Part 1: What Lies Beneath

Chapter List

Chapter 1: Before We BeginNew Profession or One of the Oldest?

Chapter 2: A Tangled Webthe ˜Truth About PR Ethics

Chapter 3: To Do No Harmthe Issue of Trust

Chapter 4: Whose Rights are Right?

Chapter 5: The Trouble With Rules

Chapter 6: Robin Hood Ethics

Recognizing, facing and dealing with ethical dilemmas in our everyday practice of public relations and corporate communications are the three most important aspects of the realities of ethics. Underneath this surface, however, are fundamental concerns about definitions (can we come to a consensus?), principles (what are the most important values in public relations?) and even some theory (how would the philosophers have viewed some of our issues?) that can be truly useful in practice.

The chapters that follow are devoted to setting up an ethical framework by examining ethical theory with an eye to practical applications. We can hardly discuss the everyday practice if we don't come to some consensus on definitions of such terms as ethics, professionalism and the truth. In addition, issues such as rights and rules need some discussion so that we can move on to looking at you, the practitioner, and the ethical dilemmas inherent in the work you do.