This article considers public relations through the prism of decision-making. Decisions can be regarded as a way of dealing with complexity. In the following, two approaches to decisions and complexity are discussed. The first is an actor-based prescriptive approach, which focuses on decision-making as a means of managing environmental complexity. There are different tools and techniques that support public relations managers in finding adequate responses. The second is a descriptive approach, which is more interested in the ways in which such tools and techniques contribute to the complex decision process itself. In accordance with Niklas Luhmann’s systems theory, public relations decisions are regarded as a specific form of communication that (a) emphasizes the selectivity of the process by specifying particular public relations options or choices, (b) attributes this selection to a ‘decision-maker’ (e.g. a public relations manager) while simultaneously presuming strategic intent with respect to public perception, and (c) engages the past and future in a specific way. A decision-based approach that builds on communication may thus contribute to a more detailed understanding of public relations practice. Such an approach raises, among others, questions concerning strategic public relations options or the participation of digital entities as ‘decision-makers’. With its focus on decisions as communications, it furthermore links the field of public relations research to schools of thought such as CCO (communicative constitution of organizations) and strategy as practice.

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公共关系作为一种复杂的基于决策的实践

本文从决策的角度来考虑公共关系。决策可以视为处理复杂性的一种方式。在下文中，讨论了两种决策方法和复杂性。第一种是基于行为者的规定性方法，该方法侧重于将决策作为管理环境复杂性的一种手段。有各种工具和技术可以支持公共关系经理寻找适当的对策。第二种是描述性方法，它对这种工具和技术对复杂决策过程本身做出贡献的方式更感兴趣。根据Niklas Luhmann的系统理论，公共关系决策被视为一种特定的沟通形式，其（a）通过指定特定的公共关系选项或选择来强调过程的选择性，（b）将这种选择归因于“决策者”（例如，公共关系经理）同时假定有关公众认知的战略意图，并且（c）以特定方式参与过去和未来。因此，基于沟通的基于决策的方法可能有助于更详细地了解公共关系实践。这种方法尤其引起了有关战略公共关系选择或数字实体作为“决策者”的参与的问题。专注于决策作为交流，