ETHICAL ISSUES IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

ETHICAL ISSUES IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

"The practice of public relations can present unique and challenging ethical issues. At the same time, protecting integrity and the public trust are fundamental to the profession’s role and reputation. Bottom line, successful public relations hinges on the ethics of its practitioners."

- PRSA Code of Professional Standards      

PR is committed to serving organizations or individual that hire PR pros to build and manage their relationships with other organizations and publics. The primary responsibility of PR pros is to serve their employer/client. Most of the PR pros are highly ethical. However, they are sometimes accused of being unethical by people who don't understand PR and who erroneously use the professional standards of other fields to judge PR activities.

Other than the Golden Rule – “Do unto others” i.e. “As you would have them do unto you. Treat other people with the concern and kindness you would like them to show toward you”. There is no universal standard for professional ethics. As each profession developed it created its own standards and expectations for practitioners based on the unique knowledge, values, challenges, and practices of that profession. In time, norms of acceptable and unacceptable behavior emerged and were formalized into codes of ethics that impose peer pressure on those working in that field. Practitioners who follow the code of their profession and act ethically are honored and respected. Those who don't may be sanctioned, criticized or scorned. In extreme cases, those who violate the ethics of their profession can be forced out of the profession. The same is true for public relations. It is, after all, a well-established field of professional endeavor and has professional organizations such as PRSA, IPRA, PRSI, IABC and GAPR&CM.

PRSA, The Public Relations Society of America was founded in 1947 by combining the American Council on Public Relations and the National Association of Public Relations Councils. The Public Relations Society of America's Code of Professional Standards presents the core values of PRSA members and, more broadly, of the public relations profession. It clearly shows that advocacy for clients/employers is the primary purpose of public relations, and the advocacy should be done responsibly and in accordance with the public interest.

Here are the first two of six statements of professional values included in the PRSA Code:

·         ADVOCACY: We serve the public interest by acting as responsible advocates for those we represent. We provide a voice in the marketplace of ideas, facts, and viewpoints to aid informed public debate.

·   HONESTY: We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those we represent and in communicating with the public."

IPRA, The International Public Relations Association, was established in 1955, and is the leading global network for PR professionals in their personal capacity. IPRA aims to advance trusted communication and the ethical practice of public relations through networking, its code of conduct and intellectual leadership of the profession. IPRA Council, at its meeting in Athens held in 1965, had adopted International Code of Ethics (ICE) which constitutes IPRA’s moral charter. ICE is inspired by the UN Declaration of Human Rights and is also referred as the Code of Athens.

ICE or Code of Athens

Considering that all member countries of the United Nations Organizations have agreed to abide by its Charter which reaffirms “its faith in fundamental human rights in the dignity and worth of the human person” and having regard to the very nature of their profession, Public Relations practitioners in these countries should undertake to ascertain and observe the principles set out in the charter.

Considering that, apart from “rights”, human beings have not only physical or material needs but also intellectual, moral and social needs and that their rights are of real benefits to them only in so far as needs are essentially met.

Considering that, in the course of their professional duties and depending on how these duties are performed, Public Relations practitioners can substantially help to meet these intellectual, moral and social needs.

And lastly,

Considering that the use of techniques enabling them to come simultaneously into contact with millions of people gives PR practitioners a power that has to be restrained by observance of strict moral code.

PRSI, The Public Relations Society of India which was established in 1958, also accepted the Code of Athens (ICE) in year 1968 as its moral charter. thus if, in the light of evidence submitted to the Council of PRSI, any member of PRSI has been found to have infringed the Code of Ethics in the course of his/her professional duties, he/she will be deemed to be guilty of serious misconduct calling for an appropriate penalty.

Code of Ethics adopted by PRSI is as under:-

Each Member of PRSI;

Shall Endeavour;

1. To contribute to the achievements of the moral and cultural conditions enabling human beings to reach their full stature and enjoy the indefeasible rights to which they are entitled under the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.

2. To establish communication patterns and channels which, by fostering the free flow of essential information, will make each member of the group feel that he is being kept informed and also give him awareness of his own personal involvement and responsibility and of his solidarity with other members.

3. To conduct himself always and in all circumstances in such a manner as to deserve and secure the confidence of those with whom he comes into contact.

4. To bear in mind that because of the relationship between his profession and the public, conduct even in private-will have an impact on the way in which the profession as a whole appraised. 

Shall undertake;

5. To observe, in the course of his professional duties, the moral principles and rules of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.

6. To pay due regard to and uphold human dignity and to recognise the right of each individual to judge for himself.

7. To establish the moral, psychological and intellectual conditions for dialogue in its true sense and to recognise the right of the parties involved to state their case and express their views.

  

8. To act, in all circumstances in such a manner as to take account of respective interests of the parties involved: both the interests of the organization which he serves and the interests of the publics concerned.

9. To carry out his undertakings and commitments which shall always be so worded as to avoid any misunderstanding and to show loyalty and integrity in all circumstances so as to keep the confidence of his clients or employees, past or present and of all the publics that are affected by his actions.

Shall refrain from;

10. Subordinating the truth to other requirements.

11. Circulating information which is not based on established and ascertainable facts.

12. Taking part in any venture or undertaking which is unethical or dishonest or capable of impairing human dignity and integrity.

13. Using any “manipulative” methods or techniques designed to create subconscious motivations which the individual cannot control of his own free will and so cannot be held accountable for the action taken on them.

IABC, The International Association of Business Communicators founded in 1970 in USA is a global network of communicators’ professionals. The IABC Code is not limited solely to public relations practitioners but is meant to extend beyond public relations and include the many other types of communication specialists who are its members. This includes communicators who deal with employee publications, marketing, advertising, training, and dozens of other communication functions.

Here are the first and fourth of the 12 articles in the IABC Code:

·         Professional communicators uphold the credibility and dignity of their profession by practicing honest, candid and timely communication and by fostering the free flow of essential information in accord with the public interest.

·   

    Professional communicators are sensitive to cultural values and beliefs and engage in fair and balanced communication activities that foster and encourage mutual understanding.

GAPR&CM, GLOBAL ALLIANCE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT

The Alliance is a framework for collaboration with a mission to enhance the public relations profession and its practitioners throughout the world. The Alliance was formally established in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on 25 October, 2000, after a Public Relations World Congress sponsored by the Public Relations Society of America and the International Public Relations Association. Through cooperation, the associations and their member practitioners will be able to strengthen the influence of the public relations industry among our constituents around the world.

Global Protocol on Ethics in Public Relations has been announced by the Global Alliance to reflect the complementary nature and continuity existing between current national association codes. It brings the common strands found in the various national codes analyzed together into one common building block.

The Alliance is a cooperative of established public relations associations with the mission to enhance the public relations profession and its practitioners throughout the world. It was founded in 2000 in Chicago by 25 national and international bodies, is incorporated under U.K. laws as a not-for-profit entity and has a secretariat in South Africa. In 2005, GA comprised 58 national PR associations representing 160,000 professionals around the world. It currently serves as a vehicle for examining and developing Global standards on Ethics; Universal accreditation options; Curriculum; and Body of knowledge.

GAPR&CM’s “GLOBAL PROTOCOL ON ETHICS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS”:

Declaration of Principles:

A profession is distinguished by certain characteristics or attributes, including:

• Mastery of a particular intellectual skill through education and training
• Acceptance of a duty to a broader society than merely to one's clients/employers;
• Objectivity; and
• High standards of conduct and performance.

We base our professional principles, therefore, on the fundamental value and dignity of the individual. We believe in and support the free exercise of human rights, especially freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the media, which are essential to the practice of good public relations.

In serving the interest of clients and employers, we dedicate ourselves to the goals of better communication, understanding, and cooperation among diverse individuals, groups, and institutions of society. We also subscribe to, and, support equal opportunity of employment in the public relations profession and in lifelong professional development.

We pledge:

• To conduct ourselves professionally, with integrity, truth, accuracy, fairness, and responsibility to our clients, our client publics, and to an informed society;
• To improve our individual competence and advance the knowledge and proficiency of the profession through continuing education and research and, where available, through the pursuit of professional accreditation; and
• To adhere to the principles of the Code of Professional Standards for the Practice of Public Relations.

In the domain of public relations ethics encompasses the values of honesty, loyalty, openness, integrity, respect, fairness, and accurate communication. Ethics are considered an important factor for the success of any public relations work. PR pros must be ethical; they have to be honest, credible and trustworthy. They should act at all times in public interest, which also represents the interest of the organization they work for. This view of morality is not shared by all practitioners of public relations. Historically, the view of the general public of public relations practitioners are related to unethical practices, untruthful and misleading messages. Some even go to the extreme of suggesting that ethics cannot exist in the context of public relations because the practice itself is of manipulation, persuasion, and propaganda.

An ethical issue can damage the reputation of an employee and company. It is a serious problem that could escalate if it isn't caught in time. An ethical issue could involve a bad decision or wrongdoing that affects a customer or anyone connected to the business or PR firm. One can define an ethical issue as being a wrong or dishonest choice that negatively affects the person, customers or anyone connected to the firm.

Are there ethics in public relations?
The question is very relevant and should be posed because current state of affairs supports a historical trend which associates public relations with lying, bluffing, spin-doctoring and all kinds of unethical practices.
Some critics argue that public relations cannot be ethical because its practice is the art of manipulation, propaganda and persuasion by all means. This is an unfortunate belief among journalists, politicians, decision-makers, businessmen, and people from other walks of life. 

Various case studies too indicate that PR is having adverse and very significant effects on the democratic process in place today. This is because interested parties have the opportunity to purposely confuse, mislead, and disrupt any public debates about issues vital to the public interest. This meddling in an obviously key democratic process can result in the reduction of society’s ability to react effectively in issues of societal and political importance.

The PR lacks ethics because its strategic goal is to influence public opinion through persuasive messages and lobbying that considers only the interests of the client or the organization. According to some, this is a threat to responsible and committed journalism and communication. Some argue that public relations practices of today are having a very significant negative impact on the democratic process by confusing, deceiving and derailing public debate on key issues and focusing on the other hand, on what clients and organisations would like to have on the agenda of the media and public opinion. Today PR is facing an identity crisis and itself needs some public relations to improve its image and react to the various stereotypes and criticism it is getting. 

With technology increasing the speed of communication, along with an involved and connected public, we have to show more diligence with the information we share. In an age of social conversations, not taking the time to review the details of information carefully, checking and rechecking sources, and confirming the accuracy of our communication, will pose a tremendous challenge. As ethical communicators, what we share should not only be authentic, but also in the best interest of all parties involved.

Indeed, PR is based on ethics and believes in ethics and these ethics demand personal engagement, a search for best practices, an understanding of rational decisions to be taken and a good understanding of the consequences. Ethics come from within and are nurtured by life’s experiences and the standards and codes of conduct followed in our chosen fields. Ethics in PR deal with ethical thinking. Debating the issue of public relations ethics is exposing the dilemmas inherent in media relations, and confronting ethical problems in organisational communication, employee and peer communication, corporate social responsibility, lobbying, and community relations.

Public relations ethics introduces students of PR to codes of ethics in public relations; legal issues related to privacy, defamation, copyright, product liability, and financial disclosure; legal and regulatory compliance, and credibility. Public relations professionals and other stakeholders must admit that without ethical behaviour there is no credibility, and without credibility there is no business. They must also remember that PR 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 organisation and its employees understand how the public perceives our actions.

Guidelines public relations practitioners should follow to avoid moral and ethical conflict.

1. Have proper education in PR, and knowledge of PR ethics.

Professionals in the field of public relations must have knowledge and focus on ethics before they encounter a situation of difficult moral decision. The moment when a crisis of conflicting interest comes it will be too late to find and seek moral guidance. Practitioners must be fully familiar with the ethical values of their organizations before these values are put under public scrutiny.

2. Be Aware of their own values.

Public relations practitioners should be totally aware of their own values. Taking stock of their own values as individuals and practitioners of public relations will be of immense help when the moment comes that these values will be put under pressure by a client, a supervisor, or by the public.

3. Be able to identify tacky situations.

Be vigilant of and identify issues that have the potential to become ethical dilemmas. The failure to identify and act on ethical issues will often result in costly failures and public relations debacles for the organization concerned. Early identification of ethical issues will allow more time for analysis, discussion, research, and resolution of these issues. A proactive position is easier to take rather than merely reacting to issues that have been brought to light by the public or by media.

4. Follow the mission statement.

Public relations professionals should be aware of the fundamental values inherent in the organization’s mission statement and code of ethics. There focus should be on the ethical business approach that will be the nearest to organizational values in practice. The function of public relations in this area would be to encourage discussion and ethical debate throughout the organization by using internal communications.

5. Training of the top management in PR. 

Educating top level management of the capabilities of public relations beyond media relations and prevention of ethical dilemmas can contribute to the success of the organization by using conflict or crises and issues management and managing relationships with all the target publics through righteous communication, internally and externally.

References:
www.ipra.org
www.prsa.org
www.iabc.com
www.prsi.org.in
www.wikipedia.org

And

Book.:
Public Relations 4 You - A guide to PR Theory & Practice

Author : Suresh Gaur
3 Chapters : Introduction to IPRA, PRSI & GAPR&CM

P R Code of Ethics, Ethics in Public Relations

   

SURESH GAUR

P R GURU

Founder & CEO

P R 4 You

Visiting Faculty of PR at:-

IIMC, IMCIT-YMCA, DSJ –DU (NC), 

SPCC&M-BVB, & ASCO-Amity Univ.

Email id : sureshgaur56@gmail.com