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CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

[SLIDE 1 – Lecture title]

Lecture 2 Ethics in Public Relations

[SLIDE 2 - Graphics of different aspects of communication]

[SLIDE 3 - Key ideas]

Key ideas

 Ethics are important

 Definition of ethics

 An introduction to key ethical models

 Four categories of duty

 Why a PR code of ethics is needed

 Key points of PR codes

 Examples of ethical issues facing PR

 Myths about PR

 The dark side

 Ethical decision-making models

Introduction

The question of ethics in public relations is a much debated topic

throughout the world.

Last week we looked at business reputation and the strategic management of

a company’s image and identity to achieve a good reputation. This week we
look at the PR industry’s reputation, and how that too can be improved.

The PR industry has shown exceptional growth over the past years - in Britain
alone there was a 17% growth last year, and more people were employed in
public relations than in advertising. It is the third most popular choice for
graduates (IPR website).
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More and more organisations are also acknowledging that having access to a
communications professional is now a necessary fact of business life for both
internal and external communication.

However, despite this growth, the reputation of the public relations industry
seems to be on the decline, and practitioners frequently have to defend
themselves against accusations of being untrustworthy, deceitful and
manipulative. Why is this so? And what can be done about it? Why is it that
public relations people, who work so hard to improve the reputation of their
clients and companies, seem incapable of improving their own reputation?

Ethics is at the very heart of this dilemma. So in today’s lecture, we will look at
some well-known theories which impact on public relations, and also give you
some frameworks to identify your own standards, and to help you make
relevant ethical decisions.

[SLIDE 4 - Ethics are important]

Ethics are important in PR

Ethics are important in PR because:

● PR is about building trust

● PR has a role as an ethical guardian

● PR needs to be socially responsible

● PR has a professional obligation to be ethical

● Myths about PR’s lack of ethics need to be refuted

There's a famous saying “Caesar's wife must be above suspicion” which

means that the person closest to Caesar – or the king – must behave in such
a moral way that they do not leave themselves open to criticism and censure.
In the same way, a PR practitioner whose aim is to help a client improve their
reputation – and be ethical - must also be above suspicion. Their reputation
must be good, otherwise how can they have any credibility?

PR practitioners build trust by developing and maintaining good relationships

between an organisation and its stakeholders.

They are the guardians of a company's good reputation, and are also
responsible for the company's commitment to act in a socially responsible
way, by “doing good” and contributing to society's needs.

PR practitioners also belong to a profession which has a code of

professional conduct, which requires them to act ethically.
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However, it's a fact that Public Relations often comes under attack,
sometimes fairly, but also often unfairly, for its apparent lack of ethics. PR
practitioners are often accused of distorting and 'spinning' the truth, covering
up a client's wrong doings, or trying to use extreme propaganda methods to
persuade people to do or think something.

You can test this out by asking a random selection of people what first
springs to their mind when they hear the words 'public relations'. It is likely
that the perception will not always be favourable.

Any profession - doctors, lawyers or journalists, for example - may have one
or two unethical members, who can give the others a bad name. The PR
profession is no different but they have to work hard to combat a negative
perception. That's why I've put as the final point here that the Myths about
PR need to be refuted (or discussed and got rid of) before they taint the
whole profession.

Thus public relations practitioners have to be very certain of what is right and
wrong as far as their professional responsibilities go, and make sure they
know what course to take in the face of ethical dilemmas.

[SLIDE 5 - Definition of ethics]

Definition of ethics

First of all – what is ethics? Ethics refers to the value system by which a
person determines what is right or wrong, fair or unfair, just or unjust.

It is expressed through moral behaviour in specific situations. If, for example,

you are faced with a dilemma, how you react and behave at that crucial
moment says a lot about your ethical make-up.

But the complexity of that ethical make-up can be difficult to pin down, and
can be affected by many influences, including where you live, your
religion and your culture. Of course, you are also strongly influenced by the
morals and values of your parents and friends.

Furthermore, a person's behaviour is measured not only against his or

her own conscience, but can be judged by society, by their profession,
and by the organisation or company they work for.

Over time, ethics can and do change and evolve. For example, adultery is
a crime in some countries and in some religions – but not in others. It seems
that every week in countries like Great Britain or America, politicians and even
presidents admit to having affairs but still keep their jobs. In other countries,
they would be disgraced.

At one time - not long ago – there were no women studying at universities,
and women certainly weren't allowed to smoke or travel around on their own.
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Can you think of anything that 30 years ago would have been considered
immoral or unethical but is quite acceptable today?

‫عمان‬ You may have an Omani example to insert here. In New

Zealand men and women were not allowed to go to the
cinema together to see certain films in the 1950s and early
1960s – even if they were married. Censorship was very
tough. Today, that would be laughed at in New Zealand.

With so many people judging you, it can sometimes create a dilemma within
you. What should you do and who should you please?

[SLIDE 6 - Morals versus ethics]

Morals versus ethics

A quick word here about the difference between the words “morals” and
“ethics”. You may remember this distinction from Applied media ethics.

“Morals” is a word usually applied to one's own personal values and

principles. For example, you can say “I am morally bound to pray three times
a day” or “I have a moral duty to respect my parents.”

Ethics, on the other hand, is the formal use of the term as used by society
and professional values. For example, most professions have a 'Code of
Ethics' rather than a 'code of morals'.

[SLIDE 7 - Some of the best Western World known thinkers....]

An introduction to key ethical models

Socrates and Plato

Modern society has derived its ethics partly from theology and partly from
philosophy. There are many sources for the ethics most of us live by but today
we just have time to give a quick overview of a few of the best known thinkers
on the subject.

Around 400 BC, the Greek philosopher Socrates taught the importance of
trying to reach truth and reason through discussion and debate, and the
value of seeking the ultimate good in everything.

Plato, who was his student, chronicled his teacher's thoughts in written works
which are known as The dialogues. These are written like conversations and
show that the ancient Greeks thought communication was a vital component
in reaching ethical decision-making.

[SLIDE 8 – Aristotle]
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Aristotle

Aristotle was Plato's pupil, and also became famous as the teacher of
Alexander the Great, the famous warrior king who conquered half the known
world.

His theoretical approach came to be known as Virtue Ethics. He asked the

question: what traits of character make a good person? And his answer was
that virtuous people showed justice, fairness, caring, honesty and
courage. These are all concepts which are still true today. But he added that
these virtues were habitual: you are not virtuous if you sometimes tell a lie.

Aristotle was also famous for writing The art of rhetoric, in which we can find
the roots of modern communication theory. (Argenti, 2007:24)

[SLIDE 9 – Immanuel Kant]

Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant, a much later philosopher (1724 – 1804) gave us the notion
that motive was the most important aspect of ethics. As long as your motive
or your intention was good, the results were forgivable. He added that the
most important parts of ethics are “duty” and “principle”.

[SLIDE 10 – Utilitarians]

Utilitarians

At around the same time, a group of philosophers called the Utilitarians

claimed that, on the contrary, the results were all important – and the end
justified the means, even if some people had to be sacrificed along the way.
Their theory was “The greatest good for the greatest number”. This is
sometimes expressed as “Morality is the attempt to bring about as much
happiness as possible” (the Principle of Utility).

[SLIDE 11 - A more recent code]

The ethics of care

Perhaps one of the most recent interesting theories is called the ethics of
care - introduced towards the end of the last century by Carol Gilligan. Her
theory was that men and women think differently – but both ways are
valuable. Men, she said, think in terms of rules and justice, while women are
more inclined to think in terms of caring and relationships.

It's a theory which is of considerable interest in light of the large numbers of

women now coming into the Public Relations industry, generating some
debate as to what impact – if any - this may have on professional ethics in the
future.
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[SLIDE 12 – Ethics today]

The ethics we live by today

Ethics, as we've said, is a mixture of the rules handed down by religion and
philosophy. The Great Prophets also told us how to behave and laid down
firm guidelines of what is right and wrong.

Throughout Islam, the Qur’an has a strong ethical thrust, and tells us not
to steal, to hurt anyone, or to commit adultery: commandments which are
echoed in many other religions, like Buddhism, Hinduism & Christianity.

So, from this brief overview, it can be seen that today, our world is made up of
a mixture of these main theories: an amalgamation of secular and religious
beliefs, adapted by people to suit their own set of circumstances. However,
one principle ethics has in common is to minimise harm and maximise
benefit to others.

Most people, when faced with a situation, would opt for a course of action
based on generally accepted notions of truth-telling, promise-keeping,
loyalty and commitment.

[SLIDE 13 – Quick quiz]

A quick quiz

‫عمان‬ The quiz is included to create an interactive break at this

point

1. What was Kant's first name? (Immanuel)

2. Who was Aristotle's famous student? ( Alexander the Great)

3. What were some of Aristotle's Virtues? (Fairness, caring, honesty,

courage)

4. Finish off the sentence “The greatest good…….” (for the greatest
number)

[SLIDE 14 – Duties of a PR Practitioner]

Four categories of duty

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Let’s turn now specifically to Public Relations. After having considered

various ethical frameworks, we should look at those that impact on PR, and
affect those working in the industry.

Seib and Fitzpatrick (1995) identify four categories of duty:

1. Duty to self

2. Duty to client or organisation

3. Duty to profession, and

4. Duty to society

[SLIDE 15 – Duty to self]

1. Duty to self

Practitioners should look at their own value systems and personal ethical
codes. This will help them decide on their priorities, and help them make
significant career choices.

For example, do they want to help society and work for a charitable
organisation or are they more interested in earning a big salary and working
for a large multinational corporation?

Is there any company they wouldn't work for: a tobacco company or an

alcohol company perhaps?

What would you resign over? Would you resign if you saw your boss doing
something unethical or if you didn't like the way the company treated its
employees?

Would you tell a small lie for a client? What about covering up a near crisis
for a client? Imagine that they nearly had an accident - a poisonous gas
emission or a nuclear spill - which could have endangered many people.

They kept it quiet and asked you to say it hadn't happened. What would your
response be? Would you resign or stay and hope to persuade the company to
change its way of operating?

This would depend on your own ethical standards.

[SLIDE 16 – Duty to client]

2. Duty to client or company

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The client pays your salary – usually a good one. This allows you to have a
good living. Many practitioners believe their primary duty is, therefore, to their
client. Despite their own personal codes, they believe they have to represent
the client to the best of their ability – rather like a lawyer represents their
client, even if they are a criminal or a doctor looks after a patient, even if they
don't like them or their beliefs.

But should you cover for them when they are unethical? And is it ethical of
you to be quiet if something happens which is contrary to the public interest?

Then again, you have to bear in mind that you have a duty to keep work
private and confidential. You signed a contract saying so, and as we shall
see, your professional code of ethics requires it of you.

Where do you draw the line?

[SLIDE 17 – Duty to profession]

3. Duty to profession

PR people want to work in a profession they are proud of, one which is strong
and ethical. If they are caught out doing wrong, they will be punished, even
struck off from a register and prevented from practising again. At least that’s
the ideal.

In most countries where there is a robust PR industry, there is a Code of

Conduct - there are also a number of International Codes, like the ones from
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and the
Global Alliance which are well worth reading carefully.

They provide basic ethical rules of conduct to help practitioners navigate the
sometimes tortuous ethical dilemmas which they confront. However, few of
them have the power to punish the bad practitioners sufficiently. Even evicting
them from the professional association does not mean they can’t open their
own office and carry on working in PR. Until the profession becomes fully
accredited and professional, this will continue to be the case.

[SLIDE 18 – Duty to society]

4. Duty to society

The fourth one is duty to society. According to Seib & Fitzpatrick (1995) at the
beginning of most public relations code of conduct is a statement that the
practitioner's primary duty is to society or to the public interest.

While this is a noble aspiration – it is also complicated to unravel. What is

society? Are we talking about local, national or international society? What
about the cultural values and loyalty differences that we have seen occur?
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Who judges what the public interest is? Lawyers may represent their client but
they have a judge to hear both sides of the argument and make the final
decision in a court of law.

Clearly it is impossible to serve everyone's interests all the time, and even the
public's interests can sometimes appear to be disputed. Ron Pearson (2000)
put this well when he wrote

“Public relations practice is situated at precisely that point where

competing interests collide….serving client and public interests
simultaneously is the seemingly impossible mission of the public
relations practitioner”

So, it’s complicated! But before we look at some decision making models to
help us, it's appropriate to revisit those areas of a public relations
practitioner’s activity which are in need of a code of ethics.

[SLIDE 19 - Why a PR code of ethics is needed]

Why a PR code of ethics is needed

A PR Code of Ethics is needed because a PR practitioner holds confidential

information which should be protected e.g. the PR practitioner may work for
clients who can be in powerful positions or may know their company's
operations and future plans.

A PR practitioner is also in a position of trust - clients come to them for

advice and expect high standards. They should not breach that trust.

If, as we said earlier, one of the main responsibilities is to safeguard the

client's reputation, and in fact, help improve that reputation then doing
something to bring it into disrepute is wrong.

Similarly, if PR people are the source of ethical messages – introducing

concepts of social responsibility to their client, advocating philanthropic
actions which show clients in a good light in the community, and generally
being the “conscience” of the organisation - they should be ethical.

Members of the PR profession should do all they can to uphold its standards.

And finally, because PR is so often called ‘unethical’ - it’s important to have a

robust code of ethics to prove to all those who think negatively about PR that
the majority of PR practitioners have high values and are demonstrably
ethical.

[SLIDE 20 - What do the codes say?]

Key points of PR codes

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Most countries include in their codes the following values:

● Advocacy
● Honesty & integrity
● Confidentiality
● Loyalty
● Law abiding – do nothing to break the law
● Professional competence – ensure you can do the job required of you

[SLIDE 21 – Examples of ethical issues]

Examples of ethical issues facing PR

So, what are the kinds of issues that confront a practitioner and cause them to
question their values?

Here are some common ones:

● “Bribing” a reporter with expensive gifts to write a positive story

● Making something sound better than it is – giving it a “gloss”

● Offering extravagant hospitality to key opinion leaders

● Giving only partial information to media

● Not revealing a conflict of interest (for example, if you are

consulting for a client and are offered work by their competition)

● Lying to stop a story getting out, or minimising its impact

● Covering up bad practice (e.g. dumping of toxic waste in local

river)

It's worth noting here that dealing with the media can be one of the most
contentious areas for practitioners. The relationship is an important one and is
often central to their work. There is a mutual dependency between the two
and while friendships can develop, so can hostility.

Accuracy and honesty should be practised at all times, on both sides. Great
care should also be taken not to overstep the mark, either with over-familiarity
(which can lead to indiscretions) or by plying them with too many gifts, leaving
open the accusation of “bribery”.

[SLIDE 22 - Myths about PR]

Myths about PR
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It is a sad truism that labels like “spin doctors” (meaning people who “spin”
stories and distort the truth) and “paid liars” are frequently thrown at PR
people, with the clear implication that the lines between right and wrong have
been purposefully blurred in order to misrepresent or manipulate a message,
and distort the truth.

PR people are also often accused of shielding big business from public
scrutiny and even of lying to protect their clients and keep them out of
trouble.

These organisations are already seen as being far too powerful and influential
in society and the fact that, by paying for public relations, they can have an
even greater voice, and crush the opposition more effectively is seen as
indefensible.

The other fact, that public relations also helps charities, organises major
worthwhile campaigns and fund-raising events, and does a tremendous
amount of good work is often completely ignored!

[SLIDE 23 - The dark side]

The dark side

Organisations like the Center for Media and Democracy exist to keep watch
on the PR industry and expose their so-called terrible activities. Using
language from George Lucas’ films “Star Wars”, they have coined phrases
like PR is “the dark side” – a phrase which, like “spin-doctor” is easy to say,
quite humorous, and has entered into our vocabulary.

Have a look at their website and see what they say: (website on slide =
double click on it)

It would be a good idea for all students and practitioners of PR to subscribe to

their website and regularly read PRWatch, their newsletter, if only to
understand the nature of their concern and to counter it.

‫عمان‬ This vocal group has also produced a video and book
entitled “Toxic Sludge is Good for you” which highlights
areas of concern, like the creation of “front groups”,
misuse of video news releases etc. Some of these are
recommended for viewing in tutorials and are excellent for
discussion.

Ethical decision-making models

[SLIDE 24 - The five pillars of ethics]

The five pillars of ethics

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It is precisely to counter this sort of accusation from groups like these, and
others, that academics have come up with a number of decision-making
models to help PR practitioners.

Parsons (2004:21) proposes five “pillars” that she says “carry the weight of
ethical decision-making in public relations”.

They are:

1. Veracity (tell the truth)

2. Non-malfeasance (do no harm)
3. Beneficence (do good)
4. Confidentiality (respect privacy)
5. Fairness (be fair, be socially responsible)

Parsons (2004: 21)

[SLIDE 25 - The Five Pillars as questions]

Turning the Five Pillars into questions can help identify if there is an ethical
issue involved.

Is there harm involved?

Is there an opportunity to do good?

Could anyone be misled in any way?

Will anyone’s privacy be invaded?

Is it unfair to anyone?

Does it feel wrong? What would your friends and relatives say if they heard
about it?

This is just one of a number of decision making models available to PR

people. In tutorials we will look at others.

[SLIDE 26 - Grunig's symmetrical model]

Grunig's symmetrical model

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You may remember learning Jim Grunig's four models of public relations, (PR
Communication course) with the ideal and most ethical one being the “two-
way symmetrical” model which sees genuine dialogue between the parties
concerned, and a consensus reached which pleases everyone.

Symmetrical public relations is seen as being at the heart of this ethical

debate too. Grunig argues that the professional communicator’s role can lead
to informed debate, good decision-making and ultimately the public’s interest
is well served by having all sides of the argument well aired.

It does not mean that one side will win or lose – they could agree to differ –
but the process itself will reduce the potential for conflict.

[SLIDE 27 - Tutorial material]

Tutorial reading

Read Chapter 15 of your textbook pp289 – 304

Think about a public person you most admire – it can be an Omani or a

world leader, living or dead, and bring to the class some preliminary research
on them to share with others.

[SLIDE 28 - Summary]

Summary

Understanding ethics and having a strong sense of personal values and

integrity is important for a public relations practitioner because of the sensitive
nature of their work and the frequent dilemmas which can arise. Helping a
company achieve and maintain a good reputation can only be done by
someone who has a good reputation themselves. This lecture has looked at
some of the key thinking behind codes of ethics, and provided some decision-
making tools to assist in the process.

It has also looked at some of the criticisms levelled against public relations
and at how to counter them.

Next week we'll look at ethical principles in business.

References
Lumby, C and Probyn,E., (Eds) Remote Control: New media, new ethics
(pp74-86). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Grunig, J.E. (1984) Managing public relations. New York: Holt, Rhinehart &
Winston.
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Parson, P. (2004) Ethics in public relations. London: Kogan Page.

Pearson, R (2000) Beyond ethical relativism in public relations in J Grunig and

L Grunig (eds.) Public Relations Research Annual, Vol 1, pp 67-86,
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Rachels, J (1999). The elements of moral philosophy. International ed:

McGraw Hill.

Tench, R. & Yeomans, L. (2006). Exploring public relations. Edinburgh Gate,

Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.

Seib, P and Fitzpatrick (1995) Public relations ethics Fort Worth, Tx: Harcourt
Brace.