| dc.description.abstract | Public relations can often be seen as an extension of other organizational departments. It
is subsequently forced into playing technical function roles such as publicity and
marketing because of it.
Professionals in the field often see the theoretical foundation for public relations as
separate or nonexistent to the practical application of its duties. Furthermore, elements of
organizations such as power, control, and culture inhibit the proper functioning of the
public relations role.
Because of this conflict, many organizations that have public relations departments are
misusing the function by making it an extension of other departments or filling PR's top
management with managers from other fields. This encroachment limits the public
relations function, thus not enabling it to realize its full potential.
This study looks at the relevance of PR in chosen organizations in Nairobi, Kenya. It is a
survey to find out how PR is looked at from the Managers point of view to that of PR
practitioners.
The main objective is to examine whether PR in its current positioning in Kenya is
relevant to organizational management. It further looks at the factors that inhibit the
practice of PR, and if there is a better way of positioning PR in Kenya. This includes the
challenges faced by PR practitioners, which may have arisen from the undefined role of
the practitioners.
Interviews were carried out personally by the researcher, with formulated questions that
acted as an interview guide. These questionnaires were in two sets; for CEOs and PROs.
The CEOs helped to determine how relevant their PR department is in the running of the
company. The PROs gave an outline of their roles and responsibilities in the corporate
organizations where they are based. This was an overview of determining how PR is
positioned in these corporate organizations. The questionnaire also sought to find out the
challenges faced by the PROs in their daily activities and whether the training they got
prepared them for the same. The organizations that were studied include: the banking
sector, manufacturing industries, media houses, PR consultancies, NGOs and colleges.
The findings are that PR is an essential department in the running of the organizations
that were surveyed, although there was a general complaint on the issue of recognition in
business strategies. | en |
