Ethics and PR

Ida Nurhayati Annisa Fattaqun Khofiana Mabruroh

Public Relations
Public Relations is all about reputation. Its the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you. It is used to gain trust and understanding between an organisation and its various publics whether thats employees, customers, investors, the local community or all of those stakeholder groups Public Relations is about reputation the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you. PR is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics

Ethics
Norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour Abstract concept of common right and wrong, no matter the situation Obligation to do the right thing Ethical standards apply to all people and organisations -And still the word ethics seems blurry and indefinable No wonder why PR professionals are still struggling with operating under ethical terms

Brief History

1950 First code written 1959 Enforcement provisions 1962 Grievance Board 1983 B.E.P.S. 2000 Code rewritten

Code of Ethics
The Public Relations Society of America A standard for ethical behavior and trust building

Basic Code Principles

Honesty
Adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those you represent and in communicating with the public. Maintain the integrity of relationships with the media, government officials, and the public. To ensure honesty, investigate the accuracy of information given to you. Reveal sponsors for causes/interests. Disclose financial interests.

Basic Code Principles

Fairness
Deal fairly with clients, employers, competitors, peers, vendors, the media, and the general public. Respect all opinions and support the right of free expression.

Build trust with the public by revealing all information needed for responsible decision making.

Basic Code Principles

Expertise
Advance your profession through your continued professional development, research, and education. Build mutual understanding, credibility and relationships among a wide array of institutions and audiences.

Basic Code Principles

Advocacy
Serve the public interest by acting as responsible advocates for those you represent. Provide a voice for the organization through ideas, facts and viewpoints to aid informed public debate.

Basic Code Principles

Independence
Provide objective counsel to those you represent. Avoid real, potential or perceived conflicts of interest you will build the trust of clients, employers and the public.

The Importance of Ethical Issues in PR

Public Relation practitioners are known for being able to spin even the worst news into good press coverage. The fact that many PR professionals do not see their field as an ethical practise is disturbing as well. This is an opinion that people outside the PR world share. PR although helpful in a lot of aspects has always been accused of not following the ethics code. The PROs are not even able to tackle their own industrys bad ethical reputation. PR is considered a unethical tool for cleaning up after a mess has been done.

Ethical standards
Utilitarianism this is a classic consequentialist theory stating that actions are not good or bad in themselves, but only in so far as what they are good or bad for. (Theaker 2004) For example, ethic of welfare allows telling of lies to protect the reputation of the company and to save the jobs of employees. An Ethic of duty it is motivation rather than consequences which is the determining factor in deciding whether actions are ethical or not. (Theaker 2004) Emmanuel Kant, the German philosopher argues that ethics is grounded in notions of duty and it follows from this that some actions are morally obligatory regardless of their consequences

 An ethic of rights there is a status common to all human beings which affords them protection from abuse by others, rights that everyone is entitled to. Rights and duties cannot be looked at separately and neither can they be pursued regardless of any consideration of collective welfare (Theaker 2004) Corporate Social Responsibility this is a concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment. A concept whereby companies intergrade social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with stakeholders (European commissions definition of CSR)

CIPR Principles Members of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations agree to:
Maintain the highest standards of professional endeavour, integrity, confidentiality, financial propriety and personal conduct; Deal honestly and fairly in business with employers, employees, clients, fellow professionals, other professions and the public; Respect the customs, practices and codes of clients, employers, colleagues, fellow professionals and other professions in all countries where they practise;

Take all reasonable care to ensure employment best practice including giving no cause for complaint of unfair discrimination on any grounds; Work within the legal and regulatory frameworks affecting the practice of public relations in all countries where they practise; Encourage professional training and development among members of the profession; Respect and abide by this Code and related Notes of Guidance issued by the Institute of Public Relations and encourage others to do the same.

THANK YOU