CHAPTER ONE
1.1
INTRODUCTION
Public relations in today’s
institutional environment are becoming very sophisticated and complex based on
operational pressures and economic melt down being experienced worldwide. In
our society today, political, economic and socio-cultural crisis have degenerated
the Nation into a depressed economy where jobs are scarce, accommodation is
tight, investment is low, electricity, oil and gas supplies have become luxury
and the living standard is below imagination.
Increasingly, the public relation has
become a long way as it now offers an array of services. As the clients need
change so also the services provided by public relation also need change. The
public relations of the 21st century should involve in strategic
planning.
The information age is here with us
so also is the High Tech changing so many things rapidly and public relations
as a dynamic process must keep abreast with the pace to offer sound
professional and relevant advice to management.
Public relations in the 21st
century has come to be recognized and accepted as a useful tool for sustaining
and maintaining mutual understanding for an institution and services as a vital
communication link in any organized society or institution. According to Onono
Peter (2006) “the human factor in any institution that is set to achieve the
desired objectives is by far the greatest asset of the institution, since the
achievement of its laid down objectives will solely depend on the people whose
effort is geared toward achievement of corporate objectives”.
Public relations has been subjected
to a lot of conceptions as well as misconception. Thus, defining public
relations as it applies to every kind of institution and even certain
individuals is a Herculean task.
Public relations is a field that
deals with creating building and maintain good and favourable reputation for an
institution. The British Institute of public relations (1990) defined public relations
as “The deliberate planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain
mutual understanding between an institutionand its public”. Looking at this
definition, you will discover that public relations practice in any institution
is a well strategized and planned effort aimed at ensuring a mutual beneficial
relationship between institution and its publics.
In every communication exercise,
there is a specific or set purpose to be achieved. Public relations exist to
erase ignorance, promote understanding by creating knowledge, change people way
of reasoning by educating them, represent different parties impartially, making
warning parties reach compromise, and to make an institution operate in a
friendly and safe environment.
It is in light of the importance
attached to human factor that has prompted many institutions especially, Kaduna State
University , to have public relations
department or unit to take care of their relationship in order to further
facilitate mutual understanding between the institution (Kaduna State
University
It is equally the belief of public
relations that all institutions have a need to be socially responsible
(especially in the area of corporate social responsibility) and accountable to
the society at large as well as employee of operation, by obeying laws and
order, improving the well-being of their staffs, influencing the employee
positively, contribute to policy and paying taxes as when due. It is mandatory
for all institutions to reach for mutual understanding their, geographical
areas and among their staffs of the institution.
In facilitating favourable image,
public relations always employs communication with the view to achieving
understanding through knowledge. And the techniques and strategies employed are
simply to do with sending and receiving (i.e. encoding and decoding of messages
to enable both sides – institution and public understand each other better and
beneficially).
Thus, the research is an attempt to
discover and document current condition of public relations practices and
strategies in Kaduna State University ,
Kaduna and its effectiveness toward promoting
and maintaining understanding the institution Kaduna State
University
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Despite the numerous advantages of
public relations toward building and maintaining favourable mutual
understanding in an institution, it has been noted that very few institutions
recognize how important and effective public relations is to an institution of
higher learning. Therefore, this study shall examine the level of employee
relations among the staff of Kaduna State University ,
Kaduna
1.3
AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The aim of this study is to explore
the role of public relation on promoting mutual understanding in an institution
with a particular focus in Kaduna State University ,
Kaduna
The specific objectives area
i.
To
find out the level of employee relations among the staff of Kaduna State
University , Kaduna
ii.
To
find out if public relations unit of Kaduna State University promote mutual
understanding among the staff of Kaduna State University, Kaduna
iii.
To
assess the strategies embarked upon by Kaduna State
University
iv.
To
give recommendations on how to improve in promoting employee relations both in Kaduna
v.
To
find out the perception of the employee over the activities of public relations
unit in Kaduna State
University , Kaduna
1.4
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1)
The
study will serve as a contribution to literatures in the field of public
relations.
2)
It
will serve as a useful reference material for theorist and practitioners in the
field of public relations.
3)
This
study will serve as a guide to particularly Kaduna State
University
4)
This
study will also reveal current employee relations situation in Kaduna State
University and it will help the institution to know how best to relate with its
staffs.
1.5
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this research is to
study the level of employee relations among the staffs of Kaduna
State University ,
Kaduna
1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
Facilities: Unavailability of current books on
the researcher topic and facilities that support in carrying out research tends
to limit the extent the researcher could cover in the course of understanding
the research work. However, with determination to succeed, the problem was
partly reduced to the barest level.
1.7 RESEARCH QUESTION
This research will attempt to provide
answers to the following questions
1.
What
is the level of employee relations among the staff of Kaduna
State University ,
Kaduna
2.
In
what ways is Kaduna
State University
3.
What
are the strategies embarked upon by Kaduna
State University
4.
What
is the perception of the employee over the activities of public relations unit
in Kaduna State University
1.8 THEORETICAL FRAME WORK
Theory is general statements that
summarize our understanding of the way the world works. Basically, the goals of
theory are to formulate statements or propositions that will have same
explanatory power.
Theory according to social
philosopher, Abraham Caplain is a crap detector, that enables us to
differentiate scientific element from unscientific ones.
Theory generally means propositions
put towards to give meanings to ordinary occurrences of life in plain terms,
theories are prescriptions or model of ideas or practices which have tested and
now for the framework from the effective practice of a particular action.
Thus, Jefkin’s (1986) put forth this
theory below which will serve as the framework for this study.
Hostility – Sympathy: This theory was
borne out of the belief that every employee and in fact, the entire relevant
public of an institution like the staffs, government agencies, media etc. are
particular hostile. This is further fueled by lack of information or effective
communication to create knowledge.
According to this theory, for an institution
to survive and enjoy the good will of its employee, and by extension it target
public there is need to research into the existing problems or needs and
aspirations of such groups in order to fashion out the most beneficial way of
relating with them. This theory further holds that the public relations task of
changing a hostile public or situation to sympathy and love is very vital to
the continued existence and profitable operation of an institution or an
organization.
This theory also stresses and pointed
out that research is a very potent tool employed in unraveling the true cause
if a crisis situation like hostility. As Jefkins 1986 puts it “respected
opinion leaders being misinformed or uninformed themselves can do great harm to
an organization. With adequate communication such hostility could easily be
charged to sympathy that is, an hitherto hostile employee for instance, could
now be transparently sympathetic with an institution and even contribute to the
survival of the institution all in the spirit of good neighbourliness as a
result of effective employee relations.
This theory as enunciated by Jefkins
(1986) is relevant to this study because it stresses the imperatives of
employee relations to the survival of an institution. It tends to provide a framework
for how public relations can be used to build and maintain favourable for an institution
in the face of a potentially hostile employee.
Thus, this theory is saying that to
achieving the building and maintaining of favourable understanding, an
institution like Kaduna State University, Kaduna must have it in mind that
their employee are potentially hostile and only a well strategize employee
relations can charge this hostility to sympathy and even patronage and enhanced
a mutually beneficial relationship between the institution and its staffs.
1.9 BRIEF HISTORY OF STUDY
The Kaduna
Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, the then Executive
Governor of Kaduna State and visitor to the University, appointed his Royal
Highness Mallam Tagwai Sambo, the chief of Moroa to serve as the Chancellor of
the university and professor Idris Abdulkadir to be the Pro-Chancellor and
chairman of the Governing Council while Professor Abubakar Sani Sambo was
appointed the first Vice Chancellor. Professor Aminu S. Mika’ilu, took over
from Sambo as the Second Vice Chancellor of the University when the latter was
appointed by the Federal Government to head the Nigeria
The University vision is to become a
centre of excellence in computer and medical sciences. The mission is to
provide an all-round university education of the highest standard for the
development of the individual and the state, while inculcating the spirit of
love, tolerance, understanding and unity in the state in particular and the
country in general.
At present the University has a total
of three faculties, twenty departments and twenty two programmes fully established.
The three faculties are faculty of Arts, faculty of science and faculty of
social and management sciences.
In addition, there is a College of Basic Studies
Also the university has the total
number of staff strength of both academic and non academic staff of about 300
as at 2008/2009 academic year
OBJECTIVES OF KADUNA STATE
UNIVERSITY
The objectives of the University
shall be:
1. To encourage the advancement of
learning and to hold out to all persons without distinction of race, Greed, sex
or political conviction the opportunity of acquiring a higher and liberal
education.
2. To provide courses of instruction and
other facilities for the pursuit of learning in all its branches and to make
those facilitates available on proper terms to such persons as are equipped to
benefit from them.
3. To encourage and promote scholarship
and conduct research in all fields of learning and human endeavour of the
people of the state and the nation at large.
4. To relate its activities to the
social and economic needs of the people of the state and the nation at large.
5. To undertake any other activities
appropriate for a university of the highest standard.
PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF KADUNA
STATE UNIVERSITY ,
KADUNA
The public relations department of Kaduna State
University
The information and protocol unit
perform the following functions;-
v Creating favourable relationship
among the staffs of the university.
v Reaching out for the advertorial of
staff vacancies, students admissions and other university functions.
v Serving as an intermediary management
and employee
v Producing in-house publications such
as journals, News letters etc called university Bulletin. Through thus medium,
members of the university community and the general public have been kept constantly
informed about the activities of the institution. The news bulletin has been
regularly produced on bi-monthly basis during the year.
v Writing media release as well as
circular.
v Organizing media sessions.
v Organizing seminar, workshop,
convocation and orientation of students from time to time for their staffs and
students.
v Participating in effectively serving
as the image maker of the university.
v General communication within the
university
1.10 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Promote: To
help the progress of something, to encourage or support something. An institutionthat
aims to promote enjoyment of the country side. A training course that promotes
better communication between employers and their employee.
Mutual: A
feeling or an action felt or done by each towards the other. Having the same
specified relationship to each other.
Understanding: The
ability to tolerate one another or show insight, sympathetic awareness towards
others’ feelings and views.
Staff: The
workers employed in a business, educational institution etc. considered as a
group.
KASU: An
abbreviation of Kaduna
State University