PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ORGANISATIONAL CRISIS MANAGEMENT: A STUDY OF MINISTRY OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION

This research examined Public Relations and Organisational Crisis Management: A Study of Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. The main objectives of this study were to ascertain the influence of Public Relations in Crisis Management in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and to find out the various Public Relations strategies deployed in managing the crisis in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. The study adopted the Issues Management Theory and the Two-Way Symmetrical Communications Theory as its theoretical framework. The study adopted the survey method, purposive sampling technique and questionnaire to generate data from the respondents. A total of fifty (50) copies of the questionnaire were administered to the respondents and all the 50 copies were retrieved from the respondents. Findings from the study revealed that the tools of public relations in crisis management are establishing and sustaining good reputation, maintaining good relationship with the organisation they represent, providing information to the general public during crisis, communicating and transmitting reliably messages relating to activities, initiatives, projects of the organisations they represent and they use specialized techniques to solve organisation’s problem. Sadly, Public Relations has not influenced the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in managing crisis positively. The study recommended that in managing crisis in every Government Ministry/Parastatals (including the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation) Public Relations should be talking consistently with the media and should be providing timely and factual information to the general public. This will help the general public to have the right information of what transpired rather than hear or read from critiques.