prclass

What is a PDA?

The Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) is a lightweight, hand-held computer designed for use as a personal organizer with communications capabilities; also called a handheld. Since their introduction in the last decade of the twentieth century, personal digital assistants (PDAs) have become useful tools for personal information management.  

A PDA is a Useful Tool for PR Practitioners

For a Public Relations practitioner a PDA can be a wonderful device. Instead of having a different device for each piece of technology that they need a PR practitioner would benefit much more by just using one PDA. PDA’s can be the digital equivalent of the day planner business professionals and especially PR practitioners would need to keep in their pocket. In fact, they can help with much more. With to-do lists, calendars and phone numbers all at a touch of a button, even the most unorganized individuals can improve their efficiency and effectiveness. The PDA is a useful tool for PR practitioners to schedule meetings, and make sure they are not late for them. For people who work in the field or travel frequently, a PDA can save time and keep them or their team in touch with the office. Since the PDA allows for information on the go, people within the public relations profession will be able to be informed and have everything they need at their fingertips. By logging data and transmitting it electronically to the server database, paperwork does not pile up and work gets processed on a regular basis. Since Public Relations practitioners are constantly communicating there is easy access to it through their PDA. Through e-mail, synchronized address books and calendars, professionals and their employees can find each other quickly, schedule meetings, and act on business matters immediately. By using this new technology tool efficiently, they can create a sense of coordination, timing and rhythm so that their hectic days will be more organized.  

Websites to Check Out

http://www.pdastreet.com 

http://www.pdabuzz.com http://www.howstuffworks.com/pda.htm  ~Carly

 Due to the changing climate in the business environment, corporations must become actively involved in enriching society and the global surroundings in which they operate.  There is now an expectation that corporations have a responsibility to society as well as to creating economic value for the company.  By doing so, organizations have the opportunity to reap benefits both internally and externally.

By becoming involved with social projects an organization will improve its reputation by demonstrating it is a contributor to enhancing the world in which it operates.  A positive reputation has numerous advantages for the external environment, which has the potential to increase the bottom line.  It has been proven that if publics view a corporation as ethical they are more likely to purchase its products and services or invest in the organization. Ethical behaviour allows a company increased access to new markets as well as inspiring loyalty within already established markets.  Furthermore, illustrating a willingness to contribute displays more suitability for investment to the private and institutional investment community.   Regulatory agencies are more inclined to expedite red-tape issues for ethical corporations as well.  This in turn will save money on delays.  Agencies also like to see that organizations are willing to address issues that are important to stakeholders.

Internal benefits are also abundant for companies that choose to become socially responsible. First, it promotes better strategic management by emphasizing a long-term view.  This enables the corporation to better foresee challenges that can become a crisis.  A long-term view also presents options that may have been discarded because they did not meet short term goals.  In addition, improved strategic management is very appealing to financial organizations.  Included in internal benefits is improvement in employee relations.  Employees feel increased loyalty to a corporation with which they are proud to be associated.  Volunteer work can introduce or improve important job-related skills such as, leadership, cooperation and problem-solving. 

It is up to the public relations practitioner to devise a social responsibility program that would best suit the needs of not only society but also the organization in which he or she is employed.  The practitioner has the task of informing stakeholders and the media of the good work that the corporation performs.  It is important that the company can provide information to anyone who requests it.  It’s the professional’s duty to convey the organization’s vision through the appropriate channels.

Corporate social responsibility is a reciprocal relationship that benefits not only society but also the organization itself.  It is a crucial element for any company that wants to thrive in the present business community.

To learn more about corporate social responsibility:

http://www.nonprofitscan.ca

http://www.imaginecanada.ca

Christa Dickson

Well, we are now in our third week of the class blogging assignment and from my teacher perspective the project is moving along nicely. Yesterday’s blog stats showed that we have had around 1500 views and an all time one day viewing of 182. The stats counter indicates that it does not count my own views in the stats and most days I look several times - so the stats are really even higher. I was away from email from Wednesday evening to Sunday evening this week and we went from 888 views to the 1500 in that four day period. Yeah. The number of visits tells me people in the class are actively participating.

One thing I have enjoyed is seeing the positive reinforcement/constructive criticism that students are giving to one another. It is encouraging to read that students are impressed with other people’s research and/or writing styles. A few people have ventured into including graphics – I enjoyed that. Truly, we are learning together. Some people are having fun with the project - a bonus.

We spoke in class yesterday about student perceptions on the blogging experiment. Positive feedback included that students enjoy reading the writing of other people in the class, they are learning new information on many topics, some of the topics and links will be useful to them, the class assignment forced them to blog, and they enjoy giving and receiving feedback. The knowledge that other people outside the class were looking at the blog was also a positive for the majority.– Jump in, class, if I left off items here…

Not so positive experiences included that the class assignment forced them to blog, some people did not feel comfortable with blogging, and figuring out formatting could be frustrating. Comments were made about how some people felt ‘creatively stifled’ and were using self censorship in postings and comments. We discussed the concept that most of the class is used to instant messaging or casual emailing and little formality. The situation imposed formality and self censorship. -Again, if I have missed something that was discussed I hope someone in the class will comment further on this section.

Wearing my teacher hat I have to say that many of our posts have typos and grammatical errors. Those do need to be tidied up.  I have assigned groups in the class to edit posts and try to fix formatting for next week. Other teachers in the program have been teaching that everything must be edited first. Once people are graduates and out working typos are not options.

We talked about the formality of blogs in class and the students perceptively commented that to be formal and correct is to give up some freedom. However, we also spoke about how writing accuracy can increase reader perceptions of content credibility.

We have not included many tags yet, but I think that will come. Once all of the assigned posts are up – the due date is next Monday – class traffic to the blog may slow down. After the assignment period I’d like to see posts and conversation continue and for us to continue to learn blogging etiquette and to have others visit and converse.

Dana 

     Public Relations firms have been around for over a century. One century and six years to be exact. The very first Public Relations firm was opened in 1900 and was located in Boston Massachusetts.  The “Publicity Bureau” (which it was known as) was put together by former newspapermen. It was no surprise when writers and staff members of the papers formed the firms because until PR was established, newspapers were how organizations communicated with the public.

     After the Publicity Bureau took off, other firms started developing. William Wolf Smith opened in Washington, and another firm was opened by a well known practitioner named Ivy Lee. Lee and George F. Parker opened their firm, which became the most popular publicity bureau of its time. Even though it only stayed open for four years, it helped to kick start Lee’s career.

     Public Relations agencies are primarily responsible for getting the attention of the public and letting them know what is going on with the organization they work for. They employ practitioners to deal with the public, problem solve and help companies handle any problems that may arise.

     PR firms and PR practitioners go hand in hand. You cannot have an agency without practitioners to work in it. Great practitioners have emerged from great agencies where they have acquired the hands on experience that made them great. There is no doubt that college and university is indispensable, but joining an agency and getting to work with other people in the same field is where you really learn if you have what it takes to do the job. The great thing about Public Relations firms is that it gives the practitioners a chance to talk to other practitioners and learn from them.

- Caitlin Yearwood (Edited by, Kim Resendes)

Helpful Websites

Council of Public Relations Firms www.prfirms.org 

All About Public Relations www.aboutpublicrelations.net. 

 PR Firms Directory www.marketingtool.com

     Making a career choice is an important decision that requires knowing the right information. Not only do you need to know which occupation will best suit your interests, but you also need to know the nature of the perspective job, opportunities that will be available within this occupation, as well as the education and training that is required.  It is therefore important to understand the labour market and keep informed on emerging labour trends in Canada.  As jobs grow and change, the skills and education required for them follow.  Therefore before searching for a career it is important to look at information provided on future trends in the labour markets as well as the distribution of jobs throughout the industries.   

     Due to the growth of the public relations field, public relations practitioners tend to be paid well, although the range of compensation is broad (PRSA, 2006).  Earnings depend on such factors as the individual’s qualifications and experience, responsibilities of the position, financial state of the organization and the general state of the economy (PRSA, 2006).

    According to the Canadian Public Relations society, the following median salaries are true of the following positions in Canada’s PR practitioners:

• Coordinator (of PR or communications): $43, 000
• Manager (of PR or communications):        $57,000
• Vice President or Director (of PR or communications: $70,000
• President/CEO (of PR or communications): $108,000

    As the need for PR professionals continuously increases amongst organizations, more job opportunities will arise and salaries will continue to grow.  The following is a list of PR related occupations with “good” employment prospects in Ontario communities according to the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS, 2006).

• Media Relations
• Employee/Member Relations
• Community Relations
• Public Affairs
• Government Affairs
• Issues Management
• Financial Relations
• Industry Relations
• Development/Fundraising
• Muliticultural Affairs

    The two largest sources of jobs in Canada today are in the manufacturing and service-producing industries.  Among these industries there are new occupations that require new skills, mainly in the area of multimedia, tele-learning, and biotechnology to name a few.

    Overall, assessing the industry trends is the first step in figuring out the potential for growth or decline in occupations or changes in skill requirements.  Assessing labour trends in Canada provides the information needed to make an informed decision about pursuing a professional career as a PR practitioner.

Websites I found helpful:

CPRS.(2006). The Canadian public relations society, inc. www.cprs.ca/welcome/e-welcome.htm

Ontario Government. (2006). Labour market information. www.gov.on.ca/GOPSP/en/graphics/034760.pdf

Ontario Job Futures. (2005). Overview of ontario’s employment patterns. www1.on.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/ojf.jsp?lang=e§ion=Overview&noc=0000

PRSA. (2006). Careers in public relations: An Overview. http://www.prsa.org/_Resources/profession/careeroverview.asp?ident=prof2

Krista B

Leah Wilson The Decline in Canadian Nationalism 

Canadian nationalism is a concept that has been under much scrutiny in recent years because of its noticeable decline in today’s media market.

The past decade has seen a widespread assault on the importance and legitimacy of a national identity; consequently, the concern with the decline in Canadian nationalism is more pertinent than ever. We reside in an era where the combination of technological change and privatization policies are making massive communication conglomerates with an unrivalled capacity to shape our environment and cultural market. Technological advancements have been particularly important in restructuring the corporate playing field. New innovations allow voice, sound, text, data, and images to be stored and transmitted using universal basic technologies. These developments open up a range of possibilities for new kinds of global activity and interplay between corporations.

It is apparent that new technologies create new opportunities for corporations, but the main concern is that social issues are being lost in the expansion.  The privatization of Canadian businesses has allowed entrepreneurs increased liberty to maneuver and manipulate the market. One of
Canada’s premier multi media companies, CanWest Global Corporation’s plays an integral role in the decline of nationalism in today’s media content.  For example CanWest Global (CWG) is the largest publisher of Canadian daily papers. They own and operate free-to-air and subscription TV networks, out of home advertising, websites and radio stations all with in
Vancouver. It is obvious that in the case of CWG the objective is synergistic expansion; as a result, local national content may be swept under the rug. Is there a problem with one corporation dominating the voice of the entire West Coast? (http://www.canwestglobal.ca). The fact is that the social public concerns are no longer valued, if they are not profitable.

A PR practitioner must combine their expertise in, audience analysis, communications skills, plus technological knowledge in hopes to preserve or rebuild national roots in today’s media content. The management strategy is to balance the corporate global vision with the publics best interest.

For more Info:

CanWest Global Communications Corp:      http://www.canwestglobal.com/mediarelations/newsreleases.html 

Gutstien, Donald.  (2006). Senator’s let big media off hook: Committee shrugs at      CanWest, Targets CBC. The Tyee, A1.  

Seguin, Terry.  (2006).  Newspaper Group says don’t mediate Media Ownership.     CBC News, pp.D2

Hey Class and especially Dustin about your comment,

I came across this article by googling information to see if it was possible to watch TV on a cell phone. And I think its been DONE a while ago. One of the article on this MSNBC website is dated in 2004. So by 2006 , they actually have the capability to let you watch cable as you go as well. Which is pretty damn neat !!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6305929/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11975333/

SEAN.

After choosing “Offshore Labour” for my topic, I wasn’t really sure where to start but I finally got the ball rolling. Offshore labour is when a company relocates or expands a part or all of their business to another country for a lower cost.

Searching various websites I found a lot of information. When a company decides to take a big step like this, there are some areas that become a main concern, such as cultural differences. This is sometimes believed to be the main reason an offshore project fails. We need to realize that there are many things that are different all around the world and that we should choose our words and actions wisely.

Other concerns that need to be addressed are language barriers. Sometimes knowing the language is not enough because many accents are different. For example, I could learn the Filipino language but if I were to go to the Philippines they would have a hard time understanding me because the words sound different coming from someone who was born in Canada. Words and accents are very specific. Therefore it is always an asset to hire employees with the best language skills. Times zones can also affect the offshore business because some countries can be nine or more hours apart. There are ways to avoid such issues like setting up hotlines or planning meetings far enough in advance.

It is a good idea that a company is easily accessible and has someone the customer can get a hold of when needed. If I had a small problem with my computer, it would cost more to send it off shore to be fixed then to have it repaired locally. Having to meet with someone face to face is a bonus, that way you can ask as many questions needed.

Cost cutting is the main drive to why businesses send jobs offshore. If someone has the same expertise and is willing to do it for a lower cost, then why not? But in 2003, according to The Economic Times, it was reported that salaries have increased for a second year.

There is a lot to take into consideration if you choose to take your company offshore. Issues like mass job losses and the costs of setting up your new business can be very expensive. There is a need to adapt to big changes and try not to overwhelm your employees by sending everything all at once.

In my research, I found a quote that relates to the bumpy roads ahead for outsourcing your company. It is as follows:
“To make offshore outsourcing work for you, define your strategy before moving forward, and recognize that outsourcing is about more than just costs. Achieving the right balance between local sourcing and outsourcing for your organization enables you to focus on the critical issues and leave the repetitive or commodity services to the outsourcing provider. Be sure to secure solid service-level agreements, meet as many key people in person as possible, and institute a process of regular communication between you and the provider. Above all, keep in mind that your customers want to have a seamless, helpful experience—and no matter how much you’re saving, if customers are unhappy, they’ll go away.”

Helpful sites:
http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=98153&seqNum=8&rl=1           
 Offshore Outsourcing:  Making It Work
Gives a list of how this can affect public relations.  This was an amazing site for me.

http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=169548&rl=1           
Offshore Outsourcing:  Will You Job Disappear in 2004?
This article was a really great reference because it gives you some points of latest trends.

Connie Sombrea 

Blogging About Blogs

Like a play within a play, writing a blog post about blogging is a rather amusing action. I first heard about blogging about 4 years ago when I was attending UBC. A friend of mine, a rather savvy tech nerd who lived in Seattle for a time, had a livejournal and was constantly updating. For those not in the know, Livejournal is the Disneyland of blogging as it is easy to use and is not as “serious” as “true blogging” (I say this in quotations as the “genuine bloggers” are somewhat bitter against Livejournal and the like and are more receptive to blogs that require their own coding instead of the basic email format).

Soon after discovering Livejournal, I started my own account mostly out of a desire to keep updated with my friends back in Ontario. It didn’t take long for my account to degrade into online quizes and silliness however, which is also part of the beauty of Livejournal.

Now, to discuss the more professional aspects of blogging…

Blogging came about in the mid 1990’s. At this time it was really only used by computer programmers and those with strong coding skills. Within the next 10 years the blogging revolution would essentially take over the world from housewives to kids to corporate executives to celebrities. Though many blogs are updated with more personal information by the poster, the more professional blog is starting to make an impact on the business world.

Many companies are using the blogosphere to keep their customers/clients updated on the going-ons of their company and upcoming events. Since blogs allow for two way information to be shared between the poster and the reader, they can positively affect the relationship that a corporation has with its public. The blog is a dream come true for PR practioners as it gives the representative ample opportunity to delve into the collective mind of the public and represent their clients in flattering (or truthful) manner.

The prevalence of the blog is very much reflected upon the area in which a corporation is found. For example, a PR firm in Vancouver would be more likely to have a blog than a company here in London, but this is due to the widespread knowledge of it. As illustrated in our own class, only about 7-8% of our class had a blog or even read blogs but in my classes at the University of British Columbia nearly 80% of my friends and classmates kept an updated blog.

I seriously hope that the blogging revolution keeps on track and helps businesses keep in touch with their publics, but since it is a new technology it is very hard to estimate its long term affects.

Here are some links if you are interested in reading more:

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/001113fa_fact2

This is a really interesting article from the New Yorker. Though not very representative of the professional aspects of blogging, it does speak of its personal attributes and some of its history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

No post is complete without a Wikipedia definition.

Posted by Melissa Parker

         The field of Public Relations has grown and changed over time. The responsibilities of the Public Relations practitioner have increased, and many businesses and organizations now have Public Relations departments. What I found most interesting was how Public Relations is no longer solely used for informing the mass media.

Some of the key points include:

         Media Measurement also believes having a meaningful evaluation gives more credibility to the Public Relations sector, therefore achieving better results. (Measuring ROI. http://www.mediameasurement.com)