Professional Public Communications: Analysis and Recommendations

This report, submitted by a student, provides a comprehensive analysis of professional public communication. It begins with a regret letter and a persuasion letter, demonstrating practical application of communication principles. Section B delves into organizational structure, specifically focusing on a functional organizational structure, and identifies communication issues such as lack of feedback, poor communication between management and staff, and the presence of grapevine communication. The report then proposes several tools to address these issues, including the use of social intranet software, discussion forums, and group messaging forums for internal communication, and the creation of social media platforms, websites, and news releases for external communication. The report concludes by emphasizing the crucial role of effective communication in organizational success and profitability, offering practical strategies to improve communication effectiveness.

PROFFESSIONAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 1
PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS
By [Student’s name]
Professor’s name
Course Code
University
Date of submission

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 2
Table of Contents
SECTION A..............................................................................................................................................3
Regret Letter................................................................................................................................3
Persuasion Letter..........................................................................................................................5
SECTION B..............................................................................................................................................7
Organizational structure...........................................................................................................................7
Communication issues faced by the firm...............................................................................................7
Lack of feedback..........................................................................................................................7
Lack of communication between managers and other staff members.........................................8
Grapevine.....................................................................................................................................8
Tools for Solving Communication Problems........................................................................................9
Internal communication...........................................................................................................................9
Use social intranet software.........................................................................................................9
Discussion forums........................................................................................................................9
Come up with group messaging forums....................................................................................10
External communication........................................................................................................................10
Creating social media platforms................................................................................................10
Use of Websites.........................................................................................................................11
News releases.............................................................................................................................11
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................11
References...............................................................................................................................................13

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 3
SECTION A
Regret Letter
Public Relations Officer,
Habitat for Humanity,
1232 Mayview Ave.
Australia.
10th October 2017.
The Chairperson,
Youth Orchestra,
127 Arm Road,
Australia.
Dear Sir/ Madam,
RE: REGRET
We have received your letter, and we thank you for your application requesting for
donations to buy new instruments. This organization is determined to work together with you to
help the community build a good society. Therefore, we always use all our available resources to
help build our society in every way possible.
However, we regret to inform you that under our organization’s current situations, we
will not be able to offer you the donation. This month we have just employed new staff members
and also bought new equipment for the organization. These factors have greatly affected our
financial position as a company. The company is expecting to have higher returns in the next two
months, and therefore you will bear with us till the situation comes back to normal.

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 4
We sincerely value working together with you and what you are doing to the community.
We will be glad if you will give us an opportunity to donate next year. Such a time will be
appropriate for us to help since we will recover from our current financial status. We hope that
you will be in a better position to understand the situation and continue working with us.
Yours Faithfully,
Organization’s public relations officer

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 5
Persuasion Letter
Public Relations Officer,
Habitat for Humanity,
1232 Mayview Ave.
Australia.
10th October 2017.
The Manager,
Ski resort,
29103 Mathew Ave.
Australia.
10th October 2017.
To our esteemed tourists,
RE: ADVENTURES OF SKI RESORT
I am writing to welcome you to Ski resort during other seasons of the year. It is evident
that we love beautiful environments and exploring other cultures. The resort is now well made
and ready to hold most of the visitors. Therefore, the company now prides in the resort which has
made it stay above all other competitors in the market industry.
This resort is famously known for skiing during the winter season. However, it also has
other qualities to offer. The resort is located in beautiful hills within a few kilometers from an
alternative community that offers great cultural events and is famous for its organic produce.
This way we can help learn about other cultures and have fun. Thus, no need to waste time but to
pay a visit and enjoy this joyous resources which unique in the region.

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 6
Come and have beautiful views that will make you appreciate nature and also have fun
watching the events prepared by this community. We pride in offering the best services within
the region at a customer friendly price. I hope to see you during other seasons, and I believe you
will enjoy your stay at the Ski resort.
Yours Faithfully,
Resort Manager.

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 7
SECTION B
Organizational structure
The firm operates on a functional organization structure. This is because the organization
consists of different portions or departments that carry out specific purposes. For example, there
is a communication officer that represents a communication department (Ferrante, 2010, pp. 38-
45). The functional organizational structure is also manifested because there are different levels
of management on the firm consisting of top managers, middle managers, and lower ranking
staff. A downward form of communication is used in this firm because the information comes
from the superiors to the subordinates. The superiors communicate through memos which remain
almost the same till they reach the staff members (Bidya, 2009, pp. 27-30). Thus, communication
takes a critical position in the operation of this firm.
Communication issues faced by the firm
Lack of feedback
Feedback is a critical tool of communication, and it is not there then there is no
communication. Whenever a sender passes a message to the receiver, they expect feedback and
mostly in a positive way (Levine, 2007, pp. 72-73). This firm lacks feedback because ones the
lower-ranking staff members report to the middle managers about lack of proper communication,
they expect them to act on it and give them feedback and this way employees will work together
(Khatri, 2009, pp. 1-9). Managers in this firm do not give feedback, but instead, they penalize
employees who try to complain about an issue.

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 8
Lack of communication between managers and other staff members
In this firm, communication is not carried out well between the management and the rest
of the staff. If there is no good communication among employees, then some staff members will
not be able to get the information needed so that they can work towards one goal (Kaul and
Pandit, 2008, pp. 1-13). Due to lack of communication among employees services provided
would not be excellent and this can quickly lead to the firm having a bad reputation. The lower-
ranking staff members in the firm are kept in the dark, and they are not able to access some
information yet they are the ones that deal with customers, and therefore they cannot be able to
give precise information to the customers (Nelson, 2010, pp. 8-11).
Grapevine
Grapevine is a type of informal communication that does not follow the formalities of an
organization. This informal communication is carried out mostly in groups or among employees
of the same rank to spread rumors or gossip (Randall, 2010, p. 11). Rumors and gossip spread so
fact and sometimes they can make a firm to lose a good image to the people it's serving. In this
firm, staff members are spreading rumors about the management leading to tension and therefore
providing services that are not excellent (Ramsey, 2009, p. 14).

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 9
Tools for Solving Communication Problems
Internal communication
Use social intranet software
This is an era where technology is advancing on a daily basis to help us carry out
communication efficiently. The communications officer can introduce the use of social intranet
for communication. The intranet is used for internal communication. It can be accessed by only
those people who are authorized by the organization (Anand and Shachar, 2007, pp. 211-237).
Every employee can be given authority to access the intranet, and therefore any information
available will be seen by everyone. This way, employees will work together to attain the same
goal, and they will also be up to date with any information in the firm. Ones this is achieved,
excellent services will be provided creating a good reputation (Loyarte and Rivera, 2007, pp. 67-
77).
Discussion forums
The communication officer can decide to come up with discussion forums as a tool of
communication. These forums bring together management and employees. In this forum,
employees can air out their views since it is an open discussion and the management can also do
the same. This type of forum also brings them closer and therefore creating good relationships
among each other (Kurokawa, 2007, pp. 11-20). This forum makes employees feel appreciated
and part of the working community. Arising problems can be answered in this forums, therefore,
creating rapport among employees (Conchie and Burns, 2008, pp. 141-149).

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 10
Come up with group messaging forums
The communication manager can come up with chat forums that can make groups for
each department. For example, creating WhatsApp groups and Facebook groups so that
employees can be able to communicate with each other. A manager can find out about what
happened during the day on these groups and even engage in a conversation with employees.
This way one can easily keep track of what is happening without meeting face to face (Vijaya
and Tiwari, 2010, pp. 22-38). It is easier to maintain and sustain a group messaging forum and
also gives a good opportunity for other members to participate in the shared information and thus
discuss the important information together.
External communication
Creating social media platforms
The firm could come up with social media platforms, for example, twitter handle,
Facebook page and WhatsApp group for their customers. On these platforms, the customers
should be encouraged to give any idea they feel it is good for the firm and also make inquiries
where they have problems. The media platforms help keep in touch with customers and even
reach a larger audience. Keeping in touch with customers also makes them feel like part of the
firm, and they will even be ears of the firm out there and also help advertise the firm (McLean
and Lewis, 2010, pp. 30-31). Currently, social media platforms have provided a modern way of
reaching people from different parts of the world since there is a huge online community that can
listen to the communications form the firm.

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 11
Use of Websites
The communications officer can develop a website for the firm that will keep both the
employees and the customers informed. Websites are part of people's lives these days.
Information that is put on the website is always specific that can attract other customers and also
keep current customers in the loop. The firm should convince their customers to provide details
so that they can participate in services offered by the websites and these way a good image of the
firm will be created in the customer's mind and therefore maintaining good relationships with
them. Besides, the company can integrate additional services to the website that can create
convenience and attract many customers. Such services include online customer order
processing.
News releases
News releases are there to reach essential audiences, for example, the customers and
stakeholders. News releases can be in the magazine, online or in a newspaper. The news releases
help attain goodwill because a firm can use to tell the customers about new changes and also
help in winning the stakeholders. The reputation of the company can be gained back using these
news releases, for example, the communication officer can give a reason to why quality services
were not provided and give information saying that that has changed and the firm is back to its
original state of delivering quality services.
Conclusion
In conclusion, communication plays a critical role in the operation of every business
organization. It provides an opportunity for the company to convey essential information to its
stakeholders and also a way to receive important feedback which can help the company to grow.

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 12
Firms experience various communicational issues which affect their efficiency in exchanging the
information with their stakeholders. Therefore, it is important to put in place the appropriate
communication strategies to address the various communication issues within the organization.
This helps in increasing the firm's performance and profitability.