Textos administrativos

Even the writers who bluntly assert that public relations is as old as civilization and implicit in all human interactions will admit there's a tremendous difference between the concept of public relations and the profession of public relations or, phrased another way, there's a big difference between practicing common sense "public relations" and developing a professional public relations practice. And, no one disputes that public relations has changed dramatically since it emerged as a distinct discipline and viable career path in the second half of the 19th century. It's grown tremendously in size, scope, and significance.

This growth has been particularly dramatic in the last few decades, and it's been accompanied by a growing recognition of public relations' expanding role and influence in organizational life of all sorts. In many corporations, government agencies, and non-profit organizations the public relations function has been elevated from its traditional role as a support service and made it an integral part of upper management decision-making.

James Dowling, then-president of Burson-Marsteller, one of the largest world-wide PR firms, described the changes that have occurred in public relations in the following way during an interview by a The New York Times reporter in the mid-1980s.

In the 1950s organizations asked their public relations consulting firms, "How should we say this?"

In the socially turbulent 1960s and 1970s, faced with various confrontations, these same organizations asked their public relations people, "What should we say?"

Today they ask, "What should we do?"

Public relations has had a three-stage evolution.
The field's earliest manifestations have been called the publicity phase of public relations. During this stage of development practitioners were primarily concerned with creating awareness and building recognition for the individual or organization employing public relations. It was/is closely tied to