Www.cipr.co.uk / @CIPR_UK Ethics and CSR Sue Wolstenholme FCIPR CIPR Chartered Practitioner Crisis (Response) Communication Diploma 24 th April 2015

www.cipr.co.uk / @CIPR_UK

Ethics and CSR

Sue Wolstenholme FCIPRCIPR Chartered

Practitioner

Crisis (Response) Communication Diploma

24th April 2015


Today

The Code of Conduct Ethics and Morals Responsibilities CSR


Consider some unethical issues

Outstanding or recent examples What is the main thing that makes it

unethical Score out of 5 with 5 being the worst


Morals, ethics and laws

Personal and learned Harmony and safety Education, culture and religion Do unto others as you would be done by An ethical environment determines our

conception of what is due to us and what is due from us, as we relate to others. (Blackburn 2001:1)


Codes of conduct

1. Bribery and corrupt payments2. Employment and personnel issues3. Marketing practices4. Impact of multinational on host countries5. Effects on natural environment6. Cultural impact of multinational

operations7. Relations with host governments8. Relations with home countries


Codes of conduct

1. Gifts (hospitality and bribes)2. Conflicts of interest3. Insider dealing4. Equal opportunity and discrimination5. Protection of the environment


Corporate governance

Arises as consequence of separating ownership and management control

Need for organisations to be publicly accountable

Issues surrounding risk and responsibility


In UK mainly voluntary codes, but increasing demand for legislationHampel Committee (1997)

Management is responsible to shareholders – but should take account of stakeholders interestsCode of behaviour for companies listed on UK stock exchange, viewed as ‘best practice’

Governance approach


Chartered Institute of Public Relations Code of Conduct

1. Members of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations agree to:i. Maintain the highest standards of professional endeavour, integrity, confidentiality, financial propriety and personal conduct; ii. Deal honestly and fairly in business with employers, employees, clients, fellow professionals, other professions and the public; iii. Respect the customs, practices and codes of clients, employers, colleagues, fellow professionals and other professions in all countries where they practise;


And

iv. Take all reasonable care to ensure employment best practice, including giving no cause for complaint of unfair discrimination on any grounds;

v. Work within the legal and regulatory frameworks affecting the practice of public relations in all countries where they practise;

vi. Encourage professional training and development among Members of the profession;

vii. Respect and abide by this Code and related Notes of Guidance issued by the Institute of Public Relations and encourage others to do the same.


Principles of Good Practice

Integrity Competence Transparency and avoiding conflicts

of interest Confidentiality Maintaining professional standards


International pressure - initiatives from:

The UN Global Compact 10 Principles Human Rights-2 Labour-

4 Environment-3 Anti-corruption-1 Wolstenholme 2013:91-3

The World Bank ISO standard on CR 26000

Regulation


Knowledge and moralitySex and sexuality

1290 banned 1295 12 1300 burned 1533 – 1861 hanged 188516 1967 (1957) over 21 1973 conference 1984 over 18 2000 armed forces and 16 2005 civil partnerships 2013 marriage


Western Ethics

Ontology Deontology Teloelogy

Aristotle Kant Mill/Bentham

Virtue Duty Utilitarian

Being/existence

Non consequentialist

Consequentialist


Ethics also known as moral

philosophy


Aristotle

Golden Mean – virtue at mean point between extreme vices

Cowardice Courage Rashness

Prodigality Liberalness Meanness

Boastfulness Truthfulness Mock modesty


Aristotle

‘all I can do is to urge you to regard friendship as indeed the greatest thing in the world, for there is nothing which so fits human nature, or is so exactly what we both desire and need, whether in prosperity or adversity. But I must at the very beginning lay down this principle: that true friendship can only exist between good people.’ And he goes on to clarify: ‘Let us mean by “good people”, those whose actions and lives leave no question as to their honour, sense of justice and generosity both of hand and heart; who have the courage to stand by their principles and are free from greed, intemperance and violence.’ Grayling 2011:57


Commitment

It is the moral dimension of commitment that turns a superficial relationship into something meaningful – ‘so does our only hope remain in the preservation of the consciousness of the broader community to which we belong?’ (Debeljak 2000)

or as Hegel put it: ‘our consciousness of ourselves is largely or even essentially a consciousness of how we stand for other people.’ (in Blackburn 2000:1)


Kant 1724 - 1804

You must tell the truth, even if someone else suffers as a result.

An individual, alone, is responsiblefor his or her actions and that human reason could and should live by the basic principles of behaviour without needing the help of a higher being. Wolstenholme 2013:169


Bentham and Mill

Pleasure and pain Central to that system were theories of

public opinion, suggesting that public opinion had the power to ensure that rulers would rule for the greatest happiness of the greatest number.

Wolstenholme 2013:81


Utilitarians

Utilitarians saw happiness as being the sole human goal. Mill stated that if happiness was not, ‘in theory and in practice, acknowledged to be an end, nothing could ever convince any person that it was so.’ In his essay On Liberty (1859) he put forward the principle that people should be able to define their own version of happiness, within the law that, in pursuing it, they must not interfere in any way with the legal choice for happiness of another.



Public Relations!

Mere expression of the communicator’s point of view will not succeed; so it must be attuned to the mental and emotional bent of the audience’. (Lesly 1974 in Ewan 1996:xv)

According to Abraham Lincoln (1860) ‘public opinion needs to be molded.’ And he went on: ‘When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind, unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted. It is an old and true maxim “that a drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.” So with men. If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Wolstenholme 2013:164


Lao Tze c350 – 250BC

Make sure that all are provided for but hold information back from the masses, who think they are happy because they have full stomachs and comfortable beds

‘Not to honour men of worth will keep the people from contention; not to value goods which are hard to come by will keep them from theft; not to display what is desirable will keep them from being unsettled of mind. Wolstenholme 2013:171


Confucius – K’ung Tzu - 550BC

Categorical imperative ‘ A rich man’s house may be decorated luxuriously but his self-cultivation is enhanced only when he is virtuous’ I can try a lawsuit as well as other men but surely the great thing is to bring about that there be no going to law


Buddhism

Buddhism is 2,500 years old: The path to Enlightenment is

through the practice and development of morality, meditation and wisdom

Trust is the best of relationships Whatever words we utter should

be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them, for good or ill Wolstenholme 2013:171


When would it be ok to:

Tell a lie Refuse to work Hide the facts


Buddha for CSR

As the bee collects the nectar and departs withoutinjuring the floweror its colour or scent, so let the sage dwell in his village


Corporate behaviour

Responsibility

Financial Environmental Social


Corporate Financial Responsibility


Corporate Environmental Responsibility


Corporate Environmental Responsibility


Closely watched


Can you be transparent without being ethical?

And vice versa? We define people and businesses

according to their values and so we require proof as to the extent by which those values are applied to their lives and vice versa

Consider some proof…

Transparency


Greenwash


Social Equity

Ethical Practice: honest, fair, financially reliable Employment Ethos: a good employer Social Engagement: responsive to local

community Service Orientation: cares about its customers Social Responsibility: corporate citizenship Emotional Proximity: my kind of brand or

company Social Utility: provides worthwhile products


CSR is Not

Baseball caps with logos A company box at the football Sponsoring the CEO’s daughter’s ballet

school But what’s the strategy for resisting these?


SITA UK

Leading supplier of recycling and waste services

Over 100 years in the business in Europe Integrated solutions - recycling,

composting, energy recovery etc In UK since 1988 and employs over 5000 Parent company Suez Environment


SITA UK

Treats waste as a resource CSR - Sustainability - environmental,

economic and social CSR Agenda influences corporate decision

making From procurement and recruitment to

community action and charitable giving


Actions

Fleet to be developed for PPO and Bio Fuels

Neighbourliness - over 250 sites Liaison groups, open days, exhibitions,

help desks, education packs Employ socially excluded or challenged


Suppliers

No arms traders Must understand and follow steps towards

sustainable development and waste minimisation

Detailed form and annual inspections Ethics


Employee development

interests

community needs and

expectations

Company missionObjectives/priorities

Social Responsibility Begins Here


Corporate Social Responsibility

Hobbes 17th 18th, Rousseau and Rawls 20th

Quakers Education Communication


Responsibilities to society

CSR pyramid: Carroll, 1991


BITC’s aims: To work in partnership with businesses to build their relationships and involvement with the communities in which they operate. Supporting the social and economic regeneration of communities by raising the quality and extent of business involvement and making that involvement a natural part of successful business practice.

Business in the Community


Corporate Social Responsibility

A concern with these issues can actually lead to improved performance Crowther – Social environmental accounting September 2000

Sustainable companies, ie companies integrating economic aspects with environmental, ethical and social – yield a larger return than conventionally managed companies Holmstrom, S The Reflective Paradigm – Masters thesis 2002


Relationships

Commercial Political Legal Professional Social Moral


CSR Golden Mean?

Imperialism…………………..Exploitation

CSR


The Co-operative Bank

Why are you our customers What else do you want (30,000) Human Rights – 90% Armaments – 87% Animal exploitation – 80% Environmental damage – 70% Fur trade 66%


Seven partnership networks for the Co-operative Bank

Source: Co-operative Bank Ethical Policy, Co-operative Bank internal publication


Aim to be the most sustainable retailer by 2015, based around 5 ‘pillars’:

1.Climate change2.Waste3.Natural Resources4.Fair partnership5.Health and Wellbeing

How are they doing?

M&S Plan A (Doing the Right Thing)


Positioning

Lead the debate Define roles clearly Develop protocols with NGOs Create national codes Celebrate the partnerships Make awards


Responsible corporate culture

Set realistic values and goals, do not over-promise

Encourage input from all levels within organisation regarding values and practices

Explore methods to provide for greater diversity and dissent

Provide practical training for managers implementing corporate values


Public cynicism – ‘a PR job’, or ‘greenwashing’ Transparency exposes “token” community

actions Need consistency with values and corporate

objectives Clear criteria for evaluating gains and

measuring stakeholder support 2-way symmetrical model CSR can make or break reputation

Implications for PR practitioners


L’Etang

‘while the term ‘corporate responsibility’ can have many meanings, it is most widely used in an evaluative and laudatory manner, describing the business as a whole or of a corporation, above and beyond its purely economic function.’ L’Etang 2006:406

Redressing the balance (Ibid:413/4) may well be seen as an investment against

the day when a crisis occurs and the company needs all the goodwill it can muster’ (Ibid:414)



By 2020 . . .

“ a successful practice will be clear on what public relations is, and the benefits it can deliver. It will be strongly led, respected, and established as a senior management discipline. Practitioners will be confident, committed to professional development and working to well-developed codes of conduct.”

Jon White PR2020


Skills, knowledge, expertise

Ensure you have the skills necessary to do the work assigned to you

Keep your knowledge, skills and expertise up to date

Ensure you do not give employers or clients the impression you can guarantee specific results (overpromising) Parsons (2004)


PR ethics and professionalism

Improving public relations ethics has been seen as a key component in achieving greater professionalism….

Day, Dong, Robins (2001)

Only when public relations professionals engage in two-way communications with their publics, where the organisation responds to its publics, can public relations be truly ethical.

Grunig (1989)


Ethics and profit – symbiotic relationship in the form of CSR – Tench (2009)

Tangible business benefits Shareholder and community interests can

both be served Must act ethically and honestly or risk

exposure

Some conclusions


Next Session

The next session for this diploma is on 15th May 2015.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Documents

Www.cipr.co.uk / @CIPR_UK Ethics and CSR Sue Wolstenholme FCIPR CIPR Chartered Practitioner Crisis (Response) Communication Diploma 24 th April 2015