Research based solutions
In order to find an appropriate solution to the ethical problems in the field of public relations some research needs to be conducted to find the
source the problem. This can be done by conducting a survey with open-ended questions that can then be grouped into categories and analyzed. A
similar survey was done by Martha D. Saunders professor at the University of West Florida but in a small scale where only a very small portion of the public relations society was touched.
The survey can include questions and scenarios in which the practitioners see no harm. So instead of asking questions in which they would be forced to answer in a different way than they would act because of the pressure that their answer is being recorded, the questions and the scenarios can be subtle.
Sample questions:
1. If one of your coworkers was having issues at home and needed someone to talk to
would you take the time to talk to them during your busy day at
work?
2. While in college did your professors ever emphasize the importance of maintaining a
strict code of ethics that you should live by?
3. Do you think it’s ok to cheat on certain occasions if the situation provides an
opportunity for you to do so?
4. Are you a part of any religious organization such as Christianity, Buddhism, or
Hinduism?
5. If you suspect something suspicious is going on how long do you think you should
wait before you address the issue?
The participant will be informed that all of the answers to the questions will be confidential and for the use of the research only and none of
it will be revealed to their boss or any of their co-workers. Their identity, race, age, and gender will also remain unknown.
The survey will be done to a random sample of people in various parts of the country with emphasis in New York, California and Washington D.C.
The survey will be sent out in the following breakdown: these include but not limited to.
40% aimed at college graduates with one to three years of
experience in the field, and public relations practitioners that have an average
of six years of experience but have not shown any effort to or want to get
promoted.
30% aimed at public relations managers and supervisors that were
promoted at most a year and a half before the date they take their
survey.
30% aimed at public relations managers, supervisors and
executives that have a significant amount of experience (three years or more in
their current position).
The survey will be sent out to the public relations firms and distributed by someone who is a part of our team to ensure that it gets received
by the right amount of people. All of the surveys will have the same questions and scenarios in order to maintain a
controlled variable in the research. There is no limit in length but it will be encouraged that all of the
questions be answered. The survey will be distributed and collected on site the same day it is passed out.
Once they are recollected they will be organized by the city and firm that they come from and will be evaluated. The surveys will then be separated into
categories based on the way they answered the question. Those categories will be created based on the way the majority of the people responded.
By conducting the survey we hope to find answers as to why people make some of the decisions they make. The surveys are not to provide a solution to the problem but more so to provide answers relating to the source of the problem.
Is it education?
The way the people are raised?
The pressures of
the job?
The pressures from the boss?
The pressures from clients or the public?
What is it that makes people make the decisions they make. That is the purpose of the survey which hopefully lead to a closing or at least the narrowing of the research gap that the issue at hand has presented. The results of the research may also lead to further research to find ways to solve the ethical issues in public relations once and for all.
In order to find an appropriate solution to the ethical problems in the field of public relations some research needs to be conducted to find the
source the problem. This can be done by conducting a survey with open-ended questions that can then be grouped into categories and analyzed. A
similar survey was done by Martha D. Saunders professor at the University of West Florida but in a small scale where only a very small portion of the public relations society was touched.
The survey can include questions and scenarios in which the practitioners see no harm. So instead of asking questions in which they would be forced to answer in a different way than they would act because of the pressure that their answer is being recorded, the questions and the scenarios can be subtle.
Sample questions:
1. If one of your coworkers was having issues at home and needed someone to talk to
would you take the time to talk to them during your busy day at
work?
2. While in college did your professors ever emphasize the importance of maintaining a
strict code of ethics that you should live by?
3. Do you think it’s ok to cheat on certain occasions if the situation provides an
opportunity for you to do so?
4. Are you a part of any religious organization such as Christianity, Buddhism, or
Hinduism?
5. If you suspect something suspicious is going on how long do you think you should
wait before you address the issue?
The participant will be informed that all of the answers to the questions will be confidential and for the use of the research only and none of
it will be revealed to their boss or any of their co-workers. Their identity, race, age, and gender will also remain unknown.
The survey will be done to a random sample of people in various parts of the country with emphasis in New York, California and Washington D.C.
The survey will be sent out in the following breakdown: these include but not limited to.
40% aimed at college graduates with one to three years of
experience in the field, and public relations practitioners that have an average
of six years of experience but have not shown any effort to or want to get
promoted.
30% aimed at public relations managers and supervisors that were
promoted at most a year and a half before the date they take their
survey.
30% aimed at public relations managers, supervisors and
executives that have a significant amount of experience (three years or more in
their current position).
The survey will be sent out to the public relations firms and distributed by someone who is a part of our team to ensure that it gets received
by the right amount of people. All of the surveys will have the same questions and scenarios in order to maintain a
controlled variable in the research. There is no limit in length but it will be encouraged that all of the
questions be answered. The survey will be distributed and collected on site the same day it is passed out.
Once they are recollected they will be organized by the city and firm that they come from and will be evaluated. The surveys will then be separated into
categories based on the way they answered the question. Those categories will be created based on the way the majority of the people responded.
By conducting the survey we hope to find answers as to why people make some of the decisions they make. The surveys are not to provide a solution to the problem but more so to provide answers relating to the source of the problem.
Is it education?
The way the people are raised?
The pressures of
the job?
The pressures from the boss?
The pressures from clients or the public?
What is it that makes people make the decisions they make. That is the purpose of the survey which hopefully lead to a closing or at least the narrowing of the research gap that the issue at hand has presented. The results of the research may also lead to further research to find ways to solve the ethical issues in public relations once and for all.