PUBLIC relations is frequently an executive afterthought. Managers will spend months negotiating a deal, call in the lawyers, bankers, accountants and project managers, get ready to sign the document and suddenly think: ''We'd better put out a press release on this. Call in the PR people.'' The PR person takes the press statement drawn up by the lawyers and sends it out.
Have the corporate executives fulfilled their corporate responsibilities? I would argue most definitely not! What then are the executives' responsibilities to the company's stakeholders? And do those responsibilities also carry a mandate to be concerned about the overall reputation of the company? The stakeholders are any person or group with an interest or ''stake'' in the company, such as investors, employees, customers, suppliers, government agencies, the industry, bankers and the communities in which it operates. All depend to a certain extenton the on-going successful operations of the company.
And, the company's success is dependent on the quality of its relationships with its stakeholders.
''The importance of stakeholders is slowly being recognised by management,'' said Mr Michel Syrett, visiting fellow at the University of Hongkong Business School.
''Stakeholder relationships are now seen as a corporate governance issue at the few business schools which are shifting from an emphasis on basic skills to a broader view of what today's businesses require.
''These business schools are trying to broaden CEOs' perceptions of stakeholders so they understand that their company's success depends on creating the right relationships with them.