Fifty year-old T N Ashok is perhaps one of the few corporate communicators to have also been a public relations agency executive and a business editor.

After spending two decades as a hardcore journalist - subbing, reporting and editing, he switched over to public relations and corporate communications. He is now a consultant working exclusively with a multinational on its public affairs, communications and media relations.

Despite being a consultant, he does not favour outsourcing public relations to a PR agency. "I would not advise a corporate with a full-fledged communications team to outsource any of its work to a PR agency except in certain circumstances. When a person is employed to do a job on a decent salary, why waste the company's resources in replicating the effort."

Ashok initially toyed with the idea of studying medicine. But being from a family of journalists - his father T S Neelakantan was a financial journalist, as were two of his uncles. The lure of journalism proved stronger and he chose to prepare himself for it by studying economics for his BA and topped up with English literature for his masters at the Madras University.

Starting his career as a researcher with the weekly Commerce (now out of circulation) in Mumbai, Ashok later joined Onlooker as film critic-cum-science correspondent. Subsequently he joined the Press Trust of India (PTI) as a sub editor before becoming a reporter. In Mumbai he reported on economics / science / sports and later exclusively on economic affairs. He was transferred to Delhi as PTI's special correspondent where he rose to head the bureau and then went on to become the premier news agency's youngest economics editor.

A recipient of the National Citizens Award for excellence in journalism from Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, then the president of India, life for Ashok suddenly changed in the late '90s when Usha his wife of 18 years was diagnosed as suffering from renal failure. The cost of her treatment, around Rs20,000 per month, led to a change in career, since it became imperative that he find a job that would pay this kind of money. "The job came though, unfortunately, not in journalism," he recalls. That's how Ashok came to practice PR

He joined Burson and Marsteller Roger Perriera Communications in 1998 as its senior associate, handling prestigious accounts like Tatas, Xerox and Alacatel. Subsequently, he branched out on his own.

However, Usha's condition deteriorated and the end soon came leaving Ashok in a state of depression for some time. He married again and his second wife, Samantha, a French teacher, gave a new meaning to his life. The couple now live in Delhi along with there two children studying in class 10.

Over the years, his two-decade career as a hardcore business journalist has given him a sharp edge as a PR professional. He still thinks like a journalist and acts accordingly to further his corporate goals.

"While other corporate communications professionals might look at an issue from their company's perspective alone, attach a motive or an objective to a journalist's angle to do a story, I attach none as I can very clearly see a purpose and angle to a story from the eyes of a journalist and as a corporate PR practitioner know what to give him."

According to Ashok, communications managers succeed only they strategise, analyse and visualise what is coming and have a plan ready for it. "This is my personal view like the other answers to your questions," he adds. Excerpts:

From business editor of PTI to a PR person, you probably had to make a lot of adjustments. How did you handle the transition?
The transition period was very traumatic for me. I was very frustrated and even contemplated going back but couldn't because of circumstances. One thing - the corporate hierarchy is different from journalistic hierarchy - the media world is not clearly defined on hierarchical lines mainly because of the nature of its business.

Another reason for the sudden discomfort was that I had to come down from my position as an editor and actually have to chase journalists half my age to till then used to regard me as their senior. But I learnt to cope as I realised that the two worlds are different. The reason I stuck on was because of my financial compulsion and, also because the job was more challenging as it involved a lot of strategising, planning and execution.

Given the option, what would you choose between, being a journalist, a PR agency owner or a corporate communications head?
I would certainly love to return to journalism only if I have the same challenges of running a newspaper or a magazine with a compensation that matches corporate standards. I would even look forward to guiding a journalism institute which will provide me the opportunity to instill values-based journalism and ethics in budding journalists. Given an opportunity, I would also love to run an image management firm or an institution of my own, in the distant future. It would be totally different from what PR firms practice.

Do you think communications chiefs working in Indian companies and MNCs in India play an effective role?
That's a googly. It's a difficult question to answer. By and large I think corporate communications managers do play their role effectively. But the manager's own psyche and the company's profile determines their effectiveness. The two have to be synchcronised. But there are certain rules to go by - a communications manager apart from being friendly and transparent should be realistic in his approach and strategise internally and externally for the company.

He can only do the 'doable' as he is not a superman. I don't think there is much of a difference between Indian companies and MNC's in India. What is clear is, the days of lalaji ki dukan (proprietary management) have finally ended.

An organisation has three identities - what it is, what it thinks it is and what others think about it. How should a corporate communications manager marry the three?
It's difficult to bring all the three elements together if the corporate itself is not clear about its identity. Consequently, a corporate communications man has a tough job on his hand. It might be a good idea to outsource it to an agency, but it still doesn't solve the problem, because if the corporate is not clear about its goals, how will it brief the agency to do its job well.

If a corporate is clear about its goals, it can do the job itself without an agency since a lot of time is lost in briefing and debriefing.

Do you feel a PR agency necessarily adds value to a corporate?
Generally I would not advise corporates to outsource work to a PR agency. But there are areas where a PR agency can be very effective, particularly when it comes to event management, which are large in size. My thumb rule is that internal communications should not be farmed out, it's execution is better within the organisation for superior coordination and maintaining confidentiality.

External communications and events like press conferences and press tours (involving large numbers), exhibitions, conferences, product launches, can also be handled internally but a PR agency can be of great help in reducing the work load and tension.

Do you agree that PR and communications are just one aspect of reputation management.
Absolutely. Today PR is all about drawing up a communications plan for a company for the whole year and budgeting it. The corporate communications manager knows his agenda and knows what he has to do every day. Reputation management is the motto of any corporate because preserving the carefully built reputation, standing and image in the market and orchestrating it well before shareholders, customers, vendors, suppliers, consumer, the general public and the media.

Image management executives are the order of the day and not just PR men. You need strategy managers today and not just communication managers.

Should corporates make PR as a part of overall advertising?
PR cannot be the sole criterion for a communications strategy. A company needs an overall communications plan, which takes care of internal, external communications. Internal communications on how well you communicate your business plans with the employees and how you expect them to put their best foot forward and the incentives you provide for good performance. External communications like advertising, events and launches and media interactions form part of another strategy. Communications sent out to customers on how your company is planning to grow and how they fit into your expansion plans and your expectations of them on how they could better their quality and deliveries etc.

On communication strategies during a crisis.
There are no set rules to be followed but one needs to innovate. One needs to be transparent and share basic information at times of crises. Being unavailable during crisis situations erodes shareholder confidence, makes the media suspicious and puzzles customers. For a manufacturing concern, an accident at a plant can be disastrous publicity if the initial information is not shared truthfully. Exaggerated reports appears in the media in the absence of any credible information and that can damage a company's reputation. Extreme care has to be taken. The Bhopal gas tragedy is a perfect example of a crisis and how to manage it. But today people have learnt from its experience and know well how to handle such crises.

What is the importance of image audit?
Image audits are very useful and should be conducted only as needed. Any image audit should generally be done by a specialised agency so that internal prejudices and contradictions are avoided in order to get accurate results. The first audit will tell you whether a company needs it frequently or not. Apart from acting as a measure of popularity index amongst various stakeholders, it also helps to measure the reliability of the company in terms of deliveries to the customers or shareholders.

Do you think corporate websites are effective in image building?
A corporate website is one of the most powerful and exhaustive tools to communicate internally and externally. It can be used ingeniously to convey information and enhance a company's profile in the public eye.

The Tata group website (www.tata.com) is one of the most beautifully designed and executed websites, which conveys exhaustive information about all the group companies. And so much information and background put in such a neat order to be retrieved easily. A corporate website has to be updated constantly and redesigned perhaps once in 18 months if there is a need to reflect the changing dynamics of the corporate and its philosophy. (Readers may note, www.tata.com is designed and maintained by the company that owns this website).

How do you see the PR profession evolving in the years ahead, particularly India?
PR has a great scope for growth by responding to the needs of both and making timely deliveries. As long as the economy is buoyant and the companies are on a growth path, there is an inherent need to communicate. It can be done effectively through their own corporate communication departments as in the case of large corporates and MNCs or through PR, reputation, image management firms. Remember each one of them has a specialised skill. One should know whom to hire for what and when. The man who knows the difference emerges the winner.