Lecture / Chapter 6 Flashcards
ethics
values in action
types of codes
International (related to business), societal (ie religious), professional, organizational, personal
dilemmas
ethical challenges where important values clash, all potential solutions cause pain
golden mean
Aristotle - that ethical conduct exists at point of balance bw extremes of excess/deficiency ie its unethical to never OR alway lie - moderation. moral absolutes are troublesome
doctrine of the mean
Confucius - the superior man… stands erect in the middle without inclining to either side
civil disobedience
peaceful, unlawful actions designed to help change governmental policies - where ethics/legality conflict
cultural relativism
belief that no set of ethics is superior to another - can lead to real world problems
ethical imperialism
that your system of ethics has no flexibility/room for improvement and overrules other systems
donaldson
companies should have 3 principles for ethical behaviour - respect for core human values, respect for local traditions, that context matters when deciding what is right/wrong
virtual organizations
temp orgs - threat to ethical behaviour due to lack of written values/ethics codes
ethical payoffs
satisfaction of doing right thing, bonuses/promotions, $$ successs for orgs, better employees
categorical imperative
Kant - what would be the universal maxim aka which principle designed to apply to everyone in the world would be the outcome, what would the impact be? Would it be functional? would you want to live there? if not, its unethical action
trust
logical outcome of ethical behavior
corporate social responsibility
that organization should be good citizen of society in which it operates - ethics/transparency, workplace practices/employee relations, community engagement/development, environmental health/safety, human rights, integration of corporate social responsibility into supply chains
cause marketing/branding
identifying with worth cause
fully functioning society theory
that, through PR, orgs should help address social needs by using two-way comms to build consensus/discover shared goals
audit
process of examination, evaluation, recommendations
ethics audit
answer six basic questions - what is org ethics code, what do key publics know about it, how do we communicate code to ourselves/others, what successes in ethics have we had recently and why, what setbacks and why, how can we bolster strengths/reduce ethics weaknesses
four step PR process
research, planning, communication, evaluation
research phase (pr process)
awareness of written values when researching an issue, look for clashes between values and those of involved publics
planning phase (pr process)
test every proposed action against values of org/proposed publics
communication phase (pr process)
implement each action with clear understanding of how it reflects org/involved publics values
evaluation phase (pr process)
study if complete actions were consistent with values and what the impact was on involved publics - see if lapses/clashes stemmed from your actions/values
Potter Box
helps people analyze individual ethical crises - definition, values, principles, loyalties, select an action, evaluate
definition box (potter)
define situation as objectively as possible - what don’t you know, would anyone define it differently, who and why?
values box (potter)
state different values involved in situation - compare merits of differing values - which values suggest particular courses of action?
principles box (potter)
consider traditional ethics principles/approaches from relevant codes/philosophers (Aristotle, Kant, Mills, Rawls) - how will they help you act on values, do they suggest new values you should consider
loyalties box (potter)
identify all stakeholders, what are your obligations to them, who deserves loyalty - do they suggest new principles/values you haven’t considered? what courses of action do they suggest?
Utilitarianism
Bentham/Rawls – all our actions should be directed at producing the greatest good for the greatest number of people – including actions that don’t benefit us
social justice
Rawls - recognizing/considering values of all affected publics, not just those who have power to influence decisions. use veil of ignorance, give most disadvantaged publics the most consideration
veil of ignorance
Rawls. decision makers should pass through a veil that strips away rank/power/status - look at situation from all POVs
Ethics are:
values in action / beliefs about right/wrong that guide the way we think/act - not something we have, something we do - more important as increase in public mistrust from recent ethics scandals
Objective communicators
speak truth, ignore consequences, some info is confidential
advocacy
speak selective truth, withhold damaging info
ethical solution
relationship managers, build ethical relationships, act for good of relationships that sustain orgs
objectivity v advocacy
always on spectrum - need to move b/w two options
dubious case for selective truth
total objectivity not always practical
relationship-management solution
advocate fair policies with w clear conscience in managerial role - building relationships requires both objectivity/advocacy and more
overwork
challenge to ethical behaviour
legal ethical confusion
legal not always ethical and vice versa
short term thinking
provides solutions at high cost - plugging leaking dam w dynamite
creating ethical culture:
ethics audit - examination, evaluation, recommendation - integrating ethics into pr by solving ethical problems via four-step pr process
pr coalition recommends:
articulation of set of values, creation of transparency/disclosure processes, focusing on trust/ethics from top down
