PRSA APR TEST LATEST QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH
RATIONALES (2024/2025) VERIFIED BY EXPERT.
You are the VP PR for a Texas nonprofit. You noticed that despite serving many flood
victims after Hurricane Katrina, there is an increasing number of news reports alleging
that the New Orleans chapter of the American Red Cross' relief efforts involved abuses
and missteps. What is the best course of action based on these developments?
A. While it's a hot topic, send a news release to local media outlets, offering a local
perspective on how organizations should handle a crisis.
B. Work with your leadership to implement a volunteer responsibility education
campaign within the next month.
C. Make a mental note of the coverage. There hasn't been any negative coverage of
your charity and management is pleased with the conduct of its longstanding
volunteers.
D. Encourage leadership to keep a low profile until the end of this news cycle. It's best
to avoid controversial topic unless the media inquires. - Answer Answer: B
Rationale: An organization is a living system. As counselors, practitioners must track
and inform line management of major trends to help organizations proactively adjust
and adapt to their environments.
Choice A is incorrect because it is a reactive tactic rather than part of a strategic plan.
Choice C represents the static goal state of a closed system, not sensitive to its
environment. Choice D is a reactive (not proactive) response.
Source: EPR Chapter 4, pgs 148-156
You are the PR Director for a health clinic system. Your COO has noticed a disturbing
trend with a decline in returning patients to a particular clinic. Your department is asked
to develop a plan to improve the number of patient visits to the clinic. What is your best
response to your COO's concern of a decline in returning patient appointments?
(Choose two)
A. Create a promotional advertising campaign about the importance of regular and
annual health check-ups.
B. Contact the local media to report on a new treatment the clinic physicians offer to
raise public interest in their expertise.
C. Survey current and past patients and ask them to rate satisfaction with several touch
points including; appointment wait times, customer service, billing and quality of doctor.
D. Meet with other department managers to identify non-returning patients and call them
to reschedule.
E. Form a focus group comprised of past patients to discuss reasons they haven't
returned. - Answer Answer: C & E
Rationale: An Open Systems Model of Public Relations provides a way to initiate
corrective actions based on open, two-way communication with publics. Surveying the
patient base (public) would be a first step in identify reasons patients may not be
returning to the clinic. Only after becoming armed with actual feedback from the patient
, viewpoint can management determine the best strategy to improve the return rate of
existing patients.
Source: EPR Chapter 7, pg. 162-163 Open Systems Model of Public Relations KSA 4.1
Demonstrates familiarity with social science theories and research that guide planning,
prioritizing audiences, developing messages, establishing credibility and trust.
Company A plans to roll out a new product line. What role should the PR manager play
in the campaign?
A. Securing ad space on a platform whose viewership matches the company's target
market.
B. Surveying past consumers to identify what features they want to see in the new
product line.
C. Developing a communications plan for the product line launch targeted to the
company's primary publics.
D. Obtaining celebrity endorsements to build brand awareness for the new product. -
Answer Answer: C
Rationale: The PR manager's role is to develop and implement a communication plan to
achieve measurable results toward set goals and objectives. Option A is an example of
advertising, option B is marketing and option D is branding.
Source: APR Study Guide pgs 17-19, 84
You are the director of public relations for a small, private university. In the days after
the Sept. 11 attacks, you received information from an acquaintance through your
university email account. The message says that a local businessman, who is foreign, is
allegedly supporting terrorist activity by displaying a poster of Osama bin Laden in his
store. You are asked by the sender not only to boycott that business but also to pass
along this information to other friends and colleagues. This message is not a news
release of any kind. The information is not meant for public consumption. The
information is intended for sharing among friends. What do you do and why?
A. Don't send the email because it goes against fairness and the free flow of
information.
B. Forward the email from your university account to friends and colleagues because it
promotes advocacy.
C. Send the email to friends and colleagues from a personal account to avoid a conflict
of interest by keep the boundaries between work and home separate.
D. Reach out to the business owner to give him a heads up. Profiling is unethical and
will not be tolerated and goes against the value of diversity. - Answer Answer: A
Rationale: You can determine the best response by completing the Six-Step Ethical-
Decision Making Process. Sending the email goes against the PRSA Code of Ethics
values, which state that "We deal fairly with clients, employers, competitors, peers,
vendors, the media, and the general public. We respect all opinions and support the
right of free expression." and goes against the principle that "advancing the free flow of
accurate and truthful information is essential to serving the public interest and
contributing to informed decision making in a democratic society."
RATIONALES (2024/2025) VERIFIED BY EXPERT.
You are the VP PR for a Texas nonprofit. You noticed that despite serving many flood
victims after Hurricane Katrina, there is an increasing number of news reports alleging
that the New Orleans chapter of the American Red Cross' relief efforts involved abuses
and missteps. What is the best course of action based on these developments?
A. While it's a hot topic, send a news release to local media outlets, offering a local
perspective on how organizations should handle a crisis.
B. Work with your leadership to implement a volunteer responsibility education
campaign within the next month.
C. Make a mental note of the coverage. There hasn't been any negative coverage of
your charity and management is pleased with the conduct of its longstanding
volunteers.
D. Encourage leadership to keep a low profile until the end of this news cycle. It's best
to avoid controversial topic unless the media inquires. - Answer Answer: B
Rationale: An organization is a living system. As counselors, practitioners must track
and inform line management of major trends to help organizations proactively adjust
and adapt to their environments.
Choice A is incorrect because it is a reactive tactic rather than part of a strategic plan.
Choice C represents the static goal state of a closed system, not sensitive to its
environment. Choice D is a reactive (not proactive) response.
Source: EPR Chapter 4, pgs 148-156
You are the PR Director for a health clinic system. Your COO has noticed a disturbing
trend with a decline in returning patients to a particular clinic. Your department is asked
to develop a plan to improve the number of patient visits to the clinic. What is your best
response to your COO's concern of a decline in returning patient appointments?
(Choose two)
A. Create a promotional advertising campaign about the importance of regular and
annual health check-ups.
B. Contact the local media to report on a new treatment the clinic physicians offer to
raise public interest in their expertise.
C. Survey current and past patients and ask them to rate satisfaction with several touch
points including; appointment wait times, customer service, billing and quality of doctor.
D. Meet with other department managers to identify non-returning patients and call them
to reschedule.
E. Form a focus group comprised of past patients to discuss reasons they haven't
returned. - Answer Answer: C & E
Rationale: An Open Systems Model of Public Relations provides a way to initiate
corrective actions based on open, two-way communication with publics. Surveying the
patient base (public) would be a first step in identify reasons patients may not be
returning to the clinic. Only after becoming armed with actual feedback from the patient
, viewpoint can management determine the best strategy to improve the return rate of
existing patients.
Source: EPR Chapter 7, pg. 162-163 Open Systems Model of Public Relations KSA 4.1
Demonstrates familiarity with social science theories and research that guide planning,
prioritizing audiences, developing messages, establishing credibility and trust.
Company A plans to roll out a new product line. What role should the PR manager play
in the campaign?
A. Securing ad space on a platform whose viewership matches the company's target
market.
B. Surveying past consumers to identify what features they want to see in the new
product line.
C. Developing a communications plan for the product line launch targeted to the
company's primary publics.
D. Obtaining celebrity endorsements to build brand awareness for the new product. -
Answer Answer: C
Rationale: The PR manager's role is to develop and implement a communication plan to
achieve measurable results toward set goals and objectives. Option A is an example of
advertising, option B is marketing and option D is branding.
Source: APR Study Guide pgs 17-19, 84
You are the director of public relations for a small, private university. In the days after
the Sept. 11 attacks, you received information from an acquaintance through your
university email account. The message says that a local businessman, who is foreign, is
allegedly supporting terrorist activity by displaying a poster of Osama bin Laden in his
store. You are asked by the sender not only to boycott that business but also to pass
along this information to other friends and colleagues. This message is not a news
release of any kind. The information is not meant for public consumption. The
information is intended for sharing among friends. What do you do and why?
A. Don't send the email because it goes against fairness and the free flow of
information.
B. Forward the email from your university account to friends and colleagues because it
promotes advocacy.
C. Send the email to friends and colleagues from a personal account to avoid a conflict
of interest by keep the boundaries between work and home separate.
D. Reach out to the business owner to give him a heads up. Profiling is unethical and
will not be tolerated and goes against the value of diversity. - Answer Answer: A
Rationale: You can determine the best response by completing the Six-Step Ethical-
Decision Making Process. Sending the email goes against the PRSA Code of Ethics
values, which state that "We deal fairly with clients, employers, competitors, peers,
vendors, the media, and the general public. We respect all opinions and support the
right of free expression." and goes against the principle that "advancing the free flow of
accurate and truthful information is essential to serving the public interest and
contributing to informed decision making in a democratic society."
