A study examined (1) whether organizations "order" the four organizational roles (communication manager, communication liason, media relations specialist, communication technician) that public relations practitioners play, and (2) whether, if roles are hierarchically ordered, practitioners internalize the hierarchy by aspiring to "ideal" roles. A review of research indicated that organizations do, indeed, order practitioner roles by paying those in certain roles higher salaries than those in other roles. These salary differences were used to posit a role hierarchy. To determine if practitioners internalize the hierarchy by aspiring to higher roles, data were collected from approximately 300 practitioners. Each subject completed a measure that elicited information concerning how frequently they actually engaged in each of 24 activities. Dominant actual role was then determined by computing how often the subject played each role. A similar method was used to determine subjects' ideal roles. Results indicated that practitioners do not perceive their roles as horizontal, or equally valued ideals pursued on the basis of self-selection. Rather, they perceive the roles of communication manager, communication liason, media relations specialist, and communication technician as hierarchically ordered. In addition, it was found that practitioners seek to perform activities associated with roles higher on the hierarchy. (FL)