The first of the series of public lectures organized by the Faculty of Arts, Communication and Education was held on 19 August 2015. This lecture was delivered by former Rector of International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), Dato’ Sri Prof. Dr. Syed Arabi Idid who is also a renowned academics and public relations practitioner. His lecture entitled ‘The CEO Looks At The Pro During The Time Of Crisis’ at the Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur campus.
The public lecture sees Dato’ Sri Prof. Dr. Syed Arabi Idid, using illustrations and photographs from the past, raise questions about the role of the PRO in handling crisis and the acceptance of the management team in allowing the PRO to lead in managing the crisis.
On the day of the public lecture, almost 100 participants turned up. The participants were students and lecturers from IUKL and many were from external organizations and institutions of higher learning. Throughout the session, Dato’ Sri Prof. Dr. Syed Arabi Idid actively engaged the participants by having small activities. The audience were also listening with rapt attention to the stories told by speaker. They were thoroughly immersed in the discussion on evaluating the significance of crises, the role of the CEO and the role of the PRO in coming up with better ideas that the management team could use in managing crisis. In a crisis, the organization bears the full brunt in managing it.
In wrapping up the lecture, Dato’ Sri Prof. Dr. Syed Arabi Idid asserted that “there is a need to maintain positive perceptions in the minds of the stakeholders. Maintaining the reputation of an organization ultimately might be the most important function of public relations”. That is when the CEO looks at the PRO and acknowledges that a crisis has been properly handled by the organization that he manages.
The session ended with the opportunity for all participants to have a quick chat with Dato’ Sri Prof. Dr. Syed Arabi Idid and a group photo.
The Faculty of Arts, Communication and Education will continue to bring to the public an impressive line up of experts and renowned academics speaking on a myriad of topics, with the aim of sharing knowledge and encouraging debate.