Essay - Public Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility: can They Meet as...

Public Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility: Can they meet as one?

Abstract

Public relations is generally regarded ***** a bad thing by consumers, whose cynicism has been aroused by recent events involving major U.S. corporations and cultural 'institutions' such as Martha Stewart. However, within the l*****t generation, consumers said they were willing to refuse to purc*****e products or services from any corporations not perceived to be a corporate good citizen. The question for public relations ***** for ***** globally is whether it ***** possible to make ***** actions match the good reputations their public relations departments attempt to create. In short, can the current disconnect ********** perceptions of corporate behavior and the corporations' misbehavior with concurrent avowals ***** rectitude be aligned? There are cases in which citizen action has brought those elements in***** alignment. In other *****—notably Thailand—the government has short-circuited the profit intentions of a major corporation to provide for ***** citizens. However, in far too many cases, the governments look the ***** way while corporations extolling their own virtues nonetheless participate in human rights-questionable activities. This study attempts to identify the nature of some of the disparities between corporate ***** relations and corporate socially responsible—or irresponsible—behavior ***** suggest scenarios that might br*****g both into *****.

Introduction

Methodology

***** Review

Findings

Background: Burma Campaign UK

Aon Corporation

Ericsson

***** Mines

Rolls-Royce

Unocal:

*****

Appendix A: Signifi*****t National Income Possibilities in Developing Economies, China and India

Appendix B: Watchdog organizations: Corporate social responsibility issues

Introduction

***** duplicitous are large corporations, and how gullible ***** *****? These are questions public relations practitioners probably do not ask ********** very often, or perhaps ever. Yet, there are two violently divergent trends in corporate conduct, which ***** these as questions public relations practitioners—or at least, ethicists involved with corpor*****e public relations, ought to ask. While those are open-ended questions more appropriate to an ethicist than ***** those planning public relations campaigns, there are two trends ***** public relations practitioners need to examine; the combination of those trends present precisely the sorts of corporate malfeasance and misfeasance that has captured the attention of both ***** public and governmental oversight *****.

The first trend is for corporations to support worthy causes, partially ***** the increased goodwill it brings, ***** often sales as well. At first glance, it sends no warning signals. In fact, in 1994, "a nationwide survey...confirmed that a comp*****ny's ***** performance significantly *****fluences prospective cus*****mers, employees and investors in basic decisions about the firm" (Gildea, 1994, p. 20+) Of course, that was then and this is now. In the past decade, Enron happened, ***** MCI/WorldCom, and "Martha" and any number of other smaller scandals involving companies that, if not kn***** for their good works, at least were not *****own for bad ones until the misdeeds came to light. Like all ***** companies of any size, these companies had established public relations ***** to make ***** note of gifts to charity and the like. Bread and butter to ***** corporate public relations department is their