Symmetry, Contingency, Complexity: Accommodating Uncertainty in Public Relations Theory

Public Relations Review

Volumn 26, Issue 4, 2000, Pages 447-462

  Murphy, Priscilla ^a  

^a TEMPLE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0347114725     PISSN: 03638111     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/S0363-8111(00)00058-8     Document Type: Article

References (69)

1. James E. Grunig, "Collectivism, Collaboration, and Societal Corporatism as Core Professional Values in Public Relations," Journal of Public Relations Research 12 (2000), pp. 23-48.
2. Sheryl L. Williams and Mary Anne Moffitt, "Corporate Image as an Impression Formation Process: Prioritizing Personal, Organizational, and Environmental Audience Factors," Journal of Public Relations Research 9 (1997), p. 241.
3. Thomas J. Mickey, "A Postmodern View of Public Relations: Sign and Reality," Public Relations Review 23 (1997), p. 273.
4. Gabriel Vasquez, "Public Relations as Negotiation: An Issue Development Perspective," Journal of Public Relations Research 8 (1996), pp. 57-77.
5. Carl H. Botan and Francisco Soto, "A Semiotic Approach to the Internal Functioning of Publics: Implications for Strategic Communication and Public Relations," Public Relations Review 24 (1998), pp. 21-44.
6. Ibid, pp. 36-38.
7. Robert L. Heath, "A Rhetorical Perspective on the Values of Public Relations: Crossroads and Pathways Toward Concurrence," Journal of Public Relations Research 12 (2000), p. 75.
8. Bruce K. Berger, "The Halcion Affair: Public Relations and the Construction of Ideological World View," Journal of Public Relations Research 11 (1999), pp. 188-189.
9. Ibid, p. 200.
10. Ibid, p. 193.
11. Derina R. Holtzhausen, "Postmodern Values in Public Relations," Journal of Public Relations Research 12 (2000), p. 110.
12. Ibid, pp. 103, 102.
13. Ibid, p. 107.
14. Amanda E. Cancel, Glen T. Cameron, Lynne M. Sallot, and Michael A. Mitrook, "It Depends: A Contingency Theory of Accommodation in Public Relations," Journal of Public Relations Research 9 (1997), p. 33; see also Amanda E. Cancel, Michael A. Mitrook, and Glen T. Cameron, "Testing The Contingency Theory of Accommodation in Public Relations," Public Relations Review 25 (1999), pp. 171-197.
15. Amanda E. Cancel, Glen T. Cameron, Lynne M. Sallot, and Michael A. Mitrook, "It Depends: A Contingency Theory of Accommodation in Public Relations," Journal of Public Relations Research 9 (1997), p. 33; see also Amanda E. Cancel, Michael A. Mitrook, and Glen T. Cameron, "Testing The Contingency Theory of Accommodation in Public Relations," Public Relations Review 25 (1999), pp. 171-197.
16. Michael R. Lissack, "Complexity: The Science, Its Vocabulary, and Its Relation to Organizations," Emergence 1 (1999), pp. 110-126.
17. C. West Churchman, "Wicked Problems," Management Science 14 (1967), pp. B141-B142.
18. Ibid, p. B141.
19. Strictly speaking, complexity theory and chaos theory are slightly different fields. Goldberg and Markóczy defined the differences thus: "The study of chaos generally involves the study of extremely simple non-linear systems which lead to extremely complicated behavior, and complexity is generally about the [simple] interactions of many things [often repeated] leading to higher level patterns." See Jeffrey Goldberg and Livia Markóczy, "Complex Rhetoric and Simple Games," presentation at the 1998 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Organizational Theory Group, p. 4. Chaos theory - often the favored term in sciences such as biology, physics, and mathematics - aids in studying and making predictions from nonlinear dynamical systems. By contrast, complexity theory "is really about how a system which is complicated [usually by having many interactions] can lead to surprising patterns when the system is looked at as a whole" (Goldberg and Markóczy, op. cit., pp. 4-5). For a good discussion of various other terms for complex systems, as well as a lucid history of the idea of emergence, particularly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, see Jeffrey Goldstein, "Emergence as a Construct: History and Issues," Emergence 1 (1999), pp. 49-72.
20. Strictly speaking, complexity theory and chaos theory are slightly different fields. Goldberg and Markóczy defined the differences thus: "The study of chaos generally involves the study of extremely simple non-linear systems which lead to extremely complicated behavior, and complexity is generally about the [simple] interactions of many things [often repeated] leading to higher level patterns." See Jeffrey Goldberg and Livia Markóczy, "Complex Rhetoric and Simple Games," presentation at the 1998 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Organizational Theory Group, p. 4. Chaos theory - often the favored term in sciences such as biology, physics, and mathematics - aids in studying and making predictions from nonlinear dynamical systems. By contrast, complexity theory "is really about how a system which is complicated [usually by having many interactions] can lead to surprising patterns when the system is looked at as a whole" (Goldberg and Markóczy, op. cit., pp. 4-5). For a good discussion of various other terms for complex systems, as well as a lucid history of the idea of emergence, particularly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, see Jeffrey Goldstein, "Emergence as a Construct: History and Issues," Emergence 1 (1999), pp. 49-72.
21. Strictly speaking, complexity theory and chaos theory are slightly different fields. Goldberg and Markóczy defined the differences thus: "The study of chaos generally involves the study of extremely simple non-linear systems which lead to extremely complicated behavior, and complexity is generally about the [simple] interactions of many things [often repeated] leading to higher level patterns." See Jeffrey Goldberg and Livia Markóczy, "Complex Rhetoric and Simple Games," presentation at the 1998 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Organizational Theory Group, p. 4. Chaos theory - often the favored term in sciences such as biology, physics, and mathematics - aids in studying and making predictions from nonlinear dynamical systems. By contrast, complexity theory "is really about how a system which is complicated [usually by having many interactions] can lead to surprising patterns when the system is looked at as a whole" (Goldberg and Markóczy, op. cit., pp. 4-5). For a good discussion of various other terms for complex systems, as well as a lucid history of the idea of emergence, particularly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, see Jeffrey Goldstein, "Emergence as a Construct: History and Issues," Emergence 1 (1999), pp. 49-72.
22. See Laura P. Cottone, "The Perturbing Worldview of Chaos: Implications for Public Relations," Public Relations Review 19 (1993), pp. 173-174; David McKie, "Shifting Paradigms: Public Relations Beyond Rats, Stats, and 1950s Science," Australian Journal of Communication 24 (1997), pp. 81-96; Priscilla Murphy, "Chaos Theory as a Model for Managing Issues and Crises," Public Relations Review 22 (1996), pp. 95-113; Kim Witte, Gary Meyer, Helen Bidol, Mary K. Casey, Jenifer Kopfman, Karen Maduschke, Alicia Marshall, Kelly Morrison, Kurt M. Ribisl, and Steve Robbins, "Bringing Order to Chaos: Communication and Health," Communication Studies 47 (1996), pp. 229-242.
23. See Laura P. Cottone, "The Perturbing Worldview of Chaos: Implications for Public Relations," Public Relations Review 19 (1993), pp. 173-174; David McKie, "Shifting Paradigms: Public Relations Beyond Rats, Stats, and 1950s Science," Australian Journal of Communication 24 (1997), pp. 81-96; Priscilla Murphy, "Chaos Theory as a Model for Managing Issues and Crises," Public Relations Review 22 (1996), pp. 95-113; Kim Witte, Gary Meyer, Helen Bidol, Mary K. Casey, Jenifer Kopfman, Karen Maduschke, Alicia Marshall, Kelly Morrison, Kurt M. Ribisl, and Steve Robbins, "Bringing Order to Chaos: Communication and Health," Communication Studies 47 (1996), pp. 229-242.
24. See Laura P. Cottone, "The Perturbing Worldview of Chaos: Implications for Public Relations," Public Relations Review 19 (1993), pp. 173-174; David McKie, "Shifting Paradigms: Public Relations Beyond Rats, Stats, and 1950s Science," Australian Journal of Communication 24 (1997), pp. 81-96; Priscilla Murphy, "Chaos Theory as a Model for Managing Issues and Crises," Public Relations Review 22 (1996), pp. 95-113; Kim Witte, Gary Meyer, Helen Bidol, Mary K. Casey, Jenifer Kopfman, Karen Maduschke, Alicia Marshall, Kelly Morrison, Kurt M. Ribisl, and Steve Robbins, "Bringing Order to Chaos: Communication and Health," Communication Studies 47 (1996), pp. 229-242.
25. See Laura P. Cottone, "The Perturbing Worldview of Chaos: Implications for Public Relations," Public Relations Review 19 (1993), pp. 173-174; David McKie, "Shifting Paradigms: Public Relations Beyond Rats, Stats, and 1950s Science," Australian Journal of Communication 24 (1997), pp. 81-96; Priscilla Murphy, "Chaos Theory as a Model for Managing Issues and Crises," Public Relations Review 22 (1996), pp. 95-113; Kim Witte, Gary Meyer, Helen Bidol, Mary K. Casey, Jenifer Kopfman, Karen Maduschke, Alicia Marshall, Kelly Morrison, Kurt M. Ribisl, and Steve Robbins, "Bringing Order to Chaos: Communication and Health," Communication Studies 47 (1996), pp. 229-242.
26. In contrast to rational actors, Axelrod characterized adaptive actors as follows: "[Adaptive] individuals are assumed to follow simples rules [that] are not necessarily derivable from any principles of rational calculation based upon costs and benefits, or forward-looking strategic analysis. . .Instead, the agents simply adapt to their environment." See Robert M. Axelrod, The Complexity of Cooperation: Agent-Based Models of Competition and Collaboration (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997), p. 153.
27. E.g., James E. Grunig, Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1992).
28. "Defense Department Finds Some of Its Wool Blankets and Uniforms Contain DDT: Provides Guidance to Public and Military Services," news release from the Department of Public Affairs, Department of Defense (November 16, 1992); "Some Military Surplus Blankets Tainted with DDT," News, Cable News Network, Inc. [CNN]. Transcript #254-3 (December 12, 1992).
29. "Defense Department Finds Some of Its Wool Blankets and Uniforms Contain DDT: Provides Guidance to Public and Military Services," news release from the Department of Public Affairs, Department of Defense (November 16, 1992); "Some Military Surplus Blankets Tainted with DDT," News, Cable News Network, Inc. [CNN]. Transcript #254-3 (December 12, 1992).
30. W. Timothy Coombs, "Choosing the Right Words: The Development of Guidelines for the Selection of 'Appropriate' Crisis-Response Strategies," Management Communication Quarterly 8 (1995), pp. 447-476.
31. Alain Albert, "Chaos and Society: An Introduction," in A. Albert (ed.), Chaos and Society (Amsterdam: IOS Press, 1995), p. 3.
32. J. R. Hagerty and N. Deogun, "Coke Scrambles to Contain a Scare In Europe," The Wall Street Journal (June 17, 1999), pp. B-1, B-4.
33. James N. Rosenau, "Many Damn Things Simultaneously: Complexity Theory and World Affairs," Paper presented at the Conference on Complexity, Global Politics, and National Security, sponsored by the National Defense University and the RAND Corporation, November 1996, Washington, D.C., p. 8.
34. Jack Glascock, "The Role of AT&T's Public Relations Campaign in Press Coverage of the 1982 Breakup," Public Relations Review 26 (2000), pp. 80-81.
35. Op. cit., p. 255.
36. Op. cit., pp. 185-203.
37. Op. cit., p. 96.
38. Op. cit., pp. 96-113.
39. See Otto Lerbinger, The Crisis Manager: Facing Risk And Responsibility (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1997), pp. 37-38.
40. Op. cit., pp. 106-107.
41. A similar instance of unpredictable coevolution in international politics was discussed by Schofield: "Who could have guessed in 1989 that the events in the U.S.S.R. would lead to the unification of Germany, to interest rate choices by the Deutschbank, to extraordinary exchange rate speculation against the sterling. . .to the possible demise of the EMU, maybe to violent disagreements over GATT? It is also entirely possible that the initial events have had something to do with the recent Israel-PLO accord (many new immigrants to Israel from Eastern Europe, increased votes for the Labor Party, etc.). . .Since it is impossible to know what the triggering mechanisms are in complex collective choice situations, causal relationships must generally be obscure." See Norman Schofield, "Chaos or Equilibrium in a Political Economy," in A. Albert (ed.), Chaos and Society (Amsterdam: IOS Press, 1995), p. 206.
42. Goldstein, op. cit., pp. 49-72.
43. Thomas Schelling, Micromotives and Macrobehavior (New York: Norton, 1978).
44. Op. cit., p. 59.
45. See Lerbinger, op. cit., pp. 148-150.
46. Goldberg and Markóczy, op. cit., pp. 2, 21.
47. Op. cit., p. 1.
48. Stephen H. Kellert, "When Is the Economy Not Like the Weather? The Problem of Extending Chaos Theory to the Social Sciences," in A. Albert (ed.), Chaos and Society (Amsterdam: IOS Press, 1995), p. 44.
49. Ibid, pp. 40-41. For more complete discussions of the use of metaphor in the science of complexity, see the following: Alan D. Beyerchen, "Clausewitz, Nonlinearity and the Importance of Imagery," in D. Alberts and T. J. Czerwinski (eds.), Complexity, Global Politics and National Security (Washington, DC: National Defense University, 1997), pp. 161-62, 167-68. [Online]. [Available: http://www.dodccrp.org ]; Lissack, op. cit.; and M. Mitchell Waldrop, Complexity: The Emerging Science At the Edge of Order and Chaos (New York: Simon & Shuster, 1992).
50. Ibid, pp. 40-41. For more complete discussions of the use of metaphor in the science of complexity, see the following: Alan D. Beyerchen, "Clausewitz, Nonlinearity and the Importance of Imagery," in D. Alberts and T. J. Czerwinski (eds.), Complexity, Global Politics and National Security (Washington, DC: National Defense University, 1997), pp. 161-62, 167-68. [Online]. [Available: http://www.dodccrp.org ]; Lissack, op. cit.; and M. Mitchell Waldrop, Complexity: The Emerging Science At the Edge of Order and Chaos (New York: Simon & Shuster, 1992).
51. Ibid, pp. 40-41. For more complete discussions of the use of metaphor in the science of complexity, see the following: Alan D. Beyerchen, "Clausewitz, Nonlinearity and the Importance of Imagery," in D. Alberts and T. J. Czerwinski (eds.), Complexity, Global Politics and National Security (Washington, DC: National Defense University, 1997), pp. 161-62, 167-68. [Online]. [Available: http://www.dodccrp.org ]; Lissack, op. cit.; and M. Mitchell Waldrop, Complexity: The Emerging Science At the Edge of Order and Chaos (New York: Simon & Shuster, 1992).
52. Ibid, pp. 40-41. For more complete discussions of the use of metaphor in the science of complexity, see the following: Alan D. Beyerchen, "Clausewitz, Nonlinearity and the Importance of Imagery," in D. Alberts and T. J. Czerwinski (eds.), Complexity, Global Politics and National Security (Washington, DC: National Defense University, 1997), pp. 161-62, 167-68. [Online]. [Available: http://www.dodccrp.org ]; Lissack, op. cit.; and M. Mitchell Waldrop, Complexity: The Emerging Science At the Edge of Order and Chaos (New York: Simon & Shuster, 1992).
53. See Albert, op. cit., p. 9.
54. Although many people view attractors as "magnets" around which systems organize themselves, they instead represent boundaries beyond which systems do not go. Hence Michaels (1995) defined an attractor as "a graphic representation of potential system behaviors over time. . .a definition of the system boundaries [our potentialities]" (pp. 22-23).
55. Ted Goertzel and Ben Goertzel, "Attitudes as Chaotic Attractors: Rethinking the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas Affair," in A. Albert (ed.), Chaos and Society (Amsterdam: IOS Press, 1995), p. 154.
56. Specifically, Priesmeyer (1995) used the logistic equation to produce a "map" that compared x-axis data, showing the internal activity level of a particular system, with k-axis data, showing the degree of stability in the external environment. See H. Richard Priesmeyer, "Logistic Regression: A Method for Describing, Interpreting, and Forecasting Social Phenomenon [sic] with Nonlinear Equations," in A. Albert (ed.), Chaos and Society (Amsterdam: IOS Press, 1995), pp. 329-338. Among other things, "The logistic map shows that the opportunity for true system change is built into the system, but. . .only when the system is operating in 'far from equilibrium conditions' does the opportunity for change exist" (H. Richard Priesmeyer and E. Cole, "Nonlinear Analysis of Disaster Response Data," Paper presented at the "What Disaster Response Management Can Learn From Chaos Theory" Conference, California Research Bureau (May 18-19, 1995). [Online]. [Available: http://www.library. ca.gov/CRB/96/05.html]
57. Specifically, Priesmeyer (1995) used the logistic equation to produce a "map" that compared x-axis data, showing the internal activity level of a particular system, with k-axis data, showing the degree of stability in the external environment. See H. Richard Priesmeyer, "Logistic Regression: A Method for Describing, Interpreting, and Forecasting Social Phenomenon [sic] with Nonlinear Equations," in A. Albert (ed.), Chaos and Society (Amsterdam: IOS Press, 1995), pp. 329-338. Among other things, "The logistic map shows that the opportunity for true system change is built into the system, but. . .only when the system is operating in 'far from equilibrium conditions' does the opportunity for change exist" (H. Richard Priesmeyer and E. Cole, "Nonlinear Analysis of Disaster Response Data," Paper presented at the "What Disaster Response Management Can Learn From Chaos Theory" Conference, California Research Bureau (May 18-19, 1995). [Online]. [Available: http://www.library. ca.gov/CRB/96/05.html]
58. However, this idea needs qualification. Conceptually, crisis points in complex systems are elastic - that is, their impact may be moderated by beginning to adapt before the actual crisis occurs. Yet this "corrective action does not mean planning the outcome of the change. It means increasing positive feedback into the system so the change is less catastrophic." See Mark Michaels, "Seven Fundamentals of Complexity for Social Science Research," in A. Albert (ed.), Chaos and Society (Amsterdam: IOS Press, 1995), p. 25.
59. Gus A. Koehler, "Fractals and Path Dependent Processes: A Theoretical Approach for Characterizing Emergency Medical Responses to Major Disasters," in Proceedings of the Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology (Mshwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1995).
60. Louise Comfort, Self Organization in Disaster Response And Recovery: The Maharashtra, India Earthquake Of September 30, 1993 (Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado at Boulder, March 23, 1995).
61. For example, Comfort (op. cit.) used 6 "connectedness" variables to trace the self-organizing process: number of organizations participating in disaster response, number of interactions between participating organizations, degree of shared goals among the organizations, boundaries of the system, duration of interactions among the organizations, and types of transactions by the organizations.
62. See Axelrod, op. cit.
63. For example, Axelrod (1997) conducted a computer simulation in which countries involved in World War II chose allies based on weights given to ethnic, religious, territorial, ideological, economic, and historical similarities. The simulation required each country to align myopically, by choosing another similar country to align with; that pair would then align with another pair. The model, which predicted actual alliances with near perfect accuracy, also showed alliances being formed on the basis of immediate cultural similarities rather than strategic concerns such as fear of other nations.
64. Op. cit., p. 97.
65. Ibid, p. 99.
66. Schelling, op. cit.
67. Rosenau, op. cit., p. 2.
68. Axelrod, op. cit., pp. 3, 4-5.
69. Churchman, op. cit.