Public relations as a marketing function is an extension of the
societal marketing concept which focuses every marketing decision on customer
satisfaction, and welfare of the firms larger public which is designed to
enhances the image of the organization in the minds of its various public.
It is the aim of this research work of find out if hospitals do
make use of public relations as one of their marketing strategy for customer
satisfaction and enhancing the image of the organization in the minds of its
public. This research work has five chapters.
Chapter one contains a general discussion of what public relation
is all about as has been said by different authors. It went further to state
the problems to be studied and why this study was carried out, the scope and
limitation of the study, and finally, the proposition and the definition of
terms.
For the literature review, a number of past related literature
examined by other studies as it relates to the role of public relations in
marketing of hospital services are highlighted also.
The third chapter, deals with the design of the study, the method
used in collecting relevant data. It equally treat the way the questionnaires
were distributed and the treatment of data.
In chapter four, the data got from the research survey were
analyzed and interpreted. Also, similar questions on both questionnaires were
compared.
Finally, chapter five contains the summary of finding conclusion
on the research and recommendations made by the researcher.
For hospitals to enhance the image of their organization in the
minds of its public, hospitals should put the recommendation made in this study
into use for it will not only satisfy services offered to their customers but a
continuous increase in the number of patients that do patronize their hospital
and an increase in profit.
INTRODUCTION
Before now, hike in 1960’s public relation practice was not
popular, only a few Nigerians knew what public relation was, until the recent
past when public relations practice and public relations programmes and
activities were considered as the powerful tools for co-ordinating human and
business image. The knowledge of public relation diffused fast in Nigerian
society because of the economic, social and political programmes of activities
were in a state of constant change.
Public relations as marketing function is an extension of the
societal marketing concept which focuses every marketing decision on customer
satisfaction, and welfare of the firm’s larger public. A relationship between a
firm and its numerous public such as customers, employees, and the community at
large, which is designed to enhance the image of the organization in the minds
of its various public (Engle, Warshow and Kinnear P. 568).
Public relation can improve the image and reputation of a company
which according to the institute of public relation as “the deliberate, planned
and sustained effort to establish and maintain metal understanding between an
organization and it’s public”. As a managerial function according to Philip
Kotler (1997: P. 6.71) is involvement of a variety of programme designed to
promoter and protect a company’s image or it’s individual product. “According
to Canfield (1992: pg. 58) Public relation” is the management function which
evaluates public attitude, identities, the policies and procedures of an
individual or organization with public interest and executes program of action
to earn public understanding and acceptance”.
Kam Affong equally defined public relation as “the process of
assessing consumer wants, establishing communication and fostering good will so
that consumer wants can be profitably statisfied from the foregoing the
hospital management should be capable of assessing and analyzing the wants of
their customers, information pass from the hospital to the customer, from
customer back, thereby fostering the mutual understanding of both parties.
Whether hospitals make use of effective public relations is yet a problem to be
unrevealed.
A present women once came to deliver in one of our hospitals and
asked the nurse on duty to take her to labour room because she is weak. The
nurse replied in a harsh and hostile tore “if you like crawl to the labour
room, after all she did not impregnant her”. Some doctors, nurses and staff are
sometimes non chavant to patients welfare, harsh to patient, some hospital have
recorded the greatest number of death, and some charging exorbitant price, some
unqualified personnel, and some demand payment first before treatment. These
and many other reasons may be accountable for the preference of one hospital
over another. So, hospital management should be conscious of every thing they
do because they depend on the public for their profit and should satisfy their
consumers. There fore, the management should understand that public relation as
a marketing promotional function if practice well will help them to guard their
image jealously and maintain favourable relationship between the hospital and
its public, there by creating good will for themselves.
“Public relations is too important in a firms total communication
and promotional effort to permit it to be either negative and damaging or
indifferent to the point where the public know little or what the company is
doing, what it stands for and what it is trying to achieve”. (Rom Markins
(1979:521) so the hospital should blow it’s trumpet very well “effectively”,
and if poorly managed, will find it fruitless to get it’s good will no matter
the promotional strategies it adopts. Once the consumer of their services finds
out the doctor and nurses do not cater for their interest, they will give up
their patronage to another hospital.
There should be constant communication among the doctors, nurses,
paramedical staff, drug suppliers, patients and the public at large so that,
the hospitals good deeds will get to the public and take the credit. The
hospitals therefore need not advertise for patients or customers but there area
other effective ways of making patients to come to your hospital and that is
through public relations.
The historical background of the park lane hospital: The
hospital was established in 1930 as a nursing home for colonial masters and in
1952 blacks were allowed to be treated, because it was ment for the whites. In
April 1967 during the Nigerian Civil War. It was converted into a general
hospital and its expansion started in may at the same year and between 1978 and
1982, the surgical word, eye clinic, pediatric ward, plant house, mortuary and
four new blocks of consulting rooms in the OPD were constructed and
commissioned.
In 1985, a new phase of development with a 52 bed surgical ward,
ante-natal clinic and a maternity ward. Also in August 1999, a school of
nursing had been opened to train nurses for Enugu and other states, 5 bungalows
were completed in preparation for the accreditation of the hospital for
training of house officers. In September 2001, the premises was tarred, and the
number of doctors had to be increased to 27 with about seven consultants in all
aspect of medicine and in 2003 another building was elevated and yet to be
completed and commissioned by the state government.
The hospital is headed by a medical/chief executive under him are
the following units:
1. The medical doctors
2. The laboratory unit
3. The pharmacy unit
4. The medical records unit
5. The nursing division
6. The x-ray unit
7. The administration and other units
A new patient first goes to the receptionist of the hospital and
obtained a card at prescribed fee with the card he/she goes to doctor on duty.
After consultations, he/she goes to the dispensary of the pharmacy to buy the
prescribed drugs.
Public relation is in the service industry, and medical doctors,
nurses and other paramedical staff which are been produced from our
universities may or may not have taken some course in marketing, business
administration, psychology and human relations to prepare them at least to
identify consumers needs understanding them as hence satisfy them effectively.
In this regard, blame for poor public relations practice have been placed on
the inadequate training given to these doctors, nurses and other medical staffs.
It is also evident, that the consumers (patients) are becoming
more and more knowledgeable, patients have often been complaining of inadequate
attention, poor quality of medical services, unreasonable hospital charges and
above all, sheer exploitation. Now patients (consumers) now resort to self
medication, using of Natural herbs and even sworn never to approach any medical
doctor or nurse for help. Our general hospital, has been accused of hoarding
drugs and selling them in an open market for a higher profit margin. As a
result of this, high incidence of death has been recorded in our hospital,
increasing the country’s death rate. This situation has attracted the attention
of the researcher who is bent among other things on finding out better ways of
satisfying these consumer (patient) and hence improving the hospitals image
through public relation.
The most outstanding hope of this study is that it’s findings will
be of immense benefit to medical practitioners, students and others who may not
have has a course in public relations. The findings are further anticipated to
help the park lane general hospital and other practicing managers especially
those who are in the hospitals and similar field in seeing the customer as the
king. Also, the study will be of tremendous help to the general public, and to
organizations in maintaining metal relationship between them and their numerous
customers.
The study will also be of immense help to the government in caring
out or executing any programme that will effect its people.
Also, the study will be of benefits to the customers in
maintaining good relationship with the organizations that renders services to
them. This will enhance understanding between the organization (hospital) and
it’s customers.
Moreover, readers of this research will also benefit from it. This
will help enlightening them on the roles and importance of public relation in
our society.
The study will also be of immense value to the researcher because
it will make her to know more of what she did not know before conducting the
research work. The researcher will also use this work as a reference whenever
the need arises.
1. To find out the level of attention given to
patients in our hospital.
2. To examine the efforts which the hospitals are
making to see that good relation is created and sustain between them and their
patients.
3. To find out whether the hospitals have good
relationship with the publics.
4. To create adequate awareness of this hospital.
5. To ensure arouse interest of the consumers
(patients)
6. To stimulate or create action among the
consumers (patients)
7. To help in satisfaction of the consumer and
thereby leading to profitability of the organization.
The study centers on one hospital “park lane general hospital at
G.R.A. Enugu. However, the study was carried out in Enugu metropolis to enable
the researcher get adequate infacts and come up with a dependable solution to
the problem.
This refers to other staffs in the hospital apart from doctors and
nurses that helps in running and providing services to their consumers
(patients).
Societal marketing: according to )P. Kotler) is a management
orientation aimed at generating customer satisfaction and long-run consumer and
public welfare as the key to satisfying organizational goals and
responsibilities.
It talks on satisfying customers and company needs, the
organization must preserve and enhance the well being of the society.
It is the term used to describe the combination of the four
variable, which constitute the core of a company marketing system i.e. the
price, product, promotional activities, and the distribution system (place).
| Department | Marketing |
| Project ID Code | MKT0010 |
| Chapters | 5 Chapters |
| No of Pages | 86 pages |
| Methodology | Chi Square |
| Reference | YES |
| Format | Microsoft Word |
| Price | ₦4000, $15 |
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| Contact Us On | +2347043069458 |