NECS Consultancy

NECS Consultancy is a group project for CMNS2290 -PR Issues and Strategies- a course under the University of Newcastle.

Group 3 consists of Nivitra Devi, Shasikala d/o Kalai Silvan, Calcy Tay and Eva Berlin Fransiskus.

Chapter 9: Community, Not-for-profit, and Interest Groups by Richard Stanton

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Community, Not-for-profit, and Interest Groups, don’t they all sound the same? This is what makes the topic interesting as differentiating between the three will be covered. Albeit different in many ways, they have similarities as well. What are you waiting for, read on to find out more about their inherent similarities and differences!

These organizations are similar in various ways. For them, profit is not their main objective. In addition, they are similar in having an ideology, which is their reason for existence. These organizations exist outside corporate and government spheres, and they attempt to persuade and influence governments to accede to their requests.

A community ideology is shaped by the reality that is dominant in the society. Existing ideologies are reshaped to suit the community purpose, and for social justice. For community groups, supporting each other is important in relationship building, and this is an important strategy for the organization to succeed. For example, Pink Dot has successfully garnered support from the media and public by coming up with new ways to make these old concepts fresh, and support the freedom of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals to love.

A not-for-profit ideology is shaped based on the support and assistance from the masses. They are organizations who adopt either liberal or conservative ideologies, and they work closely with the government to achieve their goals. The ideology of not-for-profit organizations is thus based on that of support and maintenance of others over self. For example, the Salvation Army has volunteers to support their cause to help those in need, and the organization is also supported by the Singapore government, and thus has strong media relationships.

Interest group ideology is shaped by self, and self-interest and self-reliance is the underpinning of their ideology, which is based on the relationship between humans and nature. They form to take action either against an activity or to promote an activity. Special interest groups formed in Singapore includes groups to promote Cosplay and gaming through the internet.

In understanding the nature and ideology of the organization by analyzing its strategies and tactics implemented, PR practitioners are able to better understand their policies.

calcy (:

4 comments:

Shasikala said...

Heya Calcy,
Well done on the post! You have clearly explained the differences between community, not-for-profit and interest groups with examples. However, perhaps, you could have elaborated more on the purposes that such organizations are formed and how to identify them. Also, since the 3 types of organizations are very similar, a list of ways to identify them would be useful as it is common to get confused between them. Moreover, you said that PR practitioners can better understand the organizations policies if they know about the organization’s ideology. I agree with you on this point, yet it would have been better if you could have explained on how the different types of organizations have different strategies and tactics. As in, the differences and similarities of the strategies and tactics adopted by these organizations. All in all, an educational and informational post! ☺

Unknown said...

Hey Calcy!

Great job on the post! I especially like the fact that you chose this topic because the organisation we are doing on is a not-for-profit organisation! Furthermore, you did a good job in summarising the information that is comprehensible to all! You also provided examples of different types of organisation which falls under the category as well. However, like what Shasi said, you could have explained more about the difference in tactics and strategies used by the 3 different groups. Perhaps, it was not stated in the reading? Overall, kudos on such a great post!

Valinka said...

Well, it's been said: you concluded the reading nicely. It's very concise yet sounds like there's no information left behind.
I like the examples you have, too. They clearly represent the group they belong to. Well done!

Calcy said...

Thanks girls for the comments.

The exact strategies and tactics aren't clearly stated in this chapter, as this was already covered in the blog post two weeks ago by Nivitra on grand strategy, strategy, and tactics in public relations. Therefore, this post aims to differentiate between the three based on their ideologies. The concepts on grand strategy, strategy and tactics learnt previously can then be used to analyze the organization, to better understand the ideology and policies of these three types of organizations.

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