CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY  

Newspapers, magazines, radio and television are important channels for communicating with customers, investors and the community; if you launch a new products, for example, stimulate interest by issuing a press release to newspapers and magazines that reach your target market. When you want to attract investors, send a press release to the business or financial editors of newspapers and magazines that reach your target market. When you want to attract investors send a press release to the business or financial editors of newspapers describing growth opportunities in your market or significant new business wins.

There is limited information about attempts to communicate with families and communities about arsenic in drinking water supplies. Despite the global nature of the problem, little documentation exists about efforts in different countries to communicate with people about the risk to their health from arsenic. This chapter fills that void by providing a synthesis of the global experience to date.

The single largest communication initiative on arsenic comes from Bangladesh. A multi-media, multi-level communication strategy was launched by the national government, with UNICEF assistance, in four rural areas in late 1999. An initial evaluation indicates that the strategy is raising awareness and villagers are switching to safe sources of water. Until more results are available, the Bangladesh example offers communicators with some ‘best practices’ for designing and implementing a large-scale communication strategy. Limited experiences from other countries, such as India, Argentina, Australia and the United States, also provide insights into ways of communicating effectively about the arsenic problem.

In some parts of the world, information and communication technologies and services (ICTs) are contributing to revolutionary changes in business and everyday life. In other parts of the world, the lives of people have hardly been touched by these innovations. If people in developing countries are unable to acquire the capabilities for using the new ICT applications, they will be increasingly disadvantaged or excluded from participating in the global information society. The social and economic potential of these new technologies for development is enormous, but so too are the risks of exclusion.

The production of goods and services is paying less and less heed to national boundaries. New services, robotics, computer-aided design and new management techniques made possible by ICTs are contributing to changes in the competitiveness of firms and nations. The implications of these technologies for the social and entertainment sectors and for governance are equally great. Some observers suggest it is only a matter of time before market mechanisms ensure that all the world’s citizens enjoy the benefits of a global information society. They argue there is little need for special measures by governments and other stakeholders. Others suggest that the transformative nature of these technologies has been exaggerated. The new ICT applications may destroy more jobs than they create; the gap between rich and poor may widen; and the huge capital investments required to strengthen national capabilities for using ICTs could divert resources from other activities that could have greater development impact. Therefore, this study focuses on the assessment of the problems of communication in developing countries.

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Lack of funding is one of the challenges facing communication in most developing countries, the utilization of modern technology is important in improving the effectiveness of communication in developed countries, the inability of developing countries to procure these modern communication technology has reduced the effectiveness of communication in these countries.

Effective communication as public relations tool has been neglected in many firms or organizations. Majority of the management may fail to make decisions due to communication. Sharing knowledge also achieved through communication, co-operation with each other to do things which we cannot do alone. People in organization exist through effective communication and that knowledge, information, attitudes and judgment are shared (Bennet Roger 1998). Some of the variables in an organization fit together in doing something and described communication as an intervening variable that might have several different results. Communication has been improved by introduction of communication network through electronic systems. They reduce constraints of time and space, increasing efficiency of communication process in speed and accuracy.

An institution needs to examine whether its communication with the public is helping to bring a positive image. A positive image leads to public support for and confidence in its goals and objectives. These problems make it glaring that there is a need to carry out a study on the assessment of the problems of communication in developing countries.

1.3     OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY  

The general objective of this study is the assessment of the problems of communication in developing countries. The specific objectives are:

1.     To find out the effectiveness of communication in developing countries.

2.     To ascertain the implication of poor funding on communication in developing countries.

3.     To find out the influence of inadequate modern technology on communication in developing countries.

4.     To determine the role of the government on the state of communication in developing countries.

5.     To investigate the influence of competent media practitioners on communication in developing countries.

1.4     RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The relevant research questions related to this study include the following:

1.     What is the effectiveness of communication in developing countries?

2.     What is the implication of poor funding on communication in developing countries?

3.     What is the influence of inadequate modern technology on communication in developing countries?

4.     What is the role of the government on the state of communication in developing countries?

5.     What is the influence of competent media practitioners on communication in developing countries?

1.5     RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H1 – there are communication problems in developing countries.

H0 – there are no communication problems in developing countries.

1.6     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The Information acquired from this project report can be used by other researchers as a reference in future, by being compelled to carry out further study on the same filed. The findings of this study may help the management and staff members of the Institution to understand the importance of effective communication as a public relations tool in their institution hence able to take it seriously. Not only will this study help this institution but also other organizations to understand challenges facing communication and possible solutions to the problem. Also the findings of this study may help the