AN EVALUATION OF THE MEDIA RELATIONS STRATEGIESIN BUILDING CORPORATE REPUTATION AT KUMASI

METROPOLITAN ASSEMBLY.

AMORIN DAVID LEONARD

SEIDU MOSES

ARMOOH ALFRED KWAKU

A PROJECT WORK PRESENTED TO THE CHRISTIANSERVICE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE IN PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OFA BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE IN COMMUNICATION

STUDIES.

APRIL, 2013

i

STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY

We have read the university regulations relatingto plagiarism and certify that this report is all our own work and do not contain any unacknowledged work from any other source. We also declare that we have been under supervisionfor this report herein submitted.

NAMES SIGNATURE DATE

Amorin David Leonard ………………. ………..

Seidu Moses ……………….. …………

Armooh Alfred Kwaku ………………. …………

SUPERVISOR’S DECLARATION

We hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of the

dissertation were supervised in accordance with the guidelines on

supervision laid down by Christian Service University College

Certified by

Justice Boffah Pokumensah (Rev.) …

……………………. ……………

Supervisor Signature

Date

Adwoa Amankwah (Mrs.) …………………… ………………….

Head of Department, Communication Studies

Signature Date

ii

ABSTRACT

This study examines the evaluation of the media relations

strategies used in building corporate reputation at Kumasi

Metropolitan Assembly. The purpose was to determine the

contribution of the Media Relations Department at Kumasi

Metropolitan Assembly, by identifying the specific roles and

functions performed by public relations department in KMA. The

objectives were to ascertain which of Grunig and Hunt’s four

models best explains the practice of public relations in the

hotel, determine whether public relations is practiced as

management function and identify some of the major challenges, if

any, facing the public relation practitioners in their line of

duties.

Qualitative Method was used for the study. The study, though

underscored the importance of the public relations strategies at

KMA. it revealed that most stakeholders use the radio as their

main source of information about KMA. The study revealed that of

the four models propounded by Grunig and Hunt, the public

information and two-way asymmetrical were the ones commonly used

by the Media Relations Department at KMA. Also, the identified

that the major challenges facing the Media Relations Department

were lack of funds and resource availability, lack of proper

management recognition and occasional conflicts with the

marketing department. The study therefore recommends that proper

attention and logistical support be given to the department to

enable it function effectively. It is also suggested that the

department be separated from marketing, so that it can operate

independently. The major limitation to this study was the size of

the sample used for the research.

iii

DEDICATION

We dedicate this piece to all the lecturers of the Communications

Department, especially Reverend Boffah Pokumensah (supervisor),

the acting President of the Christian Service University College

(CSUC), Dr. Aduborffour and Head of Department, Communication

Studies, Mrs. Adwoa Amankwaah.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The successful completion of this work could not have been

possible without the support of certain individuals both within

and outside the realms of Christian Service University College

(CSUC). We are greatly indebted to our supervisor, Justice Boffah

Pokumensah (Rev.) for his critical review of this work and the

many useful advice and suggestions that have made this work

possible. We also acknowledge with much gratitude the invaluable

assistance received from Adwoa Amankwah (Mrs.) Head of

Department, Communication Studies. Our heartfelt gratitude also

goes to all lecturers at the Communication Department of CSUC for

their advice and directions. We also appreciate the support and

encouragement from the staff of KMA. To our families, we say

thanks for being supportive.

To save the best for the last, we say, to God be the glory for

the great things he has done, Lord, without you, nothing would

have been possible, and we owe thee our debt of gratitude.

V

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title Page ………………………………………………………………………………….. i

Statement of Authenticity………………………………………………………………….. ii

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….. iii

Dedication………………………………………………………………………………….. iv

Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………………………. v

Table of Content………………………………………………………………………….. vi

CHAPTER ONE

BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY

1.0 Introduction..…………………………………………………………………………. 1

1.1 Background to the Study……………………………………………………………… 1

1.2 Problem Statement…………………………………………………………………….. 2

1.3 The Purpose Statement………………………………………………………………… 3

1.4 Objectives of the Study………………………………………………………………… 3

1.5 Research Questions……………………………………………………………………. 3

1.6 Significance of the Study ……………………………………………………………… 4

1.7 Scope of the Study………………………………………………………………………4

1.8 Limitations and Delimitations of the …………………………………………………..

5

1.9 Definitions of Key Terms……………………………………………………………….5

C

HAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction……………………………………………………………………….7

2.1 Media Relations Strategies in Context…………………………………………….7

2.2 Role of Media Relations in an Organization………………………………………8

2.3 Corporate Reputation……………………………………………………………...11

2.4 Review of Related studies on Media Relations…………………………………...

13

2.5 Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………………14

Cultivation Theory………………………………………………………………… 14

Uses and Gratification Theory……………………………………………………...14

2.6 Summary of Chapter………………………………………………………………15

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………... 16

3.2 Research Method………………………………………………………………16

3.3 Research Design……………………………………………………………….16

3.4 Population………………………………………………………………….... 17

3.5 Sample Size and Sampling…………………………………………………....17

3.6 Data Collection Instruments…………………………………………………..17

3.7 Data collection Process……………………………………………………….17

3.8 Data Analysis Plan……………………………………………………………18

3.9 Ethical Considerations………………………………………………………..18

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS AND DISUSSIONS

4.0 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………19

Demographic data of respondents…………………………………………………………19

How long have you been working with Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly…………………..20

Which channel(s) do you get information from the media Relations department of

Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly……………………………………………………………………………..21

How important is press release in corporate reputation of Kumasi Metropolitan

Assembly?..............................................................................................................................22

How important is press conference on corporate reputation on Kumasi Metropolitan

Assembly?...............................................................................................................................23

How important is speech writing in enhancing corporate reputation at Kumasi

Metropolitan

Assembly………………………………………………………………………………………….......24

How important is press conference by the Media Relations Department on Corporate

Reputation at Kumasi Metropolitan

Assembly?..........................................................................................25

How important is event organizing in enhancing Corporate Reputation at Kumasi

Metropolitan

Assembly?.................................................................................................................................26

What is the impact of the strategies of the Media Relations Department of the Kumasi

Metropolitan

Assembly?.........................................................

...................................................27

Are specific functions of the Media Relations Department enhancing Corporate

Reputation at the Kumasi Metropolitan

Assembly?.........................................................

.......................................28

Are the communications of the Media Relations Department improving Corporate

Reputation at Kumasi Metropolitan

Assembly?.........................................................

.........................................29

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….30

5.1 Summary of major findings………………………………………………………………….30

5.2 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………...32

5.3 Recommendations……………………………………………………………………………32

5.4 Reference List………………………………………………………………………………..33

Appendix

CHAPTER ONEBACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This chapter covers the background of the study, the problemstatement, the purpose, objectives, the research questions,definition of key term and reference list. It is hoped that afterthe study, it will have a practical and theoretical impact on theKumasi Metropolitan Assembly and also for further studies byresearchers.

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDYMedia Relations is the core activity in many public relationsjobs (Wilcox, 2005). According to some scholars of mediarelations, in constant efforts to get free space in the mediafor their clients, press agents used every possible trick totake advantage of the newspapers and other media. This wascalled flaking for space (Grunig & Hunt, 1984, p.30).

Similarly, Grunig and Hunt (1984, p. 223) state that relationswith the news media so central to the practice of Mediarelations department, especially those guided by the pressgentry and public information models of Media relations, believethat public relations is nothing more than media relations.Grunig and Hunt (1984) and Argenti (2003) argues that althoughthe old –style public relations function which focused almostexclusively on media relations may be a thing of the past; thesub function referred to as media relations today is stillcentral to the corporate communication effort. With this subfunction, the person heading the communications department must

be capable of dealing with the media as a spokesperson for theorganization.

In view of this, the study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness ofthe media relations strategies that are being used by the MediaRelations Department of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly toenhance its corporate reputation.

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENTResearch has shown that many people misunderstand the concept ofmedia relations. Even some scholars hold different views overwhat the concept is all about. People tend to mix up ‘mediarelation’ with ‘public relation media’ which are two differentconcepts altogether-They also seem unclear about the objectives of media relations.Moreover, many people think that media relation is the same thingas public relations; yet, some other people tend to wonder overthe difference between ‘media relations’ and press relations.’In a similar vein, Nkwazema (1993: Page 45) argued that;

“No matter what one does in Public Relations, get in touch withthe relevant publics and one major way of doing this, is throughpress relations or what some people prefer to call mediarelation. Thus, press relations become the chief source throughwhich public relations practitioners achieve the aim of reachingtheir publics”.

Most times, organizations, such as the KMA have a core duty toaspire, in achieving their visions, missions and objectives. Itis perceived that achievements and targets are difficult toattain, due to ineffective of Media Relation strategies that mustbe applied. Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly lacks a clear cut policyon media relations. Good and effective Media Relations Strategieswill go a long way to improve the reputation of the Organization(KMA) to successfully achieve its objectives. Inappropriate andineffective Media Relation Strategies can affect the performanceof the Media Relations Office of the Organization, (KMA).

1.3 THE PURPOSE STATEMENTThe purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of theMedia Relations Strategies in building corporate reputation atKumasi Metropolitan Assembly.

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY1. To identify specific Media Relations functions at Kumasi

Metropolitan Assembly.2. To examine how Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly uses Media

Relations for effective communications.3. To examine the tools used for Media Relations Strategies at

the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly.

4. To establish the effectiveness of the Media Relationsstrategies in building corporate reputation of KumasiMetropolitan Assembly.

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS1. What are the specific media relations functions used at the

Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly?2. How does the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly use the media

relations for effective communication?3. What are the tools used for media relations strategies at

Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly?4. How effective are the strategies, in building corporate

reputation of Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly?

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research will provide insight into how the media relationsactivities are defined in the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly’soperations. The study will afford the KMA to assess how effective the mediarelations department is serving its purpose by collecting and

transferring information from the board- room to the man on thestreet for a social change, without any shred of doubt ormisunderstanding.

The study is again important because it will not just helpimprove upon the Media Relations Strategies of the Assembly, butwill also help identify the tools, that are used by the mediarelations office of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly’s mediarelation department.

The study will also help future practitioners as tertiary sourceof information for further studies. The study will also help theKMA’s media relations officer(s) to develop appropriate andeffective strategies to enhance its corporate reputation.

1.7 THE SCOPE OF STUDYThe study will be done at the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly.Respondents will be selected from the staff of the KumasiMetropolitan Assembly. It is important to note that the KumasiMetropolitan Assembly and its staff are always very busy from 8am to 12 pm, so data will be taken from respondents during breakhours. That is; from 12pm to 1pm.

1.8 LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDYSome of the major difficulties in conducting studies on huge organizations like the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly is access to accurate data for studies. Respondents see the outcome of such studies as not relevant and important, directly or indirectly to them (respondents).Time constraints have been one of the challenges. Combining classwork and project work is a bigger challenge looking at timeavailable.

Though, not withstanding all the challenges of collecting data,effort will be taken to explain the importance of the study toour respondents (KMA staff). Since presentation has to be donebefore May, 2013, extra effort and hard work will be employed todo a better Research and presentation.

The study will be restricted to the chosen topic so that it doesnot lead to issues that are not related to the core mandate andof the study-An Evaluation Of The effectiveness of the MediaRelations Strategies in Building Corporate Relations at KumasiMetropolitan Assembly.

1.9 DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS

MEDIA RELATIONS

Media relations is defined as the public function whichestablishes and maintain mutual understanding, goodwill ,co-operation, respect and support between an organization and themass media practitioners/owners with the aim of achieving welldefined corporate and public relations objectives.

CORPORATE REPUTATION

Fombrum (1996, 34): Defines corporate reputation as '' theoverall estimation in which a particular organization is held byits various constituents''. In other words how the ordinaryPublics know the KMA to be. The amount of respect people haveabout the organization-(KMA).

MEDIA RELATIONS STRATEGY

The plan of action of an advertiser (media relations outfit) usesto bring advertising messages to the attention of consumersthrough a particular media and vehicle. The practitioner mightdecide to use; radio interviews, television interviews, newspaperads or Notice boards to send his messages to its target publics.Laid-down plans and actions proposed to deal with a targetedphenomenon for a specific result.

CONCLUSION

The focus of this chapter is to look at the basic principles ofresearch, such as the background to the study, problem statement,objectives, research questions, significance, scope, limitationsand delimitations and the definitions of key terms for the study.All these steps are important in a successful research work.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 INTRODUCTION This chapter which seeks to look at the Literature review of thestudy covers Media Relations Strategies in context, Role of mediaRelations in an Organization, Corporate Reputation, and Review ofrelated studies on Media Relations, Theoretical Framework andSummary of the chapter.

2.1 MEDIA RELATIONS STRATEGY IN CONTEXT Media Relations is the core activity in many public relationsjobs (Wilcox, 2005). “Media relations have over the years becomean increasingly significant profile and has added value to the

business bottom-line”. According to the authors, in the constanteffort to get free space in the media for their clients, pressagents or publicists used every possible trick to take advantageof the newspapers and other media. This was called “flaking forspace” (Grunig & Hunt, 1984, p. 30). Although these press agentsfrequently got the publicity they sought, the authors indicatethat the media and the public have never forgotten the PressAgentry origins of public relations. Hence, this explains whymedia relations is considered to be the most traditional, visibleand prominent of all public relations functions.

Media Relations is a vital function for both public relationspractitioners and journalists in the creation and disseminationof news that is important and relevant to the public. Agenda-setting theory explains the media’s power to tell the public whatto think about, which makes journalists a natural target forpractitioners. Practitioners seek out journalists in order toinfluence the media agenda. A process, journalism researchers,calls agenda building. However, studies have shown that, journalists hold negativeattitudes toward individual practitioners and the publicrelations industry, which can have damaging effects on mediarelations efforts. Journalists and practitioners can worktogether to help each other professionally, but the historicalattitudes pose problems for both groups. Practitioners have theability to improve relations with journalists by using the bestpractices of media relations.

Media relations material can include great depth, but the numberone priority of a practitioner is the news release. Turk (1986)explains that media relations entail practitioners providing“information subsidies” to the journalists, who systematicallydistribute information through mass media outlets on behalf oftheir client. Journalists, as gatekeepers of the media, haveultimate decision of what information is disseminated to thepublic. Practitioners’ media relations efforts are measured inmedia placements and resulting coverage (Zhang & Cameron, 2003).

Ragas (2012) asserts that media placement and coverage is vitalbecause public relations efforts can have a significant effect on“objects – be they issues, candidates, brands, countries,corporations, stakeholders, or whatever are emphasized in thenews and receive greater public concern” (p. 91-92).

2.2 ROLE OF MEDIA RELATIONS IN AN ORGANIZATIONThe role of the Media Relations in any organization is veryimportant in the building Corporate Reputation.

Describing media relations as one of the most critical areaswithin any corporate communication function, Argenti (2003)supports this claim by explaining the Media’s role in anorganization. According to Argenti (2003, p.101), “the media isboth a constituency and a conduit through which investors,

suppliers, retailers and Consumers receive information about anddevelop images of a company”. The author adds that the media’srole as disseminator of information to an organization’s keyConstituencies have gained increasing importance over the years.Given this crucial role, Argenti says that almost everyorganization has a media relations department, either manned by apart-time consultant or a large team of professionals.

Argenti (2003) further elaborates that although the mediarelations sub function started off as a flaking service formanagers in response to requests from news Organizations, todaythe best corporate communications departments actively set thediscussion agenda for the organization in the media. Center andJackson (2003) link the agenda-setting role to the main power ofthe media which they say is to provide information and createawareness about products, services, companies and ideas. This,according to them, is vital as the first step in the decision-making process as only when there is knowledge about something,action follows. Moreover, the authors express that mediainfluence is cumulative and long-term, especially when many mediacover a subject over the years. Besides these aspects, Wilcox(2005) states that the media, in all their variety, are cost-effective channels of communication in an information society.

Wilcox explains that the media are the multipliers that enablemillions of people to receive a message at the same time. On topof this, the author says that media gatekeepers serve as filters

of information and though not everyone is happy with theirdecisions, they are generally perceived as more objective thanpublic relations people who represent a particular client ororganization. According to Wilcox (2005), this is important topublic relations as the media serve as third-party endorsers ofinformation, giving one’s information credibility and importanceby deciding that it is newsworthy. Given the credibility factor,there is little doubt that much value is attached to mediapublicity.

According to Seitel (2001), publicity is regarded as morecredible than advertising. Therefore, Seitel states that toattract positive publicity, establishing a good workingrelationship with the media, despite the media’s more aggressiveand hostile tone is essential. At this juncture, it is worthwhilelooking at the view by Cutlip et al. (2000) that accuracy andfairness in press coverage does not result from journalists’ workalone. Instead, the authors suggest that ultimately, therelationship between practitioners and journalists has an impacton the quality of news coverage about organizations. Therefore,they suggest that the sound approach for organizations andpractitioners is to view media relations as an investment.

As stated by a participant of this study, “We believe thisinvestment is definitely worthy as we’re able to call upon themedia for favors sometimes and they are actually quite obliging”.The researcher examined several scholars’ views on working with

the media. Seitel (2001) states that a primary responsibility ofa public relations professional vis-à-vis the media, is to helppromote the organization in good times and help defend theorganization in times of attack, which requires a workingknowledge of what drives the media.

Meanwhile, Hendrix (2001) suggests that the practitioner in mediarelations must know how each media outlet works. Similarly,Jefkins (1986) says that the skilled public relationspractitioner will be a master of the media, knowing what isavailable, how they differ and how to use them to the bestadvantage. Jefkins’ thoughts explain his critical view that mediarelations, which is the most visible tip of the public relationsiceberg, is often the worst performed public relations task.

Sriramesh (2004) states that most public relations practitionersspend a significant portion of their time on media relationsbecause of the media’s ability to generate mass publicity. Inaddition to benefiting from this, Sriramesh states thatpractitioners also serve the media by providing them withinformation subsidies, thus creating a symbiotic relationship.Goodman (1994) too states that the media depends on business forinformation related to the organization, and as such, anatmosphere of mutual benefit emerges. In the context of thisstudy, the researcher looks the effectiveness of the MediaRelations strategies of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and how

the media Relations activities can enhance its CorporateReputation

2.3 CORPORATE REPUTATION

Corporate reputation is a ‘soft’ concept. It is the overallestimation in which an organization is held by its internal andexternal stakeholders based on its past actions and probabilityof its future behavior. The organization may have a slightlydifferent reputation with each stakeholder according to theirexperiences in dealing with the organization or in what they haveheard about it from others.

Many organizations put the importance of a good reputation to theback of their minds while they attend to more hard-edged, day-to-day urgencies.

On the other hand, many organizations consider their greatestasset to be their good name or reputation. This is especiallytrue in knowledge-based organizations such as professionalservices firms in the consulting, legal, medical, and financialsectors and in universities. They work actively to build theirgood reputation, to build the ‘bank of goodwill’ towards them.

The main benefits of a good corporate reputation can be found in:

1. Customer preference in doing business with you when othercompanies’ products and services are available at asimilar cost and quality;

2. Your ability to charge a premium for products andservices;

3. Stakeholder support for your organization in times ofcontroversy;

4. Your organization’s value in the financial marketplace.

Although reputation is an intangible concept, researchuniversally shows that a good reputation demonstrably increasescorporate worth and provides sustained competitive advantage. Abusiness can achieve its objectives more easily if it has a goodreputation among its stakeholders, especially key stakeholderssuch as its largest customers, opinion leaders in the businesscommunity, suppliers and current and potential employees.

If your organization is well regarded by your main customers,they will prefer to deal with you ahead of others. And thesepeople will influence other potential customers by word of mouth.Suppliers will be more inclined to trust in your organization’sability to pay and to provide fair trading terms.

If any problems occur in their trading relationship with you,your suppliers will be more inclined to give you the benefit ofthe doubt when you have a reputation for fair dealing. Likewise,

government regulators will trust you more if you have a goodreputation, and they will be less inclined to punish you if youtrip up along the way. And clearly, a potential employee will bemore likely to sign up with you if you have a good reputation foryour treatment of staff compared with an employer who may have anequivocal reputation.

The two main sources of a corporate reputation are experience andinformation – a person’s past dealings with your organization andthe extent and nature of their direct and indirect communicationwith you. A favorable reputation requires more than just aneffective communication effort; it requires an admirable identitythat can be molded through consistent performance, usually overmany years.

Main components of corporate reputation: An American study showedthat there are ten main components of corporate reputation usedin reputation measurement systems such as “the most admiredcompanies in America”:

1. Ethical: the organization behaves ethically, is admirable,is worthy of respect, is trustworthy.

2. Employees/workplace: the organization has talentedemployees, treats its people well, is an appealingworkplace.

3. Financial performance: the organization is financiallystrong, has a record of profitability and has growthprospects.

4. Leadership: the organization is a leader rather than afollower, is innovative.

5. Management: the organization is well managed, has highquality management, has a clear vision for the future.

6. Social responsibility: the organization recognizes socialresponsibilities, supports good causes.

7. Customer focus: the organization cares about customers, isstrongly committed to customers.

8. Quality: the organization offers high quality products andservices.

9. Reliability: the organization stands behind its products &services, provides consistent service.

10. Emotional appeal: (it is an organization I feel goodabout)

2.4 REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES ON MEDIA RELATIONS

A study by Katerina Tsetsura in 2008 on the topic “An ExploratoryStudy of Global Media Relations Practices” found that a largemajority of journalists and public relations practitioners

around the world say it is not professional for media toaccept payments from news sources in return for coverage.Nevertheless, more than one in three practitioners and one infive journalists say it is generally considered okay in theircountries for national media to accept such payments. Only60% say that paid-for material is always or often identifiedas advertising in national daily newspapers. The researchpresentation at the 2008 International Public RelationsResearch Conference in Miami was based on results of a globalInternet survey of 574 public relations practitioners andjournalists.

The results of this study showed that payment for news coverageis present in a variety of forms throughout the world.Several factors were significant in predicting the existenceof the phenomenon worldwide. These factors included thefrequency of news releases published in exchange foradvertising in the same media, advertising sales departmentinfluence on editorial decisions, and sources puttingfinancial pressure on news priorities.

This research is significant to this study because it explainsfrom the perspective of journalists and public relationspractitioners, what media relations really is and thebenefits associated with effective media relations practice.

2.5 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKa. Cultivation Theory

Cultivation theory states that the more a person is exposedto a message provided by the media, the more likely thatperson is to believe the message is real.

In its most basic form is that, perception of acceptinginformation or acting according to it is cultivated throughplanned and strategized persuasion, education and information.Children grow to learn that, we have to clean our teeth before weeat. The purpose, therefore for our study is to discover, howeffective has the KMA used the media to cultivate attitudinalchanges in the local people.

b. Uses and Gratification Theory

The theory is concerned because according to the theory, theconsumers or the audiences are the most considered inachieving the aspirations and goal of the KMA. Again, thetheory focuses more on the audiences and their reactions toinformation than the information itself. Some of questions

that would be asked will be; what do people do with themessages they receive from the KMA?

2.6 SUMMARY OF CHAPTER

This chapter seeks to review literature of the study. Itimportant to review the literature for two main reasons:firstly, helps the researcher to generate and refineresearch ideas.Secondly, refers critical review which is part of the finalresearch project. The literature review helps the researcherto demonstrate his/her awareness of the current state ofknowledge in the subject matter, its limitations and how theresearch fits in the wider context.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter covers the methodology of the study. It takes into account the entire research design that is; methods to be adopted in the sampling, technique, sample size of the study, the nature and source of data, and the way these datawill be collected and analyzed.

3.2 RESEARCH METHOD

Research method is the road map for undertaking a systematicresearch of phenomena of interest (Marshal, 1997). The

literature review for the study will stipulate Media Relations Strategies Analysis and Corporate Reputation survey. Qualitative method of data collection will be applied for the study.

3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN

This research falls under the exploratory category. This design can also be called ‘formulative’ design. This means that the aim of the research is establishing the role of media relations in KMA, and the perception that surrounds itin the dispensation of their duties. It again aims at finding out why.

This kind of study necessitates the knowledge of history andnew insights of the research problem to understand events and situations. This will give more understanding to the Media Relations practices and help in constructing scientific explanations. For the purpose of the study explorative design will be used. A survey is a means of collecting information about the characteristics, actions, or opinions of a large group of people, referred to as population (Malhorta & Birks, 2007).

This study will adopt survey strategy because it will use the characteristics, action and opinions of a large representative group from Kumasi.

3.4 POPULATION

The population of employees at Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly is One thousand, three Hundred and Eighty-Three (1383).Respondents will be selected from the Staff at KMA. Out of this figure, Two hundred (200) staff will be the target for the study.

3.5 SAMPLE SIZE & SAMPLING

Non-probability Sampling will be adopted for the study. Due to the difficulty in assembling all the respondents at the same period for this study, it will be prudent to use the accidental/availability sampling, where a collection of readily available respondents are selected. The sample size of the study will be One Hundred (100) which will be selected from the target population two hundred (200) respondents.

3.6 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS

Questionnaires will be used for the data collection for the study. These 100 questionnaires will be given to the selected respondents (staff) of KMA. The questionnaires willcapture bio-data of the respondents, the role of Media Relations Strategies, the Impact of Media Relations Strategies and the Building of Corporate Reputation through

Media Relations Strategies of the Media Relations Departmentat KMA.

3.7 DATA COLLECTION PROCESS

Questionnaires with covering letters will be delivered to potential respondents to eliminate the unreliability of the postal system. The first draft of the questionnaire will be pre-tested in a selected manner. This will help in fine-tuning the tools for possible re-design; reduce each tool for the data collection and the relevance of the study.

3.8 DATA ANALYSIS PLAN

After data has been obtained from the respondents, it will be analyzed

with software called Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).

The SPSS offers a full range of contemporary statistical methods. It

also has a good editing and labeling facilities as well as ability to

produce output in both report and table formats and handles missing

data with ease.

.3.9 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

At the commencement of the study, the researchers will acknowledge some ethical considerations such as treatment of confidential information. The researchers therefore will seek a

formal permission to undertake this research from the PR office of the KMA. Furthermore, the researchers will notify all the respondents prior to distribution of the questionnaire to seek their consent in taking part in the survey.

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.0 INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the analyzed data that was collected

through the use of questionnaire. A total of 100 questionnaires

were sent out, and 96 representing 96% returned and have been

analyzed for this section. The items on the instruments have been

analyzed and presented thematically in this chapter.

Demographic data of respondents

Table 1: Gender of respondents

Gender Category

Frequency Percent

Male 54 56.2Female 42 43.8Total 96 100.0As shown in table 1, 54 (56.2%) of the respondents were male and 42 (43.8%) were female.

Table 2: Age of respondents

Age category Frequency Percent21-30 years 22 22.931-40 years 48 50.041-50 years 18 18.851-60 years 8 8.3Total 96 100According to table 2 above, 22.9%, 50.0%, 18.8% and 8.3% of the respondents at the study area were between 21-30 years, 31-40 years, 41-50 years and 51-60 years and above respectively.

Table 3: The educational distribution of respondents

Education level

categories

Frequency Percent

Primary 3 3.1Secondary 30 31.2Tertiary 61 63.5Other 2 2.1Total 96 100.0

As indicated in table 3, 3.1% of the respondents have completed

primary school, 31.2% have secondary education, and 63.5% for tertiary

education and 2.1% also have other levels of education, which were not

mentioned in the table above.

Less than a year

1-5 years 5-10 years 10 years and above

051015202530354045

How long have you been working with Kumasi Metroplitan Assembly?

Figure 1: A bar chart showing the length of years respondents have worked with Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly.

Figure 1, above shows how long the respondents have` been working

at the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, 15% of the respondents have

been working at KMA for less than one year, 41% of the