Mkt 428

Public Relations it's a relatively new and growing field, but what is it? And why has it so many definitions? The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the definitions of Public Relations before and after reading the course material, these definitions will also be compared with definitions from the textbook and other online sources. This paper will also include and overview of how GK Services, a uniform leasing company, views the role of Public Relations.

The definition of Public Relations before reading the class assignment is extremely limited due to the lack of knowledge and understanding of the subject: Public Relations are the ways utilized by business to make their name or products known.

After reading the first chapter of the book assigned to MKT 438, the subject became much clear, also some interesting facts about Public Relations were presented in the reading such as: over the last 3 decades Public Relations has grown immeasurable all over the world, in United States alone PR is practiced by more than 200,000 professionals, the largest 20 PR companies in the US generate over $2 billions in revenues annually. After reading the course material it is difficult to defined PR in just a few sentences, PR can be defined as and art, a science, a management function, or maybe an effort to communicate internally and externally with the purpose of building a positive image. PR is currently being practiced by corporations to pass on information about products or services they provide, non-profit associations to reach legislator or communicate with the public about their programs, PR is also practices by the government, religion organizations, and even by sports associations.

In 1975, 65 PR Leaders participated of a study which analyzed 472 definitions of PR in order to reach a definition: "Public Relations is a distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communications, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between an organizations and its public; involves the management of problems or issues; helps management to keep informed on and responsive to public opinions; defines and emphasizes the responsibility of management to serve the public interest; helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilized change, serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends; and uses research and sound and ethical communication techniques as its principal tool" (Harlow, R, 1976).

Even though the previous definition is probably the most accurate one about the subject, there are other definitions about PR: "is the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organization with