When Edward Bernays wrote his first Public Relations (PR) textbook ‘Engineering Consent’ in 1923, most students and practitioners of PR and most top management officials seemed and still appear to be mixed up about what PR is; and what it stands for.
Most people understood; and still understand such a title in PR related practices negatively as they perceive it to mean manipulating stakeholders in many ways possible for the benefit of an organisation.
In short, Bernays’ title for such a book misled some PR trainers, students and some PR practitioners including some top management and Board of Directors (BoDs); especially in developing countries.
It is such misunderstanding of what Bernays meant by ‘engineering consent’ that organisations in most developing countries don’t seem to practice profession PR that can satisfy many stakeholders; and attract their support.
Such a negative approach to PR practice has led most organisations to struggle to survive as most stakeholders have turned their faces away from such organisations; and where options exist, such stakeholders have therefore resorted to other suppliers of such goods and services.
While when the word ‘engineering’ is used with the word ‘consent’ can have two meanings; and that one of the meanings can be in the negative sense to public interest to mean manipulating public opinion as many organisations try to do, engineering public opinion can also be used in the positive sense; and for public interest.
For example, we have learnt of phrases like: ‘organisational engineering’. Does this mean ‘manipulating an organisation? No!
We have also learnt of the phrase ‘production engineer’. Does this mean someone who manipulates production? Off course, not.
All such phrases are used in the positive sense for the benefit of an organisation, its workers and the respective stakeholders that respective organisations serve.
As literacy levels grow; and citizens’ exposure to the various knowledge and places increase, most stakeholders; including respective workers and customers will be enlightened enough about what their respective organisations are supposed to do to contribute to their improved staff morale and improved living standards respectively.
Good conditions of service for workers and improved product performance to customers are among many examples of how workers and customers expect an organisation to contribute to their improved well-being.
Regardless of whether it’s a monopolistic, oligopolistic or competitive market environment, realistic pricing of an organisation’s goods and services is part of effective PR. Moreover, whether high unemployment levels exist in a country or not, economic wages to workers increase their morale and productivity.
Workers’ conditions of service are part of human rights related issues. Therefore, for an organisation to claim to have high corporate social responsibility (CSR) and to be said to be highly ethical in its business practice, among other things, good conditions of service for workers and improved product performance or high quality services to its customers are critical to the sustained operations of an organisation.
To prove this point, British Institute of Public Relations defines PR as deliberate and planned efforts to establish and sustain mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.
This implies that organisations should make a deliberate effort to have mutual understanding with respective stakeholders. And those efforts should be planned to ensure timely and effective implementation to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.
Moreover, Fortune Magazine defined PR as ‘good performance; publicly appreciated.’
And this writer adds to Fortune Magazine definition of PR that it is ‘good performance; publicly appreciated because an organisation’s performance is directly or indirectly communicated to respective stakeholders. Stakeholders are able to see the good things an organisation is doing and or learn about the benefits stakeholders derive from what an organisation does and says.
In this light, PR is a two-way communication process that aims at informing and educating organisation’s stakeholders on a specific issue (s) with a view to get relevant feedback on the same.
The expected feedback is required to facilitate adjustment or review of the earlier policy, statement, decision or action with a view for an organisation to be in tandem with specific or all stakeholders needs and expectations from an organisation.
It is against this background that 1978 Mexican Statement states that PR is a management function responsible for analyzing the trends, predicating consequences; and counseling top management leaders on the appropriate programme of action that benefits both an organisation and its stakeholders.
While Mr Bernays might  have his own understanding and therefore his own meaning about the title of his book, it is clear that PR doesn’t engineer consent in a manipulative manner; but is an honest, objective, factual and fair manner.
Therefore, Bernays’ ‘Engineering consent’ should be considered in a positive sense and as a motivating tool to mean mobilizing all workers in all departments of an organisation; and all other organisation’s resources to ensure that all stakeholders; including workers are satisfied.
Satisfied workers, customers and other stakeholders rally behind the vision, mission, values, goal and objectives of an organisation to the benefit of both an organisation and the same stakeholders.
As a result, satisfying all stakeholders’ needs and expectations is the best way of engineering public opinion for stakeholders to honestly, objectively and factually support an organisation.
Ignoring stakeholders’ needs and expectations forces an organisation to start using manipulations and propaganda ways to win some stakeholders’ support.
Using manipulation through propaganda is a temporary; and therefore a short-term means of attracting support from stakeholders.
In fact, such a method attracts only few stakeholders who might have little or no influence on the long-term survival of an organisation.
When few PR publics are manipulated to support an organisation, soon or later the same stakeholders realise that there are supporting an unjust cause. Stakeholders who supported an organisation before; but realize that they are disadvantaged from their support of the respective organisation might also withdraw their support to the same organisation; leaving an organisation with fewer stakeholders than ever before or leave an organisation with no stakeholders who support that organisation at all.
Look around in our society. One can see some organisations whose stakeholders have deserted such institutions because of exploitative relationships between that organisation and its stakeholders.
As it has already been alluded to in this article, manipulation and propaganda is not a strategic move to sustain an organisation’s operations. Be strategic. Identify key stakeholders and their respective issues. Make every effort to address such issues with respective stakeholders before it is too late.
Where it is difficult to do so, give respective stakeholders a feedback to appreciate their needs and expectations from an organisation; and explain why your organisation is unable to address such needs and expectations now or in the near future.
Therefore, it is sometimes cumbersome to understand whether most organisations who fail to satisfy stakeholders’ needs or to address PR publics’ issues don’t have resources for such functions or it is some kind of personal greediness among some top management officials or among some BoDs or a combination of both groups.
One wonders how low or poor quality or services from an organisation can persist for a long time when there are officials whose main functions include being pro-active to such issues; and therefore to deal with such issues as soon as they crop up.
And such an approach to managing an organisation leads to high sales, high profits and consequently to the expansion of an organisation; thereby creating more jobs for many other citizens.
The author is a PR Trainer and Consultant and a Freelance Writer.
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