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The relationship that organisations establish and maintain with their stakeholders and publics has a profound effect on the accomplishment of business objectives. Increasingly, organisations are turning to skilled professionals to fulfil the critical role of establishing and maintaining these key relationships. As a result, the public relations profession has experienced exponential growth. Just as organisations have evolved and changed, so too public relations has changed dramatically since its early beginnings. It is important that public relations professionals develop strong understandings of what constitutes effective contemporary public relations practice, and possess knowledge and skills necessary to plan, implement and evaluate effective communication campaigns or programmes.

This course is designed to introduce students to the theory and practice of public relations campaigns for behaviour change. Topics covered include the nature and history of public relations, particularly in health, the environment, disaster management and other fields where behaviour change can have individual and community social benefit. The tools of public relations, identification of internal and external publics, design of public relations campaigns, and methods of assessing their effectiveness are examined. The important role of social and PR research in the development of behaviour change campaigns is considered in detail. The concept of public relations as a management function is explored and the student is introduced to the fundamentals of public relations campaigns, strategies and tactics in public relations planning, and issues management. The course also introduces students to an examination of ethical issues in public relations and the ethical responsibilities of the public relations professional. This course cannot be taken as an elective.

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

1. evaluate the foundations of public relations and its development to the present day and be aware of its likely future directions;
2. understand the range of functions, activities and specialist areas encompassed by the public relations profession, including corporate communications;
3. have an elementary knowledge of the various organisational settings for the public relations function, including `in- house' and consultancy or agency;
4. identify the range of communication tools used by public relations practitioners (variously known as Communication Managers, Public Relations Managers, Marketing Communication Managers and so on);
5. prepare a simple Corporate Communication plan on behalf of a client, encompassing initial and evaluative research, objectives, strategy, tools, implementation schedules and a budget;
6. be aware of the knowledge and skills necessary to plan, implement and evaluate effective Communication campaigns or programmes;
7. be aware and able to identify the broad scope of public relations and communication beyond stereotypical and functionalist views of publicity, promotion and information dissemination;
8. have an elementary knowledge of the ethical issues faced by the public relations profession.