Shark culling in Western Australia and subsequent public relations implications

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

TITLE: Shark culling in Western Australia and subsequent public relations implications
WEIGHTING: 20%
LENGTH: 1,500 – 2,000 words (approximately) – due Week 6

Your individual assignment is based on a recent media article, highlighting the critical importance of maintaining a positive reputation in public relations

First, read the article by Michael Usher posted recently on the ninemsn site. (news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2014/02/26/14/00/wa-shark-policy-to-be-challenged-in-court)
From a public relations perspective, the interest lies in the columnists’ comments about the importance of public attitudes towards shark culling in Western Australia.

In addition to reading the article discussed above, it is vital to conduct your own research to support your answers to the questions provided below. Concentrate on credible articles from the websites of respected international news organisations.You will also find an extensive amount of relevant material via the library’s scholarly electronic databases (see http://gecko.curtin.edu.au/V).

Bear in mind that information is often posted on the Internet by people with a vested interest in the issues involved. Please take a critical approach to the sources you use. Remember to approach the assignment from a public relations/communication perspective, using the concepts and theories introduced in class as a framework. You are strongly encouraged to refer to other relevant real life examples to illustrate your answers.

Your assignment should specifically address the following THREE questions. You are recommended to answer each of these questions in turn, with a short overall introduction and conclusion. You MUST include a list of references cited at the end of your paper.

1. What has caused public opinion to turn against the Western Australian Government and how effective do you consider the Government’s efforts at managing the issue have been? Give reasons for your answer. What are the key lessons of this case for Governments in general?
2. Which of Grunig’s four models of public relations (Grunig and Hunt 1984) would be most appropriate to building public trust in the West Australian Government and its stance on shark culling.
3. What light does the story of shark culling in Western Australia shed on public relations in the new era of social media? How can Governments protect their reputations in the digital age?

MAJOR PROJECT

For your major project, you will be required to produce a public relations plan for a real life organisation of your choice. This is a group project. Groups should ideally consist of THREE students. Final approval of group composition will be given by your tutor or local lecturer. Each group should nominate a leader. Provide the name of the group leader to your tutor or local lecturer.

You may choose any organisation you like – business or non-business (not-for-profit), local or overseas. But it MUST be a real organisation. If you choose a large organisation, it may be sensible to focus on one aspect or division of its operations.

Your key aim should be to show what public relations can do for the organisation and to make some practical recommendations for action. Imagine you are a PR consultant and this document is your first written submission for a new client (you may like to give your consultancy a name).

Obviously you will need to gather background information about the organisation. Ideally talk to people who work there in addition to examining as much other material as you can, e.g. website, brochures, sales literature, annual reports, advertisements, relevant newspaper and magazine articles, etc. If possible visit the organisation to interview key employees/stakeholders. Choosing a firm you have worked for is a good idea.

This project is broken down into two (2) sub-sections as follows:

1. Class Presentation

Weighting: 10%
Due: To be arranged by your tutor or local lecturer
Suggested length: 15 to 20 mins plus questions. Overall length – 25 mins (max).

You should imagine that you are a PR consultancy making a presentation to the relevant decision-makers in your chosen organisation. The rest of the class will take on the role of this management team. Your task is to present an overview of your situation analysis and recommendations in as attractive and persuasive a manner as possible. Think of this presentation as your consultancy’s competitive ‘pitch’ aimed at securing appointment as PR advisers to your chosen organisation.

As you will not have completed your written submission at the time of making your presentation, it is not expected that you will be able to put forward full details of your final recommendations. However, it is expected that you will have a clear grasp of the situation facing the organisation and be able to provide a coherent summary of your key recommendations.

Your ability to handle questions will be part of the assessment so ensure you leave enough time for them. Feedback obtained from the class presentation should be incorporated into the final submission.

You will be required to produce a one page background briefing on your chosen organisation for distribution to the class the week before your scheduled presentation. This is to enable other members of the class to familiarise themselves with the company.

2. Final Report

Weighting: 20%
Suggested length: 2,500 – 3,000 words – due Week 11

More guidance on preparing a public relations program will be given in class. However, here are a few headings for you to think about. Your program should be presented in business report format.

Executive summary

Brief backgrounder on the organisation including a summary of the research you conducted

Situation analysis (What problems and opportunities does the organisation face from a PR/communication perspective?)

Public relations goals and objectives (What is your program intended to achieve?)

Key target publics (It is essential to identify clearly the relevant publics or stakeholders and to justify your selection.)

Strategy (Key themes/messages/broad channels of communication – an overview of how you intend to achieve your goals and objectives.)

Tactics (Highlight the major PR activities you recommend together with a brief outline of how they would be carried out and give an indication of the proposed timescale.)

Budget and evaluation (You are NOT expected to attach a dollar cost to the activities you recommend. But you should explain what items in your program would need to be costed and present this information in an appropriate manner. You should also highlight how you intend to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.)

Public Relations 1101

Individual Assignment Marking Guide

Discussion of change in public opinion 1 2 3 4 5

Discussion of general lessons for business 1 2 3 4 5

Discussion of importance of public attitudes 1 2 3 4 5

Discussion of role of public relations 1 2 3 4 5

Discussion of Government and the
Grunig models 1 2 3 4 5

Recommendations for protecting reputation 1 2 3 4 5

Use of research 1 2 3 4 5

Referencing 1 2 3 4 5

Quality of written expression/presentation 1 2 3 4 5

Overall impression 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Mark:…………………………………………..Signed:……………………………………………………….

Public Relations 1101

Major Project Marking Guide (Presentation)

Understanding of client situation 1 2 3 4 5

Relevance and practicality of recommendations 1 2 3 4 5

Professionalism of presentational style 1 2 3 4 5

Creativity/ability to maintain audience interest 1 2 3 4 5

Ability to handle client questions 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Mark:……………………………………………………………………………….Signed:…………………..

Public Relations 1101

Major Project Marking Guide (PR Plan)

Clarity of backgrounder/Situation analysis 1 2 3 4 5

Research 1 2 3 4 5

Goals and objectives 1 2 3 4 5

Identification of key publics 1 2 3 4 5

Relevance of proposed PR strategy 1 2 3 4 5

Practicality of PR tactics 1 2 3 4 5

Budget and evaluation 1 2 3 4 5

Application of PR theories/concepts 1 2 3 4 5

Quality of written presentation 1 2 3 4 5

Overall impression 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Mark:……………………………………………………………………………….Signed:…………………..

Public Relations 1101

Participation Marking Guide

Successful public relations relies heavily on effective two-way communication. So it’s particularly important that classes for this unit are highly interactive. For this reason, 10% of your total mark is allocated to participation. Careful preparation for every class and active participation is ESSENTIAL and required of all students. Your tutorial contributions will be assessed every week. Your final mark will be based on your participation in 10 of the 12 tutorials (i.e. your lowest two participation scores will be disregarded). Ideally all students will attend all classes. However, using this method it would be possible for you to miss up to two tutorials without affecting your participation mark. If you do expect to be absent for any reason, it would be appreciated if you could inform your tutor or local lecturer in advance. Please note that quality of participation is more important than quantity. Your participation score will be based on the impact and relevance of your contributions divided by their length. If you have any queries about the participation assessment, please ask your tutor, local lecturer or unit coordinator.

Tutorial 1 1 2 3 4 5

Tutorial 2 1 2 3 4 5

Tutorial 3 1 2 3 4 5

Tutorial 4 1 2 3 4 5

Tutorial 5 1 2 3 4 5

Tutorial 6 1 2 3 4 5

Tutorial 7 1 2 3 4 5

Tutorial 8 1 2 3 4 5

Tutorial 9 1 2 3 4 5

Tutorial 10 1 2 3 4 5

Tutorial 11 1 2 3 4 5

Tutorial 12 1 2 3 4 5

Mark:…………………………………………..Signed:………………………………………………………..

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