This is unfortunate state of affair Mr Srinivasan. And I think all of us are equally responsible for this; and the onus lies squarely on we, professionals.
Today, Public Relations profession, as a management discipline, requires both strict adherence to management principles and an overhauling of its public image. In this scenario, the major stakeholders are the corporates, the government (state and central), universities and educational institutions, academicians, researchers, practitioners, who must evolve an Eco-System that is conducive to the growth of public relations practice.
An eco-system which is self-sustaining, co-dependence of diverse elements including education system supported by research, case studies and publications, under the aegis of the industry (the entire communication industry), and supervised/regulate d by an apex accreditation body.
Till the time this eco system is in place, the interest of none of the stakeholders will be there, and the corporates will continue to crib for unprofessional handling of their communication; the PR agencies shall continue to accuse the youth for not taking interest in the subject; the academicians would continue to remain preoccupied with their outdated notes with limited or missing industry exposure; and continued dominance of below average performance and outcomes.
If students know that they would be required to be a part of professional organisation and universities subscribe to PR journals, and those aspiring to get into the profession, prepare for accreditation, the interest would grow automatically.
In our country today, there are numerous pockets of neglect as well as excellence. But there is no coordination to standardise the process. In the mushrooming communication institutes, I am sorry to say, that the teachers are not aware about the PR practice, and the syllabus being taught is completely confusing.
But the blame game should stop here. We cannot continue to point fingers while we are ourselves to blame. Till the time we LOOK BEYOND OURSELVES, and give back to the profession and drive the agenda against a given time frame, we shall not be able to bring about the change. And I am sure, the young generation shall support it.
CJ Singh, CorePR
--- In prpoint@yahoogroups .com, Prime Point Srinivasan <prpoint@... > wrote:
>
> dear friends
>
> In the past few years, I see a trend that more than 90 percent of the
> youngsters, who have chosen PR or Communication as their profession, have
> not been showing involvement in gaining knowledge, participation in
> discussions in groups and PR bodies, etc. Though, I may not be able to
> identify the reasons, it looks as though, they are happy with the package
> what they get today and assume that they would grow automatically without
> any effort.
>
> During the UnConference of GFPR at Chennai, Mr Madan Behal, Mg. Director of
> Adfactors PR and Mr B N Kumar, CEO of Concept PR both shared one information
> that nearly 98 percent of the youngsters who came for the interview for PR
> job, did not read any PR book or PR journal. May be due to demand and
> supply position of candidates, for time being, they would get employment.
>
> Now with the growth of PR education and acute competion amongst the job
> seekers, in another two years, it would be difficult to any employee to
> raise in their position or to get additional pay package, unless they
> acquire more knowledge and involve deeply in the profession. Already, in
> advanced countries, the situation has come. Accredited professionals are
> preferred to others.
>
> Without any accredition, it would be difficult for anybody to jump up in the
> career in future even in India. Already some of the PR bodies are thinking
> in terms of collaborating with International bodies for accreditation to
> raise the knowledge to suit global requirements.
>
> In one of the recent podcast interviews, Mr Vikram Kharvi, a young PR
> professional and founder of another PR online group has also expressed the
> view that involvement of the young professionals are lacking in sharing the
> views. Personally, I am feeling the 'sad trend' for nearly five years. As
> explained earlier, probably, the economic boom, has given them the
> lethargy. Now, after the slow down period, the entire system will start
> stabilising and at that time, everybody needs to show only skills and
> knowledge, repeat skills and knowledge to survive.
>
> When we were all discussing this trend and how to remedy, we thought, why
> not we suggest the CEOs and the Managements to incorporate a weightage for
> 'the efforts put in by the employees in acquiring knowledge and their
> participation in the online and offline group activities'. Learning comes
> from sharing the knowledge.
>
> Mr Madan (Adfactors PR), Mr B N Kumar (Concept PR), Mr Mouli (Blue Lotus
> PR), Mr C J Singh (Core PR), Mr Tushar (Turtle & Hare) and Mr Arun Arora
> (GMR Dial) have volunteered to incorporate suitable weightage for this in
> their annual reviews. These senior industry icons will also take up with
> other managements, so that our next generation of professionals will be
> better equipped to take the profession forward. A time has come for us to
> interospect the situation and remedy, before it becomes too late.
>
> I request all to share their views, as to how we can involve young
> professionals.
>
> Srinivasan
> Moderator
>
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