Intercultural public relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Intercultural public relations - Essay Example This has forced the field of public relation to device ways on how to deal with this problem and several theories or ways have been formed as guidelines on dealing with the issue of intercultural public relations1. This paper will try to look into detail how the intercultural public relation problem has been addressed by different theories and how these theories differ and their similarities, it will look at the importance of studying intercultural public relations. One of the theories of intercultural public relations is the cross-cultural adaptation that was brought forward by Robert Park, in this model he identified four steps in this theory that people have to undergo. The first step is the contact step where the individual is exposed to another culture; this is followed by competition where the two different cultures compete against each other. Thirdly, this is where the less dominant culture learns to accommodate the cultural aspects of the dominant one and finally he is assimi lated into the group and he learns to assimilate other members. One of the theories under this is epistemology where an individual acquires communicational skills from the dominant culture and his own way of thinking is transformed in to that of the host2. In another dimension, the public influence model that is mainly practised in countries that are hierarchical in nature such as India and in Africa, however in other countries such as the United States of America it is practised in minimal levels. In this case, public relation is not with respect to the larger community or a group, rather it is with people of a higher social class or those with influence. This is where people with more personal influence are likely to achieve their goals or higher levels of success. Dialogic method is another way in which intercultural public relations can be viewed; this is where the organisation and the public that it is addressing are viewed as equal partners. In this model, all people are broug ht on board in the decisions of the organisation. As the name suggests, it involves dialogue between an organisation and the public without bias or prejudice and it appreciates the opinions and personal worth of every stakeholder of the organisation. This method involves admitting when one party is wrong, empathising and allowing the decisions made collectively to change the way things are done, it aims at building strong and long lasting relationships in the process of doing business. In working with this model a lot of interpersonal and intercultural communication skills are required and a genuine concern for people and it is not dictated by pre mediated rules and regulations. Due to the diversity of individual and stakeholder in different sectors, understanding of their varied and different cultural backgrounds helps in knowing how to deal with them. Genre approach to intercultural public relations in this case helps public relation researcher or theorist to understand the variou s cultural backgrounds and communication styles and not merely trying to feed information that an organisation wants the public to know3. An intercultural public relation expert should engage in six activities that include identifying the special characteristics of the situation or culture, identifying the intended effects on the audience, clarifying the motivational intention of the organisatio