I enrolled in the introduction to public relations course at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in (month and year) as part of my learning phase. The course covers a variety of subject matter including the study of public, media and press relations, philosophy and public relations in business, government, education and other institutions. For our assignment in this class, our instructor has asked us to reflect on what we have learnt as an individual about the RACE process.
The race process is effective to follow when developing strategic plans in public relations. The race process means Research, Action planning, Communication and Evaluation. Am taking this course because it comes in handy to a person career-wise. Public relations course offers one the ability to converse with all kinds of people professionally. This assists one in the power of persuasion and can address people in any institution or situation in a diplomatic way.
When I first enrolled in this class, I wasn’t aware of how exciting it would get as we progressed. I have always liked to study public relations for as long as I can remember. Am an avid learner and interested in issues concerning people’s relations in the public. As we started getting on the course, my feelings and excitement evolved to that of passion for the subject. I would find myself practising every day what I had learned in class with my friends and siblings at home.
I always felt comfortable and at ease when learning this course and it was my favourite time of the day going to this class. The instructor was a lot friendlier, explained everything well with ease and was lively. These are the factors that made me comfortable in this class and I was able to grasp more and learn more content.
In starting this assignment, I felt prepared and ready to begin as I felt I had made the right choice in taking this course. The course materials were interesting and I had learned a lot. Before I started this module, I was considering the best course that I would take and would be beneficial to me. I chose public relations course and I testified it was the best decision I ever made. Every expectation I had when I researched the course earlier on my own was met during the learning phase.
I have been enjoying learning about the race process in public relations and its mandates. The learning process here was quite smooth and challenging for me which enabled me to learn better. The transition in understanding the race process and knowing how to apply them in public relations strategic planning was efficient. I liked how the learning experience helped me to interact with other students and practice my public relations skills.
It helps me learn better when I can practice what I have grasped in class with my fellow students. However, there are some setbacks I experienced when I trained for public relations course. We have been learning online during this period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reason for this was the need for social distancing thus we had to avoid physical classes(Nyenhuis et al.2020). The pandemic has brought challenges worldwide because it is transmittable to other people with contact thus the need for social distancing.
In matter to this learning online, getting reading materials was hard which would have been effective to me because I prefer reading from books physically and not online. The other challenge was not being able to talk or discuss anything with the instructor face to face and ask quick questions. This posed a problem because enquiring with the instructor face to face is better. I was able to fully understand everything and clarity is guaranteed anytime by the instructor.
In the public relations course, I have learned various important points. The race process for instance which stands for research, action planning, communication and evaluation has taught me a lot. The Race process is very effective in creating beneficial mutual relationships with any masses or the public. It efficiently assists to develop a tactical public relations plan. The race process consists of phases which are research, action and planning, communication and relationship building and finally evaluation.
In the race process, research is an important step. It helps one to know any demographics, target audiences and the communication used in the instances being researched. Research is the first step and determines the output of the other factors. Research plays a significant role in the public relations campaign. In research, some analysis needs to be done to ensure the public relations practitioner correctly addresses the situation with the developed plan(Han et al.2020). Additionally, a SWOT analysis can be done in the research stage. It helps to know the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the strategic plan put in place for an organization.
This ensures the practitioner knows how to handle any organization dealings as a public relations officer. In case of any situation whether an opportunity or threat, the practitioner will be able to know what angle to use to help the company. When this SWOT analysis is completely considered, the practitioner will be able to maximize the strengths of the company. He or she will minimize the weak areas of the organization, embracing and capitalizing on the opportunities and finally preventing and guarding on any threats.
Action and planning come after research which can’t be done without the research. The plan is developed from the research to determine the best information to communicate to the people and the best ways to reach the desired audiences. The communication should be worth the news to capture the attention of the audience.
The other step in the race process is communication which is getting the information and ideas developed during the action plan. This information and ideas are procured to the appropriate and effective media outlets for them to reach people widely. The final step is an evaluation which helps to analyze the influence and effectiveness of the public relations campaign results. It helps determine the overall output and to know if the campaign was successful.
The key to using public relations and the race process successfully is to be able to know how to manage people’s expectations. This ensures healthy relationships with stakeholders and avoids bringing disappointments to them. Public relations are more effective when it is planned using the race process, is intended for a specific reason and is controlled(Romer et al.2020). This ensures avoiding any unwanted situations instead of waiting for them to happen and try covering up for them.
I am really satisfied that taking public relations and learning the race process has equipped me with the necessary skills that will help me in many ways. Public relations is practised worldwide in emerging markets and developing countries. The race process helps one to achieve the best public relations plan to use. The skills gained in this course are research skills, critical thinking, interpersonal communication, media and culture literacy and creativeness.
To help improve my learning I will do more research on the origin of public relations, where it started and how it was used previously compared to its evolvement currently. This will help get a good overview of this course and have a good foundation during learning. In addition, I will the effort to talk to my instructor about any uncertainties I have. I will also try to ask questions in class to understand better. In this matter, I have to learn the use of the two ways to practice public relations. One of the two ways is that the public relations officer acts as a barrier(Bocken et al.2020). He or she protects an organization from the public and any institution that’s challenging the company. Unfortunately, this method doesn’t work in the long term and may have adverse effects on the organization’s image.
The second way is for the public relations officer to become a bridge to the organization. This will help build trust with the organization outside people, the associated media and any stakeholders. This fosters good relationships giving a company a good public image which helps it in the long term.
After going through the course of public relations and also learning about the race process, I intend to use the skills obtained from this class. I can now apply public relations speaking to my fellow students for better learning and mastering this art. This initiative will help me soon after I finish my studies and am looking for a job. In the future, I would like to be a public information officer. A public information officer hosts press conferences or other events. He or she makes important announcements and shares news and updates during emergencies.
Being a public information officer is my dream career for a long time and I hope to achieve it after school. Choosing this was the right path for me and I have to ensure I excel. I would put the race process in my public relations interaction with people into my future career and use it to enhance my channels connections. The race process will help me to effectively create a professional communication plan.
References
Bocken, N. M., & Geradts, T. H. (2020). Barriers and drivers to sustainable business model innovation: Organization design and dynamic capabilities. Long Range Planning, 53(4), 101950.
Han, S., Shanafelt, T. D., Sinsky, C. A., Awad, K. M., Dyrbye, L. N., Fiscus, L. C., … & Goh, J. (2019). Estimating the attributable cost of physician burnout in the United States. Annals of internal medicine, 170(11), 784-790.
Nyenhuis, S. M., Greiwe, J., Zeiger, J. S., Nanda, A., & Cooke, A. (2020). Exercise and fitness in the age of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice, 8(7), 2152.
Romer, D., & Jamieson, K. H. (2020). Conspiracy theories as barriers to controlling the spread of COVID-19 in the US. Social science & medicine, 263, 113356.
Swann, P. (2019). Cases in public relations management: The rise of social media and activism. Routledge.
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