1 1.0 Definition of Public Relation The formal practice of what is now commonly referred to as “public relations” dates to the early 20th century. In the relatively brief period leading up to today, public relations have been defined in many different ways, the definition often evolving alongside public relations‟ changing roles and technological advances. The earliest definitions emphasized press agentry and publicity, while more modern definitions incorporate the concepts of “engagemen t” and “relationship building.” Public relation are defined by Banks (1995) in his book, Multicultural Public Relations: A Social-Interpretive Approach, as „the management of formal communication between organizations and their relevant publics to create and maintain communities of interest and action that favour the organization, taking full account of the normal human variation in the systems of meaning by which groups understand and enact their everyday lives‟. This definition comes close to describe the best practice in public relations which is concerned with mutual understanding between an organization/government and its publics and also stresses the importance of culture and diversity for different communities in different locations. This definition may seem simple but it has a great deal of substance, as it focuses on management, leadership and mutual understanding. Meanwhile, Hutton (1999) in his article for Publics Relations Review, The Definition, Dimensions, and Domain of Public Relations describes public relation as „managin g strategic relationship‟. By this, it can be said that the combination of Banks‟ and Hutton‟s definitions and the consideration of diversity management may yield a highly comprehensive public relations definition to prepare for major new challenges in future public relations roles and issues regarding it. In addition, Newsom and Kruckeberg (2004) said public relationship is a leadership and management function that helps achieve organizational objectives, defines philosophy,