Ethical Issues in Public Relations: Case Study of Selected Non-Profit Organizations.

Ethical Issues in Public Relations: Case Study of Selected Non-Profit Organizations.

1. Introduction.

The paper aims to explore some of the ethical issues facing the nonprofit sector. Ethical issues are situations or problems that may arise requiring an organization or person to make a decision between what is right (ethical) or what is wrong (unethical) (Slade, 2013). Although organizations mostly follow its own rules, laws and policies, they often ignore ethical regulations. Ethical issues can be complicated since they are not always black or white. This is why corporations are expected to be careful and make use of their  moral compasses when navigating and making business decisions. Conversely, when it comes to the nonprofit sector, various moral and ethical dilemmas also tend to arise.

2. Project Objectives.

• To highlight the factors regulating ethical and moral code of conduct.
• To highlight causes for unethical behavior in organizations.
• To identify the ethical issues facing nonprofit organizations
• To come up with ways to handle moral dilemmas in business.

3. Rationale.

The paper aims to examine major challenges with substantial implications that are ailing the nonprofit sector. Conducting this research is vital in highlighting these issues and eventually describes ways these ethical problems could have been avoided. Even though specific nonprofits are not identified in this proposal, specific ethical issues are. The objective is to then take each of these ethical issues being highlighted and study them based on selected cases of nonprofits that will be identified in the paper proper.  Subsequently, the identified ethical conundrum are discussed in the section below.

4. Overview.

Some factors that affect and control ethical conduct are; moral awareness, moral decision making, moral intent and moral action (Somers, 2001). Moral awareness speaks to recognizing that a certain situation is bound to raise ethical issues while moral decision making is when one is able to decipher that a course of action or path is ethically sound. Moral intent is the ability to determine which moral values should be prioritized in making the decision and finally, moral action is when after all these factors are considered, one follows through with the ethical decisions.

The ability and capacity to make proper judgment on moral issues of conduct varies from person to person. Many people who are of high levels of leadership in organizations are often overconfident when it comes to their ability to make decisions and this can lead to over-optimism, arrogance and consequently choices that are morally or factually unethical. This results in people suppressing dissent, covering up of mistakes and denying or withholding information. This is known as cognitive bias.

Another factor that may influence moral conduct is the influence of peers. When someone is paired up with a working partner who is morally questionable, ninety percent of people are unable to call the shots. Similarly when circumstances come into play where by bending the rules or taking unethical action may lead to payoffs or any form of benefit for group members, they are bound to put on hold their moral convictions.

One of the ethical issues facing nonprofit organizations is compensation. When it comes to salaries that by all business standards would be considered modest, they can cause outrage and dismay in the nonprofit organization (Rhode, 2009). You find that in nonprofit organizations, board members and other people working in the administration level feel entitled to perks and benefits, because they feel that were they working in the private sector their services would be worth a lot more. Meanwhile, the publics’ expectation is that nonprofits are not supposed to be motivated by self-gain but by the missions of their individual organizations. Therefore, this raises the question ‘should the employees and workers ever accept money from the clients they interact or are in alliance with? Would it be morally convenient? Although, making personal gain or profit should never be the motivating factor for nonprofits, cases abound of nonprofits that have fallen into this ethical abyss.

Another ethical issue facing the nonprofit sector is conflict of interest. This ethical issue mainly arise when board members of a nonprofit are executives in corporations that directly work with a nonprofit organization. When you have situations like this, there is bound to be cases of NPOs giving preferential treatment to their affiliated companies. This raises ethical concerns and questions such as ‘should members of the board of an NPO attain donations or contracts for their own companies? Such dealings can jeopardize the reputation of a nonprofit organization and be reported as unfair and withholding integrity in the organization’s financial dealings. To prevent this from happening it is mandatory that organizations maintain the trust of the public and put in place unambiguous and clear policies concerning the issue of conflict of interest. These policies should at least be transparent in their demands and processes by which they can be dealt with.

Another issue plaguing the nonprofit sector is tainted money. This one has been a media favorite over the decades. Some NPOs are sometimes hesitant or completely against taking money from corporations which do not serve in line with their mission. Should a nonprofit organization turn down money? I think they can if circumstance dictates it. For instance, NPOs that serve to create cancer awareness can turn down money from an organization that has dealings with tobacco, alcohol or any other carcinogenic agents. But how often have we seen NPOs that still go ahead to form alliance with corporations whose culture absolutely contradicts the NPOs’ mission statement?

Accountability is another ethical concern for NPOs. By virtue of a company being a nonprofit organization, it is not subject to majoritarian control or market forces. However, in the wake of institutional growth over the years, this independence has come under great scrutiny more so, that NPOs enjoy massive appropriation in the form of tax exemptions, the expectation has been that they would be responsible in accountability. This kind of responsibility requires that they use a well-structured plan for growth of the organization in line with its’ objectives. Most nonprofit organizations do not do this but rather use the ‘spray and pray’ technique which spreads out the assistance and accountability across many programs hoping something good will eventually come out of it. In essence, NPOs are expected to act in a propriety way. Somethings may not be illegal but are they ethical? Therefore, it is important that nonprofits are very aware of their actions and not mistake legality for ethics. Jeavons (2005) explains that when a fundraiser benefits directly from an estate gift issued by a benefactor, such situation is not illegal but may easily be perceived as shady. To avoid such ethical dilemmas, it is important to have value statements and missions that are clearly stipulated and NPOs should work towards them.

Another ethical dilemma is that of full disclosure and honesty. It is important that NPOs be completely honest and gives potential donor or benefactors all the information concerning the company, its values and mission so as to make an informed decision (Lichenstein, 2004). Honesty is telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Omitting specific details no matter how small could lead to bigger problems for the organization. The truth will go a long way.      Nonprofit organizations also face the ethical dilemma of stewardship. When donors donate any funds into your organization, they want to know that the funds are being used for what they were supposed to be used for. It is pertinent that nonprofits understand that If they make an agreement with a donor that the money they donate will be used for a specific venture, they should not by any means use the money for anything else. Therefore, there is a need  for nonprofits to always be trustworthy and keep their word. If using the funds for anything else other than what was agreed on, they need to check with their donors. In the event they do not support their proposition, nonprofits just need to abide by them. Tim Burchill, a dealer in ethical issues notes that “I think we have to continually monitor whether or not we are indeed honoring the restrictions on gifts and donations, and not just the letter of restrictions but the spirit of restrictions.” (Pettey, 2008)

In conclusion, it is crucial that we understand the moral dilemmas faced by nonprofit organizations to form the basis of progress. If we all worked together toward executing proper moral judgment and conduct in our work places, we would not only have healthier working environments but also successful business dealings.

References.

Austin, J. E. (2012). Collaborative value creation: A review of partnering between nonprofits and businesses. Part 2: Partnership processesd and outcomes. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly., 929-968.

Jeavons, T. H. (2005). Ethical nonprofit management. The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, 204-229.

Lichenstein, D. R. (2004). The effect of corporate social responsibility on customer donations to corporate-supported nonprofits. Journal of marketing., 16-32.

Pettey, J. G. (2008). Ethical fundraising: A Guide for Nonprofit Boards and Fundraisers (AFP Fund Development Series). John Wiley and Sons.

Rhode, D. L. (2009). Ethics and nonprofits.

Slade, S. &. (2013). Learning analytics: Ethical issues and dilemmas. American Behavioral Scientist., 1510-1529.

Somers, M. J. (2001). Ethical codes of conduct and organizational context : A study of the relationship between codes of conduct, employee behavior and organizational value. Journal of Business Ethics, 185-195.