Strong Boundaries

Whether we like it or not, we all live and function within boundaries. As citizens, for instance, we live under sets of laws that outline what is legal or illegal. Most job sites have sets of guidelines to which workers must adhere if they are to remain employed. Religions have their own vision that believers and followers share and strive to honor. Parents, of course, often set forth dos and don'ts for their children. The list of examples, of course, goes on and ons. The point is there is not one of us that does face the challenges of life each day without on some level attempting the navigate the boundaries before us. Many of these, it should be noted, are imposed upon us while others are ones we set for ourselves.

For many professional public relations practitioners, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has established a code of ethics. This document of boundaries, most recently adopted in 2000, represents a call to all communicators to carry out their professional duties and responsibilities within the parameters of being advocates for open and honest dialog and information exchange. That's not a bad vision as far as I am concerned. Our society functions best when communication is allowed to flourish. The PRSA supports this. It wants its thousands of members to as well.

Possibly one major flaw with the PRSA's code of ethics is that it has no enforcement mechanism. The worst that can happen to a member of this professional society is that they can be removed from the organization if their behavior is deemed to be in violation of the code. This professional, however, is still free to practice public relations. Professional public relations workers do not need a license to operate the same way a doctor or lawyer does, for example. In a way, this is too bad because it would make these men and women more accountable for their actions and encourage them to truly operate with the boundaries set by many of their peers. It may not totally eliminate lieing and purposeful deceptive but it would certainly add needed teeth to an honorable profession.