The Handbook of Communication Ethics

Citation

L'Etang, J. (2011), "The Handbook of Communication Ethics", Journal of Communication Management, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 183-184. https://doi.org/10.1108/13632541111141321

Hot off the press, The Handbook of Communication Ethics is a compendium of multi‐ and inter‐disciplinary perspectives, and seeks to integrate ideas about moral inquiry in communication. The book aims:

To move beyond […] limited cross‐pollination by bringing together a wide range of authors who conceive of ethics from a wide range of theoretical perspectives and from a variety of contexts (xvii).

The 27 chapters are diverse, and while reference is made to the classic moral theories such as utilitarianism, virtue theory or deonotological ethics, and also to Habermassian discourse ethics (with which public relations readers will be already familiar) discussion is focused onto contemporary issues and conceptual problems, many of which are of central conceptual importance to public relations academics, for example, chapters focused on rhetoric, dialogue, power. In the second major section of the book, contributions explore ethical issues in a range of different practice contexts such as interpersonal, small groups, journalism, public relations and marketing, digital technology, politics, health, science and democracy, globalization and inter‐cultural communications challenges. The third and final section concentrates on contemporary issues such as religious diversity and the media, multiculturalism, secularism, governance and CSR. This issue‐based approach is incredibly useful for public relations scholars and has the potential to stimulate vigorous reflection and debate in the public relations discipline.

While this book is very broad in its scope, it will be a very useful source for those teaching and researching in public relations, not least because it addresses many issues that are highly relevant to public relations but from non‐public relations perspectives. Thus it has the capacity to widen the research agenda in public relations from an outside‐in perspective. That said, there are also contributions from those active in public relations scholarship both as editors and authors, so it would be wrong to give the impression that public relations scholarship is not represented. It is, nevertheless, salutary to read about topics such as CSR (Christensen et al., 2011), which many, if not most, public relations scholars would see as falling within the remit of the public relations discipline, only to discover a far wider range of sources and literatures that have commented extensively on the concept, its practice and communication.

Furthermore, this volume shows that it is possible to engage with, and research practice without falling into functional instrumentalism and normative prescription. Indeed, the opening chapter sets out a number of ‘dialectics’ or dualisms that run throughout the book: theoretical – practical; academic/philosophical discourses – popular/lay discourses; universal – particular; global‐local; rational‐emotional (Cheney et al., 2011a, b).

A couple of examples will demonstrate the utility of this volume for reflection and inspiration in public relations scholarship. In their chapter on “Communication ethics and organizational contexts” Seegar and Kuhn (2011, p. 166) implicitly highlight the importance of public relations when they state:

Ethics have become vogue in the design, management, and external representation of organizations. This new emphasis on ethics might simply be a way to counter the criticism from a steady stream of major corporate scandals and a way to capitalize on new consumer interests. Yet ethics, and the values on which they are based, are much more than corporate window‐dressing. Rather, they are woven into the structural/cultural fabric, taken‐for‐granted assumptions, patterns of language and interaction, and day‐to‐day routines of organizational life.

They highlight the importance of public commitments in raising public expectations regarding organizational reputation and accountability. Their work has implications for public relations scholarship and practice with regard to the connections between organizational claims, organizational cultures and micro‐cultures, corporate moral agency and public relations.

Planalp and Fitness's (2011) exploration of inter‐personal communication ethics also raises a new dimension for those in public relations interested in communities and alliances. Their focus on what might be seen as “private” relations has much wider implications in terms of issue emergence and definition and their framing as “ethical”. Their chapter also highlights key elements of interpersonal relations that are equally relevant to professional interpersonal relations (between public relations practitioners and journalists for example) as private relations; highlighting for example, values such as respect and dignity, interdependence, fairness, autonomy and privacy, mutuality and bonding.

From a public relations perspective, the book highlights topics that are not currently featured strongly in the public relations research agenda. For example, there is room to explore public relations and social justice, truth, nonviolence and human dignity, and for discussion of the role for public relations in organizational ethics, environmental ethics, economic justice as well as to confront its potential relationship with the evil.