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INFLUENCE OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS PRORGRAMME ON CORPORATE IMAGE OF AN ORGANIZATION: A STUDY OF DANGOTE CEMENT, IBESE OGUN STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

The complex nature of the business world, couples with economic, social and environmental inequalities have raised the issue of community relations and corporate image. From time immemorial, organisations have tried in one way or the other to be identified by the community where they are operating. This need for identity and communication led to the development of public relations which community relations are part and parcel of.  Public relations is a major tool in building good relations with the organisations’ various publics (community) by obtaining favourable publicity, building up a good corporate image, and handling, or heading off unfavourable rumours, stories and events, (Kotler and Armstrong, 2018).

The world is constantly becoming sophisticated, complex and dynamic. Public relations as a Profession have continued to play tremendous revolutionary roles in changing the face of the earth. As the human society becomes more challenging and complex, people become more enlightened and aware of their fundamental human rights. This has led to series of crisis and face off among business organizations and their host community (Adewunmi, 2014). There is no doubt that most of the activities of these organizations constitute a nuisance to the host inhabitants and put their health at great risk. The paramount objective of every business organization is profit maximization. This would not be achieved without serene business environment.

In practice, public relations communication must be a two-way form because misunderstanding can spring from lack of misinformation. As such, one of the aims and objectives of using effective public relations strategies is to improve the existing channel of communication. In other words any organization that fails to communicate well with its public cannot retain their trust and confidence. This contention was shared by Wechen in Offonry (2012) where he stated: Real communication with all interested Parties is essential, if business is to live securely in an increasingly demanding world. We then say that it is public relations that provide all the specialized techniques, tools, training and know-how required for the maintenance of such communications in an effective manner. Host communities are one of the most important parts of organisation's publics. For every organization to enjoy a peaceful atmosphere for its operations, there is the need for positive mutual relationship. This brings to the fore, the need for effective community relations. According to Center, Jackson, Smith and Stansberry (2008): “Community relations, as 

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