The Third Week.

Chapter 4: Are you being ethical?

This chapter consists of how ethics play a vital role in a PR practitioner’s job today. It is interesting to see that since 1904, definitions of the profession have shifted to become almost entirely about ethics.

I would think that the changing in definition would have changed from much later on, watching the various documentaries on TV about corruption and unethical behaviors that are still portrayed in countries all over the world today.

It is further discussed later in the chapter that even with a list of ethical values, it does not make being ethical easy, and that with considering what is unethical will help us work towards understanding what is ethical.

I find it surprising that many public relations practitioners continue to get it wrong when assessing whether their actions will align with the public’ expectations for ethical behavior since they are human beings themselves.

I learnt that a poor decision on ethical matters, however, does not necessarily mean the professional is intentionally a bad person. And that it is often a result of ignorance of what is required for ethical behavior.

But really, since the main goal of our campaigns and advertisements is to gain attention and earn money, who cares about all of these? Why make the whole thing so complicated?

If you have a conscience, PR should help organizations be responsible for their effects on the social and physical environments. Or:

"A purely selfish policy is not a good policy." (Lee, 1925)

It is shown to me that some of the most fundamental steps in making ethics a mindful quality for the public relations practitioner are very easy and achievable. You can start with your own environment; take the first step out in being mindful of ethics in every situation. Simply making ethics a noticeable topic in the workplace so that people are willing to see it as important can be the very first step.

“Ethics should just be as normal and as unconscious as shaking hands.” (Howard and Mathews, 1988)