Public relations - the nature and importance

PRPs IN THE MAKING: Left to right: Loyiso, Siphokazi, Nic Mmako and Mmakwena at UJ Council Chambers

I dedicate the last academic blog to the author of Naked Issues - myself.

I wish to reflect on the wonderful blogging journey I've had to embark on. Not only has it been an academic booster, but through blogging, a whole new world was revealed for me. I got an opportunity to explore my writing and critical analysis skills particularly in the field of Public relations, communications and media studies.

This journey has also enabled me to evaluate myself in terms of having the understanding for the social events that have taken place over the last nine months. Sometimes we look at what is happening in the media and are very quick to draw subjective conclusions.

This journey has made me realize how important it is to always go deeper into issues and attempt to find the root cause of certain events before making baseless assumptions about other people; public figures and ordinary people.

It has also been an opportunity to scrutinize the important role that Public relations play in everyday events. The theoretical part of PR requires in depth concentration and attention to detail in order to have the right understanding of the subject at hand.  The weekly blogging journey has allowed me to glue the theoretical and practical aspects of PR, communications and media studies. 

As I conclude, I wish to point out a few distinctive lessons I've treasured from this experience:

•  Public relations is important because at its core, PR revolves around this universal truth: people act based upon their perception of facts.

• By managing, controlling, or influencing people's perceptions, public relations practitioners hope to initiate a sequence of behaviors that will lead to the achievement of an organization's objectives.

• When public relations practitioners successfully create, change, or reinforce opinion through persuasion, their primary objective is accomplished.

For those who may have an interest to follow this dynamic field, here's a list of career opportunities for you:

 

·  Public Relations Specialist

·  Social Media Specialist

·  Public Speaker

·  Communications Coordinator

·  Communications Director

·  Communications Editor

·  Communications Representative 

·  Communications Specialist

·  Copy Writer

·  Corporate Communications Specialist, read more titles here

BEE negatively perceived as a new version of apartheid!

 

ideate.co.za



Jhb - The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled it was within someone's right to give bursaries to only white students, according to a report on Saturday.

The ruling came after Daphne de Villiers from Stellenbosch in her last will and testament determined that the trustees of the Jean Pierre de Villiers Trust, which she created, must allocate R250 000 yearly to white students at four universities for certain degrees, Beeld reported.

This got me thinking about how the issue of race is still very sensitive in South Africa. Which also reminds me about the misunderstandings around Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). A lot of people don't understand what BEE really is and how it necessary in the times we live in.

To many, BEE seems like a way of the democratic government to bring back apartheid in a different version. Most recently, a friend of mine who's white couldn't get a job at a certain company because it is linked to BEE.

I believe that it is actually the confusion or misunderstanding around what BEE really is that's contributing to the lack of unity, tolerance and acceptance of one another amongst South Africans of different races.

The need for effective communication on Black Economic Empowerment.

BEE is a very serious and controversial issue and this is mainly because many people aren't aware as to what it's purpose is. Therefore government shouldn't turn a blind eye on the confusion that's held by some members of the public. 

• An enhanced communication strategy should be put embarked on to ensure that all South Africans understand why BEE is necessary and how it really works.

• The communication strategy should also be designed in such a way that it can be understood by all members of the public regardless of their education level and other factors.

• Just as there're campaigns on road safety, alcohol usage and community safety, there should also be a campaign whose primary objective is to educate the public on how BEE works, who benefits and why. This will help create a mutual understanding between government and its stakeholders.

Read more on: News24

The controversial e-tolls AKA "e-thief" gets the go ahead from the court in Gauteng



THE BIG DEBATE: Members of the public still don't agree with SANRAL's e-tolls. Photo: thenewage.co.za




As Anna Cox and Brendan of The Star write... "Does the government have the wherewithal to handle civil disobedience threatened by 2 million disgruntled motorists?"

Wayne Duvenhage, Chairman of Outa says laws and policies are no good unless they are enforced, and with such huge public opposition, the government will find it logistically and practically difficult to enforce the tolls.

Government could struggle to manage the large numbers of disgruntled motorists.

Here are some of the challenges that government could face from motorists:

1. The Constitutional Court case to be heard in November - motorists might not buy e-tags as ther're still some pending decisions regading e-tolls.

2. The absence of disobedience from motorists will be a huge challenge for the government to overcome;

3. If the public could stand together against e-tolls by not registering for e-tags, ignoring tolling costs and consequent fines;



Cosatu warned the government not to “even think” about implementing e-tolls until consultations were done, and threatened mass action should they be implemented.

Possible solutions for the contoversial e-tolls

1. Clearly there's a communication breakdown between government and the public, so communication should be enhanced so that the public will have a mutual understanding about the e-tolls;

2. Government should be willing to listen to the public's opinions and implement the e-tolls system in a mutually understood way, not only in favour of government;

3. There should be maximum transparency regarding e-tolls so that the all members of the public can understand exactly why there's a need for e-tolls.

These are only a few of many things which I think government shouldn't take for granted as they the potential to cause instability in SA.

Julius Malema's strategic political come-back plan is in place

THE UNANTICIPATED POLITICAL COME-BACK STRATEGY: Former ANCYL president Mr Julius Malema is surrounded and praised by hundreds of Marikana miners and residents during a march against minimal wages. Photo: BBC News Africa.

I couldn't ignore the fact that Marikana Massacre continues to make headlines in the social, electronic and print media every single day.

This time I would like to discuss how the expelled ANCYL president Mr Julius Malema saw a political recuperation opportunity in the tragic massacre

So, where is Public relations in all this?

Persuasive communication happens when a communicator succeeds in voluntarily forming, changing or modifying the attitudes of an audience though the presentation of his/her message.

Malema uses persuasive techniques to steer the miners in his desired direction; and he has managed to convince the miners that he is on their side far as their grievances are concerned.

• Audience analysis in PR is a fundamental element which suggests that  a communicator has to know the needs of his/her audience before addressing them. Malema has succeeded in this regard because he is pushing for the miners' R12 500 salary increase - an indication to the miners that he's indeed on their side.

• Appealing to the emotional state of a communicator's audience is also a very significant technique to use to achieve one's objectives. Malema's strategic plan couldn't have come at a better time than now when miners are still grieving over the passing of their colleagues. They will not stop until they get what they want considering the pain they've been subjected to.

• Last but not least,the credibility, trustworthiness and reputation of a communicator plays an important role in persuading the audience. As far as ethos is concerned, Malema is known for advocating for mines to be nationalized in SA, this is working in his favour at the moment because the miners will be easily persuaded as they know that he is a person who has always been concerned about the activities within the South African mining industry.

Read more from: BBC News Africa

Marikana massacre - a Public relations mess for both the SAPS and Lonmin mine




"SHOOT TO KILL": Members of the SAPS watch as Lonmin platinum mine workers lie breathless and defenceless on the ground after being shot like useless animals by police officers during their strike against minimal wages.
Photo adapted from:  bolekaja.wordpress.com

There are so many things to be said about the tragic Marikana massacre whereby at least 34 people were shot dead and 80 more injured when police opened fire on striking workers at a platinum mine in Marikana, in the North West province of South Africa last Thursday [August 16].

One thing I'd like to discuss is the Public relations mess in which the SAPS and Lonmin mine find themselves in. PRPs have to get to work and clean up this mess!

The SAPS's reputation has gone from neutral to negative!

We all know that the SAPS still has a lot of issues to address in order to be perceived in a good way by the public, challenges facing the SAPS at the moment include amongst others:

• The brutality of police officers;
• The negativity caused by former National Police Commissioner Mr Bheki Cele's corrupt activities;
• The newly appointed National Commissioner with no police experience (Mrs Riah Phiyega)

On top of all this - the Marikana massacre has just made matters worse for the image of police. Now the PRPs will have to put measures in place to restore the dignity and good image of the SAPS and also to change the negative perceptions and attitutes held by the publics!

Lonmin Platinum Mine is losing millions and it's certainly on the verge of losing investors because of greed!

Lonmin makes billions of rands every year and they achieve that through hardworking, poor and unhappy miners. This is greed! How could I give my worker as little as R4000 monthly while I make millions through their hard labour?

Lonmin also has to work very hard to restore their desired image. Failure to do so will see investors pulling out because of this incident. Who wants to do business with a company that treats it's employees like garbage?

A public relations lesson to be learned from the Lonmin Massacre:

• The SAPS took their time to address the brutality of police officers, it got worse and resulted in the Marikana massacre.
•  PRPs always need to be proactive towards any issue arising in their organisations rather than having to be reactive at a later stage.
• Lonmin turned a blind eye on the needs of their starving miners who then took matters into their own hands.

Read more on the Marikana Massacre from: Mail & Guardian 

Bobby Motaung's arrest could have a negative impact on the Kaizer Chiefs brand

Kaizer Chiefs' Bobby Motaung arriving in Nelspruit  (picture from Twitter)

It's not only politicians who're giving us this corruption! 

The arrest of Kaizer Chiefs' caretaker Bobby Motaung can only prove one thing - that corruption is not only amongst government officials! I've always thought that the private sector was so innocent when it comes to all the activities of corruption we always hear about by our local politicians. It looks like I was very wrong!

When the news about the arrest of Booby Motaung hit my ears, it was really an element of surprise. Motaung was arrested by the Hawks on Wednesday on charges of fraud - it has been reported that Motaung was arrested in connection with alleged tender fraud and corruption related to Mpumalanga’s R1.2-billion Mbombela Stadium.

Motaung is a director of Lefika Emerging Equity (Pty) Ltd, which won a tender to design the stadium. The construction of the stadium has been fraught with allegations of fraud and corruption that might have led to the assassination of former Mbombela council speaker Jimmy Mohlala.

From a PRP's desk, Motaung's arrest could have a negative impact on the Kaizer Chiefs brand!

It now seems like Motaung's arrest has something to do with the death of former Mbombela council speaker Jimmy Mohlala, but we can only wait for the trial to commence. If this turns out to be true, Amakhosi might find themselves losing a lot of support from the Nelspruit side.

I would personally not be happy to support Kaizer Chiefs especially when they play at Mbombela Stadium knowing that the Stadium was build on dirty money and blood. Kaizer Chiefs now has to work extra hard to ensure that they don't lose supporters following this unforeseen and unfortunate incident otherwise the reputation might go down the drain!

National Women's Day recognises only women in the ANC

South Africans celebrate Women's Day 2012 - Pretoria.
Photo by: demotix.com

Women's Day is supposed to be for all women in Mzansi

The national women's day is supposed to be the day whereby all women, from all over the country are recognised as people who have had a very significant role in the liberation of South Africa. I was very disturbed to learn that there are women living in SA today without proper houses, no jobs or benefits whatsoever.

Forced into the army at childhood against apartheid - but it was all for nothing!

These are not just ordinary women, they are women who had to leave SA to become soldiers in exile. Some of these women left the country at a very early stage of their lives, some as young as 14 years old. Today these women are living in shacks, they're jobless and are not recognised by the ANC led government as what one would call freedom fighters because they were never members of the ANC.

PAC:
 one of the political parties which
 played a significant
 role in the liberation of SA,
 today very little is said about them.

This is quite disturbing for me. Why is it that only women who are associated with the ANC get recognition for the fight against the apartheid regime? We constantly see and hear about women such as Winnie Madikizela Mandela, Charlotte Maxege, Adelaide Tambo and others. But what about women who belong to other political parties who also fought for liberation? Don't they deserve to be applauded for their efforts?

Where are women from other political parties who also fought tirelessly for this freedom? 

Have we been led to believe that women in the ANC Women's League are the only ones who marched to the Union Buildings to fight for our rights and therefore those who are members of the ANC will not be recognised by the government or have streets, museums and hospitals be named after them.