As a group of three or four students, select an organization (may be a local organization, non-profit, industrial, etc.) or local business that uses  public relations to achieve the organization's mission and goals.  Through an interview with a person who is mainly responsible for the PR activities of the organization, your team's task is to research this organization's public relations program(s).  If possible identify its PR program's four main elements: Research, planning of actions, communication tactics and evaluation. Then write a 7-10 page report following the guideline below..

Here's what you have to do:

1. Decide on an organization/business and then get my approval (ASAP!)

2. Interview key public relations personnel within the organization/business

3. Through your interviews, you need to gather the following information of the organization/business:

• the nature of the organization (mission, objectives)
• the organizational structure of the PR unit (independent or under other larger department?)
• personnel involved in PR work (titles, job descriptions)
• the typical PR activities or programs (campaigns, fundraising, or special events)
• the primary, secondary and other relevant publics
• the media relations efforts
• crisis communication plan, if any
• the internal/employee relations activities
• PR communication materials produced by the PR unit (collect samples)
• Successes or challenges encountered
• Advice for PR students
• Other pertinent questions of your choice

Be organized and courteous when you interact with the business/organization of your choice. Please appreciate the time they are giving you.

The paper must be typed, double spaced, page numbered, and proofread. Organize the paper as follows:

1. Introduction (5 points)
What business or entity did you select, and why? provide some reasons for the importance of studying this business/organization from a public relations standpoint.

2. Results (15 points)
Provide and discuss the results of your interview. Summarize and discuss your findings in a well-written report. In other words, I don't want to see the transcript of your interview, but I am intrested in the five or eight or 10 mesages your team learned during the interview.
The purpose of the assignment is to discuss PR for the company/organization, so be sure to avoid the mistake of discussing only the event, the organization, or the person interviewed.

3. Analysis and conclusion (10 points)
Offer your critical analysis of the PR  programs and activities of the organization you interviewed. Based on the information you have learned from class, do you think the company is doing a good and/or effective PR?  Justify your comments or suggestions.  In other words, if you think the company is doing a good PR, give me the reasons why you think so. If not, why not. It's best to analyze its PR progam base on RACE model (Did they use research to identify problems; did they use communication tactics strategically; did they evaluate the PR activities?). My grading on your analysis will be based on the information provided to you in this course. Then write a brief conclusion of your report..

4. Samples of public relations activities (5 points)
I expect to see a variety of samples, if possible.

5. Writing mechanics (5 points)
Again proofread your paper. Spellcheck is not enough. Points will be taken off for typos, spelling and grammatical errors.