Jacquie L’Etang explains, “Business ethics is the study of moral issues in organizational life. Initially it started as an investigation of the role of corporations in society and then widened to the public rather than the private sector. Early work focused on fundamental principles of justice and fairness and the role of private enterprise. It thus engaged with debates about ethics of capitalism and socialism, and the role that corporations could play in distributive justice and creating benefits for society.”[1]
“The debate has traditionally focused on profits and principles, self interest and benevolence. The question has always been, “Can there exist a conflation of social responsibility and commercial behaviour?”[2] If the main objectives of a corporation are to make money and achieve profit, therefore can it ever truly act ethically? Should it have to? Or is the purpose of corporations, as the title of Milton Friedman’s article published in the New York Times in 1970 suggested, that ‘The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.’[3]
The opinion of Freidman was a widely accepted one until recent events in the corporate world. On the heels of corporate debacles such as Enron, HIH Insurance, OneTel, and WorldCom, conscientious companies are seeking to restore the nation’s confidence in business leadership through ethics.
Therefore, in today’s climate, it is becoming increasingly important for corporations to be seen to be acting in an ethical manner. Businesses have to reach out and build trust. This however is difficult to achieve “due to the inherent and obvious self-interest nature of capitalism, society has instinctively been leery of corporate communication.”[4]
However, the public is no longer to happy for businesses to act in their own self-interest. Therefore, “Public relations as a profession today is both an ethical battleground and a barometer for proper ethical conduct in business and human relationships. Practitioners should encourage the adoption and enforcement of codes of business practice that will stave off the costly and reputation-damaging results of scandals or other charges of misconduct, either from within or outside their organizations.”[5]
It is clear that corporations are having to balance their duty of upholding public trust and thus their reputation as well as carrying out their main function of business to make profit. It is the public relations staff of an organisation who have to deal with the repercussions when their corporations do not act favourably. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important for public relations practitioners to help identify ethical issues and boundaries within a corporation. “It’s arguable that every question of business ethics that comes to light in the press is a public relations issue, since the organization’s reputation is at stake. So in a large sense, every business scandal involves the public relations field and its practitioners. Even closer to home, there is the question of appropriate conduct of public relations as a business and the appropriate practice of public relations in organizations of all kinds.”[6] The public relations practitioner within a corporation therefore must understand the ethical issues involved in that business and therefore know how to respond in such situations and implement ethical values.
However the ethical values of public relations practitioners are often questioned. Augustine Ihator illustrates this point in his article, he writes “The general public either don’t know or care about us, or they think we’re lying, manipulating, stunt-happy spin doctors and masters of hyperbole.”[7] Ethical standards and thus the professional conduct of public relations officers are not considered to be of a satisfactory standard by other professions and the general public. George G Brenkert demonstrates this point, “The nature of business and its place in society has been a topic of considerable importance for centuries. Economic, political, social and ethical issues all intertwined in this discussion. However, the last several decades have led to a situation of considerable irony, in which noteworthy achievements of business have been confronted with its great failures, and in which increasing discussion of corporate responsibility has been faced with massive irresponsibility of some businesses.”[8]
Therefore a way of tackling the discrepancies that have existed in the industry previously is to educate current and future generations of public relations practitioners on this issue of corporate ethics. Roy V. Leeper writes, “The importance of ethics to the field of public relations is evidenced by a number of indicators, particularly the increasing number of university courses offered in the area…and the increased interest shown by corporations in ethics.”[9]
Susan Fry Bovet discusses this in her article ‘The Burning Question of Ethics: The Profession Fights for Better Business Practices. (Public Relations Profession)’.[10] The ethical attitudes of current practitioners, public relations students and public relations professors are considered in depth.
The author analyses a survey conducted amongst this group in 1992.[11] The survey was conducted by journalism professors Doug A. Newsom, Ph.D., Fellow PRSA, Texan Christian University, and Shirley A. Ramsey, Ph.D., and Bon J. Carrell, Ph.D., both of the University of Oklahoma. The team of professors researched and replicated a survey conducted in 1972.[12]
They found the same credibility and ethical issues from 20 years previous still existed. Nothing significant had improved over the 20 years.
The 1992 survey showed that, “Despite professional standards for behaviour and codes of ethics that call for individual responsibility and accountability, public relations practitioners, educators and students all say that a public relations professional’s first responsibility is to the client.”
“Respondents rated “a client’s relevant publics, the society as a public, self and media” in descending order as priorities.” If professionals submerge their own ethical values on behalf of clients, this may result in personal and organizational mind sets that ‘anything goes,’” the researchers concluded. A true professional “must be willing to say no or to advise against a course of action believed to be harmful in the long run,” they added.”[13] The researches further stated, “The current image of public relations and its practitioners is skewed to the negative, as was the case in 1972”.[14]
This piece of research shows that despite the issue of ethical practices being addressed in the classroom it is still not being understood properly. Future practitioners are still inclined to act in favour of their client, even if these actions are not ethically sound. The client comes first, regardless of the ethical landscape of the situation. This paints a dangerous relationship between ethics and future corporate public relations professionals. Public relations professionals need to be able to draw the line at what is ethically acceptable and what is not. It is alarming that attitudes towards ethical behaviours had not changed over two decades. Only once PR professionals are willing to do what is right instead of what the client demands will the industry gain public confidence.
It also raises the question of what is being taught. If public relations professors also believe that the interest of the client should be placed before the practitioners personal and the corporations ethical stand point then the industry will continue to practice unethically, thus making it extremely difficult for public perceptions of the industry to evolve into something more positive. The understanding of ethical decision making needs to be understood and taught appropriately. If these issues are discussed and tackled in the classroom then perspective PR professionals are better equipped in dealing with such scenarios. This, in turn making public relations a more professional and trust-worthy industry.
Public relations ethical education needs to move along with public opinion. As discussed above there is little tolerance and space for unethical corporations in the market, as the public distrusts such businesses. There is therefore hope as the researchers did discover “significant differences” in findings about what forces “control” professional behaviour.[15] The 1992 survey found that public opinion was the ‘force’ most likely to change professional behaviour, closely followed by clients and professional organizations.
Thus as public opinion gets stronger in promoting more ethical corporations, public relations practitioners will have to adapt their methods. This survey was conducted in 1992 and so attitudes may well have undergone change since then. However the opinion of public relations teachers would have to change first in order to change what is being taught to future PR practitioners. If this is left unaddressed then the same issues will rise up time and time again.
“”The real keepers of the reputation are those who practice public relations. If they do it well and honorably, there will someday come a time when the reputation issue will go away.” Until then, the profession must continue to fight to preserve its own reputation while its practitioners defend the reputations of others. Public relations thus, serves both as an ethical battleground and a barometer for proper business conduct.”[16] Until public relations practitioners, teachers and students make the stand to put ethics before business, ethics will take a back seat in the day-to-day world of corporate communications.
[1] L’Etang, J.,(2009) Public Relations; Concepts, Practice and Critique. London; Sage Publications, p88.
[2] Ihator, A., (1999) Society and Corporate Public Relations—Why the Conflict? Public Relations Quarterly. October 44, 3, p3
[3] L’Etang, J.,(2009) Public Relations; Concepts, Practice and Critique. London; Sage Publications, p88.
[4] Ihator, A., (1999) Society and Corporate Public Relations—Why the Conflict? Public Relations Quarterly. October 44, 3, p2
[5]Bovet, F. S., (1993) The Burning Question of Ethics: The Profession Fights For Better Business Practices. (Public Relations Profession). Public Relations Journal. November 24, p1
[6] Bovet, F. S., (1993) The Burning Question of Ethics: The Profession Fights For Better Business Practices. (Public Relations Profession). Public Relations Journal. November 24, p1
[7] Ihator, A., (1999) Society and Corporate Public Relations—Why the Conflict? Public Relations Quarterly. October 44, 3, p1
[8] Brenkert. G. G., (2004). Corporate Integrity and Accountability. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc.
[9]Leeper. V. R., (1996). Moral Objectivity, Jurgen Habermas’s discourse ethics, and public relations. Public Relations Review. June 22, 2, p1
[10] Bovet, F. S., (1993) The Burning Question of Ethics: The Profession Fights For Better Business Practices. (Public Relations Profession). Public Relations Journal. November 24, p1
[11] Reference survey
[12] Bovet, F. S., (1993) The Burning Question of Ethics: The Profession Fights For Better Business Practices. (Public Relations Profession). Public Relations Journal. November 24, p3
[13] Bovet, F. S., (1993) The Burning Question of Ethics: The Profession Fights For Better Business Practices. (Public Relations Profession). Public Relations Journal. November 24, p3
[14] Bovet, F. S., (1993) The Burning Question of Ethics: The Profession Fights For Better Business Practices. (Public Relations Profession). Public Relations Journal. November 24, p4
[15] Bovet, F. S., (1993) The Burning Question of Ethics: The Profession Fights For Better Business Practices. (Public Relations Profession). Public Relations Journal. November 24, p5
[16] Bovet, F. S., (1993) The Burning Question of Ethics: The Profession Fights For Better Business Practices. (Public Relations Profession). Public Relations Journal. November 24, p5
Links
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