Public Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Public Relations - Essay Example Wilcox (2011), stated that public relations might comprise the following activities, training of a company’s employees, conservation of the environment, compensation of damages or lives lost because of a tragedy caused by the activities of an organisation. Public relations in BP plc BP plc is a British multinational oil and gas company that has faced constrained public relations over the past years. According to studies by Reed (2011), BP plants have had the highest number of industrial accidents among gas and oil companies, which have resulted in the loss of lives and severe environmental pollution. The most memorable industrial accident that BP suffered was the DeepWater Horizon oilrig explosion that further resulted to oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in the year 2010. Reed (2011) further pointed out that the DeepWater Horizon explosion resulted to loss of lives and injuries. Because of these recurring accidents, the company has suffered negative publicity, which has amounte d to doubts being raised about how BP handles its industrial accidents. With the aim to correct this negative publicity, the organization is bound to build a mutual co-existence with the locals in the areas that the company operates. Secondly, the company should employ compensation measures as a public relations strategy and focus on enhancing its internal organizational image, that is to say, how the workers view and feel about the company (Seitel, 2010). BP’s public relations measures from the organizational perspective . In order to maintain positive working environment and efficient working relationship between the workers and the organization’s management, the company should consider compensating the victims and family members of any person who lost his or her life during any accident involving the company. In order to maintain a good organizational image, BP should establish a special compensation department whose sole mandate is to assess the extent of loss or i njuries suffered by workers while performing their duties. According to Seitel (2010), the compensation granted should not necessarily amount to monetary payments only but it can also be negotiated on the nature of the compensation to be granted. The workers could agree with the company that in case one losses his/ her life because of industrial accident while on duty, the company could alternatively offer an employment opportunity to any member of the deceased family who is eligible for that position or any other vacancy in the organization. With such public relations program arrangement with the staff, the company is bound to enjoy healthy relationship with its workers and further have a flexible means of compensation in case of any industrial accident occurring. BP’s societal public relations measures Apart from building a positive organizational public relation with its staff, the company also has a duty to present itself as part of the solutions to the society’s p roblem and not the problem. According to Wilcox and Cameron (2011), the company should engage in activities that promote the well-being of the immediate society within which the organization operates. In the events of the oil spillage in the Gulf of Mexico, BP faced public outrage from environmental conservatist and the community members who were anglers in the area. The impact of the oil spillage was devastating to the marine life within the location of the spillage. Most notably