Public relations and corporate social responsibility: Some issues arising

The paper questions current assumptions about the benefits of corporate social responsibility and the claims that corporations make on behalf of their corporate social responsibility programmes. In particular, the paper suggests that the use of corporate social responsibility for public relations ends raises moral problems over the motivation of corporations. The paper cautions that the justifications which corporations employ may either be immoral or inaccurate with regard to the empirical evidence gained from a small-scale qualitative study carried out in the UK at a time when the practice of corporate social responsibility was expanding quickly (1989). It is noticeable, in retrospect, that great emphasis is placed upon environmental rather than social responsibility. This implies that organisations are primarily reactive in their development of corporate social responsibility programmes and that they respond to external pressures rather than working out the nature of their corporate responsibilities. It might suggest that corporations only take such actions when they feel compelled to do so by consumerist and environmentalist lobbies. The paper argues that corporations do need to find moral justifications for their moral activities and to ensure that corporate social responsibility practice lives up to the claims made by public relations practitioners. The paper explores the nature of public relations and illustrates how its responsibility for corporate social responsibility extends beyond truthfulness in publicity.Jacquie L'Etang has postgraduate degrees in history, public relations, and social justice. She is a lecturer in public relations at the University of Stirling, Scotland, teaching on the M.Sc. in Public Relations full-time and distance learning courses. She teaches design and editorial management, communications, and business ethics. Her research interests are in corporate social responsibility and the history of public relations.     

A Kantian approach to codes of ethics

The paper discusses whether codes of ethics are Kantian notions through an analysis of their intention and structure. The article also discusses some of the ideas put forward by William Starr in his article, Codes of Ethics — Towards a Rule-Utilitarian Justification,Journal of Business Ethics 2(2) (May 1983).The paper refers to recent definitions of codes of ethics and considers reasons for the proliferation of such codes. It examines the moral justification for these codes and analyses the underlying ethical theory particularly in relation to Kantian ethics. There is an account of how Kant's views of the source of morality and moral obligation, the structure and nature of Kantian moral law and the role of the individual and his/her relationship with others, which is relevant to the development of a theoretical base for codes of ethics. There is some discussion of potential problems in the practical application of Kantian ethics to a specific code.Jacquie L'Etang studied for her BA(Hons.) in American and English History at the University of East Anglia, her MA in Commonwealth History at the University of London and her M.Sc. in Public Relations at the University of Sterling. She worked for a year in the External Relations Department of the London School of Economics and for eleven years at the British Council a period which included four postings in the public relations and design and editorial departments. Since 1989 she has been Assistant Director of the M.Sc. in Public Relations by Distance Learning and in 1991 completed her second dissertation on corporate social responsibility for her M. Phil. in Social Justice which she studied for at the University of Stirling's Philosophy Department.     

Now Read This: Book Review Spelling Out Corporate Responsibility

Cannon, Tom, Corporate Responsibility, Financial Times, Pitman Publishing, 1992, pp. 265, Hardback £30.00, ISBN 0-273-03727-7.     

Children's understanding of television advertising: a qualitative approach

In this paper children's understanding of television advertising was explored using focus groups in a qualitative approach. None of the 6 year olds, a minority of the 8 year olds and by no means all of the 10 year olds were able to articulate an understanding of the persuasive nature of advertising. It was concluded that children's understanding of the persuasive intent of television advertising is less well developed than previously thought, challenging current marketing perspectives. These findings raise questions for European legislation, UK broadcasting practices and for advertisers and manufacturers who target children.     

Ethical corporate social responsibility: A framework for managers

Managers encounter difficulties in developing corporate social responsibility programmes. These difficulties arise from conflicting interests and priorities. Pressures may be both internal and external and corporate social responsibility programmes usually evolve from a combination of proactive and reactive policies. The first experiences of a company are likely to be reactive, in response to requests for equipment, sponsorship or charitable donations but companies soon become aware of the benefits of planned programmes. Planning implies objectives, performance criteria and evaluation, and a rational framework for decision-taking. This paper attempts to highlight problem areas for managers and to develop a pragmatic framework of analysis which will help identify and clarify corporate social responsibilities. The paper, which is written from a UK perspective discusses the contribution of stakeholder models and highlights limitations of this approach. It develops an ethical framework focused on concepts of responsibility.Jacquie L'Etang is a Lecturer in Public Relations at the University of Stirling, Scotland and teaches on the full-time and distance learning MSc degrees in Public Relations. She has postgraduate degrees in history, public relations and social justice and her main research interests are in business ethics and the theory, history and sociology of public relations.