A couple of months ago I participated in a survey by the Council of PR Firms, which included a question about business ethics. It got me thinking about the topic and the importance of business ethics in our professional lives.
According to Wikipedia, “Business ethics (also known as corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations.”
We all face issues in our personal and professional lives that challenge us. It’s how we respond to those challenges that often matters the most. For instance, when you make a mistake do you try to cover it up or do you admit the issue to a manager or client? When a manager or client asks you to do something that you don’t agree with do you explain your point of view, do it without sharing your perspective or simply ignore the request? If a client asks you to represent an issue to a journalist, but keep it a secret that they’re behind the initiative what do you?
If you work in PR, I would encourage you to take a minute to revisit the Council of PR Firms Code of Ethics. I think it is an excellent reminder about the standards of practice that we should all aspire to as we work to serve clients, communicate with the public and media, and collaborate with coworkers and partners.