Public relations practitioners face a variety of ethical quandaries in their work. This assignment is designed to start you thinking critically about situations where you may need to examine your personal ethical boundaries and make decisions while you study ethical standards of the profession.
For this assignment, you will be asked to choose from three different case studies. Before you begin to answer the six questions posed after the case, take time to reflect upon the following steps. Read the case. Take notes. Identify the business problem. Specify an objective for the managers involved. Identify and rank order the critical issues. Consider relevant information and underlying assumptions. List possible solutions to the problem. Select a solution. Decide how to implement the best solution. Explain how to communicate the solution. Write it up.
After you have carefully considered the case, answer the accompanying questions in detail, taking care to show a significant level of understanding and critical thought. A strong writing style focused on sentence construction, grammar, spelling, etc. is necessary. The case study analysis must be a typed paper with approximately three to four pages of text. On the cover page, include your name, the class title, the date, and cut and paste the case study. Use the questions as a heading above each answer. A minimum of 50 words for questions 1 and 2 is required; a minimum of 100 words for questions 3, 4, and 5 is required; a minimum of 250 words for question 6 is required.
The format for responding to questions 1-5 must use bulleted lists to highlight each point as long as complete sentences and/or essays follow. Questions 1 and 2 must be answered with responses in question format. Question 6 must be in essay format.
Example of the use of a bulleted list for questions 1-5:
HonestyWe adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those we represent and in communicating with the public. (Q3)
Example of response format for questions 1 and 2:
Do I inform the Senate ethics committee about the potential conflict of interest? (Q1)
Are there rules about nepotism in Congress? (Q2)
In addition, it will be useful to review the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Code of Ethics found here: http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics/CodeEnglish/index.html#.U-kQ8mPjzSg as you will need these standards to address question 5.