Abstract
This
study; the role of Public Relations in the achieving MDG sought to find out the
role of public relations in the implementation of MDG objectives and how the
public perceived the mission. The methodology adopted in the study was survey.
Structured questionnaire was used as the research instruments for data
collection. Findings revealed that public relations were needed when relating
with PR tenets charged with the responsibility of implementing MDG. In the territories
as well as when communicating with the media. The study also found that role
public relations played in the implementation of MDG gaols and to include
helped in publicizing programme; assisted the news media in coverage of MDG and
government activities; disseminated information on various agencies’ activities
about MDG to beneficiaries; increased the internal cohesion of agencies
involved in MDG programme; increased the agencies’ sensitive to its public’s or
MDG beneficiaries and mobilized support for the agencies of government involved
in MDG programmes. The study concluded that public relations in the
implementation of MDG has been poor. This is because of the unfriendly relationship
that exist between beneficiaries and government. The study, therefore,
concluded that, public relations strategies were adopted in the implementation
of MDG to a little extent. Based on the conclusion drawn, the study recommended
among others that for effective implementation of the MDG, PR should be adopted
as core management function to build credibility amongst beneficiaries and
management of the MDG and special attention must be paid to performance,
ability of government to deliver service and keep to agreements as expected and
demanded by MDG beneficiaries.
Chapter One
Introduction
This
project comes up as a result of the observation made about ways that public
relations can help to achieve the millennium development goals. Over the years,
people are not aware of the millennium development goals, whereas government
believes that they can do it all alone, which pose to bed impossible. This is
what give birth to the interest of carrying people along with the strategies
laid down by the government to achieve millennium development goals. The
millennium development goals are designed for the people in order to help
eradicate immediate problems in our various environment yet people are not
informed about the programme.
This
project will adopt public relations as one of the tools to use to convey the
millennium development goals to the people. This project work will be
beneficial to the general public because all the goals are meant for them. In a
bid to improve the economic government all over the world came together to
discuss over the economic situation of each country, where they discovered that
the rich are becoming richer and the poor are becoming poorer. In view of this,
they looked out for what really brings about the inequality and they finally
reached eight problems which they tagged as goals. This study over the years
have not been looked into and that is why this project is aimed at enlighten
people and give them insight on disturbing issues.
Even
though the famous statement of Thomas Jefferson that the press is the best
instrument for enlightening the mind of man and improving him as rational,
moral and social being has clearly demonstrated the importance of the media in
information dissemination. Many at times, government feels putting their
programmes and policies on radio, television and newspaper is enough
information (cited in Jefkins, 1972). Since public relations is a communication
tool to manage relationship, it is used in achieving government programmes and
policies. Nwosu (1995) asserts that the term government means a wide spectrum
concept that includes local government, state governments, federal governments,
government ministries, parastatals, agencies or organizations.
Writing
on public relations in government, Black (1989) states that public relations in
a government department has two main tasks: to give regular information on
policy, plans and achievements of the department; to inform and educate the
public on legislations and all matters that affects the daily life of citizens.
In agreement with Black, Nwosu (1995) asserts that public relations department
has the duty of educating the citizenry on their civic rights, responsibilities
and duties, especially in a developing country like Nigeria with high rate of
illiteracy and other problems. He further state that all these are in addition
to the department’s crucial internal function of advising the chief executive
and other top administrative/management staff on public opinions, attitudes
reactions or possible reactions to government policies, programmes, projects
and actives.
Public
relations activities in government include; planning, execution, monitoring,
coordination and evaluation of all major information and public enlightenment
campaigns on issues, problems, projects and programming which the government
establishment needs to run for mobilization and mass education purpose. Harlow,
1976 as cited in Nwosu and Nana (2004, p.19) described public relations as; a
distinctive management function that which helps to establish and maintain
mutual lines of communication, understanding, acceptance and corporation
between an organization and its publics. It involves the management of problems
or issues, helps management to keep informed on and be responsive to public
opinion. Defines and emphasis the responsibility of management to serve the
public interest; help management keep abreast with and effectively utilize
charge, serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends and use
research and communication techniques as its principal tool.
The
foregoing view concerning public relations have shown that public relations is
indeed a process and can be used in solving government relations as well as
development plans, programmes or policies. Effective public relations in any
organization or business can build good relationship between the organization
and its teeming publics. Organized public relations can also give the
organization a good reputation in the estimation of its teeming publics. Broom
(2009, p.25) has observed that “every organization, no matter how large or
small, ultimately depends on its reputation for survival or success” The
purpose of public relations practice is to establish two-way communication to
resolve conflicts of interests by seeking common grounds in areas of mutual
interest, and to establish understanding based on truth, knowledge and full
information.
This
is not enough going by the new trends in globalization, government too needs
public relations. Oyawale (1993) says: Public relations in government, is the
concerted efforts of the government officials to establish appropriate and
effective communication system that enables them to promote, project and
sustain government’s goals, aspirations, programmes, activities and policies to
reach the ultimate beneficiaries of programmes, in most cases, the community
(p.188). Agreeing with this view, Hassan (2014) asserts that the information
and public relations department plays vital roles in dissemination information
to the public on various programmes and policies of the state government as
well as in creating public awareness about the need for citizens’ participation
in development activities. He further maintains that public relations act as a
bridge between the people and the government and creates awareness among all
sections of the peoples on government policies, plans and programmes intended
for welfare and development.
Public
Relations is employed in various ways to help the government establish lines of
communication for truthful exchange of ideas and perspectives between it and
the governed. Public relations also create positive image for the government
both locally and internationally.
It
is not only informing the people and stopping at that; it is a continuous
process. Unlike the military regimes, those who are governed in a democratic
set up are supposed to know day in day out of what government is doing for
them. The sitting of Federal Government 33 KVA Electricity transmission station
in Apir, Makurdi; the North Central Zonal Head office of the Entrepreneur
Development Scheme in Makurdi; performing the ground breaking ceremony of the
Federal University of Agriculture College of Health Science Otukpo; and visit
to Makurdi the Benue State during the flood between 2011-2012 among others by President
Goodluck Jonathan are good community relation strategies.
This
takes us to the Mexican Statement as cited in Keghku (2005, p.6) that public
relations are the art and social science of analysing trends, predicting their
consequences, counselling organizations leaders, implementing planned
programmes of action which will serve both the organization and the public
interest. It is glaring from the famous Mexican Statement, which stresses the
counselling role of public relations that government programmes require the
expertise of public relations practitioners to market it to the people. The implication
of the foregoing is the recognition of public interest in government policy:
the responsible performance on the part of an institution or government or organization
is the foundation of sound relationship. In essence, satisfying the public
interest to the mutual advantage of all parties is a pre-requisite in
meaningful sound public relationship that could ensure national development.
Although, public relations have been seen as key in the implementation of
government policies, public perception of the role of public relations not only
the credibility but limits the effectiveness of any efforts aimed at
maintaining a harmonious relationship between government and their various
public.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The
focus of this research work is to dig into the roles of public relations in
achieving the millennium development goals. Traditionally, public relations
research focuses on how public relations efforts make organizations more
effective. Increasingly, public relations scholars have argued for the central
role of public relations in reviving community relations (Kruckeberg &
Starck, 1988) and fostering social capital, civic engagement, and democracy
(e.g., Taylor, 2009; Taylor, 2010). Social capital is defined as encompassing
various forms of citizen engagement in community affairs and features of social
life such as networks, norms, and trust which enable citizens to effectively
work together to improve society at large (e.g. Putnam, 1995).
It
typically includes three major dimensions: social
relations/connections/networks, the nature of social relations such as norms of
generalized reciprocity and trust (interpersonal trust and institutional trust)
that are embodied within the relationship (Paxton, 1999) and civic engagement.
In this study, we focus on interpersonal trust and civic engagement as major
components of social capital. 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.
Public
relations in organizations in term of work quality means assist to organization
management in achieving organizational goals, believe to the transparency
affairs and accountability, respect citizens’ rights, identify duties and
responsibilities of government, the right control of people to the work and the
right people in criticize and evaluate programs and practices of the
organization and having specific strategies and programs are divided into three
categories: 1- justifier public relations 2-explainer public relations 3- analyser
public relations. Justifier public relations is and organization based and
manager –based which continually tries to explain the views of managers and
their organization benefit and with misrepresentation, concealment, false and
misleading and closing real and concrete ways of disseminating information to
outside organization with large volumes informing and misleading advertisements
trying to show better objectives and activities of the organization. Explainer
public relations in its most optimistic form are describes and narrate public
relations that move following events and only deals with to illustrations and
report them.
This
type of public relations is lack of strategic planning and executive program
and is passive, and without innovation and creativity. Analyser public
relations is a public relation with program that moves head of affairs, events
and trends and improve to levels of management consultants and participates in
policies and policies of organization. The objective of these public relations
is promoting mutual understanding with audiences and with confidence and strong
reasoning and logic meanwhile safeguarding organization interests protect from
the public interest, governments and other organizations. Analyser public
relations recognized desires, needs and attitudes of organization audience and
will transfer to managers of organization and by providing technical
consultations to organization policy makers can play significant share in
policy formulating and executive programs of organization (Botan, 2006).
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
The
questions this project tends to provide answers to are for the benefit of the
general public. The questions are:
i. to what
extent are the people aware of the goals of the MDG’S?
ii. what are the
benefits derivable from the millennium development goals?
iii to what
extent can public relations be useful to achieve millennium development goals?
SCOPE
OF THE STUDY
The
area of coverage for this study will be Lagos State due to the limited time and
limited resources. The objective of these public relations is promoting mutual
understanding with audiences and with confidence and strong reasoning and logic
meanwhile safeguarding organization interests protect from the public interest,
governments and other organizations. Analyser public relations recognized
desires, needs and attitudes of organization audience and will transfer to
managers of organization and by providing technical consultations to
organization policy makers can play significant share in policy formulating and
executive programs of organization (Botan, 2006).
In
public organizations have reliable information, accurate and timely,
considering the purpose and structure is an organization’s greatest asset and
survival of an organization depends on having a reciprocal relationship between
internal and external of organization and advertising, and up to date and
useful information and appears necessity of the real public relations in public
affairs station. In today’s world that has broken communication boundaries and
human seek to discovery of optimal solutions life and attitude of the society
oriented. Scientific principles lead to explore and focus on the interaction
conditions and to involve.
Undoubtedly,
an organization, or an agency cannot be considered unrelated to their island
and no need and unrelated from technology and its products (Laver, 1989).
Public relations should be based on thinking oriented, collaboration oriented
and information-oriented in order to effectively contribute to the
effectiveness of the organization and with innovation and modernity,
originality and creativity is continually involved and coincide themselves with
developments and responding regularly to public opinion.
SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
This
research work will enlighten the general public on the government’s programme
of towards making life comfortable for them through the millennium development
goals. Also, it will help us look at the relevance of public relations in
achieving the goals. public relations considered tasks such as informing, make
culture, shaping public opinion and public awareness, duty of accountability to
public opinion is one of the most important duties of the organization unit so
that accountability is contains and results all efforts made public relations.
Public opinion is greatest invisible power that creates social and cultural
flow and these flows operates stronger than any political.
Therefore,
before implementing any policy must be provided field of response to public
opinion (Cazeneuve, 1974). Public relations by promoting accountability in
organizations become effective element in order to clarify social
relationships, attraction of confidence public opinion, truthfulness, honesty,
transfer of information. With remove the barriers between public relations,
media and public and also clearing agencies will be realized interactive
communication policy. Experts believe that despite the importance of public
relations and effective role of managers in this field in different
organizations and ministries unfortunately, there isn’t look professional and
program to thepublic
relations and we see that the majority of public relations by addressing to
have quick impact work, not important to the long-term plans and do not perform
the necessary investment.
DEFINITION
OF TERMS
There
are some words in this project work which must be defined for clear
understanding.
PUBLIC
RELATIONS: According to the most popular and
widely accepted definition given by the British Institute of Journalism can be
defined as “the deliberate planned and sustained effort to establish and
maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics.
THE
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDG’S) are
series of eight – time – bound development goals that seek to address issues of
poverty, education, equality, health and the environment to be achieved by the
year 2015. They were agreed upon by the international community at the United
Nation’s Millennium summit, held in New York in September 2000.
THE
NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICANS DEVELOPMENT (NEPAD):
The statistics of the African continent are graphically pathetic on issues of
common concern. African’s constitutes 12% of the world population but its GDP
consumption of global wealth amount to only 1%. Also, African is the most infested,
in terms of HIV/AIDS, malaria, polio, typhoid, tuberculosis etc. In terms of
political instability, 1 out of every 5 Africans is living under conditions of
conflict. All these and more are what prompted key African leaders principally,
the presidents of Nigeria, South African, Algeria, Senegal and Egypt to come up
with NEPAD in year 2000.
THE
NIGERIAN’S NATIONAL ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ANDDEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (NEEDS): This is Nigeria’s plan for
prosperity. It is the people’s way of letting the government know what kind of
Nigeria they wish to live in, now and in the future. It is the government way
of letting the people know how it plans to overcome the deep and pervasive
obstacles to progress that the government and people have identified. It is
also a way of letting the international community know where Nigeria standard
in the region and in the world and how it wishes to be supported.
MUTUAL
UNDERSTANDING: It is the aim of public
relations to achieve mutual understanding among its publics. This talks of a
two-way communication system and effort, so that an organization may understand
its publics, even as the public come to understand the organization, making it
to deliberately an d continuously undertake converses of action that are in its
public best interest.
PUBLICS: Public
relations deals with relationship between an organization and its various
publics. Public relations thus emphasis the need to ensure excellent
relationship between an organization and all with whom it has to deal with and
this include both internal and external publics.