Type Here to Get Search Results !

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE IN THE OIL SECTOR (A CASE STUDY OF AFRICAN PETROLEUM PLC PORT-HARCOURT).



ABSTRACT






        African petroleum Plc, a Marketer of
petroleum products and chemicals, knows that public support and goodwill as
well as good corporate image are very important for business success. Tends to
be influenced by their publics which includes, its staff, shareholders,
customers and of course members of the press.


        The company is actually very much
interested to know its public problem areas and opportunities with the aim to
improving the organization’s overall performance to enable them know what their
public thinks about African petroleum public Relations programmes and quality
of services of the organization to its publics.


The
researcher therefore decided to embark on this study with the objectives.


        The objectives of the study are:


To
determine the extent of AP’S public Relations messages accessibility to their
publics and also find out whether AP’s public relations practices influence the
opinion of their publics.


Relevant
data based on the scope of the study were collected through primary and
secondary data with structured questionnaire as the main instrument
administered to two hundred and fifty (250) respondents comprising forty
African petroleum staff, sixty share holders, one hundred and twenty customers
and thirty members of the press.


The
questionnaire was highly structured and open – ended where necessary. The
questions and the response were very standard to facilitate comparison of
responses and to secure good control of the questions, chi-square (x2)
was used to analyse the hypotheses formulated.


Among
the findings were that the African Petroleum Public Relations Media Message and
quality of their overall services are satisfactory through their mobilization
programmes and enlightment campaign but needs more efforts. AP’s Public
Relation’s Practice influences their publics to favour her products through
persuasive and convincing communication. The following recommendation were
made; AP should always engage in a constant evaluation of their public
relations practice and its effectiveness to identify any short comings. Media
combination should be reviewed to always embrace appreciable coverage.








TABLE
OF CONTENTS






Title Page                                                                         i



Approval Page                                                                  ii



Dedication                                                                       iii


Acknowledgement                                                            iv


Abstract                                                                           v


Table of Content                                                              vii





CHAPTER ONE:      INTRODUCTION



1.1   Background to the study                                         1


1.2     
Statement of problem                                              4


1.3     
Objective of the study                                              6


1.4     
Formulation of Hypothesis                                       6


1.5     
Scope of the study                                                   7


1.6     
Significance of the study                                          8


1.7     
Definition of terms                                                   9





CHAPTER TWO:      LITERATURE
REVIEW


2.1   What is public relation                                            11


2.2      Role of public
relations executives in


commercial
out fit                                                    26


2.3     
Strategy and scope of public relations
programmes 28


2.4     
Frame work of public relations
programme              37


2.5     
Importance of public relations in all
oil industry.    39








CHAPTER
THREE:  RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY


3.1   Sources of data                                                                45


3.1.1        Primary data                                                           45


3.1.2        Secondary data                                                       46


3.2
  Area of study                                                            46


3.3
  Research instrument                                                       46


3.4.1
Questionnaire design/ interview questions             47


3.4.2        Dichotomous questions                                          48


3.4.3        Multiple choice questions                                               48


3.4.4        Open-ended questions                                            48


3.5   Sampling method used                                            48


3.5.1
Sample size and sampling techniques                    49


3.5.2
Sample procedure                                                   52


3.6   Pilot survey                                                              50


3.7   Validity of the instrument                                                51


3.8   Method of investigation                                           52


3.9   Validation of instrument                                          53


3.10 Method of data analysis                                           54





CHAPTER FOUR:    DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS


4.1   Part A. a table of responses to sex                           56


4.2     
Indication of free access to AP’s
public                   








CHAPTER FIVE:     SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS


5.1   Summary                                                                 72


5.2   Summary of findings                                                       74


5.3   Conclusions                                                             75


5.4   Recommendations                                                   76


5.5   Limitations of the study                                           77





Bibliography                                                            78


Appendix
1                                                              83


Appendix
11                                                            84

















CHAPTER
ONE






1.0   INTRODUCTION



1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY



        The history of African petroleum Plc
date back to 1954 when the then British petroleum BP company Limited, brought
up the assets of Atlantic refining company on the West African coast Ten years
later (1964) that company was incorporated in Nigeria as British Petroleum of
Nigeria Limited which of course is a subsidiary of the world wide British
petroleum Group that marketed petroleum product throughout the Federal Republic
of Nigeria. In 1978, the company changed from a private company to a public
company, when forty percent (40%) of the shares were sold to Nigerian citizens
in compliance with provisions of the Nigeria Enterprises promotions degree of
1977. On the 31st July 1979, the Federal Government acquired the
sixty percent (60%) share in British petroleum (BP) Limited, just to make the
company wholly Nigeria
affair. As a result, the name of the company had to change to African Petroleum
(AP) Limited which was in November 1979.


        Accordingly, 20% of the Federal
Governments 60% shares in African petroleum were offered to the public in March
1989 in fulfillment of its privatization policy. The share were seven times
over subscribed during the exercise, thus increasing the number of share
holders from about fifty thousand to one hundred and sixty thousand share
holders. The company’s current paid up share capital of N 86.4M which of course
is the largest in the country.


        As a marketer of refined petroleum in
Nigeria, African Petroleum (AP) procures and distributes petroleum products
like petrol (PMS), Diesel oil  (AGO),
Household kerosene or Domestic petroleum kerosene (HHK/DPK), Low poor fuel oil
(LPFO), Liquefied petroleum Gas (LPG), fuel oil, Jet-A-1 (Aviation furbric
kerosene) etc the company also manufacture and market a wide range of lubricants,
insecticide and chemicals. This company’s marketing operation areas are Kaduna, Kano,
Port – Harcourt, Warri.


        African petroleum plc has its head
office in Lagos.
The main source of its products is the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) through its strategic network depots and refineries. As contained in its
Diary (1998) African petroleum is a world class integrated petroleum company
where outstanding and dedicated people supported by superior technology deliver
exceptional benefits to its shareholders”. Their mission is to be an innovative
and customer oriented, provider of quality petroleum and related products and
services”.


        Businesses are open systems, and most of
what they do generates direct benefits and costs for their societies. Today
society demands that businesses join in the urgent task of solving societies,
problems. Corporations are more than economic institutions and have a
responsibility to devote some of their resources problems mainly of which
corporations helped to create.


        However, small or large our enterprise,
we cannot isolate our business from the society around us. Nor can we function
without its goodwill. The researcher therefore tried to x-ray the public
relations practice in African petroleum plc to assess its effectiveness in
building desired goodwill imperative to healthy business survivability.





1.2   STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS:


        African petroleum plc (formerly British
petroleum) that has been in existence since 1954 is now one of the major
marketers of petroleum products in Nigeria. African petroleum plc
operates few major marketing areas in Kaduna, Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt. It has
depots at (Apapa) Lagos, Jos and Kano but its main source
of Petroleum Company (NNPC). Presently the company entered into the marketing
of chemical, real estate development and manufacturing of insecticides.

        Coming to the ever-increasing number of
competition and continued fuel scarcity in the country, the company does not
fold its arms watching rather she continues to diversify and expand on its
activities. The reason being that should the company fail to satisfy her
numerous publics by constant supply of product as at when