The Role of Measurement and Evaluation in Achieving Public Relations’ Goals in Selected Kenyan Parastatals
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Date
2016-06
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Daystar University, School of Communication
Abstract
Organizations have realized public relations (PR) as a function of management and for it to be fully effective in the managerial role there has to be a way to measure achievement. Measurement and evaluation is the key to any successful public relations efforts, not only in the business world, but also in the non-profit and government sectors. The study sought to establish whether PR practitioners in selected Kenyan parastatals measure and evaluate their activities. It identified the approaches and the tools used to measure and evaluate PR activities. It examined the specific contributions of measurement and evaluation in achieving goals of PR departments. Finally, it found out the challenges PR professionals face in undertaking measurement and evaluation in selected parastatals in Kenya. The research used descriptive research design and 119,689 employees of parastatals formed the population of the study. Non-probability sampling method specifically purposive sampling technique was used to identify state corporations that have a PR department. The sample size was 50 respondents and the researcher distributed questionnaires and conducted in-depth interviews. A data analysis software analyzed quantitative data and qualitative data was analyzed by looking for patterns of relationship that exist among data-groups was searched manually and was used to augment the quantitative data. The main contribution of this study lies in the exposure of the approaches and tools used by PR departments in selected parastatals to achieve goals. Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE), intuition and media monitoring were the main approaches used by practitioners. This is in contrast with PR studies and literature that puts impact and outcomes of the publics as the main achievement of any PR department. Practitioners should speak in management’s language about sales, productivity, and Return on Investment (ROI) to prove PR effectiveness. The study recommended that PR departments should have a degree of standardization against which to plan, measure and evaluate activities in line with the goals of the organization.
Description
MASTER OF ARTS in Communication
Keywords
public relations, function of management, PR practitioners
Citation
Nyakamba, J. N. (2016). The Role of Measurement and Evaluation in Achieving Public Relations’ Goals in Selected Kenyan Parastatals. Daystar University, School of Communication