Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Masters Degree of Technology: Public Relations Management, 2010. / Public relations is an important subsystem of an organisation and the effective practice of public relations is integrally bound to the health of an organisation. As such, it provides the avenue for the organisation to effectively monitor, interact and react with other key groups within the organisational environment. According to Naidoo (2007:3), “public relations has been described as synonymous to marketing. The function of public relations is becoming more confusing as initial scanning of the environment has revealed that certain organisations within the greater Durban area have merged public relations with other departments such as marketing”. Whilst some organisations may view public relations as a separate entity as opposed to marketing, others see these two functions as falling under a common umbrella. It is, therefore, evident that the boundaries between public relations and marketing are very blurred. Many organisations do not show the public relations office as an independent role. Since so many factors influence how public relations begins in organisations, public relations departments, in some organisations, have large numbers of staff and generous budgets even though the original motivations for their functions have long been forgotten and their mission is not clearly defined. Conversely, many, if not most, organisations reorganise the public relations functions, reduce the number of staff and try to do more with fewer people. Even practitioners disagree about what is the best structure and place for their functions in various types of organisations. This study, therefore, seeks to investigate the role that public relations plays within the selected corporate organisations in the greater Durban area. / National Research Foundation

Thesis (M.Tech.: Public Relations Management)-Durban University of Technology, 2007. iv, 165 leaves. / This dissertation is a qualitative examination into a debatable view of the interaction between public relations and marketing in which one supports the other leading to an interactional outcome. Public relations is different from marketing in several ways. Their boundaries, however, often overlap, for example, both deal with an organisation’s relationships and employ similar communication tools to reach the public. Both functions have an ultimate purpose which is ensuring an organisation’s success and economic survival. Public relations and marketing, however, approach this task from somewhat different perspectives, or world views. In some instances public relations is seen as a separate entity when compared to marketing. The study investigates the current trends with the main objective of investigating the interaction/synergy between the public relations and marketing departments of seven major companies in the greater Durban area. These companies were interviewed based on their location and willingness to participate in the study. The seven companies researched for the purpose of the study were ABI Coke, Toyota, Sentec, ABSA, Sanlam, Natal Sharks Rugby Union and Lifestyle Communication: Chatsworth Centre.

Thesis (M.Tech.: Public Relations Management)-Durban University of Technology, 2007. iv, 165 leaves. / This dissertation is a qualitative examination into a debatable view of the interaction between public relations and marketing in which one supports the other leading to an interactional outcome. Public relations is different from marketing in several ways. Their boundaries, however, often overlap, for example, both deal with an organisation’s relationships and employ similar communication tools to reach the public. Both functions have an ultimate purpose which is ensuring an organisation’s success and economic survival. Public relations and marketing, however, approach this task from somewhat different perspectives, or world views. In some instances public relations is seen as a separate entity when compared to marketing. The study investigates the current trends with the main objective of investigating the interaction/synergy between the public relations and marketing departments of seven major companies in the greater Durban area. These companies were interviewed based on their location and willingness to participate in the study. The seven companies researched for the purpose of the study were ABI Coke, Toyota, Sentec, ABSA, Sanlam, Natal Sharks Rugby Union and Lifestyle Communication: Chatsworth Centre.