ETHICS
Spin Doctor Ethics?
-- not without risk |
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Business communicators have a
unique role to play in their organization where ethics and corporate
responsibility are concerned.
They can provide a reality check on questionable practices and policies,
and they can help develop, implement and communicate the organization’s
ethics and corporate responsibility objectives. However, communicators
have no moral authority to act as the conscience of their organization
nor should they feel obligated to try.
It’s one thing for communicators to point out policies or practices that
could damage the image, reputation and bottom line of the organization.
It’s another thing entirely to assume the self-appointed role of
assuring that honesty prevails in everything the organization says and
does.
Considering that so many of the moral rationalizations that prompt
questionable ethical policies and practices are conceived at the highest
levels of any organization, communicators should be keenly aware that,
not only don't they have the moral authority, they also may not have
their employer’s authority. Some organizations have Ethics Officers for
that sort of thing. As the post-Enron urgency fades, however, even those
positions are disappearing.
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) has a
code of ethics that all its members agree to uphold. I believe that
IABC's Code of Ethics is very important because it serves as a reminder
that our profession suffers from a well-deserved image of being
unethical, and that we need to make a conscious effort to do better.
But if a communicator should be in the position of having to choose
between complying with IABC’s Code or making a career-limiting move....
In the end, that’s always a personal decision.
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