Legal Aid NSW - Public Relations Strategy - Case Study Example

Running head: PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGY Public Relations Strategy Insert name Tutor Date Introduction and back ground. From the situation analysis made earlier, Legal Aid NSW is a company that is responsible for defending the rights of those who are less fortunate in society. It serves the minorities such as the prisoners and aborigines. Its major role is to provide free legal assistance to people who are disadvantaged. In operates in New South Wales as a body appointed by the government through the Legal Aid commissions Act 1979. An organization that is faced with problems such as shortage of finances, cases in court and ineffective operation systems has much to do in its public relations as a way of looking for a solution. A public relations strategy is designed and implemented in order to help such an organization find the highway to success. An organization will only move forward from its present problems if a good strategy is formulated and implemented. According to Bennet (1996) a strategy is described as the direction that is chosen by an organization to be followed for it to realize the accomplishment of its mission. A strategy gives the course of action to be followed and the specific steps to be taken to achieve required goals. Goals and objectives need to be quantified and worked on within specified periods of time. A public relations strategy elaborates the goals and objectives laid down in the public relations plan and how to go around in implementing them. The implementation of these goals and objectives in laid out in the strategy (Wilcox 2006).A public relations strategy therefore needs a good implementation team and system in order to make the process of strategizing a fruitful one. Legal Aid NSW has issues dealing with financial shortages, new laws passed by the government and the cases filed against the organization by people. These among others are the things that stand against the success of the organization. The goals and objectives for the organization should be able to address these key issues in order to keep the company in operation. The issues facing the organization are threatening its operations and survival. It is therefore prudent for a strategy to be made that chats the way forward on how the organization can evade its current situation. Goals and objectives First there are the broad goals which are to be implemented. Next there are the narrower objectives which are derived from these goals. The objectives define in specific terms the actions to be taken in order to arrive at the desired out come. The goals are broad in that they give the general ideas that should be adopted to make Legal Aid take some direction in a specific aspect. The objectives break down the goals by explaining what various concerned people in the organization and outside need to do in order to solve the problems the organization is facing. The time period through which the actions need to be taken is important in this respect and it is also discussed. Time and the ability of a goal to be quantified make it achievable. Gregory, A. (2006). The first goal for the organization is to find alternative better and reliable means of funding for its activities. The second is to find ways of dealing with the complaints against it so that its image will not be tainted. A good goal here would be to reinforce high legal standing as a reputable organization in New South Wales (Wilcox 2006). It is also important to have the organization operating in compliance with the rules and regulations set by the government in order to a avoid friction since it was set up by the government. This would help the public not to get the information they have received from lawyers changed. A good goal in this line could be to find ways of complying with the laws of the government. Another goal could be addressing the problem of the change over in the information system. Legal Aid also faces another problem since it has instability in its staff (Gregory 2006). The problem may be coming from small number of workers at the organization since the rest are busy with the reviews of corporate services. The problems actually results from Legal Aid’s involvement with the justice and attorney general’s chambers where it is reviewing corporate services. A goal to help rectify this situation would be; To make up for the shortage in labor in the organization to avoid inconveniencing the clients and the public. Sources of funding Funding is one of the most important things in the smooth running of Legal Aid NSW. Since it relies on funds from its clients and some from the Common wealth, New South Wales governments and the public purpose fund. On top of this it has a financial problem since it incurred a loss of about $ 6.5 million in 2007/2008. The implications of this loss are bound to cause more serious financial deficits if the problem is not taken care of. Some of the financial objectives that can solve this issue are as follows; To find means of securing more funding from the New South Wales governments before the end of the next financial year. To work out means and ways of getting more clients who are financially able to support the organization within the next two years. To seek out more business partners that can offer to provide financial aid in a span of six months. To strike a deal with existing partners on how they can operate together and collectively in order to lift each other in times of financial difficulty. To check into ways in which the organization can avoid any future losses that can put it into a situation like the one it is facing now. To identify projects that can be initiated to generate income of over $1 million U.S for the organization in the first two months of operation. To Seek to employ workers on voluntary basis to avoid huge expenditures incurred in salaries and allowances before the end of three months.The second goal deals with the complaints that have been filed against the organization. It is important to preserve a good image as an organization that defends the rights of the disadvantaged. Having cases in court can cost the organization by destroying its reputation and therefore cause it to lose reliable clients, partners or funds from the government, the Commonwealth and other sources. Workable specific objectives to achieve this goal would be; To find ways of acquiring proper legal defense within the shortest time possible so that the cases will not bring adverse financial or reputation implications that can taint its image further. To work on improving its reputation among its key clients and partners within five years of operation in order to maintain at least 95% of them.To find diplomatic ways of addressing issues to avoid situations where they are turned into cases that need legal attention at the expense of the company. The third goal is to find ways of complying with the laws of the government so that the public is not given contradicting information. This is important since new laws have made the organization have a large number of employees the advice that the public receives from the lawyers changed. Objectives that can help to achieve this goal are; To find the right avenues of negotiation with the government in order to repeal the new laws before the end of the year.To undo the damage done by the new laws to the information held by the public in one year. To work out ways through which the organization can be consulted before new laws are made in future. To find the right ways of reducing the size of the staff the organization has in less than three years. The last goal concerns the problem that the organization has encountered as a result of its change over in the information system. Some objectives to address this problem can be; To review the grant management system (ATLAS) in the shortest time possible. To find cheaper and easier ways of training the staff to use the system competently in order to avoid more delays beyond one month. To help those lawyers and employees affected by the new system to understand the situation (Yeomans 2006). To lay the ground for future changes to avoid confusion in case of anew program or system to be launched. These objectives are recipes for success if they are well implemented to the latter. Some of them address current steps to be taken while others touch on steps that will continue into the future for an enhanced proper management system. These goals and objectives can be discussed in broader detail in order to give a clear course of action to be followed to achieve the desired outcome. Goal number one has five objectives that help to achieve it. The first objective suggests that the management of the organization needs to find out how the organization can secure more funds form the Governments of New South Wales. In this regard the organization will need to pass through mediators or even is possible go direct and engage the government representatives into negotiations (Mahoney 2008).These negotiations should highlight on the important role played by the organization in the society and how disadvantaged communities are assisted by the organization. The current financial position of Legal Aid NSW should be tabled and discussed. Since this organization was established by the government, it has all the reasons to gain support from the government. Increased funding can also be solicited from the common wealth within the next financial year. In the second objective the organization needs to widen its resource base through reaching out to more financially supportive clients since a section of the revenue of the organization is acquired from clients. Communication on this aspect can be done through the media, monthly, weekly or annual magazines, Annual General Meetings among other avenues. The cheapest means however should be chosen to avoid straining the organization financially since its financial position is not good. Clients who offer extra support can also be requested to pay for the services offered to disadvantaged clients who are served free of charge (Yeomans 2006). Business partners that are able to give financial support can also be identified and approached. These should come from the already existing ones but also new ones can be identified and added to the list. This list should be separate from that of the institutions giving funds to the organization like the Common wealth or the New South Wales governments. These partners can be acquired through the media or the internet. Personal meetings with the management can also be made to establish partnerships aimed at getting financial support. Financial support can also be obtained from international organizations that find the job Legal Aid is doing important. Gregory, A. (2006). The organization should forge stronger relations with its existing partners. These relations will see the organization enter into agreements and projects that can bring mutual benefit. Such benefits can include cheap training of staff, initiation of corporately managed development and income generating projects and other exchange programs (Mahoney 2008).The management of Legal Aid needs to lay down workable strategies that will help avoid making losses in future. A loss of $ 6 million is hard to recover easily and should be avoided at all costs. The management should request for and receive revenue at the right time when the expenditure is due. Early revenue can be easily misused leaving behind a deficit in the income. The common wealth, clients and the New South Wales governments should be advised to send their support at a specific time when it cannot be used in a wrong way. Excessive and unnecessary expenditure should also be cut down to avoid an imbalance between the income and expenditure. A task force needs to be set to look into the possibilities of initiating projects that can generate credible income to help supplement the revenue obtained from the existing financiers. Possible projects include investments in the stock market or running businesses such as car hire, supermarkets, and schools among others. Many of the financial problems of the company come because the expenditure is higher than the revenue. Employees should be requested to work on voluntary terms or on reduced pay. If they decline then people who can work as volunteers should be obtained from the community public. This should be done through advertisements in the media or internet but still cheaper means are preferred, (Wilcox, D.L. & Cameron, G.T. 2006) Volunteers can also be obtained through advertisements and visitations to legal training institutions. Some members of staff can be dispatched to go and give talks in such institutions that aim at convincing the learners to join Legal Aid on voluntary basis as soon as they complete their studies, Oliver, S. (2007). Another goal addresses the complaints that the organization has that have been filed against it. These have the potential of destroying the good image of the organization even though it may be doing a good job. Professionally recognized lawyers should be hired in order to argue the cases out in court in defense of the organization. This should be done to help the organization get out of legal processes that can destroy its image especially when featured in the media. Its own lawyers can also do this at a cheaper cost. Otherwise lawyers who can offer their services for free should be sought among those working with the organization. This will help reduce the expenses that may be incurred in hiring a lawyer. The filing of cases against the organization may have raised questions of mistrust among its partners, clients and those funding the organization. Any destruction of this nature that may have been done even to the public needs to be un done. Clear information and messages should be designed and disbursed to help revamp the organizations image. The organization can state its case through the media or government publications. It is important so that its name does not earn a lot of disrespect, (Wilcox, D.L. & Cameron, G.T. 2006). Issues raised by the public, clients or the government should be addressed early enough or as soon as they arise to avoid controversy. They should not be allowed to turn into court cases which can cost the organization in many ways. Court cases have economic implications on the organization because it will spend on paying the lawyers who will represent it in court. These cases can also touch on the reputation of the organization negatively giving it negative publicity. It is therefore wise to avoid law suits because of such problems. In addressing these issues complainants should be encouraged to come to the organization to launch their complaints there. They should then be given a hearing from which a quick solution should found and executed. Otherwise the organization should discipline its employees and lawyers so that they observe professionalism while dealing with clients and rest of the public. Any one of them who implicates the company into a scandal or la suit should be seriously penalized, Gregory, A. (2006). Another problem of the organization is the government laws that have made the number of employees to go up and the information given to the public by the company lawyers to be contradicted. This situation can be addressed if there are proper consultations with the government before such laws are enacted (Wilcox, D.L. & Cameron 2006).Through the Attorney General’s office, the government should be advised on the implications of such laws. The effect of the law was the big number of staff members which may be a burden to the organization. Arrangements should be made with the government to have these laws annulled or amended to avoid excessive expenditure through payment of salaries to many employees, The public and the clients of the organization have had the information they got from the lawyers of the organization changed because of the new laws made by the government. Harmony should be created so that the new information is verified within the shortest time possible or the information form the lawyers confirmed to be working after proper consultations have been done with the government within the shortest time possible. This is to avoid confusion that can lead to more trouble for the organization. In regards to Gregory (2006).Another goal was to stream line the operations of the grant management system (ATLAS) to avoid operation problems. This goal can be achieved if first of all a review into the operation of the system is done to ascertain the best way in which it can be made to function. This needs to be done within a period of one month. A task force should be appointed to look into the problems encountered by the workers in the operation of the system. Recommendations and findings should be given to the management so that the right steps can be taken. Staffs who work directly with the system should be given proper training within a period of two weeks or so to help them be quick and at ease with the new system. Hiring of the relevant personnel should be done in good time to avoid delays in the training any further. Employees and lawyers affected by the new system should be called together and addressed on the issues arising from the installation (Gregory 2006). Otherwise magazines and notice boards can be used to pass the information to them. This information should explain the course of the problems and the circumstances surrounding the poor functioning of the system. Information can also be given out through the organizations website. Apologies should be given to avoid misunderstanding and the system subjected to review. In case of another new system being introduced to the company proper preparations should be made to ensure that when it is launched there will be no problems in its operation. In such cases advance training should be done for the employees to ensure that they flow with the new system (Oliver 2007). Experts should be imported into the organization to help show how the system should be operated. The management should therefore learn a lesson from this so that in future similar problems are avoided. A new system should never be introduced if they are not sure that it will work properly. It should be tested and tried early enough to avoid inconveniencing the clients. Employees should also be given thorough training on how the system functions before its introduction into the organization (Oliver 2007). In order to achieve the above goals and objectives the organization needs to do a lot in improving its communication with the public. Regular briefings should be done to acquaint the lawyers and clients with the latest happenings in the organization. This can clear the mist of mistrust and understanding in case a problem arises that is affecting the efficiency of the organization. Information disbursement channels like the website, media should be utilized fully in order to help in informing the public. Conclusion In conclusion the Legal Aid has problems to do with insufficiency in its revenue, court cases, and operation hardships with its new grant management system. The staff is also unstable and new government laws are threatening to wreck its operations since they have increased the number of employees and changed the information given by its lawyers to the public. Goals that can help address these problems have been elaborated in this public relations strategy (Oliver 2007) .These goal and objectives are the steps the organization management needs to give priority in implementation in order to realize change. The success of the organization and its ability to solve the problems highlighted will depend on how swift and seriously these objectives are taken into consideration. Where possible, special committees and task forces will have to be created to focus on the implementation of specific objectives. This can help to increase accountability in the implementation process. Legal advisers from outside can also be called in to give their input on the proper implementation strategies to be adopted to fulfill the objectives of this document. References Gregory, A. (2006) Public relations as planned communication (Ch. 10). In Tench, R. & Yeomans, L (2006). Exploring Public Relations, Prentice Hall: Harlow. Or Gregory, Chapter 9 in your 2009 hard edition copy of Tench & Yeomans Hendrix, J.A. & Hayes, D.C. (2007). A public relations process (Ch 2). Hendrix & Hayes (2007). Public Relations Cases (7th ed) (pp.12-50). Thomson. Mahoney, J. (2008). Public Relations: Goals and Objectives (Ch. 4). In Public Relations Writing in Australia (pp. 44-53). Oxford, Melbourne. Oliver, S. (2007). Not ‘just’ public relations: PR strategy in a management context, Chapter 1, in S. Oliver. Public Relations Strategy, 2nd Edition, Kogan-Page, London, 1-24. Wilcox, D.L. & Cameron, G.T. (2006). Communication (Ch 7). In Wilcox & Cameron (2006). Public Relations: Strategies and tactics (8th ed) (pp.171-192). Pearson. Read More