Foreword

The long reign of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej began at the end of world war land has lasted up to the present day. In the more than six decades that have passed, Thailand has undergone major changes, politically socially and even physically, as the nation can witness to day. In fact the entire outlook of the country has been transformed In the middle of this sea of change however there is an institution that remains intact and prominent in the minds of all Thais, namely the monarchy It is an in is potable fact that the person who plays a crucial role in the development of the country in all aspects is His Majesty the king’s who commands great love and respect among his subjects. But it remains a great puzzle to the entire world how a uncountable project and programs initiated throughout his reign .The mobilization of ideas and implementation of development concepts and project require thorough data gathering and accurate analysis of problems, as well as creative ideas to formulate projects in such a way that will bring about the intended changes. With his great talents and kind concern for his subjects, His majesty devoted his time and energy to study problems in localities in detail. Based on such studies, solutions are meticulously worked out, for problems ranging from the local to the national level.

In so doing, communication skills and strategies are essential. His Majesty the king has clearly shown his true understanding of the concept and has employed communication and public relations strategies, while adapting communication theories to create good understanding among the public. The function of public relations is the managing of communication with clear of-objectives and goals, to link various groups in society together, leading to common understanding and the attainment of common objective. When all the groups have a common goal, linkages are created, resulting in synergy. Therefore, His Majesty’s great skills in applying public relations principles to his work bring benefits and happiness to the Thai people, whose love and respect for their king increase day by day. His Majesty the king has thereby become the heart and soul of the Thai nation.

This book deals with His Majesty the king’s life and work, focusing on his character and his talent for communication and application of public relations principles to his undertakings for the well-begin and happiness of the Thai people, ever since his ascension to the throne. The royal activities are wide-ranging and varied. One book can cover only a few examples of His Majesty’s communication skills. Over and above all that, however, is His Majesty’s ability to adapt communication principles to public relation work, which is more complicated than normal communication techniques, as the process requires accurate planning and implementation of the projects. Target groups in public relation operations include persons within the organization, as well as members of the general public. Communication with the messes to create knowledge and understanding, to gain acceptance for new concepts, and to change people’s behavior, is, to say the least. Not easy. But with hit talents and his devotion to the well-being of the people, Hit Majesty has majesty has been able to successfully conduct public relation work that even public relation experts regard as nearly impossible tasks.

At the end of this book, an analysis of His Majesty’s character and talents, as well as his royal activities, is presented as an “afterword,” based on public relation theories and concept, to explain clearly the great talents of His Majesty the King of Thailand in communication and to show why he deserves the title of the Great King of communication and public Relation

After word

Public relations concepts and theories applied to public relation operations are varied. They are based on psychological studies, such as theories related to the knowledge attitudes, and behavior of message receivers, who are the target of the public relations activities;
other theories are based on components of the communication process namely sender, message, channel, receiver, and feedback These theories are constantly developed in order to devise methods that can be applied to operation in any situation. When we look at His Majesty the King’s activities regarding communication and public relations, there are certain public relations concepts and theories involving the personality or character of sender of the message that may be able to explain His Majesty the King’s life and work –but especially his influence as a communicator.

Several public relation theories point to the sender’s personality as the main factor contributing to successful communication:
- Aristotle’s “ethos”
- Source credibility
-Communication in crisis management
-Communication for change
-Public participation.

Aristotle’s “Ethos”

In the book, The Rhetoric of Aristotle (1960),an exposition on Aristotle’s The Rhetoric relation to the modern art of communication, Lane cooper surmised that the most important factor is the message sender’s own personality, designated by Aristotle as “ethos” and translated in Thai as “attalak,” or the Communication’s character, by Associate professor Dr.Sawanit Yaamaphai, a former lecturer of the faculty of Communication Arts, Chulalongkorn University. According to Aristotle, the rhetorician’s ethos plays the most important role in influencing the audience’s thoughts and beliefs. Such an ethos implies the communicator’s knowledge and understanding of the message, coupled with moral authority and the expressed goodwill of the message sender. Ti is the main contributing factor for the credibility and trust created in the Communicator thinkers from the time before Christ such as Aristotle to academics in Communication art of the present time concur that the Communicator’s ethos plays an essential role in effectively persuading message receivers. Aristotle’s thoughts in The Rhetoric have been accepted and studied up to the present time. Communication scholar remain interested in searching for the answer as to whether the Communicator Aristotle discussed three means of persuasion that an orator must rely on, which are grounded in credibility or ethos. Academics now use the term “source credibility” in explaining the theory.

Source Credibility

Hovland in 1953 and weiss in 1974 studied the influence of sources in persuasion by comparing credible and non-credible sources, using the same persuasive message, to test whether the receivers more than the non-credible source. The study confirmed than assumption. the non-credible source. The study confirmed that assumption.

This finding corresponded with McCroskey, Burgoon, and Heston’s conclusion in Small Group Communication: A Functional Approach (1974) that communicators with high credibility in the eyes of message receivers tend to have respect, and their words are accepted more readily. Results from psychological studies conducted by Middlebrook in Social Psychology and Modern Life (1974) also show that source credibility is related to differences in message receivers’ attitudes.

Communication theories old and new are generally in accord with the theory that message receivers relate a source’s credibility to that communicator’s favorable character or ethos, which comprises knowledge, moral standards, and goodwill toward the message receivers. It can safely be said that His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej has, through his demeanor and undertakings, manifested such a desirable ethos to all the Thai people, as the one who seeks full knowledge and accurate information about everything he pays attention, who leads a virtuous life in accordance with high moral standards and principles, both as a monarch and as and individual, and with the unequivocal, kind concern he has shown toward his subjects throughout the more than six decades that have passed. It is thus obvious that His Majesty the King is imbued with desirable attributes that strengthen a communicator’s ethos, and has therefore been effective in persuading his audiences to put their faith in the word and initiatives granted for their benefit and well-being. They all accept royal addresses, speeches and projects without any doubt knowing in their hearts that those words and deeds come from their King’s deep concern and immeasurable kindness toward his subjects, because he gives without expecting anything in return. Local people maintain full trust in His Majesty the King’s initiatives, all genuinely aimed to solve the people’s problems and hardship. Numerous royally initiated projects have therefore been successfully implemented, even those considered controversial and facing opposition, such as the construction of Pasak Jolasid Dam. The project was initiated by His Majesty follow his visits to the area, during which he discovered that the people were enduring problems caused by recurrent droughts and flooding in the Chao Phraya Basin. Water shortages pose immense hardship for farmer. His Majesty thus initiated to dam to solve the immediate problem in the area, while preventing flood in central region and the Bangkok metropolitan area as well. Although at that time, public sentiments against dam construction ran high, due to environmental concerns and fears of human sufferings in the area to be flooded in the dam construction process. His Majesty the king spoke with various groups, especially the Royal Irrigation Department, which was in charge of the project. He insisted that fair and timely compensation had to be given to all evacuees. With his strong moral authority and because of his full attention to the construction process, the Pasak Jolasid Dam project was successfully and smoothly implemented. Strong opposition to dam construction, such as demonstrations or protests, was not seen. Presently, Pasak Jolasid Dam has become a major tourist attraction for Lop Buri and the neighboring provinces. Such a project was accomplished only because of the Thai people’s confidence in royal initiative and the full trust they place in their King

Communication in Crisis management

A crisis is a decisive or defining moment, with serious impacts on an organization, a community, a city, a country, or even the word. Examples of crises in an organization include serious accidents at workplaces, causing death and injury, or problems in the manufacturing process the result in hazards to consumers, such and tainted food products or the spread of disease such as avian influenza or foot and mouth disease. Such incidents often mean that a company or an entire industry or way of life could collapse. As for a crisis in the society or a country, there are many examples, such as the Asian economic crisis in 1997, “ethnic cleansing ” in eastern Europe, civil war in African countries, and the “9/11” terrorist attacks on the World Tread towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on 11 September 2001

Feelings brought on by a crisis, such as tension and panic, occur most often in situation involving violence or disaster. So whenever such things happen, public relations practitioners believe that it is important to deploy proper communication techniques to manage the situation and restore normalcy as quickly as possible, while containing and minimizing damages. At the same time, the public’s belief in the reputation and stability of the organization, community, or country has to be restored and enhanced. The theory of crisis management has captured the attention of public relations academics, who have studies the methods of formulating responses to serious incidents that could disrupt the operation of solving immediate problems, reducing confusion and panic, and providing crisis response guides that are acceptable and satisfactory to everyone. Such guides have become widespread in organizations.

In crisis management communication, factual information must be given by public relations professionals, to reduce panic and confusion among the public, and to communicate with all target groups quickly to turn the crisis around, restoring normalcy and minimizing losses.

Thirty-four years ago in October 1973 and 15 years ago in May 1992, Thailand was in a deep political crisis, following conflicts in the streets that had led to strife and armed suppression. His Majesty the King tacitly demonstrated his moral authority as a national leader and as one imbued with the essential characteristics of communicator and public relation practitioner, in his wise application of effective crisis communication and public relation. In October 1973, His Majesty the King made a televised speech to assure the people that the appalling situation had passed. In May 1992, His Majesty held an audience with the key players in the conflict and allowed the occasion to be televised nationwide, so that the nation was immediately aware that a solution to the crisis was at hand, thus quashing conflicting news reports and calming people’s anxious fears. Doing so also quickly brought about a change in the tone of reports on the violence in Thailand by international news services. In various sectors of society, the confidence and determination to solve internal problems increased and almost returned to a normal level. In other counties, similar crises have required years to heal. The international community commended His Majesty the king for his ability to turn the worst situation around and restore normalcy to the country in a very shot time, and halt the unfortunate loss of life and property. All this confirms the fact that he is a talented King of Communication and Public Relations who can successfully apply the theory of crisis management to the Thai nation’s problems.

Communication for Change

Change is a normal occurrence, or as saying goes, “The most permanent condition is impermanence,” meaning that everything in the world changes over time. Everyone must face changes and adept to the changing environment to order to survive. However, humanity has used its ingenuity in countless efforts to manage change, to bring about acceptance and equitable adaptability to new conditions. In organizations and in societies as well, it is often necessary to enable the transition from a current state to a desired future in order to survive in the changing environment. In general, human beings do not like changes, for fear of complications in their live, as they need to change their lifestyle and learn new things and adapt themselves in other way. Public relations professionals may be considered “change managers,” helping to make the transitions in organizations or society smooth, with minimal or no opposition. Change management theory concerns the implementation of new methods and systems in an organization or a society in a way that members of the organization or society accept it as the better, more effective, more beneficial, or more sustainable method.

His Majesty the King’s Sufficiency Economy initiative can be considered as a call for transformation in the lifestyle of many people in Thai society. His Majesty employs an effective change management method to bring about change in the way of thinking and implementation. A large number of people have gained awareness desire, and knowledge of change, which, although it involves a complication process, has been communicated in simple terms, with tangible examples for people to lean and emulate, supported by real situations that show its feasibility. His Majesty the King obviously uses his communication skills in public relations for change in the society, by making the people aware of the dangers the “modern” lifestyle, characterized by insatiable desires and ambitions and materialism. The consequence of such a way of life will be a shortage of resources to satisfy those needs. His initiative of sufficiency economy provides a well-balanced response to Thailand’s economic problems. In pushing for change, His Majesty was successful in creating favorable responses to his innovative concept.

Public Participation

The concept of people’s participation is enshrined in the democratic system of government. But, although Thailand’s administrative system changed from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy over 75 years ago in June 1932, the Thai people’s way of thinking has not changed to a completely democratic way. However, people in today’s society are more aware of their rights and have found their voice to speak against injustice and abuses, such as when their lives are affected by state projects. Public relations practices at present, therefore, have to incorporate the public participation process, as the opinions of people who are stakeholders must be heard and considered in an effort to alleviate or prevent suffering.

There have been numerous, large development projects implemented in Thailand, bringing about major physical changes, such as the construction of roads, bridges, expressways, dams, and reservoirs, all with consequences for residents in that area. Some had to be relocate from the land their family had lived on for generations, with their lifestyle changed from agrarian to urban, as the land is expropriated for the construction. These are all delicate issues requiring great attention to both great and smell matters.

Both the 1997 Constitution and the 2007 Constitution define public participation in several sections. Moreover, there are mechanisms that the civic sector can use in pushing for public hearings and adapting the projects to suit their situation. Public participation has thus become a mechanism that the public expects as part of the public relations operation.

Such a process has been adopted in His Majesty the King’s work. In fact, he emphasized to his staff and everyone serving in the royal development projects that they had to bear in mind the importance of local people’s views and needs. His Majesty himself listens closely to the people’s grievance, as he stated in his royal address in November 1970: “In working out program to help people, it is necessary that you know the people you intend to help, and what they really need.” He would both listen to the local people and then consult experts on the feasibility of his initiatives. In implementing those projects, His Majesty also constantly emphasized that the royally initiated projects must not bring hardship to his subjects by any means.

With his great kindness towards his Thai subjects, the numerous royally initiated projects have never had adverse effect on the people. They all serve to alleviate the people’s hardships and difficulties, providing means for them to earn their living, making them self-reliant and able to contribute to their communities and to the country as a whole.