PR 310: Ethics in Public Relations, Advertising, and Journalism Fall 2014 TC 210 Tuesday, Thursday 9:20 to 10:50 a.m.

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1 PR 310: Ethics in Public Relations, Advertising, and Journalism Fall 2014 TC 210 Tuesday, Thursday 9:20 to 10:50 a.m. Brittany Rowe-Cernevicius Office Hours 402 Thompson-Clark Hall M & W: 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. roweba@westminster.edu Tu & Th: 11-Noon *Please type PR 310 in the subject line I am also available by appointment. Major Outcomes: Public Relations majors will demonstrate the ability to: 1. Write persuasively, in a variety of formats, for a variety of media 2. Use diverse research methods and analyze data to develop and support various PR functions 3. Apply PR strategies and tactics to solve problems creatively 4. Use PR principles and practices to guide management effectively and ethically 5. Practice oral communication skills professionally in a variety of situations. Course Description: Practitioners in the fields of public relations, advertising, and journalism may face a number of situations where ethical dilemmas arise. This course is designed to introduce students to a number of principles and theories that serve as a foundation for ethical and moral decision making. It will encourage students to develop a personal code of ethics and to become familiar with the professional codes of ethics that guide public relations practitioners, journalists, and advertisers. Course Objectives: In this course you will: 1. Explain and apply theoretical approaches to ethics 2. Identify and discuss ethical issues that may arise for practitioners in public relations, advertising, and journalism 3. Think critically to evaluate ethical courses of action in professional situations 4. Advise fictitious management and/or clients regarding ethical behavior 5. Apply the professional codes of ethics that guide the fields of public relations, advertising, and journalism to various workplace situations 6. Discuss the importance of acting ethically as a professional in your chosen field Required Textbooks: Bivins, Thomas. Mixed Media: Moral Distinctions in Advertising, Public Relations, and Journalism. 2 nd ed. Routledge Supplemental readings may be assigned throughout the semester. They will be available via MyWestminster in the handouts section.

2 Structure of the Course: In order to prepare you to face tough ethical decisions in the working world you will be assigned to an in-class public relations organization. These organizations will be responsible for completing tasks and functioning as a group of PR practitioners would function in the professional world. As with any job, there will be both risks and rewards associated with your actions. However, remember that your actions will not just impact you (and your grade); they will also impact your classmates (your co-workers). Instead of earning a salary, you will earn ethics points. These points will be used to determine winners of industry ethics awards. You will be competing directly with the other PR organizations in the industry in order to win these industry ethics awards. At the end of the semester, the points associated with the industry awards will be tallied to determine the winner of the Most Ethical Organization of the Semester. The members of the PR organization with the most cumulative ethics points will win special compensation. While your tasks this semester will vary, my objectives for having you complete these assignments reinforce the objective of the class, which are listed above. In many career fields, when employees are first hired they enter a probationary period. Think of this semester as your probationary period. On the following pages you will find your Probationary Employee s Handbook to help you through this semester. Good luck and welcome to the working world!

3 Congratulations You re hired! Welcome, As Director of Human Resources, I d like to congratulate you on your new position. The following pages contain the keys to your success. My door is always open so feel free to stop by or contact me if you have questions about any company policies or work assignments. I m here to help you succeed. The best way to contact me is via . However, please be aware that I may not be able to respond immediately to s sent later in the day (typically after 4 p.m.) or on weekends, but I will respond as quickly as I can. During my office hours, I will try to be available via Facebook chat. If you have a simple question, you may want to try this option for a quick response. I look forward to working with all of you! Brittany Rowe-Cernevicius; Dir. Of Human Resources roweba@westminster.edu Probationary Employee Handbook 1. Paid Time Off (PTO) Employees are not eligible for vacation until the end of their probationary period. However, probationary employees are entitled to two PTO days. Exceeding two PTO days will result in a deduction of 50 points per additional absence from your final probationary period evaluation. Additionally, missing work will cause your work group to lose billable work hours, resulting in a loss of ethics points and ultimately affecting the organization s competiveness in the industry. Bereavement, hospitalization, and pre-approved company activities are the exceptions to this policy. If you have questions about this policy, please contact Human Resources. Missing Agency Exams/Presentations Whenever possible, please notify the Director of Human Resources in advance if you will need to miss work on the day of an exam or presentation. You must contact HR prior to or within 24 hours of the missed work day. If you (or someone acting on your behalf) fail to notify HR within 24 hours of the missed day you will not be allowed to make up the missed exam/presentation. If you are absent for a group presentation, you will not be able to make up your portion of the presentation. 2. In-office Working Hours It isn t ethical to bill clients for work when you aren t working on their behalf. Arriving late or leaving early will cost your group billable work time. If you are sleeping during work hours, you will be considered absent. Your office work day runs from 9:20 a.m. to 10:50 a.m., failure to arrive on time will result in a reduction of your firm s billable hours. Leaving early will also result in a reduction of billable hours. If you miss your work hours, you are not eligible to make up activities completed by your co-workers during the day s work hours. 3. Personal s/Texts/Calls During work hours please refrain from making personal calls and/or sending personal text messages or s. If there is an emergency situation, please notify Human Resources and the appropriate considerations will be made. Failure to abide by this policy will result in a deduction of your group s ethics points. If you have your cell phone out during an exam, it will be confiscated and you will receive a zero.

4 4. Professional Integrity Work that violates the academic integrity policy governing Westminster will earn a zero and may be subject to additional disciplinary action. Please remember that violating the Academic Integrity Policy could be grounds for dismissal. 5. Respectful Communication: It is important to respect your co-workers right to express themselves. It is quite possible that you may not agree with every comment or opinion your co-workers express. While you are not obligated to agree with others, you are asked to be respectful of everyone s right to their own comments or opinions. Scholarly debate can be a valuable educational tool. However, racist, sexist, or other oppressive language will not be tolerated. Workers using this type of language may be asked to leave. It is important to remember to disagree in a respectful manner and not resort to personal attacks on those who may see things differently and/or have opinions that are different than yours. 6. Required Duties & Preparation for the Work Day The duties of a public relations professional will vary from week to week, but will include coming to work on time and prepared to work, completing tasks on behalf of the organization, meeting work deadlines, and submitting Briefing Memos following the completion of certain tasks. Regular duties include reading all assigned material. Not all assigned material will be discussed, however, that does not mean you do not need to be familiar with the material. Most work days will consist of activities based on the day s reading and coming to work unprepared will inhibit participation. Your lack of preparation will not just impact you--it will also impact your co-workers. Unless otherwise noted, your work should be typed, doubled-spaced, using 12-point Times New Roman font. Sloppy work communicates something about your level of professionalism. Please use paragraphs, introductions, conclusions, and transitions accordingly. Some tasks may require you to cite your sources using MLA format. Be sure to proofread your papers for typos and grammatical errors. If you have questions about the requirements for a task, contact the Director of Human Resources. The Learning Center located in 212 Thompson-Clark Hall (ext. 6700) is also a great resource. 7. Hiring and Firing Co-workers Human Resources recognizes that occasionally co-workers are not the best fit for the work groups to which they are assigned. One of the first tasks you will complete will be a work group policy that governs both the hiring and firing of employees. You must clearly spell out the guidelines associated with employee termination. Employees who are terminated may appeal to Human Resources (HR). If HR determines that an employee was fired without just cause, sanctions (loss of ethics points) will be imposed on the work group and the employee will not be terminated. Employees who are terminated from one work group may seek employment with another industry organization. If your organization is willing to hire additional employees, you must draft guidelines for doing so. Organizations are not required to hire additional employees if they determine that the organization is currently in a hiring freeze. Terminated employees may choose to seek employment with other organizations. If they are not hired by other organizations, or should they choose, they will be required to start their own public relations consulting firm. However, they will still be required to compete against the larger organizations. 8. Tasks/Evaluations: More detailed assignment information and guidelines will be provided for each assignment during the semester. If you have any questions about the requirements or formats for these assignments, feel free to ask for clarification. Ethics Papers (Objective 1, Objective 2, Objective 3, Objective 5). In lieu of a midterm and final exam, you will be writing two papers. Each paper will be worth 50 points.

5 Ethics in the News: Blog Assignment (Objective 1, Objective 2, Objective 3, Objective 5, Objective 6). Public relations practitioners need to be constantly vigilant for opportunities and problems that may impact their clients. Therefore, it is imperative that you stay up-to-date on current events. You will be responsible for contributing to a class blog that discusses the ethical implications of events in the news. Personal Code of Ethics (Objective 2, Objective 4, Objective 5, Objective 6). Professional codes of ethics serve as guides for practitioners in a number of fields including public relations, advertising, and journalism. After examining codes of ethics written by the Public Relations Society of America, the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Society for Professional Journalists, and other professional organizations, you will be required to write your own code of ethics and a brief paper explaining its development. Ethics Simulations & Debriefing Memos (Objective 1, Objective 2, Objective 3, Objective 4, Objective 5, Objective 6). In order to give you a better idea of what it is like to be a public relations practitioner you will be assigned to a public relations agency in class. It will be your job to complete tasks over the course of the semester during several agency simulations. These simulations are designed to expose you to a number of moral dilemmas that practitioners in the field face. These simulations will be in-class activities and cannot be completed as make-up assignments. Just as in the working world, if you don t show up for work, you don t get credit for work completed. Following each activity you will write a Debriefing Memo discussing which class agency acted most ethically. These memos are to be written individually and submitted via MyWestminster. If you are absent for a simulation, you will not be able to complete a Debriefing Memo. Ethics Training Manual & Workshop (Objective 1, Objective 2, Objective 4, Objective 5, Objective 6). For this assignment you will be creating training materials for your fellow professionals. These materials should emphasize the importance of acting in a professional manner and help professionals in one of the three fields learn how to behave more ethically. You will create materials for a four-week training seminar and then conduct an ethics workshop in class. You will receive additional information containing specific guidelines for each task including details about the amount of compensation (point values) available for each task. 9. Compensation for Work Completed Employees of this firm are compensated according to the fixed project fees (assignment points) listed Task Possible Earned Ethics Papers 50 pts) 100 Debriefing Memos 100 Personal Code of Ethics 150 Blog Administration Weeks/Posts 300 Ethics Training Manual & Workshop 200 Ethics Dilemmas 250 Total 1100 Pay (Grading Scale) A: pts B+: pts C+: pts D+: pts F: pts A-: pts B: pts C: pts D: pts B-: pts C-: pts D-: pts The last page of your handbook contains a detailed schedule of projects and the deadlines associated with each project.

6 10. Submitting Your Work The public relations industry is a fast-paced, deadline driven industry. If you don t complete a particular project on time, the results could be detrimental for your client and could cost you your job. Late work will NOT be accepted. Unless otherwise noted, the start of the work day will be the deadline for your assignments. Be sure to allow enough time to print your papers if a hard copy is required for submission. Some assignments may require you to submit your work online. Do not wait until the last minute to submit assignments online MyWestminster will close assignments automatically and may not accept them. Assignments that do not adhere to the assignment guidelines given in class may receive a zero. If you have questions about the proper format for an assignment, please contact the Director of Human Resources for additional instructions. 11. Earning Ethics Points Your organization will earn ethics points by completing tasks throughout the semester. Organizations will complete for industry ethics awards in association with each task. At the end of the semester, the organization with the highest cumulative total of ethics points will earn the Most Ethical Organization award and be entitled to special compensation. In the event of a tie, group with the highest cumulative (average score will be used if teams do not have equal number of members) score on the Debriefing Memos will win. Should there still be a tie, the group with the fewest absences will win. In the extremely rare event that the previous two totals do not determine a winner, cumulative totals of other semester assignments will be used (starting with that week s blog assignment, then the personal code of ethics, etc.). An Ethics Enforcement Officer will be on hand for many of your tasks and may penalize an organization for unethical behavior. Penalties will range between 1-5 points depending on the severity of the unethical behavior. Multiple penalties may also be assessed. Frequently assessed penalties include, but are not limited to: Arriving late/leaving early Unauthorized computer/cell phone use Lack of preparation/participation Disruptive/Unproductive behavior Organizations will receive notice when an ethics violation has occurred. 12. Industry Ethics Awards Many organization tasks will be eligible for Industry Ethics Awards. The awards will be determined by three factors: Quality of the product/plan of action (points assigned by Ethics Enforcement Officer), Industry ranking (as voted upon by the competing organizations), and Billable hours (attendance). Task values will vary. An example of the way IE awards will be scored is included below. Organization: Billable Hours (attendance) /5 points 5 (all present for all work days) 3 (member(s) absent for one work day) 1 (member(s) absent for multiple work days) Industry Ranking (determined by Debriefing Memos) /10 points 10 (most ethical) 9 (2 nd place vote) 8 (3 rd place vote) Quality of Product/Plan of Action (determined by EEO) Criteria will vary /points will vary Professionalism (free from spelling and grammatical errors) COMMENTS TOTAL SCORE /points will vary

7 Tentative Project Schedule *Additional tasks will be completed in response to clients needs; this schedule may be revised if needed Date Project Tasks to be Completed* Week 1 Aug Overview/Introductions Personal vs. Professional survey Employee Handbook & Simulation training Discuss Blog Assignment Read Chapter 1 Homework: Sign up w/wordpress Week 2 Sept. 2-4 Discuss Preface & Chapter 1: What is Media Ethics? Hiring/Firing Policy Due Read chapter 2 Week 3 Sept Discuss Chapter 2 Discuss Debriefing Memo Discuss Chapter 3 Discuss Personal Code of Ethics Assignment Week 4 Sept Finish Chapter 3 Discuss Chapter 4 Week 5 Sept Finish Discuss Chapter 4 Personal Code of Ethics Assignment Start Potter Box & Chapter 5 Discussion Week 6 Sept. 30-Oct. 2 Finish Chapter 5 Week 7 Oct. 7-9 Discuss Midterm Exam (Ethics Paper 1) Thank You for Smoking Week 8 Oct Midterm Due (Oct. 14) Discuss Training Manual & Workshop Discuss Chapter 6 Read Chapter 3 Read Chapter 4 Personal Code of Ethics Read Chapter 5 Midterm Due Via MW Read Chapter 6 Week 9 Oct Discuss Chapter 10: Ethics in News Journalism Read Chapter 10 Week 10 Oct No Class (Oct. 28) Week 11 Nov. 4-6 Discuss Chapter 7 & Persuasion/Propaganda Finish Persuasion/Propaganda Discussion Discuss chapter 8 Read Chapter 7 Read Chapter 8 Week 12 Nov Discuss Chapter 9 Read Chapter 9 Week 13 Nov Discuss Final Exam (Ethics Paper 2) Toxic Sludge is Good for You Most Ethical Organization Announced

8 Week 14 Nov Week 15 Dec. 2-4 Week 16 Dec. 9 Group Consultations Thanksgiving Break (Nov. 27) Dec. 2: Final Exam Due & Exempt Group Presentation Dec 4: Group 2 Presentation Group 3 Presentation Final Exam Due Via MW