CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

Session 14 EnglishETHICS IN PR, Special issues in PR &

The Future of Public RelationsBy : Liya Djajadisastra

BACKGROUND

• The fast development of PR• The reputation of PR• The importance of Ethics in PR• Ethical Dilemma

Exercise 1

DILEMMA   The company you are working in / your client has just recalled a product that was apparently defective. Your client insisted to do nothing and hide it from the public. Do you or do you not go for it? Why ?

Exercise 2

DILEMMA   You are asked to distribute ‘envelopes’ to participating journalists in a Client’s Press Conference. “Anyhow, everybody does the same,” said the client. What do you say to the Client?

Exercise 3

DILEMMA   To jump-start a new product launch and the related PR Campaign, John suggests some “viral marketing.” He says that for $500 he can get a team of college students to post favorable comments about the product in chat rooms and online forums—anonymously. Do you or do you not go for it? Why ?

Why question of Ethics emerge

Collision of values between :a. Company’s and Employee’s or

Client’s and Consultant’s (Internal issues)b. PR practitioners and Media (External issues)c. PR practitioners and the digital public (Social

Media issues)

Defining Ethics

• Ethics = Standards of conduct that indicate how one should behave based on moral duties and virtues.

• Includes values such as honesty, openness, loyalty, fair-mindedness, respect, integrity, and forthright communication. 

• There are three main categories• Utilitarian• Humanitarian• Situational

Utilitarian Ethics

= Results-oriented approach : which decision will provide the greatest good to the greatest number of people.

Positives of this approach:• Requires a consideration of all alternatives.• Requires a practitioners to think about the consequences of their

actions.

Examples of utilitarian ethics:• The suggestion that public relations should serve the public interest.• Making choices not based solely on financial considerations.

Humanitarian Ethics=  Humanitarian approach   The situation is judged on whether it violates

human rights. The actions themselves are treated as "right" or "wrong.“

Problems with this approach:• Which human rights are deemed more important?• As society evolves over time, will norms of basic human rights change?• Blindly following this approach could lead to considerable harm.

Examples of Humanitarian Ethics:• All human beings deserve respect• Choosing not to disseminate false information because that would

constitute an act of lying which is "wrong."

Situational Ethics 

Situational ethics  The situation is decided on a case by case basis.

Positives of this approach:• Can be helpful when there are several conflicting ethical

obligations.• When blindly following rules, as suggested by humanitarian

systems, would result in considerable harm.

Examples of Situational Ethics in Action:• “No comment” to the press while giving out information will

harm the client or public. The ethics here include honesty and prevention of harm.

Two-way Communication James Grunig

• Today’s trend in PR Ethics.

• Based  on the following assumptions:• Collaboration, working jointly with others, is a key value in ethical

decisions.• The process of dialogue with different people allows for both

listening and arguing.• Not everyone will get what they want, but dialogue will lead to

the most ethical outcome.• Requires us to balance our role as advocate for our client with

others’ role on social conscience.

Attorney/Adversary Model Barney and Black (1994)

• Lawyers practice is in a court of law where fairness and equal representation are guaranteed.

• PR professionals work in the court of public opinion.

• Meeting point !

Navran Model of Determining PR Ethics

Define the Problem

Identify & evaluate availablesolution options

Make the decision

Implement the decision

Evaluate the decision

Sources

• Public Relations Society of America Code of Ethics

• The Insitute of Public Relations Code of Conduct

• Canadian Public Relations Society Code of Professional Standards

• International Association of Business Communicators Code

PR & Media Ethics 1

PR & Media Ethics 2

Issues in PR Ethics 1

• PR = “The invisible hand behind much of the news, the sophisticated spin machine that can rescue reputations or crucify a competitor.”

• Journalists are paid to attend news conferences or write stories, disguised as “transportation allowance”.

• Junkets’ – acceptance of free trip in exchange for favorable editorial treatment.

Issues in PR Ethics 2

• Some gadgets & IT magazines and columnists publish regular glowing reports of products which they have had free use of for several days or sometimes weeks.

• Women’s and fashion magazines openly offer space in their editorial columns for products from manufacturers of prestigious brands for free samples.

• Lifestyle television sell ‘appearances’ of products ranging from cars to restaurants in so-called editorial content.

The Ethics Imperative in Social Media

• Ghost blogging or “flogging” in blogs and Facebook

• Spamming (e.g. by ‘tagging’)• Tweeting under false circumstances• False identity in Linkedin• Video fabrication in Youtube

Note : Social Media Ethics is still under constant development amongst internet community

What it takes to be in C-suite

• PR professionals can have a real impact on organizational decision making and a real impact on the ethical decisions made in the C-suite.

• 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

a. issues management, b. risk and crisis management, c. leadership, d. organizational culture and policy, and e. ethics.

Thank You