Public Relations Parameters: How does PR Function? By Andrew Bishop Mkandawire

When we talk about PR Parameters we are trying to understand how PR functions. PR functions in the following ways as argued by (Odedele 2008) as follows:

a)     Press Agently;

The organization has to be queried by its publics to provide information in response to the query(s). This means if the public does not ask for information, the organization would not find the need to communicate.

 Question – Why PA function is directly related to crisis communication!

 NOTE: Organizations usually respond using media rather than responding directly to the publics. Other tools used to communicate include opinion leaders.

b)     Public Information;

Successful organizations do not really wait for the public to query for information. They have plenty information necessary for their publics and as a way to communicate their future plans.

Emerging issues in such organizations that have public interest are freely communicated to the public even if it could be a public surprise. This means publics are not consulted if they really needed the information or not.

c)      Two-Way Asymmetrical;

This uses scientific research techniques to find out about the business problems customers of the business are facing. The organization digs deep into finding out about needs/wants of its publics but the found information is not used to solve the problem at hand…Why? Because this function is only there to help the business know customer needs.

Question – What would motivate the institution just know the causes of the business problem without having driven to solve the problem.

                            i.           To weigh the risk of either solving or not solving the problem

                          ii.           Prioritize the actual problems that require immediate attention

                        iii.           It can provide edge to understand how your publics value your competitors

                         iv.           It can be for planning purposes where in future a business would come to solve them at once

                           v.           It least to appreciate the problems affecting the business

                         vi.           To enhance inner improvements before the programmes goes out of that business

                       vii.           It can be a mode of deceiving customers that a business is equally concerne

d)     Two-Way Symmetrical;

Scientific investigative or research techniques are used to find out about publics needs/wants that affect business operations. The organization uses the found information to solve the business problems and adjusts to the needs of the publics.

The information as in Two-Way Asymmetrical moves from the organization to the publics and vice-versa.

e)      Excellence Theory;

Excellence Theory, as discussed by Grunig, holds that PR Management and Operations should always involve women's participation even in the leading roles. This responds to human rights declaration that women are equals to men.

The theory hosts that women empowerment in communication has an element of ensuring message acceptability by other women too.

Odedele 2008 quotes Grunig 1999 that all positions in PR department should not only be held by men but also women. However, although women and men are recognised to handle PR work for respective institutions, it does not really mean that either of them are exempted to manage all principles of PR (Communication, Research, Creation of lasting relations, and achievement satisfaction of publics and organization objectives/goals).

PLANNING PUBLIC RELATIONS PROGRAMMES

Remember PR is all about management communication of perceptions which require business attention to respond to the needs of publics for a business to succeed.

There if PR involves management, then it must follow all management tools as argued Henry Feyol:

1.      Planning – Get direction

2.      Organizing – Resources for operation (HR, Tech, Fin, Rep, Phys…)

3.      Coordinating – Linking individual efforts to represent organization/group results

4.     Controlling/Commanding/Executing – Discipline in deadlines, use of resources, focus on results.  

5.  Motivating – Timely salaries, work condition – safety and hygiene, promotions, acknowledgment of good work, training, work relations…

FOUR REASONS FOR PLANNING PR PROGRAMMES

1.      To set targets for PR operations – against which results can be assessed.

2.      To estimate working hours and other costs involved.

3.      To select priorities that will control (i) the number (ii)the timing of different operations in the programme.

4.      To decide the feasibility of carrying out the declared objectives according to the availability of (i) sufficient staff of the right caliber; (ii) physical equipment such as office machines, cameras, vehicles; (iii) an adequate budget.

SIX POINT PR PLANNING MODEL

1.      APPRECIATION OF THE SITUATION

This is about having sound knowledge of the problem at hand and finding a reason to solve such a problem. A leading would be…Is this worth a problem affecting our business success?

a)     Logical Planning; Reasoning with your environment or sensing that something is not right. You plan based on environmental circumstances.

b)  The PR Transfer Process; this enables organizations to transfer negative business-public perceptions to positive.

For example:

NEGATIVE	POSITIVE
Hostile	Sympathy
Prejudice	Acceptance
Apathy	Interest
Ignorance	Knowledge

 

c)      A Necessary Compromise; this involves turning almost a blind eye on certain mechanisms that though they are affecting the business but you need to tolerate then until sometime when you can respond without injuring or affecting your publics or your business.

d)     Investigating the Situation; actual probing of the problem using research techniques – Quest to know the cause of the problem.

e)      Opinion Polls; a simple survey where perception and attitudes are collected to establish the truth about a situation.

f)      Problem Solving; good PR is all about finding solutions to a business.

g)     Methods of Appreciating the Situation

                                                                      i.           Opinion, Perceptions, Attitudes or image surveys

                                                                    ii.           Media monitoring (Press cuttings, Broadcast markings)

                                                                  iii.           Customer complaints

                                                                   iv.           Sale figure trends

                                                                     v.           Market forces: economic, social, political, technological

2.      DEFINITION OF OBJECTIVES

Every programme is designed to achieve intended results. PR programme like other programmes depend on objectives which are representative with SMART [ER] model.

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time bound, Economic, Researchable

 

Example: To increase sales of Soya Pieces with 60% by within July to November 2018.

1. To conduct sales promotion

2. To have three distribution points per trading centre

3. To engage advertising with 6 slots per day+

 

3.      DEFINITION OF PUBLICS

Check “Public Relations is Both an Art and Science “and Should be a Management Function By AB Deevado - Andrew Bishop Mkandawire article on the AB Deevado BlogSpot.

4.      SELECTION OF MEDIA AND TECHNIQUES

Selecting the media depends on the following factors;

1.      Frequency of the message

2.      Depth of the message

3.      Geographic reach

4.      Type of media (Advantages and disadvantages)

5.      Number of audiences

6.      Cost of disseminating the message

7.      Literacy levels

8.      Culture/Religion of audience 

5.      PLANNING OF A BUDGET

A budget, adequate and sufficient, is important to meet costs of the right equipment, transport, salaries, and wages, multimedia production, media cover, premise, hiring of talent, etc.

6.      ASSESSMENT OF RESULTS

Every PR program requires a check of results against objectives. This proves if the business achieved or not. Assessment of results can also provide a platform to discover other subtle opportunities.

PR CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Crisis Management makes a lot of sense to business operators (Juniors and Managers) who always desire to see their business successful.

Crises in every business can be:

1. Anticipated

2. Second or Third Party communicated

3. Un-noticed/Unexpected

Ivy Ledbetter Lee was called in by American Anthracite Coal Industry, and the Pennsylvania Railroad, in 1906 to handle pit disaster and rail accident for the stated companies.

Ledbetter used the following techniques to handle such crises:

1.      He demanded access to boardrooms to get the facts – To what caused the crisis, background of the problem and quest for possible solutions or inner improvement to avoid re-occurrence.

2.      He allowed access by the press to scenes of disaster – Avoids media negative publicity

3.      He ensured and kept communication lines open –

Avoids speculation

4.      Interaction with established Crisis Management Committee to handle crises

 

STAGES IN HANDLING A CRISIS

1.      PREVENTION – ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING

As discussed by (Jefkins 1998, p. 368) ‘Too often, disasters occur through bad management. They happen all the time in everyday public relations life let alone in large-scale industrial circumstances.’

When advocating that PR should be planned, an excuse is sometimes made that PR often has to deal with the unpredictable. Crisis PR means planning to deal with the unpredictable.

 

EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE AND IMPOSSIBLE CRISES AT SOBO

Possible Crises

1)     Fire gutting the production plat

2)     Production team striking

3)     RTA for distribution trucks

4)     Laboratory chemical errors

Impossible Crises

1)          Plant close down due to lightning and thunder strike

2)          Plant hit by aircraft

3)          Distribution vans invaded by terrorists

4)          Government closing plant down due to outstanding taxes

5)          All workers attacked by Cholera

 

EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE AND IMPOSSIBLE CRISES AT TNM

Possible Crises

1.      Slow/Gagged network

2.      Net shutdown

3.      Credit queries

4.      Rude/Incompetent customer care team

5.      Transmission tower causing perceived infertility

6.      Delayed supply of scratch cards

7.      Failure to maintain transmission equipment

8.      Retrenchments

Impossible Crises

1.      Malfunction of all transmission equipment

2.      Network discontinuation for more than week

3.      Loss of over 50% of customer due to a new entrant

4.      Issuance of wrong token numbers

 

2.      PREPARATION

Two things are necessary in order to be prepared for crises.

a)     Establishment of a Crisis Committee; this should be composed of junior workers and superior workers like HRO, Production Manager, ED, Sales Marketing Officer, Communications Manager, Head of Guards, etc.

b)     Emphasis on Regular Meetings; discussing issues that would help solve a crisis

 

3.      PROVISION

The media will demand every kind of information, although they have no right to anything. This is because bad news for an organization is good for media businesses to sell negative headlines.

 

Every crisis invites right or wrong criticisms. Therefore a business must prepare how it will provide information to the public. For example, a media statement must be written and agreed upon before releasing it to the media.

 

At all cost the PRO must be in control of the information flow from and when the problem is being solved, media tour should be arranged to allow media see problem-solving progress. And after the problem is solved media visit should be arranged as well to allow media  cover how much the problem has been solved. This creates public trust.

DOS AND DONTS DURING CRISIS MANAGEMENT

According to (Jefkins 1995 and 1998) The Western Union published Dos and Donts kit called When Every Second Counts – Crisis Communications Planning which has the following checklist:

 

DOS

                                                            i.           Gather all facts, and disseminate from one central information centre

                                                          ii.           Speak with one voice, consistently, via a designated and trained communications officer

                                                        iii.           Select a credible, trained communication officer

                                                        iv.           Be accessible to the media

                                                          v.           Report your own bad news

                                                        vi.           Tell your story quickly, openly and honestly

                                                      vii.           If you cannot discuss something, explain why

                                                    viii.           Provide enough evidence

                                                        ix.           Record the whole crisis for future uses (includes how it was solved)

                                                          x.           Update crisis communications plan periodically

 

DONTS

                                                            i.           Avoid no comment, as it leads to speculation

                                                          ii.           Don’t debate the subject

                                                        iii.           Don’t fight back at media, rather address and solve the problem

                                                        iv.           Don’t overreact or exaggerate

                                                          v.           Always operate within your policies

                                                        vi.           Don’t make off-the-record statements

 

SOURCES OF CRISIS

1.      Contamination of products

2.      Withdrawal of services

3.      Criticism

4.      Crisis in Public Service Industries and Events Organising

5.      Product Recall

 

REFERENCES

Jefkins, F 1995, Public Relations Techniques. 2^nd Edition, Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann

Jefkins, F 1998, Public relations frameworks, 5th edition, Pearson Education, Harlow. 

Odedele, S 2008, Public relations and communication management in Africa, Petros-Faith Public Relations Consult, Lagos. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baran, SJ 2002, Introduction to Mass Communication, 2^nd Edition, Boston: Mc GrawHill

Weiss, JW 2003, Business Ethics, 3^rd edition, Canada: Thomson

‘Business Dictionary’ 2012, Total Quality Management, Viewed 24^th March, 2012, http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/total-quality-management- TQM.html. [22/01/12]

‘Southern African Association for the Conference’ 2012, PRISA Public Relations Definition, Viewed 27^th February 2012, http://www.saaci.co.za/content.asp?pageID=349

Do you have any PR topic you wish to be discussed? Leave a comment.

 

“Public Relations is Both an Art and Science “and Should be a Management Function By AB Deevado - Andrew Bishop Mkandawire

One can think PR is intangible as some have tried to argue that Human Resources function is intangible hence not necessary to be part of the organizations department functions. But there is proof that shows that Public Relations is an art because it accommodates creativity and innovations and its programs originates from a scratch to suit the problem and is science because it uses scientific means of solving business problems like research, studies human thinking and behavior based on choices and standards of morality and practice and strives to meet the institutions and publics interest. 

Public relations which can be defined as the ‘art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organization leaders, and implementing planned programs of action which will serve both the organization’s and the public interest,’ (Jefkins 1995, p. 08), accommodates creativity of its practitioners. This creativity originates from identifying a problem to planning a PR program. 

For example, a PR practitioner can be flexible and innovative to manage a PR program by making use of limited resources. (Jefkins 1998, pp. 39) argues that ‘there are four reasons for planning a PR program a) To set targets for PR operations-against which results can be assessed, b) To estimate the working hours and other costs involved, c) To select priorities which will control (1) the number and (2) the timing of different operations in the program, and d) To decide the feasibility of carrying out the declared objectives according to the availability of (1) sufficient staff of the right caliber; (2) physical equipment such as office machines, cameras or vehicles; and (3) an adequate budget.’ 

 A properly managed program will trigger insights of where to improve hence innovation to even design a better model for managing a particular PR program. According to (Pearce and Robinson 2007, pp. 402) ‘innovation is the initials commercialization of invention by producing and selling a new product, service, or process.’ 

PR is an art because it builds its communication frame work from a scratch to make it informative, comprehensible and memorable. For example a PR department will have graphic designer and Video editor and producer whose duty will be to come up with ideas and then turn them into a visual picture where the PR can place text to make the graphic have complete meaning. The video editor and producer will also turn the shooting script into a documentary of for example of how pregnant rural women are struggling to seek maternal health care.

The preparation of the shooting and editing script, the writing of news releases, and the presentation of PR messages to the public via the media, all derive from the duty and power of art in PR at most to enrich personnel with compositions of different forms of communication. Brochures, Newsletters, House Journals, etc, are sources of art in PR practice. Public relations is also a science. This is because it uses scientific means of solving business problems like research. 

Research in public relations belongs to the faculties of social sciences and economics and commerce. For example the organization failure to market its products/services may cause the business to partner with internal or external PR consultants to help find the cause of the problem and possible solutions to it through a joint venture called Marketing-Public Relations. This according to (Belch and Belch 2004, pp. 566) ‘is referred to public relations activities designed to support marketing objectives as marketing public relations (MPR) functions. 

The marketing objectives that may be aided by PR activities include raising awareness, informing and educating, gaining understanding, building trust, giving consumers a reason to buy, and motivating consumer acceptance. MPR ads value to the integrated marketing program in a number of ways: building market excitement before media advertising breaks; creating advertising news where there is no product news; introducing a product with little or no advertising; providing value-added customer service; building brand-to-customer bonds; influencing influential’s; and defending products at risk and giving consumers a reason to buy.’ 

 And for research work to succeed publics' thinking or choices and observations have to be considered. And at this situation to know the publics' interest data collection techniques like interviews, questionnaires and observations will best generate valid and reliable information necessary for management corporate strategy formulation to reposition the marketing successes of the business. 

When the business and its public respond mutually to their interests both parties have to benefit and enjoy successes. ‘This model of PR is called the Two-Way Symmetric Model represents a public relations orientation in which organizations and their publics adjust to each other. It focuses on mutual understanding and two-way communication rather than one-way persuasion,’ (Odedele 2008, pp. 15).

The science approach also comes because of ethical consideration in PR practice. Institute of Public Relations Code of Ethics borrows moral and ethical theories from respective social scientist philosophers like German Emanuel Kant (Deontologism), English Stuart Hobbes (Consequentalism) just to mention a few. For example, (1) in Conduct towards the practice of PR, ‘A member shall not: 1.4 Engage in any practice nor be seen to conduct him or her self in any manner detrimental to the reputation of the Institute or the reputation and interests of the public relations profession,’ (Jefkins 1998, pp. 130), this then ensures that PR practitioners cannot provide deceptive information to the public nor mislead or harm them through any means of communication. They will be regarded to be personnel of high integrity and honest internally and externally. 

Therefore with this evidence that PR is both an art as well as a science Public Relations have to be a management function. This is true because public relations a strategic tool; It has publics that are corporate stakes; It manages communications programs across the organization like employee relations; It supports departmental functions like education, sponsorships, exhibitions, and export trading through marketing functions. PR is a strategic communication tool. ‘It supports corporate strategic communication programs like growth strategies.

One of the growth strategies is Market Development where it involves taking present products into fresh market and thus focusing activities on market opportunities and competitor situations,’ (Cole 1997, p. 71). This strategy best works in export trading in which PR functions include finding out the cultural aspects of the foreign countries the business intends to sell its products, lobbying of foreign government authorities to create awareness and acceptance to operate, identifying and understanding the political and economic environment like business formation laws, financial lending policies, exporting and importing policies, the judicial system, and its justice administration, the social aspects of the market whether too traditional (affected by their culture and religion) or too modern (ready to adopt new technologies). 

All these can be prepared in different communication programs like press conferences, exhibitions, documentary visuals, radio and TV interviews, press visits, etc. PR also creates a mutual understanding between the function of the organization and its publics. This means organization stakes like internal like employees, customers, and shareholders; coordinated like; financial lending institution, insurance companies, and government; and external competitors, customers/consumers, and suppliers can be maintained and considered through PR function. Such functions can be like answering their queries, educating them about the mission and vision of the organizations, and in some instances, PR function as a means of communicating the role of the business to the society (social responsibility aspect) and by providing ethical code of conduct of the business to respective stakeholders as part of good corporate image creation and maintenance. 

PR manages communications programs across the organization like employee relations. This is merely a means of repelling the gap that could be created due to unnecessary bureaucracy within the chain of command and span of control in the organizational structure. PR ensures that employees find it easy of communicating personal and business issues to their bosses without delays or blocks. It also tries to interpret the goals, missions, and visions of the organization to the employees who may be threatened if the goals seem difficult. 

The PR department also creates proper means of ensuring that new employees are provided with induction literature (information of the organization premise, organization structure, assets of the organization, successes, challenges, etc) to prepare them for their respective works. In large corporations or manufacturing companies in-house closed-circuit TV, staff conferences, ideas box, speak-up schemes, shop-floor talks, organization visits, etc, all make employees work as a team and increase the level of trust in their managers through interaction, participation, and involvement. It supports departmental functions like education, sponsorships, exhibitions, and export trading through marketing functions. Although many business institutions in developing countries put PR as a supplementary function to marketing, it is only a means of blocking the functionality of the profession. PR does not only support Marketing, it supports human resources, financial management (lobbying financial lenders), production management (liaising with suppliers of raw materials for a sustainable relationship), etc. 

But with marketing, PR supports a number of issues like educating the market before the product or service is delivered, presiding over sponsorships activities both aimed at positioning the image, selling, or typically philanthropic. It uses different programs like exhibitions which aim at displaying the product, selling the product, creating and enhancing customer interaction between the organization and existing and potential stakes like customers, government, financial lending institutions, etc. 

 For example, Toyota Malawi likes to communicate to its stakeholders about the organization and its products through exhibitions. Almost every new car before heavy advertising is carried out, exhibitions are conducted to educate the market and answer customer queries while maximizing the mutual understanding of the business and its customers. Therefore looking at the functions of the PR, it is true that PR is an art as well as science and therefore it has to be incorporated into the business top management as a separate department. 

REFERENCES 

Belch, GE & Belch, MA 2004, Adverting and promotion, 6th edn, McGraw Hill, Washington. 

Cole, GA 1997, Strategic management, 2nd edn, Thomson, London. Jefkins, F 1995, Public relations techniques, 2nd edn, Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston. 

 Jefkins, F 1998, Public relations frameworks, 5th edition, Pearson Education, Harlow. 

Odedele, S 2008, Public relations and communication management in Africa, Petros-Faith Public Relations Consult, Lagos. 

 Pearce, JA & Robinson, RB 2007, Strategic management-formulation, implementation and control, 10th edn, Mc Graw Hill, Kuala Lumpur.

You can suggest any other PR topic to be discussed. Leave a comment.

2024-2029 Imprisoned Leaders For Malaŵi Prosperity

AUTHOR: ANDREW BISHOP MKANDAWIRE (AB DEEVADO) OCCUPATION: CENTRE COORDINATOR FOR MALAWI INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM LILONGWE CONTACTS: P. O. Box 2847 / +265 0888 11 36 23 / abdeevado@gmail.com DATE PUBLISHED: 11TH MARCH, 2016 2024-2029 IMPRISONED LEADERS FOR MALAŴI PROSPERITY

 If there is no shelter today, somebody yesterday could not have planted a tree or somebody today could have wanton all down. The babies of 1980s to 1990s must have learnt that their fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers could have wasted a lot of investment opportunities between 1985 and 2005 which has created a shrouded womb to breed more consumers and destroyers than investors and constructors of economy. This essay will discuss 15 elements arranged chronologically into System perfection, Industrial investment, and Attitude change, that 1980’s once babies, afflicted with loss of economic opportunities, have in stock for Malaŵi prosperity from 2014-2029. 

Firstly, system perfection, change of current unitary government system which has proven to breed corruption; suppress industry invention and innovations, accommodation of right professional players, promotion of foolish democracy, and investment of taxpayer’s money which fails to produce results that can be felt by a common citizen to improve the daily poor living standards like poor health and education facilities. Making intelligent use of available resources guarantees bigger investments in greater resources. The new government system which would make wise and prudent long felt dreams come true will have to give regional resource implementation and control, will have to erase limitation in resource allocations, will have to invest in people than consume citizen entitled opportunities, and will have to give governance and administration powers to the professionals to implement policies that will aim at expanding civil and private services investment opportunities to citizens. This will limit dull and incompetent presidents to deny, delay or dismount excellent strategies and projects that will maximize benefits to a voiceless citizen as currently, the success of Malaŵi is dependent on one mind and mandate. 

Secondly, citizens in Malaŵi both at national governance and national governed level need to know the Malaŵi self-rule philosophy and prophecy especially successes that one would enjoy or failures that one would face accumulatively felt by the entire nation if it would not be followed and implemented to turn yesterday’s misfortune into a double today’s fortune. This would prepare every citizen to know what industries to boost, what education to concentrate on and what need to attend to. John Chilembwe rose in 1915, Hastings Kamuzu Banda rose 1964 (although he showed up in 1968). The relative gap is 53 years. This was the ignorance era. Kamuzu reigned from 1964 to 1994 with a relative gap of 30 years. This was the civilization era. Multiparty came in 1994 and by 2024 will have reigned for 30 years. This will be a radical era where new ways of expanding the needs of civilization economically, educationally, religiously, technologically, commercially among other factors that support human social development will enforce power holders to take a direction mandated by citizens or individuals who are able to lead the way for a brighter future. If citizens will have no assistance to notice this, nobody will identify ways to do away with poverty. 

Thirdly, one secret of successful families involved in entrepreneurial activities is passing of family and business culture and objectives to the next generation to sustain success. People who share the same goal work towards a common direction which attracts many contributors. Such families or enterprises generate a dominant vision that is felt and supported by all family members. Malaŵi as a nation needs to have strategic plans, achievable within specific time frames that accommodate the needs and solutions of the majority of Malaŵians which have to be communicated to all citizens. When Malaŵi will have the national objectives and goals accepted and communicated to all citizens, where all citizens will be allowed to contribute directly or indirectly, lateral economic factors will be achieved. These will include the establishment of legitimate governance and administration succession plan, breeding of disciplined personalities in leadership and administrative portfolios, discouraging corruption, focused investments, and successful linkage of old and young civil service and private sector managers.

Fourthly, Malaŵi with the current retrogressive unitary government system composed of the Executive, Judiciary, and Legislature abuses the legislature where its failure to solve social and development decisions are little-noticed to emanate from its incompetence, but rather, political bulldoze. The legislature’s core business for the Malaŵi nation is to make laws. But in Malaŵi, it is used to make laws and deliberate development decisions and projects for all citizens in Malaŵi including allocation of national funds to different government departments, national budget. There are two major problems associated with the current legislature. It forms laws and decides implementable developmental projects; and is composed of underqualified people who cannot envisage the future consequences of laws made and do not have the capacity to scrutinize, analyze and generate vibrant economic decisions. To solve this, Malaŵi needs to split legislature into Malaŵi Parliament-MP (forming citizen and development-oriented laws) and Province Resource Investment and Control-PRIC (deciding, allocating resources, and implementing economic decisions that do well in particular regions to maximize unique investments and industry growth with a base of subsidies and competition). This will attract competent players who would produce more products and services with efficiency and effectiveness. 

Fifth, Laziness is one of the serious factors that make the majority poor and this makes few hard workers support the needs and wants of the majority of sluggard minds. Laziness is viewed in commitment to jobs and enterprises, commitment in bringing new ideas, and commitment in implementing good ideas like the green belt initiative, public reforms in the civil service. Social theorists like David McGregor noticed that majority of people like to maximize pleasure hence punishing them would force them to achieve job results, theory X. But others enjoy the job because they are informed about their responsibilities hence no need to punish them to perform, theory Y. Malaŵi seems it requires more of theory X to ensure all civil service workers produce desired results from the planned work. For example, ambassadors of Malaŵi to different countries could create markets for unique products from Malaŵi like legumes, fish, music, sports among others. This would expand the export base and bring foreign exchange while creating jobs for citizens. 

Sixth, Non-Governmental Organizations have a remarkable contribution towards alleviation of poverty to Malaŵi. These NGO’s who at most use foreign aid, have the liberty to decide where to work and when to produce results from their entrepreneurial activities harnessing charity work. Such liberty is even overstated with the absence of national objectives and goals. This opens a free-range lifestyle where same organizations with similar objectives would be seen achieving less percentage of results because of being scattered. Years now have passed but the same organizations are still working in the same areas as if they have just rolled out. To ensure that such NGOs achieve more results within a specific period, there is a need to come up with a deliberate policy that would introduce project concentration. This would arrange NGOs with common objectives to service a particular area for some time until problems are solved while empowering locals to gain independence. Later these NGOs would relocate to another area. This would produce more results than spreading the same resources where much is spent on administrative costs than ground projects. This would also enable government runs a sound budget, as areas that are already given attention by NGOs, would be given less attention to concentrate on areas that do not have support at all.

Seventh, educating more citizens even if the government cannot manage to offer employment is important because a graduate is one who is able to identify opportunities and able to generate solutions to how to exploit or use those opportunities to solve social-economic problems. A country with educated people endures economic problems with a successful plan and quickly generates sustainable solutions to problems felt individually or nationally. Citizen good decision making on economic and political choices is empowered with education. Malawians, therefore, have to get high education to deal with poverty. Such education has to come up with aggressive school syllabus onto industrialization and introduction of technical and master degrees.

Eighth, Independence of regional resource investment and control is one way of maximizing successful decentralization. Deliberately allowing regions to control their resources like land, mines, trade investments, tax collection, social services projects, export trade, infrastructure development among other investments that directly turn into economic indicators would provide competition among regions where innovative region would stand out alone without being stopped or barred by unproductive regions or individuals with tribal or political dominance. This therefore would also influence vibrant decentralization to Malaŵi which was empowered through the Structured Adjustment Program by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund IMF in 1994. 

Ninth, industry Investment, industrialization through unique export trade is a good venture which would immediately bring export strength and creation of a big international trade for Malaŵian produced-nurtured or created product and services. This venture would bring more comparative advantage in international trade while creating minor gaps of absolute advantage. This has the capacity to influence import substitution like textile, food, drinks, and metallic products among other replaceable products. Malaŵi has unique resources that would boost undoubted exports. She can invest in Iron smelting, cotton, coffee, Irish potato, and fish farming where Chambo among other unique fish species would open up job opportunities, revenue collection by individuals, and government adequate foreign exchange cover. This direction would expand industries and create more jobs where the current government has not more than 450, 000 employees against over 5 million skilled and qualified people who are able to work. Tenth, The rate of infrastructure growth against the rate of population growth is inappropriate. The infrastructure development which comprises road networks, industrial and residential housing, telecommunication, and power and energy bolster manufacturing and establishment of trade and education centers. A country that does not do well in infrastructure development does not expand industrialization and its economy shrinks or deflates. Malaŵi is still dependent on dominant road networks, social service facilities, and power and energy sources that were belt 20 or 30 years ago yet the population has grown from 7 Million to 16 Million since the 1990s. This cannot do away with poverty as transport for example is expensive for a vegetable farmer to transport produce to urban markets. 

 Eleventh, Religion has taken a destructive paradigm shift. It portrays that earthly things are not important yet people’s needs and wants as economics states are dependent on scarce resources every citizen has to work tirelessly to access the utility. Christianity and Islam are money-making entities that do not pay taxes. Taxing these entities would reverse the wrong attitude believers of these religions have on the need to work for scarce resources with aim of generating a strong economy contributed by everyone. Taxing these entities would also help government maximize revenue collection necessary to fund social services like security, health care, and education costs. 

Twelfth, Capitalization of outstanding well researched entrepreneurial ideas or start-ups that are profitable and that have low viscosity for growth have to be funded. In most developed countries like the UK, small and medium enterprises harbor a strong economy. Capitalizing Malaŵian SMEs would also expand the retail and wholesale entrepreneurship thereby encouraging manufacturing for domestic and export consumption. The funding of SME’s also has to be protected from government domestic borrowing which shifts the attention of commercial banks from investing in people to investing in government. Most successful small, medium and large enterprises are foreign-owned which come into being with big financial muscle. They exploit massive market opportunities because of adequate capital. 

Thirteenth, Technology is a must-win game for every country that dreams to do away with poverty. Malaŵi needs to entirely adopt technologies in manufacturing, trade transaction, communication systems, and product/service marketing. This would enrich the success of the marketing of local products and services. 

Fourteenth, Youth entrepreneurship and Investment in talent is a marginalized topic to most leaders in Malaŵi. Programs like Youth Enterprise and Development Fund, One Village One Product, and some allocation to Malaŵi Rural and Development Fund seem to target financing young people in different entrepreneurial activities but quickly became politicized and diverted program objectives and blocked rightful beneficiaries that would have introduced a revolving fund. There is no investment that stands to showcase any of the project's success.  

Fifteenth, attitude change support for Malaŵi positive philosophy by locals is a big gap that even displaces the right ideas to huddle support for local products and services. Value for foreign products and services forces an increase in imports and contraction of local manufacturing muscles. For example, the Malaŵi Trade Report 2010 showed that more than 7 Tons of Tomato got imported yet Limbe, Blantyre, Zomba, Lilongwe, Mzuzu, Kasungu, and other district councils markets throw rotten tomato every hour due to lack of bulk market. Such displaced minds to have value and ambition to achieve from the local endeavors has made most Malaŵians fail to balance the importance of managed small families that cannot exert pressure on scarce resources. The 2014 Youth Data Sheet for Malaŵi prepared by the Population Reference Bureau shows that if the current population of 16.5 Million is not controlled by 2040, there will be 48 Million, almost three times more against same road networks, public schools, health services, security service, jobs and other necessary but stunted resources. 

The essay 2024-2029 IMPRISONED LEADERS FOR MALAŴI PROSPERITY is sorely dependent on how many Malaŵians are able to see the current wastage of scarce resources by the poorest citizen in form of commodity money like land, animal and agro-(harvests) products, and precious stones and how much government is wasting billions of kwachas without noticing remarkable economic growth which would easily emit economic development. This extends to how often government offers influential positions to non-performers which shrink industry potentials for growth and extension to many miserable citizens. When these will converge with realization, wisdom, and vigor, the need for a revolutionary change will gain the ground which would bring what the wise and the prudent has envisaged for countable generations.

This was submitted to World Bank Competition but it was never short-listed...