The study of leadership has been ongoing for many years. Although the characteristics of leaders seem to have remained somewhat similar over time, research has changed. Up until recently, researchers have based their research tools on a questionnaire developed by Stogdill in 1955. This study took a different approach, using Q-methodology. The objective of this study was to determine what characteristics top public relations professionals in Indiana believed were necessary to be a leader in the profession and whether education-level, experience-level, and gender played a role in their decisions.A total of 21 professionals volunteered to participate in the study. They were each asked to complete a demographic questionnaire and sort 60 leadership-based statements according to their level of agreement. The program, PQMethod was used to analyze the responses. Based on the outcomes, the respondents fell into one of two categories, Authoritarian Leaders or Democratic Leaders. After reviewing the questionnaires, it was noted that distinct demographic differences existed between the two categories. The analysis from PQMethod also revealed the most important characteristics the respondents felt are necessary to be a leader in the profession, as well as the least important characteristics.This study took a closer look at Indiana public relations professionals who held top positions within their organization. This study applied an attitudinal research approach to leadership-related concepts in the field. Although the results cannot be generalized to all leaders in the public relations industry, it does provide insight to the subject and a starting point for additional research. / Department of Journalism

This study compared the levels of professionalism among Indiana corporate and agency public relations practitioners. The entire population, 339 individuals, was contacted via telephone and administered McLeod and Hawley's professional orientation instrument, yielding 183 usable responses.Respondents rated the importance of 24 items on a 5point Likert scale, and provided information on age, education, undergraduate major, salary, and length of time with current organization, in public relations, and in the workforce.Professionalism scores were calculated by subtracting the sum of answers to the non-professional items from the sum of answers to the professional items. Scores were ranked, then divided at the median. "Professionals" fell at or above the median; "semi-professionals" fell below the median,following McLeod/Hawley methodology.A multiple regression analysis determined the only significant relationship between level of professionalism and demographics occurred with undergraduate major--a slight negative correlation. Frequency distribution showed journalism/public relations majors had higher percentages of professionals than either English or other majors. / Department of Journalism

Access to abstract permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Journalism

Currently, there are questions over which role, communication manager or communication technician, public relations practitioners at institutions of higher education should perform to best meet the needs of their institutions. To understand the reasonings behind these questions, a better understanding of practitioners in this area of the profession was needed. This study focused on public relations practitioners at institutions of higher education in Indiana. The objectives of this study were to create a demographic profile of these practitioners, determine which role was more prevalent among these practitioners, identify significant variables related to these practitioners' roles, and determine if the findings of previous roles research could be applied to this targeted population.Practitioners at 43 institutions of higher education in Indiana were asked to complete a questionnaire concerning their role and demographic information. Thirty-nine practitioners from this population completed and returned the questionnaires. The typical practitioner among this population was: A Caucasian male, at least 40 years old, making over $60,000 a year.Respondents were divided into two role groups, communication managers and communication technicians, based on their responses to 14 role-related questions on the questionnaire. A t-test analysis found significant differences between the mean role scores of these two groups, meaning that practitioners in this population can fit into one of the two dominant practitioner roles.Further analysis identified significant differences between four of seven variables tested on the two role groups. Significant differences were found between the two groups concerning the variables of size of institution, years of experience, use of formal research, and decision-making responsibility. No significant differences were found between the two groups concerning the variables of gender, level of education, and age.Finally, the dependent variables of use of formal research and decision-making responsibility were each tested through crosstab analyses with the independent, demographic variables of gender, age, size of institution, level of education, and years of experience. These analyses found that only years of experience was significantly related to use of formal research. Meanwhile, gender, age, size of institution, and years of experience were all significantly related to decision-making responsibility. No significant interactions were found between the variables of use of formal research and decision-making responsibility. / Department of Journalism

The fields of public relations and marketing are experiencing interdisciplinary assimilation, especially in the health care industry and specifically in hospitals. With the recognition of this basic trend many questions have been raised by public relations practitioners, marketers, and health care administrators dealing with present and anticipated functions of these public relations/marketing departments.To survey the status of public relations and marketing in Indiana hospitals the study's research question became: What is the status of the functions of public relations and marketing in Indiana hospitals?A questionnaire was the basic research tool in this study of the status of hospital marketing and public relations. The questionnaire included three sections: 1) hospital demographics; 2) identification of public relations and marketing functions performed; and 3) professional staff demographics. This study's universe was defined as healthcare marketing/public relations professionals in the State of Indiana and therefore drew its sample from the Indiana Society for Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing membership list, 1993.The researcher's survey findings led her to the conclusion that because marketing is such a new and powerful force in Indiana's hospital industry, it is swiftly integrating its functions into traditional hospital public relations programs and even rising to a position of primacy over traditional public relations programs. / Department of Journalism

This thesis examined the concept of career commitment and its relationship to certain demographic variables, including gender, to determine if a positive relationship existed. The purpose of this research was to address from a different perspective the perceptions identified in previous research that female public relations practitioners lack managerial motivation and a willingness to sacrifice family needs for work, to see if there might be some refutation or support for these perceptions.One hundred and eighty three Indiana public relations practitioners completed a 39-item telephone survey questionnaire. The findings in this study revealed that there is no significant difference between male and female practitioners in work commitment, and there is no relationship between certain demographic variables, including gender, and work commitment.The findings that female public relations practitioners are just as committed to their careers as their male colleagues indicates that, at least in Indiana, there is simply no basis for the sex-role stereotypes that have been identified in previous research. / Department of Journalism