adminThe purpose of visiting a game reserve is mainly to see animals and also understand their traits, behaviour, character, reputation and image. For one to understand these wildlife qualities there is need to appreciate the work of the conservation and wildlife managers. These are the experts who can inform on the traits and behaviour of a pride of lions, cheetahs, tigers, their prey and even groupings of other wild animals.
It is after gaining such knowledge that one can then stereotype and fully understand why the animals are known for certain things, for instance, why the lion’s the king of the jungle.
Similarly, the corporate world is a mirror of various images that consolidate into one prominent and specific corporate image and reputation.
It is a fact that out of so many perceptions and suspicions, images are harnessed which ultimately contribute to one corporate identity for a specific organisation.
Therefore, organisations should be aware of the various images which are harnessed as a result of their activities and operations within the industry.
Just like a game reserve, which need a wild life manager, contemporary organisations need a PR practitioner to inform and manage their various images.
A PR practitioner should acknowledge the organisation’s mirror images. This is usually an image that is created by the organisation’s external publics and stakeholders.
It is mostly the impression that outsiders have of the organisation. Organisations should not have an illusion that their mirror image is perfect and have the “everybody loves us” fantasy.
For example, it is folly for the Daimler-Chrysler to rest on its laurels because almost everyone in the world loves their Mercedes-Benz models but it should continue to build its image and reputation through learning from its mirror image, what are the world’s perceptions, opinions and views about us.
Organisations also have to be worry about their current image. Yes, previously the organisation has done well and has been successful with its products and services but what is its current image?
PR deals with a world of hostility, prejudice, apathy and ignorance which may give the wrong current organisational image to its publics.
In this case the current and mirror images could actually be different, so it is necessary for PR to interpret, analyse and assess public opinions and views to ensure correct information about the organisation is disseminated, thus creating a correct current image for the entity.
Most corporate players desire a certain image which might not be the correct image of the organisation.
This is the wish image which the board and its management wish to achieve. The wish image mostly applies to something new when publics are, as yet, completely uninformed.
It is the duty of PR to ensure the organisation treads on a true and correct image more than fantasising and living a dream which is not there.
For instance, the City of Harare still carries the wish image of “sunshine city of cleanliness” but what is on the ground? Is the city still resembling that or not?
Today’s corporate organisations mostly confuse the corporate image and other images like, for example, the image of its products or services.
Usually, the corporate image is cultivated from the company history, financial success and stability, quality of production, trade success, industrial relations and reputation as an employer, social responsibility and research record.
For instance, the image of the EcoCash product might be good or bad but what is the corporate image of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe?
Such are the kind of questions organisations and their PR practitioners should ask themselves.
It is also important that PR practitioners be aware that most companies create what is called the multiple image or images especially those big companies or holding companies.
Such companies usually have many branches countrywide. For instance, banks like CBZ Holdings, Standard Chartered Bank and Barclays have many branches countrywide and because of their different staff, culture and tradition they create multiple images for the organisation.
The PR practitioners in such situations should therefore make sure that their organisations are not known for multiple images of different character, culture and tradition but should work on one corporate image that edifies the organisation’s vision, mission, values and objectives.
This is where a uniform culture, uniform apparel, uniform vehicle liveries (decoration) and uniform corporate face come into focus.
And this we have witnessed with the above-named banks and other organisations too. That then dispels the notion of multiple images for the corporate world.
The good and bad images have been the common words used in describing the image of organisations especially by the media and even organisational marketers.
It is true the shadows of good and bad images sometimes lead to the abuse of PR as a practice.
This is mostly because once an organisation is alerted that its product has a bad image, marketers immediately want to turn it to a good image and usually this is done by falsifying an image. The same thing happens when competitors want to soil the image of their rivalries.
If PR is to be credible it must avoid false image making. The importance of this stand lies in the fact that the media are prejudiced about PR to the extent of expecting false image polishing.
A good and true corporate image has to be earned by putting right the causes of negative, unfriendly, bad and false image using the correct PR process and qualities.
As the lion has got so many traits, characteristics, images and reputation emblems which give it the ultimate “king of the jungle” image; so do many organisations whose services, products and operations may spew various images but the true corporate identity of an organisation should be clear for everyone to see.
Organisations should utilise their PR practitioners to achieve the correct corporate image.
This article has been inserted by the Zimbabwe Institute of Public Relations. For feedback, comments and inquiries on the work of ZIPR, please email [email protected].
Online Reporter