Analysis of "This is PR... " (part 16)

Ethics and Responsibilities (part 1)

by:

Charles Lamson

Ethics and Values

Arthur W. Page offered six management principals that lead to ethical behavior:

1. Tell the truth. Let the public know what is happening and provide an accurate picture of the company's character, ideals and practices.
2. Prove it with action. Public perception of an organization is determined 90 percent by doing and 10 percent by talking.
3. Listen to the customer. To serve the public well you need to understand what it needs and wants; Keep top decision makers and other employees informed of public reaction to company products, policies and practices.
4. Manage for tomorrow. Anticipate public reaction and eliminate practices that create difficulties. Create goodwill.
5. Conduct public relations as if the whole company depended on it. It does. Corporate relations is a management function. No corporate strategy should be implemented without considering its external and internal public relations impact. The PR practitioner is a policy-maker, not just a publicist.
6. Remain calm, patient and good-humored. Lay the groundwork for public relations miracles with consistent, calm and reasoned attention to information and contacts. When a crisis comes, you will be prepared and know exactly what to do to diffuse it (This is PR: The Realities of Public Relations 9 ed., Doug Newsom, Judy VanSlyke Turk, Dean Kruckeberg; pg. 151).

These principles underscored the Page philosophy: "Real success, both for big business and the public, lies in large enterprise conducting itself in the public interest and in such a way that the public will give it sufficient freedom to serve effectively" (Newsom, Turk, Kruckeberg; pg.151).

An organization's standing depends on its actions, an organization's good standing depends on its acting in an ethical manner. An organization is also judged on how ethical its publics perceive it to be.

End