Week 5

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were that the legal aspects of PR must be taken seriously of there will be serious consequences. When in doubt, a legal professional should always be consulted. I think the main challenge that PR practitioners face is that people do not adhere to contracts or unforeseen circumstances may sabotage the effective execution of a campaign.

Moreover, some issues need to be addressed when embarking on litigation as seen in the case of McDonald’s, where a legal win did not translate into a PR win.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory and practice in that ethics should be a fundamental part of PR practice in order to project a credible image to targeted publics. However, I feel that different cultures have different perceptions of ethics, as moral standards may differ in different countries. I also feel that the quote by Kant which states that ‘no one can make another person virtuous’ highlights this point. It is true that different people may perceive certain actions differently.

Also, I also feel that ethics is situational as some actions done in the correct context may be acceptable, and vice versa.

In addition, associations like PRIA and MEAA can only enforce codes to its association members, but it is difficult to make non-members comply.

Therefore, I feel the power to carry out campaigns ethically resides within the individuals who are part of the PR team for any campaign, as the ethical aspects of PR planning would depend heavily on their better judgement..

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