Content-Type: text/html International Paradigms International Paradigms: The social role of Brazilian public relations professionals Juan Carlos Molleda, Ph.D. University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Department of Public Relations P.O. Box 118400 Gainesville, FL 32611 (352) 392-5719 Fax (352) 392-3952 [log in to unmask] Paper submitted to the Public Relations Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), 2002 Annual Convention, August 7-10, Miami, Florida. International Paradigms: The social role of Brazilian public relations professionals I. Introduction This study tests the first operationalization of the "social role" of Latin American public relations professionals accomplished through a critical analysis of the literature that promotes the Latin American school of public relations (Molleda, 2001a, 2001b). This study initiates a country-by-country exploration of the Latin American perspective. In this case, the turn is for Brazil, the largest economy and territory in the sub-continent and a country with a long professional and academic public relations tradition. Although Latin American scholars have tried to define the "ideal" and "ethical" approach to practice public relations in their region, this study represents the first time that factor analyzed indices have been used to explain what it means to be socially responsible, change agents in all kinds of organizations. In specific, the study was designed to support of reject the existence of the "social role" of public relations professionals in Brazil. More broadly, the study was to add to the theoretical base of the U.S. body of knowledge by identifying the similarities between Latin American and the U.S. scholarships (e.g., J. Grunig, 2000; Holtzhausen, 2000; Holtzhausen & Voto, 2002; Kruckeberg, 2000; Kruckeberg & Starck, 1988; Starck & Kruckeberg, 2001). One encouraging consequence of the terrorist attacks inflicted against the United States of America and, in general, the capitalist world on September 11, 2001, could be an increase awareness of the need for collaboration among regions, nations, organizations and communities. Public relations professionals could emerge as "social intermediaries" in the new economy (Piore, 2001)[1] in which collaboration is the core value that guides the development of relationships between organizations and their publics (J. Grunig, 2000). The social role is demanded in societies with alarming rates of inequalities, such us the difficult situation faced by most Latin American countries. II. Review of the Literature The Latin American School of Public Relations: (a) focuses on the community's interest (Pereira-Parodi, 1996); (b) aims to contribute to the well-being of the human, urban and social environments where organizations operate (P‚rez-Senac and Sol¢rzano-Hern ndez, 1999); (c) responds to the history and socioeconomic reality of the region (Pereira-Parodi, 1996); (d) sees public relations practitioners as agents of social transformation (P‚rez-Senac, 1998) or as change agents (del Rey-Morat¢, 2000); (e) is embedded in the idea of freedom, justice, harmony, equality and respect for human dignity (del Rey-Morat¢, 2000, Sol¢rzano-Hern ndez, 2000); (f) establishes confidence without manipulation and uses communication to reach accords, consensus and integrated attitudes between an organization and its internal and external publics (Sol¢rzano-Hern ndez, 2000); and (g) fundamentally views public relations as essential for integration (Simoes, 1992) and consensus (Palenque-Su rez, 2000). The so-called Latin American School of Public Relations began to be promoted in the 1960s when members of the Inter-American Confederation of Public Relations (CONFIARP) initiated the study and practice of public relations according to the confederation's principles and considering the particular reality of the region. In 1996, Pereira-Parodi suggested that the Latin American School focuses on the interests of the community and responds to a regional and historical reality, including economic, social and political aspects that influence public relations practices (P‚rez-Senac & Sol¢rzano-Hern ndez, 1999, p. 185). Despite the commitment of the CONFIARP membership to define a distinctive school of thought, they acknowledge the United States leadership in public relations practices and scholarship, which has many aspects similar to the Latin American perspective; especially the work of James Grunig and his colleagues (1992) regarding symmetrical communication. However, the Latin American School is considered more humanistic and socially oriented. Referring to the research efforts in Latin America from the mid 1980s to the 1990s, Orozco-G¢mez (1997) explained that research has approached the U.S. empirical tradition to a small extent. The major tradition approach has been the European orientation anchored in social and communitarian concerns to serve society. CIESPAL (The International Center for Higher Studies of Communication for Latin America, Quito, Ecuador) indirectly contributed to the debate by creating the concept of social communication with an emphasis on "alternative media" within community groups. CONFIARP followed a different orientation by concentrating on established organizations and media for the development of a humanistic perspective of public relations. The contribution of public relations to the needed social transformation process has been promoted by established public and private organizations with an emphasis on the needs and expectations of the involved communities. P‚rez-Senac and Sol¢rzano-Hern ndez (1999) explained that public relations has three main functions: administrative, communicative and social. The administrative function refers to the management of human and financial resources and strategic plans. The communication function entails the design, diffusion and evaluation of messages. Finally, the so cial function stresses the responsibility of organizations to contribute to the well-being of the human, urban and social environments in which they operate. This social function is the core of the Latin American School. According to del Rey-Morat¢ (2000), the Latin American School of Public Relations emphasizes social and human integration; that is, from a sociological perspective, it sees the public relations professional as a change agent. He explained that, according to the code of ethics and declaration of principles of CONFIARP (1986), public relations practice must be embedded in the idea of freedom, justice, harmony, equality and respect for human dignity. The ultimate purpose of the profession is to promote people's progress and well-being, to protect human rights and to meet people's essential needs. Sol¢rzano-Hern ndez (2000)[2] stated that the common use of language is primarily oriented toward understanding. Any other language use, such as persuasive and coercive meanings, is subordinated. In the search for consensus of social integration, communication should be oriented toward overcoming mistrust. Public relations uses communication to reach consensus and integrated attitudes among specific publics that play different roles inside and outside organizations. According to Sol¢rzano-Hern ndez , public relations is used to establish confidence without manipulation, where human relationships legitimize the communication efforts of organizations. Hence, human beings do not live in a world of just occasional contact, rather they live in an organized world of relationships and communication where both elements converged. Integration and coexistence are commonplace for human encounters. This is why publics and organizations should realize that they are not self-sufficient and that they need each other for the development of their individual conditions. P‚rez-Senac (1998) argued that the essence of public relations as an agent of social transformation entails "[t]he planned, systematic and permanent action of an organization to harmonize its interests with those of its publics through an acceptable behavior and an efficient communication" (p. 95). This implies that the public relations practitioner should be sensitive to social changes and understand the expectations of publics, assuring that those expectations are met. Latin American public relations scholars are aware of the difficulty in developing long-term relationships between organizations and publics in a region characterized by precarious social conditions. Corredor-Ruiz (2000) maintained that it is not profitable to a society to produce wealth while increasing poverty levels. Thus, according to this Venezuelan scholar, organizations face the challenge of combining three goals: quality production, social responsibility and the maintenance of cooperative linkages with society. According to Corredor-Ruiz, public relations professionals must contribute to their organizations' philosophy of social responsibility. This responsibility is of greater importance in Latin America because of the failure of democratic regimes to solve the social crises their countries face (Corredor-Ruiz, 1998). The slow and inefficient state bureaucracies have failed to meet the expectations of increasingly frustrated citizens, many of whom have turned to the priva te sector for assistance. For this reason, organizations must open channels of participation to their publics. "The main concern in Latin America is to allow publics to communicate with organizations; that is, to establish an equilibrium [symmetry] between organizations and publics" (Personal interview, November 24, 2000). Changes in the environment force organizations to adapt their actions and operations to the new conditions. Palenque-Su rez (2000) argued that public relations must change, adjust and adapt to the transformation and needs of society, including its organizations. This is not only an obligation imposed by the market, but it is also part of a true responsibility to human beings in society. She explains that, today, society demands information and also participation. "Public relations is conceived as essential tasks of integration and consensus, which offer to an organization the encouragement to get closer to humankind without any fear or risk" (p. 37). Without distancing himself from the social perspective, Simoes (1992) defined public relations as a political function. Simoes (1992) argued that an organization needs to convey "that it exists, with permission from a granting power (government) in order to produce something or provide some service to society _. [I]t must act in benefit of all of its partners in society. Its action must be geared toward the common good and never to its own interests. There must be an integration interest" (p. 196). Again, the "integration" theme is present as a key element of the conception of public relations in Latin America. II.1. U.S. Perspective of the Social Role of Public Relations Research on the roles of public relations practitioners is part of the discipline's body of knowledge (Toth, Serine, Wright, and Emig, 1998). Broom and Smith (1978, 1979) and Broom (1982) introduced the concept of roles to public relations. "Roles are abstractions of behavior patterns of individuals in organizations," Dozier wrote (1992). Practitioners have reported to performing four roles: the expert prescriber, the communication facilitator, the problem-solving process facilitator, and the communication technician (Broom and Smith, 1979; Broom, 1982; Broom and Dozier, 1986). Other than the broad categories, manager and technician (Dozier, 1992), public relations practitioners seem to enact a more specific social role, especially in developing countries (Molleda, 2001b). Actions of professionals as socially responsible agents could help to define the specific characteristics of the social role. The topic of social responsibility of the public relations professional is included in the most used introductory books (e.g., Cutlip, Center & Broom, 2000; Newsom, Turk & Kruckeberg, 2000; Wilcox, Ault, Agee & Cameron, 2000). In particular, Cutlip et al. (2000) state that the commitment to serve society must be assumed by both the professional as an individual and the profession as a collectivity. They highlight that public relations fulfill its social responsibility when promoting the well-being of people and assisting social systems to adapt and respond to changing needs and environments. Some U.S. scholars have approached the topic of social harmony and responsibility in more depth. J. Grunig and White (1992) identify the social role when explaining six definitions of the construct: pragmatic, conservative, radical, idealistic, neutral and critical. The radical social role, which is similar to the Latin focus, considers social improvement reform, and change. They wrote: The radical worldview presupposes that public relations contributes to change, within organizations and in society. _ In the wider society, public relations contributes to social change by providing information for use in public debate, by establishing links between groups is society, and by bringing resources together that can be brought to bear on the solution of social problems. (p. 52) The last two aspects of the critical social role, establishing links and bringing resources together, have been further conceptualized by J. Grunig (2000) when arguing about the value of collaborative public relations. "Collaboration _ will help professionalize public relations, help organizations (including activist groups) serve their self-interests, and help move our democratic societies away from confrontation and divisiveness to more collaborative cultures," J. Grunig wrote (p. 45). "At the professional level, _ collaboration, collectivism, societal corporatism, and communal relationships should be at the core of what we value as a profession and what we contribute as a profession to client organizations and to society." These ideas concerning the role of public relations in organizations and society is at the core of the Latin American perspective. The view of the role of public relations professionals as change agents and the organizational conscience is similar to the post-modernist approach introduced by Holtzhausen (2000) and Holtzhausen and Voto (2002), which entails the integration between organizations and the voices of those powerless within a society. The postmodernist view is encapsulated in the following statements: The postmodern public relations practitioner will indeed serve as the conscience and change agent of the organization. Public relations has a role to play in challenging the dominant world views and practices of the organization when these are perceived to be unjust. The role of public relations should be to continuously demystify the organization and its practices and transform it into a more democratic institution, for both its internal and external publics. A democratic institution will consistently communicate openly with its publics and will be prepared to change itself in that process. (Holtzhausen, 2000, p. 105) Similarly, Kruckeberg and Starck (1988), Kruckeberg (2000), and Starck and Kruckeberg (2001) write about an open and active relationship between "enlighten" public relations practitioners and community. "Community building can be proactively encouraged and nurtured by corporations with the guidance and primary leadership of these organizations' public relations practitioners," Starck and Kruckeberg wrote (2000, p. 59). "These practitioners must consider, in their community-building efforts, their environmental constituencies, that is, all entities potentially affected by the corporations." The views of the U.S. scholars J. Grunig, Holtzhausen and Voto, and Starck and Kruckeberg inform the Latin American perspective, but, most importantly, emphasize on the demands of today's complex environments for "active" public relations professionals that motor dynamic interactions between organizations and their internal and external publics. In Latin America that is a very urgent need. Young democracies and large inequalities are pressing organizations to increase its community involvement through partnerships with employees, other organizations, community groups, and local and federal governmental agencies. III. Research Questions Based on the conceptualization of the social role of public relations professionals developed by Latin American and U.S. scholars and Molleda's interpretation (2001b), the following research questions guided the study. RQ1. What are the dimensions that best explain the construct social role of public relations professionals in Brazil? The operationalization of the construct "social role" was accomplished by developing statements that describe possible behaviors of public relations professionals in organizations, which included advising, planning, implementation and evaluation social Sactions. These different functions were used for both internal and external dimensions of the construct. The exploratory factor analysis to use will allow us to find out whether these two internal and external dimensions best describe the construct "social role" or there would be sub-dimensions within the internal and external focuses to explain the construct. RQ2. Is there any difference between the enactment of the social role by male and female Brazilian professionals? Brazil is considered a moderately feminine society (Hofstede, 1983, 1991). The feminine feature could be related to peaceful transition from colonialism to a federative republic and from dictatorship to democracy. Brazilians are considered less aggressive people that the rest of their neighbors in South America. In general, Brazilians put relationships with people before money and appreciate the preservation of the environment. This latter fact has been emphasized since the World Environmental Summit in 1992, when Brazil became the center of biodiversity promotion and conservation. RQ3. Is there any difference between the enactments of the social role and the hierarchical level occupied by the Brazilian respondents? Brazilians are collectivistic with high power distance embedded in their society. This combination is defined by Triandis (2002) as vertical collectivism; that is, vertical cultures accept hierarchy as a given which is enhanced by the fact that collectivistic cultures are higher in conformity. Societies with high power distance let inequalities such as physical and intellectual capacities "grow over time into inequalities in power and health" (Hofstede, 1983, p. 81). "The latter may become hereditary and no longer related to physical and intellectual capacities at all." These aspects seem to be causing struggles within the population that, since 1985, is overcoming the repression of dictatorships and is reveling against the injustices they face. RQ4. Is there any difference between the enactments of the social role and the years of professional experience of the Brazilian respondents? RQ5. Is there any difference between the enactments of the social role and the years of education of the Brazilian respondents? Formal public relations education in Brazil started in 1967. The first four-year public relations program was offered by the University of Sao Paulo's School of Communication and Arts. Today, public relations is taught in Brazil in 72 undergraduate and 24 graduate programs across the nation (CONRERP-SP, 2002). Several universities of the largest South American country offer masters and doctoral programs in public relations. IV. Method IV.1. Sample In June 2001, the Regional Council of Public Relations 4th Region (i.e., the southern states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina) collaborated with the author of this article to conduct research with its registered members. A total of 148 professionals (76% women) participated of the study. This represents a 30 percent response rate out of a census of 520 professionals (22 envelops could not been delivered because of wrong addresses). More than half of the respondents (66%) occupy managerial positions, have an average of 8 years of experience, and higher education in public relations (64% hold a master's degree or graduate specialization). They represent the following types of organizations: agencies (23%), manufacture (12%), service industry (16%), utilities (3%), government (14%), nonprofits (7%), health care (7%), education (7%), trade and professional associations (5%), and other (6%). IV.2. Procedures Participants completed a one-way, self-administered questionnaire. The instrument was developed from the theory and research on the Latin American perspective and its U.S. contra part, literature review about the social function of public relations, and the author's own professional experience in Latin America. The instrument was first written in English, reviewed by colleagues of the author, translated to Portuguese by a native speaker, and back translated to English for accuracy. The instrument was pre-tested by Brazilian professionals and academicians, which generated a few corrections to the original instrument. IV.3. Questionnaire Construction The final questionnaire consisted of two indices that used a seven-number Likert scale, where 1 meant never and 7 always; one open-ended question; and a demographic section. A total of 44 variables were included. Efforts were made to include mutually exclusive and exhaustive indicators. The first index included 19 statements that describe behaviors concerning the social role of the public relations professional involving internal publics. Eleven statements addressed mechanisms to inform and influence top management decision-making regarding the organization's internal social environment. Five statements referred to actions carry out by the respondent to inform, educate and encourage employee's participation in social and cultural programs. Two items stated the fact that the respondent follows a code of professional ethics and a code of professional conducts. Finally, one positive statement indicated that the participant acts as a social conscience of his/her organization, which is at the core of the Latin American perspective on social public relations (See Appendix 1 for a copy of the questionnaire's English version). The second index contained 25 statements related to the social role of the public relations professional involving external publics, such as governments and communities. Thirteen statements addressed actions and behaviors enacted by the participant to implement social programs with community or government involvement. The twelve remained statements referred to information and encouragement the participant provides to his/her organization's top management regarding socially responsible behaviors and actions. V. Statistical Analyses SPSS computer software for Windows (V. 11.0) was used to analyze the quantitative data collected. Principal axis factoring (PAF) with an oblimn rotation was used to explore the pattern of responses among the multiple-items included in the social role indices; PAF was selected because as Sharma (1996) explains: PAF _ implicitly assumes that a variable is composed of a common part and a unique part, and the common part is due to the presence of the common factors. The objectives are to first estimate the communalities and then identify the common factors responsible for the commonalities and the correlation among the variables. That is, the PAF technique assumes an implicit underlying factor model. For this reason many researchers choose to use PAF. (p. 108) Factors with eigenvalues of greater than one were retained for analysis. Items with communality of less than 50% or primary loading (standardized regression coefficient) of less than .50 in one factor were eliminated in order to retain the relevant items from forty-four variables. This produced a two-factor solution with 30 activities accounting for 48 percent of the total variance. The items, factor loadings, means and standard deviations appear in Table 1. The direct oblimn rather than the Varimax rotation was selected because there were noticeable correlations between the factors and the desire was to reproduce the real world rather than force an independence that did not exist in the data. For the purposes of this research the first factor will be labeled "Government and Community Relations" because the items loading on it were related to both types of stakeholders. The second factor will be labeled "Corporate Social Policy and Employee Relations" because the indicators loading on this factor included internal aspects of the social role, such as management advisement and employee encouragement and engagement in social activities. Table 1: Pattern Matrix Factor Factor Mean Std. Dev. Factor: 1 Government and Community Relations 1 2 Seek government participation in organizational social programs .86 3.42 2.20 Request assistance Gov-community outreach .82 3.13 2.19 Promote symmetrical communication-government .81 3.43 2.16 Monitor Org-actions harmonize government .78 3.53 2.16 Government officials-develop social programs .72 3.47 2.15 Make Org-aware political leaders expectations .69 4.21 2.11 Encourage Org-support government social policies .67 4.48 2.13 Community leaders-develop soc programs .67 3.51 2.13 Encourage Org-promote community education .65 4.89 2.14 Conduct external social audits .64 3.32 2.02 Encourage attacking social illnesses .64 4.44 2.21 Encourage Org-promote democratic ideals .62 4.48 2.31 Encourage developing health education .58 5.13 1.92 Monitor social changes developing community relations .58 4.68 2.15 Encourage Org-financial contributions community .53 4.05 2.23 Encourage Org-financial contribution associations .53 4.00 2.361 Factor 2: Corporate Social Policy and Employee Relations Make Org-aware employee well-being contributions .87 5.95 1.58 Make Org-aware employee well-being .80 6.05 1.55 Advise Org-social responsibility .71 5.63 1.76 Promote symmetrical communication .66 5.48 1.91 Encourage employee participation community campaigns .66 5.31 1.94 Articulating social policies .63 5.63 1.61 Advise articulation workplace safety policies .62 5.14 2.02 Inform Mgmt social changes .62 5.80 1.72 Encourage employee participation community .61 5.44 1.90 Advise articulation human rights policies .55 4.86 2.15 Make Org-aware community well-being .55 5.63 1.77 Advise Org-corporate ethics .55 5.41 1.88 Develop employee campaign better lifestyles .51 5.14 1.98 Operate as social conscience .50 5.14 1.93 % of variance explained 40.88 6.92 Eigenvalue 14.93 14.06 Extraction Method: Principal Axis Factoring. Rotation Method: Oblimin with Kaiser Normalization. Rotation converged in 16 iterations. Before continuing with the results, a word of caution should be addressed. The main limitation of the study is the relatively small number of respondents for the factor analyses. Should they be replicated-that may not be stable because of small numbers with a large number of variables, but high internal consistency reduces the likelihood of construct validity issues. Face validity is high. VI. Findings Cronbach's alpha was computed for each factor to assess its internal consistency. The two factors obtained a high internal consistency, which means that they are valid measures to describe internal (16 items, Cronbach's Alpha .94) and external (14 items, Cronbach's Alpha .91) dimensions of the social role of public relations professionals in Latin America. As described in the questionnaire construction section, indices were developed to measure internal and external behaviors in which public relations professional could engage to enact the social role in Latin America. Factor analysis of the 44 indicators comprising the two main dimensions of the social role was undertaken to determine the dimensions of the construct. Two-factor solution was identified, which explained 48 percent of the total variance. The first factor with 16 indicators is labeled "Government and Community Relations" because the items loading on it were related to both types of stakeholders. Six groups of indicators composed this factor: 1. Make the organization aware of the expectations of political leaders concerning the organization's involvement in social programs and conduct social audits to determine community members' and leaders' perceptions of the organization's social performance. 2. Monitor the extent to which organizational actions or behaviors harmonize with the interests of local or federal government, and monitor social changes to have them considered by the organization in developing community relations programs. 3. Maintain contacts with government officials to identify their priorities and contacts with community leaders to understand their needs when developing social programs for the organization's involvement. 4. Encourage the organization to support governmental policies that benefit the community, to promote education and democratic ideas within the communities where it operates and/or has influence, to develop communication programs to attack social illnesses that the community faces, and programs to promote health education within the community. 5. Encourage the organization to contribute financially to the development of the community where it operates and/or has influence and to give monetary contributions to non-profit or community organizations or foundations. 6. Seek the participation of governmental agencies in the social programs the organization develops, request the assistance of governmental agencies to jointly develop community outreach projects or partnerships, and promote two-way communication between the organization and government officials. The second factor is be labeled "Corporate Social Policy and Employee Relations" because the indicators loading on this factor included internal aspects of the social role, such as management advisement and employee encouragement and engagement in social activities. The indicators of this factor had higher mean ratings than the items in factor one, indicating that Brazilian public relations professionals saw internal aspects central to their social role. This factor include five groups pf indicators: 1. Operate as the social conscience of the organization by advising management on issues of social responsibility and corporate ethics. 2. Keep management informed of social changes that could affect the relationship between the organization and the community where it operates and/or has influence. 3. Make organization aware of issues related to employee welfare and, in general, the need to contribute to employees and community well being. 4. In meeting with management, advocate policies to encourage employees' participation in projects that benefit the community as well as to point out the need to articulate social policies, workplace safety policies and regulations, and human rights policies for the organization. 5. Promote two-way communication between management and employees, encourage employees to volunteer in community organizations, and develop public relations campaigns or communication tools to educate employees about healthy lifestyles. The first research question is answered by this two-factor solution. Next step is to explore research questions two and three with regard to these two dimensions of the social role. The analysis looks at "social role" indicators' means by gender and then by the hierarchical level of the public relations respondents. After conducting the principal axis factor analysis, the two factors extracted were saved as variables. Then, one-way analyses of variance were used two explore the association between the factors and the independent variables: participants' sex and hierarchical level. When a significant relations was found, the association between the individual indicators' means and the independent variables where further explored by utilizing Anova tests. The study's data show significant relationship between Factor 1 (f=4.88, df2/123, p=.029) and Factor 2 (f=21.18, df2/123, p=.0001) and the "sex of respondents." Thus, male professionals appear to enact more frequently the external social role (i.e., Government and Community Relations) than female professionals do. In contrast, female professionals tend to be more often responsible for the internal dimension of the social role (i.e., Corporate Policy and Employee Relations). This answers the research question two. In relation to the association between the factors and the hierarchical levels of respondents (RQ3), a significant relationships was found between factor 1 and the hierarchical level (f=10.54, df2/119, p=.002). That is, those who occupy the highest position in the hierarchy tend to be in charge of "Government and Community Relations" more often than those in the lower levels. The association between factor 2 and hierarchical level was not significant (f=1.07, df2/119, p=.302). To answer research questions four and five, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation with one-tailed significance tests were used because all the variables involved were continuous indicators. Factor 1 "Government and Community Relations" was positively associated to the years of professional experience of participants (r=.23, significant at p=0.01-definite but small relationship, Guilford, 1956). The association between Factor 2 "Corporate Social Policy and Employee Relations" was negative and significant at p=0.01 (r=-.30-definite but small relationship). The correlation between Factor 1 by years of education resulted in a small positive relationship, significant at the p=0.05 level (r=.24). Finally, the association between Factor 2 and education years was found negative and significant at the p=0.01 level -definite but small relationship). VII. Discussion and conclusion Two main dimensions, internal and external, seem to compose the construct "social role" of public relations professionals in Brazil. The two dimensions were measured with reliable indices that could be used for future replications and expansion of this conceptualization, not only in other parts of Brazil, but also in other Latin American countries. The indicators of the two factors extracted explain the actions that a professional performs to increase his/her involvement as "social conscience of the organization" and maybe as a "change agent" or "agent of social transformation." The second factor, "Corporate Policy and Employee Relations," showed higher mean scores, which could explain the emphasis that the public relations function in Brazil has on internal issues and stakeholders. It is not easy to partner with Latin American governments because they are known for being bureaucratic and centralized. The welfare of the Latin American citizens has been in the hands of governmental agencies. The private sector and nonprofit, until now, have not played a major role in this regard. Brazil is not the exception. Since the transition to democracy in 1985 is when Brazilian organizations have become more active in community outreach. There is still mistrust for government, which is characterized by being authoritarian and inefficient. This could be why the mean scores of the First Factor, "Government and Community Relations," are lower. It could be argued that the progress toward participative democracy, voluntarism and stronger civil society would increase organ izations' involvement with government and community initiatives. The first factor, though, encapsulates a strategic approach to public relations: monitor (formative research), counseling, planning, implementation, evaluation of corporate social perceptions, and stewardship or partnership initiatives with external stakeholders. If practice following this model, public relations professionals in Brazil and other Latin American countries would contribute to the betterment of their political and social environments and, therefore, with the survival and further productivity of their organizations. The findings concerning the association between the two factors and the sex of public relations practitioners reinforce the feminist view that women are discriminated in society. Even though Brazil is considered a moderately feminine culture (Hofstede, 1983), male professionals seem to represent the organization outside its boundaries. There is hope though. The female respondents of this study often perform the internal social role, which includes advising top management on corporate social policies. The participation of Brazilian women in corporate decision making could be the answer to overcome possible discriminations and to enact more often the external social role. A large sample is needed to explore the intercept between sex of the participants and hierarchical level they occupy, which was another limitation of this study. Multivariate analysis was not used because of the small sample. Nevertheless, a post hoc analysis was performed to explore the association between the variables sex and hierarchical level, and no significance was found. The findings that inform the last two questions about years of professional experience, years of education, and the two factors further support the fact that to enact the external social role, "Government and Community Relations," Brazilian professionals need tenure and advanced knowledge to be up to the challenge their complex society presents. As democracy advances Brazilian organizations have endured a strong fight for public recognition. The emerging society is much oriented toward results. Quality, environmental protection, and social responsibility have become relevant matters for private and public organizations. This study could be adapted and expanded to explore the social role of public relations professionals in the United States of America. After the event of September 11, the U.S. society appears to have increased the sense of community and solidarity. There are already academic work in the area of community involvement and collaboration. The U.S. scholars included in this paper are leading the promotion of this more socially or humanitarian approach of public relations. VIII. References Broom, G.M., & Smith, G.D. (1978, August). Toward an understanding of public relations roles: An empirical test of five role models' impact on clients. Paper presented at the meeting of the Public Relations Division, Association for Education in Journalism, Seattle, WA. Broom, G.M., & Smith, G.D. (1979). Testing the practitioner's impact on clients. 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Your identity will be kept confidential. Your name never will be used in the analysis of the questionnaire's responses. Only summarized responses will be analyzed and reported. If you accept to participate, please return the completed questionnaire to the information/registration booth of this event. I. The statements that follow describe different aspects of what public relations practitioners do to perform a social and political role in their organizations. ù If the statement describes something that you never do, circle "1." ù If it is something that you always do, circle "7." ù If occasionally, circle the number that best describes your work. (Note: If you work in an agency, circle the number that best describes your work with your major client) Never Always I keep management informed of social changes that could affect the relationship between my organization and the community where it operates and/or has influence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I keep management informed of political changes that could affect the relationship between my organization and the local or federal government 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 In meetings with management, I point out the need to articulate social policies for my organization 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I make my organization aware of issues related to employee welfare 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I advocate policies to encourage employees' participation in projects that benefit the community 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I encourage employees to volunteer in community organizations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I conduct social audits to determine employees' perceptions of my organization's social performance 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I make my organization aware of the need to contribute to the well-being of its employees 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I promote open/two-way communication between management of my organization and its employees 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I follow my organization's code of conduct to guide my practice of community relations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I follow the Parliament/CONRERP code of professional ethics to guide my counsel to my organization on social matters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I develop public relations campaigns or communication tools to educate employees about healthy lifestyles 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I coordinate cultural activities for our employees so they preserve indigenous/autochthonous artistic expressions and traditions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I operate as the social conscience of my organization 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I advise my organization on issues of social responsibility 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I advise my organization on issues of corporate ethics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 In meetings with management, I point out the need to articulate environmental protection policies for my organization 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 In meetings with management, I point out the need to articulate workplace safety policies and regulations for my organization 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 In meetings with management, I point out the need to articulate human rights policies for my organization 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Never Always I evaluate possible projects that my organization could develop to benefit the community where it operates or has influence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I conduct social audits to determine community members' and leaders' perceptions of my organization's social performance 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I maintain contacts with community leaders to understand their needs when developing social programs for my organization's involvement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I maintain contacts with government officials to identify their priorities when developing social projects for my organization's involvement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I make my organization aware of the needs and expectations of the community where it operates and/or has influence concerning the organization's involvement with community development 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I make my organization aware of the expectations of political leaders concerning the organization's involvement in social programs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I make my organization aware of the need to contribute to the well-being of the community where it operates and/or has influence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I encourage my organization to be part of the community where it operates 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I promote open/two-way communication between my organization and government officials 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I promote open/two-way communication between my organization and the community 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I monitor the extent to which organizational actions or behaviors harmonize with the interests of the community 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I monitor the extent to which organizational actions or behaviors harmonize with the interests of local or federal government 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I monitor social changes to have them considered by my organization in developing community relations programs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I take into consideration community expectations when planning public relations strategies for the community 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I encourage my organization to develop programs to promote the preservation of national and local artistic expressions and traditions within the community where it operates and/or has influence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I encourage my organization to develop communication programs to promote health education within the community 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I encourage my organization to develop communication programs to attack social illnesses that our community faces, such as drug addiction, sexually transmitted diseases, domestic violence and racial discrimination. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I request the assistance of governmental agencies to jointly develop community outreach projects or partnerships 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I am responsible for ensuring that my organization's behavior meets social expectations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I encourage my organization to contribute financially to the development of the community where it operates and/or has influence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I seek the participation of governmental agencies in the social programs my organization develops 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I encourage my organization to support governmental policies that benefit the community 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I encourage my organization to give monetary contributions to non-profit or community organizations / foundations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I encourage my organization to promote education within the communities where it operates and/or has influence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I encourage my organization to promote democratic ideals within the communities where it operates and/or has influence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 II. Please add in the following space any comment you may have concerning the social role of public relations professionals in Brazil. ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ III. Demographics 1. In which region do you predominantly practice public relations? (Check one) ___Northwest ___Southwest ___Northeast ___Southeast 2. Which category best describes your organization? (Check one) ___Public relations agency ___Advertising agency ___Integrated marketing communication agency ___Consumer package goods ___Consumer durable goods ___Consumer services (finance, travel, insurance, etc.) ___Industrial ___Basic materials-metals, paper, glass, chemicals, etc. ___Diversified ___Public utility ___Government ___Non-profit organization ___Hospital/Health care ___Educational institution ___Professional or trade association ___Other (Please specify: ________________________________________________________) 3. How many years of formal education beyond high school have you completed? ___ Years 3.1. Your highest education degree: ________________________________________________ 4. If completed a university degree, what was your field of study? _______________________________ 5. How many years have you worked full-time in public relations? _____years 6. Your age: _____ years old. 7. Sex: ___Male ___Female 8. Are you the highest-ranking public relations practitioner in your organization? ___Yes ___No 8.1. Your title: _________________________________________________________________ Thank you very much for your participation! Please return the completed questionnaire in the postage-paid envelope enclosed. Mail it as your earliest convenience. If you want a summary of the results of this study, please write your electronic address, mail address or enclose your business card and we will be glad to send you a copy. [1] Piore (2001) explains that social intermediaries are "institutions that mediate between the economy and other realms of social activity and maintain a balance between them. Among institutions of this kind are trade unions and governmental organizations but also cooperatives, household-based enterprises, religious institutions, and, increasingly, networks of professionals and business people based on race, sex, ethnicity and religion" (p. 339). Definitely the contribution of public relations professionals to achieve a balance and beneficial interactions between institutions in society is core for Latin American scholars. [2] Emilio Sol¢rzano-Hern ndez was the president of CONFIARP from 1996 to 2000.