Public relations action relies on sound decision making about how to inspire cooperation between an organization and its publics. Such thinking must uphold principles for ethical communication. Effectively combining ethics with public relations practice for students is key. A pedagogical approach to public relations ethics, hinging on selected…

Courses: Business Communication, Public Relations, Organizational Communication. Objectives: This activity provides students with an accessible case study to craft an internal communication change plan focused on tactical changes to run-the-business objectives and constitutive goals that foster a renewed sense of organizational culture and…

Faculty who are interested in activism and social justice often struggle with how to integrate principles of community activism into courses that have been traditionally designed to prepare students for careers in the corporate world. Most public relations textbooks now dedicate a section or chapter to corporate social responsibility due to its…

Courses: Undergraduate or graduate organizational/crisis communication or public relations courses. Objective: The goal for this single class activity is for students to apply discourse of renewal to an organizational crisis fueled through social media.

Course: This assignment is a unit activity designed for use in a skills-focused undergraduate public relations, organizational communication, or crisis communication course. Objective: The goal of this activity is to increase students' understanding of and ability to apply discourse of renewal in a crisis scenario. Students will work…

This study assesses an assignment for incorporating diversity into the principles of public relations course. The assignment is tailored to the challenges of using an active learning approach in a large lecture class. For the assignment, students write a goal, objectives, strategies, an identification of tactics, and evaluation plans for either…

As public relations professions advance toward new media platforms, one traditional tool--the backgrounder/position paper (more technically termed white paper) remains a compelling vehicle to impart enduring professional competencies. Moreover, the skills requisite to produce a white paper can be deployed in a variety of new and traditional media…

Today's communication and information environments create an immense amount of clutter for consumers, but a well crafted advertising campaign can differentiate an organization from its competitors. Persuasion in Advertising is a critical assignment where students apply Aristotle's and Cicero's persuasive techniques to a specific advertising…

Integrating "The West Wing" in public relations courses can effectively dramatize the concrete and abstract dimensions of public relations. In turn, students see public relations in action (albeit fictionally so) and learn much about it through structured lessons. From individual writing assignments about situations in "The West Wing," to the…