The Pillars of Public Relations Ethics

In conclusion, the public relations profession has grown in its ethical practice, as evidenced in the public relations models. Yet, it is erroneous to assume that the application of the lower public relations models is unethical. Rather, ethical public relations literacy guides the professional in the ethical considerations in inherent to each model. By understanding the values and ethical orientations of each, public relations professionals can better assess appropriate ethical behavior.

Parsons offers a comprehensive ethical guide to help professionals in this assessment. Derived from the maxims of bioethics, she suggests five ethical pillars to summarize ethical literacy and support ethical decision making.

The five pillars are veracity (to tell the truth), non-maleficence (to do no harm), beneficence (to do good), confidentiality (to respect privacy), and fairness (to be fair and socially responsible). Parsons argues that the pillar to do no harm offers a starting point to avoid intentional and foreseeable harm. This pillar is balanced by the proactive pillar of “doing good.” Looking for opportunities to do good offers an “altruistic ethical intent,” that professionals should strive to uphold. The pillar of fairness is reminiscent of the ethical orientations that value and respect all individuals and balances the pillars of veracity and confidentiality. These pillars can be translated into five guiding questions to help professionals in ethical public relations practice:

1. Will anyone be harmed if we use this approach?
2. Are we taking advantage of an opportunity to contribute something good to society?
3. Is the message truthful? Could anyone be misled?
4. Does this respect the privacy of individuals and the organization?
5. Is this approach unfair to anyone including society?

Using these questions, public relations professionals can better assess the ethical implications of public relations practice and grow deeper in their ethical development.