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Faculty of Management Sciences

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    The impact of social media within the sporting industry
    (Business Perspectives, 2015) Hussain, Sameera Banu
    Public Relations within the sporting industry should play a vital role towards an organization’s key publics, the relationships developed and the overall organizational image that the sport organization portrays. Ultimately public relations are responsible for creating and maintaining a mutually favorable relationship amongst an organization and its key publics. Based on this premise, it can therefore be said that public relations within the sporting industry serve as a management function which involves the managing of communication, reputation and relationships that determine the success or failure of that sport organization. The role of public relations within sporting organizations have acquired considerable significance in the new media era. Hence, making the job of a public relations professional equally easy and difficult in terms of understanding social media, how publics use it and how to connect with their key publics. Therefore this study set out to assess the impact of social media communication tools within the sporting industry. A quantitative descriptive methodology was employed for this study. The results of the study indicated that although social media are used as a communication tool, other social media platforms should be included in the sport organizations communication strategy.
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    The role of relationship marketing at non-profit organisations in KwaZulu-Natal
    (2016) Hussain, Sameera Banu; Rawjee, Veena P.; Penceliah, Soobramoney
    In South Africa, non-profit organisations were seen as vocal and active players in the struggle against apartheid. During the country’s transition period, non-profit organisations played a central role in mitigating the effects of apartheid’s unequal development and in mobilising opposition to the apartheid state. With the focus moving towards service delivery, non-profit organisations have continued to play a major role in filling gaps and advocating on behalf of those living in poverty. Non-profit organisations do not operate to advance their own interests, instead, they use society’s resources and goodwill to meet society’s needs. In the poor economic environment, stakeholders are unfortunately looking to cut back and save resources. It therefore becomes more critical for non-profit organisations to adopt relevant strategies to reach more stakeholders and to keep them involved and motivated. One such strategy that can be adopted is marketing, in particular relationship marketing. This study therefore sets out to investigate the role of relationship marketing within non-profit organisations in KwaZulu-Natal. A thorough overview of the literature was undertaken, mainly to investigate the nature of the non-profit sector in general as well as in South Africa, its marketing and the impact of relationship marketing. A mixed methodology was employed for this study. A census study using questionnaires was used to collect quantitative data whilst qualitative data was collected using a face-to-face, semi-structured interview schedule. The findings revealed that funding has become the main constraint faced by the non-profit sector. Many non-profit organisations have employed marketing tactics to assist them in promotion and fundraising. Relationship marketing was identified as a concept which can assist the non-profit organisations in building and maintaining relationships with their stakeholders. Respondents further positioned communication as the central point for relationship building. The results of the data analysis led to the creation of a framework which outlines the role of relationship marketing at non-profit organisations. This study has clearly indicated that relationship marketing forms a powerful strategy that non-profit organisations should apply to manage long-term relationships with their key stakeholders.
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    Crisis communication planning and management at higher education institutions in KwaZulu-Natal
    (2010) Hussain, Sameera Banu; Rawjee, Veena P.; Raap, Peter John
    The National Plan for Higher Education (2001) provides a framework for achieving the vision of a single co-ordinated higher education system. In order to meet the goals of this plan, various technikons and universities had to merge. Pityana (2004: 4-5) points out that, in addition to opportunities, various challenges have also emerged from these mergers. One such challenge is that higher education institutions may find themselves in tensions with their partners which may result in disagreements that could lead to crisis situations. Marconi (2005: 262) argues that, in crisis situations, the pace of the conflict accelerates dramatically. This means that the affected parties have to react very quickly or risk having their ability to protect their interests substantially reduced, hence the need for a crisis communication plan. Implicit in this plan is the importance of communication. McCusker (2006: 108) maintains that, often in crisis a situation, communication gets distorted. As a result, rumours often supplant real facts. Thus, clear communication needs to be pre-planned and increased during a crisis. This dissertation, therefore, sets out to investigate the role of communication during the planning and management of crises at higher education institutions in KwaZulu-Natal. It reports on preliminary results of in-depth interviews conducted at higher education institutions in KwaZulu- Natal and offers recommendations so that crises planning and management may be improved upon.