THE ETHICAL APPROACH
TO PUBLIC RELATIONS
When the Chrysler Corporation was in financial trouble, it took the
problem to the public. Chrysler promised that if the public stuck with
it through a rebuilding period, the company would provide buyers a
quality product. Chrysler gave its promise to the public through the
“Car Buyer’s Bill of Rights”:
- Every American has the right to quality.
- Every American has the right to long-term protection.
- Every American has the right to friendly treatment,
honest service and competent repairs. - Every American has the right to a safe vehicle.
- Every American has the right to address grievances.
- Every American has the right to satisfaction.
Source: Seitel, Fraser P. The Practice of Public Relations, 6th ed.
(Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1995), pp. 356–357.
The company backed its “Bill of Rights” with a board to which consum-
ers could take complaints and conducted periodic surveys to measure
consumer satisfaction. The strategy worked. One reason that Chrysler
is in business today is that people could see that the company was try-
ing hard and being honest with them.
The classic example of potentially negative public relations turned
positive by honest communications with the public is Johnson &
Johnson’s handling of Tylenol poisonings in 1982. Johnson & Johnson
was faced with the news that six Tylenol users in the Chicago area
had died as a result of taking Tylenol capsules that contained cyanide.
PUBLIC RELATIONS 485
Your Beat
- Quickly give a word or words that come to mind
when you see each of these names:
Disney Kanye West
AARP Chicago Cubs
Red Cross Colorado Rockies
IRS Michael Jackson
Phillip Morris Company Barry Bonds
Nabisco Peyton Manning
The president of the Washington, D.C.
United States Hollywood
Motown Records CNN
MTV Avril Lavigne
National Public Radio American Idol
Elvis Presley
Your response is the public relations image each
name has for you. Compare your responses with
those of your classmates. Decide if each name has
a positive, negative or neutral image in your class.- Find examples of news, such as the airplane crash
or the yearbook fiascoes described earlier, that might
contribute to the public relations image of a business
or individual. If the news has a negative impact, what
do you think the subject can do to overcome the
image created by the news?