NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Roots of Public Relations Contemporary public relations is a twentieth-century phenomenon that evolved from the press gentry of the 1800 s. These old-time press agents played upon the credulity of the public in its desire to be entertained, whether or not they were deceived. Advertisements and press releases were often exaggerated to the point of being complete falsifications. In promoting an attraction, press agents dropped multitudes of tickets on the newspaper editors desk along with the releases. Voluminous publicity for the attraction usually resulted, and reporters, editors, and their families flocked to the free entertainment with scant regard for any ethical constraints (Wilcox, Ault, & Agee 37). One man, Phineas T.
Barnum, exemplified such a press agent to the extreme. Barnum is considered the master of the pseudo event, the planned event that occurs primarily for the purpose of being reported similar to the special events held by public relations practitioners of today. However, modern-day practitioners like to draw the line of comparison between Barnum and themselves at this point. This hardheaded businessman used deception and hoax in his operations and in his publicity and advertising. Nevertheless, a public thirsting for entertainment permitted his exaggerations and people were amazed by the wonders he produced (Wilcox, Ault, & Agee 38). For example, Join Heath was a slave who claimed to be 161 years old and said she had been George Washingtons nurse.
Barnum produced a stained birth certificate as evidence for the public, but after she died, her autopsy disclosed that she was far younger. On the same note, Jumbo, the worlds largest elephant, was brought by Barnum from England with enormous publicity. Posters and pamphlets featuring inflated prose exaggerated the animals size (Wilcox, Ault, & Agee 38). Roots such as these have created the skepticism with which the public views the field of public relations. Furthermore, it is the duty of practitioners to create positive images for businesses and organizations. Therefore, other, more recent issues have augmented Americans mistrust in the business world in general, including the Watergate Affair and the business-and-government-related scandals of the 1980 s, such as the near collapse of the savings and loan industry.
The American public is demanding higher ethical practices from business firms and organizations than it did in the past (Wilcox, Ault, & Agee 116). How Public Relations Practitioners are Perceived Despite pressure from the public, very little empirical evidence on the ethics of public relations practitioners exists. As recently as the spring of 1988, a Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) task force could only uncover 16 journal articles and two books as initial readings that dealt with ethics issues in length (Pratt, "Empirical" 230). However, one study conducted in 1989, has revealed the pathetic state of ethics in, and has called into question the credibility, professional integrity and public image of, public relations (229).
In the broad field of mass communications, of which public relations practitioners are considered a part, the occupation is viewed with cynicism. For example, an investigation of journalists attitudes toward public relations, conducted in 1975, disclosed generally negative attitudes. In this sample survey, respondents had to rank the perceived respect of 16 occupations and professions; journalists ranked themselves first and public relations practitioners last, while public relations practitioners ranked themselves fourth and journalists third. It has also been reported that college students develop a negative disposition toward public relations early on in their college careers. This disposition could be caused by the content of textbooks.
In a content analysis of 12 introductory textbooks in mass communications, an insidious bias against public relations and a fierce anti-public relations stance was found (229). Even public relations practitioners have doubts about the degree of morality in the field. In a recent survey of practitioners, none of the respondents assigned very high marks to the honesty and ethical standards of their colleagues. Fifty-five percent of them viewed the chief executive as the most credible source of information about an organization, and only five percent selected a public relations representative (Pratt, "Empirical, " 230). Ironically, practitioners themselves hold little credence in the ability of their peers to carry out an essential component of their profession: the management of an organizations relationships with its various publics.
Often times, the management of these relationships is jeopardized by poor decision-making on the part of practitioners. Judgment Calls Wilcox (119) offers specific examples of the judgment calls with which public relations practitioners are faced. For instance, if the company president asks a public relations representative to write a news release claiming that a new product is four times better than the competition, he / she should be wary. Making extravagant claims about a product, which cannot be substantiated, should be avoided. Another example could be an American company that wants to increase its visibility and market share in Eastern Europe. The director of public relations invites a group of German business editors to visit the firms headquarters with all expenses paid.
This is considered permissible by the whole body of practitioners, as long as the visit has legitimate news value, and as long as it furthers the press understanding of the companys operations. A primary judgment call happens during the job search of a public relations practitioner. To illustrate, if a tobacco company offers someone the highest salary from among his / her potential employers, he / she should not oppose smoking. This could place the person in a position where personal interest is in conflict with an employer or client, and fulfilling obligations to the employer would be difficult. Dilemmas such as these must be addressed by practitioners everyday. One might glance at these examples and wonder were the difficulty in making these decisions lies.
The fact is that not everybody holds the same set of personal and / or professional standards. One person might not see anything wrong with exaggerating a news release for a new product, while another might consider such an act to be dishonest. Studies have been done which categorize public relations practitioners as being either more ethical or less ethical; the factors that have been researched and that provided conclusive evidence include age, years of experience, gender, and individual moral values. The older and the more years of experience, the more ethical the practitioner. Similarly, the higher ones individual moral values are, the more ethical ones professional standard will be (Shamir, Reed, & Connell 956 - 953). Female practitioners beliefs were significantly more ethical than those of their male counterparts.
It was also reported that women practiced unethical behavior less often than men (Pratt, "Perceptions, " 153). In addition to incongruous ethical standards, several other factors serve as possible reasons for the lack of values. A number of practitioners said that because of the competitive environment in which practitioners tend to work, ethics may have low priority (Pratt, Empirical 232). Also, some practitioners blame the availability, or lack thereof, of good, effective role models, particularly among top business executives, for...
Free research essays on topics related to: ethical standards, five percent, public relations practitioners, years of experience, moral values
Research essay sample on Public Relations Practitioners Years Of Experience
