Researching the occupational culture of public relations in Mexico

Daymon, C.; Hodges, Caroline E.M.

doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2009.06.006

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In third and subsequent phases, participants were invited to discuss and reflect on the effects in their workplace of having the research discussion about ethics and attempting to apply new ideas about ethics to their PR practice, as well as to give further feedback on the relevance to their context of the themes identified in the first two cycles. Overall, the project involved a ‘prolonged period’ of interactive engagement with ‘the practices and discourses of public relations, thus enhancing understanding about public relations practitioners as an occupational group’ (Daymon and Hodges, 2009: 430). Fieldnotes were taken at every workplace visit, to try to capture a sense of the emotional and non-verbal context behind the transcriptions and to record the researcher’s own changing perceptions throughout the course of the research.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The paradoxes of organizational power and public relations ethics: Insights from a feminist discourse analysis

Tilley

2015

Public Relations Inquiry

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A qualitative thematic analysis of data from a 13-organization research study focusing on public relations ethics identified five main themes: first, that ethical dilemmas were frequent, widespread, and often handled in ways that practitioners themselves were uncomfortable with; second, labels and stereotypes about public relations practitioners as unscrupulous exacerbated the problem; third, hierarchies and silos of power in relationships within organizations, between organizations, and with clients contributed to the problem; fourth, there were barriers to, and inadequate channels or opportunities for, candid and forthright discussion about these hierarchies and silos, this lack typically manifesting as senior staff self-censoring or parroting optimistic organizational orthodoxy about ethics and junior staff feeling unsafe to criticize organizational processes; and fifth, practitioners used multiple coping strategies to deal with their sense of powerlessness including blaming others (particularly journalists), fatalism, reductive framing, and intentional blocking of awareness and evaluation of ethical issues. While it is possible these themes could be interpreted as evidence of public relations practitioners’ individual moral inadequacy, a broader analytical lens, taking into account the organizational and global power structures the practitioners described, suggests otherwise. Taking its cue from the power-attuned approach of feminist poststructuralists, this article argues that the data should be read as symptomatic, not causal, and that it is to the overarching operating power structures of global capitalism that public relations ethicists could most productively turn their attention if they want to identify loci for change.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The paradoxes of organizational power and public relations ethics: Insights from a feminist discourse analysis

Tilley

2015

Public Relations Inquiry

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“…Some researchers have responded, notably Edwards (2009), who examined power relations in a corporate affairs department in a passenger-transport company, and Daymon and Hodges (2009), who conducted cross-cultural ethnographic research in three PR departments in Mexico City.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In order to understand the relationship and work practices in PR better, L’Etang (2005) identified a need for more ethnographic research (p. 27). Some researchers have responded, notably Edwards (2009), who examined power relations in a corporate affairs department in a passenger-transport company, and Daymon and Hodges (2009), who conducted cross-cultural ethnographic research in three PR departments in Mexico City.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lifting the veil on the PRP–client relationship

Sissons

2015

Public Relations Inquiry

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The research used videotaped ethnographic observation and analysis of verbal and nonverbal actions to examine how a public relations practitioner (PRP) handled a client during a time of financial crisis in the client's organization. Three interactions in which the PRP discussed media messaging with his client were analysed to discover what techniques the PRP employed and how much influence he had in constructing and disseminating the organization's media strategy. The research provides rare empirical evidence of the day-to-day practices of PRPs in consultancy-client relationships, which is an area under-examined by researchers. The analysis found the relationship was characterized by competing interests and information asymmetry, which often hampered collaboration and reduced PRP influence.The article analysed three videoed interactions involving one PRP, as he handled his client during a time of financial crisis in the client's organization. The interactions, which were filmed as they happened during fieldwork at a public relations (PR) consultancy, show the PRP discussing media messaging with members of the client organization over the phone and face-to-face. It is believed to be the first time that data of this kind have been available to researchers. Through analysis of the verbal and non-verbal actions of the participants, the article considers the power-dynamics of this consultancy-client relationship and asks who controls the company's media strategy at this time, is it the PRP or the client? The article concludes that in practice it appears that PRPs have limited capacity to influence their clients, who often have strong ideas about what the key messages should be, as well as who in the media should receive them.

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“…In Brazil, informal practices, functioning as social safety nets and problem-solving mechanisms and granting access to public goods, are known under the term jeitinho ('little way') and are 'widely recognized and practiced through Brazilian contemporary society' (Ferreira et al 2012, p. 332). Similarly well-known are the Mexican palanca (Daymon & Hodges 2009), and numerous other informal practices of different Latin American countries (Lomnitz 1971;Portes 2003).…”

Section: Theoretical Framework: Extended 'Family' Of Informal Practicesmentioning

confidence: 98%