Conceptualising public relations’ strategies as a major tool in managing communication in organisations: A study of Niger Mills Plc, Calabar, Cross River State

Abstract

The relevance of communication rests on its effectiveness. Effective communication means employing good communication  strategies to  each out to a target audience. In the case of a company, this target audience is either the employees, who are the internal audience or external stakeholders. In both ways, the organisation requires good communication approaches. These approaches are strategies which are capable of capturing the attention of these audiences. Most times, it is noted that the  management of organisations do not consider the subject of communication as relevant to the growth of their organisations. Surprising, there are hardly any communication strategies evolved by the leaders of these organisations to reach out to their publics. The study seeks to establish if there were communication or Public Relations strategies evolved by Niger Mills, Plc, to  communicate with its publics, and to what extent the company achieved its organisational goals as a result of these strategies. The work is premised on James Grunig’s (2002) excellence theory of Public Relations. A survey, with the aid of a structured interview was carried out with 15 staff members of the Company interviewed. Results of the finding showed that there are no spelt out Public Relations Strategies operative in the Niger Mills, Plc, Calabar. The study recommends among other things that an in-house Public Relations Department be established in the company in order to strengthen communication efficiency in it.