The Management University of Africa

Student Name: Enock Alumasi Makanga

Registration Number: BML/01123/1/2021

Unit Code: BML 208

Unit Title: Public Relation Management

1. Choose an organization that you know

Safaricom limited

2. Discus the work of internal public relations employee in the organization?

Public relations professionals shape an organization's image. They build the brand, spread the
organization's message and minimize the effect of negative publicity. At Safaricom the PR
person have handle all the roles cheerleader, media contact person, the deflector of criticism

3. Describe the major areas, that the organization would require the help of external public
relations officer?

Public relations are all about sending the right messages to the right people and when done
correctly it can transform the future and profitability of a business – this is what makes PR so
essential.

No matter what industry you are in, trust plays a huge role in the success of a business, without
trust a business could lose potential sales, or in the education sector, a school or university could
lose out on potential applicants or high profile faculty. A good external PR team can help bridge
that trust gap by working to increase the credibility and reputation of the organisation within their
industry – for example, here at BlueSky Education, we are a PR consultancy that largely supports
the role of an external PR in an organisation or institute. Here we increase the reputation of our
clients by getting their research and faculty in relevant media because it showcases the expertise
that the business school or university has, which in turn leads to more applicants, corporate
partners and generally improves brand awareness.

Below is just one of the many examples that show how effective good PR can be.

“We had great success in getting our research and data into target publications we had previously
not been able to reach, and this was all because of the media relationships the BlueSky team had
built over the years.” – Tina Ganguly, Senior Marketing Manager (Europe) at GMAC.

Furthermore, external PR can help enhance an institution or company’s online presence –

something that is key in today’s world. Everyone is digitally connected and most people look to
Google for answers to their questions. Having a strong online presence means that an
organization is highly visible to their target audience – yes, a company is capable of doing this on
their own but PRs provide the guidance needed to ensure they are targeting the right audience in
the right way. They can identify the best channels to use and can use their experience and
industry connection to maximize the reach. Ultimately, helping to reach organizational goals.

However, many in-house external PR professionals have their limitations we can’t all be experts
on every industry – and an external PR’s time is often stretched. A good PR pro is someone that
knows their limits and when to ask for help or advice, and when to hire a specialist PR
consultancy.

So, external PR is an important part of every organization, it plays a critical role in shaping how
they are perceived to outside stakeholders in short, they are key to success.

4. Describe the benefit of effective communication in the organization that you have
chosen?

Building trust

Effective communication fosters trust with others. Your ability to listen attentively and embrace
different points of view helps others trust that you are making optimal decisions for everyone in
the group. As you serve as a role model, this trust will extend to your team and they will feel as
though they can trust their teammates to fulfill their duties and responsibilities.

Preventing or resolving problems

The ability to communicate effectively plays a large role in resolving conflicts and preventing
potential ones from arising. The key is to remain calm, make sure all parties are heard and find a
solution that is ideal for everyone involved.

Providing clarity and direction

With effective communication skills, you’re able to deliver clear expectations and objectives for
your team. This involves finding constructive ways to point out when something isn’t working as
well as providing helpful feedback to get people back on track. They will understand their
specific tasks and responsibilities, as well as those of their teammates, which will help eliminate
conflicts and confusion.
Creates better relationships

Good communication also improves relationships, both with employees and in your personal life
with friends and family members. Listening carefully and offering quality feedback helps people
to feel heard and understood. This, in turn, nurtures mutual respect.

Improves productivity

When team members understand their roles, the roles of others and your expectations, they can
focus more on their work and less on workplace issues. With effective communication, conflicts
are resolved quickly, employees can better manage their workload and distractions are
minimized. These benefits contribute to greater productivity for you and your team.

Promotes team building

With improved communication, team members will be better able to rely on each other. You will
not have one team member feel as though they have to carry the entire group. This improved
division of labor will encourage positive feelings and relationships between the team members,
which leads to improved morale and work experiences.

Good communication skills can play an important role in nurturing positive work experiences for
your entire team. As people feel listened to and understood by you, you naturally improve your
work environment. If you want to learn more about how to improve your leadership skills,
including your communication strategies, take a look at our Effective Communication workshop
at PCC. This condensed workshop will demonstrate the impact communication skills have on
other people, at work and in life.

5. Describe 2 benefits of public relations in the above organization?

Credibility

Online consumer is more cautious today about spending money on products or services. That’s
why having a good credibility is vital to your business success. Consumers will give more weight
to your product or service when mentioned in media rather than to advertised product or service.
Various studies show that PR has 7 times more credibility than advertising among online
consumers. So you will need to have a good and solid PR campaign to excel in the market.
Positive Image

PR helps you create a positive image for your company or organization which will help it in
future to succeed. PR is not about selling a product or service but creating a good and lasting
impact on your consumer’s mind that will come again and again to buy from you and increase
your profit.

Target Market

Defining a target market for your business is of paramount importance to succeed. With PR
campaign it becomes very much easy to place your product or service information easily through
media in that target region or market.

6. State and discuss 2 tools available for public relations to use in carrying out their exercise?

Press Releases:

The press release is the basic building block of a publicity programme concerned with story
placement. This is where the important information about the product or services is summarized
in a way that will catch the media’s attention. Just as the marketer would customize the
advertising message for each target, he needs to customize press releases for the various media he
contacts.

2. Fact Sheets:

A press release should be written so it can be used without any editing. That means all the
relevant information must be included. There may be additional important information that
doesn’t really fit into the press release. That’s where the fact sheet comes in. Fact sheets include
more detailed information on the product, its origins, and its particular features.

7. Explain the following models of public relations that can be used in determining how to
carry out pr activity?

i. press agentry model

Press agentry model was the earliest PR model. It comes out in the late 19th century (Grunig &
Hunt, 1984). The heyday of this model from 1850 to 1900 and P. T. Barnum was the rep of the
historical shape (Chao, 2012). Press agentry model is one-way communication as the flow of
information that is from the sender to the recipient which known as source-to-receiver
communication. Individuals who send out the message are not much take no consideration of
second party's response, comment, viewpoint and so forth. Press agentry efforts to alter the
function of publics whereas do not have the intention to improve the action of the organization.
Public relations whose are under press agentry have difficulties for promotion in the mass media
in almost any way possible.

Press agents acquired done a research by monitoring the multimedia in which they sought to post
beneficial articles related to their clients. Besides that, the American impresario P. T. Barnum is
the prototype specialist of this model at the same time he also promoted circuses and other
entertainment venues including the vocalist Jenny Lind. In Press Agentry promotion model,
public relations expects escalates the reputation of the business to their market, stakeholders,
employees, associates, all other associated with it through managements. In enhancements, this
model selecting pr expects who founded a positive trustworthiness of their brand and areas in the
brains of the audiences through quarrels and reasons. Their potential clients had influence simply
by imposing creative stories with their brand, idea, thoughts and USPs of the merchandise.

ii. Public information model

Public information model is one of the four models of public relation. It's the second earliest
model. It is a one-way communication model. This model is revolved from half-truths to more
ethical tactics. This model is designed to inform the general public. It requires the sender who
transmits communication or information and receiver who will get the concept of the
information. The model will involve little of research, on in contrast, the readability and
readership is quite high. The model mainly practices by the federal government, non-profit
association and business.

According to Grunig & Hunt (1984, pp. 22), "the reason is the dissemination of information
actually with persuasive objective. The public relationships person objectively records
information about the organization to the general public. “Unlike the press agentry model,
general public information model target more on the syndication of information than creating
information. It designed to give clear and factual information to the audience.
8. Explain why community relations is important for an organization

Community relations refers to the various methods companies use to establish and maintain a
mutually beneficial relationship with the communities in which they operate. Building local
community relationships can be the most important communication activity undertaken by an
organization, yet it is often overlooked.

In today's environment of public suspicion, gaining and maintaining public consent to operate has
become a major concern for most businesses. Managers are advised to initiate community
outreach programmes in areas consistent with their DNA.

For example, a company which produces or sells sports gear should think about “adopting” a
school and contributing to the school’s sports department or perhaps donate gear to a
neighbourhood football team.

Initiatives such as these can boost a company’s image in the eyes of the public who are potential
customers. It is for this reason that a company uses these PR tactics. The company develops
relationships to help foster its good name while the community receives support from its
initiatives.

Communities also appreciate the fact that they can rely on corporations to assist in community
development programmes; after all, the community was there before the business and sees it only
fair to reap some of the benefits.

The underlying principle of community relations is that when a company accepts its civic
responsibility and takes an active interest in the well-being of its community, it gains a number of
long-term benefits in terms of community support, loyalty and the fostering of good will. This, in
turn, will help to raise awareness of the company’s products and/or services.

A solid, comprehensive community relations programme can help virtually any organisation
achieve visibility as a good community citizen. For companies looking to implement or improve
your community relations, contact us at PRMR Inc. so that we can discuss strategies best suited
to your organisation.
Public Relations is not centred on what you or your employees think of your company but how
the public perceives your company.
References

Bryman, A. (1988). Quantity and Quality in Social Research. London: Unwin Hyman

Coombs, T. (2000).Crisis Management: Advantages of a relationship perspective. Public

Relations as Relationship Management: Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Dozier, D. M. (1990). The Innovation of Research in public relations practice: review of a

program of studies. Public Relations Research Annual,

Gray, E. R. and Balmer, J. M. T. (1998) Managing Corporate Image and Corporate Reputation,
London: Long Range Planning.

Grunig, J. E. (1992) Communication, Public Relations and effective organizations: an overview

of the book. In J. E. Grunig (Ed), Excellence in Public Relations and Communication
management. Hillsdale, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.