The Ghana Education Service (GES) can create, salvage and maintain its positive image if the management maintained cordial and harmonious working relationship with the public on sustainable basis. Dr. Godfred Annor, a Public Relations Consultant, who made the observation, regretted that most organizations were reluctant to invest adequately in communications and said such tendency usually stifled the purpose to achieve set objectives. He was delivering a paper on “Public Relations Functions, roles and tools” at a three-day workshop for 140 districts, municipal, metropolitan and regional public relations officers (PROs) of the GES at Ajumako in the Ajumako-Enyan-Asiam district in the Central Region at the weekend. Dr Annor emphasized the need for the education directorate to build a healthy and harmonious working relationship with the public to build a veritable credibility for promotion and enhancement of their corporate image. He charged the public relations practitioners to relate confidently with management and also be abreast with information flow in the organization. “Every organization, depends on the existence of key external stakeholders who have an interest, right, claim and ownership in it” and admonished the GES to identify with them to foster and promote healthy relations. Dr Annor conceded that, communicating in organisations was not an easy task and noted that, a pervasive part of organizational life was conflict which he said, could either be destructive or productive. He said the GES public relations officers had a major responsibility to champion the aims, objectives, mission and vision of the organization in order to maintain and achieve an enviable image for progress. “As a management function, the public relations personality must be assertive and be able to demonstrate his capabilities of handling all matters in order to sustain the image and credibility of the organization”, he said. Dr Annor urged the participants to develop creative mind and self confidence to promote effective organizational goals. Ebo Afful, a Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, who spoke on “Media Relations”, stressed the need for the public to understand and appreciate the power of the media. He explained that journalism was not only the gathering, processing and dissemination of information, but also to the mobilisation of the people to restructure and build society. Mr Afful advised public relations practitioners to be pro-active and also build mutual trust in the media for sustainable friendship. Joseph K. Odoom, Director of Education in-charge of the Public Relations Unit at the GES headquarters, said the workshop aimed at instilling a sense of integrity, honesty and accountability in the GES. It also aimed at creating and sustaining favourable working attitudes among GES staff to conduct programmes designed to keep the public informed about educational policies and programmes. Source: GNA