Since I am doing my internship in Labour department-which deals with Labour issues and its based in a region, they is only one Public relations practitioner who handles all issues concerning Public relations, since she is located in the headquarters, I think she cannot manage all 27 departments across the country, I think most of the departments have never realized or come to a point to see that a Public practitioner is very crucial in any organization or department. Since I am doing my internship in a regional Labour office based in the 2nd city of Botswana, it’s busy and has to accommodate even neighbor village or towns. They are many issues or concerns in the department that I think they need public relations practitioner to settle. Issues like social responsibility-This gives an organization or company a better image to the public at large, even though I know any employee even not PR practitioners can do social responsibility, but social responsibility done by a Public relations practitioner can or may be always convincing than the one done by any person. Since Public relations Practitioners are guided by ethics of public relations industry.
Public relations duties also that may help the organization will include, communicating with the media people, when they need relevant information concerning the organization or department. Also crisis that may affect the organization may be solved by a Public relations Practitioner since her or will have to make research of what happened and how it can be solved, this is also.
4 comments:
Hello Robert.
I agree with you. It is about time companies and organisations realise that they need PR assistance. Even more, a PR department or firm that will be incharge of their image and the rest of the staff can concentrete on their other duties.
If a crisis arises, or an event is suppose to be planned and executed, people are needed to concentrate on that in order for a job to be well done.
I hope before you leave the labor department, you will suggest that all those other departments need their own PR teams, and not one person incharge of so many places. Submit a formal written document with valid reasons that you as a PR students know will convince them that a serious PR department is necessary. Good luck
Hey Robert!!
Communicating with a media is not a simple chore to handle, I wonder how one person in PR handles that. How can a large organization like that one have twenty seven departments and one PR practitioner? Lets say a crisis arises in five of those departments will she be able to handle them alone? I dont have any appropriate answer to the above questions but I would say PR practitioners are very imperative, so remind them or advise them on the importance of having PR consultants who are under the supervision of that one lady in each department.
Some PR issues needs somber attention of which one person cannot handle and gratify all the departments. I second Lena on this one: Submit a formal written document with valid reasons of the importance of having PR teams in each department, it will work everything out and flawlessly.
All the best Robert hope it will work things out at the end.
Hi Robert
I agree with you.Most of the organisation in BOtswana has olny PR practitioner.The reason being from my own observation Batswana dont know much about public relation.Yes,it is there in many companies but they dont practice it.I was just surprise when someone I know tell me that he dosnt know the difference between pr manager and a practitioner and I realised that the government should start employing people /graduates who had studied p.r intead of employing one person.I mean p.r need a lot of time and people,so how can one person do all the work,such as events planning,crisis management e.t.c
Hello Guys...
Lovely comments mates,I like the fact that we are all from Botswana and we exactly know what Robert is talking about.
One thing I came to realize about PR in Botswana is that the industry is still growing,because PR was introduced in government sectors few years back.Taking for instance Malaysia the PR industry is big there are so many PR agencies but its not what you will find in Bots.
I highly agree with you people,PR practitioners are needed in every organizations more especially the big ones,not only a PR practitioner but they has to be a PR department consisting of the PR managers and PR officers.Like it has been mentioned PR is the image/mirror of the organization and it will be important/easy to protect the name of the organization during times of crisis.
My mates but I believe it was a blessing for us to come and study oversees because from here we will be able to go and improve the PR industry of our country.
Keep on learning more...
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