Results vs. Ethics
19 Apr 2008
I’m catching up a bit on my blogs this week, and came across an interesting study I read about a while back that I want to share with you.
The Ethics Resource Center, a non profit, conducted a survey last summer of employees at U.S. public and private companies of all sizes. Sadly, 32 percent of employees give their company a “C” grade or worse when it comes to ethics.
According to the survey results, “When employees were asked to grade their organization’s efforts to encourage ethical conduct, 18 percent gave their company a “C”, while 14 percent gave their company a “D” or “F.”
The survey also found that a “significant share believe their organizations reward employees for getting good results, event if they use ethically questionable tactics.”
This can be especially relevant in the PR business, where you’re only as good as your last hit. Time and time again, our profession is branded by the media as “professional liars.” While I’m always frustrated by this, I understand where they are coming from.
Young and mid-level PR people who are on the line to deliver “placements,” are often told they are only as good as their last hit. The pressure to deliver interested media can often lead them to embellish a pitch or be less than forthcoming about their client for fear they will antagonize or push media away.
Yet, I have always found there’s no reason not to be up front with the media if you have a good story. Heck, they know a PR person has a client agenda. As long as we keep it in perspective within the context of the story, and manage our client’s expectations accordingly, there is no reason they’ll shy away from covering that story just because it came via a PR person.
Frankly, this is often more of a management issue than an ethics issue. If client expectations are managed up front, and they understand their relevance within the context of a story, they are less likely to expect an advertisement vs. a story.
As practitioners, we need to do a better job of creating relevant stories for media that credibly position our clients, as well as teaching those on the front lines who are pitching how to present the ideas in a way that is ethical and credible. Perhaps then our colleagues on the other side of the desk will begin to view our profession in a different light.
