“In responsibility both obedience and freedom are realized. Responsibility implies tension between obedience and freedom. There would be no more responsibility if either were made independent of the other.”
– Dietrich Bonhoffer, “Freedom,” in Ethics
There comes a time when we have to adopt an ethical code to govern our lives. To live a professional life, as college prepares us for, is to learn responsibility. To live a responsible life is to live an ethical life. No matter what we do in life, no matter what our ultimate profession, an underpinning of ethics is necessary to be responsible.
Teachers are especially grounded in ethics. Education programs include healthy doses of ethics as part of the training.
Better communication/public relations programs include ethics as well. Towson’s PR Track includes a strong course in ethics. But beyond that one course, ethics is a subject taught in every one of my classes. In this time of heightened scrutiny of organizations due to such highly-publicized situations as the Enron and Worldcom scandals, to name just two, an ethical underpinning is critical to organizational success. No organization can have good PR in the absence of ethical business practice.
Where does it start? Where does an ethical perspective come from? Simply enough, I think the old saying, “if it is to be, then it begins with me,” fits nicely here. The college years are a great time for a future communication/PR practitioner or educator to form a personal ethical code.
John Dalla Costa said “to be ethical is first and foremost a choice.” Once this choice is made, a communicator/PR practitioner who chooses to practice ethically can look to IABC and PRSA for codes of ethics that will provide detailed guidance.
The same is true for educators. Codes of ethics are readily available from a variety of sources, including school boards. As a member of Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society for education, I have a network of top educators for advice and counsel plus many professional development opportunities.
But while there is a wealth of external guidance for ethics, I believe that adopting a personal code begins with an examination of who we are and what we believe. Much of this — if not all — is shaped by our own life experiences. Sometimes we must overcome early programming to behave ethically as adults. This requires reflection and self-examination. To practice ethically as a communication/PR professional or an educator, we must understand our own motivations and predispositions in order to challenge them if they interfere with our being able to act ethically.
Growing up is hard work, no matter what age we are. After much reflection, the underpinning of my own ethical code is simply this: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
To me, the Golden Rule is the golden key to living successfully, fully, and ethically.
Les, this topic is quite timely. In forming an ethical perspective, I believe that would require the “exercising of good judgment.” And with this, I’m sadly reminded at how certain organizations openly and secretly mistreat/mislead their employees/volunteers in our current “transparent” climate. Developing a code of ethics is like developing a manifesto of decent behaviour, can it be done? Yes. Is it implemented? Not always… I wish “the code” could be as evident as we’d like it to be.
Staffeen, always good to hear from you. I wish it was possible to teach “good judgement.” Seems like all we can do is to study the great principles, the thoughts of those ethical guides/gurus who have come before us, and various situations in which certain judgements proved effective.
It’s like we are fond of saying about relationships; “It’s complicated.”
I think far more people would stand up and vocally oppose corporate actions they deemed unethical if they felt that they could find a paycheck elsewhere. Too often, completely ethical folks sit idly by as the company that employs them engages in unethical behavior for fear of losing that job and paycheck.
True measure of character would be whether or not you were willing to lose your job (despite “whistleblower” laws, we all know it still happens) to speak out against and actively work against unethical activities. I wonder how many of us are willing to put ourselves and our families in financial jeopardy in the name of ethics.
For the record, my employer has a robust corporate compliance program and mandatory training that strongly encourages employees to speak out against potential ethical violations, offers ways to do so anonymously, and does not tolerate retribution against whistleblowers. I have yet to encounter a situation wherein whether to report or not became an issue, so I’ve not personally been presented with the dilemma in today’s corporate climate.
michael clendenin
This discussion and the issues Michael brought up tie in with a book I’m reading by Bruce Berger and Bryan Reber. It’s called “Gaining Influence in Public Relations.” The book takes on the challenge of helping PR practitioners exert influence in their organizations, so they can get their organizations to do the right thing. The authors recommend both sanctioned (e.g., talking to someone internally) and unsanctioned (e.g., using the grapevine, leaking information) tactics. One finding presented in the book is that people who are new to PR are least likely to object to unethical decisions. Perhaps it has something to do with the job security issue Michael mentioned — and the fact that it is difficult to influence decisions when not having a lot of institutional power. Berger and Reber also found that the top reason for not being able to exert influence (as perceived by practitioners) is a lack of understanding among others about the PR function. Not many people outside of public relations view a PR practitioner as a voice of ethics in an organization.
Hello Bloggers and The King, Uncle Lester,
Thanks to my mom and being taken for a loop many times, I have a motto of “don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.” That kind of leaves the door open for those who dish it out and who can also take it. Ethics should be second nature in all of us, even the criminal minded. I honestly believe those who do wrong, think ethically first and then go against it.
Michael mentioned whistleblower and I happened to be the internal whistleblower type. I do speak out internally and at many different levels.
I tell you, if I were Bill Clinton’s PR practitioner, he would have admitted his involvement with Lewinsky at the first news conference. That would have prevented us from retracting lies and allowed us to move forward. All other news conferences would have been used to be even more honest with the public and rebuild the “immortal” image Pres. Clinton once held.
I am so happy that this post on ethics has generated the thoughts it has. Thank you Staffeen, Michael, Tiffany, and Marcia.
Michael’s point is a great one, yet a difficult one — are we willing to stand on our convictions and leave a job over ethical violations? In my experience, some times you simply have to. However, Michael’s organization appears to have a handle on managing ethically, allowing for infractions to be reported discretely with no retribution.
Tiffany, thanks for the book tip. Yes, there are many who think “ethical PR” is an oxymoron.
Marcia, you were a disciplined and principled student in my classes. I have no doubt that you will bring those strengths to any job. Good, for those traits are needed.
In response to the issue of instilling an ethical code i pose the question of how crucial do you feel the influence of teachers and professors actually is? As a college undergrad making my way through the advertising and PR tracks at Towson, I opted for the media law class over the ethics, did I miss out on anything crucial? Will I be an unethical practitioner as a result? Certainly not. We all have ethical standards we abide by based on our upbringing and personal beliefs. I do feel that the college years a crucial time to begin understanding the complexities of ethics and how to manage a situation where perhaps practitioners disagree on a matter. I think this is something I would benefit from practicing and learning in class. I am in my third year but thus far, ethics has been a topic barely touched on. I would think splitting a class up inito groups and assigning them a hypothetical situation in which they need to apply their organizations ethical code to manage the situation. Members will have different opinions and strategies and it would be good to get in the practice of communicating such ideas. I believe I am an ethical human being, but I also believe I have no clue what the”real world” is going to throw at me once I get out of Towson.
The primary reason I chose to comment on this post stems from the fact that I am intrigued by the idea of all professional communicators and media organizations standing on a code of ethics soap box. As professional communicators, we have a moral obligation to make sure that all endeavors are pursued with the intentions of gaining pertinent information to disperse to the public. I want to narrow down the importance of ethics from a media standpoint. In particular, “Media Ethics can be defined as “the criteria people use to decide what is right, what is wrong and what constitutes a flourishing, good life” (McElreath, Azarova, & Markova, 2008, p. 5). The preceding definition of media ethics allows those who are professionals to disperse to the public the highest regard of the truth. Keep in mind that, “The public has the right to know public news” (Christians, Fackler, McKee, Kreshel, Woods, 2009, p. 11).” Media professionals should be concerned with the publics’ right to know about issues that affect individual livelihood. How does this relate to ethics as a firm foundation for success? I believe for any organization or individual within that organization to be successful, they must be generally concerned about the people who look to the media for up to date, truthful and possibly life altering information. As communication professionals, we are expected to adhere to a code of ethics that has “the people” in mind. Mediums such as print, television and more provide society with the information they yearn to know. The decisions made to print certain information are based off of various ethical codes that have been imbedded into professional communicators. Below, I discuss how ethics plays apart in the information societies retrieves from media organizations. The USA Today and its employees show signs of being governed by a code of ethics that seeks to educate the world.
In the past year, USA Today discussed government plans to increase disability benefits for war veterans who suffered mild to severe brain damage. This increase, if put into action, will cost the government an additional 120 million through 2017 in order to guarantee a monthly compensation of $ 600 dollars to veterans. The government has for the first time acknowledged that those who suffered from brain injury are less likely to recover. This mental defect will make the ex soldiers incapable of being productive citizens. They will more than likely be unable to have financial security. This story is a perfect example of the definition provided for media ethics. The media has taken responsibility by acknowledging the obstacles that brain injured war veterans will face. Although, the soldiers are somewhat socially defective however, the government is attempting to contribute to the resourceful livelihood that might otherwise be unobtainable due to the veteran’s disability. They have taken into account that it is morally right to provide the public with this information. This news may be beneficial for caretakers of the ex soldiers who are struggling financially. (Zoroya, Gregg, USA Today, 2008)
Although the hype of the recent presidential election has ceased, many aspects of the height of the election were prime examples of media ethics. In an 2008 USA Today article, it was discussed that due to a possible economical bailout because of the “federal government’s effort to calm the mortgage and credit markets” (USA Today 2008), the presidential candidates will more than likely have to reconsider the promises that are expected to be fulfilled by voters after the elections. Though the “federal government could end up making money when it begins to sell assets of the bailed-out companies, the deal will at least temporarily balloon the federal deficit” (USA Today 2008). That will make the first year of the next administration “a very difficult time in terms of starting new programs” (USA Today 2008). This story is particularly relative to the definition of media ethics. Here we see how the media allows potential voters to learn that they may not receive what they expected due to financial plunders that may limit the candidate’s promises. It is important for voters to know that politicians have to change original tactical approaches due to uncontrollable circumstances. The media in this case does not attempt to fabricate the truth. This gave democrats the chance to embrace themselves with the idea that if Obama was elected there would be a possibility that he may not be able to increase Medicare benefits. Truth is an essential characteristic for the success of any organization. USA Today represents a successful organization who has grasped the concept of ensuring the public with truthful information. The longevity of this organization has survived since its origin twenty five years ago. (Jackson,Keily, USA Today 2008). The success could be credited to the fact that they provide the public with true news.
Whole heartedly, I agree with you Les. The Golden Rule “is the golden key to living successfully, fully, and ethically”. The Golden Rule applies to media ethics in such a dynamic way that allows an individual to understand how their actions will affect their stakeholders from two points of view. The Golden Rule allows a communicator to feel like they are the transmitter of the message as well as the receiver of the message. By understanding how stakeholders could potentially react to a communication message, the communicator can analyze the outcome of their message before it is sent to the receiver. It also gives the communicator a chance to modify their message before it is sent to the receiver. This process is crucial when ensuring that society is being ethically and truthfully informed.
My whole life, I have been surrounded by people; students, friends, fellow employees, family friends, and others, who ultimately make my passion for an honest education and life seem inadequate.
I find myself so frustrated with these people for the mere fact of their pompous quotes and do-gooder attitudes when they are celebrating a good grade, a raise, a promotion, any form of satisfaction of a good act or assignment they completed. These people all have one thing in common, they lie.
Their success is only on the surface. Their praise for good work done is a falsity. The person with the good grade (cheated), the person that got the promotion (took credit for doing something they didn’t do themselves), and the person that said you should have tried harder if you wanted a better grade (wrote notes/answers to the test on their arm).
These people challenge me. They tear me up inside. I think sometimes, “why can’t I get an easy teacher like that? Why didn’t I get the promotion? Why doesn’t my boss see the effort I put forth? Why doesn’t my teacher see the progress I have achieved?” But then I catch myself, I realize that having life seem so difficult really isn’t. It prepares me for the future. My teachers who challenge me to the bone, set me up for greater success in the future. My friends are now the ones who support me and help me to get to a point I want to be at.
This has given me a great perspective on the kind of person I want to be. I may not get the best grades, but I know that I will be able to get the job done in the real world. I know I don’t have a million bucks, but I have a worth of what makes life complete. So, in searching for my future career, I find ethics to be a huge factor. I will settle at a firm where I see truth in their mission. Were they appreciate their employees whole heartedly, and acknowledge my achievements and help me fix my faults. I will never take a job where I don’t agree with the company policies. Even if people think I am crazy to give up a great opportunity, I think it’s insane to live/work in a life of lies. Individuality in the workplace and personally is a great gift. You know a good thing when you see it.
Professor, your superior demand for ethics is appreciated. I know that one day I will get recognized for the hard work I do, just like you do. Until then I just have to be true to myself and proud of the work I evoke.
In the great words of Tupac Shakur, “Only God can judge me.”