Hi all,
One more week gone! And for me my work is becoming increasingly interesting.
This week my department was working on a communication plan for the future project as I was talking in my last post. The company is about to develop an Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS) and a hotel in the west region of the island. We are working on the profile of the population of the region, as since being proactive is very important, the company is studying all the stakeholders and particularly those that may be opposed to the future project. In this case this may be fishermen since the project is situated on the beach. It is very interesting to see all the research undertaken even before starting the communication process; fortunately for me after 2yrs1/2 of Curtin courses I am used to research work. I believe that this is a very important step that need to be undertaken so as to better know to whom you are about to talk to, and more importantly what may be the future problems that may arise, and develop a plan accordingly.
The company needs also to do a social impact assessment of the project on the region and a social need analysis of the region; and develop accordingly CSR activities to help the population of the region. The investment is CSR activities are compulsory but it is to the company to develop activities that the regions call for. I was a bit septic on whether these big companies were really working for the need of the population. There have been some IRS project around the island and I doubt whether the population is really benefiting from it.
I have been very surprised to see that this was not the case for New Mauritius Hotel (NMH). Concerning the project they are really working on what the population need the most, even if that mean more work and more investment for the company. The company is very involved and for them CSR is not another tool to lure the population and have a good reputation. I am still very septic on all the CSR programs of companies, many for me are using it just as a tool and are not as devoted as they are saying. However I hope that more and more companies are moving to a sincere program, as these programs are just win-win, for the company and for the stakeholders.
This week I am going do have a broader look at NMH CSR program, being very sensitive to social problems am exited to know what they are doing and more importantly how they are communicating it!
Hope won’t be disappointed, tell you in my future post!!!
Jenna
2 comments:
Hi Jenna,
I was reading you post and found it amazing how realistic what we learn in the classroom is in real world PR. As you explained, it is so important for a new project to be developed in conjunction with the local community. As we learnt in the classroom when analysing successful projects and developments, they all have in common an understanding, respect and have undergone thorough research of the community.
It is so important to identify the multi-faceted community that will be affected and then execute constant two way communication. This will enable compromises and community education in every stage of the development process. As you pointed out yes, very extensive and through research must be carried out. In your case your company is definitely on the right track - researching the region surrounding the hotel’s location and identifying the stakeholders involved in the project, undertaking social analysis etc is all so important.
These efforts will enable the population of the region to communicate with the developers and work together to compromise on conflict. It is awesome to hear that you’ve discovered that NMH are taking the needs of the surrounding population very seriously, and so they should. As we learnt at Curtin ethical Public Relations doesn’t mean just projecting that you care, but actually taking steps to ensure your company not only understands the importance of community and communicating this, but that that they have a social responsibility to implement it.
Niki
Hey,
I agree with you that research is very important in our field, and glad its so integrated in our Curtin Courses. Although, sometimes I REALLY do feel like pulling my hair out whilst doing all the research, but I guess at the end of the day, its good and critical for success.
Rgds,
Ann
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