Are Ethics and Successful Public Relations Mutually Exclusive?

What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the words Public Relations or PR? Does the term “spin doctor” readily come to mind? A spin doctor is “a person (as a political aide) responsible for ensuring that others interpret an event from a particular point of view (emphasis mine).” Unethical PR perception is frequently synonymous with presidential press conferences, especially during a crisis. I would hate to be the press secretary when having to answer potentially damaging questions from the media during a live, televised press conference. Lest I get sued for libel, I believe that most press secretaries are noble people! But the problem often isn’t that an all out lie is told, but instead that part of the truth is withheld. This is a common dilemma that ALL of us PR practitioners face, not just press secretaries.

Did you know that ethics can be violated without breaking the law? Ethics is the study of what represents right or wrong behavior. It attempts to determine what people ought to do in a situation, not what they are legally required to do or prevented from doing (emphasis mine).

Short-term vs. Long-term Thinking

When engaged in crisis management, PR experts are often focused on short-term damage control and not looking at the big picture. General Motors is currently embroiled in a PR nightmare, because it has taken them eleven years to disclose ignition switch problems with the Chevy Cobalt. The faulty design has been linked to more than 50 accidents and at least 13 deaths. According to GM’s current CEO Mary Barra, the failure to quickly recall cars was a result of mere incompetence.

“I find it hard to believe that out of 210,000 employees not a single one stood up and said, ‘I think we are making a mistake here,’ “ said Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), who is investigating the situation. I am not alone in believing that GM knew about the ignition switch issue, but they decided that a recall early on would be too costly, or damage their reputation too significantly, or both. Whether or not the automaker was complicit in withholding information is yet to be seen. But even now, it seems, the spin is in full swing with the incompetence argument.

The bottom line is that GM’s reputation has been greatly damaged, and many people perceive them as a not just a company that puts profits over people, but now over people’s lives. If it is proven that a cover up occurred, this will become a case study in why it’s in a company’s best interest to be truthful at all times no matter what, and that it’s up to public relations professionals to be transparent with their publics. The cost to GM, both to their image and their pocketbook, will be much greater in the long run than if they would have dealt with this problem when it surfaced.

Research has shown that having an ethical culture actually helps a company’s bottom line. According to James Mitchell “companies that have the ethical advantage demonstrate better financial performance than companies who don’t.” This starts with promoting ethical behavior and best practices from the top of the organization.

It Starts with Me

At first I was very hesitant to enter the PR field because of my personal integrity. My fear was not so much about having to lie, but having to occasionally withhold the truth. Or perhaps my boss would ask me to do something unethical in order to protect the client. In this job market, that would be a tough position to be placed in. There’s no question that to perform public relations successfully, a balancing act has to be in play. On one hand I am obligated to be loyal to my client, while on the other hand I need to be honest with the public. For me, the key is to let my personal moral compass guide me.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has provided a Code of Ethics for PR practitioners. A portion of their Code of Ethics pledge, which I have taken, sums it up well:

“I pledge:

To conduct myself professionally, with truth, accuracy, fairness, and responsibility to the public; To improve my individual competence and advance the knowledge and proficiency of the profession through continuing research and education; And to adhere to the articles of the Member Code of Ethics 2000 for the practice of public relations as adopted by the governing Assembly of the Public Relations Society of America.”

How would the outcome have been for GM if someone had said “enough!” when the ignition switch problem was first discovered? An important component for a PR firm and specialist is in Reputation Management. I suggest that we in the PR field conduct our own personal Reputation Management inventory. This will go a long way to insure that ethics and public relations are not mutually exclusive. It starts with me.

I’d love to hear what you think about ethics and PR or any part of this discussion.

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