Public Relations and the Question of Professionalism

Fast Track Opportunities for High Achievers? A Comparative Investigation into Career Advancement Patterns for In-House and Consultancy Practitioners

“…Despite the ongoing debate surrounding the professionalization of public relations (Ehling, 1992;Wylie, 1994;Valin, 2005;Van Ruler, 2005;Pieczka & L'Etang, 2006) and even the granting of a chartered status to the UK's Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), the industry lacks a defined career route, outlining basic skills and qualifications to enter, as well as a guide stating how to advance a career within the field of public relations. The only established fact to date appears to be that PR is increasingly an all-graduate profession (Singh & Smyth, 2000;Coppola, 2003).…”

Corporate Communications: A Practice-based Theoretical Conceptualization

“…Third, and related to the previous points, the view of CC as ' practice ' has started to explore the agency of communications practitioners to bring about changes in corporate strategy and in the interaction between the fi rm and its environment, amidst general professional as well as situational constraints ( Whittington, 1988 ). Practitioners can be captured in wider professional belief systems about their roles and work -that is, the aforementioned distinction between ' manager ' and ' technician ' roles ( Pieczka and L ' Etang, 2000 ) -that effect and constrain their possibilities for action. Similarly, the political and structural aspects of the work situation in their fi rms -that is, whether there is a receptive environment among senior managers for an input from CC, and whether communications practitioners are located in departments with access (through a reporting relationship or seat on the management team) to senior management at the corporate level of the fi rm -effects the micro activities and agency of communication practitioners.…”

An Exploratory Study of Ethics Codes of Professional Public Relations Associations: Proposing Modified Universal Codes of Ethics in Public Relations

“…Ethical codes are "typically occupation specific" and accordingly can "define the ideal practitioner, and generally indicate how to attain that goal or become that practitioner" (Bivins, 2004, p. 21). Within public relations, a body of knowledge, a code of ethics, and certification have been regarded as the necessary infrastructure for qualifying as a true profession (Grunig & Hunt, 1984;Pieczka & L'Etang, 2001;Wylie, 1994). Accordingly, professional public relations associations aim to promote professional status and ethical conduct by providing normative directions for public relations professionals (Henderson, 2010).…”