Arnis Kristiani C9307001

THE ROLES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS OF SOLO

GRAND MALL

FINAL PROJECT REPORT

Submitted as a Partial Requirement on Obtaining Degree in the English Diploma Program, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts,

Sebelas Maret University

Arnis Kristiani C9307001

ENGLISH DIPLOMA PROGRAM

FACULTY OF LETTERS AND FINE ARTS

SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY

SURAKARTA

2012

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MOTTO

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

( BIBLE - Proverbs 3:5 )

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DEDICATION

I dedicated this

Final Project Report to:



My Lord Jesus Christ

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My Beloved Parents

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My Guardian (VE’)

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My Big Family

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PREFACE

This report is written to fulfill the requirement to obtain the English Diploma III Degree, based on the job training at the Public Relations Division of Solo Grand Mall.

The purpose of this report is to describe the roles of Public Relations Division applied in Solo Grand Mall, as well as the problems faced by the Public Relations Division of Solo Grand Mall and the solutions.

I realized that this report is far from perfect. I will appreciate and accept any advices and constructive criticism. At last, I hope this report will be useful for all readers especially for those who are interested about Public Relations.

Surakarta, January 2012

Arnis Kristiani

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The deepest thanks I would like to say to my Great Lord Jesus Christ, King of King for His blessing and guidance in completing this final project. I made this final project to fulfill the requirements to obtain Diploma degree in English Diploma, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Sebelas Maret University.

1. Drs. Riyadi Santosa, MEd,Phd the Dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Sebelas Maret University.

2. Yusuf Kurniawan, S.S, M.A, the Head of English Diploma Program. Thank you Sir for your advice.

3. Bayu Budiharjo S.S., M.Hum my supervisor, thank you for your time, patience, advice and guidance.

4. Prof. Dr. Djatmika, M.A., my academic consultant, thank you for your assistance during my study.

5. All of the lecturers in English Diploma Program thank you for all the valuable and unforgettable knowledge that I’ve got from you.

6. All of the employees of Solo Grand Mall, especially Miss Indah Murtiningsih for the cooperation during my job training.

7. My parents deserve special mentioning for the endless supports and prayers. My father, Yakobus Sudjarwo, is the person who shows me the joy of intellectual pursuit ever since I was a child. My mother, Suzana Sriati, she is the one sincerely raised me with her caring and gentle love. My sisters, Aline and Aan, thanks for being caring siblings and supporting me in high and low. commit to user

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8. I would also like to thank Dra. Vivery Wuryandari, S.Pd., the person who put the fundamental basics in my learning of characters and accepting me as a member of the family with a warm heart. Furthermore, to the family of Djoko Soepakih and their thoughtful support, thank you Papah!

9. My guardian, Cornelius Veris Bharata Yudha, thanks for your love, your support and everything that you’ve given to me in the ups and downs. Now we’ll get married! Yeaahh  happily ever after dear.

10.My best dudes and gals: Mas Nenek, Bonbon, Danni, Ferry, sist Lukita D, Dee, Diaz, Ester, NuuNuu, Icha, Ichi thanks for the jokes; I hope we’re best friends and never lost by time.

11.My niece and my nephew, thanks for jokes and finally I have much spare times, so let’s go travelling again.

12.The entire person in Panggung Redjo Market. Big thanks to Arizmendi Sport Shop and Greenhouse Home Study. Thanks for protecting, accompanying and entertaining me.

13.Finally, I would like to thank everybody who was important to the successful realization of my final project, as well as expressing my apology that I could not mention personally one by one.

Surakarta, February 2012

Arnis Kristiani

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ABSTRACT

Arnis Kristiani. 2012. The Roles of Public Relations of Solo Grand Mall. English Diploma Program, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Sebelas Maret University.

This final project report is written based on the job training which has been done at the Public Relations Division of Solo Grand Mall. The objectives of this report are to describe the roles of Public Relation Division of Solo Grand Mall, to describe the problems and to propose solutions related to the roles of Public Relations Division in Solo Grand Mall.

The data of this report were taken from observation during the job training. The roles of Public Relations of Solo Grand Mall are Expert Prescriber and Communication Facilitator. The roles have not been optimum.

In the practice of those two roles, the Public Relations Division of Solo Grand Mall faced some problems. One of the problems is that the Public Relations Division was not fully involved in the events held by the Management of Solo Grand Mall. Another problem is that there was a misunderstanding in the communication among divisions, particularly between the Public Relations Divisions and the Marketing Communication Division.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE ... i

APPROVAL OF THE CONSULTANT ... ii

APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF THE EXAMINERS ... iii

MOTTO ... iv

DEDICATION ... v

PREFACE ... vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ... vii

ABSTRACT ... ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... x

CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION ... 1

A. Background ... 1

B. Objectives. ... 2

C. Benefits ... 2

CHAPTER II : LITERATURE REVIEW ... 4

1. Definitions of Public Relations ... 4

2. Functions of Public Relations ... 5

3. Roles of Public Relations ... 6

4. Public Relation Activities ... 6

5. Internal and External Communications………... 8 6. Internal and External Public……… 8commit to user

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7. Definitions of Mall……… ……… 9

CHAPTER III: DISCUSSION ... 10

A. Solo Grand Mall ... 10

1. Brief History of Solo Grand Mall ... 10

2. Investor Map of Solo Grand Mall ... 12

3. Events and Exhibitions Area of Solo Grand Mall ... 13

4. Promotion Area of Solo Grand Mall………. 14

5. Vision and Missions of Solo Grand Mall………. 14

6. Motto of Solo Grand Mall……… 15

7. The Organization Structure of Solo Grand Mall……….. 15

B. Activities during Job Training... 16

C. Discussion………. 18

1. Position of Public Relations Division in Solo Grand Mall…… 18

2. The Roles of Public Relations in Solo Grand Mall……… 19

3. The Problem and Problem Solutions Related to the Roles Of Public Relations in Solo Grand Mall……….. 22

CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS……….. 25

A. Conclusions………. 25

B. Suggestions………... 27 BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDICES

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background

Solo Grand Mall is one of the biggest malls in Surakarta. The existence of this mall is very influential for the field of business, because this place is the space for entrepreneurs to sell their products. Solo Grand Mall began its operational since 4th December 2004. Many people visit this mall. Besides having the strategic location, Solo Grand Mall holds interesting events. It also offers many kinds of goods and services. These make people interested in coming to Solo Grand Mall.

Solo Grand Mall has several departments and is led by a General Manager. They are Public Relations and Secretariat, Deputy General Manager, Human Resource Department and Legal, Finance and Accounting Department, Chief Building Service, Marketing and Communication Division. Public Relations division is the division that can accommodate the need to communicate with the internal and external public. Public Relations of Solo Grand Mall also has many duties such as creating good image to keep the company’s existence in business competition and supporting Marketing and Communication Division to promote programs and events.

In running its business, Solo Grand Mall faces many problems. Public Relations Division is responsible for solving the problems by playing the roles of Public Relations. Those roles need to be played well so that the problems can be solved appropriately and the Public Relations Division will be able to function

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optimally. If Public Relations practitioners do not understand and cannot play their roles properly, the firm may lose its good image and reputation. For that reason, this report discussed about the roles and how well those roles are applied in Solo Grand Mall, along with the problems faced by the Public Relations Division.

This report is written based on the experience during the job training as a trainee in Solo Grand Mall for one month starts from April 1st, 2010 to May 1st, 2010. By considering the important roles of Public Relations in Solo Grand Mall, the writer wrote a final project entitled “The Roles of Public Relations of Solo Grand Mall “.

B. Objectives

The objectives of this final project are report as follows:

1. To describe the roles of Public Relations division in Solo Grand Mall.

2. To describe the problems and propose the solutions related to the roles of Public Relations division in Solo Grand Mall.

C. Benefits

The writer hopes that this report is beneficial for: 1. The Company

This final project report can be used as an evaluation for Public Relations of Solo Grand Mall to improve and develop its services to the public

2. Readers

This report is hoped to be able to give information about Public Relations in real work.

3. Other Researchers

This final project report is expected to become a reference for the other researchers who are doing research and job training in the same field.

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW A. Public Relations

1. Definitions of Public Relations

“Public Relations is the management functions that establishes and

maintains mutually beneficial relationship between an organization and the

publics on whom its success of failure depends” (Cutlip, 2007: 6).

Frank Jefkins (1995: 9) has analyzed Public Relations as something that summarizes the whole communication that is planned, both inside and outside, between organizations with all of their audiences to achieve specific objectives based on mutual understanding.

John E. Marlstone defines Public Relations as “a planned, persuasive communication designed to influence significant public” (Modern Public

Relations, 1979).

Bromley (2001: 8) defined a firm‟s image as „the internal collective state

of mind that underlies its corporate communications efforts (successful or not)

to present itself to others‟.

Whetten and Mackey (2002: 401) defined image as ‘what organizational agents want their external stakeholders to understand is most central, enduring

and distinctive about their organization‟. When scholars do not use these terms

interchangeably, they may instead argue for a particular hierarchy. For example, Wei (2002: 270) argued that reputation should not subsume image,

but rather image should subsume reputation: If „reputation‟ stems (partly)

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from persuasion, as suggested by Fombrun, then it ought to be subsumed

under „image,‟ not the other way around. Of course, reputation also

contributes to the making of a corporate image, but still it should be

considered a variable within the parameters of „ image, ‟ like other variables,

such as marketing strategies, product qualities, and customer services, all of which can shape the outcome of image making. In summary, some experts define image as a part of reputation. In other words, image helps shaping up the reputation of a corporate or firm. However, there are also experts who argued otherwise; that reputation is the part of image. In other words, both image and reputation are parts of Public Relations and basically they are influential to each other.

From the explanation above, it is clear that there is a relation between Public Relations, image and reputation. Public Relations exists to create image and reputation of a firm or company, and as a result, image and reputation become the primary tasks of Public Relations practitioners. In other words, Public Relations is greatly influenced by image and reputation. The greater the acceptance towards a firm or organizations image and reputation, the more it brings good influence to the Public Relations itself.

2. Functions of Public Relations

In his book “Effective Public Relations”, Scott Cutlip (1994: 389) mentions five functions of Public Relations in organizations. They are:

a. Developing awareness and public perception of the organization's mission.

b. Creating the right communication channel with the public. c. Creating and developing a climate and culture for fundraising. d. Formulating public policy related to the organization's mission.

e. Motivating the work ethic of internal public, such as management, employees, volunteers, and partners, to achieve the organizational mission.

3. Roles of Public Relation

Dozier and Broom (2000: 20) defines the roles of Public Relations as: a. Expert prescriber

The Public Relations helps organizations find solutions in solving problems with public.

b. Communication facilitator

The Public Relations is a mediator to assist the management in terms of hearing what is desired and expected by the public.

c. Problem solving process facilitator

The Public Relations helps the leaders of the organization as an adviser to the decision to take action to tackle the problem with the public.

4. Public Relations Activities

The four-step process for a Public Relations campaign is a good start to determine what tactics actually belong in communication with stakeholders.

Scott Cutlip has analyzed the Public Relations process that is worked through 4 steps. They are:

1. Defining Public Relations Program

Public Relations makes situational analysis or Public Relations professionals often call it as SWOT analysis. Public relations must analyze strength, weakness, opportunities and threats of the company.

2. Planning and Programming

This is the stage where many people start their work in Public Relations. In this step the Public Relations division plans strategies and produces some programs to anticipate the problems faced by the company.

3. Taking Action and Communicating

Taking action and communicating are known as “implementation”

of the Public Relations. The Public Relations holds the program to solve

company‟s problem. It concludes what the program will be, when it will

be held and who will do the program. This should be the easiest part of the plan since most of the work should have been completed in the planning stage. Here the Public Relations will assign responsibilities, set timelines, and adjust as the public Relations go to meet the objectives.

4. Evaluating Program

The final assessments produce a final analysis of the success of their campaign or communication. The Public Relations identifies research methods to be used to evaluate the success of the program or campaign during and after. Based on evaluation feedback on how it is or is not

working. Programs are continued or stopped after learning, “How are we doing or how did we do?” (Cutlip, 1998: 340).

5. Internal and External Communication

A Public Relations Manager, Sri Desti P.,(2000: 19) defines internal and external communication as follows:

a) Internal Communication

It is the communication that happens between the head of an organization and the target public namely the employees which involves vertical, horizontal and diagonal communication. b) External Communication

It is the communication between the heads of organizations and the parties outside the organization such as governmental institutions, departments, offices, firms, etc.

6. Internal and External Public

Diah Wardhani (2001: 10) defines internal and external public as follow: a) Internal public

Internal public are people active inside the organization (firms, bodies, institutions, organizations, etc) and those functionally

have specific tasks and jobs as well as certain rights and responsibilities. Those that belong to the internal public are: the employee, the family of the employees, the stakeholders and the top management.

b) External Public

External Public consists of people outside the organization, those that are related to the organization or at least are assumed to be. Each one of the external public has different interest with the organization, so the approach needs to be different one after another. Those that belong to the external public are: the consumers, the community, the government, the mass media, the stockiest, the distributors, the competitors, and the others-based on the business type.

7. Definitions of Mall

“Mall is defined as a large, often enclosed shopping complex containing

various stores, businesses, and restaurants usually accessible by common

passageways” (Kraya 2011: 9) . Another definition states that mall is a large retail complex containing a variety of stores and often restaurants and other business establishments housed in a series of connected or adjacent buildings or in a single large building.

CHAPTER III DISCUSSION

A. General Description of Solo Grand Mall A.1. Brief History of Solo Grand Mall

Surakarta is the one of heritage cities in this world. It has many historical places and objects, such as Kraton Kasunanan at Mangkunegaran Palace, Masjid Agung at Klewer, Pasar Gede at Jebres, Reco Gladak, Songgobuono, etc. Besides the culture sites, Surakarta also has entertainment venues that make the city look lively, especially after the opening of Solo Grand Mall.

Solo Grand Mall has a strategic location which is on the main street of Surakarta. It is on Jl. Slamet Riyadi No. 273. It has strategic location in the center of Solo. It has easy access from all important areas in Solo. It is only 5 minutes from Balapan Railway Station, 20 minutes or 10, 5 km from Adi Sumarmo Airport and 15 minutes or 1, 5 km from Tirtonadi bus station.

Solo Grand Mall was built by Bandung Inti Graha. Solo Grand Mall was built on about 12,080m2 areas. It consists of seven floors. Solo Grand Mall is the first mall in Surakarta. It has been running its business since December 4th 2004

with „One stop shopping’ concept. Solo Grand mall provides any kind of consumer needs, starting from food, fashion, electronics, and sport center until entertainment.

Solo Grand Mall has seven floors, which are: a. Basement Floor

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It consists of parking area and also Hypermarket, which is one of the big tenants anchor in Solo Grand Mall, which provide the daily needs. Due to the fact, if there are outside parties who want to open their business counter on the basement area, they need to seal a deal with Hypermart and the management.

b. Ground Floor

There is atrium in the middle of the mall. It is used to hold events and exhibitions and there are also some big tenants that establish cooperation with Solo Grand Mall, such as Matahari Department Store and Bread Talk. There are also Sports Station, Naughty accessories and Blitz shop that sells cameras and video equipments.

c. First Floor

On this Floor, there are some fashion and accessory shops. There are Semar Gold shop, Pizza Hut, and Beauty treatment outlets like Johnny Andrean Salon and Dr.Lee Skin Care.

d. Second Floor

On the second floor there are many fashion outlets, such as Yonky Komalady, Geovanni Shoes, Three Second, Buti Fashion, Sixty One and Strawberry accessories.

e. Third Floor

Third floor consists of game center like Timezone & Fantasy Kingdom, gadget center, food court center and area for smoking. f. Fourth floor

It is divided into two floors, fourth floor and fourth floor A. Fourth floor consists of the entertainment venues like Grand cinema 21 and parking area for cars, and the fourth floor A is used for the management office of Solo Grand Mall.

g. Parking Area

This is the last floor of Solo Grand Mall. This floor is the area used for parking vehicles.

A.2. Investors Map of Solo Grand Mall

Solo Grand Mall provides a wide selection of business space, with 24-hour security facility, cleaning service, electricity, clean water, and central AC. Business space is a store with a variety of sizes or island (portable shop). The number of stores is 521 units with an area of 27.076m2. There are several types of stores offered:

1. Anchor Shop and Mini Anchor

Anchor Shop has an area of more than 1000m2 and facilities such as central AC, telephone line, the exhibition venues are available. While the Mini Anchor has an area of 100-600m2 and the same facilities as those of Anchor shop.

2. Medium and Small Shop

Medium Shop has an area of 30 - 60m2 and has facilities such as central AC, telephone line, finished walls, gypsum ceiling, glass shop front, and tiled floor. The Small Shop has an area of only 5 - 16mcommit to user 2

with amenities of central AC, gypsum walls, gypsum ceiling, rolling door and ceramic floor.

3. Island and Push Cart

Island is a shop with no position like anchor and medium shop. This store is located in front of the mini anchor shop. It has an area of 5 - 6.25 m2. The push-cart is a shop which uses a push cart (gerobak) with an area of 1.5 m2. Both shops have the same facilities that are central AC and ceramic floor. The only difference is the appearance of the store model.

4. Food Court

This store is located on the third floor of Solo Grand Mall. Food court has an area of 15 - 35m2. This shop has facilities such as central AC, telephone line and water line.

5. Cell Phone / Computer Center

This store has an area of 5 – 16m2. It has facilities such as central AC, telephone line, gypsum walls, plafond, ceramic floor, and rolling door.

A.3. Event and Exhibition Area of Solo Grand Mall

Solo Grand Mall is a public space that is effective to introduce or market

businessman‟s products through events and exhibitions. A very good place to hold events and exhibitions is the atrium, with an area of 390m2 and voids that give

visibility to the third floor. The facilities provided are very comprehensive such as central AC, availability to support the standard promo, free toilets, and electricity up to 7000watt. Here are the places that are used for events and exhibitions:

1. Ground floor 2. Railing third floor 3. Cell Phone center 4. Ram front parking

A.4. Promotions Area of Solo Grand Mall

Solo Grand Mall provides space for promotion, like neon box, sign pole, wall printing, banners, vertical banners, stickers, giant banner, flag banner, x banner, branding, cover billboards, and brochure. The price of each type of promo space is Rp 30.000,00 - Rp 100,000,000.00 per month. The price given does not include advertisement tax. Promoting products in the space of Solo Grand Mall is effective. This is because Solo Grand Mall‟s location is very strategic and has a large number of visitors.

A.5. Vision and Mission of Solo Grand Mall

Vision of Solo Grand Mall:

To be a progressive company in providing products and services with the best quality to fulfill customer‟s needs and has good influence for the environment.

1. To create long term business relationship and to give profit between the owners, staffs, consumers, and suppliers as the

partner‟s strategy

2. To be the innovative and continuous company as an inspiration in their sector managed by the professionals who have high motivations and orientations for the satisfaction of the consumers by the products and services that have high quality and on timely.

A.6. Motto of Solo Grand Mall

Arriving at Solo with the high occupancy grade, Solo Grand Mall has a

nice motto to support the productivity of working, “Completing Your Life”. Also with the tagline “Let‟s go to mall….Solo Grand Mall” it is expected that publics or visitors will choose Solo Grand Mall as the one destination to shopping.

A.7. The Organization Structure of Solo Grand Mall

The highest authority in Solo Grand Mall is General Manager. Under the General Manager, there are Public Relations practitioners and Deputy General Manager. The main duty of the manager is doing internal communication with the employees. Meanwhile, the employees are doing external communication with the public. In fulfilling this duty, the General Manager is helped by Deputy Manager who shoulders the entire responsibilities.

Meanwhile, the duty of Public Relations practitioners is maintaining two-way symmetrical communication (which is the communication carried out by Public Relations practitioners used by the organization and their publics to adjust to each other, win-win solution) between top management and public, namely people who shop at Solo Grand Mall. Besides, Public Relations practitioners also have many other tasks such as creating good image and supporting the Marketing and Communication Division in order to promote the programs and events held in Solo Grand Mall.

In doing the duties, the Public Relations Division is supported by secretariat and all elements of management in Solo Grand Mall. Basically, Public Relations Division is a division under the supervision of Deputy General Manager and it supports the entire activities of the Marketing and Communication Division.

B. Activities During Job Training

The writer did the job training which started on April 1st, 2010 and it ended on May 2nd, 2010. The writer‟s work hours in Public Relations Division were Monday to Friday at 9 a.m – 5 p.m and Saturday at 9 a.m – 3 p.m. The uniform had been determined by Solo Grand Mall management. On Monday to Thursday the writer wore a white shirt and black skirt, on Friday the writer wore batik shirt.

While on Saturday the writer wore free but polite clothes. All the writer‟s

activities in Public Relations Division had the purpose to develop and practice her ability in Public Relations field that had been obtained in university. The activities of the writer were:

1. Clipping news about Solo Grand Mall

All media are important to support the continuity of Solo Grand Mall, so Public Relations practitioners of Solo Grand Mall should be able to cooperate with mass media. Every day the writer helped one of the assistants of Public Relations officers read newspapers. The writer read newspapers from local and national newspapers to get additional information. The writer read newspapers to make some clippings about

Solo Grand Mall and also the news about competitor‟s activities. The

clippings were reported in the meeting on the next period. 2. Making Press Release

Writing press release is Public Relations task. During job training, the writer wrote some press releases. Before being sent to the media, press release was reviewed by the manager. If there were any mistakes, the writer would correct it. After that, it could be sent via email to mass media.

3. Evaluating programs of Solo Grand Mall.

On April there were some events held by management of Solo Grand

Mall. The first event was “Jazzy Easter Expression”. This event was

held to celebrate Easter day. It was held on April 4th, 2010 located on

third floor or Food court. And the second event was “Gebyar Undian

1Milyar” on April 23th

-25th, 2010 with special performance by Petra

Sihombing and Sigit Wardana. The last event was “Best Performance”

on April 24th, 2010. It was the best performance award for Solo Grand Mall Management.

4. Attending the event “Best Performance”

Solo Grand Mall management held “Best Performance” on April 24,

2010. The event is held every three months. The program aims to provide motivation to employees to be more diligent in works and have more responsibility in working. The writer was given the opportunity to come to this event.

5. Gathering with mass media.

As a big company, Solo Grand Mall has a lot of partners from the media. Sometimes Solo Grand Mall invite its media partners to attend gathering at mall. It is held to strengthen the good relationship between the staff of the company to make better communication in the cooperation.

6. Being a Telephone Operator in front office of Solo Grand Mall

It is an internal communication tool inside the management. As a telephone operator, the writer transferred the calls both inside and outside the management.

C. Discussion

C.1. Position of Public Relations Division in Solo Grand Mall

Public Relations Division of Solo Grand Mall is a division under Marketing and Communications Division. The job descriptions of Public

Relations of Solo Grand Mall are to create good image of the company and to communicate well--directly and indirectly--with the management, tenants and public. Public Relations practitioners of Solo Grand Mall have to realize that good image of the company does not only depend on the building, its presentation, its publication or anything else, but also depends on the reliability of the company itself, the strength of the company to survive and the continuity of progress made by the company that can be monitored and evaluated. Public Relations Division of Solo Grand Mall always continuously creates new innovations and gives satisfactions to the partners and the public. They use all forms of media and communication to build, maintain and manage reputation of organizations ranging from public services to businesses and voluntary organizations.

C.2. The Roles of Public Relations in Solo Grand Mall

Referring to the roles of Public Relations mentioned in the previous chapter, Public Relations Division of Solo Grand Mall has not yet played all of the roles. It can be seen from the following description of the point, combined with the existing situation based on

the writer‟s observation during the job training.

1) Expert Prescriber

In the law of Public Relations, Expert Prescriber is a person skilled in stating the problems, planning and being responsible in programs. Yet commit to user

what happened in Solo Grand Mall was that the role of the Expert Prescriber was less a lot from being optimum. It was because this role has not been performed as it should be.

In April 2009, Solo Grand Mall held Kartini Day‟s Celebration Event. Marketing and Communication Division conducted the event by inviting several Public Relations practitioners from hotels, companies and female reporters from around Solo. However, in this event, the Public Relations practitioners were only in charge for publications and observation of the ongoing event. Before the event started, the Public Relations practitioners sent invitations via e-mail. The Management

Division conducted a meeting to be assured on the event‟s preparations.

Yet the Public Relations practitioners only gave a few suggestions; namely those on publications and press conference. According to the actual roles of Public Relations practitioners, it is supposed to be the training field for the Public Relations practitioners to execute the roles as Expert Prescriber. This is due to the reason that Public Relations practitioners are the Expert Prescribers in a company. When problem occurred, the Public Relations practitioners were not able to give suggestions because they were not fully involved in the events held by the Management of Solo Grand Mall so that the Public Relations practitioners did not know much about the situation. Instead, the one which was appointed to handle that kind of matters is the Marketing and Communication Division. For that reason, the Public

Relations practitioners need to be given the suitable task so that they can play the role of Expert Prescriber perfectly.

2) Communication Facilitator

Public Relations practitioners play a role as a medium whose duties are to maintain the quality and the quantity of the two-way communication flow between the organization and its public. In this case, the Public Relations Division of Solo Grand Mall has not been maximal to play the role as Communication Facilitator. It is communication which often becomes obstacles among the Management staffs in Solo Grand Mall.

Solo Grand Mall has numerous business partners, starting from staffs, tenants, and media until public. It means impossible getting no problem between Solo Grand Mall and its partners. In daily activities, the Management Division of Solo Grand Mall always holds morning roll call. This morning roll call is a brief discussion on obstacles happening on the day before. Besides the obstacles, there were also other things mentioned, like how they managed to solve problems at the time of the event. Public Relations practitioners take full part in this event, because it is the duty of Public Relations to create good image and to solve problems. In solving problems, the Public Relations of Solo Grand Mall uses vertical communication. This is where the Public Relations of Solo Grand Mall becomes the mediator between the public and the management of Solo Grand Mall. However, in doing this vertical communication commit to user

misunderstanding happens quite often because this task is often given to other division. As in the case happened between the management and the tenants, the Public Relations Division never helped the management give explanations to the tenants. In this kind of case, the management of Solo Grand Mall chose to order Marketing Communication Division to deal with tenants. For instance, in the case involving ADA Fashion, this is one of the tenants in Solo Grand Mall. During its grand opening, ADA Fashion used a loudspeaker to attract the visitors. According to the management of Solo Grand Mall, this is a violation to the marketing codes of ethics. On the next day, Marketing Communication Division sent a notification letter concerning the action which was done by the ADA Fashion which violated the rules. The representative from the tenant (ADA Fashion) did not think that there was a mistake, since there were no clear regulations from the management. In this kind of situation, the Public Relations of Solo Grand Mall should take parts in bridging communications between the management and the tenant. This is due to the task of Public relations as communication facilitator between the management with the public. However, in fact the Marketing and Communication Division was the one that gave explanation to the tenants. In other words, Marketing and Communication division took over the task which is supposed to belong to the Public Relations Division.

C.3 The Problem and Problem Solutions Related to the Roles of Public Relations in Solo Grand Mall

The activities of Public Relations are generally designed to build or maintain the positive image of a company and its good relation with various parties. The same activities were also done by the Public Relations practitioners of Solo Grand Mall. The practitioners have roles as Expert Prescriber and Communication Facilitator.

Expert Prescriber is a person skilled in stating the problems, planning and being responsible in programs. In playing the role, the Public Relations practitioners of Solo Grand Mall faced some problems. The problems are that they were not involved in every program and event held by the Management of Solo Grand Mall. On the contrary, the role was instead given to the Marketing Communication Division. However, whenever there were problems, it was the Public Relations Division that was assigned to find a solution. In these situations, Public Relations practitioners only knew a little about the problems, for example: in overcoming the misunderstanding that happened between the Management, Marketing and Communication Division and the tenants. Since the Public Relations Division was not even involved in every event held by the Management of Solo Grand Mall, it is quite handful for the Public Relations practitioners to solve the problem related to the program.

The role of Public Relations is not only to create a harmonious relation with the public, but also to create a very well communication with the employees inside the firm including the relation with the

Deputy Manager. As in the role of Communication Facilitator, the Public Relations practitioners of Solo Grand Mall become the mediator between the company and the public. In order to solve the misunderstanding problems, the Public Relations practitioners use bottom-up communications. However, in doing this vertical communication, misunderstanding happens quite often. The vagueness of the information obtained by the employees frequently becomes the cause for the disharmony inside the work system of Solo Grand Mall Management. The numerous variations of works, as well as the work specialization in the Management, create the huge space of misunderstanding inside the different self of the employees despite the similar message being delivered.

In order to be able to play their roles as expert prescriber, the Public Relations practitioners of Solo Grand Mall are supposed to be involved in handling programs and events. With the involvement of Public Relations practitioners in arranging programs and events, they can understand the situations and any problems that become obstacles can be handled quickly.

In the role of Communication Facilitator, the very first step is clarifying the misunderstanding. In order to neutralize the misunderstanding, the Deputy Manager needs to give clear tasks and information to each division. In addition, there are also meetings and evaluation. That kind of problem can be properly solved by giving

adequate reports and complete information. For example, the Marketing Communication Division is supposed to be given tasks that are related to the marketing matters. As a result, the Public Relations Division will be able to play its role as Communication Facilitator perfectly.

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion

Based on the discussion in the previous chapter, it can be concluded that:

1. The Roles of Public Relations in Solo Grand Mall include:

a) Expert Prescriber

The role of Public Relations as the Expert Prescriber in Solo Grand Mall has not been optimally executed. It is because the Public Relations Practitioners in charge do not perform this role optimally. The reason is that they are not fully involved in the events held by the Management of Solo Grand Mall.

b) Communication Facilitator

The role of Public Relations as the Communication Facilitator in Solo Grand Mall has not been maximum. The reason is that the Public Relations Division of Solo Grand Mall focuses too much on the press releases, attending events and news clipping. Whenever there were communication problems with the tenants, it is always the Marketing Communication Division which is assigned to solve the problems.

2. The Problems and Solutions Related to the Roles of Solo Grand Mall Management

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a) Ineffectiveness

Related to the role as Expert Prescriber, the Public Relations practitioners of Solo Grand Mall was not involved in many of the events held by the Management of Solo Grand Mall. Instead, the one given the responsibilities for the events was the Marketing Communication Division. Yet, whenever there were problems, it is the Public Relations Division that was assigned to solve it. In other words, the divisions are misplaced. Solution to this problem is by having restructuration towards the organization system as a whole, so that the right task is done by the right division with the right skills.

b) Miscommunication

When playing the role of Communication Facilitator, the Public Relations Division of Solo Grand Mall faced a problem dealing with one of the tenants. Since the divisions are basically misplaced, it becomes difficult for the Public Relations Division to play the roles, particularly when it comes to the role of Communication Facilitator. The range of duties that was supposed to belong to the Public Relations Division was performed by the Marketing Communication Division. This problem can be solved by having a meeting and evaluation to discuss and assess whether each division does its own duties or not. Therefore, the harmony among divisions and employees of Solo Grand Mall can be created and then maintained.

B. Suggestions

Based on the conclusion above, the writer would like to give suggestions:

a) The Management is supposed to select employees who are really experts in Public Relations field. Therefore, all activities will run properly.

b) As Public Relations Practitioners, ones must be able to fully understand the ins and outs of the office situation and are not only stuck to one task only.

c) The Management must give full authority to the Public Relations and realize the significance of Public Relations in the company. Therefore, the Public Relations Division is able to play its role as they should determining the Public Relations strategies and models to be applied. As a consequence, all activities executed by the Public Relations Division have to be reported to the Management.

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The activities of Public Relations are generally designed to build or maintain the positive image of a company and its good relation with various parties. The same activities were also done by the Public Relations practitioners of Solo Grand Mall. The practitioners have roles as Expert Prescriber and Communication Facilitator.

Expert Prescriber is a person skilled in stating the problems, planning and being responsible in programs. In playing the role, the Public Relations practitioners of Solo Grand Mall faced some problems. The problems are that they were not involved in every program and event held by the Management of Solo Grand Mall. On the contrary, the role was instead given to the Marketing Communication Division. However, whenever there were problems, it was the Public Relations Division that was assigned to find a solution. In these situations, Public Relations practitioners only knew a little about the problems, for example: in overcoming the misunderstanding that happened between the Management, Marketing and Communication Division and the tenants. Since the Public Relations Division was not even involved in every event held by the Management of Solo Grand Mall, it is quite handful for the Public Relations practitioners to solve the problem related to the program.

The role of Public Relations is not only to create a harmonious relation with the public, but also to create a very well communication with the employees inside the firm including the relation with the

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Deputy Manager. As in the role of Communication Facilitator, the Public Relations practitioners of Solo Grand Mall become the mediator between the company and the public. In order to solve the misunderstanding problems, the Public Relations practitioners use bottom-up communications. However, in doing this vertical communication, misunderstanding happens quite often. The vagueness of the information obtained by the employees frequently becomes the cause for the disharmony inside the work system of Solo Grand Mall Management. The numerous variations of works, as well as the work specialization in the Management, create the huge space of misunderstanding inside the different self of the employees despite the similar message being delivered.

In order to be able to play their roles as expert prescriber, the Public Relations practitioners of Solo Grand Mall are supposed to be involved in handling programs and events. With the involvement of Public Relations practitioners in arranging programs and events, they can understand the situations and any problems that become obstacles can be handled quickly.

In the role of Communication Facilitator, the very first step is clarifying the misunderstanding. In order to neutralize the misunderstanding, the Deputy Manager needs to give clear tasks and information to each division. In addition, there are also meetings and evaluation. That kind of problem can be properly solved by giving

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adequate reports and complete information. For example, the Marketing Communication Division is supposed to be given tasks that are related to the marketing matters. As a result, the Public Relations Division will be able to play its role as Communication Facilitator perfectly.

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion

Based on the discussion in the previous chapter, it can be concluded that:

1. The Roles of Public Relations in Solo Grand Mall include:

a) Expert Prescriber

The role of Public Relations as the Expert Prescriber in Solo Grand Mall has not been optimally executed. It is because the Public Relations Practitioners in charge do not perform this role optimally. The reason is that they are not fully involved in the events held by the Management of Solo Grand Mall.

b) Communication Facilitator

The role of Public Relations as the Communication Facilitator in Solo Grand Mall has not been maximum. The reason is that the Public Relations Division of Solo Grand Mall focuses too much on the press releases, attending events and news clipping. Whenever there were communication problems with the tenants, it is always the Marketing Communication Division which is assigned to solve the problems.

2. The Problems and Solutions Related to the Roles of Solo Grand Mall Management

26

27

a) Ineffectiveness

Related to the role as Expert Prescriber, the Public Relations practitioners of Solo Grand Mall was not involved in many of the events held by the Management of Solo Grand Mall. Instead, the one given the responsibilities for the events was the Marketing Communication Division. Yet, whenever there were problems, it is the Public Relations Division that was assigned to solve it. In other words, the divisions are misplaced. Solution to this problem is by having restructuration towards the organization system as a whole, so that the right task is done by the right division with the right skills.

b) Miscommunication

When playing the role of Communication Facilitator, the Public Relations Division of Solo Grand Mall faced a problem dealing with one of the tenants. Since the divisions are basically misplaced, it becomes difficult for the Public Relations Division to play the roles, particularly when it comes to the role of Communication Facilitator. The range of duties that was supposed to belong to the Public Relations Division was performed by the Marketing Communication Division. This problem can be solved by having a meeting and evaluation to discuss and assess whether each division does its own duties or not. Therefore, the harmony among divisions and employees of Solo Grand Mall can be created and then maintained.

perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

B. Suggestions

Based on the conclusion above, the writer would like to give suggestions:

a) The Management is supposed to select employees who are really experts in Public Relations field. Therefore, all activities will run properly.

b) As Public Relations Practitioners, ones must be able to fully understand the ins and outs of the office situation and are not only stuck to one task only.

c) The Management must give full authority to the Public Relations and realize the significance of Public Relations in the company. Therefore, the Public Relations Division is able to play its role as they should determining the Public Relations strategies and models to be applied. As a consequence, all activities executed by the Public Relations Division have to be reported to the Management.