ABSTRACT
In the twenty-first century, complex and turbulent operational environments abound. They provide organizations with multiple publics and stakeholders, often holding diametrically opposed views on issues pertaining to the organization. Public relations positioning is defined as the actions taken to achieve the public relations position. The Framework for Intentional Positioning in Public Relations has the potential to address this situation. It aims to provide the scaffold or guide to assist practitioners to meet the challenge of demonstrating to senior management why positions taken need to be viable within the local moral order. It can also guide the development and implementation of viable positioning strategies for the organization. In a positioning approach, all parties to the public relations episode are conceptualized as active participants. The training of public relations practitioners to recognize patterns in evolving environments and to be able to improvise, moving emergent strategy into realized strategy, may be critical for effectively managing positioning.
