More dispute within the ANC

I don't know whether this is just a publicity stunt for ANC or what? with all the disputes that they have everytime when elections are close by. The dispute between ANC members seems to be getting worse and worser, I was surprised to read an article were our Deputy President Kgalema Montlante seems to be blaming President Jacob Zuma for dismissal of Julius Malema to read more... www.news24.com . This shows that there is no unity, trust and transparency within the ANC.

Organisation can no longer afford to be opaque, as transparency has related outcome and has more benefits than cost. Transparency increases the level of trust in the organisation, transparency has become a necessity in organisations in order for the organisation to gain trust in everything that they do and what society expects them to do.


Deputy President Kgalema Montlante publicty reveals that
President Jacob made a mistake by expelling Malema
source: www.mydreamcourse.co.za

 

Not only has transparency important but it is also a critical foundation for a good relationship between the organisation and its public and between members of the same organisation.

If our government could apply this principle alot can change, along with increasing trust, transparency also increases level of accountability in organisations.

Brand Recognition

Brand recognition refers to how people connect a brand with a product, name, tag line or other attributes. Which gets me thinking how is South Africa as a brand being viewed?
As a country we have been getting lots of negative publicity e.g

• The mine workers strike.
• 45 mine workers loosing their lives during the strike while fighting for better wages.
• Julius Malema disrespecting our president in  the media.
• Truck drivers strike and some trucks getting burned in the process.

South Africa as a country is a brand and whatever happens in this country is a reflection of our brand to other countries. Brand recognition refers to what people are familiar with and it is both the brand it self and the traits associated with the brand. Brand awareness looks at both the negative and the positive, looking at South Africa the negative seem to be out shinning the positive publicity that we get as a country. the negative publicity still cast cloud over  positive publicity or positive thing that we do as a country, and one of the reasons for that is the media, yes it si their job to be watchdos of society but they seems to be focusing on the negative than positive.

We can not blame other countries or people for having bad perception about our country, because people act on their perceptions and facts that are presented before which is the negative media coverage that we ahve been getting as a country.

Women and child abuse campaigns effective enough?

Each and everyday women and children are
being striped of their dignity
picby: www.zeldaily.com

Each and very year the government sets a budget that will go towards campaigns against women and child abuse, not to mention that last month we were celebrating Women's Day, the truth of the matter is women and children are still being abused each and everyday. Minister of police Nathi Mthethwa announced that the latest statistics on sexual offence decreased by 3.7% and rape decreased by 1.9% but according to the National Freedom Party says the sexual offence against women and children are still too high in South Africa compared to other countries, to read More....www.timeslive.com

This is a job well done to the Minister of  police, but with all the money that is being invested in campaigns, adverts and programmes that the government has inverted to fight against children and women abuse, I cant stop to wonder if these campaigns are effective enough t? do we lack resources to deal with such crimes?

Minister Nathi Mthethwa has put a strategy in place, that more resource are needed and better training of police to deal with such crimes. There is a lot to in to have  an effective campaign , I think the Minister should rethink  the strategies that he puts in place because there is no use in investing in  programmes that are not beneficial or do not make a difference.

Is this becoming a trend and does the media have a role in this?

'let call a National Platinum strike" says National protest leader , which got me thinking whether this is just a trend or formation of a public opinion. Public opinion is a collective views of expression by a group of people that have the same interest or concerned at that particular time, when opinion becomes strong enough they lead to verbal or behavioural action, one could not stop to  wonder whether this is the situation in Mines, as more mine workers have joined the Lonmin Mine workers on their strike that started two months back  and in the process 45 people lost their lives, to read more... www.timeslive.com
 


miners sing and chant outside the mine as the strike continue
picture by: www.ctpost.com

The issue at mines is regarded as hot issue public because the miners started being active after media exposure, this bring us to my question whether the media is the driving force behind these continuous strikes?  this seems to be the trend in the mining industry , does the media have a role in influencing mine workers from Anglo American Platinum and Gold Field to join in the strike, or does this seem as the right thing to do at the moment?



characteristic's of Public Opinion

• It has an objective
• It last until the objective had been meet
• It has a scope
• It has a long lasting implications
• It has a structure and can influence pattern or behaviour

There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel as Lonmin mine strike seems to be wrapping up.

There's time for everything

Opportunist Julius Malema and the former ANCYL president
addressing the crowd at the memorial service of
the mine workers at Nort West (Marikane Mines)
picture by:telegraph.co.uk

It is sad how ANC members turn every event into a rally. The recent strike at Marikane Mines were were workers were killed by the police while they were fighting for their rights, to read more...www.sowetanlive.com

A person could ask themselves why do people have to die fighting for their rights ?what is happening is no difference to the events that took place during apartheid were people died for freedom. What are our political leaders doing? instead of working together  to solve these problems but instead they using each and every opportunity they get to badmouth each other, this on it's own is not good for this country because its shows that we are not united as a country.

This tragic accident has been sad to everyone but for Malema this was just a medium or an opportunity to tell grieving people that our president is a "coward" www.timeslive.com  , how can one try to top score political points when people are mourning for their loved ones? this was very insensitive of him and was taking advantage of the situation because he was appealing to peoples emotions considering the pain they are going through, the families that lost their loved ones were not interested in political disputes but came to the memorial service to come to terms with what happened.

There's time for everything and everything has it's own time, our political leaders should take this into consideration.

Communication break down

Mine workers from the Marikane Mines stricking for better
wages and better living conditions in the hostel
picture: www.sowetanlive.com

It is very sad how communication break down between two parties can turn into a sad tragedy, were 34 miners lost their lives and 78 were injured at the Marikane mine  at North West. This incident took place last week Friday,  this was caused by a wage dispute between the mine workers and and the top management of the mine, to read more.....  www.sowetanlive.co.za .

This shows that there was no communication between the organisations internal stakeholders and it's top management. It is very important for organisation to communicate with it's internal members(workers)  so that issues could be addressed in time and be resolved within the organisations without involving a third party or the media. Communication breakdown between the two parties did not only end peoples lives but the reputation of the organisation was also ruined in all this.

The question that comes to my mind, is what is the organisations  Public Relations Practitioner (PRP ) going to do to rebuild the reputation/brand of the organisation ? And bear in mind even the most successful business established can be brought down after facing a controversy, this can be extremely damaging and it has been proven that rebuilding an organisation reputation is harder than starting it from scratch.

change is good

President Jacob Zuma reshuffles his cabinet.
picture by: thenewage.co.za

A vigorous, adaptive organisation system(organisation ) remains so because of the process of learning and self renewal, this is one way that organisations use in order to stay relevant by bringing in new people and skills.

 On the 02 August 2012 our President Jacob Zuma applied this principle of systems should constantly change and renew themselves. Cabinet reshuffling is an event that occurs regularly, when the head of government rotates or changes the positions of ministers in the cabinet, to read more on who has been replaced by who or who are the new ministers in the cabinet www.timeslive.com

Reasons why the cabinet should be reshuffled:

• Replace resigned, retired and dead ministers.
• Bring in fresh skills.
• Remove poor performers.
• Reward hard workers within the cabinet.
• Create and rename departments.
• Reassign responsibilities to departments.

Change is always good but constant change can affect continuity and can bring disruptive to the governance and to delivery of services, the question that rises is, is the change about the performance of the ministers or is our president building a wall with people who would re-elect him and is he dismissing people who are a treat to him?

Enough with the blame game



An organisation is a system that is interconnected and all its parts are connected and its not possible to find a single, simple cause effect of a problem or event within the organisation



The recent textbook saga that has occurred at Limpopo Province (Sishego) due to non-delivery ,dumping and shredding of textbook's in the Province has left the Basic Minister of Education Angie Motshekga in the "hot seat", as being the one to blame for the textbook saga. www.timeslive.com



The books that were found at a near dump site at Sishego, Limpopo Province
picture: timeslive.co.za







It is sad how everyone is blaming the Minister where else she is just a part of an organisation and works hand in hand with individuals at the department and she's also a part of ANC. According to  ciibroadcasting " the ANC also turned Minister with other members of it's powerful National Executive Committee slamming her for handling of crisis and also called her sacking".In the same vein trying to find a person that is responsible for a problem is fruitless. This is just not the time to play the blame game because this looks bad on our government as a whole not just the Department of Education.

If the Minister is to be moved from the seat then lots of people from the Department of Education need to follow her because this means that they also incompetent, the suppose to be working hand in hand  with the minister they are a system that is interconnected( works together), and the Department should hire new skilled people who can be assigned to do the job.

IS ANY PUBLICITY GOOD PUBLICITY?

 

 In a PR perspective for an organisation to be successful  it depends on both the internal and external stakeholders,with all the bad publicity that  the University of Johannesburg (UJ) has been getting this year one may wonder if such publicity is good publicity?



power of media can make or break an organisation
< source: http://www.theresearchpedia.com/ >

 I recently read an article in the May issue of UJ Observer about how the "DFC ANCYL( African National Congress Youth League) slams UJ" and we should bare in mind that the ANCYL can be  influential to lots of people due to its platform . To me this article frames UJ in a negative way which I do not think UJ needs right now, since its going to be hosting an Open Day on the 11th and 12  May 2012. Through all this bad publicity it is amazing how floods of applications are still flaking in, which takes me back to my question of is any publicity good publicity or is it a matter of  students are hungry for education or is it maybe they do not have place to go?




when newspapers write about the same issue, it changes people
behaviour and perceptions about that issue.
<source: http://www.researchpedia.com/ >

  With all this bad publicity in just a year, first it was the incident of the parent who died during the stamped, then the girl who was found dead at Res and now this. UJ needs a good Public Relations Practitioner that  will do the damage control and hopefully the Open Day will be a success and change external stakeholders (potential students, parents and different organisations) perceptions about UJ and I personally think UJ has alot to offer.

IS IT REALLY ENOUGH?

A symbol of a showing a helping hand by giving back to the community
source: www.anitagrant.com

I have recently noticed a trend in organisation involved in Corporate Social Investment (CSI ). CSI is defined as an innovative solution to an organisation or society most pressing issues and to bring change  to the community.

 Our School Representative Council (SRC )  has recently started a CSI programme by giving lunch boxes to deserving students that need financial assistance,they only do that for the ones that did not get meals bursaries from NSFAS offices. Student had to apply at the beggining of the year in order to receive lunch everyday at school. This is a good initiative that is being implemented by the SRC because in a way they looking after their internal public by giving back to the community(students) and meeting the needs of the students.The question that comes to my mind is , Is it really enough? what happens to the students when they get home or on weekends? are they saying students only get hungry when they are on campus?what about the other needs such as toiletries?

What comes to my mind is can't the SRC offer more or get some sponsors to help out?

all in all this was a great initiative because this won't only benefit the students but it will benefit UJ as an organisation  because definatly a good word of mouth is circulating out there.

You are a brand: online reputation management




picture showing different social networks that create a brand
source: http://www.job-interview-site.com/

 

A brand is a person gut feeling about a product, service or company. There is so much hype on how social media is taking over traditional media, most of us have started to engage in different social media platforms for different reasons, and so are organisations. As individuals we  are representing our own personal brand, whatever you do, engage yourself in you are marketing yourself as a brand.

According to NEW AGE studies have shown that 99% of global employers are using social media as part of their recruitment strategy and 80% of jobs are found through networking, this means that as students we need to be careful on how we position our personal brand, it could be about what we update or the  kind of pictures we upload  this could have a negative effect on our brand and could prevent us from getting that dream job later in life. Online reputation management is very important to Public Relations students or anyone going to a corporate field because it sells you as a person, and could make or break you as a brand.





Brand image that shows that as person you incharge of your own personal brand
source: http://www.darrenspruyt.com/



Organisations no longer rely on Curriculum Vitae (C.V) or cover letters to have background check but they turn to google, hence we need to be careful what we do in public avoid taking nude pictures or pictures while you drunk and posting them on  social networks because that creates a perception that  you are a drunkard, irresponsible, unreliable and can not be trusted as a brand and who would hire a person like that? Let us use social media platforms in a positive way, for more information on how to be savvy or create an effective brand http://www.jobs.co.za/

Are Universities promoting public drinking?



picture by: nytimes.com



University can be over whelming especially in times of  tests and assignments, and having time to have a beer or two with friends is a need, Campus Pubs can be the right place to do just that without worrying about driving home or being robbed on your way home. Students feel that having a bar/pub is a good idea because it is a place where you get to meet other students, relax  and also promotes safe drinking but in my opinion  there is no safe or responsible drinking when there is alcohol involved because they will always be that person who will miss behave.

 Having a pub on campus can be a very contradicting issue because it goes against University principles and parents send students to Universities in order for them to get educated  and not to promote alcohol abuse, this could have a bad image/reputation for the University if parents knew that students had access to alcohol on campus.



These are the disadvantages of having Pubs on campus


• Disrespecting lecturers
• Poor attendance leading to F7
• Vandalising school property when drunk
• Student death relating to alcohol-stabbing, fighting and shooting
• Unplanned pregnancy from unprotected sex

 It is a known fact that students will get hold of alcohol one way or the other but it would have been better if it was not campus.                                                                                                                                    



joburgstyle.co.za











ENJOY CAMPUS LIFE , BELONG!

Going to university can be the  best thing to happen to anyone. University is not about only getting educated but its but it is also about building friendships and having the best time of your life. Varsity can be time for lots of uncertainty and  personal identity dilemma, joining social groups on campus could contribute to our sense of belonging. Being part of a social group comes with these benefits:

picture: ac.za

• meet new people
• gain and share skills
• develop your career(having contacts)
• make friends

joining social groups can be very scary and confusing at the same time,you might find that you uncertain about which group to join. These are the groups to join on campus:

• Sport: Netball team, ruby team and the volley ball team
• Culture clubs:  Performing art
• Interest group:Debate team, poetry , chess team and SCO
• Student government: SRC
• Volunteer:Peer buddies and RAG      

picture: UJ PsyCAD ac.za

As student we tend to get fascinated by unnecessary things that do not add value to our lives. Why don't we spend our time, skill and energy on things that will add value to careers and will benefits us socially or are these social clubs unknown to students?

shortage of books is becoming a problem







source:<http://www.ebooksimages.com/>



recently students have been complaining about the shortage of books. It is hard  to get prescribed textbooks from the books and what is even worse is not getting books at the library for assignments.

 

 Most student are busy preparing for testes , how are they suppose to do their school work if they don't have textbooks? test dates have been set and they wont be moved just because few students do not have textbooks. what is the university management doing about this whole deal? are lecturers even  aware? " there is nothing irritating like going to a library to look for books and only to be referred to another campus" said Octavia khoza a 2nd year Humanities student.





Each and every test counts and these test add to our semester marks, so this is a very serious issue which needs to be addressed immediately before students write their 2nd test. more info can read the article by UJ Observer the March issue.

Blow the whistle against gay hate



pic from: http://www.google.com/



As we all know March  is a Human Rights month., according to Stone Well " human right is an expansion of people freedom and to lead lives that they value and have reason to value "



Blow the whistle against gay hate is a newly founded organisation by U.J students at DFC campus. The organisation is about representing  the right of gays and lesbians around campus, they felt that gays have that same right as everyone else to live in peace and security. Has anyone tried to put themselves in their shoes?

The fear to revael who you are is not just being hhipocrite but it aslo draines a person emotionally and affects the person self esteem. If u feel that Homophobic ancidents have no place on society and especially on campus. 



pic from:www.google.com



To stop gay hate sign -up with Liberati on Facebook

Facebook : UJ Liberati



Twitter      : UJ Liberati

For more info call 0785380079 (Musa Khawula )

Let us all make the study experience worth while and try to accomodate each other.



For copies of  BLOW THE WHISTLE are available on line http://www/ stonewell.org.uk/hatecrime/ guide.

cansa shavethon logo : www.cansa.org.za

CANSASHAVATHON is one of South Africa best loved events in support of cancer survivours. The University of Johannesburg(UJ) was one of the organisations that make it a point that they take part in this event every year, this year the event was held at Kingsway Campus near the student centre,it  was aimed at UJ students and staff members and they had to show their support for cancer by spraying or shaving their hair. In order for them to spray or shave they had to donate R10. student had the chance to learn more about cancer and the common types of cancers that can affect students, like lung cancer and breast cancer.





By the look of thing students are every ignorant and not aware that cancer does not differentiate between race, age or status, everyone is  at risk. Most of the students who participated in the event where Indians and Whites , MY QUESTION IS, WHY ARE BLACK PEOPLE IGNORANT OR DO THEY LACK KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SUCH ISSUES? I still think people are not aware that this could happen to anyone. According to statistics S.A "one of four people is affected by cancer and the figures shows  80 000 death related to cancer last year ".

UJ Peer Buddies performing some art on the students
picture from: http://www.uj.ac.za/

For some  people who were not able to attend they had the chance to go any shopping centre around the country to show their support .For those people who where not comfortable with spraying or shaving the their hair could log on to http://www.cansa.org.za/ to donate R50 or MORE