 1980s of increasing numbers of black practitioners entering the field of public relations (Holtzhausen et al., 2003). The political transition was so pervasive that South Africans themselves refer to the South Africa that existed before 1994 as the “Old” South Africa and to the post-1994 nation as the “New” South Africa. To this day South Africa remains a complex environment. It is a multi-cultural and multi-lingual country that, despite its relatively small population of 44.8 million people, has 11 official languages and a population consisting of seven large ethnic groups as well as a multitude of smaller ethnicities (South African Yearbook, 2000/2001).
3. Literature review A literature review pertinent to this study needs to focus on the impact of organizational environments of public relations practice. In public relations, the most common application of this principal emerges from systems theory (Grunig, Grunig, & Ehling, 1992), which holds that organizations are most likely to be effective and survive when they are open systems that allow for mutual change between themselves and their environment. In open system organizations public relations practitioners act as boundary spanners who help the organization manage its relationships with the different publics in the environment. However, organizational theory also provides a rationale for studying the impact of organizational environments on public relations practice. Environmental analysis is important because the behavior of an organization can only be understood in terms of the context of that behavior (Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978). Resource dependence theory (Pfeffer, 1987), population ecology theory (Hannah & Freeman, 1984) and institutional theory (Selznick, 1957; Scott, 1987) all offer valuable approaches to studying the impact of organizational environments. Institutional theory in particular argues that environments dominated by social demands, as is the case in South Africa, will reward organizations for conforming to the values, norms, rules, and beliefs of society.
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Contingency theory argues environments are particularly influential when they are turbulent, highly dynamic, and fraught with uncertainty (Robbins, 1990). Dynamic and uncertain environments are also particularly vulnerable to political and regulatory changes, which might result in public relations practitioners seeking information from the organization’s environment and thus creating the need for communication with that environment (Grunig, 1992). Uncertainty about the environment also plays an important role in organizational behavior. When managers feel uncertain, they create organizations that match their perceived complexity of the environment (Aldrich & Mindlin, 1978; Weick, 2001). This perspective might explain the role of public relations practitioners as boundary spanners during times of change. Organizations use boundary spanning to address uncertainty through information gathering that might help in decision-making (Scott, 1992). Thus, during periods of change, it can be assumed that public relations will become more important and receive a more strategic focus.
4. Method This research made use of multiple methods in that it collected both qualitative and quantitative data through an electronic survey conducted during June to September 2001 among the 1194 South African members of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA). The 208 responses reflect a 17.4% response rate. The survey included demographic questions and questions on roles and functions (Holtzhausen et al. (2003) for a comprehensive discussion of the results). However, the quantitative analysis for this study focused on responses to two questions, namely, (1) has the practice of public relations in South Africa changed over the past 10 years? and (2) have the political changes in South Africa changed the way you practice public relations? Participants were asked to respond to a nominal scale of Yes, No and Unsure. If respondents answered Yes to the above two questions they were asked to explain their answer by giving examples. One hundred and thirty eight participants responded to question 1 above and 200 to question 2 above. These responses were treated as qualitative data and were subjected to a “microanalysis” that “involves very careful, often minute examination and interpretation of data.” It “takes data apart and works with the pictures, words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and other segments of material.” (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 58). This was an appropriate methodology for this study’s qualitative data because responses were in the form of short sentences or even phrases. South African practitioners use British English. To retain the authenticity of their comments their language was not changed.
5. Quantitative findings Of the 208 respondents, 70% were female and 30% were male, ranging in age from 23 to 69, with a median age of 38. They reported between one and 35 years of experience in the practice, with a median experience of 10 years. For the purposes of this analysis, both age and years of experience were collapsed into two categories each. Age was split along the median age and years of experience along the 10-year split, which is reflective of the time when South Africa’s political changes began. Approximately twothirds (n = 156) were managers and more than 90% were degreed. Half reported some public relations training before starting their first job in the field, and, of that group, 95% received their training in South Africa.
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5.1. Has the practice of public relations in South Africa changed over the past 10 years? Participants overwhelmingly experienced effects of change on public relations practice in general (n = 204). Of these 75% (n = 153) said Yes, 7.4% (n = 15) said No, and 17.6% (n = 36) were Unsure. The only statistically significant relationship between responses to this question and the 2 demographic variables were in terms of years of experience (χdf=2 = 13.637, p < .01). Practitioners with more than 10 years of experience (n = 91) felt more change in practice (Yes = 78%, No = 13.2%, Unsure = 8.8%) than those with 10 years or less of experience (n = 102) (Yes = 72.5%, No = 2.9%, Unsure = 24.5%). 5.2. Have the political changes in South Africa changed the way you practice public relations? Of the 200 valid responses to this question, 72.5% (n = 145) said Yes, 19.5% (n = 39) said No, and 8% (n = 16) were Unsure. Again, the only significant relationship in response to this question and the 2 demographic variables were in terms of years of experience (χdf =2 = 8.313, p < .05). Practitioners with more than 10 years of experience (n = 89) experienced more personal changes to practice (Yes = 79.8%, No = 19%, Unsure = 2.2%) than those with less than 10 years experience (n = 100) (Yes = 66%, No = 21%, Unsure = 13%).
6. Qualitative findings 6.1. Perceptions of changes in practice over 10-year period The qualitative responses from the 138 respondents who gave examples of changes in public relations practice were first tabulated and then counted to rank order the issues mentioned by the practitioners. Issues are presented from the most to the least important. 6.1.1. Public relations evolved into a management function More management appreciation and recognition of the profession were the most pervasive changes to public relations practice during the last decade. Public relations have gained recognition at the board room table, which has resulted in a focus on measurable contributions to the bottom line. “It has become recognised as an integral part of a company’s development and the negative perceptions of a PR role are slowly being eroded” said one. With this focus came demands for more research and effective measurement of contributions, with public relations “(b)eing viewed more as a profession backed and supported by research as opposed to just free publicity and ‘parties”’. 6.1.2. Public relations practice became more professional Increased professionalism was linked to diminishing perspectives of public relations as a social event function, which resulted from better public relations education at tertiary level, more educated practitioners and the role of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA). The professional behavior of practitioners created an awareness of the contribution and value of public relations and practitioners were “becoming more professional in a ‘consulting’ sense. Occupie(d) higher positions on board room agendas than ten years ago,” and as a result “today it is a well know career”.
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6.1.3. Changes in the social environment affected public relations practice Organizations needed to openly exhibit high levels of social responsibility. One practitioner said: “More and more organisations are seen as contributing to the upliftment of the people by way of schools for instance, they want to be involved in the erection of new schools with former President Nelson Mandela.” This has made practice more complex: “Cheque giving, bimbos with big hair, sexy communication staff have gone and been replaced with sustainable development strategies.” Black economic empowerment and affirmative action have become important foci, albeit with some cynicism. Sometimes organizations used these social issues for publicity purposes only: “(S)ocio-economic issues in South Africa have increasingly changed the focus of public relations efforts, with many organisations attempting to get mileage by backing politically correct issues (i.e. paying lip service only).” Involvement in organizational social transformation processes and change management were new areas of practice. 6.1.4. The nature of communication in public relations changed With changes in the political climate came changes in the way practitioners had to communicate. Communication now not only had to be inclusive and participative but practitioners also had to take into consideration the cultural attributes of their publics. Consultation with grassroots communities was essential to organizations’ credibility: “I think there is definitely more transparency, hence organisations are forced to communicate and convince the public about their involvement in the communities around them and how they are helping people.” Several respondents stressed the importance of two-way communication and relationship building. Surprisingly few mentioned the need to communicate in different languages but several specifically mentioned the growing importance of an understanding of African culture and the shift away from a Eurocentric cultural perspective. 6.1.5. New emphases in public relations practice Because of democratization, greater demands were made on “more transparency, hence organisations are forced to communicate and convince the public about their involvement in the communities around them and how they are helping people.” Practice required more specialization in areas such as “social investment, conserving the environment, and intercultural communication and development communication.” More community involvement brought challenges in terms of cross-cultural issues. This made the practice “more stressful,” “more demanding,” and “more aggressive.” There was an increased focus on image building with “a greater measure of sophistication applied to reputation management and the establishment of climates receptive to client messages.” The emphasis had shifted to a much larger focus on the interests of the publics, and it appeared that practitioners had to place the concerns for their publics over those of the organization. One of the consequences of this shift was larger involvement in transformation processes and employee communication, with an emphasis on “transformation and employment equity” and “harmonising interpersonal relationships.” There was also “far more emphasis on providing information and feedback to employees” and “efforts to have effective two-way communication.” 6.1.6. Changes in the political environment affected public relations practice The new political environment brought government closer to home, particularly local government. This political scenario was “turbulent” and uncertain, which resulted in more lobbying practices with “new role players, new thinking, new challenges.” political change also required personal change: “The
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whole country has changed so if you want to be part of the business world you have no choice. You must change to keep up with your client”. 6.1.7. The impact of globalization and technology Globalization and technology were not particularly impactful. Globalization was mentioned in the context of international speakers at conferences who gave “a much broader view of PR, (and) has an impact on the way we are doing PR” and to “Multinationals (that) have helped to integrate PR as a management practice.” One mentioned an inclusion of “international publics” in practice and another attributed the growing importance of public relations to the “internationalisation of South Africa.” Some responses directly linked globalization to the increased importance of technology. 6.2. Perceptions of personal change in public relations practice The qualitative responses of the 106 respondents who gave examples of personal experiences of changes in public relations practice were again tabulated and counted to rank order the issues mentioned by the practitioners. Issues are again presented from the most to the least important. 6.2.1. An emphasis on inclusiveness and participation The most important personal change for practitioners was the need to include culturally diverse and previously ignored publics in their communication programs. This required practitioners to work outside the normal geographic business boundaries and led them to do “more PR work in townships”. “Community facilitation” has become a permanent feature of practitioner life, which manifested in “a greater voice for previously disadvantaged people”. With this emphasis came specific communication challenges, such as “very basic communication messages and innovative ways to communicate”. Often educational messages form part of the communication context, “e.g. to educate new homeowners in the need to pay rates”. Other education issues were gender, health care and nutrition. Structural changes in the country, like the abandoning of the homeland structure, emphasized inclusiveness, which brought new problems, like “the ability to develop messages across a wide variety of audiences with a wide range of literacy levels,” and “more emphasis on messages being acceptable, appealing to and understood by all nationalities.” In employee communication practitioners had to be particularly aware of racial and human rights issues in the workplace. The change “mainly had an impact in terms of liaison with employees in a broader spectrum as opposed to communicating with ‘black and white’ employees, which caused, in many occasions, distorted information”. A company’s commitment to equitable workplace practices was used to gain social acceptability and government contracts. Practitioners thought these changes were good because they could now “build on the strengths and advantages offered by diversity”. 6.2.2. The role of culture in public relations practice Culture not only changed the context of communication but also the way in which communication took place. “The African culture differs from the European culture in that Africans are much greater networkers and believe in certain types of approaches”, said one. Another practitioner “increasingly resorted to direct contact rather than mediated communications”, thus echoing the move towards more interpersonal communication strategies. It was important to understand the cultural frame of reference of their publics, and many referred to changes from a singular “Eurocentric” approach to include more “Afrocentric” frames of reference.
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As a result “(c)ross cultural PR is now essential, taking into account differences in beliefs and traditions. Communication has to be modified to avoid misunderstandings in policy and acceptance of different customs”. Customization of messages within a cultural frame has become one of the most important aspects of public relations practices in South Africa. Cultural diversity brought new challenges such as language, changes in protocol, dress code, and general ways of doing things. “Just on protocol issues and table settings at banquets alone I can write a book”, said one. 6.2.3. A demand for commitment to social issues Public relations practice reflected the many social demands made on South African organizations, such as economic empowerment and social upliftment. This was a necessary condition for the organization’s survival, and “a means of creating a stable environment in which to do business.” Social responsibility issues were now used for image building purposes, again for the purpose of survival: “Promotion of your business’s contribution to society (is) essential in order to survive”. Affirmative action was an outflow of black economic empowerment. This translated into changes in the consulting environment where more black practitioners are employed. With these changes came a larger focus on legal issues: “We have entered into a partnership with a black empowerment agency and have had to look at the employment equity act and make sure we comply”. These types of partnerships are necessary because “Employment Equity (EE) has placed a lot of pressure on corporates to use Previously disadvantaged individuals (PDI) or companies for doing outsourced work”. Several respondents working for counseling firms mentioned that they formed these alliances to get corporate and government contracts. These developments were not always perceived as positive. One practitioner bemoaned the fact that public relations “is perceived to be a ‘soft’ job and therefore an easy target for Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity appointments”. As a result there is “(n)o future for white males”. New appointees were sometimes viewed as unprofessional: “(M)any companies favour black firms but also acknowledge that most of them cannot deliver the standard required to make a success of a project. There are a lot of ‘fly-by-night’ PR companies out there”. Affirmative action positions in the top hierarchies of organizations also came under fire: “With Affirmative Action appointments at the top, many decisions aimed at achieving pure PR (and sound business results) are vetoed or made conditional on achieving ‘political’ results”. 6.2.4. The direct impact of democracy Democracy brought about more freedom and a more transparent society, and was perceived as having a direct impact on public relations practice. It made practice easier because democracy facilitated “easier access to all publics”. Understandings of freedom translated into “freedom of speech”, “a greater sense of freedom”, and “less propaganda”. At the same time, practitioners had to be more accountable for open and honest information. Although access to government was easier and “more informal”, surprisingly few practitioners (only six responses) mentioned an emphasis on government relations as a special focus of practice. 6.2.5. Changes in the media environment affected public relations practice Several practitioners referred to how increased press freedom made the media more accessible, but also more competitive. As a result, media relations have gained importance: “Media releases stayed consistent, but liaising with the media became more open and not as restricted as in the past”. Media became more receptive to positive news, particularly when it pertained to “previously disadvantaged people being
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successful, e.g. student awards, against all odds stories”. The media also reach and affect more people than in the past. Again, changes in the media were not always perceived as positive, particularly as they are affected by a new type of “empowered young black reporters with limited experience”. As a result “the media remain highly politicised but with a shift in emphasis from Afrikaner to African nationalism”.
7. Discussion and conclusion In this study public relations practice in South Africa was particularly influenced. New legislation pressured organizations to become more equitable in workplace practices and employment procedures. Social and activist groups became more important because of their ability to exert influence on government. Cultural factors in particular affected practice when communication with previously disadvantages citizens and involvement in their economic empowerment and social upliftment were required. Technological advances were less important because of the lack of technology among key social publics. Globalization, too, had a much smaller effect than anticipated. South African organizations seem to be aware of the ability of the environment to decide their survival. Organizational efforts at social upliftment and economic empowerment had high symbolic value and assisted practitioners in managing and building corporate reputations. Positive media coverage rewarded organizations for their efforts to conform to social values, as maintained in institutional theory. South African practitioners helped their organizations survive by maintaining high social profiles through an enhanced boundary spanning and media relations’ role. The complex environment enhanced the importance of public relations as a strategic management function – the most important change in South African public relations practice over the past decade. This required seeking more information through higher interaction with external audiences. The understanding that managers are uncertain, not environments, and as a result require more information to address their uncertainty, adds another perspective to the increased strategic importance of public relations. In South Africa practitioners emphasized the social value of practice rather than the contribution to the financial bottom line. The most pervasive personal experience of democratization on practice was increased participative practices with high symbolic value, such as the inclusion of more multicultural perspectives, communication with diverse and new publics, and grassroots consultation. One might argue that the practice of public relations in South Africa became asymmetrical because it privileged the interests of organizations’ external and internal publics over those of the organization’s management. Indirectly, these publics had a lot of control over organizations because they formed the constituency of the dominant political party. In South Africa these publics were not necessarily activist publics, like in the U.S. and many Western countries, but rather social groups with high symbolic power. As demanded by the environment, practitioners played a role in the social development and upliftment of previously marginalized people, thus assisting in building and strengthening democracy in the country. This was also reflected in the new importance of employee relations. Much of the new equity in work relations was enforced through new labor laws. It appears that change is more likely when it is supported by the legal system. In employee communication practitioners were forced to incorporate more consultative and interpersonal communication practices and less mediated communication. Because of a larger need for consultation, culture became an important segmentation criterion for South African practitioners. In highly heterogeneous societies like South Africa, cultural differences cannot be ignored. These shifts
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in practice required practitioners to become innovative, and, as a result, public relations practice itself became a highly stressful environment. Democratization not only affected organizations, organizations themselves, through public relations practice, affected the democratization process. This study supports the notion of public relations as social and organizational activism (Holtzhausen, 2000; Holtzhausen & Voto, 2002) that helps organizations address social and human rights issues, in this case strengthening South Africa’s fledgling democracy. Public relations also contributed to democratization by providing job opportunities and education to more practitioners from previously disadvantages communities, thus broadening the practitioner base and allowing more communities to be directly represented in practice. This research confirms the impact of the environment on public relations practice, particularly during times of political change. Political change increased managers’ feelings of insecurity, which they addressed by seeking more information through public relations’ boundary spanning function. This contributes to our understanding of why public relations practice becomes more valued and gains more strategic acceptance in times of change. The research also underscores the importance of education for practitioners to deal with environmental change. International public relations practitioners who operate in developing countries should remember that, contrary to the emphasis on the bottom line and technology in developed countries, developing countries may emphasize the social value of public relations. Successful public relations practices in these countries inevitably will be measured in terms of their contribution to social upliftment and economic empowerment, which might be hard to explain back home.
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Public relations practice and political change in South Africa夽 Derina R. Holtzhausen ∗ School of Mass Communications, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., CIS 1040, Tampa, FL 33647-7800, USA Received 27 September 2004; received in revised form 24 March 2005; accepted 1 May 2005
Abstract South Africa has undergone one of the most drastic political changes of the late 20th century. Its 45-year tradition of public relations practice and education allows for the study of change on practice. Results indicate public relations becomes more important and strategic during times of change, and while affecting change it is also affected by change. Practitioners felt they made an important contribution to social upliftment and black economic empowerment. The more democratic political environment forced practitioners to be more aware of important political constituencies, particularly community and grassroots publics who hold high symbolic value. Cross-cultural communication became more important but also problematic. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Political environment; Organizational environment; Social change; Empowerment; Activism; Intercultural communication; Public relations
1. Introduction The effects of the external environment on public relations practice have long been established in public relations literature (e.g. Sriramesh & White, 1992; Culbertson, Jeffers, Stone, & Terrell, 1993; Culbertson & Chen, 1996; Hatch, 1997; Van Ruler & Verˇciˇc, 2004). Several studies specifically mention the role public relations play in democratizing society (Sharpe, 1992; Hiebert, 1992; Turk, 1996; Bentele 夽
This is an abridged version of a much longer article. Scholars who are interested in the original version, which addresses a broader theoretical perspective and a more comprehensive qualitative analysis with figures and tables, can request a full copy from the author. ∗ Tel.: +1 813 974 6800; fax: +1 813 974 2592. E-mail address: [email protected]. 0363-8111/$ – see front matter © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2005.05.011
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& Peters, 1996). However, the countries in these studies did not have well-established public relations communities before democratization. South Africa, on the other hand, offers the opportunity to study the impact of political change on public relations practice. While the country has undergone one of the most drastic political changes of the late 20th century, it also has a 45-year tradition of public relations practice and education.
2. Political change in South Africa As a result of the South African government’s apartheid policies white South Africa continued to exist as a developed Westernized country with a modern infrastructure, while black South Africans were removed to live in homelands skirting the borders of the country. The impact of this political system on public relations was that the practice in white South Africa continued to develop along Western lines, with largely white practitioners subscribing to U.S. and U.K. public relations practices (Holtzhausen, Petersen, & Tindall, 2003). On the other hand, black practitioners, mostly living in the homelands and working for homeland governments, performed the development communication role so typical of other African countries (Van Leuven & Pratt, 1996). The country had its first democratic election in 1994, won by the African Nationalist Congress (ANC). This election resulted in political changes that have transformed the country at every level and strengthened the trend begun in the late 1980s of increasing numbers of black practitioners entering the field of public relations (Holtzhausen et al., 2003). The political transition was so pervasive that South Africans themselves refer to the South Africa that existed before 1994 as the “Old” South Africa and to the post-1994 nation as the “New” South Africa. To this day South Africa remains a complex environment. It is a multi-cultural and multi-lingual country that, despite its relatively small population of 44.8 million people, has 11 official languages and a population consisting of seven large ethnic groups as well as a multitude of smaller ethnicities (South African Yearbook, 2000/2001).
3. Literature review A literature review pertinent to this study needs to focus on the impact of organizational environments of public relations practice. In public relations, the most common application of this principal emerges from systems theory (Grunig, Grunig, & Ehling, 1992), which holds that organizations are most likely to be effective and survive when they are open systems that allow for mutual change between themselves and their environment. In open system organizations public relations practitioners act as boundary spanners who help the organization manage its relationships with the different publics in the environment. However, organizational theory also provides a rationale for studying the impact of organizational environments on public relations practice. Environmental analysis is important because the behavior of an organization can only be understood in terms of the context of that behavior (Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978). Resource dependence theory (Pfeffer, 1987), population ecology theory (Hannah & Freeman, 1984) and institutional theory (Selznick, 1957; Scott, 1987) all offer valuable approaches to studying the impact of organizational environments. Institutional theory in particular argues that environments dominated by social demands, as is the case in South Africa, will reward organizations for conforming to the values, norms, rules, and beliefs of society.
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Contingency theory argues environments are particularly influential when they are turbulent, highly dynamic, and fraught with uncertainty (Robbins, 1990). Dynamic and uncertain environments are also particularly vulnerable to political and regulatory changes, which might result in public relations practitioners seeking information from the organization’s environment and thus creating the need for communication with that environment (Grunig, 1992). Uncertainty about the environment also plays an important role in organizational behavior. When managers feel uncertain, they create organizations that match their perceived complexity of the environment (Aldrich & Mindlin, 1978; Weick, 2001). This perspective might explain the role of public relations practitioners as boundary spanners during times of change. Organizations use boundary spanning to address uncertainty through information gathering that might help in decision-making (Scott, 1992). Thus, during periods of change, it can be assumed that public relations will become more important and receive a more strategic focus.
4. Method This research made use of multiple methods in that it collected both qualitative and quantitative data through an electronic survey conducted during June to September 2001 among the 1194 South African members of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA). The 208 responses reflect a 17.4% response rate. The survey included demographic questions and questions on roles and functions (Holtzhausen et al. (2003) for a comprehensive discussion of the results). However, the quantitative analysis for this study focused on responses to two questions, namely, (1) has the practice of public relations in South Africa changed over the past 10 years? and (2) have the political changes in South Africa changed the way you practice public relations? Participants were asked to respond to a nominal scale of Yes, No and Unsure. If respondents answered Yes to the above two questions they were asked to explain their answer by giving examples. One hundred and thirty eight participants responded to question 1 above and 200 to question 2 above. These responses were treated as qualitative data and were subjected to a “microanalysis” that “involves very careful, often minute examination and interpretation of data.” It “takes data apart and works with the pictures, words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and other segments of material.” (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 58). This was an appropriate methodology for this study’s qualitative data because responses were in the form of short sentences or even phrases. South African practitioners use British English. To retain the authenticity of their comments their language was not changed.
5. Quantitative findings Of the 208 respondents, 70% were female and 30% were male, ranging in age from 23 to 69, with a median age of 38. They reported between one and 35 years of experience in the practice, with a median experience of 10 years. For the purposes of this analysis, both age and years of experience were collapsed into two categories each. Age was split along the median age and years of experience along the 10-year split, which is reflective of the time when South Africa’s political changes began. Approximately twothirds (n = 156) were managers and more than 90% were degreed. Half reported some public relations training before starting their first job in the field, and, of that group, 95% received their training in South Africa.
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5.1. Has the practice of public relations in South Africa changed over the past 10 years? Participants overwhelmingly experienced effects of change on public relations practice in general (n = 204). Of these 75% (n = 153) said Yes, 7.4% (n = 15) said No, and 17.6% (n = 36) were Unsure. The only statistically significant relationship between responses to this question and the 2 demographic variables were in terms of years of experience (χdf=2 = 13.637, p < .01). Practitioners with more than 10 years of experience (n = 91) felt more change in practice (Yes = 78%, No = 13.2%, Unsure = 8.8%) than those with 10 years or less of experience (n = 102) (Yes = 72.5%, No = 2.9%, Unsure = 24.5%). 5.2. Have the political changes in South Africa changed the way you practice public relations? Of the 200 valid responses to this question, 72.5% (n = 145) said Yes, 19.5% (n = 39) said No, and 8% (n = 16) were Unsure. Again, the only significant relationship in response to this question and the 2 demographic variables were in terms of years of experience (χdf =2 = 8.313, p < .05). Practitioners with more than 10 years of experience (n = 89) experienced more personal changes to practice (Yes = 79.8%, No = 19%, Unsure = 2.2%) than those with less than 10 years experience (n = 100) (Yes = 66%, No = 21%, Unsure = 13%).
6. Qualitative findings 6.1. Perceptions of changes in practice over 10-year period The qualitative responses from the 138 respondents who gave examples of changes in public relations practice were first tabulated and then counted to rank order the issues mentioned by the practitioners. Issues are presented from the most to the least important. 6.1.1. Public relations evolved into a management function More management appreciation and recognition of the profession were the most pervasive changes to public relations practice during the last decade. Public relations have gained recognition at the board room table, which has resulted in a focus on measurable contributions to the bottom line. “It has become recognised as an integral part of a company’s development and the negative perceptions of a PR role are slowly being eroded” said one. With this focus came demands for more research and effective measurement of contributions, with public relations “(b)eing viewed more as a profession backed and supported by research as opposed to just free publicity and ‘parties”’. 6.1.2. Public relations practice became more professional Increased professionalism was linked to diminishing perspectives of public relations as a social event function, which resulted from better public relations education at tertiary level, more educated practitioners and the role of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA). The professional behavior of practitioners created an awareness of the contribution and value of public relations and practitioners were “becoming more professional in a ‘consulting’ sense. Occupie(d) higher positions on board room agendas than ten years ago,” and as a result “today it is a well know career”.
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6.1.3. Changes in the social environment affected public relations practice Organizations needed to openly exhibit high levels of social responsibility. One practitioner said: “More and more organisations are seen as contributing to the upliftment of the people by way of schools for instance, they want to be involved in the erection of new schools with former President Nelson Mandela.” This has made practice more complex: “Cheque giving, bimbos with big hair, sexy communication staff have gone and been replaced with sustainable development strategies.” Black economic empowerment and affirmative action have become important foci, albeit with some cynicism. Sometimes organizations used these social issues for publicity purposes only: “(S)ocio-economic issues in South Africa have increasingly changed the focus of public relations efforts, with many organisations attempting to get mileage by backing politically correct issues (i.e. paying lip service only).” Involvement in organizational social transformation processes and change management were new areas of practice. 6.1.4. The nature of communication in public relations changed With changes in the political climate came changes in the way practitioners had to communicate. Communication now not only had to be inclusive and participative but practitioners also had to take into consideration the cultural attributes of their publics. Consultation with grassroots communities was essential to organizations’ credibility: “I think there is definitely more transparency, hence organisations are forced to communicate and convince the public about their involvement in the communities around them and how they are helping people.” Several respondents stressed the importance of two-way communication and relationship building. Surprisingly few mentioned the need to communicate in different languages but several specifically mentioned the growing importance of an understanding of African culture and the shift away from a Eurocentric cultural perspective. 6.1.5. New emphases in public relations practice Because of democratization, greater demands were made on “more transparency, hence organisations are forced to communicate and convince the public about their involvement in the communities around them and how they are helping people.” Practice required more specialization in areas such as “social investment, conserving the environment, and intercultural communication and development communication.” More community involvement brought challenges in terms of cross-cultural issues. This made the practice “more stressful,” “more demanding,” and “more aggressive.” There was an increased focus on image building with “a greater measure of sophistication applied to reputation management and the establishment of climates receptive to client messages.” The emphasis had shifted to a much larger focus on the interests of the publics, and it appeared that practitioners had to place the concerns for their publics over those of the organization. One of the consequences of this shift was larger involvement in transformation processes and employee communication, with an emphasis on “transformation and employment equity” and “harmonising interpersonal relationships.” There was also “far more emphasis on providing information and feedback to employees” and “efforts to have effective two-way communication.” 6.1.6. Changes in the political environment affected public relations practice The new political environment brought government closer to home, particularly local government. This political scenario was “turbulent” and uncertain, which resulted in more lobbying practices with “new role players, new thinking, new challenges.” political change also required personal change: “The
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whole country has changed so if you want to be part of the business world you have no choice. You must change to keep up with your client”. 6.1.7. The impact of globalization and technology Globalization and technology were not particularly impactful. Globalization was mentioned in the context of international speakers at conferences who gave “a much broader view of PR, (and) has an impact on the way we are doing PR” and to “Multinationals (that) have helped to integrate PR as a management practice.” One mentioned an inclusion of “international publics” in practice and another attributed the growing importance of public relations to the “internationalisation of South Africa.” Some responses directly linked globalization to the increased importance of technology. 6.2. Perceptions of personal change in public relations practice The qualitative responses of the 106 respondents who gave examples of personal experiences of changes in public relations practice were again tabulated and counted to rank order the issues mentioned by the practitioners. Issues are again presented from the most to the least important. 6.2.1. An emphasis on inclusiveness and participation The most important personal change for practitioners was the need to include culturally diverse and previously ignored publics in their communication programs. This required practitioners to work outside the normal geographic business boundaries and led them to do “more PR work in townships”. “Community facilitation” has become a permanent feature of practitioner life, which manifested in “a greater voice for previously disadvantaged people”. With this emphasis came specific communication challenges, such as “very basic communication messages and innovative ways to communicate”. Often educational messages form part of the communication context, “e.g. to educate new homeowners in the need to pay rates”. Other education issues were gender, health care and nutrition. Structural changes in the country, like the abandoning of the homeland structure, emphasized inclusiveness, which brought new problems, like “the ability to develop messages across a wide variety of audiences with a wide range of literacy levels,” and “more emphasis on messages being acceptable, appealing to and understood by all nationalities.” In employee communication practitioners had to be particularly aware of racial and human rights issues in the workplace. The change “mainly had an impact in terms of liaison with employees in a broader spectrum as opposed to communicating with ‘black and white’ employees, which caused, in many occasions, distorted information”. A company’s commitment to equitable workplace practices was used to gain social acceptability and government contracts. Practitioners thought these changes were good because they could now “build on the strengths and advantages offered by diversity”. 6.2.2. The role of culture in public relations practice Culture not only changed the context of communication but also the way in which communication took place. “The African culture differs from the European culture in that Africans are much greater networkers and believe in certain types of approaches”, said one. Another practitioner “increasingly resorted to direct contact rather than mediated communications”, thus echoing the move towards more interpersonal communication strategies. It was important to understand the cultural frame of reference of their publics, and many referred to changes from a singular “Eurocentric” approach to include more “Afrocentric” frames of reference.
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As a result “(c)ross cultural PR is now essential, taking into account differences in beliefs and traditions. Communication has to be modified to avoid misunderstandings in policy and acceptance of different customs”. Customization of messages within a cultural frame has become one of the most important aspects of public relations practices in South Africa. Cultural diversity brought new challenges such as language, changes in protocol, dress code, and general ways of doing things. “Just on protocol issues and table settings at banquets alone I can write a book”, said one. 6.2.3. A demand for commitment to social issues Public relations practice reflected the many social demands made on South African organizations, such as economic empowerment and social upliftment. This was a necessary condition for the organization’s survival, and “a means of creating a stable environment in which to do business.” Social responsibility issues were now used for image building purposes, again for the purpose of survival: “Promotion of your business’s contribution to society (is) essential in order to survive”. Affirmative action was an outflow of black economic empowerment. This translated into changes in the consulting environment where more black practitioners are employed. With these changes came a larger focus on legal issues: “We have entered into a partnership with a black empowerment agency and have had to look at the employment equity act and make sure we comply”. These types of partnerships are necessary because “Employment Equity (EE) has placed a lot of pressure on corporates to use Previously disadvantaged individuals (PDI) or companies for doing outsourced work”. Several respondents working for counseling firms mentioned that they formed these alliances to get corporate and government contracts. These developments were not always perceived as positive. One practitioner bemoaned the fact that public relations “is perceived to be a ‘soft’ job and therefore an easy target for Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity appointments”. As a result there is “(n)o future for white males”. New appointees were sometimes viewed as unprofessional: “(M)any companies favour black firms but also acknowledge that most of them cannot deliver the standard required to make a success of a project. There are a lot of ‘fly-by-night’ PR companies out there”. Affirmative action positions in the top hierarchies of organizations also came under fire: “With Affirmative Action appointments at the top, many decisions aimed at achieving pure PR (and sound business results) are vetoed or made conditional on achieving ‘political’ results”. 6.2.4. The direct impact of democracy Democracy brought about more freedom and a more transparent society, and was perceived as having a direct impact on public relations practice. It made practice easier because democracy facilitated “easier access to all publics”. Understandings of freedom translated into “freedom of speech”, “a greater sense of freedom”, and “less propaganda”. At the same time, practitioners had to be more accountable for open and honest information. Although access to government was easier and “more informal”, surprisingly few practitioners (only six responses) mentioned an emphasis on government relations as a special focus of practice. 6.2.5. Changes in the media environment affected public relations practice Several practitioners referred to how increased press freedom made the media more accessible, but also more competitive. As a result, media relations have gained importance: “Media releases stayed consistent, but liaising with the media became more open and not as restricted as in the past”. Media became more receptive to positive news, particularly when it pertained to “previously disadvantaged people being
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successful, e.g. student awards, against all odds stories”. The media also reach and affect more people than in the past. Again, changes in the media were not always perceived as positive, particularly as they are affected by a new type of “empowered young black reporters with limited experience”. As a result “the media remain highly politicised but with a shift in emphasis from Afrikaner to African nationalism”.
7. Discussion and conclusion In this study public relations practice in South Africa was particularly influenced. New legislation pressured organizations to become more equitable in workplace practices and employment procedures. Social and activist groups became more important because of their ability to exert influence on government. Cultural factors in particular affected practice when communication with previously disadvantages citizens and involvement in their economic empowerment and social upliftment were required. Technological advances were less important because of the lack of technology among key social publics. Globalization, too, had a much smaller effect than anticipated. South African organizations seem to be aware of the ability of the environment to decide their survival. Organizational efforts at social upliftment and economic empowerment had high symbolic value and assisted practitioners in managing and building corporate reputations. Positive media coverage rewarded organizations for their efforts to conform to social values, as maintained in institutional theory. South African practitioners helped their organizations survive by maintaining high social profiles through an enhanced boundary spanning and media relations’ role. The complex environment enhanced the importance of public relations as a strategic management function – the most important change in South African public relations practice over the past decade. This required seeking more information through higher interaction with external audiences. The understanding that managers are uncertain, not environments, and as a result require more information to address their uncertainty, adds another perspective to the increased strategic importance of public relations. In South Africa practitioners emphasized the social value of practice rather than the contribution to the financial bottom line. The most pervasive personal experience of democratization on practice was increased participative practices with high symbolic value, such as the inclusion of more multicultural perspectives, communication with diverse and new publics, and grassroots consultation. One might argue that the practice of public relations in South Africa became asymmetrical because it privileged the interests of organizations’ external and internal publics over those of the organization’s management. Indirectly, these publics had a lot of control over organizations because they formed the constituency of the dominant political party. In South Africa these publics were not necessarily activist publics, like in the U.S. and many Western countries, but rather social groups with high symbolic power. As demanded by the environment, practitioners played a role in the social development and upliftment of previously marginalized people, thus assisting in building and strengthening democracy in the country. This was also reflected in the new importance of employee relations. Much of the new equity in work relations was enforced through new labor laws. It appears that change is more likely when it is supported by the legal system. In employee communication practitioners were forced to incorporate more consultative and interpersonal communication practices and less mediated communication. Because of a larger need for consultation, culture became an important segmentation criterion for South African practitioners. In highly heterogeneous societies like South Africa, cultural differences cannot be ignored. These shifts
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in practice required practitioners to become innovative, and, as a result, public relations practice itself became a highly stressful environment. Democratization not only affected organizations, organizations themselves, through public relations practice, affected the democratization process. This study supports the notion of public relations as social and organizational activism (Holtzhausen, 2000; Holtzhausen & Voto, 2002) that helps organizations address social and human rights issues, in this case strengthening South Africa’s fledgling democracy. Public relations also contributed to democratization by providing job opportunities and education to more practitioners from previously disadvantages communities, thus broadening the practitioner base and allowing more communities to be directly represented in practice. This research confirms the impact of the environment on public relations practice, particularly during times of political change. Political change increased managers’ feelings of insecurity, which they addressed by seeking more information through public relations’ boundary spanning function. This contributes to our understanding of why public relations practice becomes more valued and gains more strategic acceptance in times of change. The research also underscores the importance of education for practitioners to deal with environmental change. International public relations practitioners who operate in developing countries should remember that, contrary to the emphasis on the bottom line and technology in developed countries, developing countries may emphasize the social value of public relations. Successful public relations practices in these countries inevitably will be measured in terms of their contribution to social upliftment and economic empowerment, which might be hard to explain back home.
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