I like to tell my students that just because something is stupid, doesn’t mean it is unethical. But most stupid things can lead to great discussions on related ethical issues – and boy do we have a lot to talk about this week. From Royals to Racism to Fast Food and Kant, it was tough for me narrowing it down to just a few issues this week
Troy Brown, the President of one50one, discusses a number of key ethics issues, including:
1) How to respond when people try to marginalize you
2) The unethical myth of we can’t find diverse candidates
3) Ethical issues with influencer marketing
4) Ethics of Blockchain and Digital IP
This week in public relations ethics, there was a great ethics case study from Harvard Business Review, a scandal in Japan over gift policies and an explosive debate on social media over Dr. Seuss and McElligot’s Pool.
Thomas Bennett III, discusses:
1) What to do when you are stuck in a toxic work culture
2) Why we need more honesty and transparency
This week there were a number of interesting ethics stories on a wide range of topics. Ethisphere reported that world’s most ethical companies outperform the market by 7.1%, showing you can do well by doing good. There was also a call for Jeep to drop the name Cherokee and questions about ethical issues with charitable giving.
Dr. Holly Overton, Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina and a senior research fellow with the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication discusses:
1) What to do when you are on a toxic team at work
2) The changing landscape of business advocacy and what it means to PR
3) The rise of corporate social advocacy
4) What we can learn from the Page Principles
This week there were some really interesting stories on PR Ethics from the ABCs of Ethics to Astroturfing, improper brand association and what to do when you don’t have time to think. (Hint: make the time).
Cedric F. Brown, APR, an independent consultant who uses digital strategy to produce equitable outcomes, discusses:
1) What to do when you see racist behavior at work
2) Why hiring diverse junior talent isn’t enough
3) Why we can’t just look forward
There were a wide variety of ethics topics this week – from a new roboethics advisor to how to build a speak up culture and which countries most commonly report unethical behavior. Then there were the meta-ethics questions about is PR inherently unethical and is it ethical to ask a reporter questions in advance
Perry Headrick, the founder of Crackle PR, discusses a number of important ethical issues including:
1)What should you do when you don’t believe in your client?
2) Why we need to fight sensationalism
3) The need for greater diversity in public relations