CODE OF PROFFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS

Some articles have been adopted by the Public Relations Society of America to promote and maintain high standards of public service and ethical conduct among its members. 1. A member shall conduct his or her professional life in accord with public interest. 2. A member shall exemplify high standards of honesty and integrity while carrying out dual obligations to a client or employer and to the democratic process. 3. A member shall deal fairly with the public, with past or present clients or employers, and with fellow practitioners, giving due respect to the ideal of free enquiry and to the option of others. 4. A member shall adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth, avoiding extravagant claims or unfair comparisons giving credit for the ideas and words borrowed from others. 5. A member shall not knowingly disseminate false or misleading information and shall act promptly to correct erroneous communications for which he or she is responsible. 6. A member shall not engage in any practice which has the purpose of corrupting the integrity of channels of communications or the process of government. 7. A member shall be prepared to indentify publicly the name of the client or employer on whose behalf any public communication is made. 8. A member shall not use any individual or organization professing to serve or represent an announced cause, or professing to be independent or unbiased but actually serving another or undisclosed interest. 9. A member shall not guarantee the achievement of specify results beyond the members direct control. 10. A member shall not represent conflicting or competing interest without the express consent of those concerned given after the full disclosure of the facts.

11. A member shall not place himself or herself in a position where the members personal interest is or may be in conflict with an obligation to an employer or clients, or others, without full disclosure of such interest to all involved. 12. A member shall not accept fees, commissions, gifts, or any other consideration from anyone except clients or employers for whom services are performed without their expressed consent, given after full disclosure of the facts. 13. A member shall scrupulously safeguard the confidences and privacy rights of present, former, and prospective clients or employers. 14. A member shall not intentionally damage the professional reputation or practice of another practitioner. 15. If a member has evidence that another member as been guilty of unethical , illegal or unfair trade practices, including those in violation of this Code, the member is obligated to present the information promptly to the proper authorities of the Society for action in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article XII of the Bylaws. 16. A member called as a witness in a proceeding for enforcement this Code is obligated to appear, unless excused for sufficient reasons by the judicial panel. 17. A member shall, as soon as possible, sever relations with any organizations or individual if such relationship requires conduct contrary to the articles of this Code.

In the field of public relations the only thing that may even come close to a standard is the code of ethics offered by the Public Relations Society of America. Practitioners who are not members of PRSA are not required to follow the code. With only 6 percent of the industry registered as members, this means only a minority perceives the code of ethics as a standard. There is no universal committee that monitors public relations practitioners and the code has no legal bearing. If a practitioner decides to break one of the codes there are minimal, if any, consequences.

The lack of standardization in the field may be the reason why some practitioners "spin" the truth. It is only illegal to present false truths that harm the general public. The law does not say it is illegal to bend the truth. Mary Ann Pires of the Pires Group said she is not happy with today's public relations practitioners. She said there are too many practitioners out there who are not demonstrating a high level of professionalism. She said even though we are not considered a profession like doctors, lawyers or accountants, this should not deter us from practicing as ethically as possible. "Are we any worse than accountants or doctors or lawyers where ethics is concerned? Probably not," Pires said. "But, somehow, given our talents, I think we should be better. More influential on behalf of honest communications." Thomas Bivens argues that it is not just the talents of public relations practitioners that should lead to professionalism, but their ethical principles as well. He believes that when trying to establish a universal code of ethics, one must consider that each practitioner has a different standard of values and ethics. He said that ethics and professionalism couldn't be separated when talking about public relations. "The public relations function has sought to fulfill its aspirations by exerting an ethical and moral force, as well as technical skill, and by doing so, developing an identity and a professional discipline of its own." Bivens contends that in order to be deemed professional, one must practice in an ethical manner. In order to create a more positive image for the industry, PRSA revised their Member Code of Ethics in 2000. There were many complaints, prior to the release of the new code, that the old code had too many loopholes for practitioners to leap through. The PRSA Board of Ethics and Professional Standards said the statement presents the core values of PRSA members and, more broadly, of the public relations profession.

Though the code of ethics is not enforced as a standard for practice, many public relations educators are encouraged by PRSA to teach the code to their students as a basis for decision-making.

The following tips can help to follow the Code laid down by PRSA: 1. Never accept a client or a job with an organization or person whose character or conduct doesnt measure up to your personal ethical standards. 2. Always be honest with everyone especially the media. 3. Dont handle competing clients. 4. Dont make unfair comments about competitors. 5. Keep the public interest in mind at all times, including your responsibility to represent the various stakeholder groups to management. 6. Respect confidences. 7. Make sure all your financial activities are above board. 8. Use organizational codes-such as PRSA Code- as a starting place but build your own standards on top of these.

THE PRACTICAL SIDE OF ETHICS (CASE STUDY)

Sometimes, in everyday practice, situations arise where the proper thing, the ethical thing, even the legal thing to do is not always immediately clear. Following are several such situations. 1. A well-known athlete is charged with selling drugs and planning and carrying out, with others, the death of a young married couple. His attorney calls you, a close friend, to advise and assist him in handling the intense media interest in the case. During the period before trial, you learn that the athlete was, in fact, a drug dealer and did participate in the murder. The lawyer tells you that the information is privileged. You decide to await the outcome of the trial. The lawyer is able to get is client acquitted. What should you do? 2. Your firm is one of six under consideration by a manufacturer planning to introduce a new service in your area. You are given confidential information as to the service and the plans of the company. You are aware that the company will face severe opposition from certain groups and politicians and that the job will entail overcoming this resistance. Your firm is turned down by the company and the assignment is given to a competitor. Can you disclose the information you have learned to the manufacturers opposition in your area? 3. Your public relations firm publishes a newsletter directed to brokerage houses. A corporate executive asks your help in making his company better known among the brokerage community. A subsequent issue of the newsletter carries a highly optimistic forecast of the company but omits some information. Nothing in the story indicates any relationship between you and the company. Were you under any obligation to disclose this relationship, and should you print a retraction? 4. You are a corporate public relations director. Your employer tells you to set up a supposedly independent organization to introduce and promote the use of a new product made by your company. This new organization is to be

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financed secretly by your company or some of its suppliers. Is there anything wrong with establishing this organization? A distributor of medicinal products arranges with your firm to put on a press conference for an independent British scientist who has tested the products and written favourably about them. You also arrange speaking engagements for the visiting scientist. After the press conference, you learn that the scientist was actually an employee of the research arm of the manufacturer of the products. What actions should you take? A client asks you for help in a financial merger situation. You decline because the matter is outside your expertise and refer the company to a fellow practitioner who is knowledgeable in financial affairs. The fellow practitioner is so appreciative that he sends you a cheque for $500. Can you accept the money without the telling the client? One of your clients calls you to assist in a takeover situation. You tell a friend who had originally helped you to get the client. Several days later, your friend buys 5000 shares in one of the companies involved in the takeover. The day after the merger announcement your friend sells the shares at a profit of $15 a share and a total profit of $75000. Are you guilty of insider trading, even if you made no profit? Your employer asks you to give a series of talks in communities served by your company regarding its new plant and the service it will provide. On a visit to the plant to acquaint yourself with its operation, you get clear evidence that it cannot fulfill the expectations outlined in the talk prepared by the company. Can you give the talks as originally prepared?

SOLUTION TO THE CASE

The case in each instance impresses on the thin line of demarcation between ethical and unethical practices. It is our own view in such cases. What is ethical and right for one may be wrong for the other. One possible solution for the case can be: 1. The information I have that the athlete is guilty is privileged information. The attorney has given me the information on a personal level. I do not have facts to support my statement if I do make one. So it is best not to say anything to anyone. The best I can do is not to help the athlete in managing the media. 2. No, doing so is a purely unethical practice. As such by losing the contract I will not have to face many problems and opposition and can concentrate on the development of my company. As also by giving out the information I will put the person who gave me the information in trouble. I can never expect such favors from him in future if I do not maintain secrecy and confidentiality. So it is best not to say anything. 3. Yes it is an obligation on my part to disclose my relationship with the company as I am doing a job for the company on the request of an employee of the company. I have given incomplete information about the company. If anyone suffers because of the incomplete information then it is possible they will sue my newsletter. So I should print a retraction. 4. It is clearly stated in the Code given by the PRSA that such independent organization should not be encouraged. The establishment of the organization is not legal as it will work in my companys favor since it will be financed by my company. So it is illegal to establish the organization since it will be biased. 5. I will give a statement that the scientist was not an independent one but an employee of the research arm of the same manufacturing company. It will be just a statement and not blame on the manufacturing company that it was responsible for fraud. The statement should be released so that no blame can be attached with my firm later.

6. According to the Codes I cannot accept the money. But I personally feel that since I gave one of my clients to the other firm I can accept the money. But I should surely inform the client about this. 7. I am guilty of leaking out inside information. No one may find out I may never be answerable .... But I did make a mistake and even if I did not make a profit out of it. So it will always be on my conscience. In future I will never give such information not only to that particular person but to anyone. 8. As a public relations officer it is my duty to see to it that no wrong information is given to the public. If the public later found out that I have given wrong information to them then the public image of the company will suffer a severe setback. The public will not believe the companys statements in the future. As a PR incharge it is my duty to inform the company about the consequences of the statement to the public. I should see to it that the statement made to the public should be true. The originally prepared talk should be dropped and a new one which is true should be prepared and delivered.

THE SKILLS NEEDED BY A PR PROFESSIONAL

Very Important 1. Customer /client relations 2. Decision making /problem solving

Moderately important to very important 3. Copywriting /proofreading 4. Writing print advertising copy 5. Writing news releases 6. Project management 7. Account sales/service 8. Coordination of creative efforts 9. Graphic design of print advertising 10.Writing collateral pieces 11.Graphic design of print advertising 12.Budgeting 13.Writing direct mail pieces 14.Media relations 15.Writing corporate publications

Moderately important 16. Graphic design of direct mail pieces 17. Photographic design /direction 18. Speech writing 19. Writing broadcast advertising 20. Graphic design of corporate publication 21. Special events planning and coordination 22. Writing slideshows/filmstrips 23. Graphic design of slideshows/filmstrips

24. Employee /labor relations 25. Research 26. Management counsel regarding organizational decisions 27. Community relations 28. Writing promotional and training films/ videos 29. Trafficking 30. Graphic design of promotional films/videos 31. Photographic shooting skills

Moderately unimportant to moderately important 32. Graphic design of broadcast advertising 33. Trade shows and exhibit 34. Convention and meeting planning 35. Governmental relations 36. Stockholder relations 37. School relations 38. Graphic design of new releases 39. Fundraising and development