Blog Post #1: Small is Different

Works Cited

"Small is different: Researchers look at Public relations practices for micro-organizations." Communication World 19.2 (2002): 6. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 20 Sept. 2010.

Summary

With my Professional Writing degree, I hope to do some work in the nonprofit sector, specifically within the field of public relations. It is for this reason that I’m really excited about working with my group on the professional-writing/public relations project.

While I have a good feeling about public relations (PR), and would really like to make a career out of it, I don’t really know much about the science behind it—how do public relations specialists know the best ways to reach out to the community, promote events, and reach a large audience? Are all organizations created equally, or do different PR philosophies apply to different outlets?

I found a great article called, “Small is Different: Researchers Look at Public Relations Practices for Micro-Organizations,” which makes a direct argument concerning the problems small businesses face in the PR world. The majority of PR studies and analyses are done with large businesses in mind. This means that assumptions are made concerning hierarchy, business departments, etc. The majority of businesses are too small to be concerned with these types of issues, and clearly this is a problem.

According to the article, businesses that employ 500 people or fewer are considered “small businesses.” Clearly, this means the U.S. has a lot of small businesses. Studies were performed to rectify the situation of these entities being formerly excluded from research, and across four specific types of small businesses—for-profits, nonprofits, government agencies, and trade associations—interesting research was discovered. Not surprisingly, unlike huge corporations, small business directors are concerned with getting more business through public relations without having to take on excessive staff. Small business owners and operators are also worried about the community, and feel civic obligations to their communities in ways larger businesses do not. This is especially true for government and nonprofit agencies. One government agency worker that was quoted in the article said, “I feel like a public servant. I feel that I must try to do the best job for the public.” This makes it clear that people working this kind of angle want to use public relations for the greater good, and not necessarily for their own gain.

Since I want to work in the nonprofit sector, this was a great article for me to read. I want to be able to implement public relations strategies to heighten awareness of community resources, important events, and social issues. This can be done, as the article states, but small and/or nonprofit entities are going to have to use a slightly modified version of public relations—not better or worse than traditional public relations, just decidedly smaller.

This text is undeniably effective. Through the author’s use of direct language, s/he makes it clear that the exclusion of small businesses from the PR world is not only unfair, but unintelligent. The majority of businesses are classified as small ones, so not only should they be included, but they should be thought of as extremely important in our society. All people would benefit if nonprofit businesses and government agencies could do their work to the best of their abilities by spreading their words to the public through the use of PR strategies. The author does a great job of convincing the reader that this is something that should not be put on the back burner any longer.