PR PRinciPle One: Ethics
February 16, 2008 Camille
This blog will be looking at the issues that influence Public Relations (PR) and what would constitute PR principles.
Ethics is an area that needs to be examined when it comes to PR. Patricia J. Parsons, a professor at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, NS and the author of Ethics in Public Relations: A Guide to Best Practice is considered one of the foremost authorities on ethics and PR. She finds that there are five basic pillars of public relations ethics. They are as follows:
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Non-maleficence: to do no harm |
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| Beneficence: to do good | |
| Veracity: to tell the truth | |
| Confidentiality: to maintain privacy | |
| Justice: to be fair and socially responsible |
These pillars are not just applicable to PR, but to any profession. Ethics, I feel, is an important principle in PR. It leads to credibility and this builds a positive reputation. And isn’t this what PR professionals strive for?
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1. Natasha C.&hellip | February 18, 2008 at 4:58 am
As a budding PR professional, it is a necessity for me to develop some kind of personal ethics. I believe only after I have established what is ethical, it would be easier for me to adapt my own beliefs to the corporate culture of any given organization.
I believe it is important for any PR professional to develop some kind of ethics so they will not be thrown into questionable situations blindly.
2. staffeen thompson&hellip | February 19, 2008 at 11:41 pm
I believe we already have intrinsic forms of ‘ethical behaviour’, and I know that our standards of ethics are always in play, whether it be with our friends, our job hunting, or our relationships with colleagues. It’s not only important, but essential, and it all boils down to credibility. If we want to be taken seriously, we need that track record of “good judgment.”
3. Felesia&hellip | March 9, 2008 at 1:51 am
Ethics
A complex set of natural or better yet unknowing learnt behavioural codes.
As budding PR professionals I definitely think that this was the right principle to start with because without your ethics, where would you be?
I agree with Staffeen that no matter what type of situation we are faced with our ethics somehow always come into play. Making it essential to always remain conscious of your little voice of reason; telling you the ‘right thing’ to do, although at times it’s more than difficult to follow. In the future I think many of us will be faced with situations where our PRinciPles will have to come into practice and I only hope we remember them and have the freedom and capabilities to make the right choices.