The Strategic Role of Public Relations in Crisis Management and Reconciliation Process in Ethiopia: The case of Burayu City Displacement Crisis
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Date
2019-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
In recent times, Ethiopia has experienced different crisis situations. But, it seems that little attempts have been made by different stakeholders including the government in using scientific and strategic crisis communication efforts to avert crisis and work on reputation and good relationship with publics. The study aims at exploring a crisis scenario occurred at Burayu town particularly, in the displacement crisis in September 2018. The main objective of this study was to examine the relevance of crisis public relations practices at all phases of crisis, and also the reconciliation process after crisis to protect reputational assets and to bring peace. In this study, the crisis event was assessed through scientific approach and best practices on crisis communication. Qualitative research approach was employed to collect and analyze data generated through in-depth interview with key informants selected through purposive and snow ball sampling techniques. Relevant data collected through qualitative contents analysis method and FGDs were analyzed accordingly. The study describes in detail about the concepts of Public relations, Crisis management and Reconciliation process to demonstrate the strategic role of public relations in crisis management and reconciliation process. In September 2018, people were displaced for three reasons from Burayu City. The first one was the clash between youth of different ethnic groups; the second one was due to the disseminating wrong information; and the third one was the prevalence of fear. In this study, crisis communication is described and analyzed as a sense-making process where reality is negotiated and constructed in cultural contexts and situations. Public relations practitioners should be work to manage such kind of crisis to protect the relationship between organization (Government) and publics. The findings of the study show that there was poor understanding on public relations profession and a huge gap in using strategic public relations to manage crisis and conduct reconciliation. In short, Crisis is often a result of poor communication between organizations and its publics, and consequently more focus should be put on the pre-crisis phase and on building and maintaining long-lasting relationships. Then, Communication and ongoing dialogues with publics is the only way to nurture and restore constructive relationships.
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Journalisme