2011 Center for Global Public Relations March 15, 2011
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Research Conference
UNCC Charlotte
A Delphi Study of How the Stockholm Accords Might Impact the Universal Practice of Ethics in Public
Relations Kiya Davis Ward, M.A., University of North Carolina Charlotte
]
Abstract This thesis emphasizes the importance of universal ethics in public relations and uses the Stockholm Accords, a universal ethics code introduced in July 2010, to demonstrate how a universal ethics code might impact the field. The Stockholm Accords encompasses and enhances many of the objectives currently found in public relations ethics codes by satisfying the need for an expanded universal practice of ethics in public relations. Included is the first chapter of the study designed to show how this enhancement might impact the universal practice of ethics in public relations.
Delphi Study of How the Stockholm Accords Might Impact the Universal Practice of Ethics in Public Relations Introduction The history of unethical public relations practices has led to an ambiguous understanding of how ethics is currently practiced in the field (Bowen, 2007; Corporate Watch UK, 2010). Those outside of the field often associate ethics in public relations with unethical situations that they hear about in the news or see in movies (Ames, 2010). Three high-profile situations have contributed to the misunderstood and inaccurate perception of the practice of ethics in public relations: 1. Ivy Lee, a former public relations practitioner for the Rockefeller family in 1914, published several lies after 14 miners were anonymously killed. Lee told the press that the victims had started fires and had disturbed the National Guard. When the truth was revealed, that Lee lied to protect the image of his clients, his reputation was immediately correlated to that of a liar, and it contributed to the tarnished image of public relations (Corporate Watch UK, 2010). 2. In 2007, Hill & Knowlton, a global public relations firm, publicly released inaccurate research findings that had been originally conducted to gain the business of the Electronic Software Association. The information falsely represented the actual data that had been collected and gave a misleading picture of the entertainment software industry (Sliwinski, 2007) 3. Most recently in 2010, the British Petroleum (BP) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico made headlines as a public relations nightmare (Smith, 2010). In April 2010, the oil spill was leaking 5,000 barrels of oil each day; however, to preserve its image as an environmentally friendly company, BP lied and portrayed the spill as only leaking 1,000 barrels a day (White, 2010). To avoid unethical public relations situations such as those listed above, many professional organizations around the world have created ethics codes (Cutlip, Center, & Broom, 2009). Each ethics code has unique characteristics; however, a commonality among the codes is that most are not universal (Hunt & Tirpok, 1993; Kruckeberg, 1993). In July 2010, a universal ethics code, the Stockholm Accords, was introduced to public relations. The Stockholm Accords encompasses and enhances many of the objectives currently found in public relations ethics codes by satisfying the need for an expanded universal practice of ethics in public relations. The results of this study will show how this enhancement might impact the universal practice of ethics in public relations. Study Background This thesis emphasizes the importance of universal ethics in public relations and uses the Stockholm Accords to demonstrate how a universal ethics code might impact the field. The Stockholm Accords utilize the Two-Way Symmetrical Model of Public Relations. The Two-Way Symmetrical Model of Public Relations is considered an advanced level of communication that many organizations, cross-culturally strive to achieve (Grunig, 2001). The model accentuates the importance of two-way communication and interaction between
organizations and stakeholders in an effort to reach maximum satisfaction between both parties (Grunig, 2001). The literature review in this thesis will use the Two-Way Symmetrical Model, among other theories, to provide a framework for how the Stockholm Accords might impact the universal practice of ethics in public relations. The review of literature will show that although public relations ethics codes have progressed over the years, a more comprehensive universal ethics code is needed to govern public relations for today’s practitioner. The Stockholm Accords is a comprehensive universal ethics code that is considered a “call to action for public relations practitioners” (Paluszek, 2010a) that seeks to advance public relations practices by strengthening ethics. John Paluszek, chair of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, explained the new document by saying, “The Stockholm Accords is public relations for public relations,” (Paluszek, 2010a). According to Paluszek, if the Stockholm Accords is applied appropriately, it will help sustain an organization and ultimately improve the contextual role of public relations, thus, improving the existing tainted view of the profession (Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, 2010). Research Question This paper reviews research that has been done on the importance of and the need for the Stockholm Accords, but to date there is little or no research on how this universal ethics code might impact the universal practice of ethics in public relations. Thus, the research question of the proposed study is: RQ 1: How might the Stockholm Accords impact the universal practice of ethics in public relations? To answer this research question, a Delphi Study was conducted on public relations practitioners from four global public relations firms. The results of this study forecast the impact that the Stockholm Accords might have on the universal practice of ethics in public relations. Significance of Thesis 1. This research adds substance to the on-going conversation of ethics in public relations. For years, ethics has been a topic of great importance in public relations. Many people question the ethical standards and practices of public relations practitioners, and much research has reiterated the suspicion of the field (Chia & Synnott, 2009). From “spin” to models of ethics, public relations has gradually developed into a more ethical field which can be seen through the importance placed on ethics codes, current research, and the mission and objectives of many public relations firms. The research conducted in this study evaluates the conversation on ethics in public relations and provides a turning point in the discourse by showing how a comprehensive universal ethics code could impact the field. 2. This research evaluates the conception and creation of universal ethics codes in public relations. Although some scholars suggest that a universal code of ethics is needed in public relations (Starck & Kruckeberg, 2003), there are other scholars and practitioners who are skeptical that a universal practice exists, given the fluidity of public relations. This study investigates the difficulty that scholars and practitioners face when creating ethics codes and
explores why the creation of ethics codes in public relations poses great challenges to scholars and practitioners. 3. This research analyzes ethics codes currently in the field of public relations. There are hundreds of ethics codes in the field of public relations, each suggesting its own ideal of best practice in the field. Some ethics codes are prescriptive and warn practitioners of what not to do, while other codes give specific instructions on how to be ethical. Using the Ethical Code of Analysis, this study will analyze three prominent codes in the field of public relation by aligning them with the Stockholm Accords to see how they compare and contrast.
References Ames, C. (2010). PR goes to the movies: The image of public relations improves from 1996 to 2008. Public Relations Review, 36, 164-170. Bowen, S. A. (2007). Ethics and public relations. Retrieved from http://www.instituteforpr.org/essential knowledge/detail/ethics_and_public_relations. Chia, J. & Synnott, G. (Eds.) An introduction to public relations: From theory to Practice. Oxford. Corporate Watch UK. (2010). Public relations and lobbying industry. Retrieved from http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=1570. Cutlip, S., Center, A., & Broom, G. (2009). Effective public relations. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management .(2010). About: The Stockholm Accords. Retrieved from http://www.stockholmaccords.org/about-us. Grunig, J. (2001). Two-way symmetrical public relations: Past, present, and future. In R. Heath & G. Vasquez (Eds.), Handbook of public relations (pp. 11-30). Thousand Oaks: Sage. Hunt, T. & Tirpok, A. (1993). Universal ethics code: An idea whose times has come. Public Relations Review, 19(1), 1-11. Kruckeberg, D. (1993). Universal ethics code: Both possible and feasible. Public Relations Review, 19(1), 21-31. Paluszek, J. (2010a). Global ‘pr for pr’ gets underway: “Stockholm Accords” gain traction around the world. Alliance News. Retrieved from http://www.globalallian cepr.org/content/1/521/global-for-gets-underway-stockholm-accords-gain-traction-around-theworld/.
Sliwinski, A. (2007). ESA counters Hill & Knowlton’s ‘unprofessional and unethical’ release of research. Retrieved on from http://www.joystiq.com/ 2007/12/05/esa-countershill-and-knowltons-unprofessional-and-unethical-re/. Smith, J. (2010). Avoid unethical business practices to avoid a pr nightmare. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Avoid-Unethical-Business-Practices-to-Avoid-a-PRNightmare&id=4921061. Starck, K. & Kruckeberg, D. (2003). Ethical obligations of public relations in an era of globalization. Journal of Communication Management: An International Journal, 8(1), 29-40. White, R. D. (2010). For BP, oil spill is a public relations catastrophe. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/30/business/la-fi-gulf-bp20100501