Liz Yeomans

“ … it's a general meeting, it's not for us … ”

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the relationship between internal communication and organizational learning from an interpretive perspective.Design/methodology/approach – Following a review of the internal communication and organizational learning literature, an exploratory phenomenological methodology was designed to capture the “essences” of experiences relating to “communication” and “learning” among employees within a UK healthcare organization with an aspiration of becoming a “learning organization.” Transcripts of interviews were analyzed, coded thematically and the essences of experiences collectively synthesized into one description.Findings – The paper concludes that internal communication may contribute to the development of organizational learning through sense‐making processes. For the participants in this study, these processes were personal letters and memos, line management interactions and interactions with other colleagues. “Learning” was associated with the acquisition of knowledge ...

Does reflective practice have relevance for innovation in public relations

Writers such as Schon and Argyris have been influential in our understanding of how people and organisations learn. They contend that “real” learning only takes place when we challenge assumptions and the taken‐for‐granted aspects of everyday working life, as well as the values on which these assumptions are based. Further, the ability of learning to learn (or “double‐loop learning” as it is sometimes called) at both an individual and an organisational level is regarded by such writers as the key skill in adapting to a fast‐changing world. With this framework in mind, professional courses such as the Advanced Professional Diploma in Public Relations at Leeds Metropolitan University have incorporated the philosophy of “reflective learning” in assessment. The assessment tool of this type of course is typically a reflective learning assignment where individual learners critically reflect on their own working practice in the light of newly acquired knowledge and skills. The assignment, at least in theory, is not an end in itself but the start of a continuous process of self‐reflection and challenging of assumptions underlying practice in everyday working life. It follows, therefore, that such an approach could have a relevance for innovation in individual working practices. This paper seeks to examine whether reflective learning conducted within an academic setting has a relevance for innovation in public relations. It draws on theories and discussion in the fields of organisational learning; reflective learning and reflective practice; a critical analysis of 25 reflective learning assignments; and six telephone interviews with public relations practitioners who have successfully completed the Advanced Professional Diploma in Public Relations at Leeds Metropolitan University. It is followed by a discussion of the link between their reflective learning and organisational learning, and suggests where innovation is most likely to occur. Finally, implications for academics and practitioners are discussed.

Imagining the lives of others: Empathy in public relations:

This article asks how we might theorise empathy in public relations (PR) in the light of a widespread turn towards emotion in the academy, as well as in popular discourse. Two distinct notions of empathy are explored: ‘true’ empathy, as discussed in intercultural communication, is driven by a human concern for the other in order to understand experiences, feelings and situations that may be different from our own, whereas ‘instrumental’ empathy, reflecting a self orientation, is said to characterise much neoliberal market discourse in which corporations are urged to understand their customers better. Thus, while empathy may seem highly desirable as a means to enter into dialogue with an organisation’s publics, particularly during times of social upheaval and crisis, it is important to pay attention to empathy in PR discourses, including whose goals are served by empathetic engagement, and the type(s) of empathy called upon within a PR context. A literature review identified a sociocultural definition of empathy as ‘imaginary effort’. A review of the PR literature, however, found that while empathy is considered an important principle and personal attribute, notions of empathy, with a few exceptions, are under-explored. Nonfunctionalist, sociocultural research which examines the meanings that practitioners associate with empathy is distinctly lacking; therefore, in order to gain further insight into empathy, two sources of data were explored. The analysis of a popular online practitioner blog showed that other-centred empathic skill is discursively framed as instrumental in achieving clients’ business objectives. The analysis of three empathy statements drawn from 12 in-depth interviews with practitioners revealed complex empathic discourse in practitioner–client relationships. While the findings are limited to illustrative analyses only, this article challenges researchers to develop conceptualisations and perspectives of empathy as imaginary effort in PR.