Legal Enviroment and Ethics

This weeks readings were about the legal environment and ethical practice, two topics of particular interest to me.

I have always had an interest in legal studies and this chapter made me aware of some legislation I didn't know about and jelled the law and Public Relations practices together for me. It showed me what legal issues a Public Relations Practitioner needs to consider in their work and how it is essential that you have a good knowledge of the laws relevant to you. Without this many problems can arise that can cause a lot of trouble and affect reputations and relationships (even if the issue resulted in the law being on their side). "Public Relations relies on good reputations, positive images and strong relationships. These matters must be factored into the cost of any legal action"1. It is wise to pick your fights and be aware of the law before hand to prevent problems later on.

Ethical practice like said above is another subject of particular interest to me. Today’s society has become so morally casual. Many morals, polite traditions and ethics have been filled down or become non-existent to many. My favourite point in the chapter was "Practitioners have a social responsibility to maintain certain ethical standards since their work is capable of influencing others"2. Anything that we say or do has potential to influence others, I think it is important to be aware of this in everyday life but especially on a corporate scale. The ideas we put out there influence people which therefore sets the values we live by, the way society thinks. Sieb and Fitzpatrick list the "five duties of Public Relations professionals as being to oneself, the client, the employer, the profession and society". I also really liked philosopher Immanual Kant's three-step ethical process which gets you to ask "what if everyone did this deed?", asks you to never exploit others and to "always respect the dignity of human beings".

Ethics are so very important, it makes the world a better place amongst all the unethical things that go on. The law and Public Relations is also becoming much more complex and will continue to do so especially with technology always on the move and affecting legislation. This weeks topics were really good to read and I got a lot out of them.

References:

Chapters 4 and 5 of Public Relations Theory and Practice / Edited by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi, 2^nd edition