INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS

Sirin Al-Masri S1314001030

PUBLIC RELATIONSPRACTICE IN

QUICK FACTS: HISTORY IN BRAZIL • Largest Country in Latin America • Eighth largest economy in the world• The country moved peacefully from Portuguese colonialism

to independence and from military dictatorship to democracy

• Influence of Portuguese language and culture isolated Brazil from its neighbors, but in the same time this motivate Brazil to reach out the Intl. community with reach artistic, culinary and social experience.

• PR arrived in 1910s with Canadian influence • Brazil legalized PR profession in 1967 and created the most

formal structure that is known worldwide

HISTORY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

PR in Brazil can be divided into 4 periods:1. The Pioneers – 19142. The Professionals – 19503. The Academic – 60s- 70s 4. The Researchers 90s

** Brazil has one of the Largest collection of PR publication and research papers in Latin America

DEFINITIONS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN BRAZIL

The first official definition:

“PR is a socio-technical and administrative discipline with which the opinion and attitude of public are evaluated. PR is carried out through a planned, continuous program of reciprocal communication destined to maintained a beneficial affinity with and comprehension of public”

ROBERTO PORTO SIMÕES• One of the first Brazilians scholars to theorize the objectives of

PR, as he led the fourth period of PR in Brazil • Defined PR as a political function • Described 6 PR approaches in Brazil:1. The communication approach includes publicity and internal

communication 2. The marketing approach emphasizes product and organizational

promotions 3. The organizational legitimacy approach focuses on explicit ethical

actions 4. The motivational approach is carried out in conjunction with human

resources 5. The interpersonal approach concentrates on social, technical and

political networking 6. The event organization approach includes the coordination of social

and cultural activities

PR EDUCATION • Brazil was the pioneer in

defending the need for specialized studies in PR under the umbrella of social communications in Latin America

• In 1967 they offered first four-years PR program

• Academic and professional PR initiatives continuous developing in Brazil

• Profession legal framework in Brazil is not found in any other country of Latin America

LEGAL STATUS• Brazil was the first country in the world to adopt PR • Other Latin American countries have tried to pass

laws to regulate PR without success • Professionals must have a PR degree and be

licensed by their states regional council to practice PR legally, and they have practiced PR for more than 2 years with certain specific score to achieve

In 2002 the federal and regional counsels defines PR professional activities in Brazil but the group has had difficulty in achieving 2 issues:1. The definition of the concept used in the field of PR are

“corporate, organizational, public, communication” 2. The existing law does not precisely identify the types of activities

that are specific to PR, many of them are recognized as administrators, marketers, journalists and others.

* Situation has improved in the past years, yet PR has not acquired legitimacy in society ** The recognition of PR by different segment and promoted by the legal redefinitions in education sectors for the full exercise of professional PR practice

LEGAL STATUS CONT.

TRENDS IN THE INDUSTRY PR misunderstanding in

Brazil:Journalists preform PR calling themselves “Institutional Journalists” and see it as production of corporate publication & the diffusion of information on behalf of the organization.Any journalist can call himself public relations practitioner.

5 ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES FOR INTL. PR

1. Political System 2. Economic System 3. Activism and Social Movements4. Cultural Dimensions 5. Media Infrastructure

1. POLITICAL SYSTEMS • Brazil has been a federal republic since wining independence

from Portugal in 1822 • The president is elected to no more than two 4-years terms• Brazil experienced changes to reach today to the benefits of

democracy despite imperfections• Individuals are given significant freedom in expressing their

beliefs • Government institutions use communication for democratic

society “open channels between senators and citizens – advised by PR professionals to communicate between governments”

2. ECONOMIC SYSTEM • Brazil has the largest population in Latin America and the sixth

largest in the world • 80% of Brazil’s population lives in the south- central urban area

where this fact has positively influenced economic development• Brazil’s is considered one of the 30 leading exporters of high-

tech product• Though Brazil has development in economy but it has ridden a

roller coaster of high & low economic performance• Environmental awareness among Brazilians has increased with

the noticeable involvement of the private sector and civil society

3. ACTIVISM & SOCIAL MOVEMENTS • In general, Latin American citizens are becoming more active

and outspoken• Democracy becomes the responsibility of all citizens according

to the action movement of citizenry • Even with this enhanced social conscience, Brazilians has yet to

follow the steps of more developed nations • Its difficult to form public interest groups to discuss matters of

interest such as medical diseases or protest against urban violence

• The democratization of Brazil and the difficulties of the economy have contributed to the birth of more active society

• The level of development is the aspect that impacts the evolution and practice of PR in Brazil

• Brazil is rapidly changing because of a vibrant democracy and an emerging economy while struggling to reduce the gap between different socioeconomic classes

• Nevertheless, the government is still seen as the most responsible entity for dealing with crime and health problems

• Private Organizations are seen as a second force capable of contributing to employment and effective social transformation

3. ACTIVISM & SOCIAL MOVEMENTS CONT.

4. CULTURAL DIMENSION • Brazilians are very friendly people and have their own passion of

life • Brazilian society is very diverse given contrasting European,

Africans and Asian roots, and their population is made up of five major ethic groups:

1. The indigenous: full-blooded natives who mainly live in the upper Amazon and in the northern and western borders region

2. Portuguese: who initiated intermarriages with native and slaves in 1500s

3. African brought as slaves 4. Various other Europeans, Middle Eastern and Asian immigrants 5. Japanese: the largest Japanese community outside japan is in

Sâo Paulo

Brazil’s Racist issue

• Less than half Brazilians are classified as back, 70% of them living below the poverty line, whites live longer than blacks and earn twice as much

• In 2001 Brazil agreed to support quotas for black in universities and civil serves

• Still the race issue is complicated – like income inequalities

4. CULTURAL DIMENSION CONT.

Brazil colony and religion

• Brazil is the only Portuguese- speaking nation in the Americas • National identity is strong in spite of the variety of society• Brazil has been isolated from its Spanish-speaking neighbors

as the consequence of language, geography and history • 80% of population follows Roman Catholicism others being

Protestants

4. CULTURAL DIMENSION CONT.

Hofstede Cultural Dimension in Brazil

1. Brazil is a cultural that strongly avoids uncertainty; because of the political & Economic arena, therefore Brazilians seem to escape their reality with a great passion of life and optimism

2. Brazilians are collectivistic with high power distance embedded in their society, societies with high power distance let inequalities such as physical and intellectual capacities grow over time into inequalities in power and health

3. Brazil is considered a feminine society, that could be realted to a peaceful transition from colonialism to federative, republic and from dictatorship to democracy

4. Brazil categorized as a short-term orientation society, the fact that the future is always unknown be Brazilians could explain this categorization

4. CULTURAL DIMENSION CONT.

Other aspects

• The gap between rich and poor is VERY BIG • People orientation is a must in developing media, community,

government and employee relation strategies • One limitation for PR planning is the short-term orientation in

Brazilian society whereby most of the strategic PR programs focus on immediate & reactive actions

4. CULTURAL DIMENSION CONT.

5. MEDIA INFRASTRUCTURE – CONTROL • The Brazilians government did not establish a public

broadcasting system for its propaganda efforts instead it censored the media & tried to exert control over them

• Brazil’s media environment is considered to be partly free, but government would charge for leaking information to the press about ongoing cases

• The press is privately owned and newspapers have played a central role in exposing official corruption

• Brazil has experienced an impressive growth in the number of internet hosts, the users have increased

• Brazil has a very sophisticated media infrastructure, the system is advanced with the level of education

• Satellites are used for both print out and broadcasting industry

CONCLUSION

• More democracy and economic complexity positively influences the development of PR as a professional practice

• As the Brazilians economy stabilizes and its political system strength, PR will continue to develop in Brazil, positively influencing the rest of the South American nations

THANK YOU!