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This article discusses the possibility that the public attitude toward any business is largely influenced by a stereotype. It indicates that language factors located by communications research probably do not apply in corporate-image studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Good international public relations can greatly aid a firm and increase its profit. This article discusses the building of an I.P.R. program, the appropriateness of such programs, and the obligations of international corporations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we investigate investor relations (IR) scholarship across business-centered and communication-centered fields of study from 1994 to 2016. This investigation’s aims were to examine development almost a quarter of a century of IR scholarship and to use that to explore how to improve future IR practices and studies. We found that scholarly research in IR and public relations (PR) failed to display many signs of interaction with each other, rarely intersected with other disciplines, and reveal considerable potential for developing synergies from their existing differences. In conclusion, we argue that the current academic insularity also quarantines the practitioners. To address these issues we propose specific future collaborations to improve both IR’s scholarly output and its practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of issues in business news on corporate reputation are often assumed, but less often put to a test. To study these effects, this study combines a recent extension of agenda-setting theory—the second level of agenda setting—with issue ownership theory. A content analysis of business news is linked to a panel survey to measure corporate associations and corporate reputation. The results provide empirical evidence both for the second level of agenda setting and for issue ownership, thereby showing that theories from the field of political communication are valuable for understanding the effects of issues in business news. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper advocates a morally/ethically defensible “organic theory” of public relations that is in opposition to the public relations literature that predominantly suggests that only those publics that have direct consequences for the organization are publics with whom public relations practitioners should deal. A biological metaphor can be used in supporting this “organic” theory of public relations in which the organization is an organ and society is a body as a whole. This paper concludes that the process of public relations, as well as the outcomes, is critically important in maintaining a metabolic balance and harmony within society itself—a requisite for the health and well-being of nation-states, corporations and nongovernmental organizations. Much of this process involves communication as a ritual, rather than communication as transmission of information; it involves interpersonal communication, rather than mass communication. It involves relationship-building as opposed to persuasion. Much of this process has been found traditionally in Arab culture, and these rich traditions should be recognized and examined for their utility and value in developing an Arab model of public relations to help resolve the plethora of 21st Century issues that threaten global stability and ultimately the well-being of all cultures and societies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Whether or not a public relations code of ethics should be enforced, among others, has become one of the most widely controversial topics, especially after the Hill and Knowlton case in 1992. I take the position that ethical codes should be enforced and address this issue from eight aspects: (a) Is a code of ethics an absolute prerequisite of professionalism? (b) Should problems of rhetoric per se in a code of ethics become a rationale against code enforcement? (c) Is a code of ethics of any significance? (d) Is the ethical code is enforceable, (e) Would the licensure system interfere with the freedom of expression of the practitioners? (f) Do PR practitioners choose to be ethical (if they do) because they have to be or because they want to be? (g) Would the public interest be virtually assured as a result of a public relations? and (h) Can education in ethics overcome the ethical problems in public relations? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the theoretical framework on corporate social reporting. Although that corporate social reporting has been analysed from different perspectives, legitimacy theory currently is the dominating perspective. Authors employing this framework suggest that social and environmental disclosures are responses to both public pressure and increased media attention resulting from major social incidents such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the chemical leak in Bhopal (India). More specifically, those authors argue that the increase in social disclosures represent a strategy to alter the public's perception about the legitimacy of the organisation. Therefore, we suggest using corporate communication as an overarching framework to study corporate social reporting in which "corporate image" and "corporate identity" are central. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the ideas of Communication and Accountability in relation to professional discourse and the teaching of Professionals. Language does not merely express values, but embodies values, without which it could not function as a medium of communication -- Grice's Cooperative Principle. In practice communication and accountability have become separated, as have ethics and communication in the schools, and this is reflected in assumptions about science and scientific language which characterise professional discourses. The modern professions exist on a continuum between two extremes of collegiate and corporate values, with a trend toward the latter. The place on this continuum determines what stance an organisation takes in its attempts to communicate with its publics. An analysis of the assumptions which underlie the discourses of academic economics and public relations shows how the dissociation of values and communication works in practice. The implications of this are that a greater awareness of the values of language through interpretive skills and an understanding of rhetoric and informal logic would go some way to reunite communication and accountability in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public interest statement contained in the PRSA Code of Professional Standards is unduly vague and provides neither a working definition of "public interest" nor any guidance for the performance of what most professions consider to be a primary value. This paper addresses the question of what might constitute public relations service in the public interest, and calls for more stringent guidelines to be developed whereby the profession may advance its service goals more clearly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses public relations and whether and how the field should be professionally regulated. Professionalism in public relations has arisen out of a renewed concern over ethical principles. The Public Relations Society of America has made a Code of Professional Standards. The author suggests that public relations specialists need a clearer definition of the roles, functions and purposes of public relations followed by a definitive code of conduct addressing those concepts specifically.

Abstract: This paper outlines the ways in which various literatures and exemplary organizations (Business for Social Responsibility, the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, and the Global Compact) define, set principles, and provide frameworks for corporate social responsibility (CSR). It also explores British broadcasters’ accountability mechanisms and the extent to which U.K. broadcasting activist NGOs view them as adequate CSR. The activists studied were six British broadcasting-centered and Scottish cultural NGOs that lobby in the EU and at home. The data suggested that these activists’ public relations has pro-social, pro-democratic effects and that the CSR/NGO literatures and organizational frameworks provided may enable broadcasting activists and targets to more effectively pursue CSR. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]