R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Even soul star Aretha Franklin sang for it when all she was asking for was ˜a little respect. Rodney Dangerfield has relied on his line that he can't get any. All they were asking for was to be treated with consideration, for their human qualities to be held in high regard. If we turn that search for respect around and consider what it means to give respect to others, it seems clear that without respect, it might be difficult or even impossible to make defensible ethical decisions. Without being able to respect our colleagues, clients , employers , members of the community, the media and so on, the ethical foundation for the development of trusting relationships would crumble, just as it does for us on a personal basis.

In this discussion of respect, we'll examine three levels of respect that might provide each of us as individual PR practitioners with a foundation for demonstrating respect as the basis for our ethical behaviour. Figure 7.1 illustrates the three steps on the staircase to respect. The bottom step is understanding how we develop an ability to respect others, and by examining our own development we begin to understand our own level of moral maturity. Taking the second step, we focus on simple measures of respect for others on an interpersonal level: the relationship between morality and manners. On the final step on our staircase (this is not an exhaustive description of all aspects of respect), we'll examine an example of one important way that you demonstrate professional respect for employers, clients, your profession and society by discussing ethical issues related to your level of professional competence.

Figure 7.1: The staircase to respect