Societies in transition: multi-cultural-man and strategic public relations (PR) challenges for PR practitioners in South Africa
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Date
2008
Authors
De Wet, Gideon
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Communication Science, Unierstity of the Free State
Abstract
Over the past decade a number of countries have embarked upon dramatic sociopolitical
transitions. A common denominator has always been a highly divided society
filled with trauma. One such country is South Africa. A short overview is provide
regarding the transition from the apartheid context to the new democratic dispensation
and the huge challenges that the post 1994 South Africa has to deal with, in particular
in the corporate context. The South African Reconciliation Barometer's surveys have
been used to provide empirical data regarding the state of the nation with reference to
particular selected areas. These statistics show a deeply divided society with high levels
of mistrust. The public relations practitioner needs to negotiate these contexts in their
efforts to practice integrated strategic public relations. Adler's multi-cultural-man
metaphor (1985) serves as meta-theoretical framework. This article explores potential
conceptual challenges for strategic public relations practitioners in their challenges to
manage integrated public relations and the lessons to be learned from such traumatised
societies. The extrapolation is the corporate context with the focus on integrated public
relations challenges for the practitioners of public relations.
Description
Keywords
Strategic public relations practitioners, Integrated public relations, Public relations
Citation
De Wet, G. (2008). Societies in transition: multi-cultural-man and strategic public relations (PR) challenges for PR practitioners in South Africa. Communitas, 13(1), 191-211.