I think that there are two important areas we must understand about ethics. First, ethics must be practiced internally and externally. Second, ethics is necessary in all areas of PR planning.
In business, ethics helps to prioritize the moral values of an organization and ensures its practice in all areas of the company. Such ethical guidelines must be efficiently communicated to the members of the organization like I mentioned: externally and internally. External outlets involve the general public and other companies or organizations the company has ties with. Internal audience covers the senior management, staff and the employees.
A section of the reading mentioned 5 duties of a PR practitioner which I find rather relevant to my studies. They are: the self, the client, the employer, the profession and the society. I strongly believe that making the right decisions is essential in PR practice. If the decisions are ethical, they will carry down the rest of the chain to the society.
Basically, it is a chain reaction beginning with a PR practitioners personal choices.
For a company to be looked upon in a good light, it has to be ethical. In the consumer market today, consumers are more responsive to companies that back social causes like charity and saving the environment. These are part of a PR strategy in showing the public that their company practices good ethics.
Transparency is also another area of ethics. The public appreciates open and direct communication. The PR department can focus on providing accurate and truthful information to the consumers to serve their interests. This will advance the company in a god way compared to delivering false and distorted information that may be revealed and damage the name of a company.
These aspects are all mostly common sense to me. If you want to present a company in a good and favorable light, the best way is to be truthful and open. Decisions should always be made with much consideration and aim to be as ethical as possible. This is the job of a PR professional: To promote the advancement and awareness of your company. How much better can you accomplish it then in an ethical way.
When I was in primary, there was a subject called 'Moral Education'.
ReplyDeleteIt teaches us to be, yup, ethical and be a good man!
To help the senior citizens to cross the road, do not lie, etc.
Since very young, we all (it can apply to almost all human beings), we have been taught to behave morally. Needless to say the importance of it.
Indeed, to be ethical, do the right thing at the right time. We all come to situation - between the devil and the deep blue sea.
Do we apply the 'sacrifice the minority to majority'?
So the issue at hand would be:
ReplyDeleteA PR firm providing 'open communication' for the majority at the expense of the minority. If that is 'ethical' then let us make sure we are never the minority!