Free Custom «Can Ethics Be Taught?» Essay Paper

Question (3a). Can ethics be taught? Can practitioners know ethical behavior, that is, what is right and wrong in professional practice, but yet not practice such behavior they know to be right? Explain your answer. Do you think practitioners become more ethical or less ethical or remain about the same in their ethics from the time they begin their careers to the time they are senior-level practitioners? Why?

Ethics is the standard and moral behavior that the society expects from people. Ethics can be learnt through a sociological process called socialization. This is the process in which a child is taught how to relate with others and behave within the society. Ethics can be learned and also unlearned since it takes the same effort to make someone to have poor ethical beliefs. This means that the effort harnessed to mould one positively from childhood to adulthood is the same effort that can be harnessed negatively in order to develop poor ethics in them. In different situations some practitioners behave in unethical means and they still know that their behavior is inappropriate. For example, people who practice corruption themselves know that it is unethical and such things are not expected in their professions. However, these practitioners continue doing it even when they still know that corruption is wrong. Most practitioners compromise their ethics as they continue their careers. This happens because they conform to the unethical behavior of the people they meet in their careers. In some cases they are blackmailed and they have to conform to the malpractices of their fellow workmates if they need promotions (Dewey, 1908).

Question 3b. How could a public relations practitioner get into trouble over violations of privacy?

If public relations practitioners violate the privacy of their esteemed customers, they are answerable in a court of law for the crime of invasion of privacy. This gets them in trouble since it is unlawful to expose or use the private space or item that is entitled to them without their consent. The public relations practitioners usually assure their clients 100 percent privacy for their information that they submit fearing it could be personal. Disclosure of such information to third parties is also likely to land them into trouble for violating their privacy policy. In addition, violation of privacy is also a major unethical issue in organizations today. Therefore, the legal institutions are taking it as a serious issue. Violation of privacy may land public relation practitioners into trouble due to the extent of seriousness. It may also lead to false accusations. Persons who have violated the privacy of possible clients in an organization may face serious accusation against more serious criminal offences (Merino 2012).

Question 3c. What effect does the type of the organization, its corporate culture and its communication environment have on PR practice internally? What effect do these factors have externally, if the organization is your client?

A public relations planning is very crucial for the performance of a company. This planning helps the company to improve its image to outsiders and to assess several internal factors such as employee’s satisfaction and the morale of the employees. Monitoring of the company or premises entails the use of tools such as questionnaires and interviews to assess the performance of the company and to weigh the needs of the consumers. The impact of this monitoring, when done professionally, is massive. This is because it causes these firms to have bountiful performance records. The result is high profit margins, which facilitate the growth of the company or premises.

Question 3e. How significant are mission statements to organizations and their publics?

Mission statements are the statements that indicate the core mission of various organizations. These statements are very important since they are a proof to the public that these organizations are goal-oriented. The members of these organizations also receive constant remainders on their way of conduct and their core roles from these statements. The public also get to know the level of seriousness of these organizations and also help them to know the extent to which the organizations are committed towards fulfillment of the mission statements.

3f. What criteria should be used to determine public relations practitioners choice of a channel and medium to communicate with a particular public?

The criteria that should be used to establish the best means for public relations practitioners to communicate with the public may vary depending on the nature of communication. However, this criterion should consider the effectiveness of the communication and the speed at which the feedback from the clients arrives at the organization. For example, communication through the social media is cheap, convenient and brings the feedback faster. Also, it is important to consider other channels of communication with the public such as interviews or questionnaires. The criterion used should consider weighing all the options between three possible channels of communication (Nayyar 2010).