EKP Home

Section Editor Login

Made possible through the vision and financial support of these donors:
Harold Burson
W. Ward White
Frank Ovaitt
Wendi Strong

Many of the links available here will take you away from the Institute for Public Relations' website. The Institute cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of information found on other websites, and the Institute assumes no legal responsibility for loss or damage resulting from your use of such information. While the Institute does not charge for material found on our own website, there may be charges for material available through these linked sites.

Ethics and Public Relations by
Shannon A. Bowen, Ph.D.

Rating:3

October 30, 2007

Table of Contents

Executive Summary
Defining Ethics
Is There Such a Thing as Public Relations Ethics?
Evolution of Public Relations Ethics
Current State of Ethics in Public Relations: Codes of Ethics
Findings of Current Research on Public Relations Ethics
Ethics Study and Training: Troubling Findings
Pushing the Frontiers in Public Relations Ethics
- Dialogical Ethics versus Advocacy Ethics
- Strategic Management Approaches to Ethics
Practical Recommendations and Guidelines for Practitioners
Conclusion
Author Note
References
Annotated Bibliography

Executive Summary

The central purpose of this article is to provide an overview of ethics in public relations. I review the evolution of public relations ethics, the current state of practice, and the thoughts of ethicists. Definitions will be provided and key areas of evolution and debate within the field will be addressed. Implications for practitioners are discussed, including the research showing that a strong sense of ethics and of how to arrive at ethical decisions can enhance the career prospects of public relations professionals. Recommendations for public relations practitioners are made, including topics such as gaining access to an organization’s top decision makers, promotion to an ethical counselor role, on-the-job ethics training or ethics study, and approaches to ethical analyses. Finally, practical guidelines for dealing with ethics will be offered, followed by an annotated bibliography with suggestions for further reading.

Defining Ethics

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy explains: “The field of ethics, also called moral philosophy, involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior” (http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/ethics.htm). Definitions of ethics normally have in common the elements of requiring some form of systematic analysis, distinguishing right from wrong, and determining the nature of what should be valued. In the public relations discipline, ethics includes values such as honesty, openness, loyalty, fair-mindedness, respect, integrity, and forthright communication. This definition of public relations ethics goes far beyond the olden days of “flacking for space” or spinning some persuasive message, but this view is not shared by everyone.

Is There Such a Thing as Public Relations Ethics?

Current research supports a historical trend of associating public relations with all things unethical – lying, spin-doctoring, and even espionage. Many critics argue that there can be no ethical public relations because the practice itself is akin to manipulation and propaganda. An unfortunate belief among many journalists, policy makers, and laymen is the belief that the term ‘public relations ethics’ is an oxymoron: either an unreal possibility, or smoke and mirrors to hide deception.

Groups like the Center for Public Integrity (http://www.publicintegrity.org/default.aspx) criticize the public relations industry for a lack of ethics, counting the influence of public relations and lobbying as one of the primary threats to truthful journalism. Other groups like Corporate Watch (http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=1) are less restrained in their criticism and consider public relations firms and professionals as deliberately unethical:

There is a considerable body of evidence emerging to suggest that modern public relations practices are having a very significant deleterious impact on the democratic process … by giving vested interests the opportunity to deliberately obfuscate, deceive, and derail public debate on key issues the public relations industry reduces society’s capacity to respond effectively to key social, environmental and political challenges. (http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=1570)

Are these critiques justified and warranted? Adding fuel to the fire are the actions of some public relations firms themselves. One of the most notable headlines was the representation of “Citizens for a Free Kuwait” by well-known public relations firm Hill and Knowlton, who created false testimony delivered to the Congressional Human Rights Caucus (http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=377). News broke later that the Kuwaiti government sponsored this front group in order to convince the US to enter the 1992 Gulf War. Critics (Stauber & Rampton, 1995) charge that Hill and Knowlton was successful in this effort because of its disregard for ethics. In the wake of this controversy, one Hill & Knowlton executive notoriously reminded staff: “We’d represent Satan if he paid” (http://backissues.cjrarchives.org/year/92/5/pr.asp).

Amid the scandal caused by the lack of honest and open communication during numerous corporate crises, such as Enron (Bowen & Heath, 2005), and the ethical blunders of public relations firms themselves, public relations faces an identity crisis. Is ethical public relations even possible? Are public relations professionals really “the ‘invisible men’ who control our political debates and public opinion, twisting reality and protecting the powerful from scrutiny” as charged by P.R. Watch (http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/prwatch.html) and similar groups?

Evolution of Public Relations Ethics

In the US, early public relations practices introduced many ethical concerns because the press agentry (J. E. Grunig & Hunt, 1984) approach prevalent then emphasized hyperbole, sensationalism, and often lacked truth. The so-called “father of public relations,” Edward Bernays, called this time period of 1850-1905 “the public be damned era” (Cutlip et al., 2006). Press agents were concerned with generating publicity at almost any cost, and this approach engendered the unethical reputation of modern-day public relations. Ethics as a consideration entered the development of modern practice in about 1906, with prominent practitioner Ivy Lee’s declaration of principles. His declaration moved the practice into “the public be informed” era with his emphasis on telling the truth and providing accurate information.

One of the earliest public relations executives to argue for the role of acting as an ethical counsel to management was John W. Hill (Heath & Bowen, 2002). Hill had a very developed philosophy of corporate responsibility and issue management, and this recent analysis found that ethics pervaded both his work as executive counsel and his books about public relations (Hill, 1958, 1963). Hill’s grasp of the interaction between ethics, issues management, and “far-reaching effects of corporate policy” (Hill, 1958, p. 16) made him not only one of the most successful practitioners of his century. John W. Hill was a progenitor of what scholars called public relations as the “corporate conscience” (Ryan & Martinson, 1983, p. 22).

As the civil unrest of the 1960s called both government and businesses to a higher level of accountability, their communication functions responded with the creation of more open, ethical, and socially responsible forms of public relations. The function of issues management (Chase, 1976) began to advise executives on ethically responsible policy decisions, and symmetrical public relations (J. E. Grunig & Hunt, 1984) began to incorporate the desires of publics for more fair and balanced decision making. Although research (Bivins, 1989; Pratt & Rentner, 1989) showed that scant attention was given to ethics in major public relations textbooks before this time, the last decade has shown an improvement. This interest in teaching and discussing public relations ethics is good news, especially for new practitioners so that they do not inadvertently limit their prospects for promotion. As newer data (discussed below) reveals, job promotion options may be constrained for practitioners who do not know ethics or feel prepared to advise on ethical dilemmas.

Despite the strides made in modern public relations toward becoming ethical advisors in management, the field holds “a tarnished history” in the words of one scholar (Parsons, 2004, p. 5). Like any young profession, the historical development of public relations shows a progression toward more self-aware and ethical models of communication. By reviewing this development, the historically negative reputation of public relations, as well as its potential for encouraging ethical communication, we can see the maturation of the profession from one engaged in simple dissemination of information to one involved in the creation of ethical communication.

Current State of Ethics in Public Relations: Codes of Ethics

The current state of ethics in public relations practice depends heavily on codes of ethics held by the major professional associations. Membership in these groups is voluntary, meaning that one is not required to belong to such an association in order to practice public relations. Members agree to abide by a code of ethics that is written for the entire group. Some codes of ethics are written in terms that forbid a list of certain activities; other codes of ethics espouse a set of ethical principles which should be followed. Whether written in positive or negative terms, most of the professional associations in public relations have a code of ethics.

For example, refer to the ethics codes of a few of the major public relations associations: the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (http://www.globalpr.org/knowledge/ethics/protocol.asp), the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Code of Athens (http://www.ipra.org/detail.asp?articleid=22) , the European Public Relations Confederation, also endorsing the Code of Athens along with its own code and the Code of Lisbon (http://www.cerp.org/codes/european.asp), the Public Relations Institute of Australia (http://www.pria.com.au/aboutus/cid/32/parent/0/t/aboutus) the Public Relations Society of America (http://www.prssa.org/downloads/codeofethics.pdf ), the International Association of Business Communicators (http://www.iabc.com/about/code.htm), the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (http://www.cipr.co.uk/direct/about.asp?v1=who) or the Arthur W. Page Society (http://www.awpagesociety.com/site/resources/page_principles/) of senior-level public relations executives.

These codes of ethics offered as examples above do not vary greatly by country but by the professional organization; some codes strive to offer guidance of a practical, professional nature toward agency practitioners (such as PRSA), while other codes attempt to identify general moral principles of ethical behavior, such as the focus on dignity, respect, and human rights, as seen in the IPRA and CERP endorsements of the Code of Athens. Professions often develop codes of ethics, and an online collection of more than 850 can be found at the Illinois Institute of Technology (http://ethics.iit.edu/codes/Introduction.html). That resource is a wonderful place to start if you are beginning to write or revise a code of ethics for your organization or a client. When implemented with good intent, codes of ethics can be useful tools for developing an organizational culture supporting ethical decision making. Public relations codes of ethics generally hold as cross-cultural and universal moral principles the concepts of honesty, fairness, and not harming others (http://www.commpred.org/report/2006_Report_of_the_Commission_on_Public_Relations_Education.pdf, p. 37).

Although codes of ethics can be developed which satisfy universal conditions or principles (Kruckeberg, 1993), they have been critiqued by scholars (Parkinson, 2001; Wright, 1993) for falling short of the ideals espoused in the codes, or even in being internally contradictory. Practitioners often state that codes of ethics are too vague to be useful in their own careers or that they do not give enough specific guidance to be anything other than rudimentary (Bowen et al., 2006). Research found that some practitioners say they see a code of ethics once and then do not refer to it or read it again (Bowen, 2002a).

Most codes of ethics provide no enforcement monitoring or recourse for their infringement, leaving them impotent other than the occasional revocation of association membership. These problems with codes of ethics are not new and they are not limited to the field of public relations. Some scholars (Kruckeberg, 2000) of public relations argue that if practitioners are ethical then no enforcement is needed for the codes of ethics. Other scholars (Bowen, 2004a; Parkinson, 2001) go further, arguing that a simple ethics statement is all that is necessary because good intention is a more stringent guideline than a code of ethics. This debate mirrors the rationale of Plato, as quoted in Parsons (2004): “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws” (p. 67).

Given the criticisms against codes of ethics, public relations scholars have worked to create other methods of understanding, analyzing, and managing ethical dilemmas. These approaches are based on varying schools of thought from philosophy to sociology.

Findings of Current Research on Public Relations Ethics

Suspicion of corporations, corporate executives, and a general mistrust of business in the minds of the public grew in two waves. The first of these was the late 1960’s in which issues management was formed in reaction to these pressures as a process in which corporations could better understand, anticipate, and proactively manage issues of public concern. The second wave of heightened mistrust was in the late 1990’s to early 2000s, as a reaction to huge corporate scandals such as that of Enron. As thousands of former-Enron employees lost their retirement funds in the collapse, Enron executives maintained in the news media that they had done nothing wrong. Yet, as facts emerged, ethical transgressions of the public trust were unearthed and criminal charges against many top executives were filed; later convictions followed (for more discussion of this case, see Bowen & Heath (2005) or Sims & Brinkman (2003). The shockwaves following Enron, and other scandals of this period such as Tyco and WorldCom, resulted in new demands for ethical responsibility and corporate governance. One result was the implementation of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act (http://www.sarbanes-oxley.com/index.php) in which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) required new standards of financial compliance and record keeping. From these cases and the new legislation, a renewed concern for corporate ethics, compliance, regulation, governance, transparency, and honest financial reporting procedures resulted. Many of these issues are the domain of the public relations function, and all of them are communicated about by the public relations function.

Research conducted recently by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Research Foundation (http://www.iabc.com/rf/) studied public relations ethics and reported survey results from 1,827 IABC members and other professional communicators worldwide (Bowen & Heath, 2006). The study (Bowen et al., 2006) revealed a number of surprising and interesting findings in public relations ethics. Public relations practitioners around the world reported that 65% of them have regular access to the “dominant coalition” or the decision-making executive level of their organizations, or the Chief Officers level sometimes called the “C-suite”. This finding is good news that public relations managers are involved in ethical advising at the highest levels of their organizations, and often are involved in the strategic management and planning process, as well. Of that 65% who said they had access to the dominant coalition, 30 % said that they report directly to the CEO of their organization, with the remaining 35% of that group reporting to a C-level executive.

Reporting directly to the CEO is the best possible case because the top communicator does not have to rely on others to convey their advice and perspective to the CEO, who is the final decision maker. These numbers mean that public relations professionals are being heard at the highest levels of organizations, and are having input at the strategic management and planning level. Public relations professionals can have a real impact on organizational decision making and a real impact on the ethical decisions made in the C-suite. To use the words of one public relations executive in this study (Bowen et al., 2006), “We are there--where the rubber meets the road.”

With this relatively new and higher level of responsibility, public relations executives must understand far more than media relations. To advise the top level of an organization, professional communicators must become conversant with issues management, risk and crisis management, leadership, organizational culture and policy, and ethics. Decisions at the higher levels of the organizational system almost invariably include an ethical component. Do the benefits outweigh the risks if we take a product with a mixed safety record to market? Should we do business in countries where bribery or child labor is a common practice? From matters of external publics and multinational relationships to product standards or internal relationships with employee publics—all pose ethical challenges. These challenges are matters not only of policy but also of communication.

IABC grant research (Bowen et al., 2006) showed that, although a large number of public relations practitioners reported that they do advise their CEO (30%) or senior management (35%), another 35% of public relations professionals who say they have no access to the dominant coalition of their organizations. These practitioners are implementing the strategic decisions of others rather than making their own contributions in the areas of organization strategy, issues management, or – on ethics. Public relations cannot contribute to organizational effectiveness without offering input on the views of strategic publics to executive management—nor can it advise on the ethical issues and dilemmas that stand to damage organization-public relationships, diminish credibility, and tarnish reputation.

Counseling senior management on ethical decisions is happening in practice, and perhaps more widely than one might estimate. Almost half (49.9%) of the IABC (Bowen et al., 2006) sample reported that they counsel their senior management on ethical decisions, indicating the managements are realizing the value of incorporating a strategic communication perspective in their decisions, or of potentially incorporating the views, ideas, or values of publics into organizational policy. Forward-thinking organizations are already implementing this strategy, so that public relations professionals who aspire to higher management roles must now pay attention to ethics, ethical advisement, and how to analyze ethical dilemmas. Of our sample, 68% said that they felt well-prepared to counsel management on ethical dilemmas, confirming that public relations practitioners do see themselves in a “corporate conscience” role.

Ethics Study and Training: Troubling Findings

A few of the IABC study’s findings on ethics also warrant concern for those on an upwardly-mobile career path. The majority of participants reported that they had little if any academic training or study of ethics. 30% said they had no academic ethics study of any kind, and another 40% of the practitioners in the study said they had “a few lectures or reading on ethics,” as shown in the pie chart below. These figures mean that 70% of the professional communicators we surveyed could be ill-prepared to face an ethical dilemma if they have had no professional experience with ethics to support them.

Practitioners who advise on ethics reported that what they have learned about ethical issues comes from professional experience rather than academic study. Professional experience with ethics has to be earned over time, and younger practitioners are at a disadvantage when faced with a dilemma, often having little prior experience with such situations. These professionals might make mistakes even with the best of intentions due to unforeseen consequences or duties.

Using one of the rigorous, analytical means of ethical analysis available in moral philosophy allows decisions to be articulated to the media and others in defensible terms. Further, those who had no ethics study could be unintentionally limiting their career opportunities or their suitability to be promoted into senior management. The qualitative data in this study revealed that practitioners saw advising on ethical dilemmas as a main route to higher levels of responsibility within their organizations.

Source: IABC Research Foundation

The finding that little or no ethics training or study is held by public relations practitioners with a university education is not a new concern. The Commission on Public Relations Education, a group of experts who periodically examine public relations curricula and recommend modifications, recognized the dearth of ethics study in their 2006 report (see: http://www.commpred.org/report/). The group recommended the following actions at universities and colleges offering courses or majors in public relations:

-A consideration of ethics should pervade all content of public relations professional education.

-If a curriculum cannot accommodate a dedicated ethics course, short one-hour courses or mini-seminars can provide a meaningful ethics forum for undergraduates. (p. 4)

The commission noted a need to elevate in importance “Particular issues and trends in the public relations field such as ethics and transparency” (p. 43) in undergraduate education. These experts argued that an education in public relations “can provide a body of knowledge about the process of ethical decision-making that can help students not only to recognize ethical dilemmas but to use appropriate critical thinking skills to help resolve those dilemmas in a way that results in an ethical outcome”(http://www.commpred.org/report/2006_Report_of_the_Commission_on_Public_Relations_Education.pdf, p. 22). Public relations professionals need both experience managing ethical issues and academic study of ethics. Studying ethics helps practitioners to advance professionally and to make defensible judgments in the eyes of publics. Not preparing young practitioners to deal with ethics disadvantages them in their career aspirations and harms the reputation of the public relations profession itself.

In the IABC study, participants reported little on-the-job ethics training, professional seminars, or continuing education workshops. 65% received no ethics training from an employer, although our data showed that when practitioners report to senior or top level vice presidents they received more additional ethics training than when reporting to others. Of the 35% reporting some ethics training, the data from this study also reveals that a proportionally greater number of men (43%) received training once hired than did their female counterparts (32%). In summary, 50% of the IABC sample maintained that they regularly counsel management on ethical decisions, yet about 70% of the sample have never studied ethics and about 65% have no on-the-job ethics training.

The deficit in communication professionals who are thoroughly versed in ethics may pose potential problems. Filling a necessary demand based on professional experience alone leaves the communication professional open to failures to reasoning or oversights in analysis which could be guarded against through formal ethics training or study. Those who do not have training in ethical decision making may be unfamiliar with alternate modes of analyses that could yield valuable input into the strategic decision-making process. A lack of credibility results both for individual communication professionals and for the public relations practice itself. Errors of omission in the analysis of an ethical dilemma result from a lack of training rather than a lack of ethical intention on the part of public relation counsel. Logical and consistent analyses allow a defensible argument to be made and the media or publics can understand the decision-making process of the organization. Rational decisions are easier to explain and defend to publics, and although they may not agree they can usually understand. Therefore, attention to astute and rigorous ethical analysis is essential not only for individual practitioners or the public relations profession but also for organizational effectiveness in achieving long-term financial success.

Pushing the Frontiers in Public Relations Ethics

To answer the demand for ethics training from the professional front, training in ethical decision making is being offered by some employers, universities, and professional associations. Only recently have public relations scholars incorporated a substantial amount of moral philosophy into the body of knowledge we know as communication. The inclusion of this scholarly literature in our own field can powerfully extend the ethical reasoning capabilities of public relations professionals. These approaches, which are reviewed below, offer substantive ethical guidelines for analyzing dilemmas.

Dialogical Ethics versus Advocacy Ethics

Dialogue as a philosophy began in ancient Greece, with the classical argumentation of philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates. Dialogue is a natural inclusion in any discussion of ethics because some scholars (J. E. Grunig, 2001; Habermas, 1984) argue that dialogue is inherently ethical. They see dialogue as ethical because it engages in a give and take discussion of public relations issues with the chance for all interested parties to have input. The discussion is ultimately supposed to arrive at truth or to reveal the underlying truth to which the parties can agree. Ideas are evaluated on merit alone rather than on a positional basis. It should be noted that this distinction is a fine one that separates advocacy from dialogue – true dialogue argues based on merits until truth is reached. Advocacy argues positionally, meaning according to the arguments from the side of the client or employer, rather than from any or all sides. The advocate’s position may or may not be aligned with truth, but it starts with a bias in the discussion and thus fails the test of being truly ethical. A dialogue can potentially reach a truth that could be negative to an employer or client simply based on meritorious arguments, and is seen as ethical since it does not favor any one party over the views of others.

Public relations scholars such as Heath (2006) see dialogue as the way in which a good organization engages in open communication with its publics. The virtue or good character of the organization is maintained through its efforts to communicate with publics, discussing issues in a dialogue of give and take. This “wrangle in the marketplace” (Heath, 2001) results in the best ideas rising to the top, regardless of their origin. Heath (2006) explained, “What was needed. . .was not more articulate advocates, but advocates who had achieved higher standards of corporate responsibility” (p. 72). This higher standard is to engage in dialogue for the sake of achieving an understanding of the truth, and truth can arise from any perspective. One note to keep in mind is that dialogue must be entered into with good intentions; Kent and Taylor (2002) wisely noted that “If one partner subverts the dialogic process through manipulation, disconfirmation, or exclusion, then the end result will not be dialogic” (p. 24).

Pearson (1989a) explored the concept of dialogue as an ethical basis for public relations. He thought that public relations was best defined as “the management of interpersonal dialectic” (Pearson, 1989b, p. 177) emphasizing the personal relationship maintenance and building functions of public relations with members of publics. An entire strain of research (Ledingham & Bruning, 2001, 2000) has found that relationship building functions are the most crucial aspect of public relations, and Pearson’s link to the usefulness of dialogue in doing that makes perfect sense. Dialogue is best seen as an ongoing process of seeking understanding and relationship, with the potential to resolve ethical dilemmas through a mutual creation of truth. Kent and Taylor (2002) offer an extensive list of factors to consider in engaging in the process of dialogue, and it is an invaluable resource for public relations professionals seeking to build that process into the communication of their organization.

Most people who think of public relations as advocacy would not agree with the dialogical position because they believe that the organization can best define facts related to an issue and persuade publics to understand or agree with those interpretations (Pfau & Wan, 2006). These scholars (Fitzpatrick & Bronstein, 2006; Miller, 1989; Peters, 1987) agree that the advocate role of public relations is similar to that of an attorney, in which Pfau and Wan pointed out that “persuasion plays an integral role” (p. 102). However, this approach lacks authenticity because it emphasizes one-sided persuasion and does not allow for the validity of contrary facts emerging outside the organization or from other publics.

Advocacy can sometimes be difficult because it can confuse loyalty to the client or employer with loyalty to the truth. For instance, a long-term ethical approach might be to help the client change or improve operations to ensure future viability, but this perspective can be overlooked in favor of short-term success or loyalty to management’s interpretation of issues. Although some advocates maintain that an ethically responsible approach is enough (Fitzpatrick & Bronstein, 2006) many executive-level practitioners explain that they need more powerful means of analyses in terms of ethical issue resolution (Bowen, 2002b, 2006). Alternate views see public relations as the organization’s objective or balanced advisory voice in strategic management, as discussed below.

Strategic Management Approaches to Ethics

Strategic management seeks to maximize organizational efficiency and profitability by making decisions that consistently strive toward that goal. Public relations executives acting as strategy advisors and ethics counselors to senior management is a role that is supported in research findings regarding the practice and in theory. How they can implement this responsibility ethically and with reasoned approaches has been studied from various strategic management perspectives.

J. E. Grunig (1992b) proposed that linkages with publics could be used to facilitate organizational decision making in a balanced, symmetrical manner. Grunig’s idea of symmetry is that organizations accomplish more of their long term goals when they integrate some of what publics want, meaning that management engages in an ongoing relationship of give-and-take with publics. Grunig and his colleagues (Dozier, L. A. Grunig, & J. E. Grunig, 1995; L. A. Grunig, Grunig, & Dozier, 2002) in this line of research maintained that symmetrical communication is inherently ethical. They elucidated: “The two-way symmetrical model avoids the problem of ethical relativism because it defines ethics as a process of public relations rather than an outcome” (J. E. Grunig & L. A. Grunig, 1992, p. 308).

These researchers (J. E. Grunig & L. A. Grunig, 1996) maintained that a strategic management approach is consistent with teleological moral philosophy, commonly known as utilitarianism, because of its emphasis on consequences. Both utilitarian philosophy and relationships with publics are seen in terms of their consequences and potential outcomes. In utilitarianism the ethical decision is defined as that which maximizes positive consequences and minimizes negative outcomes. In the utilitarian approach to ethics, a weighing of potential decisions and their likely consequences is the ethical analysis used to determine right or wrong. Strategic management also attempts to predict potential consequences of management decisions and thus is a natural fit with utilitarian ethics.

Also based on the strategic management approach, Bivins (1992) developed a systems model for ethical decision making. General systems theory views the organization as an open and interdependent system dependent on interactions with its environment for survival. Publics are viewed as a vital part of the environment providing information inputs and feedback to management. He argued that maintaining a process of ethical decision making in management could help the organization have successful interactions with its environment. As a routine part of the management system, ethical considerations could receive more thorough and common examination than when left to chance. Along similar lines, Tilley (2005) encouraged including ethical standards in the strategic management of public relations campaigns including “formalizing ethics as part of campaign measurement” (p. 317).

Building on a strategic management paradigm, Bowen’s (2004a) research sought to strengthen ethical analyses by incorporating deontological philosophy into public relations. She linked this philosophical approach to Grunig’s research on two-way symmetrical communication described above. Deontological moral philosophy, based on the work of German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) (http://www.sandiego.edu/naks/) seeks to discover underlying moral principles upon which any rational decision maker would make the same choice. According to the useful Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://www.iep.utm.edu/k/kantmeta.htm), “Deontology is the study of duty” and deems ethical only acts with a purely good motive. It is a valuable addition to the knowledge of a public relations professional because it yields more rational, defensible, and enduring decisions than less-rigorous analyses. To implement a deontological analysis of public relations ethics one must attempt to be as autonomous, unbiased and objective as possible. Potential decisions must be examined from all angles. Research (C. B. Pratt, Im, & Montague, 1994) shows that public relations professionals employ this form of analysis more frequently as they advance to higher levels in their careers. For a good overview of implementing deontology see (Bowen, 2008).

Practical Recommendations and Guidelines for Practitioners

This review of current, cutting-edge, and historical research in public relations ethics is worth little if public relations professionals do not implement ethical analyses in their daily practice. We can contribute to more socially responsible and credible organizations, but only if we take the steps necessary to make our voices heard in the dominant coalition. Public relations professionals should be the ones to alert senior management when ethical issues arise. Public relations counselors should also know the values of both internal and external publics, and use these in astute analyses and ultimate resolutions of ethical dilemmas. At any level of one’s career it is never too early or too late to implement the following guidelines:

1. The first thing to be concluded from studying ethical cases is that communication professionals must pay attention to ethics before they desperately need it. Once a crisis of conflicting ethics or high media interest befalls the organization it is too late to begin searching for ethical guidance. Professional communicators must be conversant with the value systems of their organizations before these values are publicly called into question. Advising the dominant coalition requires great attention to research, input, organization values, knowledge of the values of strategic publics, potential consequences, and an ability to apply rigorous forms of ethical analyses. Public relations professionals should begin studying ethics now, before you “must” address a problem, and as soon as possible. To do so will not only improve the decisions made in your public relations department but also will allow and encourage advancement in your career. You will find an annotated bibliography at the end of this article, after its references, which can guide you in further reading on public relations ethics.

2. Know your own values. Taking a thorough and systematic look at the values you hold and espouse as a person and a public relations practitioner will help you when you are “under the gun” being pressured by a supervisor, client, or someone else. Listing the most important qualities of an admired person or mentor is a productive exercise, as well as listing the values that you hold most dear. Researchers (Ladkin, 2006) call this exercise “attending to one’s own values” and it is important to help you articulate your beliefs and reasoning, as well as stand your ground when your reasoning is challenged. Matching your own values to those espoused by your employer or client means that you have a solid relationship on which to build your professional practice. Otherwise, you might have to become an “activist” for ethics in your organization or seek employment in an environment more congruent with your own values (Berger & Reber, 2006).

3. Spot and discuss ethical issues. Issues management (Heath, 1997), as the primary function that seeks out and resolves problems before they become crises, is an area with a natural propensity to identify perplexing ethical situations. Public relations professionals should study the academic research and best practices of issues management to best prepare themselves to engage ethical issues. Research (Bowen, 2002b) has found that identifying issues that will become ethical problems is one of the most challenging aspects of issues management. Failing to identify an ethical issue before it is acted upon can result in costly failures for the organization, both in terms of operational cost in the resulting loss of reputation as an ethical organization. Being hyper-vigilant on the early identification of ethical issues allows more time for their analysis, research, discussion, and resolution than does waiting until one is identified by a public or by the media. Early identification also allows the organization to take a proactive stance to defining and managing the issue, rather than a reactionary stance when it is defined by others. Additionally, self-vigilant awareness of such issues is the ethically responsible approach for an organization, showing a willingness to resolve problematic issues as a responsible organization and morally good intentions.

4. Time and time again research finds that organizational culture has a significant impact on ethical analyses and decision making (Bowen, 2004b; Goodpaster, 2007; Sims, 1994; Sims & Brinkman, 2003). Public relations professionals should identify the underlying values in the organization’s mission statement, code of ethics, or other policy document. You should identify the approach in ethics closest to existing organizational values. Those mentioning the greater good, benefit of society, or consequences of operating are most likely utilitarian. Statements echoing duty, justice, fairness, responsibility, or intention are deontological. Identifying these core values of the organization is key in instilling a more widely ethical organizational culture. They also indicate the means of ethical analysis that will be most effective in resolving dilemmas for management since it is congruent with the values of the organization. The public relations function can encourage ethical debate and consideration through the organization by using internal communication to focus on these issues. Leaders should strive to display and act on ethical values (Berger & Reber, 2006; Goodpaster, 2007). Research (Bowen, 2004b) in this area shows that in order to foster excellence in ethics, the internal communications of the public relations function should teach employees what is to be considered when confronting and ethical dilemma, reward ethical behavior, encourage the defining of issues in ethical terms, and encourage an atmosphere of open ethical debate. Confronting management with evidence that an organizational culture supporting ethics averts disasters of the Enron variety might garner rekindled support for an organizational ethics initiative.

5. Educating decision makers in the organization, specifically the CEO and dominant coalition, of the abilities if the public relations function to engage in ethical advisement by using issues management, research, relationships with publics, and conflict resolution should be one of the primary responsibilities of communication executives. Most chief executives originate from financial or engineering backgrounds, and no little or nothing about the capabilities of public relations beyond media relations. So, it is the responsibility of the public relations practitioner to educate him or her about the many ways that public relations can contribute to the success of the organization, including solving and preventing ethical dilemmas. Educating the CEO and other dominant coalition members in the organization is one of the primary routes through which practitioners in the IABC study said they achieved membership in the strategic decision making core. Therefore, this recommendation also serves to empower the public relations function within an organization and to foster high-level career access for practitioners.

6. Engage in systematic and analytical means of contemplating ethical dilemmas. The use of moral philosophy lends rigorous, systematic, and consistent methods of ethical analyses and decisions in public relations. The measurement or “yard stick” for what is value or good in the organization should be carefully defined before engaging in ethical analyses. Mission statements are often the best guide to what is valued, rewarded, or sought. A mission statement is normally the best place to begin defining the ethical values present in the organization. These ethical values can then be explicated in the form of an ethics statement, a code of conduct, an ethics code, a credo, or other codified policies. To enhance the consistency of organizational policies, issue resolutions, and increase the longevity of managerial decisions, ethical analyses should always begin with the core values stated in the organization’s mission. Ethical counsel of the dominant coalition often requires what ethicists call ‘moral courage’ (Parks, 1993) in the sense that you must be willing to argue for your analysis even when it is unpopular with other organizational functions. Even if your solution is not implemented, the counsel of public relations will be respected and sought in the future. Unpopular solutions to ethical dilemmas often prove their wisdom over the course of time, as well. Offering consistent reliable analyses is one way to enhance both personal credibility and that of the public relations function within the organization.

Conclusion

The ability to engage in ethical reasoning in public relations is growing in demand, in responsibility, and in importance. Academic research, university and continuing education, and professional practice are all attending more than ever to matters of ethics. The public relations function stands at a critical and defining juncture: whether to become an ethics counselor to top management or to remain outside the realm of the strategic decision making core. How we choose to respond to the crisis of trust among our publics will define the public relations of the future.

Although it is true that no single person or function can be the entire “ethical conscience” of an organization, the public relations function is ideally informed to counsel top management about ethical issues. Public relations professionals know the values of key publics involved with ethical dilemmas, and can conduct rigorous ethical analyses to guide the policies of their organizations, as well as in communications with publics and the news media. Careful and consistent ethical analyses facilitate trust, which enhances the building and maintenance of relationships – after all, that is the ultimate purpose of the public relations function.

Author Note

This article was funded by the Institute for Public Relations. I would like to thank the Institute for Public Relations and to specifically thank President & CEO Frank E. Ovaitt, Jr., for his support and encouragement of ethics research.

References

Annotated Bibliography

Berger, B. K., & Reber, B. H. (2006). Gaining influence in public relations: The role of resistance in practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Berger and Reber’s book focuses on power in public relations, but power and public relations are inextricably connected. This book would be a great one to read if you are experiencing resistance from your management or clients on including ethical analyses in organizational decision making. It offers guidance and research on both accruing power and influence as well as how to go a step further and become an “activist” for responsible management in your organization.

Bivins, T. H. (1989). Are public relations texts covering ethics adequately? Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 4(1), 39-52. This is a landmark study showing the historical data on how little attention public relations education has focused on ethics. That has changed a bit, but this study was instrumental in forcing a more attentive stance toward ethics in public relations among modern textbooks.

Bowen, S. A. (2002b). Elite executives in issues management: The role of ethical paradigms in decision making. Journal of Public Affairs, 2(4), 270-283.
Some of the data on high-level decisions in an organization quoted in this paper was published in this study. It offers wonderful case examples from two worldwide firms of how public relations should interact with the CEO and executive management on ethical issues. The article gives both positive and negative insight into two ethically respected organizations, and offers suggestions and recommendations from each.

Bowen, S. A. (2004). Expansion of ethics as the tenth generic principle of public relations excellence: A Kantian theory and model for managing ethical issues. Journal of Public Relations Research, 16(1), 65-92.
This article provides a deontological (duty and principle based) rationale blended with theory from public relations to result in a theory of how ethical issues management can be conducted. It is highly theoretical and academic in nature, but includes a schematic model which is useful in simplifying deontology into a flow chart approach.

Bowen, S. A. (2004). Organizational factors encouraging ethical decision making: An exploration into the case of an exemplar. Journal of Business Ethics, 52(4), 311-324.
This article offers evidence of just how organizational culture and ethical decision making interact, concluding that the exemplary organization studied is doing this correctly. That organization, renown for its high ethical standards, offers an example of what you should and should not be doing to create a more ethical culture within your own organization. Questions such as “Who should be responsible for ethics” and “Isn’t ethics a personal values choice?” are addressed. This article is a must-read before beginning an ethics initiative.

Bowen, S. A. (2005). A practical model for ethical decision making in issues management and public relations. Journal of Public Relations Research, 17(3), 191-216.
An extremely practical and accessible approach to implementing ethics in an organization. This article, based on deontology, is the second phase of Bowen’s 2004 article on the “Expansion of Ethics” and offers an empirically simplified model for ethical decision making. The model is in flow-chart format and has been tested and improved in its user-friendly elements in 2 global organizations. For those facing a complex ethics issue, this model gives a sound rationale upon which to base choices, make defensible decisions, and thoroughly analyze all the facets of the issue.

Bowen, S. A. (2006). Autonomy in communication: Inclusion in strategic management and ethical decision-making, a comparative case analysis. Journal of Communication Management, 10(4), 330-352.
This article provides compelling arguments for decision-making autonomy in public relations, both from data and from theory. It is helpful reading for understanding the objective nature of ethical decisions while using real-world, management-based arguments. Public relations practitioners in departments without direct access to the CEO or reporting to other organizational functions such as marketing or human resources absolutely must read this article to understand how their ethical impact is constrained and to learn what they can do to change that situation for the better.

Bowen, S. A., & Heath, R. L. (2006). Under the microscope: Ethics in business. Communication world, 23(1), 34-36. A short and simple professionally-oriented overview of the IABC grant and some findings regarding ethics in public relations. A very fast read with user-friendly terminology, it explains a few of the most important findings of the IABC ethics research.

Bowen, S. A., Heath, R. L., Lee, J., Painter, G., Agraz, F. J., McKie, D., et al. (2006). The business of truth: A guide to ethical communication. San Francisco, CA: International Association of Business Communicators.
Although this study must be purchased, it is an extremely worthwhile investment for any organization beginning or renewing an ethics program. It offers both theory and data to support its recommendations. Also included are tools such as diagnostic survey you can use to measure ethics in your organization, complete results of the IABC study, and several ethics training session Power Points which can be used to train people on ethics and ethical decision making.

Fitzpatrick, K., & Bronstein, C. (Eds.). (2006). Ethics in public relations: Responsible advocacy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
This edited book contains chapters written by some of the top scholars in public relations, each addressing a different component of advocacy and if an advocacy approach is used, what would be the requirements for it to be ethical? Topics include risk management, activism, strategic communication, feminism and diversity, and public affairs. Chapters are heavily based in current public relations theory and research, but often include implications for practice. A more advanced text than most others, you should probably save this for reading once you have completed a few more basic books since its argumentation sometimes assumes prior knowledge of public relations ethics or research in that area.

Goodpaster, K. E. (2007). Conscience and corporate culture: Blackwell.
Goodpaster is an eminent scholar in the area of business ethics, who has written many of the most important publications in the filed. In this new book, he examines the ideas of corporate responsibility, social good, and ethics. Although not specific to public relations, this interesting book is very helpful to anyone who is working to improve an organization’s culture with regard to supporting ethics. As Goodpaster is a true master of the rationale for corporate responsibility, this is also a good read if your organization has managements who consider ethics less important than profit.

Heath, R. L. (2006). A rhetorical theory approach to issues management. In C. Botan & V. Hazleton (Eds.), Public Relations Theory II (pp. 63-99). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc. Heath provides a thorough conception of the idea of a corporation “communicating well” as an ethical obligation. Although this chapter does not focus on ethics, it provides a strong rationale for the reasons to communicate when others would like to say “No comment.”

Heath, R. L., & Bowen, S. A. (2002). The public relations philosophy of John W. Hill: Bricks in the foundation of issues management. Journal of Public Affairs, 2(4), 230-246. This article makes interesting reading for anyone looking for a ‘mentor’ in their public relations career. Many quotes directly from Hill and his writings are examined in the context of Hill’s counseling top management and his commitment to a strong ethical responsibility and advising function in public relations.

Kent, M. L., & Taylor, M. (2002). Toward a dialogic theory of public relations. Public Relations Review, 28(1), 21-37. This is an exemplary article for providing recommendations for opening a dialogue between organizations and publics. Ethics is both an underlying assumption and discussed in the rationale for dialogue, as well as how to maintain balanced power relations once a dialogue is started.

Kruckeberg, D. (2000). The public relations practitioner’s role in practicing strategic ethics. Public Relations Quarterly, 45(3), 35-40.
Kruckeberg gives a strong rationale of how the communication function should be involved in ethics, why it is essential to communicate ethically with publics, and how these elements are the cornerstones of effective public relations practice.

Parkinson, M. (2001). The prsa code of professional standards and member code of ethics: Why they are neither professional or ethical. Public Relations Quarterly, 46(3), 27-31.
This article is good reading for all those in professional associations to encourage them to think beyond the recommendations offered in codes of ethics. Parkinson points out that often these codes become useless and discusses the flaws that make them so. Through his superb reasoning we see the problems which we should make sure to consider when resolving ethical dilemmas.

Parks, S. D. (1993). Professional ethics, moral courage, and the limits of personal virtue. In B. Darling-Smith (Ed.), Can virtue be taught? Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
This edited book is pure applied philosophy. Although it might not seem relevant to public relations at first glance, it provides in-dept discussion of concepts such as leadership, character, honesty, and moral courage. It is recommended reading for those in senior or executive positions in order to help them become stronger ethical counselors to management.

Parsons, P. J. (2004). Ethics in public relations: A guide to best practice. London: Kogan Page. This book takes a basic look at public relations ethics through a history of public relations as a professional pursuit, truth telling, trust, rights, respect, and the issue of propaganda versus persuasion. It uses many modern cases and examples to illustrate concepts, and is a good beginning overview of ethics in public relations practice. There are some brief but practical checklists and simple diagrams for helping to evaluate one’s own ethics. It is written in a conversational manner and includes many interesting or humorous examples to make it entertaining yet useful reading.

Ryan, M., & Martinson, D. L. (1983). The pr officer as corporate conscience. Public Relations Quarterly, 28(2), 20-23.
Ryan and Martinson coined the term “public relations as corporate conscience” in this landmarrk article. This is a short article, containing some data and opinion from the authors.

Seib, P., & Fitzpatrick, K. (1995). Public relations ethics. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
The work by these two authors (a professor/attorney combination) takes a legalistic look of public relations work and media relations ethics. An appendix containing the major codes of ethics in public relations is a strength of this book. Although a bit dated, this book is a good historical reference and is highly focused on codes of ethics and professionalism, as well as litigation and the governmental process in public relations.

Stauber, J., & Rampton, S. (1995). Toxic sludge is good for you: Lies, damn lies, and the public relations industry. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press. This book takes a scathing look at public relations ethics, discussing numerous scandals and transgressions. Although the facts are here, they are interpreted with hyperbole. This work is useful to those seeking reasoning for why ethics should be a part of public relations to identify the problems that result when we ignore ethics.

Tilley, E. (2005). The ethics pyramid: Making ethics unavoidable in the public relations process. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 20(4), 305-320. This article combines ethical decision making frameworks from several approaches into one simple ethics pyramid. Although it does not offer the rigor of traditional philosophical analyses, it is useful when confronting fast or uncomplicated ethical issues, or designing a simple overview.

Wright, D. K. (1993). Enforcement dilemma: Voluntary nature of public relations codes. Public Relations Review, 19(1), 13-20. This article takes a look at public relations codes of ethics. It describes the common problems of codes of ethics and making them useful in practice. This work is useful to those seeking an alternative to a code of ethics, such as ethics statements or policies. It is also helpful for those with a code of ethics to identify the problems one should guard against.

Average Rating: 2.9

Currently 2.9365079365079 Stars.
1
2
3
4
5

Add your Rating!

Comment:

This is an excellent article on PR Ethics. I found the historic overview and the current recommendations that be informative and relevant. I am currently preparing for the APR and of course, ethics is one of the KSAs. I will suggest that my APR facilitator forward this document to our online cohort group and I will mention it to the GA PRSA APR coordinators.
I will add this paper and the other papers from the Institute to my professional library.

By Sherrie Hauser-Simmons on 2008 03 19

Comment:

I read your article and found it interesting. I feel like using it both in class and on job.

By eshetu girma on 2008 03 21

Comment:

Thank you so much for the insightful feedback! It is encouraging to know that practitioners find this work useful and relevant to their practice! I invite you to provide some real ethics examples or scenarios that you have faced in practice for discussion, and eventually I hope to add a new section to this paper called “Common Ethical Dilemmas.” You can post here or some guidelines can be found by backing out a page or two, under the general ethics heading ("weblog") that leads to this paper.
Thank you so very much for taking your valuable time to comment!
It means a great deal to me and to the creators of this “Essential Knowledge” initiative!
Shannon A. Bowen

By Shannon Bowen on 2008 03 24

Comment:

thak u for ur article

By ahmad on 2008 04 22

Comment:

“Grunig and his colleagues (Dozier, L. A. Grunig, & J. E. Grunig, 1995; L. A. Grunig, Grunig, & Dozier, 2002) in this line of research maintained that symmetrical communication is inherently ethical. They elucidated: “The two-way symmetrical model avoids the problem of ethical relativism because it defines ethics as a process of public relations rather than an outcome” (J. E. Grunig & L. A. Grunig, 1992, p. 308).”

This view of communications is entirely notional, and I just don’t buy the notion that eliciting feedback and incorporating changes as a result is “inherently ethical.” The feedback can be biased and the changes may be irrelevant to the feedback or trivial in nature, as is the case with most transactions between public utilities and protest groups.

By Bill Huey on 2008 06 16

Comment:

Excellent article, very valuable in the world of business and personally. Thank you,
Paula

By Paula Friel on 2008 06 25

Comment:

I have found this article very informative and rich! I am currently doing some writing on PR ethical issues and i have acquired a wealthy of knowledge from this article.

By cosmas mwaisobwa on 2008 07 03

Comment:

comment:

This is a knowledgeable article on PR Ethics, that drives the PR practitioner into the right career.

I wish I could get more information on the Roles of the PRO in the context of an organizational financial activities.

Jennifer

By jennifer okumu on 2008 07 18

Comment:

Excellent article,its a knowlwdgable article thnk you
God Bless you all

By Billow Adan abdi on 2008 08 07

Comment:

This article contains a wealth of information regarding the ethical consideration of public relations and its professionalism.
It covers basically every aspect of the discipline and helps practitioners and communication experts push for more transparency and advocacy in their work.
I have found it to be every useful to me as a Public relations scholar. I commend Shannon Bowen for his effort.

By glory uffang on 2008 08 13

Comment:

This article is well researched but my concern is the full development of Public Relations in Africa. If the governments in this part of the world back professional PR practitioners, then we can subsume ethical practices into governance as well as using PR as a tool for national development.

By: Oladimeji, an unemployed Public Relations man. He is equally looking for a PR mentor.

By Yusuff Oladimeji David on 2008 08 13

Comment:

I sometimes wonder if ethics is every considered anymore in PR. This article revived that spark in me that truely believes PR is a vital organ in the body of business.

By Monique on 2008 08 13

Comment:

This is a well researched academic pierce which ought to be adhered to for by PR practitioners. Thank u for the article.

By Julius Saule on 2008 08 14

Comment:

I liked this article. Currently, I work as a defense contractor at the U.S. Department of Defense Information School (DINFOS) - the military’s public affairs training institution - and a member of IABC. I have practiced public affairs for approximately 15 years. We teach a block on ethics and public affairs to entry level and mid-career military officers becoming practitioners. Can’t stress enough how right you are. The military does a great job of teaching ethical responsibility in communicaton, which has served me well as a professional practitioner. Good stuff.

By Sebastian G. Warren on 2008 08 26

Comment:

I am doing some training on PR ethics for my staff and have spent the afternoon looking for challenging ethical scenarios I can bring to the group for discussion. So far, I’ve found a fair amount of generic stuff, but not a lot that’s specific to PR. I suggest that you take some of the scenarios you get from your search and put together a tutorial type handout or exercise that professionals could use to get at some of the ethical problems that present themselves in our profession. I already plan to share your paper, but would love to have something more interactive.

By Jill McDonald on 2008 09 02

Comment:

I think this article is very detailed,extremely informative and very exciting and educative.
i enjoyed reading this article

By Ursulla Boatemaa Aboagye on 2008 09 15

Comment:

I want to thank all of you for your comments and feedback! Together, we can get ethics onto the agenda of our organizations and clients - and that will help public relations as a whole. Again, I really appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts here. You are welcome to email me privately at if you had rather not post publically.
THANKS!

By Shannon A Bowen (article author) on 2008 09 30

Comment:

I liked the content.It was useful for me to find out more about this fields.But i hope that all information regarding the PR will be include together.
Thank!

By Hakim on 2008 10 15

Comment:

this is a best information about the ethis and public relation. this information is helped me in my SYBMS PROJECT.

By ASHRAF SHAIKH on 2009 01 02

Comment:

As a prospective M.A. student in the field of public relations, I firmly believe that it is within every organization’s scope to be socially responsible. As an advertising media consultant for The Virgin Islands Daily News, I encounter people who view my position similarly to the description used in this article of PR with allegations that “the practice itself is akin to manipulation and propaganda.”

In one instance while promoting one of the company’s products for health professionals, I had one customer refer to me, my employer, and our publication as being unethical because she did not believe that physicians should utilize media to promote their business. After a lengthy discussion, I still was not able to sway her ideology, but I was at least able to explain and defend my company’s stance in providing quality products and information to the public and our advertisers.

Reading your article reminded me of the challenges that those within PR and related fields such as Advertising & Marketing can face sometimes. Yet, I am confident to see that we continue to make positive strides by recapturing the publics trust through honest and socially responsible decisions and I hope that in my studies, I will be able to eventually contribute positively to the field of PR. Thanks, so much for your article Dr. Bowen. It was greatly appreciated.

By Trevor S. Joseph on 2009 01 14

Comment:

Thank you so much. This article was the last minute savior of my capstone project.

By Ekram Al-Yacoub on 2009 02 17

Comment:

this is the reseach its the importance for me because i was study about ethic of public relations in arab and i have suggest code of ethics to arab .
its reasearch very good to all students ,
Waleed Khalafallah mohammed diab
Assistant teaching in mass communication
faculty of the arts- south valley university - Egypt

By waleed khalafallah mohammed on 2009 02 25

Comment:

In the field of public relations, ethical dilemmas among practitioners are ubiquitous. Constantly facing conflicting views requires professionals to be prepared to make the best choices for their clients based on the most logical reasoning – that is where the study of ethics can play an important role. Ideally, organizations that follow ethical guidelines and practices will be able to promote just behavior among their employees, allowing for less conflict between individuals’ sense of moral philosophy. Ethics is important in public relations because it has the ability to foster trust, which is a vital component in building relationships with publics (Bowen, 2007). Thus, public relations practitioners have an important role to play. Practitioners that are skilled in the ethical decision making when faced with conflicts are able to make unbiased and reasonable decisions, and are equipped to guide their organization in the most ethical direction.
According to Bowen’s article, many view the term “ethical public relations” as an oxymoron. Organizations like Corporate Watch are quick to point fingers at the practice of public relations as “having a very significant deleterious impact on the democratic process”, while others view public relations as promoting the idea that the “powerful are protected from the weak”. Public relations being portrayed as unethical is not entirely unwarranted considering the current dishonest business practices among public relations firms and the fact the field was founded on the principles of manipulation and deceit (Bowen, 2007). However, it is important to note that it is not the only industry in the communications field that has exhibits unethical behavior. For example, journalists have portrayed Muslims in a negative light by only focusing on growing terrorism, among Islamic fundamental groups. As a result many individuals have painted Muslims with a broad brush, causing racism and even hostility. Thanks to public relations however, there are campaigns being implemented to show Muslims in a different view, and possibly a more truthful one. At a recent ICIM meeting dozens of Muslim countries agreed that two-way communication was needed to improve the image of Islam abroad. The spokesman of Morocco proposed a media code of ethics that would “convey a well thought-out media message based on its ability to ask itself questions and also its mission of reaching out to others...our media must emphasize this and put over the true picture of who we (Muslims) really are”(http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/articles/2009/02/02/feature-02). Using public relations to negate the poor image of an entire religion created by one-sided journalism through mutual understanding hardly seems unethical. This example supports the idea that two-way dialogue will inevitably lead to the truth, as Bowen claims. By following Kant’s claim that everyone has a duty to tell the truth (Plaisance, 2009) public relations is exhibiting ethical behavior that not only promotes a socially just environment, but it also gives credibility to the entire communications field.
Surely, there are still public relations campaigns today whose sole mission is to persuade their publics regardless of ethical implications, but current trends suggest that public relations is evolving into a field that is consistent with deontological ethical behavior. More organizations are following the two-way symmetrical model of public relations (Bowen, 2007) by focusing on mutually beneficial relationships that use dialogue instead of persuasion. The emphasis on mutual understanding presupposes the organization’s commitment to the dignity and respect of publics, following Kant’s principle of good will (Bowen, 2007). Although some public relations practitioners follow Kant’s principle of universality and autonomy (Plaisance, 2009) in their decision making, not all do – preventing the establishment of public relations as an ethical profession.
In order for public relations to be considered a credible profession, it must meet the same rigorous standards as other legitimate professions. For example, medicine and law require a specialized education as well as the commitment to a set of ethical guidelines. Violation of the ethical code jeopardizes the ability to continue to practice in that field. Ethics training as well as the establishment of a universal code of ethics should be implemented so that the profession can evolve and ensure ethically-trained practitioners in the future.

By Mehvesh on 2009 03 03

Comment:

I think this article will help many people in the Public Relations field in creating ethics programs within their business or at the university level so that ethical decisions become the norm in this field. This article highlights the reasoning and the positive benefits from using ethical methods of reaching decisions. By including the various publics into the discussion on an ethical issue, through symmetrical communication, businesses and the public relations industry will be able to reduce the stigma left from previous generations’ ideas of what public relations is.

One thing that I would like to point out about ethical decisions is the notion of the intention behind the act. In this article, the dialogical and deontological approaches make mention of the intention behind the decision, but utilitarianism and other methods of decision-making should also consider this. A quote from Bowen’s article that illustrates this concept is from Kent and Taylor: “If one partner subverts the dialogic process through manipulation, disconfirmation, or exclusion, then the end result will not be dialogic.” Generalizing this idea, an ethical decision made with amoral intentions, will not be an ethical decision.

The 20th century psychologist, Lawrence Kohlberg, developed a series of levels categorizing moral reasoning (De George, 2006). In his preconventional level, he states that people do what is right based on the simplistic standards of not being punished or receiving a reward for good actions. These two methods of decision-making will result in a good decision, but they are made with self-interested intentions. While the decision made by a public relations practitioner will result in a positive decision, it will not be an ethical decision.

The second level of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development deals with conforming to societal and legal norms. This level, called the conventional level, states that people will behave according to what society and what the legal system, or another source of authority, says is the correct behavior. This level, again, produces a good decision by a public relations practitioner, but again, it is not an ethical decision.

An ethical decision, using Kohlberg’s theory, comes from the postconventional level. In this level, moral norms are accepted not because society or the legal system says they should be accepted, but because the rights of the individual are important, making certain morals right. At the highest level, a person acts in a conscious manner because the moral law tells them to act that way.

Using these reasons for making an ethical decision will determine whether the decision is truly an ethical one. A decision based on the preconventional and conventional stages of moral reasoning will result in a less ethical decision than one based on the postconventional stages. This idea is already found in the deontological process with the third form of Kant’s Categorical Imperative. In this form, the intention behind the act is one of moral duty rather than self-interest or societal norms. In addition, this concept is also found in the dialogical process as discussed above. The only process of decision-making lacking a moral base is the utilitarianism method. This method relies on the principle of doing the most good while doing the least amount of harm. To make a utilitarian decision on par, ethically, with the previous two methods, the reasoning for carrying out the decision should come from the postconventional level rather than from the previous two levels.

De George, R. T. (2006). Business ethics (6th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

By Marie K. Rieck (345) on 2009 03 04

Comment:

While there is a current trend moving towards ethics in Public Relations, is it possible that the history of the professional might have created such a negative branding that popular opinion will echo a similar sentiment? Also, while there is a chance for a change in opinion with the current innovations in technology and an increasing amount of companies that actively show their focus on ethics, how long will this change in perception take? While there is evidence that a brand can change its image in a quick period of time, these brands were only able to do so using consistent actions with a unified goal and attitude by all people of the organizations. For example, the quick revolution of attitude towards Tylenol after the deaths of some of the consumers due to cyanide poisoning in the 1980s or the branding of Abercrombie and Fitch from a luxury line of safari clothing to a high-volume, middle-class clothing retail chain within only a couple decades.
The problem with rebranding of a profession lies in not only people’s deep-seeded predispositions, but also the lack of unity in the message. As stated in the article, “Reporting directly to the CEO is the best possible case because the top communicator does not have to rely on others to convey their advice and perspective to the CEO, who is the final decision maker.” At the same time, the CEO still reserves the right to disregard the advice of the ethics consultant and make his own decision. In a similar case, who is to say that a company will use the advice of a firm?
In essence, one can argue that not only do professionals have to use ethics in their own consulting, but also all clients and superiors will have to heed their advice of these professionals for the professional to really consistently portray their message. While in an ideal world for PR professionals, this would be possible, the truth of the matter is that people make mistakes as it is only natural and only one unethical mistake can simply reinforce old perceptions and prevent a change of opinion. While most ethics statements can be considered categorical imperatives seeing as they “…hold as cross-cultural and universal moral principles the concepts of honesty, fairness, and not harming others,” many people break categorical imperatives despite how simple some may be due to simple human error in perception.
Also, consider some of the biggest users of PR professionals—large corporations. While most companies have strong ethical directions and hold their employees to the highest degree of accountability, the general public holds a cynical view of major corporations because of the actions of just a view. In a February 28, 2009 lecture, Gary Sheffer, Executive Director of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at General Electric Company, exemplified this concept with the startling fact that a murdering character in the media is 21 times more likely to be a businessperson than a mobster. Therefore, one can argue that it is not just the PR profession that is disliked by the general public, but rather most business professionals.
In summation, ethical education and in action in the field of Public Relations is important to the advancement of the profession and the advancement of the organizations affected by the profession. At the same time, there is still a large possibility that the general public will continue to hold its negative opinion of the profession due to predispositions stemming from the unethical history of the profession, isolated breaks from the accepted ethical behavior in the industry, and close ties to an entity that also has a poor public reputation despite the current actions.
A current trend in breaking from this poor public image, especially with technology innovations, is the creation of new position names to differentiate professionals from the over arching profession of Public Relations. For example, the position of web content manager generally falls into the category of PR because it focuses on creating content that will reach a targeted public and analyzes how will the public reacts to the content. However, when the general public thinks of a web content manager, they do not associate the position with the supposed unethical actions of a PR professional or even the strategic swaying of public opinion. With this sentiment, can one argue that changing the name of the field in general would create a new brand for the profession that might have a better public image?

By David Lewis on 2009 03 04

Comment:

After reading a few paragraphs of the article a few thoughts came to mind that you touched on later into the article. The first thought is that many critics of the public relations profession and public relations practitioners do not really understand all that public relations encompasses and all that public relations practitioners do.

A common belief held by critics is that all public relations practitioners do is spin stories to the media and the public to make the company they represent look as favorable as possible. These critics do not understand the full array of responsibilities a public relations practitioner has. If these critics were aware of other duties a practitioner has such as employee relations or being the ethical voice in the company as you mention, then I am sure that many of these critics would be silenced.

Another thought that came to mind that you mentioned was that the public relations industry is a relatively new one and just like any new industry it needs to evolve and mature. I think that one of the major ways the public relations industry will evolve will be to hold more value in having strong ethics. Part of this evolution has already occurred as the primary type of public relations practiced has changed from a one-way model to a two-way model.

There are two ways that I think are very important to establish this heightened level of ethics. First, more education, if practitioners do not correctly understand the importance of ethics or understand ethics they will not be able to practice ethics correctly or effectively. Another way to achieve this ethics goal is to make membership of a governing body mandatory. This governing body would serve in a similar way to a state bar for attorneys. To be able to practice public relations the practitioner has to be a member. If the practitioner fails to maintain his or her ethics, then he or she will either be suspended or have his or her license revoked.

This governing body could also require attendance to a certain amount of lectures or presentations every year. This could provide an opportunity for continued education in ethics as well as discussions on topics such as deontology versus utilitarianism, or a way to effectively combine both theories.

Achieving this goal will certainly take many years and dedication by leaders in the industry as well as cooperation among business leaders to value the membership in the governing body and only hire members of that body.

Cooperation among CEOs and other high ranking officers of companies will be very crucial to fixing this image of public relations. Public relations practitioners should be given direct access to the dominant coalition, if not become members of the dominant coalition themselves. Having access to the top decision makers and being able to communicate with them directly will help the chief officers make ethical decisions. A proper education in ethics is crucial to public relations practitioners explaining the importance of ethical behavior to a company’s decision makers. In a capitalist society it may be more difficult to make ethical decisions when the primary goal is to make a profit. However, as stated in your chapter “The Extent of Ethics” in the book The Future of Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management, an organization can create stronger relationships with its clients if the clients can expect consistently ethical behavior (P. 276).

The success of public relations practitioners will be mutually beneficial to businesses and corporations. Establishing a consistent relationship on ethics between public relations practitioners and business decision makers will be difficult. There are fundamental challenges as Western culture is so focused on outcomes (Plaisance, P. 5). A proper education in ethics can help conquer these challenges. For example, with a business person so focused on results and outcomes, an ethical decision may be more easily explained in a utilitarian way, or a hybrid of deontology and utilitarianism rather than a complete deontological way.

The fight for a positive image of the public relations industry should not be fought directly. As the cliché goes, “Actions speak louder than words.” By the public relations industry making a concerted effort to improve itself ethically, an improved image should follow.

By Joey Persoff on 2009 03 04

Comment:

Gregory Sides
PRL 345: Professor Bowen
March 3, 2009
The Falsity of being Autonomous
It has been argued in this piece that Deontology, “deems ethical only acts with a purely good motive…one must attempt to be as autonomous, unbiased and objective as possible” (Bowen, 2008). I believe this only to be possible in a perfect world, a utopia if you will. I do agree with the philosophy and believe it is the best way to reach ethical solutions. However I wish to complicate the idea of a person being objective with the counter that, “the person is political” a phrase that is widely used by feminist scholars with its source unknown. The ability to be autonomous would only work if a person could remove their location, identity and history from the picture which I do not believe to be possible. However effective the Deontological approach to ethics may be, its core idea of being an autonomous objector must be questioned.
As is pointed out in the article, “The PR Officer As Corporate Conscience” by Michael Ryan and David Martinson, “A public relations professional whose personal sense of right and wrong conflicts with the management decisions of those he works for or represents should find another job or client” (Ryan, 1983). I start with this quote because it speaks to the knowledge that it is not possible to really be objective, because your own personal set of morals and ethics can conflict with that of your employers. Further this quote serves as a cautionary to ensure a person understands the morals and ethics of the company or client they are working for. Deontology speaks of a universal morality, not one that is conditional. So the idea of being objective in a conditional circumstance makes even less sense.
Another point which seems less obvious but is equally important is that ethics training is not very common for public relations practitioners. Even more startling is the fact that, “this study also reveals that a proportionally greater number of men (43%) received training once hired than did their female counterparts (32%)” (Bowen, 2008). It creates a problem in being objective for two reasons. First, without complete understand of Deontology and Utilitarianism neither is appropriately applied to an ethical dilemma, and second as the data shows female practitioners are even less able. Education in ethics is paramount, I know this first hand. Before taking this course I had little to no understanding of how ethics worked in public relations, in fact I assumed there was no such thing. The fact that there are so many schools of thought associated with ethics and that they can be used to find appropriate and accountable solutions is a new concept to me. Without education, how is a public relations professional supposed to know this information, and further know anything about being objective and autonomous?
The idea that the personal is political comes from the fact that we are unable to truly extricate ourselves from our social and cultural history. All the decisions we make, whether we think them to be independent or not, are governed by larger institutions and practices. Women do not just wear make-up for their own satisfaction. Women do it for the satisfaction of others. That satisfaction was created, marketed, and sold to us by the media and advertisers, and in no way is wearing make-up separate from our standards and expectations of beauty. I use this as an example because it clearly demonstrates we are unable to step outside ourselves in the decisions that we make.
The idea of autonomy and objectivity then is just that, an idea but one that cannot be fully applied. It should not be expected by CEOs and other corporate heads that a person can be fully objective and autonomous. The idea of attempting this should be a goal, but not an expectation. Finding solutions to ethical dilemmas is incredibly important for a public relations practitioner but in order for all of them to not be fired, it must be understood that this idea of objectivity and autonomy is unreachable. As I stated, in order for such a thing to be realized we would have to live in a utopia. In that case there would not be any ethical dilemmas to deal with would there?

Works Cited
Bowen, Shannon A. “Ethics and Public Relations.” Weblog post. Essential Knowledge Project. 30 Oct. 2007. 3 Mar. 2009 <http://www.instituteforpr.org/essential_knowledge/detail/ethics_and_public_relations>.
Ryan, Michael, and David L. Martinson. “The PR Officer As Corporate Conscience.” Public Relations Quarterly (1983): 20-23.

By Gregory Sides on 2009 03 04

Comment:

As a graduating public-relations student I’ve grown quite familiar with the “so what do you want to do after graduation” question. Perhaps even more routine is the response that follows when I say I’d like to go into PR: “oh I see, so you want to be a spin doctor!” Initially, this response infuriated me and led me into a frenzy of reasons why public relations practitioners are not spin doctors (we help companies reach their goals! everyone needs PR! We don’t spin anything, we just put forth the information that we need to!). Over time though, I’ve realized my own arguments for why PR isn’t spinng probably aren’t helping my case.

This is why studying ethics is so important. As you explained, engaging in proper analysis, whether you use utilitarianism or deontological approaches, gives you a solid framwork and logical reasoning for making sound and ethical decisions. Not only will your decisions be more ethical but top management, publics and peers will be able to follow the decision-making process and recognize that you are not in fact ‘spinning’, rather you are following a process that leads to an ethical decision.

Although it seems that as people we engage more often in a utilitarianism approach, I think that by educating ourselves in ethics we can recognize when utilitarianism versus deontological is most appropriate for our organization. For example, a company is planning to put out a new drug that in tests has been shown to severely reduce pain in 94 out of 100 throat cancer patients. However, the other 6 out of the 100 have actually developed more painful symptoms and died as a result of taking the drug. According to utilitarianism, more people are benefited than are harmed. Is it still an ethical decision to release the drug even though you know it harms and kills 6 percent of those who take it?

Ethics is a complex subject and this article successfully lays out the reasons why it is so necessary and crucial to public relations and corporate management. I am taking an ethics course as a way to fill my Critical Perspectives credit in school. A few months into the course I am recognizing how valuable it will be for me as an emerging public relations professional. I wish that rather than an elective, it was a required part of the public relations curriculum. I think that even if you only grab a little comprehension about how to be truly ethical, it is beneficial to you and your organization.

By Allie MacPherson on 2009 03 05

Comment:

It is clear that corporate scandals like Enron have made some skeptic of the ethics of business and public relations. I am not sure from what “ethical” perspective the public relations department of Enron chose to handle the predicament the company faced. There are multiple ways to promote ethical PR practices in business, so it is hard to decide exactly what approach is most effective. PR departments may decide the best ethical approach on a case by case basis, but there needs to be some prior set of ethics guidelines and training set in place for it to truly be effective. The IABC survey mentioned in the article stated that 65% of PR employees never had on-the-job ethics training (I think this is a surprisingly high percentage). The PR department acts as the conscious of the corporation and cannot simply be expected to make the right ethical decisions without formal training.
The actual structure of the public relations department is an extremely important part of the ethics process. The article states that access to the CEO of a company is vital for its ethical development. I couldn’t agree more because when the CEO has complete authority over the PR department, unethical material decisions can result. While the CEO may want what is best for the company, this may not always be the most ethical decision. The participative organization and Theory Y management have been proven in case studies to be an effective structure for positive ethical development (Bowen 2004). A decentralized management style that favors open dialogue allows the PR department to have equal input and will ultimately put ethics ahead of the company’s image.
While the structure of the PR department and its relation to management is important, so are the ethical guidelines being given. A business can make a mission statement, but if it takes the wrong approach its effectiveness is limited. I feel that in PR, utilitarianism should be avoided in favor of Emanuel Kant’s deontological approach and the Categorical Imperative. Applying utilitarianism to ethics means we are creating the greatest good for the greatest amount of people (Hansen Horn and Neff 2008). This reduces the opinion of those in the minority and is not fair to everyone. Instead, deontology respects both the majority and minority in favor of the principles of right and wrong (Hansen Horn and Neff 2008). Utilitarianism is dangerous because the greatest good may be based on principles that are immoral.
The second form of the Categorical Imperative specifically contradicts the definition of utilitarianism. It states that, “Act in a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other never simply as a means, but always at the same time an end (Kant 1785/1964). The respect of the minority group is just as important as the majority, and dignity must be maintained with both. I feel that this aspect is especially important when looking at the relationship between an organization and its publics. The Categorical Imperative also states that a principle should be acted on as if it were a universal law (Kant 1785/1964). Would those in the minority of utilitarianism accept a universal law that hinders their well being or livelihood? The answer is no, and further points to the idea that while it may be a more difficult to implement, application of the Categorical Imperative leads to morally ethical outcomes.
In addition to my own preference for the deontological approach, its effectiveness has been proven in actual PR case studies. A pharmaceutical company in one case study was an industry renowned leader in ethics because they promoted the use of deontology in their ethics statement and training (Bowen 2004). Among the heads of the organization there was a sense of duty to promote and do the morally right thing over the greater good. The company did not focus on the possible ethical outcomes of their decisions because, “If you do what is right, the consequences take care of themselves” (Bowen 2004). While this may be a simplistic view of an ethical approach to PR, it helps capture the direction business should be taking in regards to moral development training.

By Ben Morris on 2009 03 05

Comment:

It’s pretty disheartening to hear that the professional industry that I am about to enter is regarded as a field that deals with “all things unethical—lying, spin doctoring, and even espionage,” according to Dr. Bowen’s article. It’s a shame to know that no matter how much undergraduate public relations ethics training we have, the reputation of the industry is tarnished by the fact that many people think public relations is based on manipulation and deception. Because of this, it is apparent that the industry is facing, what Dr. Bowen calls, an “identity crisis.” I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Bowen’s article, especially when she writes, “Not preparing young practitioners to deal with ethics disadvantages them in their career aspirations and harms the reputation of the public relations profession itself.”

Public relations isn’t a heavily regulated industry and according to Dr. Bowen’s article, practitioners rely mostly on the ethical standards held by the professional organizations in which they belong. As it turns out, many practitioners don’t even belong to such groups, and those who do say that the codes of ethics are “often too vague to be useful in their own careers,” according to the article. It’s shameful to say that there are no permanent, regulatory guidelines and codes of ethics that practitioners must follow. These codes of ethics exist for a variety of other professions, affecting doctors and lawyers to name a few. If doctors or lawyers were to engage in unethical conduct, they would face the possibility of disbarment or medical malpractice, thus posing serious threats to their respective careers. If public relations practitioners were to behave unethically, there is no written code in existence that can appropriately punish or reprimand them, and because of this, unethical behaviors are often repeated time and time again in the industry. Of unethical practitioners, the article states, “Most codes of ethics provide no enforcement monitoring or recourse for their infringement, leaving them impotent other than the occasional revocation of association membership.”

With the establishment of universally written guidelines for the strict regulation of ethical behavior, public relations could establish itself as a more respected, ethical industry. I believe that by applying concepts of deontology to written guidelines, public relations practitioners would have an easier time in determining what actions are or are not moral. Richard T. De George writes, “Deontologists maintain that actions are morally right or wrong independent of the consequences,” (De George 77). This interpretation would force public relations practitioners to weigh the options and carefully consider how morally right or wrong a decision is before carrying it out. De George goes on to say, “Certain responsibilities also go with one’s job and one’s place in an organization. Some of these responsibilities are legal responsibilities, and some are moral responsibilities…In a general sense each of us is responsible for all of his or her actions,” (De George 111). Everyone has a certain level of moral responsibility and it doesn’t seem right that public relations practitioners don’t have a code of ethics to follow, especially since many practitioners deal with upper management at multinational corporations. As mentioned in the article above, “Public relations practitioners around the world reported that 65% of them have regular access to the ‘dominant coalition’ or the decision making executive level of their organizations.” It is crucial to train these practitioners and establish guidelines for them to follow since so many of them regularly advise upper management. According to the article, it can be assumed that many practitioners would be “ill-prepared to face an ethical dilemma if they have had no professional experience with ethics to support them.” This would severely hurt the reputations of the corporations being represented and it would shine a negative light on the practice of public relations to the public.

According to the findings of the IABC, as mentioned in the article above, the majority of participants said they had little, if any academic training or study of ethics prior to entering the field. As a student at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, I am getting, arguably, the best education possible to ready me for a career in the field of public relations. Although the courses I have taken have taught me about the theory, history, and practice of public relations, it wasn’t until this year that I was given an in-depth look at the ethical side of public relations. It should be required that all public relations practitioners receive sufficient education about public relations ethics before entering the field because I feel like as a Newhouse student, if this is the only public relations ethics training I’ll ever receive, what kind of ethics training are other students getting elsewhere at schools that are not as prestigious as Newhouse? If future practitioners are educated early on about public relations ethics, and are then required to abide by professional, regulated guidelines once they enter the field, we can make strides to permanently remove the label that brands public relations as unethical.

Works Cited
De George, Richard T. Business Ethics. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.

By Hannah Risler on 2009 03 05

Comment:

Ethics are now of the utmost importance to a Business. I think one thing that definitely speaks volumes is how more and more practitioners have access to the CEO. I think that businesses definitely overlook the importance of a sound ethical voice, because in this new age of social networking, people can become activists much more easily while still as effectively.
Corporations, however, should not base their ethical principle on the basis of not wanting to anger the consumer. True, it does create some ethical guidelines for behavior and will definitely create a cooperative environment for people to exist in; it still falls short under the deontological approach. Deontology as a moral philosophy’s very essence is the notion of Good Will. Kant argued that out of all the values in the world, including truth, loyalty, courage etc. that that the only one that was ethical was good will. If a corporation loses sight of why it has an ethical voice and just does it as a beneficial economic practice, then according to a deontological approach, that company’s ethical voice is unethical!
One thing that wasn’t mentioned in the article is relativism. I think that relativism is a very important facet to the study of ethics, especially in an increasingly globalized world. DeGeorge (2006) believed that relativism has an ethical twist through the notion of Normative Ethical Relativism. “Normative ethical relativism claims that when any two cultures or any two people hold different moral views of an action, both can be right”. The classic business example is bribery. Bribery is illegal in the US, however in many eastern cultures, bribery is considered almost necessary to complete a business action.
Now one thing about normative ethical relativism is that people sometimes write it off as impossible to follow because if ethics is relative then we have no way of knowing what is ethical behavior. Furthermore, we cannot reject any action from a foreign business partner as unethical. This is simply not true. If child labor is prevalent in a country that you want to build a factory in, then you should stick to your corporation’s and your own code of ethics and build elsewhere. Ethical relativism is important to promote cultural understanding and deliberated thinking when dealing with ethical issues, and is simply another tool that a public relations practitioner can have under his or her belt when in the field.
Public relations professionals should definitely become the ethical voice of an organization. “Public relations professionals are often best suited to the role of ethical conscience in an organization, because other management functions (such as finance, legal, and operations) often do not stop to consider how a decision will be perceived by many publics (Hansen-Horn and Neff, 2008). They have more experience in dealing with publics and their issues management. I think that ethics as a discipline in PR should be mandatory for all degrees.

By Andrew Bennett on 2009 03 05

Comment:

After reading Dr. Shannon Bowen’s Essential Knowledge Project piece for the Institute for Public Relations, Ethics and Public Relations, I was struck with the realization that many people in the world today think of public relations professionals as simply spin doctors or amoral advocates. I was reminded of the movie Thank You for Smoking, released in 2005 by director Jason Reitman. This movie is a satire on the entire public relations industry, but focuses mainly on the corrupt nature of lobbying (Reitman, 2005). By far the most revealing quote about how the general public views public relations is said by the main character, Nick Naylor, who is played by Aaron Eckhart. He says to his son, “My job requires a moral flexibility that goes beyond most people.” (Reitman, 2005)

Then, it struck me, am I going into an amoral profession? Is that how people really view public relations professionals? Is anyone doing anything to combat this spin doctor, amoral advocate image? Does this kind of bastardization of the truth really happen in public relations? Most importantly, how do I make sure that I have the tools to make moral, ethical decisions that do not require “flexible morals”?

The answers to those questions came through reading Bowen’s article. She allayed most of my fears of going into a totally amoral climate, while proposing ethics education to combat amoral behavior (Bowen, 2007). She does outline the past ethical shortcomings of public relations throughout history, including the Hill and Knowlton Citizens for a Free Kuwait scandal, but in the end, she leaves us with hope that through ethical education, public relations practitioners can become the ethical conscience of their organizations and rationally argue for ethical corporate choices (Bowen, 2007).

I think the most important take home message from this article is that there are ethical public relations practitioners and will continue to be through ethical education. Many responsible companies are instituting this kind of ethics training for all their employees to facilitate ethical dialogue (Bowen, 2004, p. 318). I also think it is very important to mention the organizations that do take ethics seriously, because they exist and there are certain characteristics that make them exceptionally ethical. Bowen writes about one of these exemplar organizations in Organizational Factors Encouraging Ethical Decision Making: An Exploration into the Case of an Exemplar. She isolates several factors that make this organization ethically sound. These factors are: the organizational structure itself, each individual’s commitment to ethical decision making, a participatory management style and an institutionalized ethics training seminar (Bowen, 2004, p. 316-320).

The individual company’s corporate culture and management style is very important to ensure ethical decision making. In the exemplar organization, the management welcomed ethical challenges and the saw this as the best way to come to an ethical, moral decision (Bowen, 2004, p. 317). Also, the symmetrical model of management, like the symmetrical model of public relations, facilitates greater understanding between publics, whether between employees and management or an organization and its consumers (Bowen, 2004, p. 317). This is also what Bowen calls, “dialogical ethics” which involve creating a dialogue so that the publics effected have input on the ethical decision (Bowen, 2007). This symmetrical management model, which facilitates discussion of ethical issues, allows all employees to contribute to the ethical discussion, but especially helps public relations professionals act as the ethical conscious of the organization without fear of retribution.

As Michael Ryan and David Martinson said in their article, The PR Officer as Corporate Conscience, “Public relations officers in the very best corporations already enjoy substantial independence and they act unofficially at least—as corporate consciences.” (Ryan, Martinson, 1983, p. 20) They are already skilled at communicating and considering the options for each public, therefore public relations officers are already well suited for this position. This translates well to the deontological approach to ethics and the universal ethical forms laid out in Kant’s Categorical Imperative (Bowen, 2009, handout). The first form of the categorical imperative states, “Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that is should become a universal law,” and the second form states, “Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end.” (Kant, 1785/1964, p. 88, 96) Both the first and second forms of the Categorical Imperative apply to the application of ethics by a public relations practitioner as a corporate conscience because they both consider the effect on the publics.

In the end, Bowen’s article leaves us with hope for an ethical future of public relations (Bowen, 2007). The ethical public relations practitioner is not a myth, but a reality and can play a vital role in his or her organization given proper ethics training. It is for this reason I feel lucky to have ethical training in public relations. I think Bowen really sums up what needs to be done to ensure ethical decision making when she says, “Public relations professionals need both experience managing ethical issues and academic study of ethics.” (Bowen, 2007) Through this study and practice, we, as public relations professionals can help to transform the image of our profession from that of amoral spin doctors to ethical facilitators of corporate communication.

By Jaclyn A Pfaehler on 2009 03 05

Comment:

Perhaps it is obvious from such a title as Public Relations that the function of the practitioner is to build relationships between the public and the organization. Thus acting ethically nurtures a strong relationship in addition to organizational effectiveness in achieving long-term financial success. Gower (2003) explained, “The practice of public relations is about relationships, and relationships are that the heart of ethics” (p.1). As with any relationship, there are obvious virtues and practices that strengthen it.

Marcus Aurelius defines four virtues that he sees as most important in relation to public: justice, fortitude, wisdom and temperance. In addition are virtues that are a priory truths of public relations such as honesty, integrity, fairness, the value of life and open communication. As discussed in the blog, such virtues and truths should be practiced on a regular basis, not only in times of need.

To ensure it is practiced the blog says that instilling a code of ethics and training employees on the organizations ethics can help. I would add that having a participatory forum at an organization fosters the practice of ethics. Bowen studied a case on a Pharmaceutical company’s practice of ethics. The company studied was well known for “the premium in places on ethical decision making and open communication” (Bowen, 2004, p. 321). In addition, this particular company is referred to in many public relations texts as “an ideal illustration of how to communicate ethically about dilemmas” (Bowen, 2004, p. 321).

The company incorporates their ethics statement effectively in their business practices by a frequent referral to the statement in times of decision-making and during employee training programs. To further support the practice of ethics in the company, and what I believe to be crucial, the organizational culture was participative rather than authoritarian. “Participation and input from employees on the ethics of issues was sought and expected by senior management” (Bowen, 2004, p. 317). The company valued ethical deliberation, which Bowen says became quite apparent from interviews with employees and management. The company is committed to group discussion and the examination of ethical dilemmas. “This organization’s participatory structure encourages innovation by allowing individual reflection and demanding input into group decision making on ethical issues” (Bowen, 2004, p. 317). The organization practiced a decentralized and collaborative management style, which ultimately fostered ethical behavior by individuals and by the company.

When faced with dilemmas the blog defines two kinds of decision making techniques: utilitarian and deontological. Employing the deontological model proved successful for the Pharmaceutical Company studied by Bowen. An effective way to apply this model in making an ethical, and rational, decision is by using Kant’s Categorical Imperative. Run your decision through Kant’s test: 1. would you want your decision to be universal? That is in every situation like yours, would you want your decision to be applied. 2. Are you treating the situation (or people) with dignity and respect, not using them to benefit yourself or the organization? 3. What is the intention? Your intention should be good or for moral good will. If you can pass a majority of these three questions with confidence, then you now have rationale as to why your decision is ethical, which, as the blog says, is then “easier to explain and defend to the publics. And although the public may not agree, they can at least understand” (Bowen 2007).

I feel that it is also important to know that communication with the public is not one sided; rather there should be open communication. The blog illustrates this concept by defining the difference between advocacy and dialogue. We should think of the role of the public relations person more as a means of dialogue with the public rather than advocating to the public. Public relations should not be a one sided persuasion. In fact, input from the public can alter an organization in a positive way because dialogue between public and organization is, as the blog says, “an ongoing process of understanding and relationship” (Bowen 2007). Bowen (2007) says in the blog that “symmetrical communication is inherently ethical,” which “helps the organization have successful interactions with its environment.”

The practice of ethics in public relations is essential in building a strong relationship between the public and organization. A participatory forum within the organization fosters the practice. In the occurrence of an ethical dilemma, Kant’s Categorical Imperative provides a logical model for decision making, which can later be rationalized. Furthermore, open communication facilitates the building and maintenance of relationships between the public and organization

Works Cited:
Bowen, S.A.: 2004, ‘Organizational Factors Encouraging Ethical Decision Making: An Exploration into the Case of an Exemplar’, Journal of Business Ethics 52: 311-324.

Bowen, S.A.: 2007, ‘Ethics and Public Relations’, Institute for Public Relations

Gower, K. K.: 2003, Legal and Ethical Restraints on Public Relations (Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, IL).

By Amanda Coriddi on 2009 03 05

Comment:

While many people question the possibility of ethical public relations, I believe that it is indeed possible. However, I think that it depends on a few factors, mainly within which industry the public relations is being practiced and what the goal or outcome is. When thinking of public relations, many people automatically think of the entertainment industry. While public relations plays a huge role in this industry, I would not consider it an ethical role. This is because the style of public relations in this industry is mainly press agentry/publicity; the main objective is to promote an image and have a monetary gain. In this type of public relations, I believe it is very difficult to be ethical because the underlying objective is slightly unethical, and the industry does not really thrive on being ethical. Also, for most cases, people’s lives are not at stake and there are not large responsibilities being placed on organizations. However, organizations in the business and consumer products industries have a much larger responsibility for being ethical. Companies who provide services or goods are responsible, in some part, for the livelihood of their consumer.

It also appears to me that public relations practitioners whom are outside an organization, have more of an opportunity to be less ethical than those practitioners who reside inside an organization. I feel those practitioners who reside in the organization have more of a responsibility to the company and therefore must make ethical decisions (assuming the company is an ethical company). Outside PR practitioners have more leeway because they are not necessarily attached to the organization.

In response to the statement, “Research found that some practitioners say they see a code of ethics once and then do not refer to it or read it again,” I believe it is vital for organizations to have ethics training for their employees. In order for ethics training to be effective, an organization must have a clear ethics statement that is followed rigorously. Top-level executives have to set an example of being ethical in order for the rest of the organization to follow.

The importance of learning about ethics ahead of time should not be overlooked. It is crucial for organizations to know and understand the practice of ethics before they are confronted with a sticky situation. By then, it is too late. For example, in the 1980s Johnson and Johnson was faced with an ethical decision when several people died after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol pills which had been poisoned. They were faced with pulling the product off the shelves and conducting extensive research, or leaving the product out there, hoping the situation would pass. Johnson and Johnson is known for being an ethical company and proved so by removing the product from shelves. Although approval ratings dropped rapidly, they quickly recovered and after an introduction of new tamper-proof packaging, ratings went right back up and Tylenol became a trusted brand once again. If Johnson and Johnson had had no background in ethics, the situation could have gone much worse. However, because they are significantly trained in ethics, they were able to handle the situation smoothly and ethically.

It is also important for companies to have a balance between utilitarian and deontological approaches in ethics. A company must outline their core values in a code of ethics that the whole company can refer to and use. It is important to use both utilitarian and deontological approaches in order to round out the disadvantages that come with each. While utilitarian decisions can be made relatively quickly, they do not always take into consideration a minority. By using both approaches, a company can assess not only the greatest good for the greatest number, but also if they are making virtuous decisions.

By Alexandra Yeske on 2009 03 05

Comment:

One of the very first aspects that I found striking, was the notion that the phrase “public relations ethics,” is considered to be an oxymoron. This is of course is due to the deception that has inherently been involved throughout the history of public relations, and after reading this article I would assume that I am ignorant for thinking otherwise. The truth is that before I read this article I did not have a history of public relations, or at least a summarized history. It could be ignorance, or maybe optimism, but I had always equated public relations with ethical decision making, or a sort of damage control in its worst capacity. Damage control is making proactive steps after the blunder of a person or company in an effort to improve said client’s image and reputation. Such positive steps could include community service or philanthropic events, of course after a sincere public apology; no deceit, just regret.
Take the recent case with Michael Phelps and his damage control: I’m sure everyone has been oversaturated with opinions, but let’s try one more. He was the golden boy of America, and could do no wrong in the public’s eye with millions of dollars invested in him by sponsors. Then, oh no! He gets caught smoking out of a bong. His career is over, image shattered; how is he going to respond with the team that works with him at Octagon? He admits it immediately, and regretfully, and what I believe to be sincerity. He is a 23-year-old young adult whose every footstep is unfortunately watched by the media, god forbid he missteps again and loses a swim race next. I am not saying what he did was right or justifiable, but I am taking into account the fact that everyone messes up at some point or another, in some fashion, and if you haven’t, then you have not had the benefit and humility of learning from your own mistakes. Not unlike Phelps’s rebound from his DUI in 2004, which some may view these two incidents as continued irresponsible behavior and destructive. Although marijuana is illegal, driving under the influence of alcohol endangers the lives of other people, and I didn’t even know about the DUI before the smoking picture was released. What if the shot of Phelps was not of a bong in London, but of his indulgence in a coffee shop in Amsterdam like any other customer, would the backlash have been so publicized? I believe this was definitely the right move. Phelps simply needs to rebuild his image from here, and realize he is held to a higher standard than most that can sit back in privacy and point their fingers. http://joefavorito.com/2009/02/03/phelps-team-all-pulls-the-same-way-to-minimize-short-term-damage/
Public relations ethics at its best is a lot more than damage control however, it is about prevention and simply being a good person and behaving responsibly as the article discusses. These are notions that I feel have been a part of my education about ethics in life and the workplace throughout primary, secondary, and post-secondary learning environments. This is why the notion of “public relations ethics” as an oxymoron in the article comes as a surprise to me. However, when I read statistics like 50% of the sample in a research study on professional business communicators, regularly counsel management on ethical decisions, but 70% of those individuals never studied ethics, and 65% have no on-the-job training in ethics. This leaves only 5% statistically capable of counseling management. With public relations professionals being better trained at a younger age, they will much more equipped to handle their job and commit to that “corporate conscience” and responsibility first brought to light by John W. Hill, as mentioned in the article.
I also liked the views expressed on dialogical ethics versus advocacy ethics within public relations. Dialogue is ethical because it incites discussion within public relations, and allows for two sides to work together in order to achieve one common goal. Advocacy ethics on the other hand makes both of those sides clear cut, and are unfortunately in opposition to one another. Public relations professionals who are well educated and trained for their positions still do not know the best course of action in every situation. This is why they must build a good rapport with their client and “engage in open communication with its publics,” as stated in the article above. There is always a respect for the truth, and that relationship provides a solid foundation for the PR professional to work with their client and even its publics to reach the best course of action for everyone. With the Michael Phelps incident, Octagon could have bought the rights to that picture and hid it from the media, but instead of covering it up, they had their long term image in mind as a company, as well as the image of Phelps. The general public and media win because they were not lied to, and can trust the word of Phelps and Octagon. This article has helped strengthen my understanding of ethics within public relations. A PR professional would undoubtedly be successful if they follow the advice of Immanuel Kant and ensure that every decision they make has “good will” or intent to be the best for all parties in question; and one method of achieving this is through dialogical ethics (Bowen, Expansion of Ethics…Kantian Theory…page 75).

By Matt Gay on 2009 03 05

Comment:

The concept of ethics in public relations is definitely a new concept for most PR practitioners however, after reading this article it’s evident how important ethics is to the success of a company. We’ve come to a point now where public distrust in our leaders and public figures is at an all time high. As mentioned in the article, even when companies like Enron collapse to company greed the executives of these companies refuse to take personal and moral responsibility for their actions. Moral responsibility is a key attribute to evaluating an individual’s character (De George, 2006). According to De. George, author of Business Ethics, “the moral evaluation of persons is not the same as the moral evaluations of their actions” (De George, 2006). The executives of Enron proved to the world through their actions that they were more interested in their self-interest than the public interest. If the proper communication was implemented from the beginning of the companies’ rise this ethical dilemma could have been avoided.
What I found interesting in this article was the research done by the International Association of Business Communicators. Their researched provided encouraging information about the current role of public relations executives in the business world. When I began my studies in public relations one of the first concepts we learned about was the importance of a dominant coalition. It was encouraging to see that over 65% of public relations practitioners felt like they were a part of the dominant coalition (Bowen, 2007). Communication with executives is essential to being a successful public relations practitioner. Our job only goes so far if we are unable to communicate our ideas to the people that make the final decisions. However, what I found surprising was the amount of public relations practitioners who have never received training in ethics. As practitioners we face stereotypes like spin doctors and liars. The research shows that the resources for ethics education are not available to all practitioners (Bowen, 2007). In order to dispel these previously held ideas I believe ethics training should be taught to all trained and training practitioners.
Dr. Bowens’ section on Practical Recommendations and Guidelines for Practitioners reminded me of the Page Principles of Public Relations by Arthur Page. Page, a revolutionary practitioner outlined seven principles to follow and manage by as a PR practitioner. Principles like telling the truth, proving it with action and manage for tomorrow are just a few simple guidelines to being an honest PR practitioner (Page, 2009). The recommendations Dr. Bowen gave are the next step to being a successful communicator. One recommendation I found particularly interesting was her emphasis on the importance of research. A practitioner will be taken more seriously if he/she has done research to back up an ethical dilemma. Looking at past cases and seeing how companies dealt with problems can show the pros and cons to handling a situation a certain way.

1. Arthur W. Page Society. 4 Mar. 2009 <http://www.awpagesociety.com/site/about/page_principles>.
2. Bowen, S. A., Heath, R. L., Lee, J., Painter, G., Agraz, F. J., McKie, D., et al. (2006). The business of truth: A guide to ethical communication. San Francisco, CA: International Association of Business Communicators.
3. De George, Richard T. Business Ethics. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.

By Abby Silverman on 2009 03 05

Comment:

This article is very educating and interesting. As a student with both business and public relations background, I think it is challenging to be ethical. In the real business world, when you walk into the board room, face the annoying accountants and lawyers, and deal with the financial statements; you are very likely to weigh revenues, costs, and stock prices more than ethics. A survey conducted by PR Week indicates that 25% of PR practitioners admit to lying on job (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html? res=9C00E5D91238F93BA35756C0A9669C8B63).
Although the reality is ugly, public relations ethics is important for PR practitioners and PR practitioners should insist on being ethical. In my opinion, public relations ethics is important for two reasons. First, the existence of public relations roots in the trust of the public. In order to obtain the trust of the public, it requires public relations practitioners to consistently be ethical to build the credibility. A major function of public relations is to spread the message of the corporation, and hopefully the audience will believe what we say. If a PR practitioner is found doing something unethical, it will be difficult to maintain the trust. Second, the emerging of citizen journalism makes scandals have no places to hide. Therefore, PR practitioners should always behave ethically to prevent potential damage.
We all understand that it is important to be ethical, but it is sometimes confusing to determine what is ethical and what is not. Same in the survey I mentioned above, 44% of PR practitioners felt uncertain of the ethics of a task they were asked to perform. One mistake that people always make is to equal moral to ethics. As it is said in the reading Media Ethics, “it’s about the journey, not the destination” (Plaisance, 2009). There are many measurements to assess the ethics of a certain behavior. Kant’s Categorical Imperative is one of them. In order to be ethical, the person must pass three tests according to Kant:
1. Universal – meaning that everyone will do what you are doing in the similar situation;
2. Respect – meaning that you are treating others with respect and dignity;
3. Good will – meaning that you have good wills and moral intention and are rational to uphold your responsibility to others. (Bowen, Feb 22 Lecture)
A way of promoting ethical behaviors is to codify ethics. Dr. Bowen mentioned in the article that many PR professional associations have come up with codes of ethics. For example, PRSA has its own codes of ethics, which specify ethical behaviors. However, I think it is hard to enforce its entire members to follow the code. In addition, the codes vary from each organization; it could be confusing when someone deals with multiple professional organizations. Another way of encouraging ethical decision in a corporation is to create ethics statement and offer ethical training to the employee (Bowen, 2004). The companies can set up an ethics statement so that everyone in the corporate will have a same version of ethics. And the employees know how to make ethical decisions under different circumstances.
Scholars have done a lot of work to make ethics more tangible and measurable. Dr. Bowen offers some guidelines for practitioners, such as knowing your own value, spot and discuss ethical issues. PR practitioners have many tools to help themselves determine the ethics of certain decisions and decisions.

By Wei Shen on 2009 03 05

Comment:

It was interesting to read in the section that discussed the codes of ethics that ethics do not change drastically through different cultures and countries. The ethical focuses mentioned across countries seemed to root themselves in Kant’s Categorical Imperative. The paper above mentions a focus on “dignity, respect and human rights”, as seen in the Code of Athens. Similarly, Kant’s second rule of the Categorical Imperative expresses a concern for respect and dignity for all. This principle states that all humans are equal and should not be used as a means to achieve an end. This is a rule that all public relations practitioners should follow across the world, and it is good to see it is a prominent feature in cross-culture ethical decisions.
Also mentioned in regards to codes of ethics is the idea of implementing ethics with good intention. This mimics Kant’s third rule of the Categorical Imperative which stresses good intention and a morally good will. It states that decisions should be made with others in mind and a general good nature to have things turn out well. This is another principle that should definitely be incorporated into ethical decision making in corporations and organizations. This paper did a good job of basing moral judgment in Kant’s sound ethical theory.
Kant’s first principle of ethics seems to be also addressed later on in the paper with guideline number 3. This guideline says that knowing your own values will help when you need to make an important decision. Similarly, Kant’s first principle is the principle of autonomy. This states that a person needs to be able to make their own judgment call without the influence of others. This would be especially important when making a decision for a company whose executives may want to make an unethical choice. Kant’s Categorical Imperative is an important collection of principles and it is vital that they were incorporated into this ethics paper. Public relations practitioners can use this as a clear determiner of ethicality; when all three are passed, a decision is ethical.
The problem, of course stated in this paper, is that while a code of ethics can be formulated, it is often hard to mandate that they be followed. The paper states that “Research found that some practitioners say they see a code of ethics once and then do not refer to it or read it again (Bowen, 2002a).” The paper goes on to discuss that there are serious problems with enforcing and providing consequences when practitioners neglect ethics. Part of this could be based in a lack of education on the importance of ethics and the problems that arise in the long-run when ethics are ignored. Ethics courses need to become a required part of training for public relations practitioners.
If ethical training were a required aspect of public relations many problems could be solved before they became big issues. As stated in the paper “Public relations professionals should begin studying ethics now, before you ‘must’ address a problem, and as soon as possible.” This is certainly something that public relations practitioners need to keep in mind. Unfortunate public relations situations can be prevented if ethical decision making steps are taught, considered, and enacted properly.

By Alison on 2009 03 05

Comment:

What I find most interesting is the IABC study’s finding that of the 35% of public relations practitioners who received some ethics training, a greater number of men (43%) received ethics training once hired than did women (32%) (Bowen & Heath, 2006). This gap is significant, especially when the demographics of the profession are considered—about 70 percent of practitioners are female versus 30 percent male, according to the PRSA 2000 Gender Study (http://lamar.colostate.edu/~pr/prsa2000genderstudy.htm). My public relations courses have further stressed the disparities in salaries and management roles between men and women practitioners, and discussed the concept of a glass ceiling that may hinder women from reaching top positions.

The PRSA 2000 Gender Study found that many women feel that men are promoted into managerial roles more quickly and with more ease than women (Toth & Aldoory, 2000). “I even get the feeling that when there are men who do come in the agency, that they’re sort of plucked, focused on and groomed for those managerial positions,” one woman commented (Toth & Aldoory, 2000). I see a connection to the IABC study here because it’s possible that more men may be receiving ethics training than women because they are being “groomed” for eventual management positions. This is only my personal reasoning; further research on differences in the level of ethics training for men and women would be worthy of exploring.

Bowen (2007) states in the entry “Public relations professionals who aspire to higher management roles must now pay attention to ethics, ethical advisement, and how to analyze ethical dilemmas”. I agree that a thorough understanding of ethics will allow practitioners to reach upper management positions. I also believe that men and women should receive ethics training once hired on a much more equal basis. Such equality in ethics training may help to break any existing barriers for women to obtain higher management roles.

Finally, the debate of whether or not codes of ethics should be enforced interested me. I believe that codes of ethics are necessary because they outline the values of companies or organizations, which then serve as the foundation for future ethical decision-making. However, I do not think that codes of ethics should be enforced in the sense that there is “recourse for infringement”. The entry cites Plato’s rationale “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly” (Parsons, 2004 p. 67). I agree with this argument because it follows a deontological approach to ethics. People who are ethical are not concerned about “punishment” if they do not act ethically; rather they are concerned about upholding their moral duty and maintaining good intention. I believe that it is more important for codes of ethics to define moral principles and values than emphasize enforcement through disciplinary measures. Such strict enforcement may instill a utilitarian approach, in which practitioners focus on the consequences of not following the codes instead of the important ethical principles outlined in them.

Research shows that in order to foster excellence in ethics, the public relations function should teach employees what is to be considered when confronting an ethical dilemma, reward ethical behavior, encourage the defining of issues in ethical terms and encourage an atmosphere of open ethical debate (Bowen, 2004b). I agree with all of these actions, but I do think some caution should be exercised when rewarding ethical behavior, depending on what the reward entails. I believe that people who are acting ethically do so because it follows their moral duty and not because they expect a reward in return. Still, I think it is important for corporate culture to embrace, rather than criticize or ignore, the ethical decision-making process.

By Lindsey Steinseifer on 2009 03 05

Comment:

This article provides an effective overview and insight to the concept of ethics in public relations. As a potential graduate student in the field of Higher Education, the issue that jumps out as most relevant for myself is the idea that many PR practitioners, while they realize that they are expected to be the ethical conscience for their perspective organizations, are lacking significant education, training and experience in the field of ethics and moral reasoning.

It is very important that PR practitioners and their organizations have moved in a more ethical direction throughout history, realizing that whatever stance or PR campaign they are promoting needs to be in good ethical and moral standing. However, it is more important that we pay special attention to educating PR undergraduate and graduate students in the field of ethics. Even though it is noted that professional experience is the best way to make ethical decisions, training and education which provides historical studying and analysis of the different types of ethics reasoning, such as deontological and utilitarian ethical thinking and practices, will arm a PR practitioner with the proper skill set to make more ethical decisions in the workforce. In depth discussions and scenarios that can be worked out in class, utilizing different perspectives and ways of thinking ethically can aid significantly once a PR practitioner is actually making these important ethical decisions that could affect millions in the real world.

Also, proper training and education, as noted in this article, will ultimately help PR practitioners in moving up the hierarchical ladder in any business or organization. Ethics training will create a more qualified PR person and ethical conscience for a company and help them to be a member of the top-decision makers in the company, where ethics is going to be just as important as the PR campaign itself for any organization. If the education and training is beginning at the first stages of PR studies in higher education institutions, it will ultimately get ethical PR further in the chain of command in businesses and organizations.

Another important aspect of this article that I feel needs to be emphasized is the importance of dialogue and communication in PR ethics. Dialogue and the idea of social construction through communication are very important in creating realities in the world around us. Everything we know to be real and exist, whether it is ethical or unethical, is going to be experienced and expressed through dialogue and communication of those in the business, and the sending of these messages through to each organization’s prospective publics. This idea of dialogue as being inherently ethical is very powerful and speaks to the idea that all ideas, opinions, consequences, and any other aspect of any concept can be discussed and thought out through dialogue and communication. The importance of communication in an organization cannot be stressed enough especially in the field of PR and striving to make the most ethical decisions for all parties involved.

By Emma Dovi on 2009 03 05

Comment:

The background history in this article regarding the past behaviors of PR representatives provides a strong reasoning for what their roles should include today. Public Relations Ethics is a difficult topic considering many top executives have the preconceived notion that public relations officials are hired solely to keep good relations with the public and ensure that the company is perceived in a good light. These executives do not always take into account that there is a lot more to PR. It is also necessary that the decision makers to be receptive to the concerns and advising of the public relations people. Companies cannot just utilize public relations people when something has gone wrong. On the contrary, their mentality should be that if a public relations executive is constantly involved in the business there will never be a need for damage control. Corporations must make it their goal to act accordingly with how they wish to be perceived because words can only say so much before the behavior starts speaking for itself.
The emphasis on Public Relations Ethics education is important here because it is often very hard to stand by one’s PR opinion if it is not what the executive agrees with. Depending on the company, a person may be at risk of losing his or her job if they are too aggressive in pushing their beliefs onto the head decision maker. However, if a person is educated in ethics and has the degree and knowledge to back up their argument with facts and examples, they are more likely to be taken seriously.
The low number of PR professionals with a background in ethics mentioned in the article is a little alarming. Today, ethics plays a large integral part in Public Relations decisions. One would assume that to make educated ethical decisions on matters that could either cost or earn a company millions of dollars, it would be a requirement that the PR person have a background in ethics. A community can make or break a company and
although the general public may not have a degree in ethics, most have their own set of morals that are similar to the principles of both utilitarian and deontological ethics. Most would agree that companies should look out for the greater good, as well as have good intentions.
These may seem like basics and great guidelines for companies but many things are not so black and white, and that’s where the PR comes in. To handle issues that land more in the grey area these officials need to be hired with an ethics background and be heard and respected by the people they answer too. What if a company has 100 overseas workers making clothes so the company can sell at low prices to single moms? There are more than 100 single moms buying the clothes which make it “for the greater good” and the company’s intentions are good, they want to sell inexpensive clothes. Is this still ethical? In this case a PR person needs to be on call because this is an issue that may not even be seen as an “issue” to many executives.
It is mentioned numerous times in the article that there are many different dimensions to Public Relations. One must not only be able to speak well to an audience, but they should be a fundamental component in majority the business’s decision making. If a company has a Public Relations professional, they should never be at a point where damage control needs to happen. Public Relations people need to be well educated in ethics so they can foresee if something is going to be an issue with the public. Ethics education is also necessary for a PR spokesperson if a company decides to do something that the public disagrees with. In class we talked about a pharmaceutical company that had a limited possible cure for AIDS. In order to decide who would receive the medicine they needed to know what would be the ethical fair decision. The public obviously had many different opinions to who should receive the treatment. The conflicting opinions proved that no matter what the company decided majority of the people with AIDS would be dissatisfied if they weren’t going to get the medicine. To keep good relations with the people that opposed the company’s decision, a PR person was necessary to speak on behalf of the pharmaceutical company to logically explain why the company felt this was right. The decision was backed by the company’s morals and intention to be good and fair. Many were disappointed that they would not receive the drug, however the fact that the company made a professional ethical decision that they communicated to the public kept them in good graces.

By Stephanie on 2009 03 05

Comment:

In “Ethics and Public Relations” (Bowen, 2007), we are led to explore the history and role that ethics has played in the world of public relations. From the earlier approaches, which stressed consumer awareness and the “whatever it takes” method, to today’s dealings as an ethics-heavy discipline stressing utilitarianism, among other ideological approaches. For many firms or corporations in the wake of the Enron and Worldcom scandals of the 2000s, it is widely believed that in order to do business in today’s world, an organization must pursue their goals with some sort of ethical treatment behind them.

Right at the onset, the article very rightly points out the common thread among definitions of ethics. All ethics disciplines, as it is inferred here, require a systematic analysis of what is right and wrong, and finding where the value lies within said decision (Bowen, 2007). At its essence, I feel that this approach to ethics seems to embody public relations in its most simple form. As practitioners, we look to present a message to an organization’s various publics, and in doing so, also try to measure the weight of our actions on each institution. With the increasing accessibility to information and sensationalizing of most news, now is a more critical time than any other for ethics to play its part on the public relations stage.

In today’s world, we are met not by actuality, but by appearance, in all aspects of life. The news we receive everyday, be it through television, newspapers, RSS feeds, or just a website we visit each morning, are more often than not brought to the author’s attention by a public relations professional (Brown, 2009). Now, this appearance can be, and is many times, rooted in fact, but there have always been, and may always be exceptions. It is ethics that helps bring the deceitful fringe, and those who believe in the telling of “half-truths” into the fold of public advocacy.

A central question one must address when using ethics, or any moral discipline to evaluate public relations is “what is the truth?” According to Dictionary.com, the truth is considered to be numerous things- the true or actual state of the matter, conformity with fact or reality, and honesty, among a myriad of other definitions (Dictionary.com). However, does this cover situations omitting portions of the truth, yet not offering up contradictory information either? Leaving out information that has no affect may be alright, I suppose, by most moral standards.

Currently, the problem lies in how we, as practitioners, would like to use ethics, and any associated codes developed, to manage the operations of our organization. The article correctly points out that codes of ethics provide no rules of enforcement, and it is very hard to track and monitor the use of something so qualitative (Bowen, 2007). If ethics codes are used as a guideline every time a decision is made, it can stifle productivity. However, since most codes of ethics are not read after their initial review and presentation, we are presented with a problem (Bowen, 2007). Can you ask your employees to memorize codes of ethics, regardless of how lengthy they may become? Nearly every organization today has a code of conduct, one that governs how you interact with your co-workers, clients and other various publics. These codes are expected to be memorized and adhered to by all employees after one read, or sometimes none. Could the same be asked of employees when it comes to ethics?

Another problem that can arise whenever using ethics as a guideline can be the ideology you’d like to endorse. If a person or company decides to use a form of general ethics, you now have an expansive discipline that takes time to institute if it has not been done so. General ethics consists of studying, comparing and contrasting (descriptive ethics), finding basic principles of moral behavior (normative ethics), and studying the logic of moral reasoning (metaethics) (DeGeorge, 24).

Forms of ethics can also come into conflict with one another, and even contradict its goals at times. Descriptive relativism, or better, descriptive transcultural relativism, may not bring a resolution to an issue across borders (DeGeorge, 40). Moral absolutism may be a better approach, but if an organization comes in contact with another entity employing relativism, their supposedly universal rules of ethics may come into question (DeGeorge, 45). As an example, if an American company utilized moral absolutism, and under these principles, they viewed all people, regardless of sex, age, or ethnicity equal, they may come into conflict with the way another organization from Iran operates, due to their existence as an Islamic state that oppresses woman’s rights.

Even utilitarianism, which promotes doing the most good for the most people, can meet a stumbling block (DeGeorge, 56). If a company is always pursuing what is most advantageous for the most amount of people, sometimes, maybe more often than not, they would conduct actions that hurt their bottom line. Though the buying public is an important part of the business, so too is their ability to make money. If the interests of the buying public and the interests of the business come into conflict, the organization has a choice to make. By siding with the organization, they will likely be doing the most good for the lesser group, but aiding the organization in pursuing its final desired outcome, which is profit. Using utilitarianism at all times may prevent the company from reaching their goal, but it all depends on the business model. If a company feels that the goals of it and its constituents are always in conflict, perhaps it needs to reevaluate what it does and how it does it.

The article raises a fair point when it endorses dialogical ethics over advocacy ethics (Bowen, 2007). As stated in the previous paragraph, allegiances can sometimes be confused, and with advocacy ethics guiding your organization, it can sometimes blur the line between which is more important. If an organization endorses a dialogical approach, it appears they would find conflicting views, which could persuade the argument the opposite way, unlike in advocacy ethics. A good case of this would appear to be President Obama’s team of rivals that he has employed to fill out major positions within his new administration. With conflicting views present, the logic is that both sides of an issue will be represented, and will allow for better decision-making, rather than the quick and casual census.

The article closes with a list of suggestions for practitioners in their pursuit of ethical conduct in business (Bowen, 2007). In this section, we can see why ethics are so important, from a functionality and success standpoint. “Communications professionals must pay attention to ethics before they desperately need it” (Bowen, 2007). Crisis communications are an unfortunate, yet necessary part of business, and can be caused by lapses in ethical judgment. With these principles in place beforehand, it will be easier to prevent and deal with a problem down the road. Personal values also play a central role in how you conduct business. Chances are if you think something is morally wrong on a personal level, it is wrong in the business world too. Apply the golden rule- “do unto others as you would want done unto you.”

The dialogical approach has been discussed as an effective method to make ethical decisions. Just like I mentioned setting principles before they are needed, discussing ethical issues on a daily basis can help people think about ethics, and be more prepared for when they may need them. This, combined with continuing the education process, as well as contemplation, lends to a healthy, and helpful environment in the workplace. Preparation for situations makes them easier to deal with in the future, and easier to apply when needed.

Though it is stated, “no single person or function can be the entire ‘ethical conscience’ of an organization,” can organization employ someone to do that job? (Bowen, 2007). Organizations such as Corporate Ethics US advocate such a step, and go so far as to claim it as part of the law to have an ethics officer. Regardless of the truth in that, it is a growing need and position amongst corporations amidst recent occurrences here in the U.S. Just one month ago, the call went out for more ethics education, and the employment of ethics officers, so perhaps the field and need is finally getting noticed and applied in the capacity it deserves and necessitates (Bowers, 2009).

By John Cassillo on 2009 03 05

Comment:

Shannon Bowen presents an important obstacle for the public relations field in her blog post “Ethics and Public Relations.” She explains that the actions and special interests of some public relations practitioners have caused the field to lose credibility. The practitioners involved with the Enron scandal and those representing “Citizens for a Free Kuwait” should have understood, more so than others, that their actions would ultimately shape the perception of the public relations field. It is therefore no surprise that many view public relations in a negative light.
Bowen notes that there exists a wide variety of professional organizations with codes of ethics that members agree to abide by. For example, the seven Page Principles that guide the Arthur W. Page Society are: “Tell the truth … Prove it with action … Listen to the customer … Manage for tomorrow … Conduct public relations as if the whole company depends on it … Realize a company’s true character is expressed by its people … Remain calm, patient and good humored” (Artur W. Page Soceity, 2009). The practitioners involved with “Citizens for a Free Kuwait” would have benefited from applying these Page Principles to their practice of PR. Had they embraced the above guidelines they would have held themselves to the standards of being truthful and might not have created a false testimony to deliver before Congress which ruined their credibility.
If the field of Public Relations intends on improving its own reputation it is important for practitioners to receive adequate values training. It is surprising then to view the data that Bowen presents in her posting. According to the research, 70 percent of the practitioners surveyed could be unprepared to properly handle an ethical crisis due in large part to their lack of professional experience with such situations (Bowen, 2007). How then can practitioners in the field of Public Relations expect one another to act ethically?
Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative offers practical advice to the individual seeking to make the ethical decision in a given situation. Kant proposes that the most ethical of decisions are made when considering the outcome of all individuals making the same decision (Bowen). If the organizations code of ethics, or the practitioners’ educational background, cannot assist in ethical decision making then it is important for the practitioner to consider the outcome of everyone making the same choice. While it may be easy on a small scale to rationalize making an unethical decision, ultimately, when applied to the large scale even the smallest of lies can have a large impact.
In the blog, Bowen states that “most codes of ethics provide no enforcement monitoring or recourse for their infringement” (Bowen 2007). It comes as no surprise then that practitioners find it easy to stray away from ethical decision making. If ethical decision making is to be expected from PR practitioners, then there must be some system in place for holding them accountable for their decisions. Intervening early on, after a small lack of ethical judgment, will prevent a practitioner from making the same ethical lapse later on when it may have a large impact. In the future, the practitioner may stray away from making the poor ethical decision because they will recognize that doing so would result in immediate consequences.
The credibility of the field of public relations depends on practitioner’s ability to exercise ethical decision making. The sooner that practitioners understand this fact, the better it will be for the field.

By Sara Goldfarb on 2009 03 13

Comment:

It is very important work for me to lean.Thank you very much for your god article.

By Hussein Kauli, Tanzanian on 2009 03 20

Comment:

Public Relations: the management function which evaluates public attitudes , identifys the policies and procedures of a individual or organization with the public interest, and plans, executes and evaluates a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.

By Amanda Samson on 2009 06 08

Comment:

I have gone through the Articles on Ethics and public relatoin.By reading this article I have learned many new information about ethics and public relation.I think that the person who will learn this article will be able to learn a lot and also may applyin their persinal life.For this reasons my heartest congratulation is for the writer’s of this article.

But it is a matter of great sorrow that in modern age the people are not abide by the ethical obligation.And that’s why i would like to request to request people of the whole world to abide by the eobligation in every spere of their life.

Md.Akramul Islam
First August, 2009

By Md.Akramul Islam on 2009 07 01

Comment:

Thank you for such an excellent article! It will help me in my studies as a Public relations and advertising student at the University of Dar es salaam. The article is very useful!
From,
Eline.

By Eline Maronga on 2009 11 09

Comment:

thank you very much for a such wonderful article, i real appreciate it. it encourage me a lot on my public relation studies as well as my carrier, congratulation! pauline

By Paulina Ngwembe on 2009 11 09

Comment:

This article sounds good for a practitioner and a research student like myself. I will use the stuff to teach myself and my coursemates. It is a wonderful piece

By NYINGCHUO HILARY DIANGHA on 2009 12 17

Essential Knowledge Project

Ethics and Public Relations by Shannon A. Bowen, Ph.D.

Executive Summary

Defining Ethics

Is There Such a Thing as Public Relations Ethics?

Evolution of Public Relations Ethics

Current State of Ethics in Public Relations: Codes of Ethics

Findings of Current Research on Public Relations Ethics

Ethics Study and Training: Troubling Findings

Pushing the Frontiers in Public Relations Ethics

Dialogical Ethics versus Advocacy Ethics

Strategic Management Approaches to Ethics

Practical Recommendations and Guidelines for Practitioners

Conclusion

Author Note

References

Annotated Bibliography

What do you think?

Ethics and Public Relations by
Shannon A. Bowen, Ph.D.