| dc.description.abstract | The research problem identified focused on dispersed company audiences which
result in the lack of immediate communication. Public relations activities which
are undertaken through conventional media do not explicate organisational
policies. Feedback is rendered impossible or delayed due to the non-availability
of the same tools used by organisations. This thesis explores possibilities of how
new technologies would address these problems, and opportunities of executing
corporate communication functions.
Existing literature highlights various conventional media used in organisations for
corporate communication. Though the conventional media serve organisational,
employee and stakeholder needs, they do not offer solutions that will enhance
communication or alleviate the above-stated concern. With the introduction of
new technologies, literature shows that they have the potential to execute various
corporate communication activities. New technologies offer organisations
opportunities to excel in executing corporate communication activities and extend
the communication tools with more efficiency.
The study hypothesis took the form of research questions. The question~ ~hat
were tested focused on how public relations practitioners use the internet as a
new medium to execute corporate communication. Further, research questions
focused on how the intranet is used for internal communication. Research
questions also looked at the functions of electronic mail for both internal and
external publics.
The methodologies were content analysis and survey research. The former
analyzed existing communication content from web sites, and the latter gathered
data from the same sample pertaining to intranet and e-mail usage. Content
analysis analyzed numerous units which were categorized as 'corporate
communication', investor information', 'virtual centre' and 'web surveys'.
Data was collected from 27 companies from these sectors: oil, mining, banking,
newspapers and radio. Basic descriptive statistics as well as Chi-Square to test
hypothesis were conducted. Other tests included Scott's pi and Holsti method for
reliability testing.
The findings showed that Information Communication Technologies are changing
the landscape of corporate communication for the better, thus supporting study
objectives and answering almost all research questions. Though new theoretical
models are proposed with regard to technologies, the findings support the two
traditional theoretical models which underpin public relations activities. The
significance of the findings calls for an integration of ICT strategies with
traditional communication strategies. In order for organisations to be more
efficient and competitive, conventional methods should be integrated with new
methods introduced by technologies. | en_US |
