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PR people are often put on the spot — if not to determine
the morality of a course, at least to help envision the fallout. Fortunately
there are valuable touchstone tools for finding our way.
We might dive deep into pools of ethical thoughts by such as

Bentham, Kant, Rawls and Machiavelli. Ethics theories range
from Utilitarianism ("The greatest good for the greatest number")
to Deontology ("Do what is right, though the world should perish").

Or, more to the point, we can examine codes of standards
through public relations guilds such as the IABC and PRSA. On a global
scale, there's the International Public Relations Association Code of
Conduct adopted in Venice in 1961.

The CSEP project gathered 850 codes of ethics culled
from professional societies, corporations, government, and academic
institutions. And we can exercise a quick reality check courtesy of PR

Watch, a watchdog group combating "manipulative and misleading PR
practices."
Throughout the many schools of ethics and conduct, there are

some common threads.
Many For example: Don't lie. Ever. One thing we've learned well
in recent decades is that the uncovered cover-up frequently incurs more

wrath than the original offense. Even the highest potentates with all the
levers at their power cannot keep a lid on a secret boiling over. People
perceive public relations as something less than respectable — as clever
strategies to convince the public that what's wrong is right. Some see

public relations professionals as manipulators of the public mind, rather
than conveyors of truth.
That is likely the reason most every code of conduct, especially

those targeted at the PR profession, stresses honesty above all else. Too
often our conduct falls short of the code. Spin substitutes for truth.
Perception substitutes for reality. Victory substitutes for success.
The shadings are subtle. The arguments are heated. The proponents

are ostracized. But it does matter, both in the big picture and the bottom
line.
Theologians say it. Physicists say it. Even squinty-eyed

comptrollers now realize it. In our interconnected systems, everything
matters to everything else. What we are is a composite of our daily
decisions, thoughts and actions, large and small. As business writer John

Ellis says, "The truth matters. Loyalty matters. Lies matter. Values
matter. You know a Dilbert company the minute you walk into it.