Abstract

There seems to be a growing consensus among organisational theorists that organizations are now more influenced by an increasing number of entities, and need to accommodate their specific demands in policy formulation and implementation. These entities are known as “stakeholders”, and by definition, they are individuals, groups or organizations whose interests may be positively or negatively affected by organisations’ policies; and may also exert influence over organizations’ policies. The central thesis of this study is that effective stakeholder relations management creates structures and mechanisms that lead to consensus building, such that is mutually beneficial to organizations and their stakeholders. This study was conducted with particular reference to the attempted name change of University of Lagos to Moshood Abiola University on May 29^th 2012.  The study was situated within two theoretical frameworks: Participatory Communication Theory and Communicative Rationality Theory. It adopted a blend of questionnaire survey and interview methods. Data were collected through 400 administered questionnaires, two in-depth interviews, and other secondary data sources. The study found out that communication, discussion, trust and alignment of interests, play important roles in stakeholders relations management and collectively determine the success or failure (as in the case of the failed UNILAG name change policy) of any organizational or public policy programme implementation.

Key Words: Participatory   Communication, University of Lagos, Stakeholder Relations, Policy Implementation, Alignment of  Interest,

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*Ayodeji Olonode, ANIPR, is a staff of Diamond Publications (publishers of Media Review / DAME Awards), Lagos, Nigeria.

**Omoniyi Adeyemi Adewoye, ANIPR, is a staff of the Public Relations Department, Federal College of  Education (Technical), Bichi, Kano State, Nigeria.

^JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 8, No. 1, Sp. 1, May 2016, 97 – 116