Handbook of Corporate Communication and Public ... - Blogs Unpad

economic downturn, the global corporation
should, in theory, make its choices based on
economic imperatives, even to the extent
of closing facilities at the heart of its original
home office. Sentiment, lobbying, industrial
and political unrest can often be powerful
factors in changing the best plan on paper
into one that stands the highest chance of
being implemented.
Trust in institutions 2003
An increasingly important movement dedicated
to reversing the tide of globalization
and its institutions – the IMF, WTO and
the World Bank – first came to general notice
at the G7 meeting in Seattle in 1999. This
uneasy alliance of anarchists, political activists
and established NGOs is becoming a formidable
opponent that reflects and focuses
widespread public fear about some of the
consequences of globalization led by international
corporations.
The ascendancy of NGOs as trusted sources
is shown in a recent round of research by
Edelman. For the first time since tracking
began, NGOs became the most trusted institutions
in both the United States and Europe,
according to this inquiry among opinion
leaders (Figure 26.1).
In Europe the four most trusted brands are
NGOs – Amnesty International, World Wildlife
Fund, Greenpeace and Oxfam. Meanwhile,
Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Microsoft and
Ford still sit atop the trust league table in the
USA (Figures 26.2 and 26.3).
The specialization of international
public relations
Specialization, globalization and communication
technology are currently the three most
potent forces affecting the practice of international
public relations. Of these, specialization
has had the longest history and the
greatest impact since the 1970s.
Until the mid-1960s, public relations was
a calling for generalists, whether they
worked in-house at companies or in consultancies
or agencies. As a youthful profession
or craft, it also had to draw its recruits
from other fields, mostly journalism, which
at that time was also much more general
than it is today.
It was clear this could not last. The huge
horizon of PR activity, which defies easy
100%
80%
60%
40%
48%
35%
49% 45%
39%
25% 28% 32%
20%
0%
Business
NGOs
Government
Media
US
Europe
Figure 26.1 Trust in institutions, 2003
Source: Edelman survey, 2003
© 2004 Sandra Oliver for editorial matter and selection;
individual chapters, the contributors