Ethical issues in practising public relations in Asia

It is a necessity in a dynamic business like communication management to relook at “ethics”, in light of the difficult times experienced by businesses and PR professionals, particularly in the Asia Pacific. To better understand ethics as applied in the industry, it could be helpful to classify the ethical issues that surround PR practitioners. The ten defined categories are personal, professional, political, cultural, racial/religious, trade/business, social, legal, financial and environmental. It is also possible to argue that “issues management” can be seen to also involve “ethics management”. Communications professionals should devote even more of their time and attention to this and raise professional standards in the process.