NCERT Textbook: Corporate Communication and Public Relations | Home Science for Class 12 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

 Page 1


Chapter
14
Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, the learner will be able to— 
z z understand the meaning, significance and scope of Corporate 
Communication and Public Relations (PR)
z z comprehend functions of and skills required for corporate 
communication and public relations
z z understand areas and principles of PR activities.
Introduction
Every idea, fact or opinion is static until communicated and understood. In 
today’s information driven society it has been acknowledged time and again 
that communication is as important as food, clothing and shelter. In this 
chapter we are looking at communication as it is related to organisations 
and business establishments. Corporate communication is considered as 
an important tool of management which has evolved over the years.
Corporate communication is described as the set of activities involved 
in ‘managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications’ 
which are designed to create favourable starting points. 
Corporate Communication 
And Public Relations
Chapters.indd   256 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
Page 2


Chapter
14
Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, the learner will be able to— 
z z understand the meaning, significance and scope of Corporate 
Communication and Public Relations (PR)
z z comprehend functions of and skills required for corporate 
communication and public relations
z z understand areas and principles of PR activities.
Introduction
Every idea, fact or opinion is static until communicated and understood. In 
today’s information driven society it has been acknowledged time and again 
that communication is as important as food, clothing and shelter. In this 
chapter we are looking at communication as it is related to organisations 
and business establishments. Corporate communication is considered as 
an important tool of management which has evolved over the years.
Corporate communication is described as the set of activities involved 
in ‘managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications’ 
which are designed to create favourable starting points. 
Corporate Communication 
And Public Relations
Chapters.indd   256 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
Unit VI - Communication and Extension
257
Corporate communication is based on giving out of information by a 
variety of specialists and generalists in an organisation. It is concerned 
with people, organisational processes, activities and media.
Significance 
A major variable for the success of any organisation is the perception of 
the public. What the general public, competitors, employees “perceive” 
about the organisation is what defines its respectability, its position and 
ultimately its success. The primary objective of corporate communication 
is to establish a perception (true or otherwise) in the eyes of all its 
stakeholders. That is the significance of corporate communication; 
‘controlling how the world sees you’. For example, in a crisis, regardless of 
what actually happened, it is the public’s and employees’ understanding 
of the crisis and how it was tackled that will define their reaction to the 
organisation. If a company does not present itself as quiet, dignified and 
peaceful, and projects aggressive behaviour it will be questioned by the 
stakeholders. 
The company’s fortune is influenced by the public’s assessment of 
whether aggressive behaviour was necessary or not. The significance of 
the corporate communication team is to understand how the stakeholders 
will react to such behaviour. They have to ensure through press releases, 
newsletters, ads and other modes of communication so that public gets 
only that information which the organisation wants them to have. 
PR is a very important function or activity of any organisation. Therefore, 
it must be entrusted to effective and experienced executives. Each public 
relations programme can have different objectives, strategy and plan. For 
example, to create a positive image of a company, to handle a company 
crisis, to motivate the employees, to create curiosity about a product, to 
advertise a product and to inform about an event in advance. PR plans to 
achieve each of the above mentioned objectives with different approaches. 
Some of these are: press conferences, press releases, parties and get- 
togethers before any special event. Public Relations and advertising 
and media are inter-related and may have common characteristics and 
activities.
Basic Concepts
Corporate Communication
Corporate communication creates an efficient and effective avenue of 
communication with employees, consumers, investors and many others, 
Chapters.indd   257 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
Page 3


Chapter
14
Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, the learner will be able to— 
z z understand the meaning, significance and scope of Corporate 
Communication and Public Relations (PR)
z z comprehend functions of and skills required for corporate 
communication and public relations
z z understand areas and principles of PR activities.
Introduction
Every idea, fact or opinion is static until communicated and understood. In 
today’s information driven society it has been acknowledged time and again 
that communication is as important as food, clothing and shelter. In this 
chapter we are looking at communication as it is related to organisations 
and business establishments. Corporate communication is considered as 
an important tool of management which has evolved over the years.
Corporate communication is described as the set of activities involved 
in ‘managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications’ 
which are designed to create favourable starting points. 
Corporate Communication 
And Public Relations
Chapters.indd   256 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
Unit VI - Communication and Extension
257
Corporate communication is based on giving out of information by a 
variety of specialists and generalists in an organisation. It is concerned 
with people, organisational processes, activities and media.
Significance 
A major variable for the success of any organisation is the perception of 
the public. What the general public, competitors, employees “perceive” 
about the organisation is what defines its respectability, its position and 
ultimately its success. The primary objective of corporate communication 
is to establish a perception (true or otherwise) in the eyes of all its 
stakeholders. That is the significance of corporate communication; 
‘controlling how the world sees you’. For example, in a crisis, regardless of 
what actually happened, it is the public’s and employees’ understanding 
of the crisis and how it was tackled that will define their reaction to the 
organisation. If a company does not present itself as quiet, dignified and 
peaceful, and projects aggressive behaviour it will be questioned by the 
stakeholders. 
The company’s fortune is influenced by the public’s assessment of 
whether aggressive behaviour was necessary or not. The significance of 
the corporate communication team is to understand how the stakeholders 
will react to such behaviour. They have to ensure through press releases, 
newsletters, ads and other modes of communication so that public gets 
only that information which the organisation wants them to have. 
PR is a very important function or activity of any organisation. Therefore, 
it must be entrusted to effective and experienced executives. Each public 
relations programme can have different objectives, strategy and plan. For 
example, to create a positive image of a company, to handle a company 
crisis, to motivate the employees, to create curiosity about a product, to 
advertise a product and to inform about an event in advance. PR plans to 
achieve each of the above mentioned objectives with different approaches. 
Some of these are: press conferences, press releases, parties and get- 
togethers before any special event. Public Relations and advertising 
and media are inter-related and may have common characteristics and 
activities.
Basic Concepts
Corporate Communication
Corporate communication creates an efficient and effective avenue of 
communication with employees, consumers, investors and many others, 
Chapters.indd   257 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
258
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2
locally and globally. A great deal of management’s current concern for 
employee productivity and the need to empower people has revolved 
around the use of teams. But more often what is required is the simplest 
need of all — communication. This is illustrated in the following study: 
When a group of industrial engineers were asked in a 1990 study 
how to improve productivity, communication concerns drew the 
strongest response to any question on survey. More than 88 per 
cent of the engineers strongly agreed that lack of communication 
and cooperation among different components of a business leads to 
reduced productivity (“P and Q Survey” 1990).
CEOs have also recognised the importance of communication. In 
a study by A. Foster Higgins and Company, an employee-benefits 
consulting firm found that 97 per cent of the CEOs surveyed 
believe that communicating with employees positively affects job 
satisfaction. Furthermore, the survey found that 79 per cent think 
that communication benefits the bottom line; surprisingly, only 22 
per cent communicate with employees weekly or more (Farnham 
1989).
   Source: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1038/is_n5_v36/ai_14723295/ 
Public Relations 
Public relations (PR) is both an art and a science. It has the beauty and 
emotionality of art and the system of science. It may mean different things to 
different people. Though it is of recent origin in India and the world over, it is 
used in Government, public and private sectors and other institutions. The PR 
techniques, strategies and practices vary from organisation to organisation. 
“The fundamental way of getting public approval is to deserve it” —
Arthur W. Page
Following definitions of PR will give you some idea about its nature and 
scope.
“Establishing a bond of relationships and contacts between two groups 
of public”
“Deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain 
mutual understanding between an organisation and the public”
“PR is an attempt, through information, persuasion, adjustment and 
contacts, to seek for some activity, cause, movement, institution, product 
or service”
Chapters.indd   258 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
Page 4


Chapter
14
Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, the learner will be able to— 
z z understand the meaning, significance and scope of Corporate 
Communication and Public Relations (PR)
z z comprehend functions of and skills required for corporate 
communication and public relations
z z understand areas and principles of PR activities.
Introduction
Every idea, fact or opinion is static until communicated and understood. In 
today’s information driven society it has been acknowledged time and again 
that communication is as important as food, clothing and shelter. In this 
chapter we are looking at communication as it is related to organisations 
and business establishments. Corporate communication is considered as 
an important tool of management which has evolved over the years.
Corporate communication is described as the set of activities involved 
in ‘managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications’ 
which are designed to create favourable starting points. 
Corporate Communication 
And Public Relations
Chapters.indd   256 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
Unit VI - Communication and Extension
257
Corporate communication is based on giving out of information by a 
variety of specialists and generalists in an organisation. It is concerned 
with people, organisational processes, activities and media.
Significance 
A major variable for the success of any organisation is the perception of 
the public. What the general public, competitors, employees “perceive” 
about the organisation is what defines its respectability, its position and 
ultimately its success. The primary objective of corporate communication 
is to establish a perception (true or otherwise) in the eyes of all its 
stakeholders. That is the significance of corporate communication; 
‘controlling how the world sees you’. For example, in a crisis, regardless of 
what actually happened, it is the public’s and employees’ understanding 
of the crisis and how it was tackled that will define their reaction to the 
organisation. If a company does not present itself as quiet, dignified and 
peaceful, and projects aggressive behaviour it will be questioned by the 
stakeholders. 
The company’s fortune is influenced by the public’s assessment of 
whether aggressive behaviour was necessary or not. The significance of 
the corporate communication team is to understand how the stakeholders 
will react to such behaviour. They have to ensure through press releases, 
newsletters, ads and other modes of communication so that public gets 
only that information which the organisation wants them to have. 
PR is a very important function or activity of any organisation. Therefore, 
it must be entrusted to effective and experienced executives. Each public 
relations programme can have different objectives, strategy and plan. For 
example, to create a positive image of a company, to handle a company 
crisis, to motivate the employees, to create curiosity about a product, to 
advertise a product and to inform about an event in advance. PR plans to 
achieve each of the above mentioned objectives with different approaches. 
Some of these are: press conferences, press releases, parties and get- 
togethers before any special event. Public Relations and advertising 
and media are inter-related and may have common characteristics and 
activities.
Basic Concepts
Corporate Communication
Corporate communication creates an efficient and effective avenue of 
communication with employees, consumers, investors and many others, 
Chapters.indd   257 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
258
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2
locally and globally. A great deal of management’s current concern for 
employee productivity and the need to empower people has revolved 
around the use of teams. But more often what is required is the simplest 
need of all — communication. This is illustrated in the following study: 
When a group of industrial engineers were asked in a 1990 study 
how to improve productivity, communication concerns drew the 
strongest response to any question on survey. More than 88 per 
cent of the engineers strongly agreed that lack of communication 
and cooperation among different components of a business leads to 
reduced productivity (“P and Q Survey” 1990).
CEOs have also recognised the importance of communication. In 
a study by A. Foster Higgins and Company, an employee-benefits 
consulting firm found that 97 per cent of the CEOs surveyed 
believe that communicating with employees positively affects job 
satisfaction. Furthermore, the survey found that 79 per cent think 
that communication benefits the bottom line; surprisingly, only 22 
per cent communicate with employees weekly or more (Farnham 
1989).
   Source: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1038/is_n5_v36/ai_14723295/ 
Public Relations 
Public relations (PR) is both an art and a science. It has the beauty and 
emotionality of art and the system of science. It may mean different things to 
different people. Though it is of recent origin in India and the world over, it is 
used in Government, public and private sectors and other institutions. The PR 
techniques, strategies and practices vary from organisation to organisation. 
“The fundamental way of getting public approval is to deserve it” —
Arthur W. Page
Following definitions of PR will give you some idea about its nature and 
scope.
“Establishing a bond of relationships and contacts between two groups 
of public”
“Deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain 
mutual understanding between an organisation and the public”
“PR is an attempt, through information, persuasion, adjustment and 
contacts, to seek for some activity, cause, movement, institution, product 
or service”
Chapters.indd   258 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
Unit VI - Communication and Extension
259
Code of ethics is a very crucial requirement in any profession. PR 
professionals are no exception to this requirement. They have access to 
information or knowledge about events to come; pressure or temptation to 
commercialise this information must be avoided at all costs. While serving 
the interests of clients and employees, PR professionals must ensure that 
they adhere to a code of ethics and a code of conduct so that they are not 
labelled as fixers or manipulators.
Corporate communication is important primarily as it creates:
z z Positive and favourable public perception
z z Effective and efficient avenues of communication
z z Strong corporate culture, corporate identity and corporate 
philosophy
z z Genuine sense of corporate citizenship.
Functions of Corporate Communication 
Corporate communication builds a healthy organisational environment. 
In an organisation information is to be disseminated by specialists 
and generalists to a variety of people besides sharing information with 
employees, stockholders, media and customers. Corporate communication 
creates and maintains the brand and looks after the organisation’s 
reputation. It projects the company’s brand within and beyond the 
organisation. Thus, the process of corporate communication ensures a 
liaison between an organisation and outside bodies. Nowadays it is used 
as a public relations tool to project a positive corporate image, to build 
strong relationships with stockholders, to inform the public about new 
products and achievements. A smooth and affirmative relationship with 
all stakeholders helps in maintaining and sustaining a positive corporate 
image. Be it a corporate body, company, organisation, institution, non-
governmental organisation or a governmental body—all of them need 
to have a respectable image and reputation. Increasing competition, 
accessibility of information and the media explosion have made ‘reputation 
management’ a priority for most organisations. This is handled in a 
professional manner by corporate communicators. Dealing with crisis 
control, enabling sophisticated approaches to global communications, and 
comprehension and utilisation of complicated communication tools and 
technologies are also important functions of corporate communication.
Chapters.indd   259 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
Page 5


Chapter
14
Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, the learner will be able to— 
z z understand the meaning, significance and scope of Corporate 
Communication and Public Relations (PR)
z z comprehend functions of and skills required for corporate 
communication and public relations
z z understand areas and principles of PR activities.
Introduction
Every idea, fact or opinion is static until communicated and understood. In 
today’s information driven society it has been acknowledged time and again 
that communication is as important as food, clothing and shelter. In this 
chapter we are looking at communication as it is related to organisations 
and business establishments. Corporate communication is considered as 
an important tool of management which has evolved over the years.
Corporate communication is described as the set of activities involved 
in ‘managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications’ 
which are designed to create favourable starting points. 
Corporate Communication 
And Public Relations
Chapters.indd   256 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
Unit VI - Communication and Extension
257
Corporate communication is based on giving out of information by a 
variety of specialists and generalists in an organisation. It is concerned 
with people, organisational processes, activities and media.
Significance 
A major variable for the success of any organisation is the perception of 
the public. What the general public, competitors, employees “perceive” 
about the organisation is what defines its respectability, its position and 
ultimately its success. The primary objective of corporate communication 
is to establish a perception (true or otherwise) in the eyes of all its 
stakeholders. That is the significance of corporate communication; 
‘controlling how the world sees you’. For example, in a crisis, regardless of 
what actually happened, it is the public’s and employees’ understanding 
of the crisis and how it was tackled that will define their reaction to the 
organisation. If a company does not present itself as quiet, dignified and 
peaceful, and projects aggressive behaviour it will be questioned by the 
stakeholders. 
The company’s fortune is influenced by the public’s assessment of 
whether aggressive behaviour was necessary or not. The significance of 
the corporate communication team is to understand how the stakeholders 
will react to such behaviour. They have to ensure through press releases, 
newsletters, ads and other modes of communication so that public gets 
only that information which the organisation wants them to have. 
PR is a very important function or activity of any organisation. Therefore, 
it must be entrusted to effective and experienced executives. Each public 
relations programme can have different objectives, strategy and plan. For 
example, to create a positive image of a company, to handle a company 
crisis, to motivate the employees, to create curiosity about a product, to 
advertise a product and to inform about an event in advance. PR plans to 
achieve each of the above mentioned objectives with different approaches. 
Some of these are: press conferences, press releases, parties and get- 
togethers before any special event. Public Relations and advertising 
and media are inter-related and may have common characteristics and 
activities.
Basic Concepts
Corporate Communication
Corporate communication creates an efficient and effective avenue of 
communication with employees, consumers, investors and many others, 
Chapters.indd   257 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
258
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2
locally and globally. A great deal of management’s current concern for 
employee productivity and the need to empower people has revolved 
around the use of teams. But more often what is required is the simplest 
need of all — communication. This is illustrated in the following study: 
When a group of industrial engineers were asked in a 1990 study 
how to improve productivity, communication concerns drew the 
strongest response to any question on survey. More than 88 per 
cent of the engineers strongly agreed that lack of communication 
and cooperation among different components of a business leads to 
reduced productivity (“P and Q Survey” 1990).
CEOs have also recognised the importance of communication. In 
a study by A. Foster Higgins and Company, an employee-benefits 
consulting firm found that 97 per cent of the CEOs surveyed 
believe that communicating with employees positively affects job 
satisfaction. Furthermore, the survey found that 79 per cent think 
that communication benefits the bottom line; surprisingly, only 22 
per cent communicate with employees weekly or more (Farnham 
1989).
   Source: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1038/is_n5_v36/ai_14723295/ 
Public Relations 
Public relations (PR) is both an art and a science. It has the beauty and 
emotionality of art and the system of science. It may mean different things to 
different people. Though it is of recent origin in India and the world over, it is 
used in Government, public and private sectors and other institutions. The PR 
techniques, strategies and practices vary from organisation to organisation. 
“The fundamental way of getting public approval is to deserve it” —
Arthur W. Page
Following definitions of PR will give you some idea about its nature and 
scope.
“Establishing a bond of relationships and contacts between two groups 
of public”
“Deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain 
mutual understanding between an organisation and the public”
“PR is an attempt, through information, persuasion, adjustment and 
contacts, to seek for some activity, cause, movement, institution, product 
or service”
Chapters.indd   258 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
Unit VI - Communication and Extension
259
Code of ethics is a very crucial requirement in any profession. PR 
professionals are no exception to this requirement. They have access to 
information or knowledge about events to come; pressure or temptation to 
commercialise this information must be avoided at all costs. While serving 
the interests of clients and employees, PR professionals must ensure that 
they adhere to a code of ethics and a code of conduct so that they are not 
labelled as fixers or manipulators.
Corporate communication is important primarily as it creates:
z z Positive and favourable public perception
z z Effective and efficient avenues of communication
z z Strong corporate culture, corporate identity and corporate 
philosophy
z z Genuine sense of corporate citizenship.
Functions of Corporate Communication 
Corporate communication builds a healthy organisational environment. 
In an organisation information is to be disseminated by specialists 
and generalists to a variety of people besides sharing information with 
employees, stockholders, media and customers. Corporate communication 
creates and maintains the brand and looks after the organisation’s 
reputation. It projects the company’s brand within and beyond the 
organisation. Thus, the process of corporate communication ensures a 
liaison between an organisation and outside bodies. Nowadays it is used 
as a public relations tool to project a positive corporate image, to build 
strong relationships with stockholders, to inform the public about new 
products and achievements. A smooth and affirmative relationship with 
all stakeholders helps in maintaining and sustaining a positive corporate 
image. Be it a corporate body, company, organisation, institution, non-
governmental organisation or a governmental body—all of them need 
to have a respectable image and reputation. Increasing competition, 
accessibility of information and the media explosion have made ‘reputation 
management’ a priority for most organisations. This is handled in a 
professional manner by corporate communicators. Dealing with crisis 
control, enabling sophisticated approaches to global communications, and 
comprehension and utilisation of complicated communication tools and 
technologies are also important functions of corporate communication.
Chapters.indd   259 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25
260
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2
Functions of PR
Functions performed by corporate PR Departments and PR agencies 
have many factors in common. Given below are most of the common 
functions:
1. Public Relations Policy: Develop and recommend corporate public 
relations policy and share it with top management and all departments. 
This is truer for PR agencies.
2. Statements and Press Releases: Preparation of corporate statements, 
sometimes speeches for executives and press releases are to be prepared 
by the PR personnel. In the process, they are in a position to articulate 
and project positive image of the company or product or policies.
3. Publicity: Issuing announcements of company activities and products 
to media and community. Planning promotional campaign using media 
is also a vital function. Handling inquiries from press and people at 
large is a part of the function.
4. Maintaining Relations: The PR personnel are expected to maintain 
liaisons with Government units at local, national and international 
levels. They are expected to uphold good relations with the community 
as ‘good neighbours’. This includes compliance with environment 
protection standards, giving employment opportunities to locals, and 
cooperating and participating in locality development programmes. 
Communication between company and shareholders and with other 
investors is also an important part of maintaining relations. Sometimes 
the PR agency may have to prepare annual/quarterly reports and 
planning meetings of stockholders.
5. Publications: Preparing and publishing in-house magazines is also 
sometimes the function of a PR agency.
Major Areas of PR Activity
1. Press Relations: PR persons have to maintain cordial relations with 
the press at all levels, from editor to reporter. Press and PR are both 
dependent on each other for their bread and butter. Providing well 
written and well-timed press releases, helping the correspondent to 
write their articles, easy accessibility, forbearance of press criticism, 
avoiding biases and undue favours to some papers are some of the 
features of press relations. The PR man should project the culture of 
the organisation while disseminating information about the product 
or service. Journalists need news to remain in the business, and PR 
needs publicity. Thus, there is a give and take between the two. This 
interdependence of PR and press should be understood. 
Chapters.indd   260 8/16/2022   12:28:46 PM
2024-25