This week the key ethics issues all dealt with creation in one way or another. Is eliminating bias enough in AI development? Can you sabotage Linux for research? What about creating chimeras for medical research?
Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA
Mark W. McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA, is the general manager of C+C's Boston office. C+C is a communications agency all about the good and purpose-driven brands. He has more than 20 years of tech and fintech agency experience, served as the 2016 National Chair of PRSA, drove the creation of the PRSA Ethics App and is the host of EthicalVoices.com
Janelle Guthrie, the communication director for the Building Industry Association of Washington, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) What to do when you realize you have given out false information and admitting it will hurt
2) What to do if someone calls you a liar
3) How to ethically work through difficult situations
4) Why Voices4Everyone is the solution to our next ethics challenge
I was planning a nice, simple update on ethics topics this week – AI, hiring, and maybe being quirky with a story from Wichita. Then on Wednesday, I was hit with my favorite ethics story of the year from the Harvard Business Review – and a story so bad, I had to spend 20 minutes confirming it was real. Read on below.
Sherry Feldberg, a seasoned healthcare communication professional who is now the principal of Leadership Journey discusses:
1) What to do when your boss asks you to burn bridges?
2) How to speak up effectively when you are asked to compromise your personal ethics
3) The importance of building trusted relationships
4) The need to show vulnerability as a leader
This Week in PR Ethics (4/15/21): Listen More, Stick to Your Principles and Diversity Pays Dividends
This week in PR Ethics studies and reports came to the fore. From PRCA’s Annual Perspective, to an HBR study that shows banks with diverse boards commit less fraud, to a great study on what ethical managers should do more often – there is a lot of meaty reading to dig into.
Emmanuel Tchividjian, the principal of the Markus Gabriel Group, and one of the top thought leaders on ethics and communication in the world, discusses:
1) Where your duty lies when you are asked to reveal confidential information
2) The importance of civility and civil discourse
3) How the absence of truth leads to the absence of trust
4) The guiding light of hope
This week in PR ethics virtue was a key theme – from April Fool’s lies to the virtues of a successful leader to taking a stand against Georgia’s new laws – business were living up to their virtues or failing to do so. There was also an interesting report on a growing whistleblower dichotomy.
Karen Garnik, the president of Global Vision Marketing and Communications and the president of Asociación de Relacionistas Profesionales de Puerto Rico and a licensed public relations practitioner, discusses a number of important ethics issues including:
1) How apathy is threatening ethical behavior
2) Porque ser Relacionista es cosa seria – Why being a PR pro is a serious thing
3) Licensing and ethics in Puerto Rico
4) How Puerto Rico’s Licensing compares to the APR
This is NOT an April Fool’s Joke. This week the most interesting ethics stories were all global. The PRCA looked at top ethics challenges globally, LinkedIn shared advice for moving beyond hashtag activism. There was a fascinating interview on global disinformation about climate change and there was a global gaming cheating scandal.
Krista Terrell, APR, the acting president of the Arts and Science Council for Charlotte Mecklenburg County, discusses a number of important ethics topics, including:
1) The best approach to convince executives to report historic inequities
2) Why ethical organizations need to look back as well as forward
3) How organizations can think beyond their whiteness
4) Why we need to think like gardeners, not gunslingers