Dick Martin, formerly AT&T

Practitioners can be forgiven for assuming "the science behind the art of public relations" is all about measurement, plumbing stakeholder attitudes, or getting a better handle on the latest findings in behavioral science. All worthy undertakings, critical to the practice. But if you believe PR is more about what you do than what you say, you have to include one of the oldest sciences of all - ethics.

Ethics has as much to do with the real world as physics, chemistry, sociology, and psychology. Scratch the surface of any public relations crisis and you're likely to turn up a badly made ethical decision. Read more.
Shannon Bowen, Ph.D., University of South Carolina, IPR Measurement Commission

Ethics in public relations results in consistency. It allows for organizations to be known, to meet expectations, to engage in dialogue with stakeholders, to resolve problems, and to build long-term relationships.

The future predicts a more expansive role for ethics in public relations. Although there will always be insular-minded practitioners who practice persuasion, manipulation, or spin, things have changed for the better. Ethical public relations is the voice of credible organizations, and of truth by helping institutions be more responsible and responsive thereby, creating a revolution in the industry toward the intrinsic and innate good. Read more.
Jean Valin, Global Alliance

For decades we have been debating what is public relations.
At the root of it all however is what we do - the capabilities we bring to the workplace; the skills and knowledge we teach our students.

The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management has developed the Global Body of Knowledge Project, a foundational list of knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors, which entry and mid/senior-level practitioners across the world should possess. If public relations does not establish its own standards, an outside influence will. Read more.
Alexander Parkinson, The Conference Board

The growing complexity of business in a global era of digitization and speed and the constantly shifting and accelerating demands of stakeholder relationships are forcing a rethink when it comes to the corporate communications and marketing functions.

Integrated corporate communications and marketing can create a customer-centric culture. In many ways, integrated corporate communications and marketing is about asking customers their preferences: when and how to communicate with them. By having the two functions work together, companies can glean better insights from long-term engagement on social media, feed that information back into other parts of the company, such as product and service innovation, and respond with meaningful content that sparks interest and continues the engagement. Read more.
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