Sleeping with the Enemy

This is the first speech to Rajya Sabha by newly nominated member, Mr. H.K. Dua, Editor in Chief of The Tribune Group of newspapers. It's a must read. Click here.

PR-e-Sense on Education Loans

With hundreds of students aspiring to study abroad, the current ezine from PR Point throws new light on Education Loans.

India Vision Group and ezine PR-e-Sense have set up a Task force with many eminent people as Advisors to create awareness about the Education Loan Scheme among the poor and deserving students.

Download the ezine here.

The Revised Model Scheme of Indian Banks' Association

PR, a Dying Art?

Every new book on social media considers PR as "dying art", the new book, "Putting the Public Back in Public Relations" by so-called "thought leader" on the web world, Brian Solis, is no better. The socialisation on the web has become the buzz world and panacea for every product, service, or organisation in the world to "succeed".
Unfortunately, the book having been written by an internet buff, and not a public relations practitioner, who has just peeped through the 19" window of the computer screen to sermonise on the profession, considering the Web2.0 as the ultimate solution to corporate crisis communication, has not done any justice to what the author feels as the "dying practice".
Public relations is neither media relations nor the online relations, and the 'public' here is not a teenaged geek passing comments on each and every issue, but a group of serious consumers who, not all of them, sit in front of their computers to understand the brand. They are out there in the market place where they feel, taste, breathe, see and touch the products and services and create the brands for an organisation.
Public Relations is all about people and nothing else. Web is a mere tool, and Twitter, Facebook, Orkut are the new set of screwdrivers added to its kitty which the practitioners are deploying to their best use depending upon the need, and yes, the nev-savvy 'public' is proactively engaged in this exercise.

The Difficulty of Being Good

As India vies to occupy the centre-stage amongst the leading economies of the world, the fundamental power of moral values for which the country is known across the world, is somewhat on the wane. The decaying moral fabric especially across the three pillars of democracy, administration, executive and judiciary is making the life of a common man miserable. When the British Library in Chandigarh announced that Mr Gurcharan Das, the author himself would be coming to the city to launch his latest book published by Penguin India, I was there to check out his take on the moral decay that is eating into the vitals of our country.
This treatise has come at the right time, when all of us are grappling with the moral issues whether at the government level or the corporate levels with 'Satyam' episode just behind us.
Gurcharan Das says " Mahabharata is about the way we deceive ourselves, how we are false to olthers, how we oppress fellow human beings, and how deeply unjust we are in our day-to-day lives."
"The Mahabharata is about our incomplete lives," writes Gurcharan Das in the Prelude to the book, "about good people acting badly, about how difficult it is to be good in this world."
Addressing the who's-who of the city which thronged the CII Convention Centre's conference hall, Gurcharan Das dressed in simple cotton kurta pyjama and Nehru jacket, lamented the fact that though "prosperity had begun to spread across India, but goodness had not," and called upon to upgrade the level of governance which should be accountable and transparent so that the common man does not suffer.
Can this happen in India? someone asked. The book perhaps is a must for the administrators and all people in power to take lessons from 'Mahabharata' and not simply take it as an epic for entertainment or profane chit-chat over cocktails.
"The Difficulty of Being Good" also provides interesting insight on variegated concepts of envy, duty, status anxiety, war, reenge, eil, remorse, non-violence, altruism, compassion, etc. and how these impact our lives. And it also underlines the fact that 'dharma' or ethical living is possible, and we can definitely learn lessons from 'Mahabharata'.
Gurcharan Das quotes directly from Mahabharata, interprets the situation and illustrates effectively with modern day incidents and case studies. Just go for it.
'The Difficulty of Being Good' by Gurcharan Das.
Published by Penguin India
Pages: 488
Price: Rs.699

Public Relations: Truth and Beyond

Dichotomy of public relations profession is that it is still dogged by over 500 definitions. The communicators have still not been able to find one single definition for a profession which works for the organisations and seeks, at the very outset, their value proposition.
What is the value proposition for public relations? And who actually are the public relations practitioners? Spin doctors? Manipulators?
In the current information age where transparency, social responsibility, and integrity are again being looked into with seriousness, public relations practice is one such profession that can help organisations remain socially responsible, and responsive to its stakeholders.
When I informally discussed the topic of ethics and spirituality in public relations that Global Forum for Public Relations invited me to speak on at Mt Abu on 13th September, during the national roundtable on the Golden Triangle model evolved by Dr. C.V. Narasimha Reddi, the response was skeptical and lukewarm. Ethics and PR do not go together if you have to survive and keep your job intact, was one strong opinion.
Last year, at an international public relations forum, one of the practitioner openly admitted "we lie for our clients".
Yet, I have always differed on this issue having been a firm believer in the ethical practice of public relations.
"Public be damned" was the credo in late 19th century when propaganda, press agentry thrived and resorted to hyperbole. Early 20th century saw the emphasis on responsible Public Relations with recognition of the fact that every stakeholder (or 'public') is important, initiating "public be informed" period in the evolution of this profession.
All along, whatever name that may have been attributed to the practice of public relations, it remains for me "the art and science of managing communication"
If we trace the etymology of the term "communication" to its Latin origin, "communis", it meant establishing oneness.
Public Relations builds, and strengthens "relations" with various "publics" through effective communication.
If that be so, can anyone think of build a strong, meaningful, positive relationship based on untruth or dishonesty? Can you think of a relationship with your customers or vendors which is founded on dishonest or false communication? The entire practice of public relations, therefore, revolves around truth. Truth is not, and has never been, a substitute for public relations.
And as a strategic management function, public relations helps organisations, in turn, adopt ethical means of doing business and truthfully manage its operations. Truth, honesty, integrity, credibility are some of the key attributes of successful public relations practice...and these are the key elements of spirituality or ethical human behaviour.
Considering public relations anything but ethical is a misnomer. However, the key question comes here, that whether we are able to incorporate the ethical values into PR practice today? Largely no. Yet to truly professionalise the practise of public relations it is necessary that we integrate ethical and spiritual values in our conduct.
For any profession to be credible it requires two major core strengths, i.e. competence and character. Competence comes from professional knowledge and experience, and its constant upgradation and skill enhancements. Character is what our own personal values are. Is our character impeccable? Are we honest in our dealing with our clients? or with our organisation's stakeholders? Are we truly the conscience keepers for the organisations that we represent?
The Golden Triangle concept comes at the most appropriate time. And with the support of Global Forum for Public Relations, we do hope that PR fraternity shall rediscover the most significant spiritual aspect of their lives. Yes, we are talking about fortifying the ethical behaviour that comes through spiritual practice, of understanding one's purpose in life, and also the direct impact that our life's work and decision has on the lives of the people around us.


Copyright September 2009 C J Singh . CorePR . Chandigarh . India

The Golden Triangle: A New PR Model

With rising scams, white collar crimes, and the PR practice coming under cloud for its role in disseminating false or inaccurate information amongst the stakeholders, the question of ethics, though discussed extensively at various fora, somehow has remained at the backburner amongst PR practitioners (though not all).
The Global Forum for Public Relations organised the National Roundtable at Mt Abu on 13th September and various speakers analysed the situation and Editor of PR Voice, Dr. C.V. Narasimha Reddi, who evolved the PR model for excellence in its practice, the Golden Triangle, was unveiled.
Rajyogi BK Karuna ji opened the discussions with the need to create a great India which can be achieved only through infusing spiritualism into PR practice.
Dr. Reddi lamented the fact that in our country PR practice has yet to acquire a status of a profession because of the absence of proper syllabus, text books, accreditation, and regulating unethical practices.
Following ethics and spiritualism by PR practitioner alone can bring about the desired change, he said.
The new model, Golden Triangle, promotes integration of Professionalism, Ethics and Spiritualism into the PR practice,in order to take it to the next level of excellence.
This is definitely a big challenge for each one of us to meet, yet imbibing spiritualism in PR practice is not a difficult task since it requires a PR person to be considerate, affectionate, and genuinely concerned about the welfare of other beings, said BK Sarala Anand, Manager HRD and PR from BHEL, Hyderabad.
Prof. K.C.Mouli, faculty at MLCN University of Journalism, Bhopal highlighted the instances in the government where PR practitioners have to succumb to the pressure from their superiors, but only a professional can put the things in right perspective in case he is courageous enough and understands his ethics.
BK Binny gave new perspective to the discussions saying that PR has a synonym in 'pyar', the spiritual factor that makes the difference.
Prof Ananya Mehta from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune, commented that though ethical practice in reality may be at stake, the values are being reinforced amongst the students right in the classrooms at Symbiosis.
Rajyogi BK Sheilu said that spirituality gives strength to face ethical dilemmas but one can resolve them by having a more holistic and long-term view of the outcome than the short-term.
I too had the opportunity to share my views on this subject which is very dear to my heart, which I shall be sharing with you later in a separate post. Overall, the interaction did brought an entirely different perspective and was an eye-opener, said one of the participant from Pune.
CJ