ABSTRACT

            Reputation  is  one  of  the  essential  intangible  assets  for  many  companies. Businesses that lack of this important asset may face the difficulties where operational income is  less  than  operational  cost;  business  losing  customers  may  confront  the  problem  of  a  profit decline (Weiwei,  2007). Besides that, reputation is an intangible asset that can’t be built just only through advertising.  To build a strong reputation, the firm must have strong communication to communicate with the stakeholders.  To convince and  persuade  them  to believe in the  firm  without  a  strong  communicator,  no  matter  how  much  effort organization does,  the  stakeholders  will  still  go  to another whom able to “move” them. Therefore, a strong communication will be a great step to build an organization’s reputation.   Several studies have shown  that  improving  corporate  reputation  results  in  better  corporate  communication  for companies. However, more and more researchers have realized that corporate communication is the most important factors to form corporate reputation.  This research aims to describe the relationship between communication media and organizational reputation.

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1. INTRODUCTION

Revolution in business has forced organizations to change and adapt management from stakeholders and general public needs. These changes have affected communication practice and corporate reputation. So in this chapter, we are going to present the background, context, scope of study; the statement of problem; the research question and the objective of study; and state the hypothesis.

• BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Expansion of Western economies had at some period of time depended on activities of national public postal services. Its implementation in Africa aroused many hopes. But the successful beginning years were replaced by the disaster of economical crisis and technological upheaval of 1980 period. Especially in Cameroon the popularization of the Internet, the advent of electronic mail, the development of mobile telephony and private courier on one hand; the profusion of microfinance institutions and money transfer on the other hand have respectively brought in strong competition and constant pressure the National Post Corporation (NPC) and the Post Office Savings Credit (POSC) in Cameroon.This situation has resulted in an unprecedented psychological shock to these state institutions, including the loss of their dominant position and virtual monopoly in their respective industries.Several reforms implemented in related sectors such as traditional banks, have not reached the Post Office Savings Credit.Moreover the restructuring of the postal sector has unfortunately illustrated by managerial and structural failures, destroying in passing the image and reputation of these institutions already vulnerable.

It is in the search for solutions to these shortcomings that the President of the Republic of Cameroon, his Excellence Paul BIYA promulgated Decree No. 2004/095 of 23 April 2004 establishing the Cameroon Postal Services: CAMPOST; merger of the former National Post Corporation and Post Office Savings Credit, a public owned institution with the State of Cameroon as the sole shareholder.  Its goals are to develop and exploit network and postal services; supply financial postal services; promote national saving; supply services relating to money transfer; ensure management insurance and inheritance products. Achievement of these goals necessitates first of all regaining good reputation through communication.

Organizational communication has been defined as the process by which information is exchanged and understood by two or people, usually with the intent to motivate or influence behavior (Draft, 1997, p.560). The sender has the intent to influence the receiver to do what the sender wants (Kelly, 2000). As Johansson (2007) shows, corporate communication stakeholders are divided into two, which are; internal (employees, shareholder, manager, etc.) and external (agencies, channel partners, media, government and general public). Communication between different levels of an organization is an example of internal communication. So communication is a bridge to link and direct all the levels of an organization in achieving organization objective. In other hand external communication refers to a kind of communication which is used for the promotion of a product, service or organization. Therefore external communication is important for a company because it is through communication that an organization makes contacts with its customers, suppliers and other external elements of the organization. And with help of media the message can be diffused to a large number of these external environment or partners of the organization. Thus, communication media is very important for a company to create good image or reputation.

• CONTEXT OF STUDY

The Cameroon postal service was founded exclusively to relate German colonial officials with their country of origin.It was then the long journey (several weeks) of a ship to go from Douala to Hamburg, and at that time, on service of the Emperor.Thus, the time of the first German post office built in 1895 near the current City Hall, the second bay of the Wouri River, built between 1908 and 1910 and where was installed the first telegraph for transatlantic communications, we are indeed far from the realities of the new Cameroonian post, that will be transformed by integrating the various stages of its evolution, the inevitable winds of liberalization.In 1990, President Paul Biya decided to liberalize production activities in what was previously a public service monopoly.The private sector was born and is strongly rooted.Taking precedence over the Public Postal Service (PPS), he absorbed in many sectors, customers, the large time of public post.The smell of the international financial crisis was difficult to evacuate and SPP suffer tremendously.Besides, several institutions, including financial, went bankrupt.The SPP that did not quickly appropriate ICTs, suffer from competition. Its financial stocks filed in partner’s bank lost when major banks in the market collapses. In what appears to be a race against time, the services offered by newcomers like Express Union conquered Cameroon, “time is money” saying becomes important.National Post Corporation and Postal saving and credit fizzled and left a heavy debt to the state.In 2004, these two entities merged to give birth to the Cameroon Postal Services (CAMPOST).Since then, many combinations are tried to find a way to emergence of the new structure.

            The Cameroonian postal service is a rich and competitive world where, day by day, permanent changes require fast and effective strategic adaptation. In this harmonious dance between the private and public services, the Cameroon Postal Services has now taken wherever the great achievements; it now requires a convincing dynamic through a steady cruising speed in the materialization of objectives on the road of emergence.

• STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

            External corporate communication promotes product, service or organization. Using media to attain a large number of people, it becomes a tool of propaganda or promotion of image of a company.

In fact Cameroon Postal Services (CAMPOST) is a public Company with the State of Cameroon as the only shareholder. It was created in 2004 by merging of both failure and disgrace public companies, namely National Post Corporation (NPC) and Post Office Savings Credit of Cameroon (POSC), therefore it inherited a perception by general public of bad image and reputation of its ‘’parents’’. Consequently, it passed through many restructuring. Using of communication media nowadays helps the company to change its image or reputation in the mind of general public?

The main objective of this study consists of answering of the question above.

• RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Research questions are organized into Main question and Specific question.

MAIN QUESTION

What are effects of communication media on good reputation of an organization?

            SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

• What are the types of communication media in use by CAMPOST?
• Is there any relationship between those tools of communication media and organizational good reputation?
• What are effects of company’s good reputation perception on general public?
• Which other factors can be recommended in the search of company’s good reputation?
  • OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

For a good comprehensible study, our objectives are broken down into Main objective and specific objectives.

MAIN OBJECTIVE

Main objective of this research is to analyze types of communication media in use by CAMPOST, and their influence on public, in perception of good reputation of this enterprise.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

Especially the study seeks to:

• Characterize different types of communication media in use by CAMPOST;
• Show its contribution to perception of good reputation of CAMPOST;
• Present effects of perception of good reputation of an organization on general public; Or reaction of customers after perception of an image of the company;
• Recommend other factors of diffusion of good reputation of an organization.