Dear Friends,
It is interesting to read the mail from Srinivasan and founder of this organisation which has done and continue to do great things in the arena of PR.
50 years ago PR was a bad word relating to a person who bought rail tickets, air tickets. received people at the Railway stations, knew how to get EQ released from the railways, went to the airport to receive VIPs, buy garlands for them to be used by the receing VIP ( not by the PR person), facilitated comfort for clients, govt officials, bridged between the media and the Public sector companies, and in short was a FIXER. At one time his job was also to provide "dinners" to Russian and other foreign clients visiting Bangalore those days, who came as mechanics, engineers for the collaborating public sector companies. PR was also used in a derogatory manner. There used to be a term used by the Hotels and PR officers of Public Sector Corporations in Bangalore. If the PR official asked FOUR ACES restaurant on MG Road to send two dinners to a visitor staying in a Hotel, it meant an entirely different meaning.
Where did we learn about PR?
Mostly from the US where such people were elevated by Corporates, politicians and bureaucracy to provide comfort to enable Corporates to get their point of view accepted by the rulers of a country, State or town. Lubricant materials such as money, alcohol, etc., etc were allowed to be provided by these PR personnel, who later were raised to the Status of PR managers etc.What was all this for? Basically to provide ease of travel of proposals, projects, files, in various organisations in a smooth and desired manner. These included governments, elected representatives, politicians and similar others.
While Transparency International lists India as one of the most corrupt countries, what do other countries do? US forsakes its avowed National interests to sell huge ( billions of dollars worth) of armaments to Saudi Arabia. UK pays to middlemen from their own country, huge amount ( British Nationals) of pounds to sell aircrafts to middle eastern countries. US wants to provide employment ot its people; they cannot produce consumer and durable goods at a price which the average middle class Americans buy. Therefore, they outsource to Taiwan, japan, China and also India.When the lazy consumerist middle class American cannot find a job as he wants cheaper goods than what an American company would produce and sell for, they have to find "someway", of employing their people, they compromise and support the very countries who they fight with, in another arena to get enough money to pay for their Country's bills and provide employment.
Who facilitates these discussions, contracts, and deals. The American lobbyists who at one time were also known as PR personnel..How do they achieve their purpose? By making contacts, bridging between the Seat of Power and the seat of Commerce ( business/industry or anything like that). How do they achieve it. In a "sophisticated way", as the society may like to call some its actions of immorality to appear to give a coat of cleanliness to the deal.
These are known to all PR tribe all over the world.
Having said this, the same PR persons also do excellent work like Srinivasan to bring some amount of morality and dignity to the profession. It is not going to be possible for the PR practitioners to drop all the antecedents and ills of the profession. But if they were to devote more time to create the right atmosphere to enable to establish moral standards and methods to facilitate democracy, they would be doing a great job for our country.
We are fast heading to convert our poor people to rise to the American middle class levels of living. We are converting huge populations to "live", beyond their means and needs to sustain businesses and industries without looking into the long term effect of such actions.
We have been traditionally a contented society with almost a genetic factor, "savings", in our habits. We are allowing to change fast into a consumerist society. That portends danger to all, especially the next and the generation next after that.
Business and industry work only for profit. This is to provide dividends to share holders. They in turn gamble their invest meant to make more money in share market forgetting the fact that limited liability companies were thought of originally to pool investment from a larger number of people having small amounts of money for starting and running an industry or business. This has mired into a gambling den.
In my opinion PR has a great and positive role to play in the current and future scenario of this country. Whatever energies were used by very intelligent group of PR practitioners should be used for the development of sustainable consumption, removing or at least greatly reduced corruption, etc.
Let the PR manager devote either as a group or individuals some portion of their waking time to reform our election and electioneering processes.
I can go on and on; let me stop here.
If this mail reaches more people than Srinivasan, please think about the sad state of affairs in this country. We have all failed our nation. Let's correct it at least now.
Desikan
Trustee
Consumers'
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Please visit http://www.prpoint.com (for useful PR resource materials) and http://www.primepointfoundation.org (non profit trust for promotion of PR)and http://www.imageaudit.com (about Image Audit)and http://www.indiavision2020.org (on India Vision)
MARKETPLACE
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