Future identity of public relations

1. Why does identity matter? Does it matter that public relations is defined in different ways (e.g. ‘relationship management’ or ‘reputation management’), given other labels such as ‘corporate communication’ and may denote varying activities across organisations?

■ Consider the arguments for and against public relations as an academic discipline – are the available theories adequate in defining the field?

■ Consider the arguments for and against public relations as a discrete management function – can it be differentiated from other functions?

2. Looking at the arguments in this book concerning the identity and reputation of the profession, will ‘public relations’ be a commonly used term in 10 or even 5 years’ time?

3. Is the specialisation of public relations practice a safeguard for professional identity, or merely further evidence that public relations cannot easily be defined?