I’ve heard PR people take issue with organizational objectives simply because it violated a personal belief. When that is the case, the PR person should find another job; conversely, if I were the CEO of an organization where a PR person had difficulty with the organization’s mission and suggested policy changes, I would be tempted to ask for their resignation on the spot.

When I worked at the University, some of our more controversial areas of research involved genetic modification of plants and research of various sorts (feeding trials, xenotransplantation, mammal reproduction, nutritional interventions, cattle grazing, etc.) on animals, some of which involved ultimately killing animals for the sake of better enhancing medical science to benefit humans.

At first I didn’t know how to come to grips with my own cognitive dissonance about the research. As I became educated about the science – the scientific community takes little issue with genetic modification, for example, while journalists and lay publics continue to display ignorance of biotechnology – I was better able to educate publics as to rationales for the research efforts and to point toward potential benefits and drawbacks.

I was then, and I remain, fairly neutral about the research, but at the least I could eventually demonstrate a knowledgeable history into the whys and wherefores of such science. (The same goes for all of the research being conducted there, which included everything from water quality work and natural resource and environmental studies to environmental policy analyses and nutritional outreach.)

I also quickly became educated on just how cavalierly critics of such research would spread outright hatred and misinformation just to get their names in the news and attempt to create ire among various groups. Perhaps more than the issue of the research, the strategies of hostile agitators were a bigger PR lesson.

The point is that had I taken issue with what it was that we as an organization was doing, I should have found employment elsewhere. Jim Lukaszewski is clear to say that PR is a staff function. I would argue that PR resides somewhere between a staff and management function.

The role of public relations is as an objective (internal) consultant. On one hand, public relations should be at the table with senior leaders of an organization, but the reality of public relations is that we should be there to offer input about the communications and public relations ramifications of organizational decisions, especially when unethical or illegal. From there, it is our job to champion the communications functions for organizational objectives, not to make policy decisions – especially in areas where we have no expertise.