THE ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN A CORPORATE ORGANIZATION

ABSTRACT

This work is aimed at looking into the role of public relations in corporate organizations in Enugu state. Emphasis in this work is laid on Nitel which is a corporate organization with network of branches. Public Relations role in Nitel plc cannot be over emphasized because the services she renders to the teeming population. This research identifies how public relations can help in maintaining high acceptable corporate identity, corporate image and corporate communication in Nitel Plc. The survey research method was used in this study as the population was picked amongst the internal and external publics of Nitel Plc Enugu zonal office.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                        CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

According to Edward Louis Bernays, Public Relations is “Practically as old as society”. Patrick Jackson, a publisher of the Public Relations society of America (PRSA) asserts that Public Relations arose from the basic need of building and improving human relationship which existed immediately God created Adam and Eve. The concept of Public Relations has been with man. The creation of Public Relations between the creator and the creature both bought harmony and understanding in their relationship. Public Relations, however, existed during the days of Moses. Moses was a stutter and needed someone who would convey message to the Israelites on his behalf. Aaron, his brother was appointed; therefore, he was a link between the Israelites and Moses. From the biblical perspective, Aaron was a public relations officer. Thus, public relations have been practiced, even if only amateurish, since the beginning of mankind. In ancient societies, human communication was limited by space and time. Due to the absence of modern technology, majority of the people lived simple lives in farms and small settlement. Therefore, communication flow in the olden days was primarily personal. The potentials and application of Public Relations increased as societies became more urbanised, civilized and complex. As population increased, so did the need problems of Public Relations. Public Relations as a paid profession began in 1900, when the first public relations agency, the publicity Bureau, was founded. Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays, who are both 14 referred to as the father of Public Relations, helped etablish the field as a professional practice in the United State. Arthur W. page is considered the father of corporate Public Relations. The field became more established after world war 11, in part due to talent from war-time publicity efforts moving into the private sector. Trade associations, industry publications and academic journals were developed. Some of today‟s largest Public Relations agencies were founded in the 1950s and began competing globally in Europe and Asia in the beginning in the 60s and 70s. The 1900s were marked by „explosive growth‟ for the Public Relations field- Internet technologist and social media changes public relations tactics, agencies consolidated and new specialties were introduced such as investors relations and community relations. Public Relations practice in Nigeria was introduced from Britain through the vehicle of colonialism. The introduction of Public Relations practice in Nigeria was done through the initiatives of the colonial government and its obedient servants. Being an adjact of Journalism, Public Relations became an important element in public communication in the colonial days. The pioneers were non-natives. Many of the existing newspapers were already enjoying patronage of the people and those in government. The government felt the need for another branch of communication which would convey subtly, its feelings to the people without really going through the rigours of mental composition of communication acts. During the Second World War (1940), the government urged for more channels of communication which became more pronounced, especially the need to present and analyze information about the war. This eventually led the government to establish an office of information where correct information about the war efforts was sent out to people through the wireless. This was in January 1, 1944. Later in 1944, this information office was changed to Public Relations office to really make its functions strictly tailored towards image making and creating favourable impressions about the war itself. The Public Relations office began to  play a role which served the Nigerian press and their consumers tremendously. It placed its information facilities at their disposal and provided them with photographs on the prosecution of the war. Two Nigerian newspapers, the West Africa Pilot and Daily Service wrote edition on this development calling for the setting up of a permanent Public Relations office as early as the early forties. It was this Public Relations outfit set up by the colonial government that metamorphosed into the Federal Information Service in 1950. In 1963, the Nigerian Institution of Public Relation s (NIPR) was established as a regulatory body for Public Relations practice in Nigeria.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Today’s world is a world of communication and in every second, millions of information units are exchanged in the world. Since development of human life improves, thus increase need to information and communication every day increased and nowadays having accurate and up to date information for people is the important and people with more information will be more successful.

Corporate organizations have been embarking on Public Relations to create and maintain a mutual understanding with their publics.

It is on this backdrop that the researcher intend to investigate the relevance of Public Relations in a corporate organization, using Nitel PLC Enugu Zonal Headquarters as a study.

• OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of the study is to ascertain the role of public relations in corporate organizations. But for the successful completion of the study, the following sub-objective was put forward by the researcher:

1. To ascertain the role of public relations in an organization profitability
2. To ascertain the impact of public relation in organizational efficiency

• To ascertain the relationship between public relation and profitability

1. To the effect of public relation on the profitability of the organization

 

• RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

For the successful completion of the study, the following hypotheses was put forward by the researcher:

H₀: public relation does not play any role in organizations profitability

H₁: public relation plays a vital role in organizations profitability

H₀: public relation does not have any significant impact on organizational efficiency

H₂: Public relations have a significant impact on organizational efficiency.

• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is perceived that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of great importance to management of public entity to ensure peaceful co-existence with their host community, the findings will also be of great importance to the management of private companies as the findings will elaborate on the benefit of maintaining a good public relationship with their client and their primary environment. The findings will also be of great importance to researchers who intend to embark on a study in similar topic or field. Finally the study will be of great importance to the general public as it will add to the pool of knowledge.

• SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study covers the role of public relations in a corporate organization in Enugu state. In the course of the study the researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study. Some of these constrains are:

1. a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
2. b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
3. c) FINANCE: The finance available for the research work does not allow for wider coverage as resources are very limited as the researcher has other academic bills to cover.

 

 

 

• DEFINITION OF TERMS

Public relation

Public relations (PR) are the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) and the public. Public relations may include an organization or individual gaining exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment. This differentiates it from advertising as a form of marketing communications

Management

Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it be a business, a not-for-profit organization, or government body. Management includes the activities of setting the strategy of an organization and coordinating the efforts of its employees or volunteers to accomplish its objectives through the application of available resources, such as financial, natural, technological, and human resources. The term “management” may also refer to the people who manage an organization.

Profitability

Profit or normal profit is a component of (implicit) costs and not a component of business profit at all. It represents the opportunity cost, as the time that the owner spends running the firm could be spent on running a different firm. The enterprise component of normal profit is thus the profit that a business owner considers necessary to make running the business worth his or her while, i.e., it is comparable to the next-best amount the entrepreneur could earn doing another job.

Corporate Organization:

 A united single group that share the same ideology and is recognized by the law.

• ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), statement of problem, objectives of the study, research question, significance or the study, research methodology, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlight the theoretical framework on which the study its based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

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