“The professional worldwide public relations executive must understand global cultures if he or she is going to play a significant role in future business and government decisions,” said Donald G. Dowd, president of the Dan Dowd Communications, Chicago.
Public relations is a world known sensation, covering countries with vastly different cultures, economic and political standings, and levels of development. Understanding international PR is knowing cultural differences, environmental changes and the continuous process of how people make sense of their world.
So, what are the challenges of international PR? According to Pat Curtin and Gaither, there are four: Emerging democracies, Nation building, Best foot forward PR, and Business driven PR.
One challenge is Emerging Democracies. The United States has the freedom of press, thus creating the rise in defining PR and its value to society. Not all countries have the same ability to define their work. Some authoritarian governments belittle Western notions of public relations by restricting media and stopping dialogue with target publics. In these countries, government is the preeminent voice and might be associated more with propaganda than with public relations.
Changing the connection between communication and propaganda into the sphere of traditional PR is a slow process. For example, in Russia, propaganda was associated with privatized government control until the arrival of McDonald’s in the late 1980s. With the arrival of McDonald’s came the need for PR. The political paradigm shift changed the definition of old propaganda and PR along with changing Russia, making it more varied, open, and flexible.
A second challenge is Nation building. Unlike the United States, African nations, until the 1960s, were under the control of their colonial rulers and have had far less time to conduct nation-building activities. Along with the challenges for a newly formed country, any communication device will face challenges as well, such as geographic size, ethnic and religious diversity, and linguistic barriers.
There is little opportunity for practicing Westernized PR in African countries such as Sudan. When a PR campaign was started to boost Sudan’s image, one resident said, “No amount of PR would stop sewer lines from blocking and roads from developing potholes.” For them basic human needs trumped a PR plan. This ideology holds true for many other parts of the world, where PR faces a world vastly different from that of its practice center, the United States.
A third challenge is Best Foot Forward PR. It is important for understanding all the complexities of international public relations, such as a cultural emphasis on social relations. It’s important to take into account the historical and ideological context of the region, such as the Qur’an in Islamic countries. Cultural differences give rise to distinctly different communication traditions between most Arabic nations and the United States.
For example, in Arab nations a press release can be seen as a political proclamation over a news announcement. United Arab Emirates practitioners see PR as a social relations tool over a communication function and place a great deal of emphasis on receiving delegations.
A fourth challenge is Business-Driven PR – many large well-known corporate companies, such as Nike and Coca-Cola, are expanding to overseas and realizing the necessity of PR. As technology connects the world, positive public perceptions of corporations and supporting practices are the signs of effective business practice. Growth in technology and the rise of regional trading agreements, such as the European Union, have opened the door for international PR success.
Culture is key to international PR. It is what alters the view of PR as a definition and what it means to do PR internationally. Culture represents the multi-layer complexities that PR has to contend with to get to situations at the core of international PR, whether it’s building nations, attracting tourism, or spurring economic growth. The layers of culture extend across international borders ranging from developed to developing countries, and from democratic nations to authoritarian regimes.
PR is practiced around the world often without the procedure of Western structures to define its role and practice in the society. The notion of PR varies widely around the world due to different cultures, languages, and socioeconomic and political standings. Understanding cultural differences is the key to succeeding in international public relations.
Reference: Curtin, Patricia and Gaither, T. International Public Relations: Negotiating Culture, Identity, and Power. Thousand Oaks, California. Sage Publications, 2007.
always an exciting and usually reveling story to tell.
