Multiculturalism in the public relations agency: An exploratory study of the experiences of Afro-Brazilians as public relations practitioners.

摘要

This study investigates the experiences and perceptions of a sample of Afro-Brazilian practitioners in the agency setting and within the broader context of social change in Brazil. The experiences and perceptions of multicultural practitioners is of particular significance in countries that contain large multicultural populations and are now responding to their governments' social changes against racial injustice. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of multicultural practitioners of African descent (both negro and pardo) in an effort to discover (1) how they identify with the new consciousness due to recent societal shifts, such as the racial discrimination law and affirmative action policies, and (2) what their perception is of how these changes are being applied within their agency, as well as how it is affecting these practitioners. This research consists of an exploratory study of whether and how the corporate public relations industry in Brazil is incorporating multicultural diversity, through the viewpoints of Afro-Brazilian practitioners in one agency.;Fourteen participants were interviewed, of which eight were practitioners, one was support staff, and five were top level executives. The data analysis was examined using the social interpretive theory for multicultural public relations (Banks, 2000) and corporate social responsibility theory (Wood, 1991). The qualitative methodology chosen for the proposed research is informed by ethnographic methods. This study found evidence that the Afro-Brazilian practitioners in the agency under study were discriminated against. It was also found that multicultural practitioners offer cultural insight and sensitivity that can benefit public relations agencies and their clients.