Week 7 Blogging: Discussion Questions 2&5

Question 2: What organizations have news media recently featured for ethical behavior? For unethical behavior?
A couple of weeks ago, I was flipping channels and happened to come across The View. I stopped when they began to talk about Dove's Real Campaign for beauty since we had been talking about it in class. Dove's new commercial (which I still haven't seen while watching other shows) was shown on The View which showed the process of making an ad. It showed the model showing up looking like a normal woman with harsh lighting and no make-up whatsoever. The commercial consisted of a sped-up process of how an ordinary woman with the help of expensive make-up artists and lighting becomes the gorgeous model we see in advertising and commercials. The process of taking the photo doesn't stop there as the picture is then put in a series of editing processes in which the model is airbrushed to society's concept of beauty. Dove's new commercial shows that even a model can seem like an ordinary woman without make-up and special lighting and even then, she has to be airbrushed to perfection. This commercial will hopefully boost women's self esteem by showing them that even models don't fall perfectly into what society deems beautiful in that they still need to be corrected.
Many companies can also be caught doing unethical behavior. Lately in the news, what caught my attention was Bono and his band U2 moving a large sum of their money from the banks in Ireland to Holland. Like the Rolling Stones did before them, U2 is moving their money from Ireland to escape the taxes that they would have to pay after a change in the Irish budget. This comes at a time where Bono is introducing the new Red campaign to help aid funds for AIDS. According to the Telegraph, a newspaper in the UK, Joan Burton, Irish Labor’s finance spokesman, said, "Having listened to Bono on the necessity for the Irish Government to give more money to Ireland Aid, of which I approve, I am surprised that U2 are not prepared to contribute to the Exchequer on a fair basis along with the bulk of Irish taxpayers." I find it ironic and plain stupid that Bono and his band doesn't want to be considered normal and connected with their fans in their home country by trying to get out of paying taxes. Are they going to actual use that money that they are now not going to have to pay after moving their money to Holland for good? Will that money that would go to Ireland be used to help the Red campaign or help countries in desperate need for help to defeat this horrible epidemic? I hope so because Bono and U2 now seem aloof escaping taxes and that money better go towards the general good to improve their image.

Question #5: What companies are well known for CSR? Do their reputations affect your purchasing decisions?
The case study for this chapter informed me of how Starbucks is helping the environment and the countries that grow the beans. I am no longer that guilty that I pay $3.50 for coffee as I am supporting a company that holds high ethical standards and helps the environment. This summer I finally got a car of my own that I didn’t have to share with my younger brother, a 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid. After looking around, my parents and I realized that if we bought a hybrid, I wouldn’t have to fill up and pay as much for gas and I could help the environment by driving a half-electrical car. It’s comforting to know that even in a tiny way; I am supporting the car companies’ thoughts to change how a car is run after 100 years. I also found out today while watching “Extreme Home Makeover” that Ford supports Warriors in Pink and is celebrating 12 years working as a national sponsor for the Susan G. Komen’s Race for the Cure as the mom of the family worked for the Race for the Cure and is a breast cancer survivor. I am glad to be driving a car that is improving the environment and supporting the Race for the Cure with the Warriors in Pink campaign as couple of my relatives have gotten breast cancer and have survived.

One of Aristotle’s three forms of persuasion was "ethos" or the appeal based on personality or character. As a PR practioner we must have a strong credible relationship between the company or client that we are working for and the public that both sides can trust that we are showing all of the information that we can and not hiding anything under the table. I haven't started working in the PR field in an internship and before this chapter; I occasionally worried that one day I might find myself at a company where I would be forced to twist words around or not tell the public the exact truth. I used to watch "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place," and I remember that one of the characters worked as a spokeswoman for a chemical company and was told to lie about how there were other elements melting the ice, not the chemicals. After reading the chapter and the example of Starbucks, I now know that most companies (hopefully) are not like that chemical plant, but actually have ethical standards and use corporate social responsibilities to improve the community around them.
The hardest part with ethics is objectivity and advocacy or whether PR practioners should be more like lawyers or journalists. In my opinion, I think that I would rather be more of the journalist point of view because what if the something that your company hid from the public becomes publicized? The public would then wonder what else your company has hid from them and then your company will lose all credibility. I do understand that too much of objectivity and then the company wouldn't be able to keep some secrets of success from competitors and the public would have to know everything that goes wrong along with what went right. I realize that to really establish credibility, one needs to have a good balance between advocacy and objectivity or as Aristotle would call it, "the golden mean," but I might tend to lean a little more towards objectivity.
To remind us to incorporate ethical standards in all aspects of our work, the book discusses the Potter Box by defining the situation then to state the different values, consider all the principles, and identify all the different types of loyalties that need to be held. Another way to keep up our credibility is to work with charities and the community to connect to our public. The key is to work with a group that is somehow connected with the company and doesn't seem like a suggestion drawn from a hat. The company also cannot go half-heartily, but spend time and effort to really create a lasting relationship.
The Starbucks case study was interesting in that I liked how the corporation tracked down the firefighters who bought water on 9/11 to pay them back and then made sure that Starbucks did their part to help the people of NYC. I don't feel that bad buying a $3 cup of coffee knowing the ethical standards that Starbucks lives by that has kept it being nationally recognized as a great company to work for. The fact that Starbucks is now associated with the Fair Trade, costumers view Starbucks as a company who cares about the people growing the coffee, paying them a good price, and at the same time, helping the environment by it being organic and shade-grown beans. It's comforting to know that some of the corporate businesses are listening to their public who wants more organic and fresh products that are improving the environment that are not aiding the Green House effect.