Amid the scandals caused by lack of honest and open communication are the ethical blunders of public relations firms themselves. There is a considerable body of evidence emerging to suggest that modern public relations support trends of unethical practices such as lying, falsifying documents, and even espionage. Current research shows that there can be no ethical public relations because the practice itself is known for its manipulation and propaganda. Public Relations, Inc. (PRI) a disguised U.S medium-to-large PR consulting firm is a perfect example of an organization faced with ethical dilemmas (Weiss, 2006).
Clearly, there are many ethical dilemmas facing PRI employees and although it seems easy for the reader to say she would do the right thing in all these situations, it would be hard. However, if the reader was actually in such a position and feeling pressured to act, she might do what many of the PRI employees did, use judgment and common sense as a guide sense there are no clear set guidelines to help employees understand the agency’s expectations regarding appropriate decisions when faced with common ethical dilemmas (Weiss, 2006).
With regards to the seven common ethical dilemmas that would be facing the reader as a PRI employee, first being, client noncompete agreement. Since the contracts between the agency and the client specifically state in this instance that the agency will not solicit or accept work from a competitor during the terms of the contract (Weiss, 2006). The reader would not make any sales pitches to competing client that would cause the termination of any current contracts. In this situation common sense would be the determining factor, and since it is clearly wrong and illegal, she would know ...
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...ist between individual greed and self-interest that cloud judgment and governs behaviors. This, and several other vague clauses, leaves employees to face ethical dilemmas regarding appropriate behavior on their own. Nonetheless, PRI’s culture does not encourage professionals to act in an ethical manner, and motivates that drive managers’ actions include power, ego, and economics (Weiss, 2006). PRI’s leaders have short-term focus and lack trust or long-term relationships-building qualities (Weiss, 2006). This egotistical nature of the organizational culture is what began its ethical dilemmas and as in the case of Enron, will be the end of its ethical dilemmas if changes are not make sooner than later.
Works Cited
Weiss, J.W. (2006). Business Ethics: A Stakeholder and Issues Management Approach, Fourth
Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Thomson Higher Education.
Ethical decision-making is the responsibility of everyone, regardless of position or level within an organization. Interestingly, the importance of stressing employee awareness, improving decisions, and coming to an ethical resolution are the greatest benefits to most companies in today’s world (Weber, 2015).
Gomes and Grant are not the only two employees that have faced an ethical issue in the workplace, employees in numerous different organizations encounter similar dilemmas. However, they should all consider the consequences that will follow if they choose to act unethically. Rather, employees should possess and abide by a code of ethics so as not to potentially put their reputation and future in danger along with that of the organizations they work for.
Toxic Sludge is designed to shock readers by stressing the negative side of each circumstance; even though the information presented is a left wing point of view I do believe the work is a justifiable criticism of the PR industry because the tactics used were harmful to American democracy and in some cases the health and wellbeing of the public at large. According to an analysis by Dr. Donn Tilson, accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), not all PR practitioners utilize such tactics, however, many do and that type of PR poses a threat to democratic values, he goes on to state, “it is ultimately a manifestation of the deeper contradictions in corporate America...the road back to a truly democratic society lies in educating ourselves about the power of propaganda in our lives” (Tilson, 1997). As the general public continues to educate itself about the practices (good and bad) in the field of PR it is even more important that our firm maintain professional procedures that are in-line with the PRSA code of ethics.
It's difficult not to be cynical about how “big business” treats the subject of ethics in today's world. In many corporations, where the only important value is the bottom line, most executives merely give lip service to living and operating their corporations ethically.
Public relations are the practice of distributing the information between an organisation or individual and the public. The aim of PR practitioners by the client is often is to persuade stakeholders, partners, employees, investors and most importantly, the public. The practitioner’s communication stance is reaching the individuals or organisation ultimate goal. However many can examine and scrutinize public relations ethics to assert a PR problem within the industry. All PR organisations and individuals have a code of ethics of which the professionals are expected to follow. Regardless of these guidelines, ethics in individual practices seem to prove continuous and consistent violation worldwide. The James Hardie Industry, a company that is known for knowingly using products that caused thousands of people throughout Australia to grow to become sick and even resulting in death, from its products that produced massive profits is a prime example of the PR problem. However ethical communication and critically reflective practices are procedures that benefit both the public and the organisation when use correctly, opposite to the James Hardie case.
Their organizational initiatives are often self-serving; however, the emerging workforce isn’t motivated by selfish managers. This selfish behavior often turns into unethical conduct. Unethical dealings in the workplace are always wrong. It is crucial to promote ethical behavior. Everyone must understand that once caught, unethical behavior is not just a problem for those directly involved, it is everyone’s problem.
I certainly agree to the author and McNerney that the unethical dysfunctional company norm is the root cause of the ethical issue. It is this norm created by the predecessors who never set good ethical examples that influences the employees. They believed the politically safest way of executing tasks would be mimicking how their superiors get their jobs done.
Deontology is an ethical framework which places emphasis on moral rules and the concept of duty (Duignan, 2011, p 69). Although one individual’s concept of duty and moral law can differ to another, under this framework there are a few universally agreed upon ethical acts including honesty, promise keeping, reparation, and justice. As previously stated, within the campaign there were some issues of deception (Duignan, 2011, p 69). Attached to the public relations profession there is a negative connotation that practitioners are ‘spin doctors’. The term ‘spin doctor’ is a slang for a deceptive public relations practitioner (Sumpter & Tankard, 1994, p19). It is based around a common belief public relations will use dishonesty and deception in order to achieve a favourable angle on a situation, person, story or campaign (Sumpter & Tankard, 1994, p19). Since the 1950’s when the term was first coined, consumers and publics have become very aware of the practice and become very critical of practitioners who use deception to achieve a goal (Sumpter & Tankard, 1994, p20). As the campaign didn’t disclose that the corporates weren’t actually homeless, and as members of the public were secretly filmed, this campaign used deception to achieve a favourable result. This then reflects badly upon the profession and adds to the negative ‘spin doctor’ perception. By not
Many organizations have been destroyed or heavily damaged financially and took a hit in terms of reputation, for example, Enron. The word Ethics is derived from a Greek word called Ethos, meaning “The character or values particular to a specific person, people, culture or movement” (The American Heritage Dictionary, 2007, p. 295). Ethics has always played and will continue to play a huge role within the corporate world. Ethics is one of the important topics that are debated at lengths without reaching a conclusion, since there isn’t a right or wrong answer. It’s basically depends on how each individual perceives a particular situation. Over the past few years we have seen very poor unethical business practices by companies like Enron, which has affected many stakeholders. Poor unethical practices affect the society in many ways; employees lose their job, investors lose their money, and the country’s economy gets affected. This leads to people start losing confidence in the economy and the organizations that are being run by the so-called “educated” top executives that had one goal in their minds, personal gain. When Enron entered the scene in the mid-1980s, it was little more than a stodgy energy distribution system. Ten years later, it was a multi-billion dollar corporation, considered the poster child of the “new economy” for its willingness to use technology and the Internet in managing energy. Fifteen years later, the company is filing for bankruptcy on the heels of a massive financial collapse, likely the largest in corporate America’s history. As this paper is being written, the scope of Enron collapse is still being researched, poked and prodded. It will take years to determine what, exactly; the impact of the demise of this energy giant will be both on the industry and the
At the heart and soul of advertising, public relations, and marketing is the sales objective. These institutions stand to sell products and services to consumerist markets on behalf of larger corporations and smaller businesses. For advertising and public relations, the tactics used to sell these products and services to consumers is use of clever manipulation, the utilization of spin, and creative persuasion in advertisements, video/news releases, and marketing campaigns. While the use of these tools greatly benefits the businesses behind these movement it remains to be seen whether advertising and public relations serves corporate interest or citizen interest. Thus the discussion of what constitutes ethical behavior in advertising and public relations fuels a clash between corporations and consumers.
The discipline of public relations is a modern profession which has been in existence for only close to a century; however, it has already taken an important role in the fields of business, government, entertainment and non-profit organizations including educational institutions and healthcare organizations. Public relations professionals are required to have excellent organizational, interpersonal and communication skills and have the ability to persuade the public. It is imperative for PR professionals to effectively communicate with its public in order to establish and maintain a positive relationship. Furthermore, public relations professionals must have the ability to work under pressure and effectively manage crisis which may have detrimental effect on the company and the public it serves. State purpose of paper and an overview of what will be covered in the introduction
This paper will evaluate the role that ethics plays in decision making. I will analyze decision-making techniques that can be applied to different types of organizations. Next, I have selected the Albuquerque Veteran Affairs Medical Center, where as a result of unethical decision making there were negative consequences. Using two different decision making techniques, I will compare and contrast how using the techniques may have resulted in a positive consequence.
If true, what does that say about Enron’s ethical culture? “Signals that mold a company’s organizational culture include characteristics values, traditions, and behaviors a company’s employees share.” (Dessler. Pg. 466) Enron was once known for having very high ethical standards in which it prided itself on and displayed to the world. However, with irresponsible executives and personal greed the environment rapidly transformed like an infectious disease. For example, “bad barrels” correlation, companies that promote an “everyone for himself” atmosphere are more likely to suffer unethical decisions.” (Dessler, pg.464) Enron Company values became full of corruption, deceit, and inattentive financial transactions. Once Enron was exposed for the accounting fraud scandal of their financial statements. There no longer preserved any ethical conduct or values within the organizational culture. All of this could be a combination of self-greed from top leadership, and company pressure to make Enron look like a sustainable
An organization must rely on its leaders to make the right ethical decision when faced with a problem. When the organization's leaders make ethical decisions, the organization receives many benefits. If codes of ethics are not available or have yet to be developed, an organization must agree on what values and...
According to the scenario, Jacob and Krystal worked in an ad agency that started five years ago in Topeka, Kansas. The ad agency was barely making a profit and needed a large client, which led the agency to put in a bid for a city government contract. Due to Jacob’s son being sick, he was preoccupied with taking care of his son and left Krystal with most of the work. Krystal prepared the presentation and got with Jacob the day before the final meeting with the client. Krystal knew that Jacob has good speaking skills and they both decided that Jacob would do the presentation. Jacob’s presentation was a success and they successfully sealed the contract. The owners of the company were so impressed and gave Jacob a bonus check of $10,000. Jacob saw this opportunity where he could use the money for his son’s medical bills. However, he knew that Krystal did most of the work and deserved the bonus money. Jacob is disappointed and his situation has left him with a decision on what to do with the money. This case study will pinpoint Jacob’s ethical dilemma and what ethical action he should take. Also, the roles and responsibilities of an employee dealing with an ethical situation as well as the ways of an organization to maintain ethical practices in the workplace