2. What exactly does Community Relation mean?
A Community is a group of people who live in the same place, share the
same government, and have a common cultural and historical heritage.
Business organizations are among the more important community
institutions. Business serves the community by providing regular
employment, reasonable wages, and financial benefits; by purchasing
goods and services from local suppliers; by paying taxes to local
government; by contributing to charities and cultural projects.
People on their part, supply skilled labor, management personnel, and
investment capital; and consumes the goods and services which business
produces.
3. Benefits of good Community Relations
There are various benefits of good community relations to both business
organizations and people.
Business Organizations have found that recruiting of employees is
facilitated if a company is known in its community as a “good company to
work for”.
Employees and people prefer to work in a community where they can send
their children to good schools; enjoy facilities for recreation; cultural
attractions; and sports; live in attractive houses and have transportation
facilities.
Hence, Good Community relations secure local identity for the plant or
store of a national corporation and allay community mistrust of absentee
ownership.
4. Program Objectives
The objectives of community relations programs are influenced by the size of the
community and its needs, as well as the resources and public relations goals of
companies sponsoring the programs. Some principal objectives are:
1.To inform the community about a company’s policies, operations and problems
and to tell the story of what it makes, how many people it employees, the size of
its payroll, what it pays in taxes and what it contribute to the social and economic
life of the locality.
2.To inform the employees connected with the organizations about its operations
and to stimulate them to pass this information along to their friends and neighbors
in the community.
3.To establish a company as an important factor in community life through
contributions to local institutions and participation in neighborhood affairs.
5. Continued..
4.To find out what the community is thinking and saying about the
company and its policies and operations.
5.To promote the welfare of the community by advertising its attractions
to tourists and its resources and industrial potential to attract new
industry.
6. To cooperate with schools and colleges by providing educational
materials and furnishing training facilities and equipment.
7. To provide cultural leadership by encouraging a greater appreciation of
art, music, and drama.
7. The community is interested in the:
nature of a company’s business
number of employees
average earnings
total payroll in the community
number of local stakeholders
cooperate investment in local property
products produced
local expenditures for fuel
contribution to community welfare
research and development
financial status and growth potential
9. Before initiating a community –relations program, a
company should know the attitudes of local citizens towards
the company should know the attitudes of local citizens
towards the company and equally important, the
civic, social, political, and economic problems of the
community.This information can be determined through
opinion surveys. A periodical survey enables a company to
determine specific likes and dislikes of the consumers and to
determine how much the community knows about the
company and its products.
It is a common practice for large operations to make a survey
before locating in community.The attitudes thus revealed
will give purpose to a community –relations
programs, suggesting areas of information which are lacking
, misconceptions which require corrections.
11. The principal media of community communications are
Newspaper, radio, and television advertising.
Press , radio, and television publicity; company
publications; open houses and plant tours, public
speaking meeting with opinion leaders, visits to
community institutions, motion pictures, exhibits and
displays, annual reports and institutional literature.
13. >> Management recognizes an obligation to
contribute to the welfare of the community not only by
paying taxes but also by furnishing cultural
leadership, educational assistance, aid to health
agencies, aid to agriculture, and service to youth
, community -promotion and community –
improvement activities and social welfare work.
>> Sponsorship of cultural activities creates the
goodwill among people in communities by making it
possible for them to enjoy music, art, and drama.
14. >> Educational assistance is a feature of the community
relations programs which has proved rewarding to many
corporations.
>> Community heath is directly related to the welfare of
employees and industrial production. Employees are
encouraged to participate in community blood donor
campaigns, chest X-ray drivers, and fund raising for
handicapped children and medical research.
>> To encourage new industry, attract tourists and stimulate
local trade, corporations sponsor and promote programs to
develop the industrial, agricultural, and economic resources of
the area served by them.
15. Organisations
▪ A community relations program in multi-plant corporations
is the responsibility of local plant manager assisted by a
plant community-relations manager.
▪ In small plants, community relations is the part time
responsibility of the personnel staff.
▪ A basic community relation program is developed by the
headquarters public relations in multi-plant organisations
which plan and prepare releases and provide advice and
assistance to local plant managers.
16. Employees’ Role
▪ As citizens of the community in which a company
operates, employees are the best persons to speak for its
policies; their words and actions have an important
influence on corporate relations.
▪ Employee participation in civic affairs is an important index
of the effectiveness of a community-relations programme.
If employees participate in civic affairs and if they are
informed about company’s policies, practices and
contributions to the welfare of the community, the
company has a strong foundation upon which to build its
community-relations program.
