Ethics and the Bottom Line

By: Sam Ford, PepperDigital

If nothing else, this competition promoted in fun will have that consequence, introducing us all to other voices we might have not come into contact with before.  But Ed's call, that perhaps we can find some way to engage in dialogue as well, is where I think the most potential lies.  Part of my academic work falls into the realm of "fan studies," and we had a great series of conversations back in Summer 2007 that brought together a male and female scholar every week to talk about gender issues in the industry and in the fan communities we study.  The conversation, which can be found here as well as on Henry Jenkins' blog, was good not only for introducing us to other scholars and giving a better idea of what the "fan studies community" was but also in better understanding what issues had to be worked out in our area of research if we were to move forward and ultimately provide better research and insight.

I'd like to see something similar result from this, and I think there's no better topic to tackle than the growing importance of ethics in the business.  We've learned by now that, if we leave it completely up to personal ethics, many people across all business sectors are willing to make decisions that are either implicitly or explicitly unethical.  For me, one of the greatest business benefits of the Internet age is that what Yochai Benkler calls a networked information economy better facilitates a public watchdog force for corporate behavior than ever before.

What that means is that not only might there be personal reasons for wanting to avoid unethical business behavior, there's now more of a chance than ever before that there will be strong business implications to unethical decisions because there's a greater chance than ever those decisions will become public knowledge.  The Internet not only provides more way to catch companies in the act, but they also provide more efficient outlets for trumpeting these discoveries.  In a previous generation, finding a discrepancy in a company's financial reports or discovering an act of false advertising was harder for the average person to bring to the public, unless that person was a journalist or had enough time on their hands to pursue raising public awareness about their discovery.  Today, it's easier than ever to spread the word.

In my mind, this can only be good for the PR industry.  If nothing else, it's another consideration to help keep us honest, lest we ever feel our personal ethics willing to be compromised for the right client relationship, the right amount of money, or a cause we otherwise believe in.  More than that, a more transparent culture lessens the likelihood that clients believe they can come to a PR agency expecting help in some act of public deception.  Let's face it, the PR industry has gained a reputation for being an "ethics-free zone" in some circles, and there are great sites like Gawker out there, ready to bring attention to the industry's worst practices.

It can be painful if their spotlight is ever directed to you, but there's nothing better for our industry than highlighting worst practices, since the hope is that we can learn from others' mistakes and use them as a reminder what mistakes not to make in our own work.  I had the pleasure of getting to know one of the most principled newspaper publishers I've ever met, Barry Bingham, Jr., and I remember being impressed at his stories of how he would run a blurb of his traffic violations quite visibly in the paper, in hopes of deterring anyone from ever thinking he would use the power of his press to attack others while covering up his own misdeeds.

Peppercom Co-Founder Ed Moed posted a great entry today on his Measuring Up blog on how the PR Week blog competition he is taking part in might present a great impetus for thought leaders in the PR industry to come together and discuss issues of vital importance.  It's often difficult to get minds together to discuss these issues in a competitive landscape, but I agree with Ed that a collection like this can help create more of a sense of community about those who are writing about corporate communication issues in the public space, much as the Ad Age Power 150 that Todd Andrlik created helped get a lot of new blogs interested in advertising and marketing issues on one another's radar.

When we're out there with our bullhorns promoting the products and services of both our company and our clients, I think that degree of honesty and transparency is the ideal we should always strive toward.  If we don't want someone to know we're doing something, or a client is doing something, there's one surefire way to make sure it doesn't ever get brought to light: don't do it.  This actually takes me back to a great course I had once upon a time when I was a WKU Hilltopper with Dr. Jan Garrett on business ethics, in which we discussed how ethical behavior could and should be figured into the bottom line.

The folks who PR Week included in their listing made it there because they've generating a strong reputation and standing amongst their peers.  Just as there are a growing number of forces out there writing about worst practices, I think it's crucial for some of PR's best minds to collaborate on what best practice looks like in this space and how the industry as a whole can embrace and promote the importance of ethical communication practices.

Thanks to Ed for taking the lead in launching this conversation, and I hope we can, at the very least, have more of this sort of dialogue across the industry and in the public eye more often.

Comments

[Kami Huyse]

I have to completely agree and I will take up Ed's challenge.

[Sam Ford]

Hey Kami,

Thanks for your note, and hope you found a few takeaways of interest from the thoughts above. Look forward to seeing your insight on these matters as well. I believe there's a lot of potential in taking this more communal approach to writing about issues facing the industry, not just during the contest but from here on out. No point in having all these streams of blog conversations in complete isolation from one another, when the technology and social practices of the blogosphere allow for so much more.