An Assessment of the Practices and Challenges of Community Relations: The Case of Sher Ethiopia PLC Batu Branch.
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Date
2024-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This thesis examines the methods and problems of community relations and practices at Sher Ethiopia's Batu branch. Community interactions are crucial for developing long-term commercial operations and reciprocal advantages for businesses and nearby communities. This study uses a mixed-methods research approach that includes or adopts a combination of qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys to explore Sher Ethiopia's approaches in interacting with the community, evaluating the effectiveness of these approaches, and addressing the obstacles encountered in maintaining positive connections. qualitative interviews and quantitative for survey questions to investigate the strategies used by Sher Ethiopia to engage with the community and foster their relations with the surrounding community, the perceived effectiveness of these strategies, and the challenges encountered in maintaining positive relationships. In any firm, establishing strong relationships with the community is essential for fostering sustainable business operations and mutual benefits for both companies and residents. Key findings emphasize the significance of cultural sensitivity, communication tactics, and the influence of socioeconomic variables on the surrounding community’s attitudes. The study analyzes hurdles to the effectiveness of their community relations practices, like as distrust, competing interests, and communication gaps, and also gives recommendations for improving its community relations practices to enhance socioeconomic growth and long-term sustainability both for Batu Town and comparable to the surrounding community and environments. This abstract encapsulates the statement of the problem, scope, research questions, and limitations of the study, organization of the thesis, literature review, methodology, key findings, and implications of the thesis on community relations at Sher Ethiopia's Batu branch.The challenges of the company include diverse matters which are not effectively perceived by the company. In addition, although promotive activities are under the company's hand, other major activities are performed in collaboration with the newly recognized government institute. Finally, taking the above, it is suggested that the company and the regional government should work abdominally to minimize the negative impacts of the enterprise to improve the capacity of the community. The company should design and rethink its overall community relations activity and practices in a way it fosters its relations with the surrounding community and even to secure its employees safety and a good working environment.