摘要：This paper attempts to probe the practice of public relations within selected organisations in Durban, South Africa. Public relation is an important function of any organisation. It provides the avenue for the organisation to effectively monitor and interact with other key groups within the organisation. The most common disciplines that influence the function of public relations are communication; management and marketing. Public relation manages the communication between an organisation and its publics by building and enhancing relationships that benefit both parties. Public relations should play the role of interpreting the organisations’ philosophy, policy and programs, all of which emanate from top management. Some public relations departments have large numbers of staff and generous budgets even though the original motivations for their functions have long been forgotten and their mission is not clearly defined. Conversely, many, if not most, organisations reorganise the public relations functions, reduce the number of staff and try to do more with fewer people. Even practitioners disagree about what is the best structure and place for their functions in various types of organisations. This paper therefore uses a case study research method to probe the practice of public relations within seven organisations in Durban, South Africa. The findings are reported against the three functions of public relations: communication, management and marketing.
