Numerous associations put the significance of a good reputation to the reverse of their minds while they attend to further hard- edged, day- to- day urgencies. On the other hand, numerous associations consider their topmost asset to be their good name or character. This is especially true in knowledge- grounded associations similar as professional services enterprises in the consulting, legal, medical, and fiscal sectors and in universities. They work laboriously to make their good character, to make the ‘bank of goodwill’ towards them. Although reputation is an impalpable conception, exploration widely shows that a good character demonstrably increases commercial worth and provides sustained competitive advantage. A business can achieve its objects more fluently if it has a good reputation among its stakeholders, especially crucial stakeholders similar as its largest guests, opinion leaders in the business community, suppliers and current and implicit workers [1].

Positive reputation has a number of salutary consequences [2] have linked it to intention to buy a service; perceived product quality and to inhibiting contender entry when a tough station is espoused [3]; contributing to performance differences between enterprises; attracting investors, lower cost of capital and enhancing the competitive capability of enterprises; and, to enabling strong association identification by workers and “inter-organizational cooperation or citizenship geste ”[4].

An establishment with a good overall reputation owns a precious asset. Yet unlike other means, character cannot fluently be traded on the open request as it represents an “advanced order” rather than a “mobile” resource [5].

The significance of character is only recently been understood by public sector associations and public legislations, and still remains an important underused resource [6]. The importance of reputation is only lately been understood by public sector organizations and national legislations, and still remains a much underused resource [6]. Much of the reputation literature concentrates on corporations [7,8,9] and non-profits [10]. However,   public   

sector  organizations   are  not equal to non-profits, as they differ for instance on issues of membership, employee pay and organizational aims, and their existence is based on different criteria [11]. 

According to Klewes and Wreschniok, [12] character can be managed, accumulated and traded in for trust, legitimization of a position of power and social recognition, a decoration price for goods and services offered, a stronger amenability among shareholders to hold on to shares in times of extremity, or a stronger readiness to invest in the company's stock. thus, character is one of the most precious forms of" capital" of a company. A positive reputation will secure a company or association long- term competitive advantages. A good character creates a favorable operating terrain, but it demands nonstop conservation and demonstration through good practices. The public sector is a major player and it both provides public and profitable stability through taxation, weal and institutional structures. The effectiveness and character of the public sector is of central value, yet there's a gap in exploration on public sector associations regarding both their character as well as stakeholder places [11]. Thus far, studies have approached the reputation of non-profit and educational organizations [10], yet public sector organizations are not the same thing as non-profits; they differ for in-stance on issues of membership, employee pay and organizational aims. 

Since themid-1980s elderly directors have honored the strategic necessity of structure and sustaining a favorable commercial character to produce commercial competitive advantage. This recognition has been imaged by a wealth of academic publications for case character journals that have stressed the value of a favorable commercial character as a means of enhancing an association’s fiscal value, impacting intention to buy, acting as a medium for assuring product/ service quality, impacting client and hand fidelity, and offering inimitability to the association.

Thus, this study seeks to assess strategies used in reputation conservation in government ministries in Nairobi County.                

Statement of the Problem

There has been a lot of varied reactions of public institution in Kenya in terms of their reputation. Most of these which have been via news media have had a not so favourable reputation and creates a negative perception of public institutions among the stakeholders and general public. The public sector exists to serve the public. The public sector needs to maintain reputation in order to meet their objectives for instance the production, ownership, sale, provision, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal. Public sector activity ranges from delivering social security, administering urban planning and organizing national defence [6]. They exist to serve the general public, why will they need to have reputation maintained. This is unlike their counterparts in the private sector and non-government institutions that have different customers and competitors, so they will need to have a positive reputation. Little information if any exists on how the public institutions strive to create positive reputation and the strategies, they employ to ensure that this positive reputation is maintained. Therefore, there exists a gap that needs to be filled regarding the strategies used in government ministries in Kenya. Thus, this study therefore seeks to assess the strategies used in reputation maintenance on Kenyan government ministries in Nairobi County which will be replicated in the ministries in other counties throughout the country.

Objectives 

To establish the strategies used in reputation maintenance in government ministries

Research Questions

What strategies are used in reputation maintenance in government ministries?

 Justification

Organizations are always yearning to have a positive reputation. Government institutions exist to serve the public, for instance all the Kenyan government ministries and they don’t have special customers or competitors that can be a main reason for striving to have a positive reputation, such that when their reputation is tarnished, their customers will run to their competitors. 

There is need to conduct research on the strategies used in reputation maintenance in government ministries.

Scope 

This study targeted professional practitioners in the PR and corporate communication in the public sector. This is because the corporate communication department is the one in charge of ensuring that an organization has a favourable reputation, through various strategies they put in place for corporate reputation management. They have first-hand information and experience on what reputation is and how to manage reputation.

This study was limited to government ministries in the Nairobi County. This is because the county is the main headquarters for most government institutions, with more resources and information on reputation.

This study was limited to government institutions i.e., Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, Ministry of Devolution and Planning, Defence, Foreign Affairs,  Education, The National Treasury, Health, Transport and Infrastructure which will have the Department of Transport Services and the Department of Infrastructure, Environment, Water and Natural Resource, Land, Housing and Urban Development, Information, Communication and Technology, Sports, Culture and the Arts, Labour, Social Security and Services, Energy and Petroleum, Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries under which are the Department of Agriculture, Department of Livestock and Department of Fisheries, Industrialization and Enterprise Development,  Commerce and Tourism which has the Department of Commerce and Department of Tourism, Mining, in the Nairobi County. This is because the government ministries exist to serve the public; they have no competitors, so why will they need a positive reputation?

This study was also limited to organization reputation as opposed to brand reputation and online reputation. This is because organization reputation is what the public think about the organization’ as opposed to the brand. Brand reputation is about how the public perceives a brand and online reputation management is about monitoring the internet reputation of a person, brand or organization. Researching on organization reputation will therefore provide research sample that will enable the researcher draw meaningful conclusions.

Significance of the Study

The study is to contribute to government ministries as they will see the need of having a positive reputation in their organization; the contribution of reputation maintenance in government ministries; to establish the strategies used in reputation maintenance in government ministries; to identify the public perception that exists about government institutions; to find out the challenges faced by Kenyan government ministries in reputation maintenance.

Studies from other scholars [11] show that a lot hasn’t been done on public sector reputation. Therefore, this study was beneficial to the corporate communications department of government ministries. This study contributed to the body of knowledge surrounding corporate reputation management and benefit to corporate communications practitioners, senior managers, PR educators and students pursuing public relations course since the findings generated will show what the contributions of reputation maintenance government ministries.

Literature Review

Today competition on the markets is harder than ever. In addition, corporate responsibility is emphasized in media and in corporate strategies more and more. For these reasons reputation has become a new meter for a company’s success and a way to increase competitive advantage. 

Reputation consists of people’s opinions and perceptions of things. This is why reputation has been a difficult issue to classify or to specifically explain in academic literature: people are different, and an action that is thought of as justified by one person can be seen as unethical by another. The reality is, nonetheless, that good reputation can increase a company’s profitability and interest among customers. Still, a company’s reputation does not consist of only what the customers’ opinions of it are. Also, employees, investors, and even analytics have an impact on how the company’s reputation is seen as a whole. Building a reputation can be a long and complicated process, but to break it down it only takes, for example, few dissatisfied and loud enough employees. Good reputation gives a company premise for better economic results. In addition, good reputation attracts educated and knowledgeable work force as well as the right types of investors. 

In this section, literature from different scholars in the field of corporate reputation have been reviewed to show what different scholars have said in terms of the contribution of reputation maintenance in government ministries, the strategies used in reputation maintenance in government ministries, the public perception that exists about government institutions and the challenges faced by Kenyan government ministries in reputation maintenance.

The Strategies Used to Create and Maintain Reputation in the Kenyan Government Ministries

Managing reputations is challenging because firms do not directly own or control their reputations – their stakeholders do. As such, managing corporate reputation is a continuous process that begins at firm founding, and is a function of reputational resources of the founders, the strategic actions firms take and performance history they build, and the ways they go about building and managing their networks. Regardless of the mechanisms used, the process typically unfolds in three stages: 

• attention generation, in which the new firm develops a public profile; 

• uncertainty reduction, in which it explains its function – and if necessary, that of its industry – to stakeholders via its strategic communications; and 

• evaluation, in which it demonstrates the competence with which it fulfills its function. 

The mechanisms employed by new firms can also be used – although perhaps to a lesser extent – by established firms, but the process through which a new firm’s reputation is created varies in both focus and kind from that of established companies.

Influencing Stakeholders: An organization reputation is its greatest asset in today’s knowledge economy. A favorable reputation benefits an institution, because it contributes to an institution becoming the first choice of customers, investors, suppliers and employees. It also helps enhance competitive advantage, by differentiating the company in the marketplace. A favourable reputation with customers creates a degree of brand equity, since people are more likely to be loyal to reputable companies. Similarly a favourable reputation with employees can help attract better staff, spur productivity and enhance profitability. Harisalo and Stenvall [13]. This reputation is derived from the way stakeholders perceive the organization, how they think, feel or act towards it. It is therefore vital that organizations interested in developing and building their reputational capital; pay careful attention to how they are perceived and; that they manage the relationships with their various stakeholders like a strategic resource.

Stakeholders offer organizations both opportunity and threat. For instance if a government institution has a good reputation with stakeholders they may give the organization more latitude to operate [14,15].

What international research have shown is that there is a lot that organizations can do to positively influence the process of creating good reputation perception in stakeholders’ minds. Building positive and lasting relationships should be a key organizational function and strategy, the management of and interaction with stakeholders therefore needs careful attention if an organization wants to maximize its opportunities and minimize threats in dealing with stakeholders [14,15]. This is one strategy or method in which public sector organizations can use to maintain a positive reputation in the stakeholder’s mind.

Media monitoring: In the commercial sphere, this activity is usually carried out in house or by a media monitoring service, a private company that provides such services to other companies, organizations and individuals on a subscription basis. The services that media monitoring companies provide typically include the systematic recording of radio and television broadcasts, the collection of press clippings from print media publications, and the collection of data from online information sources. The material collected usually consists of any media output that makes reference to the client, its activities and/or its designated topics of interests. The monitoring of online consumer sources such as blogs, forums and social networks is more specifically known as buzz monitoring which informs the company of how its service or product is perceived by users. Public sector organizations can use media monitoring tools and techniques to monitor, keep track hence manage and maintain their reputation. This is by getting all the information from various media analyzing it and correcting what is not right [16].

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) plays a major role in developing the economy of a country. It can be defined as the way in which a company manages various business entities to produce an impact on the society. Companies with high CSR standards are able to demonstrate their responsibilities to the stock holders, employees, customers, and the general public. Business organizations that have high corporate social responsibility standards can attract staff thereby reducing employee turnover and cost of recruitment. Companies voluntarily contribute a large sum of money to make a better society and a clean environment. Corporate social responsibility is a process in which all companies come together as one and take part in the welfare of the society. Many organizations conduct campaigns to create awareness among corporate, civic bodies, and government bodies about the importance of corporate social responsibility [17].

Many national and multinational firms are booming in various developing countries. But at the same time, these countries suffer social challenges such as poverty, corruption, population growth, etc. Therefore, it is important for all companies to strive together and adapt corporate social responsibility standards to make the society better than before. An organization can exhibit a better image in the society if it cares for its employees and involve them in social activities. The responsibilities of an organization may range from providing small donations to executing bigger projects for the welfare of the society. Many business houses around the world show their commitment to corporate social responsibility [17].

What is the importance of corporate social responsibility? The answer lies in two things:

• organizations understanding their role in developing a society

• awareness among business houses, corporate bodies, and the people. 

Versatile, profitable, and dynamic businesses are the driving forces that build the economy of the country. We must remember that the growth of a country purely depends on the growth of the society and the people in the society. Therefore if public sector organization is involved in society building trough CSR then their reputation as well is improved in the eyes of the stakeholders and public at large. This in the long run maintains a positive reputation.

If corporations are to develop and sustain good reputations, they need to not only have the right policies in place but also to be seen to be implementing these policies over the long term.

Traditionally the impact of these external stakeholders has been mitigated by corporate spin doctors who have been employed in the public relations and marketing divisions to control the public image of the company. Increasingly, it seems that corporations are beginning to recognise that image is only one aspect of reputation, with the spin-doctor strategy only being able to provide them with short-term shifts in perception, rather than provide the multi-dimensional strategy needed to acquire reputational assurance. In wielding their power, it may well be possible that stakeholders can bring about changes to corporate behavior [17].

Media relations. Media has been divided into “traditional media” and “new media” by many scholar and practitioners (Cutlip et al., 2006; Higgins, 1999). They are both equally important to organizations. Despite incredible growth of interactive and digital media, there are still some traditionalists who want to read about organizations’ activities on hard copies rather than going on-line or press the “red button” on their digital TV [18]. This is why there are numerous of newspapers and magazines – as of traditional media – published every year. 

Media are now part of almost everyone’s everyday life throughout the globe. Rapid growth of new media and impacts of media, in general, is inexorable, particularly by presence of the internet, interactive and digital media. Once a press release and/or news are aired, it is done and surely would have impacts; however small they are. Technology changed the world and facilitated building up relationship with media and interacting with a wider audience than ever before [19]. The mass media in both print and electronic are the channels through which public relations practitioners communicate with the public. This is why PR practitioners need to cultivate and maintain good relations with mass media organizations and other personnel, especially editors, reporters and columnists. They contact news media for them to publish or mention their organizations in the media, respond to media with information. It involves working with the mass media in seeking publicity or responding to their interest in the organization. MR addresses the relationship that firms build up with journalists, editors and analysts. A well-established MR is the best avenue to create positive impression in the eyes of strategic public. It is important to have someone well trained and experienced available and accessible within an organization; someone who can wisely disseminate information and understand what the journalists and reporters mean by certain phrases. If problems arise, an experienced spokesperson from the senior management [20], should deal with the media to communicate complete and appropriate information. This is about credibility and reliability of content which an organization can deliver to its public. Organizations need to endeavour to enhance public trust through effective MR, therefore they need to regularly emphasize their positive and fair activities. Accordingly, MR would assist organizations for developing their reputation and reliability in a cost-effective manner. As of the dynamic nature of business environment, companies sometimes are surprised by issues and crises around them. To clarify the necessity of MR and its impact, Bland et al.  argue that good MR would contribute to strategic objectives of organizations; in which various channels need to be utilized by organization for fulfilling their strategic purposes.

Employee relations. Maintaining healthy employee relations in an organization is a pre-requisite for organizational success. Strong employee relations are required for high productivity and human satisfaction. Employee relations generally deal with avoiding and resolving issues concerning individuals which might arise out of or influence the work scenario. Strong employee relation depends upon healthy and safe work environment, cent percent involvement and commitment of all employees, incentives for employee motivation, and effective communication system in the organization. Healthy employee relations lead to more efficient, motivated and productive employees which further lead to increase in sales level [21].

Corporate reputation is considered as ``a snapshot that reconciles the multiple images of a company held by all its constituencies'' and employees have a key role to play in communicating images to external stakeholders, as part of the behavioural element of the corporate identity mix .Stuart [21] argues that employees' view of corporate identity is an important part of corporate reputation management, since the more employees identify with their organization, the more likely they are to show a supportive attitude towards it and the more likely they are to accept the organization's core values and align their behaviour with organizational objectives.

All organizations therefore need to ensure that their employees have a positive image of their company for them to strongly identify with it [4]. Good employee relation signifies that employees should feel positive about their identity, their job as well as about being a part of such a great organization.

In corporate advertising, advertisers control content, placement, timing, by paying the media advertising time and space. Advertising is the placement of information in the media by an identified sponsor that pays for the time or space. It is a controlled method of placing messages in the media. Public sector organizations use this controlled means of placing messages in the mass media for non-marketing purposes. For instance, the human resource department in public sector organizations places advertisements of job opening in newspapers. The legal department places advertisements in newspapers to conform with publics notification requirements when organizations issue bonds, or sell shares. Public sector organizations also use advertising when they want to address criticism in the media over which they feel they have no control of or when they feel their point of view is not being fairly reported, or when they are trying to add their voices to a cause [16]. Therefore, public sector organizations will need advertising to create and maintain a positive reputation.

Customer Care

The vision of public sector is organised around the needs of its customers, directly accountable to them through guarantees of service that is of the highest quality, accessible, friendly, convenient, easy to use, integrated, responsive and cost effective, and which assures redress when things go wrong. Traditionally, public services have been designed for the convenience of the people who work in them rather than for the people they are meant to serve. The public sector needs to change the way we think about the business in which we are engaged, that of providing service, and organize ourselves around the needs of our customers. The basis of good service is respect and care for customers and their needs. That means recognizing that the customer is the most important person to our organization. Those who serve them directly come next, and the management is there to support those who serve the customer. Our organizations, systems and processes must be designed to reflect and reinforce those ideals. (Government at your Service Public Sector Modernisation Vision and Strategy 2002 – 2012)

Citizens Charters is another strategy that government institutions can use to create and maintain their reputation. Citizens Charter Programmes have been introduced in over 60 countries worldwide. The fundamental principle of the charter is that of recognizing the citizen as customer who is entitled to high quality service and whose interest must always come first. Public sector organizations have issued charters and all Ministries and major departments are required to implement customer service improvement programmes aimed at raising standards. 

Customer Service Improvement Programme can also enhance the reputation of the organization.

The public sector has established a Standards & Monitoring Unit in the Cabinet Office to promote and monitor customer service improvement across the public sector.  Approximately 75% of public sector entities have been sensitised and introduced to the customer service improvement programme, and all Permanent Secretaries are required to report on improvements in customer service in their respective ministries as part of their performance agreements. 

Information Services

Part of building a company's reputation is the role of supplying information to a variety of publics. Companies send news releases to the media in order to inform the public about earnings, acquisitions, new products and the like (media relations). Companies must respond to inquiries from customers, distributors, government officials and community residents. (Government at your Service Public Sector Modernisation Vision and Strategy 2002 – 2012)

Investor Relations

Also referred to as stockholder communications, investor relations is a means for providing information to individuals who own stock or have a special interest in the corporation. Elaborate annual reports, quarterly reports mailed with dividend checks and other printed materials are sent to stockholders on a regular basis. Staff members may have to convince stockholders that an acquisition or merger is in their best interest. According to cutlip et al [16] investor relations is the specialized part of public relations that builds and maintains mutually beneficial relationship with shareholders and others in the financial community to maximize market value. Investor relations specialists keep shareholders informed and loyal to a company in order to maintain a fair valuation of a stocks company.  They track market trends, provide information to financial publics, and respond to request for financial information. Public sector organizations can use investor relations as one way of creating and maintaining their reputation.

Education public relations.Public relations plays a vital part in almost every educational institution. Fund raising is an important part of educational public relations. In urban areas, elementary and high school districts frequently employ public relations officers to assist the news media and to work with parents and school groups. Collegiate public relations practitioners may distribute news releases containing information about campus events and personalities, prepare periodicals, brochures and catalogues, maintain ties with alumni, maintain relations with local, state government officials, recruit students, maintain internal relations with faculty, staff and students, solicit donations from foundations, alumni, and state governments.

What international research have shown is that there is a lot that organizations can do to positively influence the process of creating good reputation perception in stakeholders minds. Building positive and lasting relationships should be a key organizational function and strategy, the management of and interaction with stakeholders therefore needs careful attention if an organization wants to maximize its opportunities and minimize threats in dealing with stakeholders [14,15]. This is one strategy or method in which public sector organizations can use to maintain a positive reputation in the stakeholders mind.

Media monitoring: In the commercial sphere, this activity is usually carried out in house or by a media monitoring service, a private company that provides such services to other companies, organizations and individuals on a subscription basis. The services that media monitoring companies provide typically include the systematic recording of radio and television broadcasts, the collection of press clippings from print media publications, and the collection of data from online information sources. The material collected usually consists of any media output that makes reference to the client, its activities and/or its designated topics of interests. The monitoring of online consumer sources such as blogs, forums and social networks is more specifically known as buzz monitoring which informs the company of how its service or product is perceived by users. Public sector organizations can use media monitoring tools and techniques to monitor, keep track hence manage and maintain their reputation. This is by getting all the information from various media analyzing it and correcting what is not right [16].

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) plays a major role in developing the economy of a country. It can be defined as the way in which a company manages various business entities to produce an impact on the society. Companies with high CSR standards are able to demonstrate their responsibilities to the stock holders, employees, customers, and the general public. Business organizations that have high corporate social responsibility standards can attract staff thereby reducing employee turnover and cost of recruitment. Companies voluntarily contribute a large sum of money to make a better society and a clean environment. Corporate social responsibility is a process in which all companies come together as one and take part in the welfare of the society. Many organizations conduct campaigns to create awareness among corporate, civic bodies, and government bodies about the importance of corporate social responsibility [17].

Many national and multinational firms are booming in various developing countries. But at the same time, these countries suffer social challenges such as poverty, corruption, population growth, etc. Therefore, it is important for all companies to strive together and adapt corporate social responsibility standards to make the society better than before. An organization can exhibit a better image in the society if it cares for its employees and involve them in social activities. The responsibilities of an organization may range from providing small donations to executing bigger projects for the welfare of the society. Many business houses around the world show their commitment to corporate social responsibility.

What is the importance of corporate social responsibility? The answer lies in two things: 

• organizations understanding their role in developing a society

• awareness among business houses, corporate bodies, and the people. Versatile, profitable, and dynamic businesses are the driving forces that build the economy of the country.

We must remember that the growth of a country purely depends on the growth of the society and the people in the society. Therefore, if public sector organization is involved in society building trough CSR then their reputation as well is improved in the eyes of the stakeholders and public at large. This in the long run maintains a positive reputation.

If corporations are to develop and sustain good reputations, they need to not only have the right policies in place but also to be seen to be implementing these policies over the long term.

Traditionally the impact of these external stakeholders has been mitigated by corporate spin doctors who have been employed in the public relations and marketing divisions to control the public image of the company. Increasingly, it seems that corporations are beginning to recognise that image is only one aspect of reputation, with the spin-doctor strategy only being able to provide them with short-term shifts in perception, rather than provide the multi-dimensional strategy needed to acquire reputational assurance. In wielding their power, it may well be possible that stakeholders can bring about changes to corporate behavior.

Media relations. Media has been divided into “traditional media” and “new media” by many scholar and practitioners. They are both equally important to organizations. Despite incredible growth of interactive and digital media, there are still some traditionalists who want to read about organizations’ activities on hard copies rather than going on-line or press the “red button” on their digital TV [18]. This is why there are numerous of newspapers and magazines – as of traditional media – published every year. 

Media are now part of almost everyone’s everyday life throughout the globe. Rapid growth of new media and impacts of media, in general, is inexorable, particularly by presence of the internet, interactive and digital media. Once a press release and/or news are aired, it is done and surely would have impacts; however small they are. Technology changed the world and facilitated building up relationship with media and interacting with a wider audience than ever before [19]. The mass media in both print and electronic are the channels through which public relations practitioners communicate with the public. This is why PR practitioners need to cultivate and maintain good relations with mass media organizations and other personnel, especially editors, reporters and columnists. They contact news media for them to publish or mention their organizations in the media, respond to media with information. It involves working with the mass media in seeking publicity or responding to their interest in the organization. MR addresses the relationship that firms build up with journalists, editors and analysts. A well-established MR is the best avenue to create positive impression in the eyes of strategic public. It is important to have someone well trained and experienced available and accessible within an organization; someone who can wisely disseminate information and understand what the journalists and reporters mean by certain phrases. If problems arise, an experienced spokesperson from the senior management [20], should deal with the media to communicate complete and appropriate information. This is about credibility and reliability of content which an organization can deliver to its public. Organizations need to endeavour to enhance public trust through effective MR, therefore they need to regularly emphasize their positive and fair activities. Accordingly, MR would assist organizations for developing their reputation and reliability in a cost-effective manner. As of the dynamic nature of business environment, companies sometimes are surprised by issues and crises around them. To clarify the necessity of MR and its impact, Bland et al.  argue that good MR would contribute to strategic objectives of organizations; in which various channels need to be utilized by organization for fulfilling their strategic purposes.

Employee relations. Maintaining healthy employee relations in an organization is a pre-requisite for organizational success. Strong employee relations are required for high productivity and human satisfaction. Employee relations generally deal with avoiding and resolving issues concerning individuals which might arise out of or influence the work scenario. Strong employee relation depends upon healthy and safe work environment, cent percent involvement and commitment of all employees, incentives for employee motivation, and effective communication system in the organization. Healthy employee relations lead to more efficient, motivated and productive employees which further lead to increase in sales level [21].

Corporate reputation is considered as ``a snapshot that reconciles the multiple images of a company held by all its constituencies'' and employees have a key role to play in communicating images to external stakeholders, as part of the behavioural element of the corporate identity mix. Stuart argues that employees' view of corporate identity is an important part of corporate reputation management, since the more employees identify with their organization, the more likely they are to show a supportive attitude towards it and the more likely they are to accept the organization's core values and align their behaviour with organizational objectives.

All organizations therefore need to ensure that their employees have a positive image of their company for them to strongly identify with it [4]. Good employee relation signifies that employees should feel positive about their identity, their job as well as about being a part of such a great organization.

In corporate advertising, advertisers control content, placement, timing, by paying the media advertising time and space. Advertising is the placement of information in the media by an identified sponsor that pays for the time or space. It is a controlled method of placing messages in the media. Public sector organizations use this controlled means of placing messages in the mass media for non-marketing purposes. For instance, the human resource department in public sector organizations places advertisements of job opening in newspapers. The legal department places advertisements in newspapers to conform with publics notification requirements when organizations issue bonds, or sell shares. Public sector organizations also use advertising when they want to address criticism in the media over which they feel they have no control of or when they feel their point of view is not being fairly reported, or when they are trying to add their voices to a cause. Therefore, public sector organizations will need advertising to create and maintain a positive reputation.

Customer Care

The vision of public sector is organised around the needs of its customers, directly accountable to them through guarantees of service that is of the highest quality, accessible, friendly, convenient, easy to use, integrated, responsive and cost effective, and which assures redress when things go wrong. Traditionally, public services have been designed for the convenience of the people who work in them rather than for the people they are meant to serve. The public sector needs to change the way we think about the business in which we are engaged, that of providing service, and organize ourselves around the needs of our customers. The basis of good service is respect and care for customers and their needs. That means recognizing that the customer is the most important person to our organization. Those who serve them directly come next, and the management is there to support those who serve the customer. Our organizations, systems and processes must be designed to reflect and reinforce those ideals. (Government at your Service Public Sector Modernisation Vision and Strategy 2002 – 2012)

Citizens Charters is another strategy that government institutions can use to create and maintain their reputation. Citizens Charter Programmes have been introduced in over 60 countries worldwide. The fundamental principle of the charter is that of recognizing the citizen as customer who is entitled to high quality service and whose interest must always come first. Public sector organizations have issued charters and all Ministries and major departments are required to implement customer service improvement programmes aimed at raising standards. 

Customer Service Improvement Programme can also enhance the reputation of the organization.

The public sector has established a Standards & Monitoring Unit in the Cabinet Office to promote and monitor customer service improvement across the public sector.  Approximately 75% of public sector entities have been sensitised and introduced to the customer service improvement programme, and all Permanent Secretaries are required to report on improvements in customer service in their respective ministries as part of their performance agreements. 

Information Services

Part of building a company's reputation is the role of supplying information to a variety of publics. Companies send news releases to the media in order to inform the public about earnings, acquisitions, new products and the like (media relations). Companies must respond to inquiries from customers, distributors, government officials and community residents. (Government at your Service Public Sector Modernisation Vision and Strategy 2002 – 2012)

Investor Relations

Also referred to as stockholder communications, investor relations is a means for providing information to individuals who own stock or have a special interest in the corporation. Elaborate annual reports, quarterly reports mailed with dividend checks and other printed materials are sent to stockholders on a regular basis. Staff members may have to convince stockholders that an acquisition or merger is in their best interest. According to cutlip et al (2009) investor relations is the specialized part of public relations that builds and maintains mutually beneficial relationship with shareholders and others in the financial community to maximize market value. Investor relations specialists keep shareholders informed and loyal to a company in order to maintain a fair valuation of a stocks company. They track market trends, provide information to financial publics, and respond to request for financial information. Public sector organizations can use investor relations as one way of creating and maintaining their reputation.

Education Public Relations

Public relations play a vital part in almost every educational institution. Fund raising is an important part of educational public relations. In urban areas, elementary and high school districts frequently employ public relations officers to assist the news media and to work with parents and school groups. Collegiate public relations practitioners may distribute news releases containing information about campus events and personalities, prepare periodicals, brochures and catalogues, maintain ties with alumni, maintain relations with local, state government officials, recruit students, maintain internal relations with faculty, staff and students, solicit donations from foundations, alumni, and state governments [16].

Research Design

This study used survey design. It involved the collection of information from a sample of individuals through their responses to questions. The information was collected from corporate communication practitioners in the government ministries through their responses to questions. Survey design was used because it is easy to collect data in a large population of the government ministries within a short time. Findings were generalised to a large population. This determined current status of the situation on the ground in the government ministries on the contributions of reputation on their perception, thereby giving an opportunity to improve the situation accordingly. Data was generated from literate population in the corporate communications department through questionnaires. The researcher was able to get the opinions of the respondents on the contributions of a reputation management on the government ministry public perception.

Sampling Procedure

This study used stratified random sampling. This is because representatives from each subgroup within the population need to be represented in the sample. The government ministries were divided into subgroups; each ministry formed a subgroup. With stratified sampling, the researcher sampled an equal number of items from each subgroup, i.e. 2 respondents from each ministry. Each stratum or subgroup will be sampled as an independent sub-population, out of which individual elements can be randomly selected. With 18 ministries these form strata or sub groups. The study randomly selected the government ministries to come up with a random sample of 9 ministries. This was achieved by randomly arranging the ministries and picking those that fall on odd numbers. The study used purposive sampling, which is an informant selection tool where there is deliberate choice of an informant due to the qualities the informant possesses. The researcher has decided what needs to be known and sets out to find people who can and are willing to provide the information by virtue of knowledge or experience (Bernard 2002, Lewis & Shep­pard 2006), in this case corporate communication officers and their deputy. Therefore, from the 9 randomly selected ministries, a sample of 18 respondents was used. 

Data Processing and Analysis

Data was collected and analyzed quantitatively using SPSS 18. This is because the researcher used both open ended and closed ended questions in the questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented using percentages, graphs, frequency tables, and cross tabulation. 

Strategies used to create and maintain Reputation in the Ministries

The results were as follows:

Table 1 indicates that 88.9% of the ministries used the media relations strategy, while 83.3% used the customer care to maintain reputation. Additionally, 77.7%, 72.2%, 55.5%, 50% and 38.9% of the ministries indicated they used the corporate social responsibility strategy, public relations tools, media monitoring, influencing stakeholders and investor relations respectively. On average, different strategies are used to create and maintain their reputation but they varied in the different ministries. In similarity are findings by Helm [14]; Dowling [15], the management of and interaction with stakeholders therefore needs careful attention if an organization wants to maximize its opportunities and similar finding is that of Cutlip that public sector organizations can use media monitoring tools and techniques to monitor, keep track hence manage and maintain their reputation. Additionally, Crowther [17] states that corporate social responsibility standards can attract staff thereby reducing employee turnover and cost of recruitment hence can be employed as a strategy. Similarly, Khodarahmi [19] states PR practitioners need to cultivate and maintain good relations with mass media organizations and other personnel, especially editors, reporters and columnists hence media monitoring and relations can be employed as a strategy. 

Table 1: Strategies used to create and maintain Reputation in the Ministries

Additionally, the study results established that government ministries employed different strategies to maintain reputation. Some of the strategies established included; the use of media relations strategy and the customer care to maintain reputation. Further, the study revealed that the ministries used the corporate social responsibility strategy, different public relations tools, media monitoring, stakeholders influencing and investor relations strategies. On average, the study established that different strategies were employed to create and maintain reputation but only that they varied within the ministries.

With reference to the study findings the researcher concludes the strategies in use by government ministries are exceptionally ordinary and that ministries should devote more effort in other strategies. Additionally, the researcher concludes that the strategies have been overused hence; their effects are less felt concerning reputation management and maintenance.

Suggestions for Further Research 

This research mainly limited itself on the research objectives. Reputation and public relations management among government as well as private institutions is a wide and some issues remain unstudied thus the researcher recommends the following areas for further research

• Analysis of the effectiveness and efficiency of strategies used in management of reputation

• The role of ICT in public relation and reputation management

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