Ethics in Public Relations Teaching Modules

Transparency

Transparency is not just a buzzword—it is a critical function of organizational reputation and stakeholder trust. Yet transparency is a complex concept. Merely providing information does not necessarily mean that an organization is transparent. For example, in the transcript of Chester Burger in the Oral History Collection of the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication, Burger says of the U. S. government in World War II, “They didn’t tell everything. There were lots of secrets. But what they did tell was the truth.” In this module students will be directed to listen to stories such as this and to consider in what way such behavior is, or isn’t transparent. In addition to the concept of truthfulness, the concepts of authenticity, trust, and credibility will be addressed as they relate to transparency.

To block or not to block: Corporate social responsibility of ICT companies during social unrest

This teaching module examines the role of CSR in the operation of multinational ICT companies during social movements. The module is composed of two parts. The first part contains a set of readings that will enable students to: (1) understand how ICTs have been used during social movements, including the positions that have been taken by governments and ICT companies and (2) understand principles of a corporate conscience and how these principles relate to the role of ICT companies in society. The second part of the teaching module is an in-class role-playing activity. The goal of the activity is to have students understand the position of different stakeholders on whether ICT services should be blocked within a developing country that is undergoing a violent social movement. The activity also asks students to create CSR principles to guide their decision.

Examining Principles for Ethical Public Relations through Social Media

To complete this module, it is assumed students will have some prior knowledge of social media and ethical communication through their studies and prior readings. Students will examine best practices for ethics in new media through analyzing trends in best practices as stated by the exemplary professionals interviewed in the Arthur Page Oral History Collection. Students will respond to in-class discussion questions and written essay questions to reflect upon what they have learned through these sources. After completing this course module, students will be able to: identify best practices for ethical communication and apply these best practices to communication through new media channels, understand how social media creates unique ethical challenges for public relations practitioners, and examine how to address these challenges.

Using Communication Tools to Protect Company Reputation

This teaching module aims at enhancing student understandings of theoretical conceptualizations of the process of crisis communication by looking at crisis communication practices from practitioners’ views. It focuses on the issues relevant to planning, development, and execution of crisis communications programs for businesses and organizations, as well as media relations techniques for communication with stakeholders. A particular emphasis will be placed on the need for transparency and sincerity, and an audience-oriented approach in practicing crisis communication. In this one-week teaching module, students will watch the videos in the Page Center oral history collection to learn how organizations create and present messages to specific audience segments using multiple media for crisis communication.

Exploring the Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Leadership

This teaching module examines the role of corporate social responsibility in leadership through a comparison of leadership styles and their alignment with the Page Principles. Specifically, this module creates a set of readings and assignments designed to help students understand and critically analyze the role of CSR in leadership.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Sport Public Relations

The module’s discussion of CSR in sport public relations is grounded in the public relations philosophy of Arthur W. Page. Speeches and interviews with influential public relations practitioners from the Page Center Website and other selected readings will be used to guide students’ understanding of CSR and its application in the sports industry. Discussion questions are provided for each unit to cultivate critical thinking and provide points for discussion. Each objective also includes activities that can be used for grading or to aid in class discussion.

Crisis Management

Crisis management is a response by an organization to a major, unpredictable event that threatens the organization, its stakeholders, or the public. A crisis usually brings negative media coverage of the organization. Once a crisis happens, news and information spread quickly. Thus, every organization should be thoroughly prepared for a crisis. These video materials are designed to help students explore diverse crisis situations and learn to effectively manage them. Students will watch video clips from public relations practitioners on crisis management and then answer a series of questions based on those clips. The remaining activities for this module involve reading three short articles and answering the questions provided.

International/Global Public Relations

As organizations have become globalized, international public relations has also become a major concern of practitioners. In particular, public relations practitioners face many challenges caused by cultural, political, and economical differences among nations and regions. Thus, it is essential for students to recognize the importance of international public relations and develop an understanding of other countries. Students will watch video clips from public relations practitioners on international/global public relations and then answer a series of questions based on those clips. The remaining activities for this module involve reading two articles and answering the questions provided.

Marketing, Advertising, and Public Relations

This lesson is designed to help students explore the differences between and similarities among marketing, advertising and public relations activities. Students will use the provided websites to define several terms. Following that, they will watch video clips from several public relations practitioners and then answer questions based on those clips. Finally, they will read Chapter 2 by Harris and then answer the remaining questions.

Standing the Test of Time & Technology: Principles of PR Management in the Age of Social Media

The students read an essay about the Page principles and chapters from their introductory communication text, including one on social media. Using knowledge about classic principles of ethics, the students take time to engage an organization via social media before being quizzed on the readings and asked to reflect upon their online experience and how the ethical and public relations principles apply in social media contexts.