Crisis Management and Ethics: Moving Beyond the Public-Relations-Person-as-Corporate-Conscience Construct

Abstract

Over the past 40 years, scholars and practitioners of public relations have often cast public relations workers in the role of the public relations-person-as-corporate-conscience (PRPaCC). This work, however, maintains that this construct is so problematic that invoking it is of negligible use in addressing ethical issues that emerge during a crisis. In fact, a complex crisis, such as the Jahi McMath “brain death” case at Children’s Hospital Oakland (CHO, now UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland), demonstrates the need to abandon the PRPaCC construct to better engage affected stakeholders, including “outsiders” to the organization, who often determine whether an organization is facing a crisis. Through an examination of both the concept of the PRPaCC and the McMath crisis, this work makes the case for moving beyond the PRPaCC construct in favor of a more modest role for the public relations person: facilitating widespread ethical deliberation and discussion throughout an organization, potentially helping the organization alleviate concerns that contribute to crises.

Notes

^1. Although Veil (2011) discussed “mindful learning” as applied to pre-crisis situations, for this work her comments about being aware of routines and then adjusting for what does not appear to be “right” is certainly pertinent to the post-crisis analysis offered in this work.

^2. See http://www.gofundme.com/Jahi-Mcmath