ABSTRACT

Public relations (PR) are aimed at building positive relations between a company and a wide range of publics or stakeholders who may be impacted by the organization's activity. Publics may include current or potential employees, trade unions, shareholders and investment advisors, lobby groups and government agencies. Many aspects of a company's operation do not directly involve marketing activity, but rather wider organization and management issues. For example, current employees, trade unions and government agencies may be concerned about the impact of possible relocation of part or all of a company's operation, particularly if the move involves potential loss of jobs. Lobby groups may be concerned about depletion of natural resources or pollution during the production of the company's products, or the 'carbon footprint' generated by shipping ingredients or finished products from off-shore facilities. All these activities do however have a long-term effect on the company's performance.