“What’s an Ethics class, and why do I need it for PR?”

 

            I’ve been hearing it all semester when I explain the courses I’ve been taking: “What’s that about?”, “you’re studying public relations why would you need to know ethics?”. Its been ringing in my ears throughout this entire spring semester. Honestly at first I didn’t know why I needed it and thought I learned enough of it in previous courses.

            As long as you’re a good person, you’re not gonna get in trouble, right? Well I have learned this semester the different ways you can be a good person and still find yourself in a lawsuit, or how something can completely pop up out of no where with your company or organization and you might be the only person to blame.

            The big idea of having a course of ethics for PR students is because ethics are different everywhere. People all over have different views of what is right or what is wrong because people from varying cultures and backgrounds have morals and values that may not be recognized by everyone else. The answer is really not black and white when it comes to ethics. Some actions may be seen as unethical but may not be illegal. Some are also seen as ethical yet half of us raised from a different background don’t understand why.

            So, I’ll tell you a few of the major things I’ve taken from my ethics course this semester that may just be enough to help you in a tough situation one day.

            First things first: libel. Don’t do it, ever! It’s no fun to be in a lawsuit and seen as a person that has caused drama in the corporate or media world. If you didn’t know, libel is basically calling someone something that is false or claiming a person did something that is also false. Libel is published and seen between more than just you and the person you published it about. The main thing you can cling to if you’re being sued for libel is if the stuff you published was the TRUTH. If not, then pray no one else saw it and that person can’t prove that you’ve harmed their life and reputation in some way. Side-note: slander is the speaking version of libel and you can be sued for both.

            Now, what’s the role of a public relations professional? The PRSA code of ethics is a ‘code’ that professionals in the public relations world should follow. A list of the values we strive to uphold in the corporate world to prevent the client we represent from looking sketchy and bad.

Here’s a shortened version of the PRSA code of ethics:

·       Protect and advance the free flow of accurate and honest information

·       Foster informed decision making through open communication

·       Protect confidential and private information

·       Promote healthy and fair competition among professionals

·       Avoid conflicts of interest

·       Work to strengthen the public’s trust in the profession

One decision-making model I learned in ethics was called LEAP:

L- Learn everything you can: data, laws, policies, what raises a red flag? Who are the stakeholders?

E-Evaluate your options: when all the stakeholders agree- move to the next step

A-Access you intuition: what feels right? What does your gut say? What would the headline in this news story be? What would your mother think?

P-Put your decision into action: time to make a move, evaluate and evolve from the situation.

Some other interesting points of ethics I have learned are the different theories of ethics such as: Utilitarianism, Communitarianism, Egoism and Consequentialism to name a few. They sound like a mouthful, but they are really just a way to put certain actions taken by previous people into perspective. These are more of a possibility of why they acted that way or they are just a name to place when describing the ethical decision a person makes.

            Consequentialism: “The moral rightness of an action is determined solely by its results, or consequences”. The actions made by the person weren’t moral or immoral because it all depends on the outcome. If it results in good consequences it was a good act, if bad consequences are the end result then it was a bad act.

            Utilitarianism: This falls under consequentialism and it describes the rightness or wrongness of an action by how much it affects the greater good to more people.

            Egoism: the act is morally correct if it promotes one’s long-term self-interest; this can be for an individual, a group, or organization.

            Communitarianism: this theory says actions should be intended to a sense of community and community values. In other words it tries to do what everyone would believe is best, or moral.

 

So those are just a few of the theories of ethics, which there are plenty of more detailed blogs over. But these are just some of the things I learned in my ethics class that I will be taking with me to my public relations profession, I hope now I can show everyone that my ethics class wasn’t just a course that I needed to graduate. I’m hoping all I learned here can keep my future clients from being in a major crisis with no-where to turn.