ABSTRACT
The last region we shall consider might mistakenly be assumed to resemble closely the United States in its public relations practice. Granted, distinctions from that baseline we chose may be more subtle, but there certainly are differences in culture that affect professional communication practice. Also, in each other region we have examined, there are pronounced differences from one country to another within the region, and we do not diminish those differences. Grunig and Grunig (2004) accurately caution against homogenizing this or any region and suggest nation states are too large to serve as units of analysis. We agree and hope that by now you accept as merely expedient this approach to understanding the complexities of international practice. We shall continue our pattern of first painting a broad image of the region in terms of its communication-relevant characteristics, then look closer at three countries: Germany, Great Britain and Australia. Of course, it would be instructive to offer more thorough descriptions of practice in any number of other countries in the category such as Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada, and so on, but the aim is to equip students with the framework, skills and incentive to pursue just those avenues, and we look forward to seeing the results of your efforts! There is, in fact, a large and growing body of knowledge on nations in this region, so the student, scholar or practitioner wishing to delve more deeply will find doing so fairly easy.
