Background to the Study ON PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGIES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ORGANIZATION’S COPORATE IMAGE AN APPRAISAL OF ORLEAN INVESTMENT WEST AFRICA ”.

INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
     Public Relations a specialized field of its own plays an important role in solving problems in organizations. It is a veritable tool used in communicating information to both internal and external publics. Since the early twentieth century, organizations have harnessed the power of their identities to communicate  their values to key audiences. They also communicate in many ways other than through logos and visuals.
    Hatch and Schultz [2000] refer to two schools of thought about strategic identity management. The ‘’visual’ school is concerned with operational aspects while the ‘’strategic’’ school is concerned with an organization’s aims and how it positions and distinguishes itself. They further assert that this demarcation is useful to appreciating how identity management, indeed reputation management, has evolved. This is why Newson, Turk and Kruckeberg [2011] say that Public Relations is all about reputation. The result of what you say, what you do, and what others say about you. From the above it is clear that the aims of Public Relations are wide ranging and that a strategy [hence the word ‘’planned’ is required for its correct implementation.
     Tench and Yeomas [2009] state that successful communication strategies are used to attain healthy relationship between organizations and their stakeholders or publics. According to them, these communication strategies, if used effectively are not just isolated actions but are completely independent of one another.
      In every organization, communication strategies need to be based on common parameters to provide cohesion to the communication. Organizations are said to have a personality that reflects the inner spirit and heart of the organization. From this, core identities are developed and presented to the outside world. The management of corporate identity is vital if the image held of the organization, all stakeholders, is to be consistent and accurately represents the personality of the organization.
        Melewar [2003] found that all organizations use corporate communication to deliver their corporate identity. It is through the identity that stakeholders form images of the organization and through time, corporate reputations are built. It is a way in which organizations are presented and perceived, and how they interact with their various stakeholders audiences. It is also concerned with the images that people form as aresu.lt of interpreting the various identity signals that organizations transmit and any interaction that may ensue. People from the images of the organization based on the cues and signals that organizations transmit. In the view of Fill [2009], these cues may be sent deliberately ,or they may be accidental, unintended. Whatever the source, these interpretation shape the way organizations are regarded and even whether transactions occur.
1.1A Brief History of Orlean Investment West Africa
Orlean Invest West Africa was established about thirty years ago with a vision to develop an integrated logistics solution, offering a complete package of facilities and services to the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. Initially operating under the name of Nicotes Services Limited, the company’s name was changed in 2012 from Intels to (Orlean Invest West Africa).
    Since then, Orlean Invest West Africa has grown to become the leading indigenous provider for major capital IOC's (International Oil Companies) in sub-saharan Africa. It's clients include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total etc. Orlean Invest prides herself in employing highly dedicated, skilled and goal-driven professionals using unique and innovative technologies to deliver excellent, first class, and cost effective solutions to industry problems.
    Orlean invests policy is to use the best resources, with stringent supervision that assures safe working conditions and excellent quality. The company also claims to be commited to the optimization of local content in all aspects of its business and the growth of its workforce and host communities.
    Indeed, Orlean Invest has earned its reputation as a company with world class project execution capacity during the past thirty years of operation in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry. Orlean Invest has invested heavily in the development of its human and material capacity with communication network and contact offices spread nationally and internationally. Orlean Invest West Africa claims to be a one-stop for integrated logistics services (Wikipedia).

1.2Statement of the Problem
It is widely accepted fact that, the corporate image of an organization is not a fixed entity, but one which has to be carefully managed using Public Relations strategies. Orlean Investment West Africa is a growing organization which desires to position itself as a responsible citizen.
It would appear that it has fostered supportive relationship with the community, government, media and other publics. The company also enjoys industrial peace. However, can the industrial peace the company is experiencing be attributed to effective Public Relations practices?
The purpose of this study is to assess how Orlean Invest West Africa uses Public Relation strategies to manage its image, particularly its relations with community government, media and so on.

Objectives of the Study
To determine the corporate programme undertaken by Orlean Invest West Africa towards the management of its reputation.
To ascertain public evaluation of public relation strategies of Orlean Invest West Africa in managing corporate image of the company.
To ascertain the effectiveness of the media relations channels used in the management of its corporate image and communication programs.
To ascertain the challenges in earning effective corporate identity and reputation.
To examine public acceptance of the Orlean Invest corporate communication programs.

Research Questions
The research questions in this study are;
What corporate relations programs Orlean Invest West Africa uses in reaching her constituents in the management of corporate image?
What Public Relations strategies does Orlean Invest West Africa adopts in managing her corporate image and reputation?
How effective are the media relations channels used in managing Orlean Invests corporate image?
What are the challenges of Orlean Invest in earning effective corporate identity and reputation?
What is the level of public acceptance of Orlean Invest West Africa's corporate image?
Significance of the Study
This study seeks to investigate how Orlean Invest West Africa uses public relation strategies to enhance its corporate image. It would add to existing knowledge in image management, it would also guide communication experts, scholars and students, who might deem it necessary to carry out further research on this aspect of public relations.
Definition of Terms
Assessment: This is the opinion or judgment about a phenomenon which has been carefully thought over. For this study, assessment is taken as the collective opinion of the management, staff, and Onne residents over the management of corporate image of Orlean Invest West Africa.
Corporate Image: This simply means the reflection of an organization in the eyes and minds of the public.
Public Relation Strategies: Strategies are means of achieving objectives more precisely, and it becomes an intermediate step between objectives and tactics. In this study, public relation strategies is an elaborate and systematic plan of action put in place by the company to manage the corporate image of Orlean Invest West Africa.
Organizational Reputation: Organizational reputation is metaphorically, when an individual collates all the photographs or images taken over a period of time into an album, thereby forming an opinion of the organization by looking at the entire collection of photographs.
Corporate Public Relations: This is a term that embraces all relationships that affects the corporation as a whole in reaching both the internal and external public.