This book represents a practical guide to ethical decision making tailored specifically to the needs of public relations students and practitioners. Coauthored by a corporate public relations officer of deep experience and a widely published public relations ethics scholar, the book thoroughly explores both ethical theories and their practical applications.
With emphasis on the analysis of contemporary cases, the authors guide readers in building personal frameworks for ethical reasoning, enabling them to (1) recognize the ethical issues at play in public relations practice, (2) analyze the conflicting duties and loyalties at play in ethical situations, and (3) justify their decision and/or counsel in terms that others will understand and ultimately accept.
The book fills a gap in the currently available literature on the subject, most of which lacks either theoretical grounding or practical application. Unlike other books that focus on the broad field of ethics in “communication” or “mass communication,” this book focuses solely upon public relations ethics. It cites illustrative cases spanning a wide range of public relations functions that involve several of the world’s largest public relations agencies as well as a number of their clients.
As the authors consider questions of right and wrong, good and bad, they explore ethical theory from the times of the ancient Greeks through the period of the Enlightenment and into modern-day scholarship, including the emerging field of feminist ethics.
The authors examine the works and writings of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, Jeremey Bentham, and John Stuart Mill along with more contemporary ethics scholars such as Kenneth R. Goodpaster, John Rawls, Lawrence Kohlberg, John B. Matthews, W. D. Ross, Virginia Held, Carol Gilligan, Marilyn Friedman, and Alasdair Macintyre. They review the work of Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky, and Jonathan Haidt, among others, as they examine how behavioral psychology affects ethical decision making. They also touch upon those who have made significant contributions to the literature of public relations ethics including Tom Bivens, Shannon A. Bowen, Kathy Fitzpatrick, Dean Kruckeberg, Patricia Parsons, and Brad Rawlins.
Throughout much of the book the authors focus extensively upon the role of the public relations practitioner including exclusive interviews with such prominent leaders as Harold Burson, Robert Dilenschneider, and Richard Edelman. They also extensively review ethical codes of conduct as well as topics such as character, virtue, reason, duty, justice, and ethical decision making.
Although the authors do not advocate a specific ethical approach, they attempt to give readers sufficient grounding in the major theories of normative ethics to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each and to construct their own frameworks, appropriate to their circumstances.
To update readers on cases and issues discussed in this book, and to help all public relations people stay abreast of current ethical questions, the authors have started an online conversation. Please join the discussion at http://Updates.PRethics.com.
Keywords
Ethics, Public Relations, Corporate Communication, Character, Reason, Social/Corporate Responsibility, Ethical Reasoning, Justice, Duty, Virtue, Care, Consequences, Deontological Ethics, Utilitarian Ethics, Teleological Ethics