Ethics Month: The More Things Change . . .
Posted by admincarolyn on Sep. 23, 2025 / Blog, Thought Leadership / Subscribe 0
If you attended the September Chapter meeting, you heard an incredible story of one public relations professional who discovered and reported unethical behavior by her leaders. Paula Pedene, APR, Fellow PRSA shared her experience working at the Phoenix Veterans Administration medical center where she and a colleague became whistleblowers exposing the appointment wait-time scandal.
Her story is harrowing. She faced retaliation, demotion and eventually had to leave the organization she loved. While she did the right thing, it had a big impact on her and her family. I won’t recount it all here, but you can learn more about Paula’s story and her book here. It was an incredible way to recognize PRSA’s Ethics Month in September and I thank Paula for offering to visit our chapter and share her story.
In reflecting on that meeting and the topic of ethics in today’s world, I’m reminded of the proverb “The more things change, the more they stay the same” coined by the French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr in 1849. As much as we’re focused today on the ethical implications of new things like artificial intelligence, the underlying ethical issues for society are unchanged. New technologies just bring new ways for people to demonstrate the same old unethical behavior. Similarly, various factions in society point out unethical behavior of their opponents while ignoring that of their own.
As we wrestle with all of this, there are some tangible things we can all do as public relations professionals to support ethical behavior:
Role model ethical behavior in your organization. Whether you work in an agency, corporation, government office or academia, there are opportunities to be a role model for others in ways big and small. I would argue that the small examples are just as important. When people see others in their organization doing the right way on the small things, it makes it harder for them to do the wrong thing. And letting things slide on small ethical issues makes it easier to take the leap on the big ones.
Speak up in the moment. In my 30+ years in corporate communications, I’ve been in meetings where someone came up with a bad idea about how to handle a situation. And I’ve seen it handled differently in various organizations. In one instance, it involved a suggestion to outright lie to stakeholders about the reason a change was happening. Fortunately, someone chimed in and said “We can’t do that. It’s just not right.” When the person with the bad idea kept pressing, others spoke up and gave examples of how stakeholders were likely to find out about the lie. The bad idea died.
What’s interesting about this situation is that it doesn’t always have to be the most senior person who speaks up. Anyone can do it. If your organization has a code of conduct or ethics, point to that. Speak about which part of the code the issue represents. Suggest that the team consider the code in making the decision. Sometimes that is enough to keep people on the right track. If you are the most senior person in the room, you should absolutely speak up in the moment. This is especially important when you have early career employees. You are setting the tone and helping them understand how to navigate these issues in the workplace.
If you see unethical behavior in your organization, report it through the appropriate channels. Most large organizations have an ombudsman, compliance officer or human resources hotline for reporting issues. While there may not be formal hotlines in place in smaller organizations, there may be a senior leader you can contact.
In her talk, Paula cited the example of reporting the wrongdoing she witnessed to the VA Office of the Inspector General on three separate occasions. During the discussion, one member commented how hard it must have been for her to see the negative media coverage over a long period of time about an organization that she clearly loved. Paula acknowledged that it was hard because she feels so strongly about the mission of the VA, being a Navy veteran herself. But she knew she was doing the right thing for the veterans, and she had given the organization every chance to correct the situation by reporting it through official channels first. It was only after they failed to act that she took the issue to Congress where it became public.
As a member of PRSA, you have many resources available to help guide ethical behavior in your daily work. Whether the issues are traditional ones or emerging ones, you can find more information in the Ethics section of the PRSA website.
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