ABSTRACT
Correspondence: Betteke van Ruler, Department of Communication Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands; email: a.a.vanruler@uva.nl
Communication Yearbook 29, pp. 239-273
BETTEKE VAN RULER University of Amsterdam
DEJAN VERČIČ University of Ljubljana
In this chapter, we propose a two-by-two-dimensional defi nition of communication and management deriving four basic models of communication management as a result. These analytical models reveal four historical public relations approaches, and looking at these models, it is striking that all are positioned at the behavioral level, that is, on (members of) organizations and their publics. The societal level remains totally neglected. We argue that this is a fundamental misunderstanding of the organizational legitimacy problem, which is one of the most important problems of the future for organizations. To address this, we will propose a new view of practical public relations called refl ective communication management that is derived from social sciences rather than behavioral sciences. In this view of communication management the four existing models are combined as strategies.
