COMM 3050 Assignment 2 By Simone Ball ID: 110064655

Decision making and power parameters important to a first year public relations graduate.
By Simone Ball Abstract Public relations is a field that relies on adaptability, especially in the realm of crisis communication. A graduate must be able to understand the way in which an organisation makes decisions and the culture it follows. This paper discusses the notion of graduate decision making in relation to a crisis communications role at the EPA. Crises, as a whole, are perceptual, and a graduate needs to develop the ability to analyse and understand a situation from several different perspectives. There are three commonly identified varieties of decision making that can be implemented in a crisis situation intuitive, or decisions based on prior knowledge and instinct, rule-based, which is the process of using current procedure or previous examples to decide on a further course of action, and analytic decision making brainstorming and analysing potential solutions to a situation. Each of these forms of decision making have their varied merits, but all require a level of leadership, and a level of interorganisational understanding.

A public relations graduate needs to be, in a word, adaptable. A basic graduate-level communications role in any organisation, government department or consultancy requires both a varied skill set and the ability to adjust to organisational norms. Every organisation is individual in its decision making protocols and hierarchy of power, and it is crucial for a graduate new to an organisation to understand the parameters within which decisions are made. This paper will discuss the definition of a crisis, the stages of crisis communication and the models of decision making commonly found in crisis situations, relating back to the decisions and processes required of a public relations graduate working in a crisis communication role within South Australias Environmental Protection Authority, henceforth known as EPA. This paper will also introduce the organisational structure and culture of the South Australian branch of the EPA to help understand the role a graduate could potentially fill within the organisation.

The EPA is the leading environmental regulator in South Australia, responsible for the protection of air and water quality and the control of pollution, waste, noise and radiation (Environmental Protection Authority [1], 2012). The EPA are a component of the South Australian State Government, and currently fall under the governance of the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation (Environmental Protection Authority [2], 2012). The EPA employs communications

COMM 3050 Assignment 2 By Simone Ball ID: 110064655 staff to help connect with communities around South Australia and encourage further understanding of the roles and practices of the EPA, and encouraging open communication with key stakeholders of the organisation. This is achieved through surveys, community engagement opportunities and educative initiatives (Environmental Protection Authority [2], 2012). The structure of the organisation is very similar to that of many government organisations in Australia, in that there is a Chief Executive, a board with 9 members, and then various departments below three key sectors the Office of the Deputy Chief Executive, the Regulation and Compliance Division, and the Science and Assessment Division. Communications and Public Affairs, and by extension crisis communication management, falls under the Office of the Chief Executive (Environmental Protection Authority [3], 2012). Someone working in the EPA in a crisis communication-focused role would need skills in key areas including media management, writing, formulation of messages and potentially the ability to manage and respond to queries from stakeholders and the media through various communication tools, including social media (Mirandilla, 2010, pg. 32). As the EPA in South Australia is essentially a government organisation, it is important for a graduate to ensure that all protocols regarding communication and decision making are being followed. Many such organisations work on a chainof-command structure and it is important to adhere to the cultural norms surrounding the department (Mirandilla, 2010, pg. 32). It is highly unlikely that a graduate will find themselves in a position of authority or power in such a structure because of the tendency for government to have many arranged levels of supervision and leadership in place.

A crisis is defined as the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of stakeholders and can seriously impact an organisations performance and generate negative outcomes (Coombs, 2007, pg. 2). It is important to note that a crisis is perceptual that is, what a public relations practitioner sees as a crisis may differ from what a stakeholder may see as a crisis. A graduate must develop the ability to perceive the notions of issue or crisis from both a professional view and from the view of a stakeholder (Coombs, 2007, pg. 3). There are a variety of challenges that must be faced in the wake of an organisational crisis. Scholars refer to the notion of the crisis life-cycle that is, the stages in which a crisis unfolds. An article by Sturges (1994, pg. 299) indicates there are 4 stages to a crisis: crisis build-up, crisis breakout, abatement and termination. Crisis build-up is the stage in which triggers pre-emptive of a crisis can potentially begin to appear, crisis breakout is when the crisis erupts and crisis management is at its most crucial. Depending on whether the crisis can be viewed as positive or negative, the abatement stage is the stage in which the effects of the crisis are either prolonged by media coverage, or the crisis is officially handled and the consequences are dealt with. The final termination stage is the final resolution which signals

COMM 3050 Assignment 2 By Simone Ball ID: 110064655 the end of the crisis situation (Sturges, 1994, pg. 299 300). Through any crisis, communication becomes the foundation of managing the situation. Key tasks in the face of crisis include identifying key publics, setting goals and objectives relating to the understanding of the crisis at hand, and deciding on the strategic and tactical communication tools to be used throughout the management of the crisis (Howell, 2009, pg. 93). Each of these tasks requires extensive decision-making. Though it is unlikely that a graduate will have the authority to make many of the types of decisions required in a crisis situation, an understanding of the decision making processes in crisis communication is crucial so that a graduate is able to understand what it is they are communicating, to whom, and what the purpose of the communication is. A unified approach to crisis communication is a fundamental necessity for an organisation.

Decision making in a crisis communication situation can be affected by factors including time pressure, risk, and constantly changing situations. Coombs (2007, pg. 70) indicates that research has shown that decisions made in a crisis usually follow one of three styles: intuitive, rule based or analytical decision making models.

Intuitive decision making is a method of decision making that relies heavily on the knowledge base and experience of the decision maker in order to achieve an outcome. Intuition is about more than gut instinct it is about the ability to recognise and respond to cues in a crisis communication situation (Coombs, 2007, pg. 70). Burke and Miller (1999, pg. 91) indicate the importance of intuition because of the nature of the business environment the business environment is rapidly and frequently evolving, along with the knowledge bases of executives and influential players in business, and as such the role of intuition in business, and therefore in crisis decisions, continues to grow. As a public relations graduate, it is important to develop a decent and wide-spread knowledge base in relation to the organisation in question, in this case, the EPA in South Australia, so that a graduate may be better equipped to assist in and begin to make their own decisions based on intuitive knowledge of a situation and an organisation. Much of this intuition develops with experience in issues and crisis management but a graduate having a good foundation of knowledge of an industry, as well as paying attention to media coverage of an issue can assist in the development of intuitive knowledge. The advantage to intuitive decision making is the speed at which an intuitive decision can be made and executed, and the lack of stress involved but it has been said that intuitive decision making seeks a viable solution rather than the optimal one (Coombs, 2007, pg. 70).

COMM 3050 Assignment 2 By Simone Ball ID: 110064655 Rule based decision making is a process that involves finding rules, criteria or guidelines that can be applied to certain situations within a crisis. This type of decision making requires a crisis situation within an organisation which actually has a series of crisis criteria in place, for example, in the case of most government departments. Given the occasionally volatile nature of the responsibilities of the EPA in South Australia, it is likely that the organisation has several different procedures in place to deal with a crisis. Along with these procedures, a government department may also have documents outlining reporting requirements and examples of previous actions taken to assist in the making of a decision (Coombs, 2007, pg. 70). This particular form of decision making is of a huge advantage to a graduate because as a novice, a well-maintained and thorough procedural guide to a crisis situation is a great knowledge base to build upon. Important to note, however, is that no two crises are the same and as such it would be incredibly difficult for a government organisation to produce a document that described every possible eventuality.

Analytical decision making is the model of decision making most commonly trained in organisations and educational institutions. It places a focus on the process of making decisions, and evaluating potential options. The obvious disadvantage to such a system is that analytical decision making can be heavily time-consuming and require extensive in evaluation and time is not a luxury often afforded in a crisis situation. However, it is possible for analytical decision making to be a key factor in the management of crisis, provided that an organisation is willing to create a crisis management plan and the EPA, being a government organisation as well as an organisation highly susceptible to crises, are likely to have several levels of crisis management plans in place across the organisation (Coombs, 2007, pg. 70 71). The analytic approach to decisions is one often undertaken in a group setting, using a process often referred to as critical thinking. Critical thinking is defined by Scriven & Paul as the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analysing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action (Scriven &Paul, 2011). This act of conceptualisation, application and analysis in a crisis situation is best achieved in a group situation and this poses an opportunity for a young graduate in a large organisation to have an effect on the decisions made in regards to a situation. Crisis plans are, naturally, reviewed regularly in order to include changes in circumstances and risk levels, and a graduate has the potential to look at the current situation from a fresh and different perspective. Although any decisions are unlikely to be left to the graduate alone, analytical group discussion is a perfect opportunity for a graduate in government to be heard, and for their ideas to be included and adapted to suit the proposed crisis plan.

COMM 3050 Assignment 2 By Simone Ball ID: 110064655

The final crucial aspect of a graduate role in crisis communication is the ability to lead. It is fairly secure to say that it is highly unlikely that a graduate communicator at the EPA in South Australia will be put in a position where they need to make crucial, potentially make-or-break decisions in regards to a crisis, due to both the nature of a graduate role and the nature of the organisation itself. However, a graduate in such a role must be confident enough in their ability and their foundation knowledge to ensure they step up when required. One of the key issues within crisis management is the speed at which a crisis can take hold, and damage can be done so as a graduate, it is important to anticipate and adapt to what is required by the organisation. Leadership on an individual level, such as the ability to assess personal accomplishments and evaluate potential changes, is completely necessary in a graduate role because a supervisor or mentor is not always available or willing to assess a graduates ability (Foote, 2012, pg. 79 - 80).

In conclusion, the role of a graduate is one that is often hard to define the changing nature of both a graduates knowledge base and the industry as a whole creates a challenge for those who aim to define what it is a graduate is meant to achieve within an organisation. In public relations especially, a graduate is and should be willing and able to be involved in a multitude of tasks. Within a crisis communication role, a graduate may not be making many, if any, major decisions on behalf of an organisation especially not a governmental organisation such as the EPA. However, it is important to acknowledge that a graduate has the potential to involve themselves in much of the decision making surrounding a crisis situation simply by showing some initiative, building their knowledge base and bringing creative and innovative potential solutions to an organisation. Though not considered leadership in the truest sense of the word, the ability of a newly-graduated person to lead themselves into the situations required of them, and the ability to push their own growth further and adapt to situations, is something that is both learnt through experience, and should be recognised as a useful and admirable skill.

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