Professional Codes of Ethics

Overview

This module explores the role of ethics in professional practice, with a focus on how formal codes of ethics guide behavior in the public relations field. Students will learn where professional codes of ethics come from, how they reflect a profession’s core values, and why they evolve over time. By the end of the module, students will understand the history and purpose of the PRSA Code of Ethics and how to apply it effectively in their own communication work.

Presentation Files

Lesson 1:

Many professions create and expect their members to operate under a code of ethics specific to their field. Professions design and implement these codes in hope that they will ensure that their members’ professional actions follow traditional ethical guidelines. But what are professional codes of ethics, and where do they come from? This lesson helps students understand the context for professional codes of ethics so as to more clearly see these codes’ roots in a profession’s values.

Topics:

Values and Ideals – The Cultural Building Blocks of Ethical Codes

This section defines and describes the differences between values, ideals, and principles and shows how these concepts are culturally located. Examples provided show how a culture’s values and ideals influence its principles, or guidelines for behavior.

Codes, Policies and Laws – Formalizing a System of Ethics

This section shows how policies are formalized into codes, policies, and laws. It differentiates between the three based on their level of formality and structure as well as the extent to which violators are punished for their behavior.

A (Brief) History of Codes of Ethics

This section gives a background to the use of formalized codes of ethics in business, starting in the 1980s. It shows the evolution of ethical codes and gives two examples to show how codes of ethics are often highly situational.

Roles and Responsibilities of Codes of Ethics

This section talks about the role that ethical codes play in professional behavior. It shows students how a code of ethics can be useful to a profession and the importance of all involved parties understanding the role that the code is intended to play.

Shortcomings of Codes of Ethics

This section describes the potential negatives that can arise from utilization of a code of ethics. It suggests that ethical training, rather than codes, is best suited to promoting ethical behavior in a profession.

Lesson 2:

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) created its first code of ethics in 1950, and over the years, the code has changed considerably, often influenced by the context of modern culture and particular trends within the field. This lesson provides a history of the PRSA Code of Ethics and examines it in its current format. Finally, this lesson suggests to students how they can use the PRSA Code of Ethics as a tool when they are working as communication professionals.

Topics:

History of the PRSA Code of Ethics

This lesson provides a history of the PRSA Code of Ethics from its beginning in 1950 through its current iteration, passed in 2000. It explains the professional and regulatory forces that guided its evolution and shows the many forms that this code of ethics has taken over time.

Developing PRSA’s 2000 (current) Code of Ethics

This lesson describes the process of creating the 2000 PRSA Code of Ethics, the code that currently applies to practitioners in the field. It also discusses the motivation behind the decision to remove the element of enforcement from the Code.

Features of the PRSA Code of Ethics

This lesson outlines the tripartite format of the current PRSA Code of Ethics, comprised of a preamble, statement of professional values, and six code provisions of conduct. It provides descriptions of the sections and shows how they relate to each other and the overall purpose of the Code.

Applying the PRSA Code of Ethics

This lesson gives students an understanding of how the PRSA Code of Ethics can be used as a tool that provides ethical guidelines for behavior in professional situations. It shows them how to look first for direct parallels to the Code’s example situations and, lacking that, how they can use the Code’s listing of professional values to suggest appropriate ethical behavior.

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