Fadi Mfarrej, Christine Mfarrej
THE ROLE OF MODERN COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN MANAGING THE ACTIVITIES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS *
Аннотация:
the interest in modern communication technologies has increased in the light of the rapid developments, as these technologies have a prominent importance both in daily lives and for institutions and companies, through which they seek to manage their activities and work in easier and quicker ways through the use of computer and internet in writing and drafting articles, and organizing conferences and visits. These technologies have shortened e time and effort and contribute to managing the activities of public relations in an effective manner, in order to gain the public support and to improve the corporate image of the company. Syria has paid great attention to these modern technologies in all the companies that aim to serve the public with the aim to ensure that their activities are effective and that their works are of high quality. This cannot be achieved without the use of modern communication technologies in managing the different corporate activities
Ключевые слова:
Modern Communication Technologies, Public Relations, Syria, Syrian Railways
УДК 1
Fadi Mfarrej
PhD Candidate of Philology
(Moscow, Russian Federation)
Christine Mfarrej
Higher Institution of business Administration
(Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic)
THE ROLE OF MODERN COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
IN MANAGING THE ACTIVITIES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Abstract: the interest in modern communication technologies has increased in the light of the rapid developments, as these technologies have a prominent importance both in daily lives and for institutions and companies, through which they seek to manage their activities and work in easier and quicker ways through the use of computer and internet in writing and drafting articles, and organizing conferences and visits. These technologies have shortened e time and effort and contribute to managing the activities of public relations in an effective manner, in order to gain the public support and to improve the corporate image of the company.
Syria has paid great attention to these modern technologies in all the companies that aim to serve the public with the aim to ensure that their activities are effective and that their works are of high quality. This cannot be achieved without the use of modern communication technologies in managing the different corporate activities.
Keywords: Modern Communication Technologies, Public Relations, Syria, Syrian Railways.
Problem:
The communication technologies contribute to the consolidation and the development of countries and companies through carrying out a number of activities and programs implemented by the departments public relations, like writing and drafting topics, articles and photos for media companies and arranging conferences, visits, meetings and exhibitions [3]. These are some parts of the activities on which the departments of public relations are based in dealing with the public with the aim of creating close and good relations with the various internal and external publics that the companies deal with in order to gain their satisfaction, acceptance and support [2].
Hence, the departments of public relations, regardless of their types and natures of independence, should work hard to achieve their goals by using modern communication technologies in the management and practice of their activities [4].
Therefore, this research aimed to study the role of modern communication technologies in managing the activities of public relations in the Syrian Railways.
Question:
What is the role of modern communication technologies in managing the activities of public relations in the Syrian Railways?
Other sub-questions listed under this main question were:
What are the most prominent modern communication technologies in the Syrian Railways?
What are the most important activities of public relations in the Syrian Railways?
How do the modern communication technologies contribute to the activities management of public relations in the Syrian Railways?
Objectives:
To discover the most prominent modern communication technologies prevailing in the Syrian Railways.
To highlight the most important effective activities of public relations in the Syrian Railways.
To understand how modern communication technologies contribute to the managerial activities of public relations.
Approach, Community and Sample:
This research used the descriptive approach through the use of the questionnaire which consisted of three axes.
The first axis: the modern communication technologies prevalent in the Syrian Railways. It contained five questions.
The second Axis: the activities of public relations approved by the Syrian Railways. It consisted of five questions.
The third axis: the contribution of modern communication technologies to the management of public relations activities in the Syrian Railways. It consisted of five questions.
This research studied the employees of the Syrian Railways from different educational levels, work experiences and managerial positions in four Syrian governorates (Damascus, Aleppo, Tartus and Homs). Two hundred questionnaires were distributed to four random samples in four Syrian governorates (fifty questionnaires to every governorate) in the period from the first to the twenty first of June 2022.
Theoretical background:
This research relied on the Functional Constructivist Theory to study the role of modern communication technologies in managing the activities of public relations [5]. This theory studies each single element or function and its relationship with other elements. This theory was used to focus on all the activities of public relations through a group of modern communication technologies adopted by the Syrian Railways .This theory is based on the premise that in any society there are social factors or forces that interact in different ways in order to create a powerful media system used to perform multiple and diverse functions that contribute to reshaping this society [1].
Functional Constructivist Theory aims to identify the elements of the company and the relationship between these elements, while defining the roles that they perform [6]. It studies each element in its relationship to the company as a whole, as well as the extent to which these element contribute to the overall stability and balance of the company by distributing roles to these elements in an integrated manner [5].
Results:
The computer, the Internet, and the e-mail are among the most important communication means used by the Syrian Railways to improve its corporate image by attracting the public, which in turn was the main used tool to inform the publics of the quality of the company's services and products. Thus, gaining their trust and support and making profits.
The Syrian Railways faced difficulties in the technical field of the modern communication technologies due to the lack of experience in this field. 45% of the respondents sometimes used communication technologies, followed by 30% who always used communication technologies, while the minority of them who represented 25% used them rarely. Moreover, the majority of respondents (65%) confirmed that there were difficulties in using the modern technologies, while the minority of the respondents answered that there are not any difficulties in using these technologies (35%).
Posters, periodicals, meetings and exhibitions are among the most important activities of public relations in the Syrian Railways. Moreover, all these activities are highly rated. Posters and periodicals were used to increase the experience of employees and remind them of the correct methods and the adherence to the instructions, in addition to introducing the company and its services to the public. Exhibitions and meetings were ordered to address and discuss the business of the company , while media campaigns were important to informing the public about how to use the company's services. All this confirmed the effectiveness of public relations activities in the Syrian Railways and thus facilitated its managerial functions at the internal and external corporate levels.
Lack of interest in parties and visits in the Syrian Railways as tools that helped in improving the corporate image of the company.
The Syrian Railways carried out the activities of public relations on a regular basis due to the commitment of the employees to fulfill their tasks and prepare the activities of the company, such as renewing the bulletin board every week and adhering to meetings deadlines. This process aimed to facilitate the managerial tasks in a regular, accurate and fast ways, as well as to build a good corporate image about the Syrian Railways in the minds of the publics. The company also publicized its activities externally through the use of media campaigns that educated the public about the dangers of misusing the railways.
The administrative staff of the Syrian Railways were considered responsible for the activities of public relations in an integrated manner with the other corporate functions.
There were not real experts of public relations working at the Syrian Railways, as well as the absence of a special department for public relations in the company.
The difficulties that respondents faced in preparing the activities of public relations were: not hiring special experts of public relations because most of the employees in The Syrian Railways did not have certificates in this specialty, as well as the lack of experience due to the ambiguity in the concept of public relations in this company, in addition to not providing the necessary budget for the long-term activities of public relations.
Employees acquired the skill of using modern communication technologies in managing the activities of public relations as a result of the frequent use in the company.
The main objective of the Syrian Railways for using the modern communication technologies relied in managing the company's activities in order to improve its corporate image.
Communication technologies had a positive impact on the management of public relations activities. These technologies had greatly contributed to the management of relationship between the Syrian Railways and its publics, through the use of the internet in preparing posters and brochures and supporting them with some symbolic images which explained to the public the provided services, such as informing them of how to buy online tickets, in addition to some other useful directions and instructions, and the use of computers in printing these brochures, reports and advertisements. All these communication means targeted to reach the publics, in order to introduce the company's activity and to improve its corporate image.
The most effective activities of public relations in the Syrian Railways were posters, periodicals, meetings and exhibitions.
Modern communication technologies had made an effective contribution to the management of public relations activities in the Syrian Railways through the speed, accuracy and organized techniques of carrying out these activities, as well as the ease and flexibility in the overall communication process. The majority of respondents believed that the communication technologies available in the company are sufficient to manage the activities of public relations, and this is due to the availability of these modern technological means by a sufficient percentage (65%), while the minority thought that these technologies were insufficient (35%), due to the neglect of keeping a good pace with the latest technological developments, as there were still some employees who used their handwriting in addressing complaints and reports.
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Номер журнала Вестник науки №7 (52) том 2
Ссылка для цитирования:
Fadi Mfarrej, Christine Mfarrej THE ROLE OF MODERN COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN MANAGING THE ACTIVITIES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS // Вестник науки №7 (52) том 2. С. 123 - 128. 2022 г. ISSN 2712-8849 // Электронный ресурс: https://www.вестник-науки.рф/article/6014 (дата обращения: 26.04.2024 г.)
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