Excellence Research dividends continue: latest book explores Public Relations and effective organizations.

When the IABC Research Foundation decided 20 years ago to fund one of the most ambitious research projects in the study of business communication, it was the start of something big. Known today as the Excellence Study, the initial project was led by communication scholars James Grunig, Larissa Grunig and David Dozier and was designed to answer the questions "how, why and to what extent does communication affect the achievement of organizational objectives?"

The resulting cross-cultural 15-year research study provides practical tools, scholarly support and theory in the area of communication management. It continues to be a landmark study in the practice of public relations, backed up by examples of excellent corporate communication.

Through the years, this research investment has netted the IABC Research Foundation a number of related projects and served as background for many ancillary research studies and lectures.

In 1991, the foundation published initial results of the study in an Excellence index titled, "Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management: Initial Data Report and Practical Guide."

The first book stemming from the research project rolled out in 1992. "Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management" provided an in-depth literature review of the discipline.

Two years later, the foundation published a qualitative analysis of case studies conducted during the discovery phase of the project. The results were "IABC Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management," and "Phase II Qualitative Study, Initial Analysis: Cases of Excellence."

In 1995, busy communication professionals welcomed the "Manager's Guide to Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management," which provided summaries of the quantitative and qualitative studies conducted for the Excellence projects.

The final installment of the series, "Excellent Public Relations and Effective Organizations," updates the original literature review and summarizes the research in the most in-depth fashion.

For the academic community, the latest work provides the in-depth statistical data and analyses often sought to support the theory of communication management. For educators, researchers and students, the book shows and explains all facets of the project, from research methods to sample surveys to the data collected and tabulated. The book reaffirms research as the foundation for planning and measuring communication programs.

At first glance, the statistical data and charts may appear overwhelming, but both aid in understanding the process of the Excellence Study. For practitioners, this final product provides insights into the daily application of public relations and communication excellence through case study examples. The research applications exhibited (such as the sample survey documents) provide an audit tool for practitioners to collect data, compare their current practices to the Excellence index and sample cases, and model improved practices in communication management.

Finally, the cross-cultural data from the surveys and the case studies provide insight into the applications of public relations and communication management. The original Excellence Study included data from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, while the final book provides additional information from smaller studies conducted from the Excellence model in countries such as Slovenia and Korea.

The book's authors define factors that lead to excellent communication and show the impact of the model of symmetrical communication necessary for excellent communication programs. In their words:

   [W]e show that the value of public
   relations comes from the relationships that
   communicators develop and maintain with
   publics. We show that reputation is a
   product of relationships and that the quality
   of relationships and reputation result more
   from the behavior of the organization than
   from the messages that communicators
   disseminate. We show that public relations
   can affect management decisions and
   behavior if it is headed by a manager who is
   empowered to play an essential role in the
   strategic management of the organization.
   In that role, communicators have their
   greatest value when they bring information
   into the organization, more than when they
   disseminate information out of the
   organization. We show how communication
   programs for publics such as employees,
   consumers or investors can be planned and
   managed strategically and evaluated to
   demonstrate their effectiveness.

One of the strengths of the Excellence Study is the broad nature of the research. It incorporates qualitative and quantitative strategies to define communication excellence. The authors surveyed 327 organizations. Respondents included top communicators, CEOs and public relations and communication employees. In a follow-up study after the survey data were analyzed, CEOs and top communicators at 25 organizations with the highest and lowest scores on the Excellence scale were qualitatively analyzed to determine why the organizations were effective or ineffective.

The final book represents the most comprehensive study to date of the practice of public relations and communications management. Whether you are a student, a practitioner or a researcher, whether you are facing a communication challenge or are simply curious about the discipline of business communication, this conclusion to the Excellence Study will provide you with valuable answers.

Tamara Gillis, Ed.D., ABC, is an associate professor of communication and department chair at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa., USA, and past chair of the IABC Research Foundation. She can he reached at [e-mail].

ABOUT THE FOUNDATION

The IABC Research Foundation contributes to a body of knowledge that advances the practice, perception and effectiveness of communication. It serves IABC, its members and others in the profession through research on organizational communication.

"Excellent Public Relations and Effective Organizations: A Study of Communication Management in Three Countries," Larissa A. Grunig, James E. Grunig and David M. Dozier US$115 members; US$135 nonmembers

to order online, visit www.iabc.com/knowledge or call 800.776.4222, or [phone].