People throughout history have judged Public Relations critically. So, today, it is essential for PR professionals to know how the field is perceived. This research examines how college students in America and China perceive public relations. Four research questions were proposed to understand perception differences between the two countries, existing misconceptions against public relations, media influences and PR education. This study employed the survey method to find college students' perceptions of public relations in the U.S. and China. The study finds that college students believe that public relations practice is related to a broad range of specialized areas. Most of students view public relations as an important, ethical profession. However, some negative terms are still associated with public relations, such as "spin," that affect students' PR perceptions. In China, fewer students now relate public relations to the previously perceived escort service; and the Chinese cultural norm "guanxi" is considered to be an important element in PR practice. Comparative analyses show that American college students view public relations as a more positive, ethical, and well-developed profession than their Chinese counterparts do. Public relations, in Chinese students' mind, is far away from the well-developed stage. College students believe media, PR courses and internships influence their perceptions to a great extent. More Chinese students recognize the media impact, while more U.S. students value he education impact. This study affirms the importance and professionalism of public relations. At the same time, it provides crucial insights into the challenges that this field is facing in the two countries. No matter whether it is as a profession, or an academic discipline and a social contributor, public relations still needs to keep educating the public in the new decade ofthe 21st century.

This study set out to explore how multinational corporations incorporated the issue of culture into the planning process for crisis management. The research used a case study method with unstructured interviews conducted via email, phone and in person, and focused on the U.S. and Japan. Four of the interview subjects were established public relations professionals with experience in both countries, and one subject is a professor of intercultural communications in Japan. All interviews were transcribed and approved by the interview subjects before being analyzed and catalogued into themes. Those themes were then reviewed compared to the intercultural communications theoretical framework of power distance, high-context vs. low-context communications, and individualism vs. collectivism. Results revealed three main themes, including differences in PR between Japan and the United States, belief that culture should play a more substantial role in crisis communications, and actual use of culture in crisis communications. Responses showed that, regardless of a collective belief that culture should play a substantial role in crisis r;;- management, intercultural communication components often take over in emergencies. In conclusion, while all interview subjects saw value in cultural response, the broad scope of what that entails made it an impractical endeavor. Further, responses showed that the planning stage is not the most effective place to integrate culture into crisis communication. Research did suggest, however, that an updated PR model, adapted from the R.A.C.E. method, that incorporates elements of cultural communication consideration between the Action Planning and Communication stages could beneficial.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Communication