The Moral Compass Of Public Relations

The civic and moral responsibilities of public relations are hotly contested topics. While many researchers call for focusing on ethics in public relations, they concentrate on ethics in relation to how people do their jobs. In actuality, emphasis should move beyond professional codes of ethics to include general morality and citizenship. Currently, as the profession receives greater scrutiny, it is important to be aware of the value of public relations in the community. This book centers on four areas of public relations’ conscience in order to examine its role in morality and citizenship: civic professionalism, corporate social responsibility, ethics, and public communication. This approach will help to answer the question of what is public relations’ responsibility to the public good.

Praise and Reviews "This book on ethics is long overdue. Thoughtful yet thoroughly practical, it will help public relations professionals tussling with ethical dilemmas. The ethical decision-making models will be especially useful."Mike Granatt, FIPR, Partner, Luther Pendragon; former Director General of the Government Information and Communications Service (GICS), CanadaEthical questions and dilemmas are inherent to public relations, and ensuring that practitioners operate ethically is fundamental to the professionalism and credibility of the field. Ethics in Public Relations gives readers the tools and knowledge to enable them to make defensible decisions, and outlines the important ethical concerns in public relations and corporate communications.Written in a practical and approachable style, this is not another 'tome' on ethical theory but rather a clear insight into the personal and professional issues that affect public relations practitioners. It examines how an individual's sense of morality has an impact on decision-making and ethical business behaviour. Overall, the purpose of Ethics in Public Relations is threefold:to provide a framework for understanding important ethical issues in public relations and corporate communications now and in the futureto help develop an attitude that supports the concept that ethics are key to professionalism and credibility in the fieldto assist in everyday ethical decision-makingWritten by a leading academic in the field, this practical and engaging title is a must-have for any public relations practitioner or student who wants a framework that relates underlying ethical theories to everyday issues.

Ethical practice in any professional discipline is guided by age-old philosophical perspectives, but its modern parameters are continually evolving. Ongoing developments in technology, social media and social contexts mean that public relations and its practices in particular are constantly changing, and so are the ethical questions faced by practitioners in the field. Ethical questions and dilemmas are inherent to public relations, and ensuring that practitioners operate ethically is fundamental to both the professionalism and credibility of the field. Engaging and accessible, Ethics in Public Relations offers a lively exploration of the key ethical concerns present in the public relations world today by way of practical tips and guidance to support those in PR and corporate communications. It covers topics including the roles which lies, truth and honesty play; utilitarianism; practising respect and morality; authorship; conflicts of interest; PR and the corporate ethics programme; moonlighting; the impact of whistleblowing and more. Written by a leading academic in the field, this fully updated third edition of Ethics in Public Relations includes an entirely new chapter on the uses of ethics in social media, covering topical issues such as blogger engagement and the relationship between employee social media activity and organizational reputation.

This book represents a practical guide to ethical decision-making tailored specifically to the needs of those who practice and study public relations. It traces the development of ethical theory from ancient Greece through the works of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to modern day public relations executives including Harold Burson, Robert Dilenschneider, and Richard Edelman. This book helps readers build personal frameworks for ethical reasoning that will enable them not only to recognize the ethical issues at play in public relations practice but also to analyze the conflicting duties and loyalties in these situations. This volume fills a gap in the currently available books on the subject, most of which either lack theoretical grounding or practical application. Illustrative cases used in this book span a wide range of public relations functions. To update readers on issues discussed in this book, the authors have started an online conversation. Please join the discussion at Updates.PRethics.com.

Public relations frequently reflects the conscience of an organization. Public relations professionals must ask the right questions when advising organizations on the best ways to protect themselves from damage or liability. A better understanding of ethics helps formulate those questions and educate management on the ethical consequences of corporate action. Karla Gower has updated Legal and Ethical Considerations for Public Relations to reflect recent case law and the prevalence of social media in our lives and in public relations practice. She considers ethical standards, the development of First Amendment law, corporate and commercial speech, lobbying, protecting creative property, and other specific areas of the law. In addition, Gower highlights important cases and breaks down how their decisions have impacted current law. Readers will learn to collaboratively resolve corporate crises not just in the classroom, but throughout their professional careers.

This book is a pragmatic, case-rich guide to how current and future public relations practitioners can apply ethical principles and the industry’s codes of ethics to their day-to-day work. Authors Trevor Morris and Simon Goldsworthy draw on their years of industry and academic experience to illustrate key ethical issues and ground them in reality, all within an international frame of reference. Public Relations Ethics incorporates interviews with industry practitioners, offering contrasting perspectives as well as recent examples of real-life complaints and disciplinary issues. Provocative questions and exercises help readers grapple with ethical dilemmas and review the key scenarios and challenges that PR people face. The book is ideal at the undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education levels as a core text for public relations ethics courses and a supplementary text for general public relations survey courses. Accompanying the text are online resources for both students and instructors, including lecture slides and links to further resources.

Given the high rate of social media use by the public, organizations are compelled to engage with key audiences through these outlets. Social media engagement requires organizations to actively participate with public groups, and this highly-interactive exchange raises a new set of ethical concerns for communicators. In this rapidly changing communications environment, the long-term implications of social media are uncertain, and this book provides the much needed research to understand its impact on audiences and organizations. Through an examination of a broad range of ethics concepts including transparency and online identities, policies, corporate responsibility, and measurement, this book explores a variety of topics important to public relations such as diversity, non-profit communication, health communication, financial communication, public affairs, entertainment communication, environmental communication, crisis communication, and non-profit communication. The chapter authors, expert scholars within their fields of public relations, offer insights drawn from original research and case study examples of ethical dilemmas raised by social media communication.

In "The Ethics of PR," explore the ethical compass that guides Public Relations. This book delves into truth, transparency, data ethics, media relations, and crisis communication. It equips PR practitioners and students to make principled decisions in a rapidly evolving field. Join us on a journey to ethical excellence in the world of PR.