Risks, crisis and issues; Third sector

This week's reading covers to area of crisis and issues management, as well as public relations in the third sector.

I personally find the chapter in crisis management very interesting, because this is when the involvement of PR is very clear. In order for PR practitioners to respond well to a crisis, they need to be alert and prepared to carry out plans swiftly, because that is the most important aspect when it comes to crisis management; to respond as soon as possible. The case study on panadol for example, is a very appropriate PR management. Panadol caters to a very wide consumer base everywhere, so i feel that it is certainly not easy to reach everyone, and handle the media at the same time. I feel that the PR plan involved in this is very good, as the company was very open and transparent with its actions and allows the public to know what is going on, instead of trying to hide the facts.

Another interesting point from the readings is 'astroturfing' and 'greenwashing' in the chapter about the third sector. I personally have not come across these two terms before, so it is very interesting to know what it is about. 'Astroturfing' is the service of artificial grass roots public support offered by public relations companies, while 'greenwashing' is the use of public relations to manipulate public views that corporations are acting in environmentally responsible ways. I feel that this is a very unethical and inappropriate method of public relations, because it does benefit the public in any way. Public relations is meant to be a platform between the public and an organization, and this does not support that in any way. It also gives a bad impression about public relations, that it manipulates and deceives the public.

In conclusion, this week's readings is interesting and insightful, it will definetely become useful knowledge in my work of PR in the future.