C H A P T E R

1. 3 C H A P T E R Ethics and Professionalism

2. Topics Covered in Chapter 3 • What are ethics? • The role of professional organizations • Professional codes of conduct • Professionalism, licensing, and accreditation • Ethics in individual practice • Ethical dealings with the news media

3. What Are Ethics? Ethics are concerned with how we should live our lives…focus on questions of what is: • right or wrong; • fair or unfair; • caring or uncaring; • good or bad; • responsible or irresponsible in life. A person’s belief system determines how they act in a situation. Three basic value orientaions are: • Absolutist • Existentialist • Situationalist

4. What Are Ethics? cont. Four –Way Test for ethical decision making: Ethics is concerned with how we should live our lives…focuses on questions of what is: • Is it fair to all concerned? • Is it the truth? • Will it build goodwill and better friendship? • Will it be beneficial to all concerned? Public Relations have the burden of ethical decisions and take the following into consideration: • The public interest • The employer’s self interests • The standards of the public relations profession • Their personal values

5. The Role of Professional Organizations Professional organizations have helped develop standards of ethical and professional practices as well as helping society understand the field. The largest broad-based groups are: • Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) • International Public Relations Association (IPRA) • International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Three better-known ones in the United States are: • Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) • National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) • National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA)

6. Professional Codes of Conduct Various groups have endorsed codes of conduct for specific situations and issues, including the distribution of: • Financial information • Video news releases • The use of the Internet • Environmental sensitivity • Corporate practice

7. Professionalism, Licensing, and Accreditation • Public relations does not have prescribed standards of educational preparation, a mandatory period of apprentice- ship, or state laws that govern admission to the profession. • Frank Ovaitt notes there are four models of professional-ism: knowledge, competition, personality and status. • For many, the most important principle is for the individual practitioner to have: • Independence • Responsibility to society • Concern for competence and honor of profession • Loyalty to the profession higher than to employer

8. Professionalism, Licensing, and Accreditation cont. • Those who advocate for licensing of the public relations • field argue: • Define the practice of public relations • Establish uniform educational criteria • Set uniform professional standards • Protect clients and employers from imposters and charlatans • (5) Protect qualified practitioners from unfair competition from the unethical and unqualified • (6) Raise the overall credibility of public relations practitioners

9. Professionalism, Licensing, and Accreditation cont. Opponents of licensing of the public relations field argue: (1) Any licensing in the communications field would violate the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech (2) Civil and criminal laws already exist to deal with malpractice (3) Licensing is a function of state governments, and public relations people often work on a national and international level (4) Licensing ensures only minimum competence and professional standards, it doesn’t necessarily ensure high ethical behavior (5) The credibility and status of an occupation are not necessarily ensured through licensing (6) Setting up the machinery for licensing and policing would be very costly to the American taxpayer

10. Professionalism, Licensing, and Accreditation cont. The effort to improve standards and professionalism in public relations around the world established accreditation programs. Practitioners voluntarily go through a process in which they are “certified” by a national organization that they are competent, qualified professionals. The PRSA’s accreditation approach requires the following: • Preview course • Complete a “readiness” questionnaire • Show a portfolio of work to a panel • Take a written exam

11. Professionalism, Licensing, and Accreditation cont. PRSA, IABC, and other national groups have various programs designed to advance profession, including: (1) working with universities to standardize curricula (2) implementing research projects (3) recognizing outstanding practitioners who mentor and serve as role models

12. Ethics in Individual Practice Surveys show that a high number practitioners hold strong personal beliefs and/or work for such highly principled employers that they seldom need to compromise their personal values. The following is a list of commendable practices for practitioners: • Be honest at all times • Convey a sense of business ethics based on your own standards and those of society • Respect the integrity and position of your opponents and audiences. • Develop trust by emphasizing substance over triviality • Present all sides of an issue • Strive for a balance between loyalty to the organization and duty to the public • Don’t sacrifice long-term objectives for short-term gains

13. Ethical Dealings with News Media The standard rubric is that you must be totally honest to maintain your credibility and gain the trust of journalists and editors. Public relations practitioners should not undermine the trust of the media by providing junkets of doubtful news value, extravagant parties, expensive gifts, and personal favors for media representatives. Economic pressures are forcing many publications, particularly specialty magazines, to connect paid advertising with editorial content, which is a concern to both public relations personnel and journalists.