Whether expected or unexpected, crisis occurs for organizations with the potential to devastate. The media and public adhere to crisis like cement. The weight of public opinion and rush of media interest in crisis situations and conflict can be a crisis in itself, further increasing the importance of well-prepared communication tactics. Preventing and/or managing crisis demands public relations practitioners to resolve issues quickly with the least amount of damage to the organization as possible. Crisis management tactics must also be exercised with mindfulness of the publics the company serves. Balancing crisis management and ethics in public relations is a long debated issue and interest in the subject continues to grow still today. To explain how public relations practitioners balance ethics during crises we will first examine crisis situations and the process of managing them, we will then define ethics and discuss the role ethics plays in crisis management, and finally explain the growing importance and complexity of ethics in crisis management for PR professionals.
Crisis Situations and Crisis Management
The most recent crisis situation facing a large, recognizable company today is the BP oil spill. Crises such as these have a global affect and require strategic communication on the part of the CEO and a PR team. Somehow, regardless of the abundance of information that would support the vitality of having a crisis response and management plan in place, large organizations in recent times continue to fall short. According to a study by Steven Funk, “89 percent of the chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies reported that a business crisis was almost inevitable; however, 50 percent admitted that they did not have a crisis management plan in place” (Cameron, Wilcox, Reber & Shin, 2008, p. 50). In light of this, it is always valuable to review what is involved in crisis management, and get back to the basics.
Two things matter to the public during a crisis, the crisis event itself and how the organization responds to the crisis situation. This means that not only will the public judge the event itself and whether or not they think the event could have been prevented, but they will also judge whether the situation was handled well (it is also worth noting that from an outside perspective there is always room for improvement so a crisis is never without a critic). Public relations professionals are responsible for managing conflict strategically. “In public relations, high-profile events such as accidents, terrorist attacks, disease pandemics, and natural disasters can dwarf even the best strategic positioning and risk management strategies. This is when crisis management takes over” (Cameron, Wilcox, Reber, & Shin, 2008, p. 49). To manage the unknown you have to start with research and planning.
Environmental scanning is used to assess potential threats to the organization. Once threats are pinpointed and analyzed, potential plans for dealing with the issue should be assessed for their effectiveness, and organized so that the issue may be managed in the future in the event that the issue does indeed surface again. If the plan is utilized during a crisis it should then be evaluate to measure its effectiveness so that it may be adjusted as needed for the future. Communication, external and internal, during a crisis is vital. How the organization communicates their position in the matter will affect their public’s opinions of the organization, determining whether their reputation stays strong, waivers or is demolished indefinitely. This makes timing a significant factor in responding to a crisis situation, further emphasizing the importance or preparedness.
“How an organization responds in the first 24 hours, experts say, often determines whether the situation remains an ‘incident’ or becomes a full-blown crisis” (Cameron, Wilcox, Reber, & Shin, 2008, p. 49). This is why planning is such a vital part of the public relations. If you see that there is potential for crisis, then put a plan in place for managing it. “Many smoldering crises could be prevented if professionals had used more environmental scanning and issues management” (Cameron, Wilcox, Reber, & Shin, 2008, p. 50). Preparing for crisis also includes several more specific elements, such as “developing a detailed crisis strategy, creating media materials in advance, arranging media training for key executives, and establishing a crisis response team in advance” (Dougherty, 2010). The key word here is “advanced.” Planning requires that an organization gather all necessary facts related to the potential crisis, plan statements appropriately reflecting sincerity, and thoughtfulness for public involved, and readiness for execution which often comes from crisis response trials or practice responses.
“Most PR professionals consider the cardinal rule for communicating during a crisis to be TELL IT ALL AND TELL IT FAST” (Dougherty, 2010). There appears to be a common agreement with this rule, as there should be because the demand for truth and accountability is magnified during times of crisis. The quicker and the more clear the response, the harder it is for the media to create their own spin on the event and the more forgiving the public may be in their assessment of the organization during and after the crisis. Henry Unger (2010), writer for the Atlanta Journal, offers the following advice on what to do and/or how to communicate during a crisis:
“Here's what we did wrong. We're sorry. Never minimize the impact before all the information is in. If that happens, a sense of distrust can emerge that will be very hard to erase. Here's what we're going to do to repair the situation in the short-term. We will keep you abreast on at least a daily basis. This is important, they said, since the ‘rumor mill’ is generally on fire during a crisis. Here's what we're going to do over the long haul to make it right. A separate team should be charged with developing plans and a timeline that might go on for five or 10 years, or more. Essentially, a company and its CEO need to become transparent, humble and humane. It may not be easy, but it's required” (p. A7).
This also reminds us to not only communicate and communicate fast, but to communicate often during a crisis.
Ethics and Its Role in Crisis Management
Jaksa and Pritchard, authors of Communication Ethics: Methods of Analysis, define ethics as being “concerned with how we should live our lives. It focuses on questions about what is right or wrong, fair or unfair, caring or uncaring, good or bad, responsible or irresponsible, and the like” (Cameron, Wilcox, Reber, & Shin, 2008, p. 203). This says that ethics is not limited to avoiding blatant lies or intentional deceit, but extends to behavior, awareness, intentions, responsibility and obligations. Ethics with regard to crisis management is more than doing what is right when something goes wrong, it is about preparing to minimize potential threats and/or damage that may affect any stakeholder or public associated with a company’s business. It could be questioned whether or not lack of preparation for crises is where some ethically questionable behavior arises. In a situation where a team is prepared to deal with a situation, it is less likely that they will need to avoid offering the public information because a plan for dealing with the expulsion of such information would be prepared to be presented in a particular manner with a planned solution to the issue. It is the ethical obligation of organizations to have crisis plans in place as a way to protect their publics and a responsibility that too often is neglected. That is not to say that all crises can be avoided, only that an effort should be made to prepare. The very nature of crises is that there are many unknown factors, so the question shouldn't be whether or not to plan for potential crises, but how in depth the plans should be. At least then they would have the groundwork to work off of in the case of a crisis situation.
It is equally important to remember while negotiating the ethics of a situation that “most ethical conflicts are not black or white, but fall into a gray area” (Cameron, Wilcox, Reber, & Shin, 2008, p. 203). An example of this “gray area” can be seen when practitioners either neglect to do a sufficient amount of research to support their work, or only present the portion of research information that supports their organization’s objective to its publics despite alternative findings. In some cases when this is done practitioners can “subvert science in ways that can affect people’s health” (Devin, 2007, p. 34). This can be a serious offense. When information is revealed about a product having adverse effects on its consumers’ health, this is an example of a crisis situation for the company producing the product. This is when, ethically speaking, a crisis management plan should be executed in an effort to resolve the problem which you would think would mean altering the product to not have negative effects on its consumer’s health, but that is not always the case. A good example of this is “The ‘research’ funded by The Tobacco Institute that downplays the negative health effects of smoking” (Devin, 2007, p. 34). “Selective inattention to research that contradicts ones promotional efforts is a serious ethical violation” (Devin, 2007, p. 34). Marketing a product or service by leaving out information that an organization’s publics may need to make a decision, especially those decisions that may affect their well-being, should never be mistaken as ethical or acceptable practices.
This gray area and violations of ethical practices affects the profession as a whole. How you negotiate what is right and wrong, or know what information or how much information to offer the public while trying to defend or protect the organization for which you are employed is a clear matter of ethics. It is unethical to withhold information from the public when it is in an effort to mask the severity of an issue or to avoid conflict because of a conflict. Organizations should be as transparent as possible in order to maintain a reputation of honesty and forthrightness. This means admitting to mistakes, being accountable for them.
For public relations professionals who value the utmost standard of ethical practice in their profession there is the Public Relations Society of America, which offers the following core values based on their industry’s code of ethics:
“ADVOCACY [:] we serve the public interest by acting as responsible advocates for those we represent. We provide a voice in the marketplace of ideas, facts, and viewpoints to aid informed public debate. HONESTY [:] we adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those we represent and in communicating with the public. EXPERTISE [:] we acquire and responsibly use specialized knowledge and experience. We advance the profession through continued professional development, research, and education. We build mutual understanding, credibility, and relationships among a wide array of institutions and audiences. INDEPENDENCE [:] we provide objective counsel to those we represent. We are accountable for our actions. LOYALTY [:] we are faithful to those we represent, while honoring our obligation to serve the public interest. FAIRNESS [:] we deal fairly with clients, employers, competitors, peers, vendors, the media, and the general public. We respect all opinions and support the right of free expression” (The Public Relations Society of America, 2010).
This code of advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty, and fairness says that it is our duty as public relations practitioners to not only support, but be obliged to the needs of the public and the organization, be not only truthful, but accurate, be responsible for what we know and how we use what we know, and practice fairly with all of the duties we perform.
The best approach for the ethical practice of public relations practitioners dealing with a crisis situation is offered by public relations theorists. They “suggest that the most ethical way to practice public relations is to consider accommodating the needs of both organizations and their publics” (Cameron, Wilcox, Reber, & Shin, 2008, p. 205). It is a challenge to balance the needs of both parties, although ethical boundaries should be a known standard that is adhered to in day to day operations. One should not act on behalf of one at the expense of the other, this is obvious, but we need to remember that the “what-ifs” or gray areas are better approached with honesty and directness rather than avoidance. Another example of unethical behavior that isn’t typically categorized as an ethics issue is when public relations practitioners or organizations neglect knowing their public. In doing this they risk offending a culture, even country, damaging a relationship, and ultimately damaging the reputation of the organization. Although not measured as an ethical issue, today, more care and consideration is required. There is a higher standard expected of businesses in this day and age and it includes cultural awareness and sensitivity as it is an ethical responsibility of business professionals in all business fields.
The Growing Importance and Complexity of Ethics in Crisis Management
We live in a rapidly changing world where technology has created a borderless world of business opportunities and risks. “As business becomes more global, and the world becomes smaller, our clients are more likely to be affected by something that, at first glance, may not seem relevant or threatening” says Drew Miale, an account executive at Kemp Goldberg marketing and communications agency (Guiniven, 2005, p. 6). Due to this growing complexity in the field of public relations, more attention and caution is required. Today, a more in depth look at an organization’s public is necessary as well as a more sensitive approach to do the job in a manner that could be defined as ethical.
Ethics in public relations includes a need for compassion for the diverse cultures and communities our companies serve. For example, when managing disease pandemics in other countries the ethical thing to do would be to consider the cultural practices of the community experiencing the crisis. This may mean altering the execution of typical practices to accommodate a culture. Not to mention, by cooperating with local customs, people of that culture may show more cooperation with your organization, further enabling you to execute the crisis plan versus hindering it with resistance from the families of those affected by a disease epidemic. Organizations have an ethical obligation to the cultures of their publics even in a crisis situation where they are the agency assisting those publics in need. For example, responding to such a hazardous disease-related crisis wearing white hazmat suits and burning the infected bodies without consulting the community would not be received well in a culture that views the color white as signifying evil or where funeral practices are sacred. This type of disregard is dangerous and unprincipled.
Ethical standards in the public relations profession have risen with advances in technology, communication developments, globalization, and due to sheer public demand for it. This is a growing challenge for public relations practitioners due to the nature of crisis situations and the amount of information negotiated and communicated during such an event. Crisis management requires research, organization and planning, communication, immediacy, and precise execution, guided above all by ethics. Paul S. Forbes, chairman of The Forbes Group emphasizes the importance of ethics in the PR profession by saying: “Over the years, many people have failed to recognize the role of PR practitioners as the conscience of the organization. To achieve this recognition, our ethical principles, as codified in the PRSA Code of Ethics, must drive everything we do” (Public Relations, 2009, p. 176). Public relations practitioners should be the voice of the public within an organization, especially during a crisis situation.
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