To better understand how public relations and globalization intersect, let us look at the definitions of public relations and globalization, both of which have widely debated meanings. How do you define public relations (see Figure 2.1)? If you were to ask 10 public relations practitioners to define public relations, you may receive 10 different answers-and find few commonalities. The industry at large has been grappling with a consolidated definition of the field. The world’s largest public relations trade group, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), called out to its members and other international industry trade associations in 2011 to help update its 13-word definition of public relations from 1982: “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other” (Public Relations Society of America, 2014a, para. 2). After the PRSA received almost 1,500 public votes on its short list

of three definitions culled from 927 suggestions, the trade group announced its latest 17-word version in 2012: “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics” (Public Relations Society of America, 2014b, para. 3).