The Outcomes Task Team, using data from the national survey conducted for t
he 1998 National Communication Association Summer Conference, developed out
comes profiles for entry-level and advanced level practitioners, and for ed
ucators teaching public relations in under graduate and graduate programs.
Outcomes were defined as the desired characteristics of public relations pr
actitioners or educators at various stages of their professional lives. Sur
vey respondents were asked to rate the extent to which each outcome was des
ired and the extent to which it was found. They also were asked to identify
the top five requirements in practitioners they hire and the top five prob
lems they encounter in hiring.
The task team examined the survey data in the light of existing scholarship
and their own experience to identify sets of outcomes for each professiona
l level. The term dimensions was used for general headings or categories of
desired and found outcomes, such as communication competencies. The term d
escriptors was used for the specifically named cognitive, behavioral, or af
fective outcomes. The task team also identified missing descriptors and/or
areas needing further development.
Once the descriptors were grouped into dimensions the task team prepared ma
trices of each group's responses from the survey. These matrices revealed u
nexpectedly strong agreement between educators and practitioners regarding
the training, experience and expertise outcomes needed for career developme
nt in public relations. However, significant gaps were found between desire
d outcomes and those actually found in the opinions of both practitioner an
d educator respondents.
Dostal Neff is a professor in the Department of Communication at Valparaiso
University. Walker is in the Department of Communication Studies, at the U
niversity of Technology, Sydney, Australia. Smith is in the Department of C
ommunication at LaSalle University and Creedon is the Director of the Schoo
l of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State University.