Grunig's situational theory

One of the most important aspects companies have to deal with and pay great attention to are stakeholders. Today there are various models suggesting the best ways on how to deal with them. One of the most well known Public Relations theorists James E. Grunig has developed the situational theory which concentrates on changing publics. Its concept involves non – public, latent public, aware public and active public.

Non – public refers to the public that is not affected by an organisations decisions, behaviour or problems. They might be recognized but don’t play a very important role for a company. The latent public applies to the public that might unconsciously be aware of a company’s or organisation’s moves but does not recognize them. The aware public is a public, which is aware of the effects of an organisation’s matters and recognizes them. The active public refers to the public that recognizes a company’s or organisation’s moves in full context and wants to react and act in response and organise to do something about the problem or situation.

Grunig’s situational theory can well be applied by companies and organisation as it is but continues to be developed.