For this week’s online discussion, read and review material on Ethics / and the PRSA Code of Ethics:
About the PRSA Code of Ethics:
PRSA Code of Ethics At A Glance.pdf (short)
prsa_code_of_ethics1ee4daa82781492ab1589370d0ec198b (1).pdf (longer)
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Once you’ve completed the reading, answer/discuss the following FIVE scenarios in short answers in online discussion. Identify which aspects of the Code apply and why.
What Would You Do If (Five Scenarios on Ethics)
Scenario 1
A school board member who has been an outstanding advocate for the district is up for re-election. He calls to ask you if you would help with his re-election campaign. He says he values your communication expertise and needs help to defeat his opponent, who is very vocal about reducing administrative positions in the district. He considers them “fluff.” In fact, your job as communication director is at the top of his list and will likely be the first to go. You know you can’t work on the campaign during working hours, but you agree to work from home on the incumbent’s campaign. You don’t plan to tell anyone else you are helping him because what you do on your own time is your business. What are the ethical issues related to this scenario?
Scenario 2
You are working for a pharmaceutical company that wants to sell more of its non-drowsy allergy drug. One of your interns offers to go into online chat rooms that focus on the topic of allergies to tout the success she has had using this drug. She does not intend to disclose her employer or that she doesn’t personally suffer from allergies. She intends to do a content analysis on the responses for a term paper at her university. What are the ethical issues related to this scenario?
Scenario 3
A group of prominent citizens approaches you, a solo public relations practitioner. The group wants to advocate closing a nuclear power plant. Members argue that it is upwind from a major metropolis and that either an accident or a terrorist attack at the plant could result in widespread radiation fallout, loss of human life and environmental damage. The group wants you to prepare informational materials without mentioning that closing the plant could result in rolling brownouts in the metro area. What are the ethical issues related to this scenario?
Scenario 4
A partner in a public relations counseling firm tells a reporter from a local newspaper that a competing public relations agency is recommending to a client some underhanded tactics to gain government approval of a plan to begin a new mining operation. Specific tactics included payments to elected officials. That “tip” results in a front-page story accusing the company of trying to “buy” mine approval by paying off local government officials. The practitioner providing the tip had been courting the same client but had lost the account to the competitor. What are the ethical issues related to this scenario?
Scenario 5
You are the director of public relations for a small, private university. You receive information from an acquaintance through your university email account. The message says that a local businessman, who is foreign, is allegedly supporting terrorist activity by displaying an Al Qaeda poster in his store. You are asked by the sender not only to boycott that business but also to pass along this information to other friends and colleagues. This message is not a news release of any kind. The information is not meant for public consumption. The information is intended for sharing among friends. What do you do and why? What are the ethical issues related to this scenario?
