Ethical obligations of public relations in an era of globalisation

Abstract

where he served 17 years as Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He has worked professionally as a journalist and in public relations and currently serves as a consulting ombudsman for a regional news organisation. His work has appeared in a number of journals, and he is author or co-author of several books, including 'Public relations and community: A reconstructed theory' and 'The dragon's pupils'.

Corporate Social Responsibility and the Communication Imperative

“…Specifically, public relations (PR) scholars affirm the centrality of relationship management for PR practice (see Ledingham, 2003;Ledingham & Bruning, 1998). Furthermore, Starck and Kruckeberg (2003) argue that PR professionals are best qualified to contribute to social responsibility by assuming a leadership position within the organization and by "influencing organizational culture through communication to help affect behavioral outcomes" (p. 39). Others challenge the notion that PR practitioners can be corporate conscience and argue that the strategic nature of CSR is contradictory to the moral basis of public relations and question organizational motivation in enacting socially responsible behaviors (e.g., L'Etang, Lugo-Ocando, & Ahmad, 2011).…”

Modelling the Firm in its Market and Organizational Environment: Methodologies for Studying Corporate Social Responsibility

“…Wilson (2005) describes the rationales offered by retail firms who pursue CSR strategies in order to overcome low opinions of corporations 'in today's climate of corporate mistrust and scandal' (see also De Man ( 2005) with reference to Wal-Mart). Starck and Kruckeberg (2003) discuss the contribution that public relations practitioners can make to further CSR. Customers may believe that a firm that engages in good works in the community has a kind of corporate conscience, and would not engage in dishonest practices.…”

A Qualitative Examination of Public Relations Practitioner Ethical Decision Making and the Deontological Theory of Ethical Issues Management

“…As a model, it is particularly moral, ethical, and important in furthering public relations practice and theory (Bowen, 2005;Grunig & Grunig, 1992;Starck & Kruckeberg, 2003). According to Grunig and Grunig (1992), "the two-way symmetrical model avoids the problem of ethical relativism because it defines ethics as a process of public relations rather than an outcome.…”