Guest blog: Should PR challenge clients to think about their moral values?
8th March 2011Professor Roger Steare FRSA, Director at ethicability discusses business ethics in PR.
Some say that “business ethics” is an oxymoron. And for some businesses, this is probably true. It’s not difficult to find banks, big oil companies, arms manufacturers and tobacco companies that have clearly done the wrong thing and then paid for the consequences. That is to say that the shareholders have paid the consequences. Of course, most of the failed business leaders responsible for the disasters are able to disappear into wealthy exile like some of the dictators deposed by the Jasmine Revolution.
But, for most businesses, and certainly those that sustain themselves for decades or even generations, doing the right thing is the key not only to survival, but also to sustainability and prosperity. So how do good people, leading and working in businesses, manage to do this?
The good news here is that doing the right thing may be hard, but it is simple. Just like life. In fact the key to doing the right thing is to bring about your personal values into the workplace. Values such as wisdom, fairness and love have been the foundation for humanity for at least 15,000 years. Family, friendship and neighbourhood are enduring forms of community that are rooted in these values.
The bad news is that the modern corporation more closely resembles a totalitarian dictatorship like Libya, rather than the safe places of belonging most of us are lucky to inhabit. If you work for a boss who tells you what to do; where there’s fear of “termination”; where you’re forced to lie about a product or service; these are signs that something isn’t right.
So what for PR? Well this is a challenge. Like any other business sector, PR has its share of the good, the bad and the ugly. But good PR firms will challenge clients to be honest in their relationships. Good clients in turn will value this challenge. And if you find yourself with a difficult ethical dilemma, then think about what your values are. Challenge your client to think about their own moral values. Think about how your decision will affect other people.
In all dealings you should think people first; business second.
Fantastic post. I wrote a similar post on my blog about where ethics sit in PR. It is a difficult balancing act – do you keep quiet in order to keep your job? Or speak up and risk losing it? My conclusion was to choose an organisation that held similar values as you so that you limit the risk of being put in that position. One quote that someone gave for my post was: We hold the information, we shouldn’t judge it, just use it how we think best. Interesting thought…