Download Chapter 2 Public Relations Contested and Ethically

Chapter 2
Public Relations Contested and
Ethically Challenged
Why a Concern for Ethics?
PR and the Media
Defining Ethics
Ethical Perspectives
Five Pillars
• Veracity (tell the truth).
• Non-maleficence (do no harm, including
demonstrating respect for others).
• Beneficence (do good; when choosing between
alternatives, select the one that will do the most
good for the public, not just the one that would
enhance your image).
• Confidentiality (respect privacy).
• Fairness (be fair and socially responsible; try to
respect all parties involved in an issue).
Why Concern over Ethics in PR?
• PR is strategic communication that involves
persuasion.
• Must be cautious with persuasion, it can be
abused.
• Critics warn the rich and powerful have an
unfair advantage in PR.
Goals
• Clarify ethical concerns with PR.
• Explain how field is addressing ethical
concerns.
• Stimulate thinking about ethics:
– How PR is portrayed in media
– Special obligations of PR
– Different ethical perspectives
– Role of codes of ethics
Media Portrayals of Public Relations
• The dominant media portrayal of PR is
negative.
• PR is hype and style over substance.
• PR is dishonest and ethically challenged.
PR Guilt linked to Specific Cases
• A few, high-profile unethical cases present
unbalanced view of PR.
• Front groups
– Hill and Knowlton “Citizens for a Free Kuwait”
– American Farmers for the Advancement and
Conservation of Technology
• Cause marketing fund raising
– Starbucks “Ethos Water Fund”
– Dell and Red Campaign
PR and Journalists
• Love-hate relationship, need one another but
there is tension.
• Video News Release (VNR) captures tension
– Created by PR people and sent to stations
– VNR are appealing, high quality and low cost
– Offers story a station could not afford to cover
– Journalists use but rarely attribute to PR
How Media use Term PR
• “It’s just PR”
• “PR maneuvers”
• “PR ploy”
None are flattering references for PR.
Back to style over substance.
Ethical Issues in the
Practice of Public Relations
• Bias against PR due to corporate connections.
• Fear that PR exercises great influence in
society.
Ethical Issues in the
Practice of Public Relations
• PR is public communication.
• PR and persuasion.
• PR and decision making.
Public Communication and
Public Relations
• Public communicators have special
responsibilities to balance the needs of society
with the needs of clients.
– Rooted in ancient Greek view of rhetorical
tradition
– More recently in discussion of public sphere
• “The power to influence society means that
public relations holds enormous responsibility
to be ethical” (Bowen, 2005a, p. 294).
Ethical Issues in the
Practice of Public Relations
• PR people are boundary spanners.
– Span the organization and its constituents
• PR should serve the public interest but what
constitutes the public interest is debatable.
Persuasion and Public Relations
• Some dislike featuring persuasion in PR.
• Consider persuasion unethical and
manipulative.
• Persuasion can lead to propaganda.
• Persuasion, as a form of strategic
communication, can be done in an open,
authentic way.
• Advocacy is one of PRSA’s professional values.
Persuasion and Public Relations
• Persuasion can benefit the organization.
• Persuasion can benefit society.
• Persuasion can be of mutual benefit to
“persuader and those being persuaded”
(Parson, 2004, p. 107).
Decision Making and Public Relations
• PR is not always part of organizational
decision making.
• PR can collect information relevant to decision
making.
• PR can listen and collect information from
constituents.
Defining Ethics
• Ethics concerns value judgments of good and
bad, right or wrong.
• People hold different values.
• Values reflect what is desirable in terms of
practices (behaviors or processes we should
engage in) and end states of existence (goals
we should seek).
• Involves judgments, not legal requirements.
Useful Quotation
• “Law is about what people must do, while
ethics is about what people should do, they
advise. Ethics begins where the law ends. Law
is about compliance with set rules and
procedures, while ethics involves more
discretionary decision making... Law is not an
appropriate guide for determining parameters
of ethical behavior” (Fitzpatrick, 2006, p. 2).
What Are the Sources of Values?
• Personal level, people bring their own values
into the organization.
• Organizational level, we can examine how
organizations develop unique cultures
including values and ways of doing things.
• Societal level, we recognize that our
judgments of good and bad are shaped by
societal expectations.
Hofstede’s Original Four
Dimensions of Culture
1.
2.
3.
4.
Power distance.
Uncertainty avoidance.
Individualism.
Masculinity.
Culture and Values
• Cultural differences complicate ethical
decision making when the values of two
cultures come into conflict.
Historical Context and Shifting Values
• Historical context: historical time periods
reflect different ideas about acceptable
behaviors, value orientations, and ethical
standards.
• Shifting values: values within a society or
organization can change over time.
The Question
• Given all of the possibilities for value
differences, who gets to decide what is
ethical?
Are Business Ethics
Different from Ethics?
• Should they be driven by financial concerns—
the profit motive?
• Does the unique context of business excuse it
and PR from many ethical constraints?
• Is Friedman right or wrong in claiming only
profit matters?
Ethical Perspectives
•
•
•
•
Egoist
Teleological
Utilitarianism
Ethic of care
Egoist Perspective
• Focuses on the consequences or outcomes of
an action.
• Driven by self-interest.
• PR should do what is best for the organization.
• When self-interests conflict, use cooperation
to find ways to resolve conflict.
Teleological Perspective
• One should consider the consequences or
outcomes of an action to determine its ethical
merit.
• The “greatest good for the greatest number”
who are affected by the decision.
• The ethical decision is the one with the most
benefits and least negative consequences.
Act Utilitarianism
• Suggests ethical actions are contingent on the
nature of the situation.
• You look at the specific situation, and select
the act that maximizes the greatest balance of
good for all affected.
• Includes professional codes of conduct.
Rule Utilitarianism
• Associated with John Stuart Mill, emphasizes
the importance of general rules of conduct
that emphasize the greatest universal utility.
• Reflects concern with the public good or the
public interest, a concern for the rights of all
members of society.
Problems with Teleological Perspective
• Assumes consequences can be
predicted/known.
• Difficult to balance interests of various groups.
Deontological Perspective
• Emphasizes “rule following,” stressing rights,
moral principles, obligations, and duties.
• Decision making should be guided by moral
principles that apply equally to all people.
Ethics of Duty
• Emphasizes obligation to moral rules (duties)
based on universal, self-evident requirements.
• The emphasis is on the duty itself, not the
consequences of the act.
• Can include applications of professional codes
of conduct.
• Example is Kant’s categorical imperative.
Ethics of Rights
• Rights argues that people have certain rights
and entitlements that should be respected.
• However, a person’s actions may not impinge
upon the rights of another.
• Associated with John Locke.
• Locke focuses on the obligation of the
community or government to the individual.
Ethic of Care
• Represents an additional ethical perspective
that could guide public relations practitioners.
• Ethic of care emphasizes “maintaining
connections and nurturing the web of
relationships in which they were embedded”
(Simola 2003, p. 354).
• Fits well with the boundary-spanning role of
public relations.
Ethic of Care
• Emphasis on interdependence, authentic
relationships, mutual understanding, and
responsiveness to the needs of others.
• Consistent with dialogue.
• Focus on the process, not the outcome.
• Reflects a concern for trying to meet
conflicting responsibilities to different people,
a challenge commonly experienced by public
relations professionals.
Professional Associations and Ethics
• Each organization has codes of conduct.
• Primary PR associations are
– Public Relations Society of America (PRSA),
– International Association of Business
Communicators (IABC)
– Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)
– Global Alliance
An Example: PRSA
• Public Relations Society of America.
• List of “professional values” for the Code include
–
–
–
–
advocacy (providing a voice)
honesty (accuracy and truth)
expertise (applying specialized knowledge)
independence (objective counsel and accountability for
actions)
– loyalty (to clients and the public interest)
– fairness (in dealing with clients, competitors, the media,
and the general public; demonstrating respect for all
opinions and supporting the right of free expression) (PRSA
Member Code of Ethics, 2000, pp. 1-2).
Model for Ethical Decision Making
1. Identify that an ethical dilemma may exist.
2. Examine potential courses of action by applying
ethical perspectives.
3. Assess possible short-term and long-term
consequences of pursuing the course of action.
4. Determine and enact the most appropriate
course of action.
5. Assess the extent to which desired goals were
achieved.
Reflection Points
• Why is it that communicative choices involve
ethics?
• Why is it difficult to create an ethical code for
public relations?
• Why does public communication bring special
ethical concerns with it?