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CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
This chapter consists of the background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the
study, significance of the study, scope of the study and the definitions of the key terms. It is
going to tell the reader what face book is, its uses, and what are the impact to public relations
practice.
1.1 Background of the study
Catholic Relief Service
Catholic Relief Service was founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States to
serve the world war two survivors in Europe. Since then, they have expanded to reach more a
100 million people in 93 countries on five continents.
Mission of Catholic Relief Service is to assist impoverished and disadvantaged people overseas,
working in the spirit of Catholic social teaching to promote the sacredness of human life and the
dignity of human person. Although the mission is based in the Catholic faith but their operations
serve people based solely on need, regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity.
CRS is motivated by the example of Jesus Christ to ease suffering, provide development
assistance and foster charity and justice. As a part of universal church they work with local
catholic institutions around the world. As a Catholic agency that provides assistance to people in
need in 93 countries without regard to race, religion, nationality, they also participate on
humanitarian initiatives undertaken by a range of groups including Governments, other faith
communities and secular institutions. (www.crs.org) cited on 17th February 2015.
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Catholic Relief Service in Tanzania
Catholic Relief Service first opened its doors in Tanzania in 1962, providing relief and food
assistance in areas with high level of poverty and malnutrition. In 1994, CRS closed their office
in Dar es Salaam but continued to fund local partners through CRS Kenya. Program staff on the
ground returned when a field office was opened in the Lake Victoria town of Mwanza in 1997
to support activities in the areas of agriculture, HIV/ AIDS, peace building. In September 2004
CRS Tanzania reopened an office in Dar es salaam, becoming an independent country program
once again.
Since their return CRS Tanzania has directly helped nearly 2million people through diverse and
innovative programs, these programs have responded to social issues such as poverty, female
genital mutilation, HIV/ AIDS, tensions between religious communities and poor agriculture
conditions. (www.crs.org /tz) cited on 17th February 2015.
New media
New media refers to a wide range of changes in media production, distribution and use. These
are the changes that are technological, textual, conventional and cultural. This were not
recognized until 1980s at least with some changes over the period a number of concepts has
come to the fore which offers to define the key characteristics of new media as a whole and
these are digital, interactive , textual, virtual, networked and simulated.
According to Ryan, k (2011, p.4), A social network is a cluster of people connected for a
specific reason .A good example of a social network is your group of friends you have common
interests. These are social behaviors which are which are a basic part of every person, when your
with your group of friends you make a social network.
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Social networks come in all shapes and size and serve all kind of purposes .Some social
networks are for the most basic level of interaction, like sharing specific information and some
are designed for complex problems solving, schools, businesses, cities and countries are all
forms of social networks. With the invention of the telegraph, radio, telephone, and internet
people have created and maintained social networks across vast distances. Friends can now
easily stay connected despite living thousands miles apart.
The social networks we speak of today such as face book or my space , provide incredibly rich
communication , pictures , audio recording, video recordings and can freely shared by anyone
with connection to the internet. These capabilities have fostered a whole new category of
social networking websites and behaviors that provide many opportunities that were never
before possible.
Face book is an online social networking service. Its name comes from a colloquialism for the
directory given to student at some American universities. Face book was founded on Feb 4 ,
2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow Harvard university students
Eduardo Saverin, Andrew Mc collum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. The founders had
limited the websites membership to Harvard students, but letter expanded it to collages in Boston
areas.
It gradually added support for students at various other universities before it open to high school
students and eventually to any one aged 13 and over .Face book now allows anyone who claims
to be at least 13 years old to become a register user of website.
(https://m.facebook.com)
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As of September 2006, the network was extended beyond educational institutions to anyone with
a register email address. The site remains free to join, and makes a profit through advertising
revenue. Yahoo and Google are among companies which have expressed interest in a buyout,
with rumored figures around $2bn being discussed. Mr Zuckerberg has so far refused to sell.
The site features have continued to develop during 2007. Users can now give gifts to friends ,
post free classified advertisements and even develop their own applications –graffit and scrabble
are particular popular. The company has announced that the number of registered users had
reached 30 million, making it the largest social networking site with an educational focus
(https://m.facebook.com)
Face book in Tanzania ; This website started to be highly used in Tanzania three years letter
after it was found, the main users of the website were students of ordinary level, advanced level
and universities. But these days face book is used by many people of different age most
especially business people and organizations. Among these users of face book are public
relation practitioners.
According to Theaker ,A (2012, p.14) public relations is the occupation responsible for the
management of organizational relationships and reputation. It encompasses issues management,
public affairs, corporate communications, stakeholder relations, risk communications and
corporate social responsibility. Public relations can also be defined as the planned and sustained
effort to establish and maintain goodwill and understanding between an organization and its
publics.
Public relations practice is the discipline concerned with the reputations of the organizations or
product, service or individuals. As new technologies offer new channels to reach publics, the
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convergence between the various communication fields increases .The public relations marketing
and advertising companies are all involved in creating a buzz , around a new product or service
often using a mix of traditional media coverage , poster and magazine adverts. The enormous
impact of social media has transformed communication in general and particularly in public
relations. Facebook ads, now aim entirely at WOM circulation of images, video clips and
messages to friends and contacts via web pages, this is according to Theaker ,A (2012, p.15)
The public relations practice includes of branding; the branding practice this is all about giving a
product name which will grab attention of the people who are the consumers of different
products, there are things of media relations one of the big practice of public relations is to
ensure that there is good relationship between media people and the organization so that the
image of the organization to be good, crises management the public relation practitioner are the
ones who are in charge with crises management in the company and other practices.
Face book makes the work of public relations practice easier as it gives the consumers a quick
way of knowing about new products, the services offered by the organization or institution. And
also make the practitioners to be able to communicate faster and for the great number of people
by using their own face book page.
1.2 Statement of the problem
There has been the increasing impacts of social networking especially face book in different
aspects as it has got many users all over the world, by now there are over 900 million users on
face book .Many people are being able to use this social network because of the increase of
technology as many of them are using smart phones which makes them able to browse anything
and anywhere and most especially chatting through their face book accounts.
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However, most of the users of face book tend to focus on entertainment issues rather than
educative issues, hence make the public relations officers to employ different efforts so as to win
the audience , but Catholic Relief Service do not use its face book page for making users
participate or like the page, this is because the Public relations manager tend to upload the same
CRS logo continuously, contrary to the expectations of face book users who like new updates in
every post they check upon.
Since public relations practitioners have been mostly focusing on using social media such as face
book to communicate with customers and other publics through providing them information
about organizations, the researcher want to assess the impacts of face book to public relation
practitioners of Catholic Relief Service.
1.3 Main objective
To assess the increasing impacts of face book on public relations practice.
1.3.1 Specific objectives
1. To identify the strategies used by Catholic Relief Service on face book account for the
practice of PR.
2. To identify the effects of face book to PR practice in catholic relief service.
3. To find out users perspectives over the Catholic Relief Service face book page.
1.3.2 Research questions
1. What strategies are used by Catholic Relief Service on face book account for the practice
of PR?
2. What are the effects of face book account to PR practice in Catholic Relief Service?
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3. What are the perspectives of face book users over Catholic Relief Service page?
1.4 Significance of the study
This study will help the researcher to get the bachelor of arts degree mass communication, also
the other researchers who will conduct the research on the topic alike will be able to know the
knowledge gap which is found .But also the study after being completed will make the researcher
being familiar with the phenomenon and her knowledge about the issue studied about is going to
increase after collecting the data from the people intended and reading different materials when
reviewing literature. But also the study will provide a way towards having an interactive face
book page of CRS by indicating user’s expectations over face book pages.
1.5 Scope of the study
The study is all about The increasing impacts of face book to public relations practice with
reference to catholic relief organization, the respondents of this research are going to be public
relations practitioners of Catholic Relief Service which is found in Nyamagana district, the
organization was opened in Mwanza city 1997 for the aim of supporting activities in the area of
agriculture, HIV and AIDS and peace building
1.6 Definitions of key terms
Face book ; this is an online popular free social networking website that allows registered users
to create profiles, upload photos and videos, send messages and keep in touch with friends,
family and their colleagues.
Public relation; Public relation is; the practice of managing the spread of information between
an individual or organization and public for the aim of maintaining mutual relationship.
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Public relation practice; Public relation practices’ these are the things done by the public
relation practitioner who is concerned in bringing people together in understanding through
communication. The duties of a public relation practitioner including consulting industry affairs,
corporate advertising, employee communication and organization of special events and many
other.
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CHAPTER TWO
2.0 Literature Review
The literature review intended to represent a logical flow of ideas, relevant references, with
consistent unbiased and comprehensive view of the previous researchers on the subject area. The
major parts which were discussed in this chapter included theoretical argument, empirical
literature review, theoretical framework and research gap.
2.1 Theoretical Framework
Technological determinism theory
The theory was developed by Marshall Mc Luhan, (1962) this theory interprets communication
technologies in the past, present and evens the future.
The theory state that media technology shapes how we as individuals in a society think, feel, act
and how society are operating as we move from one technology age to another. It explains that
when new system of technology are developed the culture or society is immediately changed to
reflect the senses needed to use the new technology .New technologies transform society at every
level including institutions, social interaction and individuals.
He promoted the idea of technological determinism in which the media were primary
determinants of culture, much more important than the message they conveyed, he described
each communication technology as a force for change based on the senses individuals had to
perceive message .According Luhan , M (2001, p.144)
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The new technology which is increasing every day make the public relations officers move from
using the previous ways to reach their audience example; using brochures, fliers and others they
can now post through the social media like twitter, face book and others and reach as many
audience as they wanted.
2.2 Review of Related Literature
According to Duhe’, S (2007, p.68) the internet has developed, so to have the new resources for
the online communication and information exchange one resent resources is the development of
social networking, Blogs which originally developed as online personal journals have quickly
been adopted by public relations and marketing as organizational tools. Having employees or
company experts write regularly about products is becoming common.
However to Seitel, P (1992 ) Public relations is the management function which evaluates public
attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organization with the
public interest, and plans and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and
acceptance. Public relations is the profession which seeks to manage the interdependencies of a
client individual or organization and the constituents, other individuals and organizations which
make up its environment..
According to British institute of public relations; Public relations is a deliberate, planned and
sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its
publics.
However Baskin, A & Latimore (2001, p.93) said that Public relations practitioners are basically
interpreters, they must interpret the philosophies ,policies, programs and practices of their
management to the public , on the other hand they must translate the attitude of the public to
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their management. To accomplish these tasks accurately and truthfully, practitioner must gain
attention, understanding, acceptance and ultimately action from target publics. Practitioners must
communicate with many different publics not just general public each having its own special
needs and requiring different type of communication. Public relation practitioner helps to solve
problems. An editor reacts to management requests, but a public relation practitioner helps
diagnose problems and opportunities while planning solutions and strategies.
Public relations practitioners must develop the formal and informal research skills necessary to
survey their organizations internal and external environments. Such surveys help determine what
issue their organizations must confront and how those issues can be successfully dealt with.
The most critical relationships managed by public relations practitioners are those concerning the
new media. All news media depends on public relations sources for much of the information they
convey to viewers, readers and listeners.
Three main reasons why an organization needs a PR services.
1. It is extremely cost effective in comparison with other methods of communicating and
publicizing a Message. An advertising campaign for a new product can easily cost around
Euro 500,000 even without TV exposure. A much publicized recent airline campaign
using TV reputedly cost Euro5m. Yet a PR campaign to promote the same product is
feasible for ( 10-15%) of that cost .There won’t be quite the same control over what is
reported or where or when, but this is often more than compensate for by the second
factor.
2. The impartial opinion; for example by having a new product or service reviewed In the
press and media , the public is reassured that an independent, third party observer has
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tested it, understand it and is reasonably sure that it present fair value for money. No
advertisement can achieve that effects for adverts are always perceived –perhaps
subconsciously as paid for space or air time which carries a hard selling message or
hidden propaganda motive. Perhaps surprisingly, even alarmingly, the general public still
believes much of what it reads in the papers, sees on TV or hears on radio to a very high
degree.
3. PR has become an essential tool in the overall process of business growth and
organizational development. It is now becoming accepted as an integral part of
combination disciplines which go to make up any properly structured organization, public
or private. Operating across its three classic areas of product , business and internal
affairs, it provides a service complementary to overall objectives of growth and
profitability by interlocking with marketing, sales, HR, manufacturing, purchasing,
finance, engineering, business planning, R&D, operations and all these in a way in a way
in which few other operations are able to do and in some structures, the PR Director is
closer to the Chairman or CEO than any other comparable director, with the possible
exceptions of finance.( Greener ,T 2011, p.16)
Acquist , R (2006, p.78) New technologies can lead to new types of media and the ability to use
a given form of media is related to the ability to use its related technology.
Today, technology has made more universal, the ability to produce media. Printing, radio and
television are some examples of mass media in that they are intended to reach vast audiences.
But these forms of media previously could not be produced readily by the average person. The
advent of relatively inexpensive, personal media technologies like blogging, podcasting and
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Internet video allowed the average literate person to-do what was theretofore restricted to media
companies.
These forms of media are still referred to as new but they have become part of society even as
much as the traditional media in some parts of the world. In a few years, the term “new media”
might not be very suitable because these forms are becoming part of our daily lives and the
fusion with traditional media might dilute the fact that it is new.
They are also referred to as “alternative media”, but if compared to the roles of the media as
defined by Lippmann, R (2000, p.67), they satisfy the definition of any other kind of media and
some theories which apply to traditional media might apply to new media as well. Humanity has
always lived through times of great change. Every age it has passed through has-been based on
beliefs and (new) technologies, responding to the needs of individuals anxious to adjust to new
forms of socialization.
A time of great change is a period in which society looks for meaning. Information is already a
tool, the principal tool, which people use to perceive and understand their environment.
Language and culture help people filter this information, while communication tools help them
process it.
Whenever a group of individuals have to process a larger quantity of information, they invent a
communication tool to assist with the transition from one period to another. When a great change
occurs, a society swings between innovation, which keeps its systems in motion, and stability,
which, in turn, prevents a descent into anarchy. Sociologists call this the “edge of chaos”;
psychologists use the term “homeostasis”. This function ensures that the system remains stable
by preserving what exists, while also incorporating the information likely to threaten its
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equilibrium. There is also the issue of self-regulation, in which the system transforms itself to
adapt and remain stable. At various periods in the past, a technical or technological innovation
has contributed to the evolution of society. We have thus passed from the printing age to the
energy age, and thence to the digital age. Means of communication are also means of speeding
also the culture of societies. Each stage in the use of tools has modified the filters of our
perception and the imagination of human beings.
According to Saveryet (2005, p.97) Social media is a form of electronic communication which
facilitates interaction based on certain interests and characteristics.
Social media are media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing
techniques. Social media use web-based technologies to transform and broadcast media
monologues into social dialogues. They support the democratization of knowledge and
information and transform people from content consumers to content producers.
Howeve Danny, S (2000, p.7) The rapid growth of social media activities that has been observed
over the last two to three years is indicative of its entry into mainstream culture and its
integration into the daily lives of many people. In parallel with this, social media have also
gained considerable attention from the academic and business worlds. History of Social Media
isn’t really “new.” While it has only recently become part of mainstream culture and the business
world, people have been using digital media for networking, socializing and information
gathering almost exactly like now for over 30 years.
According to Merriam-webster dictionary online defined Social media is a form of electronic
communication as websites for social networking and micro blogging through which users create
online communities to share information, ideas, personal message and other content.
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Social media describes websites that allow users to share content, media. Common examples are
the popular social networking sites like Friendster, Face book, and MySpace etc. Social media
also includes YouTube, photo bucket, Flickr, and other sites aimed at photo and video sharing.
News aggregation and online reference sources examples of which are Wikipedia and Digg are
also counted in social media bucket.
Face book was launched in the year 2004 as a social networking service and website, founded by
Mark Zuckerberg and a few oh his colleagues. The websites membership was initially limited to
only students of Harvard University, but was later expanded to include other colleges in Boston
area, the Ivy League and Stanford University. Much later, in 2006, it was finally opened to the
general public for people of all age groups above 13years. The site, for obvious reasons became a
huge hit among the collage going crowd and by july 2011 it had over 800 million active users.
Face book allowed users to create individual profiles, add or invite friends, exchange messages,
join other communities of like -minded people or form groups of their own based on common
interest, which could be categorized by school, collage or work place .It has Cleary become the
most popular social networking site that has affected the social life and activity of people in
various ways.
Since its inception in 2004, Face book has evolved in many ways making it much more user-
friendly, accessible and a fun place to connect with long –lost friends or even strangers with
common interests. By incorporating special pages called “fan pages” for celebrities and
businesses , Face book has opened out new marking strategies by providing an excellent
platform to interact directly with customers and also to get more sales and traffic to their
respective official business websites or personal pages , in the case of celebrities .The company
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began working on mobile solutions in 2006 and integrated its services with the mobile phone
companies making it easily accessible via the smart phones so that people could now update their
status on face book.( Traprial, V & Kanwar, P 2012, p.19)
Before social media can begin to affect communication, and public relations it must encompass
fundamental building blocks of social media efforts. This means do not start blogging, tweeting,
or face booking without a purpose and an outline of goals. One of the common mistakes people
make when they begin exploring and using social media is doing so without a strategic plan, it is
important to post meaningful information’s with confidence which many users struggle to do.
The ability to obtain social media credibility and gain a large audience is accomplished by
attacking social media with a well developed plan.
When logging on to Face book, it is now common for users to see friend requests from their
parents, aunts, uncles or even grandparents. No longer is the popular social networking site only
geared toward college students. Now that anyone can create a profile, many Face book users
between the ages of 18 and 25 are adjusting to seeing their parents’ updated statuses flood their
news feeds. On the business side, however, it makes sense for older professionals to utilize a
Face book page for networking or business-related purposes.
Effects of using social media to public relations practice
When using social media it is essential to utilize it properly and efficiently. Though
communicating through social media is innovative, it has to be done without any spelling,
grammar, technical or style errors.
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If this occurs, an organization will not be taken seriously and its business objectives could be
neglected. Shift Communications is a public relations agency located in New York, San
Francisco and Boston. On the company’s Web site, it notes how businesses are beginning to
realize the potential behind social media. To help someone, or specifically a business owner,
understand the benefits of social media usage, the agency provides several benefits of an
effective social media strategy.
Get the Message Out Faster – and to More People
Rapid sharing and quick distribution of news, images, audio, video and other multimedia
Widespread coverage and a broader, diverse reader base
Opportunity to reach ever-rising Internet users
Improve Branding
Enhanced awareness and image
Increased brand recognition
Opportunity to gather input and feedback from audiences
Boost the Impact of Direct Marketing
Enhanced search engine optimization
Reader engagement with common jargon and key phrases, title tags, ticker symbols and
links to relevant Web content.
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Social media is comprised of many tools that some organizations are still not comfortable using,
but with the proper usage, those organizations can slowly emerge into the social media world.
More than many executives, public relations practitioners need to be aware of the proper ways
to use social media for professional purposes like distributing press releases, pitching the media
and maintaining positive relationships with reporters.
Some professionals may even want to shadow the ways other businesses effectively utilize social
media so they begin the adoption process with the right ideas and at a realistic pace. When a
business advertises that it uses Face book, Twitter, YouTube or any other social media Web site,
audiences realize that it knows how to reach the masses and may consider it an innovative and
trusted company.
Deindre, k (2012, p.6) the new PR mindset takes into consideration how PR extend beyond what
you were used to in traditional realm, what you have started to master in online PR arena and
what you have dabbled with in social media The new mindset is what you can look forward to as
you see more businesses becoming socialized to meet the needs of their customers. Social media
is moving across the organization from marketing and sales to IT and product development. The
future PR and communications is how you adapt and learn the new practices and how you help
your peers to adopt.
Numerous literature about face book and public relation practice have been publishing the views
forward the situation of face book and public relations practice. According to the Holmes Report
of 8sept 2013 Researchers at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism have found that
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posting public relations information on Face book during a time of crisis can improve the overall
image of the organization that is experiencing the crisis.
Seoyeon Hong, a doctoral candidate in the MU School of Journalism, and co-author Bokyung
Kim, a professor at Rowan University and former doctoral student at MU, created two fictional
universities and gave participants news stories about organizational crises each university was
experiencing. After the participants read the news stories, Hong measured their attitudes about
each university and how severe they thought the crisis was.
She then showed the participants Face book posts from the universities’ main Face book
accounts which gave additional information and messages directly from the universities, and
measured the participants’ attitudes a second time. She found that following the Face book posts,
attitudes toward the universities were significantly more positive than before participants read
the posts. She also found that participants felt the crises were less severe following the Face book
posts.
Hong believes these findings show the positive impact Face book can make in crisis management
efforts.
“Many studies have already shown how important crisis management is for organizations,” Hong
says. “This study shows that Face book can be a valuable tool for public relations professionals
when working to solve or lessen the severity of a crisis. Because Face book is very personal for
its users, well-thought-out crisis management messages can be effective at reaching users on a
personal level, which is a powerful way to persuade people to a cause.”
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Hong also found that Face book posts written in a narrative style were more effective than posts
written in a non-narrative format. Narrative style is chronological and focuses more on story-
telling rather than fact listing. (www.Holmes report.com) cited on 16th december 2014.
“This indicates that the effect of narrative tone in organizational statements during crises
increases perceived conversational human voice, which represents a high level of engagement
and best communicates trust, satisfaction, and commitment to the audience,” Hong says. “This is
an important practice for public relations professionals because perceptions that an organization
is sincerely trying to provide timely and accurate information during a crisis can lead to not only
more favorable attitudes toward the organization, but also perceptions of less responsibility the
organization for causing the crisis.
Many public relations practitioners are struggling with the impact of new media, and especially
the Internet. The terrain of public relations practice is also shifting with new media bringing
about substantial increases in stakeholder strength through facilitating communication within
stakeholder groups and between different stakeholders. Therefore when the organization shift
from traditional media to new media advertising it become easier to catch the minds of
consumers.
2.3 Research gap
A research gap is a missing element in the existing literature review, many researchers who did
the research on new technologies they based on how the public relations officers of different
organizations can use social networks for the practice of public relations by telling them to be
20
care full in posting different messages to their audience by looking on spelling errors so as the
message to reach its audience.
Also other researchers have shown the advantages of using social network as the medium to
reach their audience, this research is going to show the impacts both negative and positive which
a public relation practitioner can get after using social network like face book for the public
relations practice.
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CHAPTER THRE
3.0 Research Methodology
This chapter presents and discusses the research methods which have been used in obtaining the
data; Research methodology involves methods of data collection, population of the study,
research design. According to Okoth ,A & Ndaloh ,A(2008, p.47), a research methodology is
simply a technique for collecting data, it can involve a specific instrument such as questionnaire
or a structure interview schedule or participant observation where by the researcher listen to and
watches others.
3.1 Research design
A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a
manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure. In
fact, the research design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted; it
constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data Kothari.C.R.(2004,
p .31)
This research involves descriptive survey research. (Mugenda & Mugenda, 1999) descriptive
survey research is therefore self-report study which requires the collection of information from
the sample. This study involved descriptive survey so as to describe existing phenomena by
asking individuals about public relations practice and new media specifically face book, 31
respondents from Nyamagana district was selected in data collection of the study.
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3.2 Population of the study
The research was conducted in Mwanza city Nyamagana district, hence population of the study
was the Public Relations Practitioners in Catholic Relief Service and other workers within the
organization, and also it involved other residents of the area who are benefited by the services
offered by Catholic Relief Service.
3.3 Sampling and sample size
3.3.1 Sampling technique
According to Kothari (2004, p.52) Sampling may be defined as the selection of some parts of an
aggregate or totality on the basis of which a judgment or inference about the aggregate or totality
is made.
Purposive sampling
In this type of sampling items for the sample are selected deliberately by the researcher choice
concerning the items remained supreme. In other words under non probability sampling the
organizers of the inquiry purposively choose the particular units of the universe for constituting
a sample in the basis that the small mass that they select out of a huge one will be typical or
representative of the whole. Kothari (2004, p.59)
The study used this technique because the information was obtained from the selected sample in
the Public relations unit like the Public relations officers of Catholic Relief Service and other
workers within the organization.
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Accidental Sampling
This method is not interested in including the element with any specific characteristics; the
researcher accepts whatever can get and satisfied with it. In this technique the interviewer simply
interviews whoever passes by a selected location Cargan, l. (2007, p.243)
The study used this technique because the information was obtained randomly from the people of
sweya in Nyamagana district.
3.3.2Sample size
A sample is a subset of the population that is taken to be a representative of the entire population
Wimmer & Dominick (1989, p.64) The sample size in this study was 31 respondents, among
them six was from Catholic Relief Service organization, 25 was the people outside the
organization who are benefited by the organization services in Sweya ward at Nyamagana
district.
3.4 Method of data collection
Collection of the research data was conducted through various methods. The methods are,
interview and questionnaire.
3.4.1 Interview
According to Earl, B. (2004, p. 263), interview is a data collection encounter in which a person
(interviewer) asks questions to others. The interview allows more flexibility and more freedom
for the respondents to answer by giving all information she or he knows. In this study the public
relations officer of Catholic Relief Service was interviewed.
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3.4.2Questionnaire
According Singh,y (2006, p.191) is a form which is prepared and distributed for the purpose of
securing response. Generally this questions are factual and designed for securing information
about certain condition or practice of which recipient is presumed to have knowledge.
According to Kothari,C.R. (2004) questionnaire can be either structured or un structured.
Structured questionnaire are those questionnaire in which there are definite, concrete and pre-
determined questions.
Unstructured questionnaire the interviewer provided with a general guide on the type of
information to be obtained, but the exact questions. Formulation is largely her own responsibility
and the replies are to be taken down in the respondents own words. 25 questionnaires were given
to respondents in Nyamagana district at Sweya ward and five questionnaires to workers within
Catholic Relief Service in different departments such as; finance, project, administrative and
human resource department.
3.5 Methods of data analysis
3.5.1 Qualitative approach
According to Mugenda &Mugenda (1999, p. 203) qualitative data analysis seeks to make
general statement on how categories or themes of data are related. In qualitative research, data is
in the form of text, materials, photographs etc. Which describe events and occurrences.
3.5.2 Quantitative approach
This is a form of research which is covered with how variable are represented and how they use
numbers to communicate. (Wimmer, R, D. & Dominick, J, R. (1989).
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CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 Presentation of Finding
This chapter presents data from self-administered questionnaires and in depth interview; the
data was presented in qualitative and quantitative referring to each objective of this study.
4.1Demographic characteristics of the respondents
Out of 30 distributed questionnaires 25 (83%) were returned and 1 respondent was interviewed
making a total of 26, informants.
Table 4.1.1 showing the age of the respondents
Responses No of respondents Percentage (%)
(15-25) years of age 2 8
(25-35) years of age, 14 56
(35-45) years of age 6 24
46 and above 3 12
Total 25 100
Source: research findings (2015)
Out these 25 informants (8%) were aged (15-25) years old, (56% ) were aged (25-35) years of
age,( 24%) of the respondents were aged between ( 35- 45)and (12% )
of the respondents were aged 46 and above.
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Table 4.1.2Showing education background of respondents
Responses No of respondents Percentage (%)
Primary education 0 0
Secondary education 2 8
Diploma holders 9 36
Degree holders 10 40
Masters holders 3 12
PhD holders 1 4
Total 25 100
Source: research findings (2015)
The table above shows the education background of the respondents
whereas their level of education ranged from primary level of education to PHD holders, no any
respondent had primary level of education, ( 8%) respondents had secondary level of education,
(36%) of the respondents were of diplomas, ( 40%) of the respondents were degree holders;
(12%) of the respondents were masters holders and ( 4%) a PHD holder.
4.2 Findings.
4.2.1 Do you use any social media page?
Answer Respondents Percentage (%)
Yes 20 80
No 5 20
Total 25 100
Source; researcher’s findings (2015)
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From the table above it shows that (80%) respondents use social media pages, but ( 20%) do not
use social media pages, which makes a total of (100%).
4.2.2 Do you have face book account?
Answer Respondents Percentage (%)
Yes 20 100
No 0 0
Total 20 100
Source; researcher’s findings (2015)
From the table above presents on how many respondents have face book account, whereas all
(100%) of respondents who use social media pages have face book accounts.
4.2.3 In using face book have you ever come across Catholic relief service page?
Answer Respondents Percentage (%)
Yes 7 35
No 13 65
Total 20 100
Source; researcher’s findings (2015)
About (35%) of the respondents said that they have come across the Catholic Relief Service Page
and the rest who were (65%) said they have never come across Catholic Relief Service Face
book page.
4.2.4 If yes what was it about?
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The Face book page of Catholic Relief Service is about the activities that the organization do
especially on providing aids for people with HIV/AIDS in developing countries, the issues
concerning with combating and provide services for Malaria pandemic and also they show areas
where disasters occurred they ensure quick respond and support.
4.2.5 What are you perspective over Catholic Relief Service Face book page?
The respondent’s perspective is the Organization post in face book page involves things that
have been done by outsiders to other countries but they did not see any post that have been
posted by Catholic Relief Service in our country so the people who are involved in the
organization activities they could at least post things they do so that people could see them.
4.2.6 Is there any benefit you get from Catholic Relief Service through Face book?
In this question four respondents said yes and three of them said no.
4.2.7 What are those benefits?
In this question the respondents mentioned the benefits they know of face book page of Catholic
Relief Service as follows; helps to know what activities organization is dealing with, also helps
them to know what organization has done currently concerning the services they offer and where
it has been done and also other benefit is, it helps to know how people view the organization
regarding what they are doing all over the world to people who need some help.
4.3 Findings from the Interview
29
The interview was conducted between the researcher and the Public Relations Officer of
Catholic Relief Service with the aim of getting direct information’s.
Does your organization have any account in any social media site?
The Public Relations Officer said yes the organization have account in social media site.
Is face book one among them?
The answer is yes face book is among them, though the operation of the account is done
internationally.
What year did the organization started to use face book in its activities.
The year the organization started to use face book account in its activities is 2008.
What attracted your organization to use face book?
Public Relations Officer said that this organization is a global one so they decided to use face
book so that they can communicate easier between themselves and the external publics, and also
they wanted to be known by the people in the world and people to know the services they are
offering.
What strategies does Catholic Relief Service use on their face book page to practice Public
Relations activities?
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The Interviewee answered that the organization use different strategies on their face book page
like posting different things they do as services to different people, they use pictures to attract
people to read their pages and also they allow people to comment on different posts so they
could know where they have done better or bad and how people perceive them and their
activities.
Do you have any other channel of communication?
The respondent said yes they have other channels of communications.
What are those channels?
They have other channels which they use for communication like share points, this is something
used by the staff members only for communication on different matters concerning the
organization services.
Other things they are using are letters and phone calls whereby they use these means mostly for
external publics to know about different matters they can be able to solve and also people call
and write letters to show appreciations or ask for assistance on different matters.
Which social group have you been able to reach using face book?
Mostly they have been able to reach the youth people between the ages of 15 to 35 because they
are the main users of face book.
What have been the effects of face book in your organization Public Relations Practice?
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In this question the interviewee responded that the using of face book account help them in
different activities like; Evidence to donors and other companies that provides grants to CRS so
that they can do different services to different people in the world, by posting on their pages what
they have done to people who needed help.
Another effect is they can now be able to reach different people in the world at the same time
and also they can be able to communicate with them through using their face book page they
receive comments on different issues from external publics.
Another effect is response of people they are serving within the region is low because many
people are not familiar with their face book page, so it’s hard for them to know what the society
wants from them because they do not have good communication with them.
What challenges do you face in handling your face book page?
The interviewee answered that It has been hard for them to communicate with local people or
see the participation of local people on their face book page because the account is used globally
and so the language used is English, so the organization itself decided to find ways that they may
use to communicate with people they serve within the region that is why they came up with
letters and the use of phone calls to people who are benefited by the organization services within
the region.
CHAPTER FIVE
32
5.0 Discussions, & Conclusions
This chapter contains the discussion, Recommendations and Conclusion.
5.1 Discussions
The discussion in the research is determined by the researcher findings in relations to the
research topic on the increasing impact of face book on Public Relations Practice in Catholic
Relief Service in Nyamagana.
What are the strategies used by Catholic Relief Service on face book account for the practice of
PR?
The study revealed that due to the rapid increase of the use of social networks in the world
especially face book, many people depend on face book as their source of information and also
use it as a way to communicate easily with friends all over the world as long as you have an
account
Catholic Relief Service is using different strategies in using face book page so that to achieve
organization goals and practice PR activities, they first post different issues concerning the
organization activities so that people could get to know how effective the organization is in
offering its services and also the use of colorful pictures which attract the people to go through
their page and see what they do and how they do it. Another strategy found which is used by the
organization is allowing comments and people’s views on their activities so as to see how they
are perceived by the people they serve. Since it had been revealed that social media have
high number of audience the study wanted to link up the information by finding out if
the respondents use face book and real do come across Catholic Relief Service page
33
From the researcher findings it shows that (80% ) of the respondents use social media pages, but
(20%) do not use social media pages, which makes a total of (100%), the big number of people
who are using social media they have face book accounts, the good number of people who are
using face book is what attracted the Catholic Relief Service to have their own page for their
activities.
This reflects to Deidre, k (2012, p.6) the new PR mindset takes into consideration how PR
extend beyond what you were used to in traditional realm, what you have started to master in
online PR arena and what you have dabbled with in social media The new mindset is what you
can look forward to as you see more businesses becoming socialized to meet the needs of their
customers. Social media is moving across the organization from marketing and sales to IT and
product development. The future PR and communications is how you adapt and learn the new
practices and how you help your peers to adopt.
This makes the work of Public Relations easier because there is no need for Public Relations
Officer to have a big job to communicate with internal and external publics all that can be
possible through using face book.
What are the effects of face book to Public Relations Practice of Catholic Relief Service?
In answering the research question above the researcher first wanted to know what kind
of information is always given out on face book page from Catholic Relief Service, the
findings was the information which is mostly found on face book page of the organization is
about the activities that the organization is doing globally.
34
In relation to the argument presented by ( Traprial, V & Kanwar, P, 2012 p.19) before social
media can begin to affect communication, and public relations it must encompass fundamental
building blocks of social media efforts. This means do not start blogging, tweeting, or face
booking without a purpose and an outline of goals. One of the common mistakes people make
when they begin exploring and using social media is doing so without a strategic plan, it is
important to post meaningful information’s with confidence which many users struggle to do.
The ability to obtain social media credibility and gain a large audience is accomplished by
attacking social media with a well developed plan.
According to the interview done with the Public Relations Officer of Catholic Relief Service the
effects of using face book to their organization is to make donors and other companies who
provide grants see what they are doing so as to use it as an evidence to prove that they really do
services to the people of different parts of the world another thing is they use face book so that
they can connect themselves with every country they are working in by using the same page and
the same language.
Another effect is response of people they are serving within the region is low because many
people are not familiar with their face book page, so it’s hard for them to know what the society
wants from them because they do not have good communication with them.
What are the user’s perspectives over Catholic Relief Service face book page?
According to questionnaires only (35%) of the respondents came across the Catholic Relief
Service face book page this is because many people who are benefited by the organization
services are people in hard conditions and most of them are from rural areas and in really
35
conditions most of these people do not use social media so it has been hard for organization to
communicate with them through face book.
The perspectives of the people who have came across the page, the organization could have their
own page which will operate locally with the people within the region and they could at least
introduce the use of Kiswahili language so that people could understand their posts and be able
to participate in one way or another.
5.2 Recommendations
The organization should make the use of face book more effectively for their organization
activities, because by using face book page they could get to communicate easily with the people
they serve.
The organization should localize their face book page so as to allow the participation of the local
people they serve and to get feedback more easily.
The organization should use other means of communication which will make more easy way for
the people who doesn’t have face book accounts to steel get the information concerning the
organization. Examples the use of media like television to advertise the services they offer so as
other people who doesn’t know them could get to know them.
People who know the organization and its services they should make their fellows aware of it so
that they could both be benefited by the services.
The organization should publicize themselves this could help them to get donors from within the
country, because there are some people who are willing to help others but they are not aware of
the organization and its services.
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5.3 Conclusion
This study was guided by three objective and three research question which have been
presented and discussed on the previous chapter After data analysis, presentation and
discussion , the research gives out the conclusion on the topic of study.
The development of technology has changed the way people communicate, the use of social
media such as face book has been increasing in the world every day, people from different parts
of the world can communicate without even met, though social media we have positive and
negative effects organizations and companies could use these media like face book to do their
activities so as to achieve organization goals and communicate with the people they serve.
The study has found that the number of people who are using face book is increasing, for the
organization to have an effective way of communication they can use social media not only face
book but also twitter, my space, instagram and others so that they can ensure good relationship
between the organization and its publics and they could ensure effectiveness of their activities.
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(www.crs.org) Cited on 17th February 2015.
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(https://m.facebook.com)
APPENDICES
Appendix i
Questionnaires to be sent to respondents from Ilemela
39
Dear Respondent, I am a final year student at St Augustine university of Tanzania, Mwanza
Campus pursuing BA Mass communications, I am Emmanuel Jackline, carrying out a topic
“Impacts of Face book to Public Relations Practice, a case of Catholic Relief Service”
This study is strictly for academic purposes and the information will be treated with much
confidentiality, please I ask for your corporation.
Here, I would like to have some personal information about you –undoubtedly for analytical
purpose.
1. Please identify your age.
a) 15-25 ( )
b) 25-35 ( )
c) 35-45 ( )
d) 46 and above ( )
2. Please identify your education level.
a) Primary level ( )
b) Secondary level ( )
c) Certificate ( )
d) Diploma ( )
e) Degree ( )
f) Masters ( )
g) PHD ( )
40
3. Do you use any social media pages?
a) Yes ( )
b) No ( )
4. If yes do you have face book account?
a) Yes ( )
b) No ( )
5. In using face book have you ever come across Catholic Relief Service page?
a) Yes ( )
b) No ( )
6. If yes what was it about?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
7. What are your perspectives over Catholic Relief Organization face book?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
41
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
8 .Is there benefit you get from Catholic Relief Service through face book?
a) Yes ( )
b) No ( )
9. If yes what are those benefits?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Apendix ii
Interview questions for Catholic Relief Service Public Relations personnel.
1. Does your organization have any account in any social media site?
42
2. If yes is face book one among them?
3. Which year did the organization start to use face book in its activities?
4. What do you think attracted the organization to join and start using face book account?
5. What strategies does Catholic Relief Service use on their face book page to practice
Public relations activities?
6. Do you have any other channel of communication?
7. If the answer is yes what are those channels?
8. Which social group have you been able to reach using face book page?
a) Non educated (primary education level and below)
b) Educated (secondary education and above)
c) Rural people
d) Urban people
e) The youth (15-35)
f) Young adults (35-45)
g) The aged (45 and above)
Specify………………………………………………………………………..
9. What have been the effects of face book in your organization Public relations practices?
10. What challenges do you face in handling your face book page?
43
