ABSTRACT
Probably the most important finding of the Excellence Study-a research project funded through a grant from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Research Foundation-was that strategic management represents the greatest differentiator between excellent and mediocre public relations (Grunig, Grunig, & Dozier, 2002). Both the quantitative and qualitative results confirmed that the function of public relations should be empowered to play a prominent role in the strategic managerial function of effective organizations. This important contribution of the study set the benchmark for the practice of public relations in terms of strategic planning, research, networking, and approaches to gathering information.
