The public relations professional is frequently the conscience of a company, not only by representing the organization's interests to the public, but also by conveying the public's interests back to the company. PR people are often put on the spot – if not to determine the morality of a course, at least to help envision the fallout. Fortunately, there are valuable touchstone tools for finding our way. We might also remember that public relations is a two way street: not only do we represent our organization to the public, but we must also present the opinions of the public back to our organization. We should help our colleagues understand how the public perceives our actions.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 5 hours.
Read these articles, which detail fundamental ethical questions facing PR practitioners. Consider where the greater obligation lies: to the good of society on the whole, or the particular self-interests of a company or client, or some balance in between.
Visit this website, which links to codes of ethics and other related resources for a large number of professional fields. Public relations practitioners work in a sweeping array of fields, so it is useful to be familiar with a wide range of ethics codes. Visit the Codes of Ethics Collections, and read the Index of Codes to find a wide range of keywords, organizations, and professional categories to research for codes of ethics. Research at least two different professional categories, such as marketing or healthcare, for related codes of ethics.
Read Chapters 11 and 12 for an analysis of ethical practices in public relations, the public relations professional's role in moral decision-making, and applying best practices to proper conduct. After you read Chapter 12 on best practices in public relations, compare the authors' suggested practices with the codes of ethics you considered in the previous resources.
Read this article by public relations agency founder Steven Le Vine for a five-point summary on how to avoid ethical hazards in PR campaigns.
Visit this website, which provides for a large assortment of reports and links providing a critical look at specific cases of shady public relations. Spend some time reading several articles to give yourself an idea of steps you might take to avoid becoming a target and to recognize when codes of ethics are violated.