ABSTRACT
The basis of effective communication is self-awareness. Before a successful strategic communication plan can be created, strategists must have a thorough and factual understanding of their organization: its performance, its reputation, and its structure. Analyzing the organization begins with a clear focus on what the organization is, does, and aspires to be. Some organizations also articulate a values statement, which is a set of beliefs that drive the organization and provide a framework for its decisions. Rebecca Hart notes the value of audits for individual public relations practitioners: First, students will gain a better understanding of how communications fits into their organization's big picture and how they can help the organization succeed. The audit considers the structure of the public relations operation within the organization. One particularly important consideration is whether public relations sits at the management table as part of the organization's decision-making process or whether it merely receives orders after the decisions are made by others.
