Public Relation – An Overview

Public Relation – An Overview

PUBLIC RELATION- AN OVERVIEW :Though public relation was solely conceived initially as press generally, its practitioner have recognized that it should aim at informing the public to secure better understanding of public attitudes towards business and that positive steps should be taken to gain public understanding and goodwill.  A significant factor contributing to the development of public relations has been the increase in population and resulting in expansion of all types of business, social and political organization. (Nwosu I. E. 1994).

Although public relations has engaged phenomenal growth in the past far reaching developments in the future promise to make public relations on the more vital force in the operation of large and small business, social service, government, educational institution and professional organizations.  There has been a remarkable growth in management functions and public relation in playing an increasingly important role as management tool for corporate image development profit and non-profit organization engage in marketing which is concerned with identifying needs and want and satisfying them through exchange relationships.

Contributing in the role of public relations as a management tool for image development Cornfield (1998:23) wrote public relations techniques are being used to build a good reputation for products and service in same way there have being used in share-holders, community and employee relations in building a good reputation for the enterprise as a whole.

Public relations practitioners are learning about sales, advertising and promotion problems and marketing executive that public relation can create acceptance.

Public relation executives are co-operating with management executives in planning and conducting attitudinal surveys of consumers and dealers in order to obtain opinion of products, service and policies and appraise the effectiveness of marketing programmes contract with news media and experience in preparing and placing corporate publicity qualifies a public relations staff to prepare new stories, pictures, magazines, articles on a new products, product application and users.

Public relation is being called upon to produce audio and visual materials, films, recording and displays, suppliers and share holders.  By creating special events, and public is aiding management in launching new product reviewing old ones and carrying a products story to a new audience.

It is through public opinion survey that corporate image of an organization can be appraised, the image of the organization could now be determined if favourable or unfavourable.  Before a responsible organization takes pains to explain its actions and motives, it must be aware of concerned public opinions and attitudes.  Unless a business organization is responsive to its publics, it will not be able to make itself understood.  In this regard, Chuks (1990:10) said that the public relations practitioners, seeking to service the public interest are aware of the counsels and communications in the following ways.

a)                 Serving as two ways conduct between organization and its public.

b)                Makes an effort to protect only not what the organization is but also what it has been and is becoming by interpreting it to the public in terms that people can understand and interpret it to the members of the organization in terms they can understood.

c)                 Strive to anticipate and correct false impression and respond appropriately to criticism of the organization.

d)                Sees that meaningful relations are maintained with the government and that legislation and regulations affecting the organization are reported to the management and suggestions are made for dealing with them.

e)                 Conducting research on public attitudes especially of audience that are important to the organization and informs management of the attitudes found.

f)                  Ties to help the organization demonstrate a new sense of social responsibility along with profit responsibility.

g)                 Assist members of the organization to speak clearly and support rightly in all public contacts when presenting fact and view points.

h)                Help management read the signs of the times, correctly, apply them constantly and thinks in term of change.

In general public relation practitioner use public opinions to determine if opinion about a company are favourable or unfavourable.  It is a business had cap to have a bad public image.

Okeke and Udeagha (1993:66) in their work wrote that public relations is the totaling of a company’s respect to the society in which it operates, the relationship a company has with its public and its public relations and this may be good or bad.  It also strives to build a sense of unity between the company and the community.

FUNCTIONS OF PUBLIC RELATION

There are the means through which public relations reach the various public with affective communication, some of these means are as follows:

a)                 Press Relation:  This issues to place note worthy information into news through press conferences and press release so as to attract attention to a person, product or service.  Press relations also extend to helping journalist who get information on the company.

b)                The Product Publicity: This is the use of new media to publish specific product happening related to produce.

c)                 Corporate Communication: This involves all the effort of using both internal and external communication to attract the attention of the publics and make them understand the institution.

d)                Counseling: It is the public relations to provide to the company of the prevailing circumstances with the society and how the company can adjust to the situation by the use of improved communication.

e)                 Films: films are useful in impressing and influencing both theatrical audience.

 PUBLIC RELATION AND MARKETING CONCEPT

Marketing concept is completely new idea in the history of exchange relations.  It is also a management orientation that hold that the key task of an organization is to determine the needs, wants an values of target market and to adopt the organization is to determine the needs, wants and values of target market and to adopt the organization to give the desired satisfaction  rise effectively and efficiently than its competitions.

Marketing concept is a customer orientation backed by interpreted marketing (4ps) aimed at generating customer satisfaction as key to satisfy organizational goals (Kotler 1998:29).

The modern marketing concept is a philosophy of business which states that customer want satisfaction is the economical and social justification of a company’s existence.  Consumer is king, consumers are responsible for whatever is to be produced, with out consumer there is notifying good in production of goods and services.

Modern marketing concept involves three preposition.  Adirika (1998:21) connected on the three fundamental upon which marketing hunged on.

(a)              Customer’s Orientation:  Means that the marketer gain his activities favourably towards the consumer.

(b)             Integrated marketing:- Means that proper co-ordinations, integrations and control of all management activities in such a way as to achieve the set objectives of customers and company mutual benefit.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: Means solving customer problem, solving customer these good, services or things of value he needs at the right price, in the right place, at the right time and in the ri8ght combination.

The implication of the marketing concepts in a service corporation IMT is that its marketing activity should resolve around customers.  The public relation division of IMT should be alert to its responsibility and devise channel of relating very well with customers.

(IMT REVIEW OCT – DEC 1998) Customers consultative councils should exist in (IMT) Institute of Management and Technology in Enugu to enable to its customers to discuss the supply of Academic institute of management’s production should start and end with customer.  The key to customer retention is customer satisfaction because according to Kotler (1998:40) a satisfied customer

a)                 Call again

b)                Talk favourable to others about the institution.

c)                 Pay less attention to competing institution and ties offering that the institution may add to its line.

In order to operate the marketing concept properly (IMT) Institute of Management and Technology must continuously monitor the level of customers satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their services.

 THE ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATION IN MARKETING

The role of public relations in marketing can be traced to the societal marketing concept which is one of the tasks of marketing management philosophies.  It will therefore be more appropriate to explain what is marketing management.  For the purpose of this research work, marketing management is the analysis planning, implementation and control of programmes designed to create, build and maintain mutually beneficial exchange and relationships with the target market for the purpose of achieving organizational objectives.  It relies on a disciplined analysis, needs, wants, perceptions and preference of target and intermediary as the basis for effective product design, pricing, communication and distribution.  Kotler (1998:22) said that marketing management can occur in an organization in connection with any of its markets (publics).

On the other hand, the social marketing concept is a marketing management philosophy which holds that the organizations task is to determine the needs, wants and interest of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfaction more effectively and efficiently than its competitors in a way that preserves or enhances the customers and the society’s well being.

This encompasses the definition of public relations and all the necessary activities in public relations.  They include “maintain” beneficial mutual understanding which are what the public relations uses to carryout its tasks.  The organizations objectives refers to the PR’s public like employees public and share holders public.

To satisfy organizational objectives, public relation staff has to prepare news stories, pictures and magazines articles on new product.

It is thorough public relation opinion survey that the corporate image of an organization can be appraised, the image of the institution could be known and determined if favourable or unfavourable.  Before a responsible organization takes place to explain its action and motives it must be aware of and concerned about public opinion and attitudes.  Unless an organization is responsible to its public, it will not be able to make it self understood in this regard, Osuji and Chukwu (1990:10) wrote that public relation practitioners seeking to service the public interest is aware of the influence of public opinion on decision making and therefore he counsels and communicates on the following ways:

a)                 Service as two way conduct between an organization and its public.

b)                Makes an effort to project not only what the organization is but also what it has been and is becoming by interpreting it to the public in terms that people can understand and interprets to the members of the organization in terms they can understand.

c)                 Strive to anticipate and correct fails impression and responds appropriately to criticism of the organization.

d)                Sees that meaningful relations one maintained with government and the legislation and regulation effecting thing organization are reported to the management and suggestion are made for dealing with them.

e)                 Conduct research as the public attitude to the organization and informs management.

f)                  Tries to help the organization demonstrate a view sense of social responsibility in all public contracts when present facts and views.

g)                 Help management need design of the firms, correctly apply them constantly and thinks in terms of exchange.

In general, public relation practitioners use public opinion to determine if opinion about a company are favourable or unfavourable, it is a company business handicap to have a bad public image.

According to Block (1981:135) there are two main objectives of public relations in an industrial company.  The first is to establish contact with this importers section of the public, its customers, and employees securing the moral understanding and co-operation of these three groups is essential to success.  The second is to promote the competitive world.  Relation with customers depends very much on quality price and delivery the company.  Public relation can play a vital role in safe guiding a reputation or in building a new public image.  It can also improve method of communication with existing and potential customers.  Relations with investors and shareholders involves lifting the investors through knowing the financial position of the firms they are made to know if the firm is growing profitably or not.  Companies communicate their investors through annual reports, house journals, video and inviting them to open day at factory(ies).

Okeke and Udeagha (19993:86) in their work wrote that public relation is totally of company’s respect for the society which it operates if strive of build a sense of unity between company and the community.  Public opinion and attitudes.  Unless an organization is responsible to its public it will not be able to make itself understood in this regard, Osuji and Chuka (1990:10) wrote that public relation practitioners seeking to service the public interest is aware of the influence of public opinion on decision making and therefore he counsels and communicate of the following ways:

a)                 Service as two-way conduct between an organization and its public.

b)                Makes an effort to protect not only what the organization is but also what it has been and is becoming by interpreting it to the public in terms that people can understand and interprets to the members of the organization in terms they can understand.

c)                 Strive to anticipate and correct fails impression and responds appropriately to criticism of the organization.

d)                Sees that meaningful relations are maintained with government and the legislation and regulation effecting things organization are reported to the management and suggestion are made for dealing with them.

e)                 Conduct researches as the public attitude to the organization and informs management.

 PROBLEMS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

The problem of relations according to Chinenye (2002:86) are corruption, vandalization, lack of finance and lack of trained personnel.

CORRUPTION

Corruption practices among public relation offer is one of the factors militating against the effective practice of public relation in a service corporation like IMT.  Many form of bribery and erroneously described as public relations and that adversely affect the integrity of public relation.  It now in enormously appear as if public relation is the same as bribery.  Consumer complaints are only attend to when even a bribe is given there, therefore the need to properly educate both the practitioners and the general public on what relation practice really entail so that a clear distinction could be draw between public relation and bribery.

 

VANDALIZATION

If IMT has any ambition, it would be to secure and maintain needed goodwill and understanding with its public to provide adequate and uninterrupted activities to every nook and cranny of the institution.

Vandalizaiton on the other hand does the very opposite of this.  It devise people their right to light and throws several communities into ignorance.  Day in day out report of vandalizaiton across the institution over, whether the news stand and our air never making it looks as it vandals were having a field day and fully in charge of their fortresser of looked public property (Victor E. 2001).

Vandalization is a hole purse of IMT that prevents it form practice of public relation for effective organizational performance.  It devices it of its must need and for IMT to use fund meant for other equipment for vandalization, therefore, is not a matter that one talks about with pleasure.  It affects effectiveness public relation in the organizational performance.

But, vandalizaiton is not a manance to the large society to IMT Review April – June page 12 being a service with pervasive influence of the life of a nation and her citizens, it should be expected that its disruption will equally have tarreading effects on so many aspect of the nation’s life.  The pain of vandalizaiton is organizing born by the whole nation the young, the old, the rich and the poor canalization endangers relationship between IMT and its public.

LACK OF FINANCE

Inadequate finance also contributed immensely to ineffective practice of public relations in organization, there is no fund to conduct necessary research, publish practitioners journals, hold seminar and workshops as well as produce and enter equality on all aspect of public relations that would help in promoting it as a tool for executive organizational performance.

According to IMT review OCT – DEC 2002 there has been tremendous declines in the finding of the management sector since 1987, which has cause will growth of institution grid facilities between 1991 and 2000 no new generating station was commissioned, worse still some of the generating units and sprees unavailable culminating in power generating limitation.

The tragil nature of the infrastructure which is hardly able to sustain the management’s minimum average demand has given way to a vising incidence of academic system collapse the after mart of this image problem is the extremely.

RELEVANCE PUBLIC OF IMT

There are certain problems that militate against public relations activities:

i)       Poor/inadequate communication tools.

ii)      Poor product publicity: The use of inadequate media constitute problems to public relations resulting in poor publicity of specific product.

iii)              Poor press relation: Issuing of unworthy confidence and press release.

iv)              Unqualified or lack of qualified employees (Man power problems) this problem in turn result to poor counseling when necessary advice is not provided to the company on the situation by the use of improved communications.

v)                Lower moral standard and unethical conduct in business have contributed to the failure of public relation, that is unfairly acts, untruthful and honourable acts with the public.

vi)              Decreasing emphasis on consumer service has caused many companies seeking the goodwill and support of consumers to have less interest on public relation on marketing programmes.

vii)           Unrealization of management that they have social responsibility to secure the public.

This in turn leads them to concentrate more on their own or owners affairs rather than the public.  Edoga and Ani (2001:290) believed that it is difficult to measure the contribution of public relations because the other promotional means were equally used.

—This article is not complete———–This article is not complete————
This article was extracted from a Project Research Work/Material Topic

THE ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN IMPROVING THE IMAGE OF TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN ENUGU METROPOLIS

(A CASE STUDY OF IMT ENUGU)

 

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One Comment on “Public Relation – An Overview”

  1. what are the factors militating against effective public relation practice

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