GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH MA PUBLIC RELATIONS ., , \ . I • . , THE ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL IN A PUBLIC SERVICE ORGANISATION: A STUDY OF THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION - ACCRA JANET AKUTOR ASAMOAH MAPR 16016 A STUDY SUBMITTED TO THE GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQU IREMENTS FOR THE A WARD OF MA IN PUBLI C RELATIONS OCTOBER 2017 STUDENT'S DECLARATION I hereby declare that this study is the result of my own research and that no part of it or its entirety has been presented to any institution for any award. All references have been duly acknowledged. I am responsible for any shortcoming in this research work . Janet Akutor Asamoah (Student) Signature:~tI\1. ... .. SUPERVISOR'S DECLARATION I hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of this study were supervised by me in accordance with the guidelines on supervision of research work laid down by the School of Graduate Studies and Research (SoGSaR) of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) - Accra. Mr. Prosper Tom Quarshie I 1ntt- o--c:iuW..-~ Mil· Date: ...... ... ........................... , (Supervi sor) '#/, S ignature :~~JJ~ .. . . ABSTRACT The main objective of the study was to examine whether public relations is a management tool and whether PR practitioners perform modern PR roles and functions in the public service of Ghana particularly at the MESTI towards achieving its overall organisational goals and to identify the challenges PR practitioners face in the public service in the delivery of their duties and services. The study was underpinned by the roles theory and systems theory. The mixed method to research was used in data collection, specifically structured interview guides and questionnaires were used in gathering the data for analysis. The quantitative data was analysed and interpreted using SPSS, paying particular attention to frequency and percentage while the qualitative data was recorded, transcribed and analysed in relation to whether PR is a management tool and whether PR practitioners perform modem PR roles and functions in the Public Service and in the MESTI in particular towards achieving its overall organisational goals and objectives. The study revealed that, though there are a few misgivings as to why PR should be part of the dominant coalition, the Public Service organogram positioned it to as such to coordinate all communication related activities of all government institutions including the MESTI. It was recommended that the management of the MESTI should provide the necessary financial assistance, logistics, improve on how it communicates with its publics especially the internal publics. In summary, top management was advised to give motivational incentives to enable the PR department of function more efficiently and effectively to ensure that the image and reputation of the Ministry is well managed since the internal publics are the mirror that reflects the Ministry and its ideologies. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My utmost gratitude goes to the Almighty God who has taken me through this study and has brought me this far by grace. I am nothing without God. I wish to thank all those who in diverse ways have offered assistance and advice during the course of my study and in the preparation of this dissertation especially, Ben Asumaning (DirectorlRSIM - MESTI), Nasir Ahmed Yartey (PRO - MESTI). My hearty thanks goes to Arimiyaw Adam (my special Advisor), Dr. Wilberforce Sefakor Dzisah and Rockson Sapey for their words of encouragement and moral support. Thank you all including those I am not able mention here. I am also very grateful to my able supervisor, Mr. Prosper Tom Quarshie, whose advice and guidance led to the successful completion of this dissertation. May the Lord Almighty bless you abundantly. iii DEDICATION I wish to dedicate this dissertation to my loving husband, Henry Kofi Asamoah for his patience, love, encouragement and support during my study. To my dad and siblings, it is your prayers and words of encouragement that have brought me this far in education. Finally, to Ms. Christine Aku Fugar for her love, support and prayers during my study. May the almighty God richly bless you all. iv BS CEO CG CM CT DA DC FT GC GIJ GTUC HODs IA ICT IGF 10 IPR ISD MA MDAs MESTI MoC ACRONYMS Boundary Spanner Chief Executive Officer Core Government Communication Manager Communication Technician Deductive Approach Dominant Coalition Frequency Table Government Council Ghana Institute of Journalism Ghana Telecom University College Head of Departments Inductive Approach Information Communication Technology Internally Generated Funds Information Officer Institute of Public Relations Information Services Department Master of Arts Ministries, Departments and Agencies Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry of Communication v MUCG OECD PC PO PR PRAG PRO PRP PRP PRSA PS PSC R&D RSIM RUC SOEs SPSS TOR UN WB Methodist University Col/ege Ghana Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Pie Chart Public Opinion Public Relations Public Relations Association of Ghana Public Relations Officer Public Relations Practitioner Public Relations Publics Public Relations Society of America Public Service Public Services Commission Research and Development Research, Statistical and Information Management Regent University Col/ege State Owned Enterprises Statistical Package for tile Social Sciences Terms of Reference United Nations World Bank vi LIST OF TABLES Table 4.4.1 ..................................................................................................... 88 Table 4.4.2 ..................................................................................................... 89 Table 4.4.3 ..................................................................................................... 90 Table 4.4.4 ..................................................................................................... 91 Table 4.4.5 ..................................................................................................... 91 Table 4.7.1 ................................................................................................... 1 00 Table 4.7.2 ................................................................................................... 101 Table 4.7.3 ................................................................................................... 102 Table 4.7.4 ................................................................................................... 102 Table 4.7.5 ................................................................................................... 103 Table 4.8.2 ................................................................................................... 105 Table 4.8.3 ................................................................................................... 1 06 Table 4.9.1 ................................................................................................... 109 Table 4.9.2 ................................................................................................... 109 Table 4.9.3 ................................................................................................... 110 Table 4.9.4 ................................................................................................... 110 Table 4.9.5 ................................................................................................... 111 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.S.1 ..•.••................•..................•....................•.•.....................•.•........... 92 Figure 4.S.2 ......................•................................•............•.•........................•.... 93 Figure 4.S.3 ...•....................••......................•.......•....•..................•..••......•.••..... 94 Figure 4.S.4 ..........................••.......•.............•.•............••......•......................•.... 9S Figure 4.5.5 .................................................................................................... 96 Figure 4.6.1 ..........................•................•••.........••..•....•..•.•..•..•....•••....•........... 97 Figure 4.6.2 ....•..........•................•.•.•......•...•.•....•............................................• 98 Figure 4.6.3 .•.•...........•..•..•..........•.....•.•..•............•....••..•.••.••..•.....................••••• 99 Figu re 4.8.1 .••..•.••..••••....••••••••••.•••••.•..•....•.•••••••••••••.••.••.••.••.•••••••••.•••.•..•..•..•••• 1 04 Figure 4.8.4 ...•...........••.....................•.•••..•.............•.............•.••.••••••.••.••....••.•• 107 Figure 4.8.5 ................................................................................................... 108 viii TABLE OF CONTENT Contents STUDENT'S DECLARATION .....................................................•.....................•.......•...............•............•................. i ABSTRA CT ..............................................................................................•.................................................................. ii ACKN'OWLEDGEMENT ..........................•........................................••......••...............•...•..•.......••....................•..•.... iii DEDICATION ..........................•......•.......•...............................•.....................................•.•...........•............•.......•........ iv ACRONyMS .................................••..............••.........................•.......•........•...............•..........•...........•..••....................•. v LIST OF TABLES .........................•.......•............•.......•....................................................•..•...........••..•.......••..........•. vii LIST OF FIGURES .......................................•................................................................................................•........ viii TABLE OF CONTENT .•........................................................................................................................................... ix 1.1 CHAPTER OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.3 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ................................................................................................... 3 1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT ............................................................................................................... 5 1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDy ....................................................................................................... 7 1.5.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................ 7 1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................... 8 1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDy .................................................................................................................. 9 1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ..................................................................................................... 9 1.9 ORGANISATION OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................... 10 1.10 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS ................................................................................. 12 CHAPTER TWO ...............................•.........•....................•.....••........••..•................•..•........•......•..•............................ 18 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW ...............•............................•.........•......•..... 18 2.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 18 2.2 AN OVERVIEW AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE 18 2.3 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE ................................................................................................................................................ 23 2.3.1 PUBLIC SERVICE OF GHANA ............................................................................................. 26 2.3.2 PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE IN GHANA ..................................................................... 31 2.3.3 BACKGROUND OF THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION (MESTI) - GHANA .............................................................................................. 34 2.4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................. 38 ix 2.5 DEFINITION OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND PUBLIC RELA TIONS ............................................. 44 2.5.1 WHAT IS PUBLIC SERVICE AND PUBLIC RELATIONS? ................................................. 44 2.5.2 PUBLIC RELATIONS FUNCTIONS ...................................................................................... 49 2.5.3 PR TOOLS .............................................................................................................................. 51 2.6 PR PUBLICS .................................................................................................................................. 52 2.7 REVIEW OF PREVIOUS WORKS ON PR PRACTICE IN GHANA ............................................ 55 CHAPTER THREE ............................•.............•....•.................•.......•.......•...........•..........•.......•................................. 65 METHODOLOGY ..............•............................•.................................................•..........•......•...........•.........••............ 65 3.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 65 3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................................................................................... 65 3.3 RESEARCH POPULATION .......................................................................................................... 70 3.4 SAMPLE AND SAMPLmG TECHNIQUE .................................................................................... 70 3.5 SAMPLE SIZE ............................................................................................................................... 72 3.6 SOURCE OF DATA AND INSTRUMENTS USED ........................................................................ 72 3.7 DATA COLLECTION, HANDLING AND ANALYSIS PROCEDURES ....................................... 73 CHAPTER FOUR ...........................•..........................................•....................•.............•.....••...................•................ 74 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION ....................................................•.....••.•................•......•............••. 74 4.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 74 4.2 QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS ............................................................................... " ......................... 75 4.3 TOP MANAGEMENT MEMBER .................................................................................................. 84 4.4 QUANTIT ATIVE ANAL YSIS ........................................................................................................ 88 4.5 PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT (PR DEPARTMENT) ..................................................... 92 4.6 PUBLIC RELATIONS ROLES ...................................................................................................... 97 4.7 COMMUNICATION WITH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PUBLICS ........................................... 100 4.8 COMMUNICATION POLICY ISSUES ............................................................................................. 104 4.9 CHALLENGES IN THE DELIVERY OF PR ACTIVITIES .............................................................. 109 CHAPTER FIVE .........................................................................................................•...............•.......................... 112 DISCUSSION, SUMMARY, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION .............................................................. 112 5.1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 112 5.2 SUMMARY OF THE MAJOR FINDINGS ........................................................................................ 112 5.3 SUGGESTIONS ............................................................................................................................ 116 5.4 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 118 x 5.5 LIMITATITIONS OF THE STUDY .................................................................................................... 119 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................................... 120 APPENDIX .............................................................................................................................................................. 124 APPENDIX A .......................................................................................................................................................... 125 APPENDIX B .......................................................................................................................................................... 130 APPENDIX C .......................................................................................................................................................... 133 APPENDIX D .......................................................................................................................................................... 138 xi CHAPTER ONE 1.1 CHAPTER OVERVIEW This chapter covers the introduction, background, problem statement, objectives, significance, scope and limitations, operational definition of terms and organization of the study. 1.2 INTRODUCTION Right from creation rendering a service to mankind rather than one's self is a natural phenomenon that has come to stay. Therefore, it is not surprising that today there is a sector called the public service where services are being provided by governments to people living within its jurisdiction; either directly or by financing provision of services. The name public service is normally associated with a social consensus which is usually expressed through democratic elections that certain services should be made available to all, irrespective of their income, physical ability or mental status. By extension and for social and political reasons such services are well structured in a manner that they are usually subjected to regulations to prevent or avoid misuse and corruption. In a similar development, 'word' was used to create the world and fast forwarding it today suggests that it has been the oldest tool for one person to communicate to another for a mutual understanding and co­ existence. But with time, mastering 'words' for communication calls for skills and certain clouts that will further enhance relationship between two entities, organisations or societies. Leaders in virtually every great 1 society throughout history understood the importance of influencing public opinion through persuasion. But in the tum of the 21 5t century, all elements of society, companies, non-profit organisations, governments and other institutions are wrestling with constant shifts in technology, economics, security and popular opinion, in all this, the public relations profession is expected to thrive because increasing numbers of organisations are interested in communicating their stories due to the complexities in the global world. It is in this light that every government institution must have a prudent and vibrant public relations or communications department or practitioners mediating on behalf of and for its publics. Here, communication or public relations department's mandate is to give regular information on policies, legislations, regulations, plans and achievements of its organisation or the sector it stands for. Also, help to educate the various publics on its policies, regulations and any other issue that affects its publics in a mutually beneficial manner. Research shows that three major factors shape the landscape of global public relations, it includes the rapid development of the public relations field, its leading role in assisting the world economy, and the democratization of information worldwide (Wilcox, 2006). This means that more and more organisations and institutions are recognising PR as an integral part of the dominant coalition for a lasting solution because public relations practice has become the most powerful communication tool driving the world economy through the concept of information communication technology (lCT) and globalisation. In summary, my study seeks to investigate whether Public Relations' role is constructively practiced as a management tool at MESTI, a public service organisation. 2 1.3 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY Basically, a profession is considered as an activity that requires specialized training, knowledge, qualification and skills. Therefore, professions around the world are guided by certain agreed standards to aid them as they go about their duties. For example, the entry point of Public Relations in the public sector according to Alison Theaker (2001 :219) started with the formation of the Crombie Committee in 1947. The said committee established certain terms of reference (TOR) leading to the creation of professional group of civil servants to provide formidable relation between government and the media. This committee came out with a report regarding the role of an Information Officer as follows: • to create and maintain an informed opinion about subjects with which each department deals • to use all methods of publicity where suitable to help the department achieve its purpose • to assist and advise in all matters bearing on relations between the department and the public and • to advise the department on the public's reaction to the policies or actions of the department Crowning the above points was a further insistence that a Public Relations Officer (PRO) must have direct access to the Minister, so that his work and that of his subordinates would bring them into direct relation with all branches of the organisation at all levels. In addition, the PRO should be made aware of all developments in the policy of the department at the earliest practicable moment and should be consulted on matters relating either to the information of the public or to the response of the public. All these points go to support the clarion calls by scholars and professional bodies that PR must be part of Dominant Coalition (DC), that is the highest decision making body of all organisations. Some professional bodies define PR as the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organisation's leadership and implementing planned programmes of action 3 serving both the organization and the public interest. Practicalizing this definition on the African continent, Wu and Baah-Boakye, 2008b, said ifPR is viewed as a strategic management function in Africa, it will help African corporations to respond to economic, social and political changes in information technology and social institutions effectively. An efficient public relations practice is a strong pillar which transforms lots of organisations in the new era of information communication technology (ICT) and globalisation of the world market. It becomes the means through which organisations effectively monitor and interact with other key groups within the organisational environment. This is the reason why it has to move from being all about disseminating information (press agentry and pUblicity) to relationship building and management. Effective PR practice is the means through which organisations monitor and interact with key groups within their internal and external environment. Over the years, PR has moved from being all about disseminating of information to relationship management. Modern researchers have proven that, for PR to play its role effectively, it must be part of the dominant coalition and be strategically positioned. However a cursory observation at the PR department of the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) shows that it lacks modern PR management trends. With regard to these issues, my study seeks to investigate and examine the challenges leading to that and possibly recommend few strategies for a lasting solution. 4 1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT According to Kirat 2005, Public relations as a term is often misunderstood and misused. Budd, 1991 also asserts that, the way PR is practiced often reduces it to mere transmitter of information. The ability of the public relations practitioner in performing his or her roles and functions effectively to influence decisions taken by the dominant coalition still remains a dilemma in most public sector organisations in Africa and Ghana in particular. There seems to be a lack of understanding and agreement between PR practitioners and the dominant coalition (major decision making body within organisations) about the roles and functions that PR perform in organisations. If these unfortunate decisions continue, the performance of PR roles and functions will not sync with the organisation's goals and objectives. A typical example is where most organisations mistake Public Relations for Protocol Services only and so do not see how it should be a management tool. This mentality is negatively affecting the practice of Public Relations in the public service of Ghana today and MESTI is of no exception. The problem with the roles public relations play in the public service is how to effectively communicate with their internal and external publics because most of their communications do not seek feedback. These limitations are due to the laid down systems that the public service operates with. The public service has a planned structure which controls its administration. The sessional activities of the public service determine its level of acceptance by its publics thereby the success of its performance and such achievements cannot be reached without public relations playing a key role as a powerful image building tool that organisations cannot do without in this 21 5t century. So if PR is relegated to the background, it becomes a challenge that must be settled, hence my study into examining PR as a management tool in a public sector organisation. 5 The general public has its own perceptions about the public service as a whole. The combination of perceptions and opinions from the various publics determine the total corporate image and reputation of an organisation. This makes it difficult for public relations practice to identify itself with programmes within the public sector. Thus, PR roles are considered subordinated to other organisational functions. It is in this light that Kotler (1994), generally described PR as a marketing stepchild and an after-thought to more serious promotional and strategic planning. The fact is, PR's value is more than what other professions perceive it to be because, it is the most powerful brand management tool when used in sync with an organisation's goals and objectives in promoting the values of the organisation and touching on its bottom line. The prevailing consensus is that a lot of PR practitioners work as technicians rather than managers in the public service organisations. Dozier 1992 wraps it up that, unless PR activities are considered as management role, the organisational perception and understanding of roles PR performs will be minimised. In summary, this seemingly difficulty in identifying how PR is practiced in the public service of Ghana has necessitated my study into this area with particular attention to the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) Accra. As a result of the aforementioned circumstances, my research empirically seeks to examine the roles that the PR practitioners perform within the public service of Ghana as well as the challenges that come along in the performance of such roles in accordance with the goals and objectives of the public service with particular attention to the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) - Accra. 6 1.S OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY This research seeks to examine whether PR is a management tool and whether PR practitioners perform modem PR roles and functions in the public service particularly at the MESTI towards achieving its overall organisational goals. The specific objectives of this study are: 1. To find out whether PR is a management tool in the public service. 2. To examine the roles and functions played by the PR practitioner in the public service. 3. To access the various means the PR department communicates with its internal and external publics. 4. To find out if there is a policy underpinning the practice public relations in the public service. 5. To examine the challenge Public Relations Practitioners face in the public service in the delivery of PR activities. 1.5.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS This research seeks to find answers to questions such as: 1. Is PR a management tool in the public service? 2. What PR roles and functions do PR practitioners play in the public service? 3. What means does the PR department ofMESTI communicate with its internal and external publics? 4. Is there any policy underpinning the practice of PR in the public service? 5. Are there any challenges the PR practitioners face in the delivery of their PR activities within the public service? 7 1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The result of this study would reveal the roles and functions PR practitioners perform in some public services as well as unveil the challenges PR practitioners face in the delivery of their services. It would serve as a means of educating the top management of the public service to know the value of professional PR practice and how it could help in projecting good corporate image and reputation of the public service to its publics and adding to its bottom line. It would add to existing knowledge about the practice of PR in general and the public service of Ghana in particular. By extension, this study sought to clear all negative perceptions people have with regard to the practice of PR and particularly about public service organisations. People usually perceive PR practice as propaganda, protocol service or a glorified messenger. By the end of this investigation most of the dilemmas concerning the practice would be unveiled. Public service officers in places of authority would acquire an in-depth understanding of the benefits and the importance of PR practice to organisations, be it public or private. Researchers would also refer to findings from this research as a source of secondary data when conducting related studies in the future. 8 1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY This study is limited to the Ministry of Environment Science Technology and Innovation (MESTI) - Accra. It is to examine public relations as a management tool in a public service organisation with particular attention to the roles and functions PR performs and the challenges that come along with the practice of PR within the public service of Ghana with particular attention to MESTI, Accra. The study adopted both inductive and deductive approaches to data gathering and analysis. Specifically, a structured interview guide and a questionnaire are the key methods of gathering data for analysis. The study would adopt a mixed method approach to enable the researcher to directly engage with the focal persons and probe beneath their delineated roles and functions to explore the actual factors which shape their practice and to find out the perceptions of other members of the sample population on whether the role ofPR is seen as a management tool in the public service or not with a particular attention to the MESTI. 1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY This study is not without some inherent limitations. First of all, there is relatively little literature on the Ghanaian situation with regard to the history of the practice of Public Relations in the public service. Secondly, owing to the limited time available for conducting this study, the sample size has been kept to a minimum. This study was limited to the management and staff of the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) - Accra. 9 1.9 ORGANISATION OF THE STUDY The research is presented in five chapters: Chapter One: This covers the introduction, consisting of the background, problem statement, objectives, significance, scope and limitations, operational definition of terms and organization of the study. This chapter introduces the basic literature on the topic the researcher wishes to investigate. It goes on further to talk about the actual gap which has been identified and set objectives and structures that guide the study. Chapter Two: This chapter covers the history of PR practice, theoretical framework and literature review which are bodies of text that aim to review the critical points of current knowledge on the topic of study. The ultimate goal is to bring the reader up to date with current literature on the topic of the study and to form the basis for justification for future research in this area. Chapter Three: Here, the main issue has to do with data gathering processes and how they relate to the topic of the study. It is specifically composed of the research design, population, sampling, data collection and data analysis. Chapter Four: This chapter covers data analysis and interpretation of the findings of data collection from some selected individuals in the MESTI. The analysis dwells on the following: • Fifty (50) usable questionnaires, • Two (2) structured interviews (PRO, Top Management Member of MESTI). 10 Chapter Five: This chapter discusses summary of results of the analysed data in chapter four (i.e. Data Presentation and Analysis). It also covers the limitations of the study and draws conclusions based on the findings as well as making reasonable suggestions. 11 1.10 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTITIONER In this study, public relations practitioner refers to the person who is involved in decision making in an organisation in order to establish and maintain mutual lines of communication, understanding and cooperation between an organisation and its publics and also serving as an early warning system to anticipate trends and counsel management. This is the major roles PR performs. PUBLIC RELATIONS Public relations, is commonly defined as an organisational subsystem which helps the organization to define and maintain its boundaries. With reference to Edward Bemays, PR in this study refers to "information given to the public, persuasion directed at the public to modify attitudes and actions, .and efforts to integrate attitudes and actions of an institution with its publics and of publics with those of that institution". It is a planned process to influence public opinion through sound character and proper performance based on mutually satisfactory two-way communication. 12 MANAGEMENT Management according to Koontz and Weilrich, 1994 is defined as "the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups efficiently accomplish selected aims". In this study management is defined as the attainment of organizational goals in an efficient and effective manner through planning, organizing, leading and controlling organizational resources. BOUNDARY SPANNING ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Boundary spanning is an academic term used for developing external relationships in order to accomplish set goals and objectives. According to this study, the boundary spanning role ofPR is to build and maintain relationships between organizations and their environment. The main understanding is how the PR practitioner interacts with others outside his or her profession to create relationships with the organization and its environment aimed at achieving set goals and objectives. BQUNDARYSPANNER With reference to this study, the boundary spanner is the PR practitioner who conveys information and influence between the constituent group and outside groups and vice versa. He or she represents the perceptions, expectations and ideas of each side to the other. The PR practitioner represents management philosophy to external publics and interprets the concerns of external publics to the organization's management team. 13 PUBLIC OPINION According to this study, public opinion is a collective distribution of individual preferences and evaluations on given issues, policies and persons. DOMINANT COALITION The dominant coalition is the network of individuals within and around an organisation that most influence the mission and goals of an organisation. The dominant coalition maintains an influence on the goals of an organisation through informal means rather than formal channels. This allows individuals other than formal leadership to manipulate the goals of an organisation. Top management members are usually but not exclusively members of the dominant coalition because membership can be constituted internally, externally or both. In this study, the dominant coalition refers to the highest decision making body within the public service of Ghana. INDUCTIVE APPROACH (QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHOD) Inductive approach to research starts with observations through which theories are proposed towards the end of the research process. At the beginning, there will not be any need for theories or hypothesis and so the researcher is free to alter the direction of the study after the research process has started. It is important to note that the inductive approach does not disregard theories when formulating questions and objectives. This approach aims to generate meaning from data collected in order to identify patterns and relationships to build a theory. A typical example of this theory was adopted by Emile Durkheim (1897) in a book entitled 14 suicide. However it does not prevent a researcher from using an existing theory to formulate research questions that are meant to be explored. This approach is based on learning from experience. It is usually referred to as the bottom-up approach in which a researcher uses observations to describe a picture of the phenomenon that is being studied. DEDUCTIVE APPROACH (QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHOD) The deductive approach is considered by many to be the standard for scientific research. With deductive approach, a researcher tests a theory by collecting and examining empirical evidence to see if it is true. According to Wilson (2010), the deductive approach constitutes developing of an assumption based on the existing theories and forming a research plan to test the assumption. This approach can be explained using the assumption driven from theory. When a deductive method is applied for a research project, the author formulates a set of hypotheses that need to be tested using a relevant methodology to test the hypothesis. Deductive reasoning has specific characteristics that needs be understood. If the premises of deductive reasoning are accepted, then, the conclusion must necessarily be accepted. In addition, deductive argument can be described as a general to specific (top-down) reasoning process. 15 COMMUNICATION TECHNICIAN The communication technician is not involved in organisational decision making but implements PR programmes, such as writing press releases, organising events and production of communication materials. For example, the said technician will practically be present in a printing press to ascertain the quality of printing materials before mass production is done for a client. This exercise is a sign of implementing and upholding management's decision on agreed communication strategies. EXPERT PRESCRIBER The Expert prescriber acts as a consultant, researches and defines PR problems, develops programmes to tackle these problems and oversees their implementation. COMMUNICATION FACILITATOR The Communication facilitator acts as a communication broker by maintaining two-way communication between an organisation and its publics, liaising, interpreting and mediating. This is to say he/she performs a boundary spanning role between the organisation and its environment. 16 THE PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS FACILITATOR The Problem-solving process facilitator is the PR person who partners with senior management to identify and solve communication problems by acting as a counsellor on the planning and implementation of programmes. This role is usually fulfilled by specialist consultancies as well as the in-house person. 17 CHAPTER TWO THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter covers the history ofPR practice, theoretical framework and literature review which are bodies of text that aim to review the critical points of current knowledge on the topic of study. The ultimate goal is to bring the reader up to date with current literature on the topic of my study and to form the basis for justification for future research in this area. 2.2 AN OVERVIEW AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE Public relation is the lifeblood of any organisation. Whether an organisation is public or private, profit or non-profit, its reputation will determine its ultimate success. Instant worldwide communications make it more important than ever to manage an organisation's image and control how an organisation interacts with its publics. Public relations failures can seriously undermine the effectiveness of management and compromise an organisation's credibility. To keep things running smoothly, the public relations practitioner must be proactive and on top of issues. The PR practitioner must perform his or her boundary spanning roles effectively to achieve best results. Moreover, the public service which is part of the executive branch of government machinery charged with policy formulation and policy implementation holds the destiny of the country to a large extent on the efficiency and effectiveness of its performance to provide a professional and technical support for the 18 development and transformation of Ghana. It is the main administrative tool that governments use in the delivery of their goals and objectives to the publics that they serve. The public service however has a historical beginning which is linked to the civil service reforms. However, the need for effective public relations in an increasingly competitive business environment should push the demand for public relations practitioners in organisations of all types and sizes. Public relations practice as a field has grown immeasurably and today, it is clearly a grown industry according to (Seitel, 2007). Having seen how the practice of public relations look like currently, it is necessary to trace the profession to the history behind it. For example, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, within the US, Public Relations is a multibillion-dollar business practiced by 158,000 professionals and the employment of public relations practitioners is expected to increase faster than the average compared to other occupations through 2012 Ibid. Likewise, the public service traces its origin to the colonial period reforms, during that time the major aim Was to establish a service with a main task of maintaining law and order while providing the necessary framework for the opening up and exploitation of the Gold Coast as stated by (Boachie-Danquah, 2006). With the inception of independence, the public service of Ghana has played varied roles at various times in responding to the visions and efforts of different governments to achieve a rapid development Ibid. For example, in the 1960s, the public service of Ghana was actively involved in the accelerated provision of socio-economic infrastructure in education, health, transportation, telecommunications, electricity, insurance, etc while the 1970s witnessed expansion and the practicalization of government's vision of capturing the commanding heights of the economy, Ibid. During the 1980s, there was a fundamental change in approach of roles that the public service play to accommodate the imperatives of economic recovery and adjustment programs which were introduced at the time, resulting among others was the restructuring and 19 cutting down on the size of personnel of the public service as well as the privatisation of some State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) which were involved in production, manufacturing and commerce Ibid., 3. During the early 1990s till now the political environment in Ghana has changed greatly and has affected the public service in several ways but the missing link is, what position has public relations played in all the issues that have happened to the public service since its inception? Moreover, public relations has been with us since creation and has only become a profession in 1903 as Ivy Lee, one of the founding fathers of modem public relations, defined public relations as the actual relationship between the organisation and the people which involves more than a discussion. The relationship between the organisation and its publics must be mutually beneficial based on two-way symmetrical communication model introduced later by Grunig and Hunts in 1984. However, studies made in the area of public service by some international organisations like the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), United Nations (UN) and the World Bank (WB) have revealed that developed countries like Australia, France, Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States of America have revealed bottlenecks in public administration and that public reforms are needed to meet ever changing trends. Though organisational change is not a new concept, it is very important and inevitable because all organisations introduce change from time to time in line with economic trends and other environmental changes according to Oluwanisola (2010). During the industrial revolution which was developed in Europe between the 1750s and 1880s, the rate of change accelerated faster than previously thought possible, other economies followed and the rate of change has never declined up till now (Thomas and Christopher, 2009). 20 The public service needs to embrace public relations practice to streamline its activities for a positive change in its operations. Since the public service already has a structure that it follows, it is necessary to modify it according to the current trends in the job market. The modification of the structure of a system may be good or bad. The impacts of these changes could either be radical or slow on the organisation. As Thomas Christopher (2009) stated, changes disturb the status quo in organisations and so heavy demands are therefore placed on the management of the organisation to take radical, innovative thinking and disciplined actions in response to the challenges. This is when public relations become very relevant as a management tool in strategically positioning itself with management's goals and objectives by playing its boundary spanning roles effectively to investigate and examine both the internal and external environments of the organisation to inform policy formation and implementation which will be mutually beneficial to both parties involved. Public relations activities seek to bridge the gap between an organisation and its publics through the use of a two-way symmetrical communication in a mutually beneficial manner. If PR is neglected, it may affect other parts of the organisation because, organisations work within a planned system with reference to the nature of the business they engage in whether public or private. So what affects one department has a rippling effects on others. Theoretically, the systems theory in PR aids in justifying why public relations as a management tool is the most effective tool organisations must use in this 21 5t century since information communication technology (lCT) and globalisation has turned the world into a global village where goods and services can be accessed anywhere. This calls for organisation to run with the trend if they want to remain relevant and keep their bottom line in mind. 21 A change in any part of an organisation may affect the whole organisation or parts of the organisation in varying degrees of speed and significance. This may affect staff, structure, technology and other elements of an organisation. Change according to (Thomas and Christopher, 2009) may be reactive or proactive in nature. When change takes place due to external forces it is referred to as a reactive change whilst proactive change s initiated by a management of an organisation to promote its goals and objectives. Currently, organisations are challenged by technology leaps, slides in socio-cultural values and globalisation. Change Occurs for a number of reasons such as, new staff roles, increase and decrease in funding, acquisition of new technology, new missions, visions or goals and how to get it to reach the various publics. Public relations playa critical role in all this situations towards achieving the overall 22 2.3 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE GENERAL HISTORY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE The practice of using communication to influence the public is hundreds of years old, with its roots in ancient civilizations, including the Greek and Roman Empires. Throughout history, governments, monarchs and powerful institutions such as the Roman Catholic Church have used communication and information to generate support for their cause among the populace (Grunig and Hunt1984; Cutlip et al. 2006) cited in (Tench and Yeomans, 2009). Leaders in virtually every great society throughout history understood the importance of influencing public opinion through persuasion. For example, a planned persuasion is to reach a specific public for a particular purpose. In ancient Greece, a great premium was put on communication which is the central nervous system of every sound society. Early days in Greece, the services of Sophists were employed to assist in communication related issues from interpretation, fighting of verbal battles, and lobbying with effective communication techniques. The Catholic Church is one of the main architects in the creation of public relations. This is because during the 1600s, under the leadership of Pope Gregory XV, it established a College of Propaganda to enable them spread the catholic faith. In those days, propaganda did not have a negative connotation. To date, the Catholic Church and other religious bodies employ communication experts to assist in the relations with their publics. Similarly, in America, public relations practice dates back to the founding of the republic, influencing public opinion, managing communications and persuading individuals at the highest levels which were the core of 23 the American Revolution. The growth of PR reached its height in America after Ivy Lee, the father of modern public relations helped to open the gates by establishing the idea that high-powered organisations and individuals should take up the responsibility of informing their publics about their activities. Dovetailing into the century, all elements of society, companies, non-profit organisations, governments and other institutions are wrestling with constant shifts in technology, economics, politics, security and popular opinion, the public relations profession is expected to thrive because increasing numbers of organisations are interested in communicating their stories due to the complexities in the global world. The emergence of the concept of public opinion formed the scientific justification for using public relations to inform, educate, persuade and change attitudes and behaviour in our societies. Meanwhile, the practice of public relations has become the most important communication tool driving the world's economy through the concept of globalization and liberalisation of products and services. Meanwhile, the practice of public relations is all about earning credibility based on doing the right thing or acting ethically. As a professional public relations practitioner, it is proper to know the facts about what to communicate bearing in mind your time lines; this involves research, analysis, judgment, decision making power, counselling and planning. Public relations in its modem form originated from the United States of America (Seitel, 2007), because the developmental history was first discussed with reference to the United States of America. Thereafter an overview of international development follows which included most African countries. The western world has well established public relations departments in most of its organisations be it public or private. The definition above covers both public and private sectors, notwithstanding the differences within the two sectors in practice. Public corporations aim to serve the public by providing 24 products and services to serve it better. The public service PR does not rely on profit making but rather on image and reputation building. Public relations management cannot be effective without communication. Communication is at the centre of every human activity, thus it is the oxygen of every social interaction. Communication plays a major role in the practice of effective public relations activity. The practice of PR in the public service is seen as a two-way communication which strives to benefit both the public sector organisations and their publics. Though the practice of PR is relatively young as compared with other professions like marketing, advertising, human resource, the 21 5t century government PR practitioners need new tools to address the changing context of government communication. Nowadays, PR activities are dominated by information communication technologies. The need to understand the importance of media relations as part of the profession is necessary since PR itself is an act of communication. PR is a vital tool that helps all public sector agencies to implement their missions and increase accountability. For example, PR can be used to educate, inform and persuade the citizenry on new programs and services and is cheaper than regulations. In most situations, people mistake public relations for protocol services especially in the public service. PR practitioners usually use external communication tools such as press releases, press conferences, letters etc to report to the citizenry on the accomplishments and stewardship of public organisations or agencies. Social media has become a powerful modern communication tool at the turn of the 21 5t century which has dominated a lot of interactions among PR practitioners who want to become relevant and successful with their interactions between their organisations and pUblics. 25 2.3.1 PUBLIC SERVICE OF GHANA The origins of the Public Services CPS) can be traced back to 1947 when the colonial government accepted the recommendations of the Haragin Committee for the establishment of public services commissions in the colonies, including the Gold Coast, Nigeria, the Gambia and Sierra Leone. The objective for the establishment of the Commissions in the colonies was to effect a desirable consolidation and extension of existing arrangements regarding human resource and other associated matters in order to secure the confidence, fairness and impartiality of the general public and government appointees. In 1948, the Coussey Committee, which was appointed in the aftermath of the 1948 riots to draft a constitution for the country, recommended a full-fledged Public Services Commission (PSC) that would resort to a more rigorous policy of training and appointment of Africans to all Classes of Posts in the Public Service and give preference to African candidates in all appointments, persons with the requisite qualifications. The 1951 Constitution (Order-in-Council) of the Gold Coast Created for the first time, the PSC to advise the Governor on issues relating to Appointments, Transfers and Disciplinary control of the public officers. However, the Governor was not required to necessarily act in accordance with the advice given him by the commission. In 1954, the G.C. Order-in-Council (Constitution) of 1954 made the exercise of the governor's powers, in relation to the Public Service, subject to the recommendation of the PSC - except when the Governor in any particular case directed the contrary. At Independence, the Governor-General was to act on the advice of the PSC in similar matters as in 1954. In the case of "Special Posts", i.e. Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Department, the Governor-General acted on the advice of the Prime Minister, given in consultation with the PSC. The PSC was made fully independent of the Executive. 26 Indeed, the noble objective for the establishment of the PSC for the Gold Coast, now Ghana has not changed. However, it is important to note that the periods immediately after independence up to 1979, the management of the public services human resource was marked with the struggle for identification and emphasis of source of control over the public servant. During these years, the executive authority in the state was much prominent in all matters relating to public or civil servant promotion, transfers and discipline. However, the third Republican Constitution of 1979 restored the position of the PSC in the scheme of managing human resource within the public sector. The drafters of the 1979 constitution reported that "We remain convinced that the only dependable way of guaranteeing the independence and integrity of the Public Service is to remove them from the direct or indirect control of the Executive. We, therefore, propose that the Public Services Commission should be retained in the constitution as the controlling authority of the Public Services, with the responsibility and power to advise on the appointment of persons to hold offices in the Public Services, except in case where the power to advise is entrusted by the constitution to another authority." they emphasized as that "the only way of getting the Public Services back to the required level of efficiency is to propose that the Constitution should state firmly and unequivocally that no member of the Public Services shall be victimized or discriminated against, for having discharged his duties faithfully in accordance with the Constitution. Today, Article (1) of the fourth Republican Constitution of 1992 states that "there shall be a Public Service Commission which shall perform such functions as assigned to it by this Constitution or by any other law. Article 196 of Constitution of 1992 further states that "The Public Services Commission shall have such powers and exercise such SUPERVISORY, REGULATORY AND CONSULTATIVE functions as 27 Parliament shall, by law, prescribe, including as may be applicable, the supervision and regulation of entrance and promotion examinations, recruitment, appointment into or promotions within the Public Services and the establishment of guidelines on the terms and conditions of employment in the public services". The PSC Act, 1994 (Act 482) giving effect to the above constitutional provisions, provides details of the composition of the Commission, its functions and the secretariat that supports the functions of the Commission. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE The Commission consists of a two-tier structure. At the apex of the structure is a nine- member Commission, comprising a Chairman, Vice Chairman, and three other members appointed on full-time basis and four part-time members, one of whom is ex officio, namely the Chairman of the National Council for Tertiary Education. The other three part-time members are persons, with extensive experience in the operation of the public services, appointed in their personal capacities. All Members of the Commission are appointed by the President, on the advice of the Council of State, in accordance with Article 194 of the 1992 Constitution and Section 1 (3) of Act 482. Supporting the Commission is a secretariat made up of the office of the Secretary, three main functional divisions, and one support division, Finance & Administration. 28 i) The Office of the Secretary It consists of the following Units: • Coordinating • Corporate Affairs • Internal Audit ii) The Divisions There are four (4) Divisions which include: Finance and Administration (F &A) Division, comprising • Human Resource Management Unit • Finance (Accounts, Planning and Budgeting) Unit • Administration (Stores, Procurement, Estate, Security and Transport)Unit Human Resource Policy Division (HRPD), which is made of the following Units: • Petitions, Appeals & Grievances • Appointments, Promotions and Discipline • Benefits and Conditions of Service • Human Resource Development & Examinations Management Services Division (MSD), consisting of: • Organisational Systems Reviews and Development Unit • Manpower Planning and Deployment Unit • Performance Management Unit 29 Research, Information, Monitoring & Evaluation (RIME) Division, which is made up of the following Units: I Research, Monitoring and Evaluation • Information Management • Human Resource Information Management 30 2.3.2 PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE IN GHANA The emergence of Public Relations (PR) in Africa and Ghana in particular dates back five decades ago. The application of certain PR techniques originated at the dawn of African civilization. According to Nartey (1988), the concept of PR was practiced in Africa long before colonialism. He drew parallel ideas between the task of a PR practitioner and that of a spokesperson (linguist) at the chiefs palace in traditional African villages. No person spoke directly to the chief, nor had the means to speak directly to the chief. He emphasised that, the concept of PR is neither alien nor a practice that arrived with colonialism, commercialisation and neither through Western media because it existed in the African continent in a different form. In Africa, PR is expressed in the form of music and the beating of drums in communicating messages from the chief to his subjects in the traditional African setting Ibid. Otchere-Daflagbe (2004) on the other hand, stated that, the Ghanaian PR industry employs practices aligned with the Western techniques of PR practice. This can be seen in terms of the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana (IPR, Ghana) using a universally recognised definition of PR: "Public Relations is the management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organisation and its publics on whom its success or failure depends" as asserted by Cutlip, Center, & Broom (2000). Also in its code of ethics, IPR Ghana employs the International Code of Ethics known as the "Code of Athens;" this code was adopted by the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) General Assembly in Athens on 12th May, 1965 (Otchere-Daflagbe, 2004). Otchere-Daflage (2004) states further that the PR industry in Ghana supports a cross section of staff from highly educated professionals to quack practitioners. To distinguish between practitioners and quacks, a group of practitioners came together in 1972 to establish the Public Relations Association of Ghana (PRAG). 31 In the latter part of the 1980s through to the early 1990s, a series of meetings, seminars and fora took place and PRAG metamorphosed into the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana. PRAG was re-organised by some cohorts of PR practitioners and a new Constitution and Code of Ethics was adopted on December 6, 1991 which transformed PRAG into the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana Ibid. In summary, IPR Ghana was consequently registered as a professional body under the Professional Bodies Registration Decree, (NRCD 143) of 1973 Ibid. Even though Odedele (2010) asserts that the development of Public Relations is more noticeable in Nigeria and Ghana, the following is the account in his write up on the history of Public Relations practice in Ghana: 'Public Relations is developing in Ghana. There is a national professional body. The Institute of Public Relations, Ghana was established in 1972 as the Public Relations Association of Ghana (PRAG). PRAG was re-organised and a new constitution and code of ethics were adopted on December 6, 1991 which transformed PRAG into the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana (lPR) after it had registered with the Ghanaian Professional Bodies Secretariat' (www.iprghana.com.gh).This is actually the account of the history of Public Relations as displayed on the website of the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana. Another account on the practice of Public Relations in Ghana is an outline provided by Joseph Emmanuel Allotey-Pappoe (JEAP) at a public lecture in September 2009. Allotey-Pappoe (2009) divided the practice of Public Relations into four periods. These were: 32 Pre-colonial Traditional Society up to 1482, an era dubbed as the initial creation of a 'system of Public Relations consciousness.' The culture was understood by use of proverbs, drum language, traditional protocol, festivals and a traditional conflict resolution system. • From 1482 to 1956 was the Colon ial/Pre-In dep en dence period. It was dominated by the Nationalist Protest Movements, the setting up of the Information Services Department, the emergence of indigenous private newspapers and the establishment of Public Relations Units by multinationals operating in the country. • The period from 1957-1990 was called the Post-Independence era. This period was characterised by the active role of the External Service Unit of the Ghana Broadcasting Service in Kwame Nkrumah's Africanisation policy, the growth of Public Relations units in state institutions such as the Ghana Publishing Corporation, GOIL, State Farms and the formation in 1972 of a loose association of Public Relations practitioners known as the Public Relations Association of Ghana (PRAG). • The final era spanned from the period 1990 to the present and was aptly captured as the Growth of Public Relations. The Public Relations Association of Ghana was reorganised into a professional body, adopted its own Code of Ethics and Constitution in 1991 and was renamed the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana. Public Relations education evolved from being pursued at the Diploma level to be read at the degree, post­ graduate diploma and master's level as Communications training institutions began to spring up. The Institute of Public Relations, Ghana, hosted the continental body of Public Relations practitioners in 1994, 2003 and 2008. The Institute is affiliated to international bodies such as the International Association of Business Communicators and the Global Alliance for Business Communication. 33 2.3.3 BACKGROUND OF THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION (MESTI) - GHANA The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), which forms part the Government machinery was established in 1993 as the Ministry of Environment and Science. In 2006, the Ministry was dissolved. Its portfolios on Environment and Science were therefore added to the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Education respectively. In January 2009, the Ministry was reconstituted and named the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MESTI), under Executive Instrument (E.I.) 7 Civil Service (Ministries) Instrument, 2009. However, in 2013, the Ministry was renamed the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), under Executive Instrument (E.I.) 1 Civil Service (Ministries) Instrument, 2013. Guided by the vision of attaining sustainable development through the utilization of Science, Technology and Innovation for wealth creation and sound environmental governance in a modern and competitive economy, the MESTI wishes to create an enabling system between the Ministry, its clientele and the general pUblic. The MESTI also promotes sustainable development by deepening and strengthening market driven Research and Development through intensive awareness creation, collaboration and partnership towards achieving a common objective. MESTI derives its mandate from the Civil Service Law 1993 (PNDC Law 327) as well as Executive Instrument (E.I.) 1 Civil Service (Ministries) Instrument, 2013 which governs the establishment, operations and internal structure of Government Ministries and Departments. It is also mandated to advise the Minister on adjustments in policy direction, planning objectives and operational strategies. 34 Mission The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) exists to promote sustainable development by deepening and strengthening market driven Research and Development (R&D) for sound Environmental Governance, Science, Technology and Innovation through intensive awareness creation, collaboration and partnership. Vision The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) envisages to attain sustainable development through the utilization of Science, Technology and Innovation for wealth creation and sound environmental governance in a modem and competitive economy. Sector Goal The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) seeks to ensure accelerated socio-economic development of the nation through the formulation of sound policies and a regulatory framework to promote the use of appropriate environmentally friendly, scientific, and technological practices. MESTI is located in the Government Business Area opposite the SSNIT Pension House, Accra. 35 FUNCTIONS OF THE MESTI Generally the Ministry has the mandate to perform the following functions; Provide leadership and guidance for the Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation within the broad sector of the economy through sound policy formulation and implementation. t Ensure the establishment of regulatory framework and setting of standards to govern the activities of science and technology and the management of the environment for sustainable development. • Promote activities needed to underpin the standards and policies required for planning and implementation of sound scientific and technological development activities. • Ensure the coordination, supervision, monitoring and evaluation of activities of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation while fulfilling national benefits-sharing commitments. • Set out the parameters required for programmes on environment, science, technology and human settlement in consultation with the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) in guiding the District Assemblies as planning authority at the local level. • Analyse and coordinate all planned programmes as well as budgets in the environment, science, technology and innovation sector of the economy for the purposes of achieving a single integrated management system. • Initiate, stimulate and coordinate research including the continuous development and review of policies, laws, rules and regulations in the environment, science, technology and innovation sector of the economy; • Ensure effective environmental management and governance, in line with the functions of Act 490, with the EP A as the main implementing agency and the MESTI playing an oversight, coordination and facilitating role. 36 The MESTI has six (6) Agencies through which it carries out its mandate, these are; The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Act 521, 1996 I The Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Act 588, 2000 I The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Act 490, 1994 • The Town and Country Planning Department (TCPD), Act 30, 1958 • The National Biosafety Authority (NBA), Act 831, 2011; and • The Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA). Act 895, 2015. 37 2.4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK A theory is a prediction of how events and actions are related. Theories in the public relations largely come from the communication field. For example, from the point of view of Lattimore et ai., (2004) the approach to PR theories come from mass communication, psychology and sociology. They asserted that, PR theories are categorised under sociological theories. This chapter brings to light two theoretical framework that underpin the study .. These include the Systems and Roles theories which orient on relationships and complement each other to put this study in a fuller perspective and understanding. THE SYSTEMS AND ROLES THEORIES Organisational systems are significantly challenged due to the increasing complexity in today's organisational environment. One hallmark of effective public relations is integrating the communicative sub-system into the stated goals of an organisation. Theory explains how to make public relations most effective for organisations and society and predicts the way things work or happen. They provide an understanding of the relationship between actions and events. As a public relations practitioner, you must be able to explain why and how your plans and proposals work so that your supervisor and co-workers will be more convinced to support your opinions if you have theories and evidence to back them up. There is no one theory that explains all public relations practices. Public relations practitioners consider several theories when making decisions about how to build successful relationships with their publics. As a PR practitioner, the value your employer or client place on you is directly related to how well you use theory in your work. The systems and roles theories form part of the theories PR practitioners use on daily basis. This study turns to systems and roles theories to inform the relationship between the organisational systems, its internal 38 and external sub-systems, the vanous roles they play In complimenting each other and the work environment. The systems theory describes how an entity possesses interrelated and interdependent parts together. Due to its knitted nature, a change in one part of the unit or sub-system will definitely affect the operations and output of the others as well as the whole. The systems theory was first founded in the fifties by a biophysicist called Ludwig Von Bertalanfly. He named it the General Systems Theory which basically attempts to tackle things in a holistic manner. Fast-forwarding this ideology to modern day issues, scholars in natural sciences say this theory helps to understand sets of objects, the relationship between those objects and their environments. It further explains that, once an interrelated and interconnected elements are put together, they make the behaviour of the whole a little different and distinct from the behaviour of its individual parts. Systems theory is useful in public relations because it gives PR practitioners a way to think about relationships. This is because organisations have recognisable boundaries within which there must be a communication structure guiding its parts (various departments) to achieving organisational goals. It is in this gesture that Grunig, Grunig and Dozier stressed that the interdepency of organisations with their environments, both internal and external are crucial. According to them, organisations depend on resources from the environment such as raw materials, employees, clients or customers for the services and products they produce. Reciprocally, the environment also needs the organisation for its produce to survive. This is where PR practitioners come into the picture. The said organisation uses public relations people to feed them with information on how productive their relationships are with the organisation's clients, customers and other stakeholders. In turn, the publics or stakeholders through the PR practitioner 39 wants to know how the organisation thinks about them. In the course of exercising this practice and managing these relationships, one can confidently say the systems theory is at work. The above are some of the reasons why it is critically important for the head of public relations in an organisation to be represented within the power of elites. Education in the field of public relations and professionalism suggest routes by which PR practitioners can become highly valued by top management and thus part of the managerial decision-making process. In addition to setting goals, members of an organisation's dominant coalition typically determine the organisation's critical publics and the strategy for dealing with those publics. Similarly, the roles theory has been in existence since the 1920s and 1930s and became prominent in a sociological discourse through the theoretical works of George et al. (European Journal of Business and Social Science, 2015). This theory considers the everyday activities as being the acting out of socially defined categories such as mother, manager, teacher, sister, fireman etc. It further explains that each social role is a set of rights, duties, expectations, norms, and behaviours that a person has to face and fulfil which is why most role theorists see this theory as most compelling because bridges individual behaviour within a social structure in an organisation. Dozier and Broom (2006) describe organisational roles as "abstractions, conceptual maps that summarize the most important features of day-to-day behaviours of organisational members", In their research, Broom and Smith (1979) and Dozier and Broom (1995) identified two broad roles which were consistently used in pUblic relations: the communication manager role and the communication technician role. 40 The communication manager is responsible for planning and management of PR programmes, advises management, makes communication policy decisions and oversees their implementation. The communication technician is not involved in organisational decision making but implements PR programmes, such as writing press releases, organising events, producing web content. These activities focus on the implementation of the management's overall communication strategies. The communication manager role divides itself into three identifiable types: • The Expert prescriber: acts as a consultant, researches and defines PR problems, develops programmes to tackle these problems and oversees their implementation. • The Communication facilitator: acts as a communication broker by maintaining two-way communication between an organisation and its publics, liaising, interpreting and mediating. This is to say he/she performs a boundary spanning role between the organisation and its environment. • The Problem-solving process facilitator: is the PR person who partners with senior management to identify and solve communication problems by acting as a counsellor on the planning and implementation of programmes. This role is usually fulfilled by specialist consultancies as well as the in-house person. There are two other roles which sit between the manager and the technician roles. The media relations role and tire communication and liaison role. 41 Media relation role, it is a highly skilled job requiring profound knowledge and understanding of the media. It is not just about the dissemination of messages, but crucial function where the needs of the media are met in a sophisticated way. The best practitioners who perform this role effectively are journalists who have made a crossover to public relations. • Communication and liaison role, this role is performed by individuals who represent an organisation at events and meetings and creates opportunities for management to communicate with internal and external publics. The classification of PR roles into manager and technician does not mean that there are fixed lines between them. Most PR professionals perform a mix of manager and technician jobs but the point is that, one role usually predominates and is economical in today's world. The usefulness of the Roles Theory in PR practice has to do with the roles that PR practitioners play in an organisation's life cycle either as managers or technicians. By these roles the PR practitioner produces the right programmes, influences strategic planning, affect the short range (bottom-line) and long-range (survival) goals of the organisations they work with. In exhibiting the true managerial role, PR practitioner's advice senior managers about communication needs, define problems, suggest opinions and Oversee that a good solution is implemented. In the case of technicians, writing, editing, taking photos, handling communication production, running events and media management are some of the core duties. All these activities described above fit into an overall communication strategies of an organisation. These are the basic reasons why PR practitioners cannot be ignored at any level in an organisation. 42 In summary, the systems theory in particular integrates other theories (Roles theory and other relationship management theories) to get an over-arching theoretical perspective of how theories relate in practice. The connection between the above theories, its discussions, explanation and this study is that, the researcher wants to test their claims on a public service organisation like the MESTI, to see whether the management of MESTI is practising or operating the right mix of what the PR profession stands for. 43 2.5 DEFINITION OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND PUBLIC RELATIONS 2.5.1 WHAT IS PUBLIC SERVICE AND PUBLIC RELATIONS? PUBLIC RELATIONS DEFINED It is difficult to arrive at a common definition on PR because it has a wide application field and to be implemented with different objectives in public and private sectors. According to Edward Bemays (1928), the public relations practitioner is the agent working with both modem media of communications and group formations of society in order to provide ideas to the public's consciousness. In 1982, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) defined public relations as "an organisation and its pUblics adapt mutually to each other." In 2012 the PRSA developed a crowd-sourced definition "as the practice of managing communication between an organisation and its publics." Grunig and Hunt (1984:25) defined PR as "A practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organisation (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organisation) and the public." In short, it may be defined as the establishment of a two-way communication system in a planned manner with the purpose of gaining the community's understanding and support. The aim of public relations is to inform the public, prospective customers, investors, partners, employees, and other stakeholders and ultimately persuade them to maintain a certain view about the organisation, its leadership, products, or of Political decisions (Seitel, 2007). In other words, purpose of public relations is to impress the audience and to make them accept a certain belief and action. 44 Public relations, is commonly defined as an organisational subsystem which helps the organisation to define and maintain its boundaries. With reference to Edward Bernays, PR in this study refers to "information given to the public, persuasion directed at the public to modify attitudes and actions, and efforts to integrate attitudes and actions of an institution with its publics and of publics with those of that institution". It is a planned process to influence public opinion through sound character and proper performance based on mutually satisfactory two-way communication. Many authors have maintained that public relations is about building and maintaining relationships between organisations and their publics. This makes PR the central nervous system and potentially the most powerful tool for successful large-scale organisations and increasing number of small individual enterprises. Good pUblic relations bring social change, improves business, interpersonal relationships and transforms organisations. So it makes sense to know exactly what PR is. According to Grunig 1992 and L'Etang 1996, public relations (PR) is used in a huge range of industries and in each one there is a slight difference in skills and competencies which have emerged among PR practitioners. As a result, renown theorists asset that there is no universally accepted definition of public relations. Public relations has both academic and practitioners definitions (Cutlip et al. 2006). Edward Bemays sees public relations with regard to businesses and organisations as "information given to the public, persuasion directed at the public to modify attitudes and actions, and efforts to integrate attitudes and actions of an organisation with its publics and of publics with those of that organisation". Today, although there are various definitions of public relations, one of the universally accepted definitions was coined by Harlow out of 472 different definitions between 1900 and 1976 from his findings as follows: 45 Hpublic relations is a distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communications, understanding, acceptance and cooperation between an organisation and its publics; involves the management of problems or issues; helps management to keep informed on and responsive to public opinions; defines and emphasizes the responsibility of management to serve the public interest; helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilise change, serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends; and uses research and ethical communication techniques as its principal tools" (Harlow 1976:36, cited in Tench and Yeomans, second edition, 2009). Public relations CPR) is the art and social science of analysing trends, predicting their consequences, counselling organisational leaders and implementing planned programs of action which will serve both the organisation and the public interest (Newsom et al. 2000:2 cited in Tench and Yeomans, second edition, 2009). Public relation helps an organisation and its publics adapt mutually to each other (Public Relations Society of America 2004). 46 PUBLIC SERVICE DEFINED In general terms, the public service consists of governments and all publicly controlled or publicly funded agencies, enterprises and other entities that deliver public programs, goods and services. It is not clear what organisations qualify to be included under the umbrella of public service because the President holds the final authority in determining such issues. The concept of the public service is broader than simply that of core government and may overlap with the not-for-profit or private sectors. For the purposes of this study, public service consists of an expanding ring of organisations, with core governments' activities at the center, followed by ministries agencies and public enterprises. Public sector organisations exist in four levels, these are: • International (multistate entities or partnerships) • National (an independent state) • Regional (a province/state within a national state) • Local (a municipal-level body such as a city or country) At any of these levels, the public sector generally consists of at least three types of organizations. Core government consists of a governing body with a defined territorial authority. Core governments include all departments, ministries, or branches of the government that are integral parts of the structure, 47 and are accountable to and report directly to the central authority - the legislature, council, cabinet, or executive head. Agencies consist of public organizations that are clearly a part of the government and deliver public programs, goods, or services, but that exist as separate organizations in their own right - possibly as legal entities - and operate with a partial degree of operational independence. They often, but not necessarily, are headed by a board of directors, commission, or other appointed body. Public enterprises are agencies that deliver public programs, goods, or services, but operate independently of government and often have their own sources of revenue in addition to direct public funding. They also may compete in private markets and may make profits. However, in most cases the government is the major shareholder, and these enterprises partly follow the acts and regulations that govern the core government. 48 2.5.2 PUBLIC RELATIONS FUNCTIONS There is a fundamental difference between the functions of public relations and the functions of marketing and advertising. Marketing and advertising promote a product or a service. Public relations promotes goodwill, products, services, corporate image and reputation, corporate communication, lobbying and repairing of negative publicity in an entire organisation. The functions of public relations are numerous, among them are the following: • Writing: This is the fundamental public relations skill. Examples are news releases, speeches, brochures, etc. • Media relations: This deals with the press and social media. • Planning: This deals with special events, media and management functions. • Counselling: This deals with management and its interactions with key pUblics. • Research: This deals with investigation issues about attitudes and opinions that influence behaviour and beliefs. • Publicity: This is a marketing related function most commonly misunderstood as the "only" function PR performs in generating positive publicity for its publics. • Marketing communication: This is another marketing-related functions which deals with creation of brochures, sales literature, and promotion items etc. • Community relations: This deals with positively putting the organisation's messages and images before the community. • Consumer relations: This deals with interactions through verbal and written communications with consumers. 49 • Employee relations: This deals with communicating effectively with internal publics of the organisation, i.e. managers and all other employees of the organisation. • Government affairs: This deals with legislator, regulators and local, state, and federal officials and all of those who have governmental interface with the organisation. • Investor relations: This deals with companies communicating with stockholders and those who advise them. • Public affairs and issues management: This deals with public policy and its impact on the organisation as well as identifying and addressing issues of consequence that affect the organisation. • Web site development and web interface: This is done by creating what often is the organisation's principal interface with the public: its website. It is also important to monitor the World Wide Web and respond when appropriate to organisational challenge. This is but a partial list of what public relations practitioners do. However, the public relations practitioner is a manager, orchestrator, producer, director, writer, arranger and an all-round general communications counsel to management in organisations be it public or private. It is in this regard that the PR practitioner must be part of the dominant coalition or management for him or her to be well informed on issues and how best he/she can perform in the interest of the organisation and its publics. 50 2.5.3 PR TOOLS While devising a PR plan for an organisation, the following PR tools are used in telling the organisation's story to its publics through various media channels. • • Media relations (press conference, press release, articles and features, interviews, web sites, emails, etc.) Print Media (newspaper, magazines, press releases, fliers, handouts, leaflets etc.) • Advertising (PR led. Corporate and Product) • Direct mail CPR led. Annual report, brochures, customer reports, external newsletters, general literature and multimedia) • Exhibitions (Trade and public, demonstrations, literature etc.) It is an important medium to project an organisation's materials and products on its activities, services and ideas to the public. It offers and excellent opportunity for personal interaction with both existing and prospective publics. • Community relations (Direct involvement, sponsorship, donations, etc.) • Internal communication (videos, briefings, newsletters, email.intranet.TV , etc.) • Research (organisations, PR programmes, issues monitoring and results monitoring) • Issues and crisis management (planning and implementation) • Financial relations (annual report, briefing materials, internet, hospitality etc.) • Government relations (regular information on policy plan, various activities and achievements of the MDAs, etc.) 51 2.6 PR PUBLICS The term stakeholder and publics are often used interchangeably, but they should not be. Stakeholders have been identified in the business literature according to their relationships to organisations. Publics, in the public relations and other mass media literature, are often identified according to their relationship to messages. '-Publics" is the term used for stakeholders in the public relations literature because the public relations evolved from journalism, the term has frequently been related to the recipients of messages from organisations. The publics are segmented into more homogenous subsets that help communicators to choose appropriate channels for reaching them. For example, publics can be employees, shareholders, political leaders, consumers, etc. Publics are often segmented further by demographics, geographics, psychographics, etc. Recently however, research in public relations has turned to value the relationships these publics have with organisations. This emphasis has encouraged the adaptation of the term "stakeholder" in both practice and scholarship. It is justified because the publics have a stake in the organisation's life cycle. According to James Grunig the terms "stakeholder" and "public" are different in the following ways: organisations choose stakeholders by their marketing strategies, recruiting and investment plans, but publics arise on their own and choose the organisation for attention. Grunig did this by relying on John Dewey's Writings to develop a definition of a public: "a public is a group of people who face a similar problem, recognise the problem, and organise themselves to do something about it". So, publics organise from the ranks of stakeholders when they recognise an issue and decide to do something about it. 52 According to existing literature, publics are defined in a variety of ways. During the early parts of the 20th century, Dewey (1927) defined publics as groups of people with a common purpose who are organised to act on an issue. Publics are more social and personal than abstract markets. Dougall (2005) also described publics as a person or group of people who have a stake or interest in an organisation's future. James Grunig identified four (4) steps method for stakeholder analysis which entails: a. Identifying Stakeholders b. Prioritising Stakeholders According to Attributes c. Prioritising Stakeholders by Relationship to the Situation d. Prioritising Publics By Communication Strategy According to Harrison and St. John, the first three steps of the stakeholder analysis are to identify stakeholders, classify them into meaningful groups, and prioritise them. So when you put together the stakeholder relations and public relations literature, a more comprehensive process for prioritising the stakeholder groups, particularly those that become active publics has been provided. It is very important for every organisation to develop positive relationships with its stakeholders as it helps in improving the organisation's goals and objectives. If the organisation has not properly prioritised its stakeholders and their relationships, the squeaky wheel stakeholder may get more attention than is deserved. This model prevents that from occurring and the squeaky wheel stakeholder may not get the greatest priority. By following the steps outlined in this study, organisations can take a more systematic and comprehensive approach to managing their publics. 53 Grunigs (1989) excellence study asserted that, the two-way symmetrical communication between an organisation and its publics is more ethical than the one-way communication, yet some other public relations I scholars observed that organisations with more power than the