Radio listening habits at the workplace a study of Agona Swedru business community

Abstract

This study investigated the workplace radio listening habits of AgonaSwedru Business Community.This was aimed at assessing how radio supports the business needs of members of AgonaSwedru Business Community. The uses and gratifications theory and dependency theory guided the study. The study employed a qualitative survey method and adopted a purposive sampling technique.Questionnaires, with both closed and open ended items, were administered to 100 selected respondents.The findings indicate that the fundamental purpose of radio listening among the business community was to gain information in order to make good business decisions. Businessmen and women mostly listened to radio throughout the day and derived the gratifications of monitoring business news and events. These findings of the study affirm the Dependency Theory of DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach (1976) that society becomes dependent on the media for its „outside‟ resources. The research also revealed that respondents‟ role, whether as shop attendant or as shop owners, influenced their reasons for radio listening, hence programme preference. Shop attendants with no decision-making role sought less business-based programmes while all shop owners with managerial role consciously sought business-based programmes. Consequently, radio has emerged as an important resource in business management.