GLOBAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS 101

Many types of organizations virtually and physically interact and communicate with publics and/or audiences outside their own country of origin to build a dynamic set of relationships. Trade, direct foreign investment, political coalitions, worthy global causes, information flow, and social networking, among other phenomena, are increasing the complexity of these relationships dramatically. Moreover, this complexity results in greater interdependence and interconnectivity among societies, groups of ideology-driven or cause-driven individuals, and organizations worldwide . This reality parallels the evolution of GR as a profession, practice, and field of study in every corner of the planet.

Any multinational organization with operations in several countries faces particular challenges to practice GR as it is conducted in its home country. These challenges are imposed by a unique set of geographical, cultural, political and legal, socioeconomic, and communication media environments. To effectively perform in a given society, GR professionals and their organizations need to understand the aspects associated with  the following sets of contextual variables:

• Value of public opinion and pluralistic views, which are closely related to the level of sophistication of the GR practice;
• Political ideology present in the government and the classification of the political system, as well as its respective policies of economic development;
• Types and number of competing groups seeking legitimacy and power through public opinion and elections;
• Acceptance and lack of alternative views, which in emergent democracies may be only encouraged in theory;
• Covert or overt forms of self- (including professional), social, government censorship;
• Level of economic freedom and level of centralization of economic decision-making, and consequently the extent of entrepreneurship, which allows for a dynamic GR industry;
• Private sector power to influence economic decisions, as well as the relationship between private and public sectors;
• Level and availability of technological development relevant to the GR practice;
• National rates of poverty and illiteracy, which determine the complexity of the communication mix;
• History, types, and extent of activism, knowing that activists force organizations to be socially responsible and fulfil societal expectations;
• Power and independence of the judicial system, as well as the interaction between the judicial and executive branches of government;
• Legislation that regulates GR, any of the specialized sub-practices, and/or related communication activities and professions, including legal versus social and religious codes;
• Corporate culture as a distinctive corporate personality of an organization, including leadership type, years since its foundation, industry type, and size;
• How people in a given country behave toward and perceive organizations;
• Characteristics and dimensions of societal culture, including idiosyncrasies and traditions;
• Media infrastructure and level of professional standards of journalists and editors, including media control (that is private or government ownership; direct or indirect government control; identification with country’s political philosophy and its political parties and the potential control over editorial policy);
• Level of media outreach; that is the ability of media to diffuse messages to different audiences according to their patterns of media consumption; and
• Level of access to the media for organizations, agencies, and activists, as well as the value of information subsidies, such as news releases, news conferences, face-to-face interviews, etc.

The more a subsidiary’s top management believes in GR as a strategic function, the more the subsidiary will formalize GR activities such as lobbying and relationship building with influential local and national officials and their agencies.

Global integration of GR as a closely coordinated, and strategically controlled international GR strategy allows MNCs to speak in one unified integrated voice across the national borders and to share organizational mission, goals, values, communication themes and best GR practices. On the other hand, however, different countries may present MNCs with different settings and with different challenges and to a certain degree require MNCs to digress from the unified global strategy and lead to MNCs designing and customizing GR programmes to be adaptable to local environmental uncertainty and national regulatory barriers. There should be a balance between global integration of GR and local responsiveness and it is important for  MNCs to evaluate which strategy, integration or responsiveness, is the most beneficial for each specific place and time. GR  may be a multi-focal strategic area where internal efficiency and external effectiveness can be achieved simultaneously. The mission and strategy of MNCs GR may be upheld on the global level, while specific tactics are adapted to local environments and implemented locally. A challenge for GR specialists regarding issues management is to reach the right interpretations of laws and policies that might become an issue for their MNCs to resolve. GR professionals must be alert to the power struggle that may exist among different authorities and their respective stakes to interpret issues correctly.