International Ethics: Difficult to Define

In dealing with international public relations, it is difficult to determine a universal code or definition of ethics. In the United States, it is a fairly well-defined and well-documented subject. However, the same cannot be said for many countries abroad.

In researching this topic, I came across an article discussing the power that communication can have over people. In this article, they raise an interesting question; "Can an authoritative media voice push anyone to cross ethical lines they think are non-negociable?" This article discusses"Jeu de la Mort"-- a documentary prepared by France Télévisions along with researchers (Jeu de la Mort translates to basically, "Game of Death"). This documentary re-created the famous Milgram experiment in which participants administered increasingly strong electric shocks to another participant who incorrectly answered questions, but this time put this into a reality-TV show. Personally, this seems horrifying. As learned with this experiment, it is clear that seemingly good people are capable of doing horrible things.

Now, through this we can learn several things. One of which is that the ethics behind this TV show in France were basically non-existent. Second, as quoted from the article, "It is particularly relevant for anyone involved in organizational communications because the weight of our voices may be one of those authorities that incite people to carry on, despite their own misgivings." This could not be more true.

Also in my research about this topic, I found another interesting article about ethics in international public relations. As quoted from the article, which I found to be the most valuable piece of information:

...if we want to discuss PR ethics on an international scale, it is also very important not only to look at simple explanations of “good” and “bad”, but also to see this ethics within the context of their country of origin and their target-country. What might be very well-established and traditional in one context, might be very modern and open-minded in another – and vice versa. In other words: If we want to observe PR ethics on an international scale, we need to analyse it within its quite complex (cultural) context.

So, basically it is clear that it is almost impossible to establish a universal code of ethics for all PR professionals around the world. However, in dealing with international PR, it is important to be familiar with as many aspects of the country as possible in order to better reach the desired publics.