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.
