Prsa code of ethics

Pre-reading tasks

1. At home watch in the Internet a video about ethics in PR (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzf0eswdVkU) and answer the question: What separates true PR professionals from those whom PRSA Code of Ethics considers to be unprofessionals?

1. Choose the best definition for the word “ethics”

1. a moral principle or set of moral values held by an individual or group;

2. a set of principles of right conduct;

3. a theory or a system of moral values;

4. the study of the general nature of morals and of the specific moral choices to be made by a person; moral philosophy;

5. the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession.

Reading

Read the text about ethics in PR and explain what it means in your own words

Public Relations Society of America Member Code of Ethics 2000

Ethical Guidance for Today’s Practitioner

The practice of public relations can present unique and challenging ethical issues. At the same time, protecting integrity and the public trust are fundamental to the profession’s role and reputation. Bottom line, successful public relations hinges on the ethics of its practitioners.

To help members navigate ethics principles and applications, the Society created, and continues to maintain, the PRSA Code of Ethics. Under the Code, widely regarded as the industry standard, members pledge to core values, principles and practice guidelines that define their professionalism and advance their success.

Building Principles on Core Values

The Code, created and maintained by the PRSA Board of Ethics and Professional Standards (BEPS), sets out principles and guidelines built on core values. Fundamental values like advocacy, honesty, loyalty, professional development and objectivity structure ethical practice and interaction with clients and the public. Translating values into principles of ethical practice, the Code advises professionals to:

• Protect and advance the free flow of accurate and truthful information.

• Foster informed decision making through open communication.

• Protect confidential and private information.

• Promote healthy and fair competition among professionals.

• Avoid conflicts of interest.

• Work to strengthen the public’s trust in the profession.

Code guidelines, like tactics supporting strategies, values and principles into play for working professionals facing everyday tasks and challenges. Among them, professionals should:

• Be honest and accurate in all communications.

• Reveal sponsors for represented causes and interests.

• Act in the best interest of clients or employers.

• Disclose financial interests in a client’s organization.

• Safeguard the confidences and privacy rights of clients and employees.

• Follow ethical hiring practices to respect free and open competition.

• Avoid conflicts between personal and professional interests.

• Decline representation of clients requiring actions contrary to the Code.

• Accurately define what public relations activities can accomplish.

• Report all ethical violations to the appropriate authority.

Addressing Practice Challenges

Digging even deeper, BEPS takes on current practice issues and challenges in periodic Professional Standards Advisories (PSA's). Applying the Code to specific scenarios, BEPS has addressed practices including:

• Pay-for-play journalism.

• Anonymous Internet posting, “flogs” and viral marketing.

• Front groups.

• Disclosure of payment of expert commentators.

• Truth in wartime communications.

• Overstating charges or compensation for work performed.

Offering a Professional Model

In the Code preamble, PRSA asserts that “ethical practice is the most important obligation of a PRSA member.” While the Code covers members, PRSA maintains that all public relations professionals should look to it as a model of professional behavior. Additionally, PRSA regards the Code as a “model for other professions, organizations and professionals.”

After-reading tasks

1. Match the phrases with the definitions

1. Viral marketing (advertising)	an online video game that promotes a particular brand, product, or marketing message by integrating it into the game.
2. Advergames	An organization which secretly acts as the public face of a covert group.
3. Brandable software	a governmental organization devoted to gathering of information by means of espionage, communication interception, crypto analysis and evaluation of public sources.
4. A front organization (group)	buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses or computer viruses. It can be delivered by word of mouth or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet. May take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, ebooks, brandable software, images, or text messages.
5. An intelligence agency	created by one company for the purpose of allowing other companies to obtain resell rights or giveaway rights to the software, change the brand associated with it, and sell it as if it were their own.
6. Pay-for-play journalism	aggressive publications
7. Flogs	dirty tricks in publications

2. Discuss with your partner what you think about all PR instruments in ex. 4? Are they ethic enough for a PR practitioner to use them in his work?

3. Match the words with their synonyms. Find an appropriate antonym

   Words	Synonyms	Antonyms
   Example: core values	Basic, fundamental	minor
   honesty	Achieve, carry out	Opposition, attack, protest
   advocacy	Faithfulness, fairness	Disbelief, distrust, mistrust
   loyalty	Accept, adopt, affirm	Careless, faulty
   accurate	Aid, advancement, encouragement	Condemn, discourage
   foster	Belief, assurance	Deceit, fraud
   trust	Abuse, break	Deny, confute, dispute
   disclose	Authentic, careful	Obedience, observance
   accomplish	Adherence, ardor	Diminish, reduce, lessen
   violation	Exaggerate, amplify	Disloyalty, unfaithfulness
   overstate	Promote, advance	Abandon, fail, give up

4. Work in pairs. Using the words above, create as many collocations as you can. Use a dictionary

Example: flagrant violation, minor violation, to commit a violation,

mutual distrust, distrust of sb. / smth….

1. Find English equivalents in the text for the following phrases

1. Отраслевой стандарт

2. Профессиональное развитее

3. Взаимодействие с аудиторией

4. Сохранять конфиденциальную информацию

5. Избегать конфликта интересов

6. Повышать доверие целевой аудитории

7. Находить спонсоров

8. Действовать в интересах клиента

9. Поддерживать открытую и свободную конкуренцию

10. Докладывать о всех нарушениях в соответствующую организацию

1. Discuss with your partner the following questions

1. Why is it so important to navigate ethics principles and applications in PR?

2. What is the industry standard?

3. What defines the professionalism of a PR practitioner?

4. What is the PR Code of Ethics based on?

5. How do you understand open communication? Is it essential in PR practice?

6. In what way can healthy and fair competition among professionals be promoted?

7. What are everyday challenges of a PR practitioner?

8. How can conflicts between personal and professional interests be avoided?

9. What violations of the PR Code of Ethics can you name?

Speaking

1. Imagine that you and your partner are PR practitioners and you are offered to undermine the reputation of your competitor’s company. Will you agree? Give some reasons and choose the best way of behaviour.

2. Speak on the following topic: “The best way to protect integrity, credibility and public trust for a company”.

Unit 5