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476 purchasing
The effectiveness of public relations campaigns
is normally measured in two ways: counting the
length and number of press articles and television
reports �`clippings'), and measuring the organisation's
image before and after a special public
relations campaign by conducting surveys in the
relevant target groups. The major problem of this
method is that the image of a company is also
influenced by other communication instruments
�including advertising, sales promotions and
sponsoring).
See also: communication mix; marketing
Further reading
Center, A.H. and Jackson, P. Public Relations Practices
± Managerial Case Studies & Problems, 5th edn,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. �Includes
several public relations case studies.)
Gregory, A. �1996) Planning & Managing a Public
Relations Campaign:A Step by Step Guide, London:
The Institute of Public Relations.
Newsom, D., Turk, J.V. and Kruckeberg, D. �1996)
This is PR ± The Realities of Public Relations, 6th
edn, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing
Company. �Gives an overview of public relations,
objectives and activities and its ethical and legal
foundation.)
publicity see public relations
purchasing
HELMUT KURZ, AUSTRIA,
Purchasing is one of the stages in the service
delivery system, in which raw materials are
purchased, converted to saleable goods and sold,
generating income for further purchases. The
purchasing operation involves identifying the best
sources of supply, making suitable arrangements
with suppliers, drawing up purchasing specifications,
placing orders and ensuring payment.
According to Odgers �1985), setting up a
purchasing operation in a tourism or hospitality
business consists of four phases: identifying who is
responsible for purchasing; establishing standards
for the materials and equipment which must be
purchased calculating or estimating the quantities
required; and evaluating different prices and
products in order to find the most suitable for
needs. The individual responsible for purchasing
materials or small equipment is usually an operational
manager, for example, a head chef in a
hotel. In the case of specialised or capital
equipment for specific projects, engineers or
architects are often involved.
The specific/evaluation cycle for purchasing
materials or equipment is similar to that involved in
other evaluation processes, such as choosing a
contractor or selecting a job candidate from a short
list. The intended use of the material or equipment
is identified and a purchase specification is drawn
up which contains two lists. One of these lists the
essential characteristics which the intended purchase
must possess, while the other shows desirable
features which the purchase ideally should possess.
The next step of the evaluation process is to
obtain details of available products which might
fulfil the purchase criteria from suppliers. It is
important to guide suppliers towards providing
information which relates to the lists of essential
and desirable criteria on the purchase specification.
Their lists can then be compared with the
specification and the best match determined in
terms of value for money. The purchase specification
may only be concerned with the tangible
quality of the purchase. However, it is frequently
also dealing with factors related to the volume
required and availability. Frequently it is necessary
to trade such features off against one another. For
example, reliability of supply may have to be
bought at the cost of a small loss of product
quality.
Further reading
Johns, N. �1995) Managing Food Hygiene, London:
Macmillan.
Odgers, P. �1985) Purchasing, Costing and Control,
Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes.
NICK JOHNS, UK