Answer to Question 1
Ivy Ledbetter Lee, often referred to as the first modern public relations
counselor, was the first to declare that the best way to develop credibility with the media and the
public was to be up-front when bad things happened. He issued a declaration of principles as a
guide for handling the press. However, his contributions to the field are often ignored as he was
found to have been advising Nazi leaders. From his experience, we can learn that image is
everything, not only for the person, business, or organization represented, but for the PR
practitioner as well. If your impact on the field of public relations is how to build and maintain
credibility, you yourself must be credible.
Answer to Question 2
The three tenets of SMT are: 1) there is one best way to do every job, 2) proper
training ensures proper knowledge for each task, and 3) management and labor are inherently
different. The concepts were good for production because employees were knowledgeable and
efficient workers. However, they were bad for communication because laborers were only given
information on a need to know basis generating poor internal communication between laborers
and management.