time for a change

This week we will be focusing on the ethical issues related directly to the Public Relations field.  More specifically, a definition that correctly portrays the change public relations has seen and grown into over the years.  In a recent New York times article written by Stuart Elliott, public relations is defined as “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.”  For years this definition worked, even though “vague” as Elliott describes it, it still was relevant to our society.  But now it is a new age and with the birth of the Internet and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook taking over, it is time to change to an outdated definition.  Before making a change, there must be reasoning to do so, being outdated is one reason for sure, but I feel the main issue here is that the old definition does not fit the mold of the public relations industry anymore. 

Public relations should be defined as managing the stream of ever changing information between the public and it’s organizations, while maintaining relevance to the society in an ethical manner.  I feel that this definition works better than all previous ones because it stills stands behind the initial goal of public relation firms, while instilling confidence that we are up to date with all that is going on in our society.  The ethical implications of my definition are that as society changes and the public begins to view issues differently, we still will be up to date with where the public currently is and where is it is going.  Any new definition must be sure to incorporate ethics into it because it is what gives PR credibility and room to grow within society. 

Gerry Corbett wrote a very interesting article this year describing the PR industry; both where is it headed ethically and what has happened in the past year to discredit the industry.  One issue that stands out to me the most is the lack of privacy the Internet and social networking sites have given our society.  I feel this issue is most problematic because it can touch the most people.  And not only is what we are currently doing on the internet not protective enough, whatever we have done is the past is forever there for someone to find if they really took the time to find it.  Privacy on social networking sites has been an issue for a little while now and still nothing drastic has been done to help protect individual’s privacy and I believe until then privacy should be considered the main ethical issue at hand.

Corbett mentions that the “PRSA and the FTC are monitoring various public relations practices”, which is great I guess, but what exactly does monitoring mean?  If they mess up then they will do something?  How about taking an initiative and try to prevent mess-ups from happening in the future.  Granted these measures will for sure help out the ethical issues we keep facing in the PR industry but I don’t believe they will be doing as much as they can be doing.  I think that instead of playing the wait and correct method it could be more effective if a strict guideline was made for all PR organizations to follow with punishments and fines used more regularly.  Because when it all comes down to it, it is all about money and if you start taking away money, I think the message will be felt.

codes codes and more codes

In our society everything we do or don’t do has some sort of code behind it, but so does every society but the here in the U.S. things are done a little different.  This week’s post will deal with product placement and the code of ethics that goes along with it.  Granted I really do not see myself doing any graphic design or dealing with product placement in my future, BUT in saying that I have always had an eye for product placement because ultimately I find it interesting what products I see placed in tv shows and movies.

Phillip Patterson of Oklahoma Christian University wrote the case study I have chosen.  The case study shows us a bunch of different statistics from different companies and how they use product placement effectively.  These companies do not own any of the shows or movies they simply sponsor them.  Sponsorship from companies gives them the ability to place products effectively, which in turn gives them product recognition, whichhhh leads to more products being bought whichhhhh leads to more money.

Ethically, they are many aspects that go into product placement, for instance contracts must be made to ensure the rights to these products.  If a company does not have the rights to use specific company products like a blackberry or an iphone they can’t use it.  In saying that, we cannot possibly believe that all companies listen to that.  That’s just ignorant!  The code helps with this case because it lays out a foundation for what companies are supposed to follow.

Two ethical perspectives that can be related from class to the case are emotion vs rationality and tares.  Emotion vs rationality can be helpful in product placement because the companies must decide where to place products so they are seen and if they are sending off the correct message.  Tares deal more directly with advertising but its all the same when you really think about it.  The Patterson and Wilkins readings tell us that tares deal with Truth, Authenticity, Respect, Equity and Social responsibility.  Product placement relies are tares to make sure what they are placing and how they are placing their product is ethically correct.

The most important aspect of this case I believe was finding the codes that go along with product placement and how thought out every detail is.  Every inch to every set is thought out and made a specific way for a reason.

Snitches Get Stitches

If there is anything that can be considered guaranteed in life, being faced with decisions of whether to speak up when you feel something could be damaging to someone or just keep your mouth closed is about as guaranteed as it gets.  The answer we all are searching for when faced with this situation is not as obvious and clear as it may seem to be or lets face it the world would be perfect wouldn’t it? Or would it? 

Every situation has a right and wrong way to handle it.  From personal experience I can say that being a two-year captain of the Sacred Heart Men’s Lacrosse team has caused many agonizing decisions that had to be made for the betterment of the team.  On almost a weekly basis I sit down with my coach and we talk about the team, which ultimately always turns into conversations about individuals on the team.  In on instance I was faced with the decision to either tell coach about underclassman getting written up in the dorms, which would likely cause suspension and/or other punishment.  But this was mid season and our conference schedule is about to start, so I decide to keep my mouth closed have the back of my teammates so no one would get in trouble.  That sounds ok right?  Even though I would probably do the same thing today, I know that every time I go down that road instead of telling the truth, the team loses a little bit of discipline and that ultimately falls on the captain.

The need for something to be kept secret falls on the amount of people it will affect and/or how it will negatively and/or positively affect that individual or group of individuals.  I feel if it comes down to a few people being overly selfish and the secret is being kept not only so others cant join in but to hide what they are actually doing, than that is where the line is.

The fallout of using the media or such social networks as Twitter and Facebook can be devastating to both the whistleblower and whomever he/she is bringing to light.  In today’s society once the media gets a hold of something (that includes Twitter, Facebook, etc…) it is there forever, true or not true it will always be available for speculation.  Personally, now that I am getting older I am a lot more cautious of what I put on the Internet and what I make available to the public.   Quick example, I recently changed my blog name to just Billy to try and prevent it from coming up when googling my name, because you never know who is looking or what they will think of you.

Upon completion of this class, I will be moving into the professional world and I know for a fact I will be faced with ethical decisions on whether or not to keep things secret.  I think it is inevitable and ultimately needed in society.  If everyone knew everything there was to know, where would that put us? What excitement would we looking for or questions in need of answers?  And think of the chaos it would cause if 7 billion people all had an opinion on something they had nothing to do with and no way of answering constructively.

Blog Post 1

Coming from a business background with aspirations of becoming more creative to assist in future endeavors including real-estate and sales, id have to say that I will be faced with many ethical hardships in my future.  Specifically in sales I know that on a daily basis I will be forced to make decisions that will benefit my company more than the seller, but that’s the business I tell myself.  Does that make it ok though?  I truly don’t know the answer to that because it seems as if it is the only way things are done now a days anyway, so why even play a side. 

Now back to the assignment, as the NFL season has just ended, the first pick of the 2012 draft has be awarded to the Indianapolis Colts.  They will be faced with the tough decision of to keep Peyton Manning and pay him the 28 million he will be owed in March, knowing they will be drafting QB Andrew Luck (best overall nfl prospect in last 20 years) or releasing the 4 time MVP who has been the face of the team for over a decade and arguably the greatest QB to ever play the game.  Ethically, they can’t let him go, after all he has done for the franchise and the city, bringing them to two Superbowls and bringing one title home.  But, it’s a business; he is turning 36 and sat out this whole season due to three neck surgeries.  So from a business aspect it seems like a no brainer, from an ethical standpoint it seems impossible to do such a thing, but I think that’s where we are headed.

Personally, I like to think of myself as a thinker, always “trying” to be both sides and how each benefits as the result of an ethical decision being made.  Have to give a shout out to mom on that one because I definitely got that from her (awwww right).  I believe I have the ability to evaluate and decide what is right and wrong, not saying I follow the right way every time but when I am wrong or doing something questionable I usually have a sense of it.

Throughout my experience thus far, I have learned that I need to clarify myself better in order to communicate my ideas and opinions more effectively.  I believe I am doing a better job and will only continue to grow as I continue here.

Being a big sports fan, I would like to see more talk regarding sports in class.  There is a ton of ethical topics that can be covered and related to other working situations.  Contracts, college athletes being paid, Jerry Sandusky, the list goes on and I say we tap in to that a little bit more.