Running Head: SENIOR THESIS

Senior Thesis
Vincent DeBlass
Elizabethtown College
November 24, 2015

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Chapter One: The Client

Introduction
The client for this project is the Manheim Area Water and Sewer Authority (MAWSA).
MAWSA is a public utilities organization that is not for profit. The organization was founded in
1884 and works to serve its customers with clean water as well as serves customers with waste
water services (Manheim Area, n.d.). The authority serves 3,000 public water customers and its
wastewater collection system serves about 2,300 customers (Manheim Area, n.d.). The area that
the water authority serves includes The Borough of Manheim and portions of Penn and Rapho
Townships, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (Manheim Area, n.d.). MAWSA also serves as a
resource for the surrounding area as well as everyone who can access the internet on water
conservation tips and other information pertaining to water and water services.
The customers that the authority serves have questions and many of them are commonly
asked questions. Many of these questions are asked through the use of email and telephone calls.
This is due to a lack of education in the customers. This highlights the problem or challenge that
the authority is facing which is a lack of education and awareness for its customers. This is an
even bigger problem because the authority is a nonprofit organization and relies on its customers
heavily. This is a problem that only highlights an opportunity to increase their customers
education and awareness.
Specifics about Problem
The primary goal of this project is to raise awareness and educate customers about the
functions of the Manheim Area Water and Sewer Authority and to answer the common questions
of these customers. This is a lot to accomplish through one medium. This is important to the
client because they have a responsibility to their customers to inform them on all things having to

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do with the authority and all things that may have an effect on the customers. MAWSA has a
need for this project so that its customers feel they are being adequately informed by the
authority and do not have to search themselves for information that should be accessible to them
without having to ask.
Conclusion
For this project and its goals the research question is: What is an effective way for a
public utilities organization to increase its customer awareness and education? The proposed
answer to this question is this thesis: An effective way for a public utilities organization to
educate its customers and increase their awareness about current activities and functions is
through the use of an up-to-date website that is easy to navigate.

Chapter Two: Review of Literature

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Introduction
This chapter of the project will provide research that will justify and influence all of the
steps taken throughout the project. The research will aim to answer the research question and
provide a solution to the clients problem. The research question for this project is: What is an
effective way for a public utilities organization to increase its customer awareness and
education? The proposed thesis in response to this question is: An effective way for a public
utilities organization to educate its customers and increase their awareness about current
activities and functions is through the use of an up-to-date website that is easy to navigate.
More specifically this review of literature will examine previous research that will
influence the direction of this project. The areas of study will increase in specificity towards the
end of the chapter beginning with the most general of areas. The first areas of study will include
Public relations, customer relations, awareness as it pertains to organizations and their customers,
using online public relations, and viability of websites for nonprofit organizations. Once the
areas of study become more specific they include areas such as ways websites are utilized,
complexity levels of websites, and other specific aesthetic and narrative aspects of website
design. The research conducted in these areas of study will direct the completion of this project
based on previously existing knowledge.
Public relations
Public relations is a fairly difficult topic to define in few words, but Hendrix and Hayes
(2010) have simplified the topic. The two describe public relations as a more interactive process
with target audiences (Hendrix, Hayes, 2010). Hendrix and Hayes (2010) also boil the idea
down to its simplest form when they write that public relations relations with publics (p.2).
This explains the basis of public relations as a function for organizations of all types. Public

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relations is also a process that has a few different steps (Hendrix, Hayes, 2010). Hendrix and
Hayes note that the public relations process has four phases. The four phases of the process are
research, objectives, programming, and evaluation (Hendrix, Hayes, 2010). The two explain that
the research phase includes learning about the client, their problem or challenge, and the
audience that may be targeted (Hendrix, Hayes, 2010). After research objectives should be set in
order to solve the specified problem (Hendrix, Hayes, 2010). This leads to the completion of a
program that will accomplish the previously set objectives (Hendrix, Hayes, 2010). Lastly
Hendrix and Hayes (2010) explain the evaluation phase as two separate parts. The two parts
include ongoing evaluation of progress and after completion looking at the accomplishment, or
not, of objectives that were set (Hendrix, Hayes, 2010). Hendrix and Hayes explain the
fundamental definition of public relations and lay it out as a process giving an outline for any
future public relations work.
ONeil (2008) draws some interesting conclusions about the effects of communications
tactics like public relations on people when employed by nonprofit organizations. Through this
study it was shown that communications that show donors how their money is being used and
what is being done with it was the most important predictor for trust, commitment, and
satisfaction (ONeil, 2008, p. 271). This idea of communicating what is being done alligns
itself with the idea of customer awareness and its usefullness in gaining and keeping customers
for the long term. One other form of communications that was found to be effective durring this
study was timely communications with the public or audience (ONeil, 2008). Timely
communications were not found to be as predictive of trust as they were satisfaction and
commitment (ONeil, 2008). This study shows the effectiveness of public relations and the
viability of its tactics in communicating with the audience of a nonprofit organization. ONeil

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(2008) wrote The daily efforts of public relations practitioners in showcasing their
organizations efforts in a timely, thorough, and responsible way have a direct ramification in
building trust, satisfaction, and commitment (p. 271). This study gives reason to look further
into public relations tactics that may be effective in increasing awareness and education.
In an article in the Westchester County Business Journal Cohen (2009) writes about one
big change in news media as well as public relations. The article looks highlights the changing
landscape of news in general and how it is delivered to audiences, which is more and more
online (Cohen, 2009). As written by Cohen (2009) reaching the Web-searching consumer is
becoming a high priority for fortune 500 companies and small business alike (p.16). This
further emphasizes the importance of an online presence and the way consumers are getting their
information. Some of the online tools listed in the article as great platforms for online public
relations are Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and blogs (Cohen, 2009). Along with these platforms
Cohen also highlights the usefulness of a well optimized website (2009). Platforms such as
websites and blogs will also provide sufficient spaces for more information based customer
education. Cohen touches on creating content that is search engine optimized which can boost
the search engine rankings for a website (Cohen, 2009). These platforms offer ways to interact
with consumers and educate them further on things that may affect them through online means.
Customer relations through websites
Public relations provides great tools and tactics for all organizations in the areas of
customer awareness and education. Some of the most effective tools currently are the online
tools. One of these online tools is a website. Websites are useful for customer education, but
also for the organization and its employees as well. This was explained in a paper by Ponduri
and Bala (2014). This paper highlights the use of a companys website not only by customers

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directly but also by employees who are answering questions for customers (Ponduri, Bala, 2014).
Ponduri and Bala (2014) write Organizations are flooded with inquiries from customers,
sometimes thousand a day (p. 54). This puts the needs of the organization in perspective.
Questions are not always a bad thing and are a common form of interaction with customers.
Websites, as explained by this paper, provide a place for employees to draw answers from as well
as a place to direct customers who are asking questions (Ponduri, Bala, 2014). Though websites
are a great place for information it may also be just as important for organizations to use them as
a way to maintain transparent to their customers and public.
Nonprofit organizations not only utilize websites for basic information but also for
staying accountable to their publics. This idea was investigated by Stone and Wilbanks (2012) in
their paper entitled Transparency and Accountability: A Look at Non-Profit Internet Website
Content. This study found that many of the organizations did not post information that can
show accountability (Stone, Wilbanks, 2012). This is according to statistics like only 30% of the
organizations looked at provided their board governance guidelines on their websites (Stone,
Wilbanks, 2012). One of the more striking statistics from the paper was that only 34% of the
organization put their ethics statements or frameworks online (Stone, Wilbanks, 2012). This
statistic in particular shows that non-profit organizations should work on their transparency and
accountability through their websites (Stone, Wilbanks, 2012). This research shows the
importance of accountability and transparency as well as the lack of both in the majority of nonprofit organizations that were studied. Another important aspect of websites, other than the
customer relations they allow, is the actual elements of websites and how they are formatted
towards their audiences.
Website elements

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This area of research dives into how websites are formatted to be most effective in
communicating what they need to. Websites are valuable resources if used correctly and may
drastically increase customer education and satisfaction if formatted well. Veash (2012) wrote an
article entitled Simplicity is best policy on and offline. This article is not lengthy at all, but it
gets the point across still. Veash writes in the article that Simplicity is an increasingly hot topic
because when things are beautifully simple they are more powerful; they get into our heads faster
and stay there for longer (Veash, 2012, p.10). This statement by Veash from his article in
Marketing Week emphasizes the need for simplification. Later in the article Veash describes that
simplicity applied correctly can help people make choices, saves time and money and
minimizes debate (Veash, 2012, p.10). The article provides insight into the effects of simplicity
and suggests that it is the best policy for getting ideas across to the audience (Veash, 2012).
Simplicity applies the content as well as the length of the content.
The idea of simple content is explored in a study by Friedmeyer-Trainor, Vernon, and
Lynch (2012). The study found that reading ease had actually dropped over a ten year period
(Friedmeyer-Trainor et al., 2012). The specific statistic for this was that in 2000 around 33% of
people would have been able to read the website easily, but that number dropped to only 4.5% of
the population in 2005 and 2010 (Friedmeyer-Trainor et al., 2012). Along with the readability of
the website the comprehension level and reading grade level had increased in 2005 and 2010
significantly making it difficult for people with lower reading abilities to use the websites
effectively (Friedmeyer-Trainor et al., 2012). All of this statistical information paints a scary
picture for these websites and shows how important it is to make sure the language used in a
website is not above the average reading grade level. This aspect of website content may be one
of the most important due to its immediate effect on the customer or consumer who is visiting the

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website. This research emphasizes the importance of simplicity again but in a different respect
and explains how neglecting this data can alienate some audiences. Simplicity is important to
the content of websites but so is the idea of relating to the audience and this may be
accomplished through the use of conversational voice.
One study that examines the use of conversational voice was conducted by Kelleher in
2009. The study showed that conversational human voice and communicated relational
commitment as perceived by the people who responded to a survey correlated positively with the
relational outcomes trust, satisfaction, commitment, and control mutuality (Kelleher, 2009). This
correlation was significant according to Kelleher (2009) and showed the effects of perceived
conversational voice and communicated relational commitment. The research completed by
Kelleher gives insight into the usefulness of conversational voice as well as relational
commitment. According to this study these aspects are important to the perception of the
organization from the consumers point of view. Moving further into the elements and aspects of
websites it is important to think about more specific parts such as aesthetics and the information
to be included.
Website aspects
The process of web design can be compared to the model for public relations set forth by
Hendrix and Hayes (2010). According to an article written by Andrews et al. (2012) web design
can include four specific stages. These four stages as described by Andrews et al. (2010) include
defining the user group, developing and testing paper prototypes, developing and testing
wireframes, and developing a final prototype for testing. The first step includes research into
what the user group is like and how they can be targeted (Andrews et al., 2012). The paper
prototypes stage includes creating a rough design on paper instead of online that is targeted

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towards the specific audience (Andrews et al., 2012). The third step includes creating a
wireframe that is representative of the website to be created based on feedback from the paper
prototypes (Andrews et al., 2012). Lastly the final step involves creating a final prototype for a
website using all of the feedback and findings from the previous prototypes (Andrews et al.,
2012). This article shows an effective way to create a website from the ground up. The authors
explain the process using steps that align with the public relations process that begins with
research and ends with creation and evaluation.
Specific aesthetic aspects in websites should not be overlooked. These aspects may aid
greatly in the perception of a website and by association an organization based on the look and
feel of their website. Some aesthetic aspects of websites are broken down and examined in a
study conducted by Seckler, Opwis, and Tuch (2015). After completion of the experiment it was
shown that structural factors not color factors had more of an impact on overall aesthetic
perception (Seckler, Opwis, and Tuch, 2015). More specifically complexity was the only factor
that had an effect on all of the facets of visual aesthetics while symmetry only had an impact on
three of the four facets, but it had the statistically largest effect on the overall subjective
aesthetic perception of all factors (Seckler, Opwis, and Tuch, 2015, p. 23). When looking at the
specific color factors hue showed an effect on three facets, saturation on two, and brightness on
one facet (Seckler, Opwis, and Tuch, 2015, p. 23). All of this data together creates a bit of a
template for website and gives a great starting point. The different aspects of aesthetic
perception all play important roles in the way customers view the website and its appeal to the
eye and ease of use. These aspects of website development are important to the customers
experience.
Evaluation

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Focus groups are a form of qualitative evaluation that can be used for many different
types of projects. Cleary, Horsfall, and Hayter (2014) write that focus groups can be a very
effective form of evaluation when conducted properly. The authors note that focus groups can
consist of two or more participants and an interviewer (Cleary et al., 2014). When focus groups
are used participants should be chosen for a specific reason based on their knowledge and
characteristics (Cleary et al., 2014). Cleary et al. notes that the numbers for focus groups may
vary and quality feedback can come from groups of different sizes if the group members are
chosen well and the interviewer is well prepared (Cleary et al., 2014). While conducting a focus
group interview it is also important to encourage discussion between participants in order to
reach conclusions based on differing thoughts (Cleary et al., 2014). This editorial gives insight
into the use of focus groups as a form of evaluation and how they should be carried out.
Conclusion
The research conducted in this chapter helps face the challenges that are presented in the
research question. The research effectively starts with awareness and the necessity for customer
awareness then moves into public relations as a way to attack the problem of lacking awareness
and education. After this the research moves into more specific things like forms of public
relations that would be helpful to nonprofit organizations such as online public relations. One
form of online public relations is the use of websites. This is then explored in depth with
research into websites as viable options for nonprofit organizations due to the relative low and
the effectiveness of well-maintained and constructed sites. Lastly research into very specific
aspects of website design was conducted to give a base for the construction of a website. This
research will help to guide the project in a direction that is backed up by previous work and has
been tested and proven. The original research question to be answered was: What is an effective

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way for a public utilities organization to increase its customer awareness and education? This
question can be answered with this thesis that is based on extensive research: An effective way
for a public utilities organization to educate its customers and increase their awareness about
current activities and functions is through the use of an up-to-date website that is easy to
navigate.

Chapter Three: Pre-production

Introduction

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This project for the Manheim Area Water and Sewer Authority dealt with the website for
the organization. The organization already had a website in place but it was in need of a change.
The organizations website had an unorganized homepage. Along with the homepage problems
there was some information that the organization wanted to be more accessible to customers.
This was based on the wants and needs of customers who had inquired about certain things.
Some of the specific changes included making the bill paying option more accessible, including
an explanation for the most common water rate, making the forms on the site more readily
accessible, cutting out some of the clutter and unwanted extras, and creation of an education
page for customers. The project was produced over a two month period. During this period the
project began to take shape during the pre-production phase. This phase was heavily dominated
by research and information gathering for the website changes.
Phases
The pre-production phase began with research into the needs and wants of the
organization. This was accomplished through interviews both via telephone and in person
meetings. These meetings help gather information from the organization about what they would
like changed and what customers have complained about or asked for directly. According to
Andrews et al., (2012) the first phase in website design is to identify the audience and find out
what they want and how to target them. This is shown by the beginning steps in this process by
gathering information about what the customers want included in the website and what they want
changed. After gathering this information research was conducted into website design and best
practices. This research into website design and best practices included the completion of a
media audit. The media audit examined three other websites for similar organizations from
around the same area. Research into these other websites was vital because it showed what other

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similar companies were doing with their websites and how they differed from the clients
website. This research conducted also aligns with Hendrix and Hayes model for public relations
as a process. Their model split the process into four phases the first two being research and
objectives (Hendrix, Hayes, 2010). These two phases are shown in the pre-production phase of
this project when research was conducted and objectives were set for the website according to
the research into the wants and needs of customers and the organization. The objectives set forth
for this project included showing the functions of the Authority, creating easy access to pertinent
information for customers, including information without clutter, and cleaning up the overall
look of the website.
Conclusion
The pre-production phase may be the single most important phase in the project. This
phase includes the vital research that is the basis for everything in the rest of the project.
Without the pre-production phase there would be nothing to produce. This phase includes
conducting research into what the organization wants as well as what the customers want and
need from the project. After this research objectives and goals are set for the project so that there
are specific measurable objectives for the project as it is being produced. These steps in the preproduction process lay the foundation for the rest of the project and provide the information that
will be used during the production phase and then the evaluation after that.

Chapter Four: Production

Introduction

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After research has been done and goals and specific objectives have been set the
production process can begin. The production process relies on the information gained from the
pre-production phase of the project. This production process includes things such as website
prototypes, continuous changes made to the already existing website, and the ultimate synthesis
completion of the changes to the website. These steps in the production process took time and
required patients from all involved.
Phases
The production phase began with the creation of rough outlines or prototypes of the
changes that were to be made on the website. These prototypes were based on the information
about what the customers wanted and what the organization wanted changed. The prototypes
created for this project were very rough and depicted the basic ideas for change in the site and
what these changes may look like depending on the clients wishes and research conducted. This
step aligns with the second step in website design as noted by Andrews et al., (2012) which is the
paper prototype phase in which a prototype of the website is made on paper instead of online.
This is done in order to organize ideas and begin formulating an outline for the final prototype.
These original rough prototypes were helpful in the beginning stages of making changes
to the website. Andrews et al., (2012) write that after paper prototypes are created the next step
is creating a wireframe prototype that would show a more finalized idea of what the website
being designed will look like. This stage in the project at hand was a bit different due to the fact
that the website was already created and making changes was possible without publishing until
entirely complete. The wireframe prototype phase was carried out by making changes to the
already existing website and saving the changes without publishing. This stage was the first
phase in which changes were able to be seen on the actual website for all parties involved.

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Changes were made at different times to different parts of the website some things were changed
multiple times until the organization was happy with the result. While changes were being made
special attention was being payed to the layout of the website in particular to the symmetry and
complexity of the pages. Veash wrote that Simplicity is an increasingly hot topic because when
things are beautifully simple they are more powerful; they get into our heads faster and stay there
for longer (Veash, 2012, p.10). Symmetry in a website had the statistically largest effect on the
overall subjective aesthetic perception of all factors according to a study by Seckler et al.
(Seckler, Opwis, and Tuch, 2015, p. 23). These were the main design focuses while making all
of the desired changes.
The last stage of the production phase is the creation of the final project. For this project
this was the publishing of the website after all of the desired changes had been made to the
satisfaction of the organization. This phase piggybacks off of the previous phase because it is the
collection of all the separate changes into one published website. The pages that experienced
changes once this project was complete were the homepage, the contact us page, the bill payment
page, and the newly formed customer education page. Some of these pages were changed more
than others such as the homepage, which was changed completely. The Homepage was cluttered
and in need of in-depth change. Information on the homepage that was located elsewhere on the
website was removed unless it was vital to objectives or clients wishes. After this the page was
reformatted in order to be more visually appealing using symmetry according to Seckler et al.,
(2015). This part of the production phase rounds out the production of the project. Hendrix and
Hayes (2010) write that the third phase in the public relations process is the completion of a
program that will accomplish the previously set objectives. That is just what the final
publication of the website with changes made does.

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Conclusion
The production phase of this project was one of the longest phases. For this project the
production phase was a continuous process of changes. This phase began with paper prototypes
moved to making changes without publishing and finished with publishing the website when all
changes had been made. This phase was the product of planning and research that was
conducted in the pre-production phase and it gives way to the final phase which is evaluation.
Though the production phase includes finalizing the website this is by no means the final step in
the entire process of the project. This phase still requires evaluation and that is done both
throughout the production of the project as well as after the project has been produced.

Chapter Five: Evaluation

Introduction

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For this project the research question was: what is an effective way for a public utilities
organization to increase its customer awareness and education? The proposed answer to this
question and thesis for this project is: An effective way for a public utilities organization to
educate its customers and increase their awareness about current activities and functions is
through the use of an up-to-date website that is easy to navigate. To prove the effectiveness of
this project evaluation is necessary. Not only is evaluation necessary after the project but during
as well to make sure the project is meeting objectives that had been set. These two forms of
evaluation are summative and formative respectively (Smith, 2013). Both of these forms of
evaluation were used for this project.
Formative Evaluation
This project included multiple forms of formative evaluation. Hendrix and Hayes (2010)
wrote that one of the forms of evaluation included ongoing evaluation of progress. Firstly during
the project constant contact with the client about the progress being made was a way to receive
feedback on the changes being made. This provided key feedback from the organization that
helped to achieve the objectives that were set forth. This contact with the client came in the form
of emails, telephone calls, and face to face meetings. Some of these meetings or conversations
were more in depth about plans and some were simply to update the client on changes that had
been made. The feedback received during this form of evaluation was always helpful and
sometimes very constructive. Often this contact led to suggestions from the client about what
they wanted included or changed. Along with continuous contact with the client towards the end
of the production phase there was a small focus group of Authority employees that was
conducted. This group was gathered to go over all of the changes that had been made and to
assess if the work had achieved the objectives that had been set. This focus group yielded

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valuable information regarding the last few changes to the site. From this group it was found
that most of the changes had achieved the objectives set forth but there were also a few concerns
voiced that were subsequently addressed before the final publishing of the website. Some of the
final changes included adding a quick link on the homepage to the forms page on the website,
removing a link to the mobile site, and rearranging the social media links. These were the forms
of formative evaluation utilized during this project. This formative evaluation allowed for
constant feedback and collaboration on the completion of the project until its finalization.
Summative Evaluation
Short Term
After completion of the project evaluation included looking at the accomplishment, or
not, of objectives that were set (Hendrix, Hayes, 2010). For this project there were only a few
forms of short term summative evaluation. Firstly was an assessment of the website by members
of the Authority in order to see if objectives had been met. This assessment yielded positive
results as the objectives that had been set were met by the various changes that had been made
during the process. Along with assessing for objectives met the members also assessed the
website for its ease of use and information retrieval. This assessment though very similar to the
previous assessment is a bit different. The second assessment looked at the functionality of the
changes made and similar to the first assessment showed positive results as the members found
the changes to be very helpful in navigating the website and carrying out tasks that are common
on the website such as paying a bill online.

Long Term

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This project included a few different forms of long term summative evaluation. The first
form of long term evaluation will be completed a year from the website publishing date. This is
because this evaluation was counting the number of visitors to the website, number of complaints
about the website, and number of inquiries for information from the organization. These were all
counted starting the first day of November 2015 and concluded on the 21st of November in the
same year. These numbers will be used to compare to numbers collected during the same time
period in 2016, once the website has been in place for a year. This form of evaluation will
provide insight into whether or not the project has achieved the goals of education and ease of
use and navigation on the website for customers. Another form of long term evaluation that
would have to be carried out by the organization in the near future once the website has been in
place for a suitable amount of time is a focus group of customers. This focus group of customers
would allow customers to rate the website in terms of layout, functionality, education, and ease
of use. According to Cleary, Horsfall, and Hayter (2014), when conducted properly by an
interviewer who is prepared and with participants that are chosen for specific reason, focus
groups can be a very effective form of evaluation for all types of projects. This evaluation that
will be done in the future will show whether the project has truly met all of the intended
objectives and how highly customers rate the website after the changes have been in place.
Conclusion
The Manheim Borough Water and Sewer Authority had a problem with a lack of
education and awareness among its customers. The problem was looked at through a logical lens
and research was conducted that showed a well-executed website would be a suitable solution to
the problem. After research was conducted work began on the website of the organization in
order to increase its effectiveness for customers. During the completion of the project and after

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its completion different evaluation methods were employed in order to ensure that objectives and
goals were being met. This organizations problem raised the question, what is an effective way
for a public utilities organization to increase its customer awareness and education? In response
to this question the thesis was proposed that an effective way for a public utilities organization to
educate its customers and increase their awareness about current activities and functions is
through the use of an up-to-date website that is easy to navigate.

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