Ethics In Public Relations
Ethics in the field of Public Relations Public Relations (PR) is a growing field today. Many people view the profession as unethical, because its goal is to influence public opinion. Just a few unethical people can tarnish an image of a whole field. One of the first people to use PR techniques was P. T. Barnum. For example, he created a birth certificate for a woman who was claiming to have been George Washington 's personal nurse. This would have made the woman over 160 years old. People like P.T. Barnum contribute to the general misperception of PR as an unethical profession. If there was a code of ethics back then it might of helped today 's perception of the field of Public Relations.
As the Public Relations field grows "the general public is on our case the news media is on our case even we are on our own case." (Mivamoto 1) The public as a whole is demanding higher ethical practices from business firms and organizations than it did in the past. Even college students are developing a negative disposition towards public relations because of the way textbooks present it. For example, the P.T. Barnum story creation above shows how far someone will go to bring in a crowd. Barnum lied to the public.
A public relations practitioner holds huge responsibilities in promoting and defending his or her employers. Mivamoto lists a few responsibilities of public relations representatives in [his speech] "Public Relations Ethics 201: Challenges We Just Can 't Ignore." Here are some of the challenges public relation professionals face: § Misleading Information: We 're counted on and trusted to provide accurate information to our publics. It 's so easy to send out-on purpose - incorrect information designed to lead them astray.
§ Promotion of Inferior Products: How ethical is to promote products made by our company that we know are inferior - products that we know are unsafe, or of poor quality, or will be used illegally? § Political Influence: Does money still buy
As the Public Relations field grows "the general public is on our case the news media is on our case even we are on our own case." (Mivamoto 1) The public as a whole is demanding higher ethical practices from business firms and organizations than it did in the past. Even college students are developing a negative disposition towards public relations because of the way textbooks present it. For example, the P.T. Barnum story creation above shows how far someone will go to bring in a crowd. Barnum lied to the public.
A public relations practitioner holds huge responsibilities in promoting and defending his or her employers. Mivamoto lists a few responsibilities of public relations representatives in [his speech] "Public Relations Ethics 201: Challenges We Just Can 't Ignore." Here are some of the challenges public relation professionals face: § Misleading Information: We 're counted on and trusted to provide accurate information to our publics. It 's so easy to send out-on purpose - incorrect information designed to lead them astray.
§ Promotion of Inferior Products: How ethical is to promote products made by our company that we know are inferior - products that we know are unsafe, or of poor quality, or will be used illegally? § Political Influence: Does money still buy
Cited: Hunt, Todd, and Andrew Tirpok. Universal Ethics Code: An Idea Whose Time Has Come. Public Relations Review Spring (1993): 1-10. Kruckeberg, Dean. Universal Ethics Code: Both Possible and Feasible. Public Relations Review Spring (1993): 2130. Mivamoto, Craig. Public Relations Ethics 201: Challenges We Just Can 't Ignore. http://www.geocities.com/wallstreet/8925/ethics.htm. Pratt, Cornelius B. PRSA Members Perceptions of Public Relations Ethics. Public Relations Review Summer (1991): 145-159.