Achieving the Strategic Potential
                        of Public Affairs

Harsanyi, Fruzsina M.; Allen, Geoff

doi:10.4135/9781473947391.n5

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Developing a robust and future oriented competence model for public affairs is one of the next steps to be undertaken, as has for example been done in the field of public relations (Sha, 2011; Todd, 2014). This will help to substantiate the distinction between professional function levels for public affairs as proposed by Harsanyi & Allen (2017). Within national contexts, competence measurement and competence modeling are undertaken outside the U.S. and U.K. for example in Germany (Althaus, 2015) and the Netherlands (De Lange, 2000; Figee, Gosselt, Linders, & De Jong, 2017), where also a more structural collaborative arrangement exists between the national association of public affairs and a university (Timmermans, 2018).…”

Section: Effects On Public Affairs Performancementioning

confidence: 74%

Bringing science to practice: Designing an integrated academic education program for public affairs

Timmermans

2020

J Public Affairs

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The ongoing spread of public affairs as an organizational function calls for a more integrated and systematic approach to teaching program development in this field. In many countries we see a process of "publicization," with increasing visibility of lobbying behavior and emphasis on accountability. Also in many countries, the reality of public affairs has become more complex as new players and issues enter the public and political arenas. There is more attention within and outside the community of practitioners to the way in which public affairs can move on in professionalization and solidify itself in the political and social environment. The way forward is to further build a recognizable academic domain that can help shape and consolidate the knowledge identity of public affairs and make public affairs activities more clearly evidence based. This contribution presents what may be called an "ideal" academic education program on public affairs, to be embedded and taught at the graduate level. For this to be grounded well, it is necessary to re-address the concept of public affairs and consider the main elements of the body of knowledge and skills that can inform further education development. On this basis, three learning lines are distinguished for a modular approach to teach an integrated graduate program on public affairs in which the boundary spanning roles of a next generation of public affairs professionals can be performed effectively and responsibly. 1 | INTRODUCTION This contribution presents what may be called an "ideal" program of public affairs at the graduate level. The adjective "ideal" is meant to stimulate developments in this direction. The line of argument towards this public affairs program begins with the concept of public affairs and the main components of the body of knowledge and skills. The concept and content of public affairs are first re-addressed to create a vantage point for developing a truly integrated higher education program. This is necessary because in many countries, interest representation and lobbying are exposed to "publicization," that is, ever increasing public visibility and accountability. The challenging task of maintaining a strong and legitimate position in society has become a central element of public affairs, next to lobbying in the policy process. This is what is giving the concept of public affairs its fuller meaning today. Moving to education, three learning lines can be distinguished, based on the main components of the body of knowledge. And next, within these three learning lines, modules (or courses, pick the term) flesh out the body of knowledge and skills.

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Section: Effects On Public Affairs Performancementioning

confidence: 74%

Bringing science to practice: Designing an integrated academic education program for public affairs

Timmermans

2020

J Public Affairs

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“…Amidst the inevitable ebb and flow of financial resources and competitive forces (ACCPA, 2019;Griffin & Mahon, 1997;Oikonomou et al, 2014;Orlitzky et al, 2017), public affairs executives that are aware of, understand, and can translate the true impact of everyday decisions within the organization (to CEOs and line managers) while orchestrating changes and facilitating common messages across multiple audiences (Harsanyi & Allen, 2017) are effective (ACCPA, 2019;Allen, 2020Allen, , 2022Griffin, 1997;Mahon, 1989).…”

Section: Relational Advantagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The importance of trust-building in effective corporate public affairs is well established from studies around the world encompassing Australia, Canada, Europe, the UK, and United States (Allen, 2020;Griffin, 2005;Harris, 2016;Bitonti & Harris, 2017;Mahon, 1989;Mahon & McGowan, 1996. Decades of public affairs research across numerous political systems extoll the importance of building trust and having trustworthy relationships with regulators, legislators, senior management across lines of business, and public affairs teams over time and across geographies (Allen, 2020;Centre for Corporate Public Affairs, 1994;Fleisher, 1993;Griffin, 1997;Harsanyi & Allen, 2017;Post et al, 1982). These studies collectively concur that building trust is not spin nor a nice-to-have "gimmick".…”

Section: Family Firms' Trust-based Advantages: Implications For Exter...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, the long-standing trust-advantage of certain family businesses (Edelman, 2017(Edelman, , 2019a(Edelman, , 2019b suggests that firms owned or operated by a family might be uniquely positioned as sustaining trustworthiness, which facilitates earning and appropriately leveraging public trust that underlies effective external affairs (Allen, 2020(Allen, , 2022Fleisher, 2012;Griffin & Lenn, 1998;Harsanyi & Allen, 2017;Mahon, 1989;Mahon & McGowan, 1996).…”

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External affairs and trusted family businesses: A research agenda

Griffin

Youm

2023

Journal of Public Affairs

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In the past two decades, the Journal of Public Affairs has solidified corporate public affairs as a legitimate leadership skillset vital to driving future business growth. Yet, more work at a persistently overlooked gap in the Journal, the intersection of public affairs and family businesses, might shed new light on thriving, trusted, and sustainable business practices. This paper examines the unique contributions of family businesses as trusted influencers. As one of the most prominent forms of business, worldwide, family businesses persistently enjoy unusually high levels of public trust while collectively employing millions of wage earners yet their contributions to corporate external affairs research ostensibly have been largely overlooked. These “silent” community and social influencers offer a potentially new perspective on effective public outreach given their persistent and unique trust advantage. Family business' trust‐based capabilities can potentially bring new insights to understanding effective stakeholder engagement, credible communications, and issues management—the sweet spot of corporate public affairs functions. Future research opportunities based on relational‐ and locational‐ advantages of trusted family businesses are identified.

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Achieving the Strategic Potential of Public Affairs

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Bringing science to practice: Designing an integrated academic education program for public affairs

Bringing science to practice: Designing an integrated academic education program for public affairs

External affairs and trusted family businesses: A research agenda

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