A preliminary report to the Global Alliance of Public Relations and communications management associations (including enforcement issues). Compiled February 2002... Issued here October 2002.

Global Alliance Code of Ethics – Phase 2

Executive Summary

* For the purpose of this report and to make it easier for referencing only, I have taken the liberty to refer to the Global Alliance as the GA.

Notes contained in the minutes of the June 2001 Global Alliance meeting held in Stockholm indicated that CPRS under the direction of Jean Valin, APR, Fellow CPRS, would continue to refine the matrix on the Codes of Ethics of countries taking part in the Global Alliance. See Appendix “A” of the pdf download file below.

In the initial report prepared in the Spring of 2001, 14 organization (including the Conféderation européenne des relations publique (CERP) – 18 national associations from 15 countries throughout Europe, responded to a call to submit their codes of ethics with a view to determining where common areas exists. A matrix was prepared which all of you received last summer. Two further countries have been added to the list.

Additional questions were forwarded to you earlier this early for Phase II of the ethics benchmarking project. Question asked during this stage referred to enforcement of the code; numbers and nature of complaints received on an annual basis; what action/sanctions if any were taken; and what were the consequences.

Responses to Phase II were minimal and an evaluation of those that were submitted indicated that each member country had enforcement procedures built into their Codes, however, very few complaints were received. 

Most countries indicated that because membership in their organizations was voluntary, it was extremely difficult to censure or sanction anyone who did not subscribe to the codes. One or two organizations admitted that the extreme penalty was to expel an individual from membership.

The report that is contained in Appendix “B" of the pdf download file below, endeavors to show similarities among members of GA.

In addition, I have attempted to put to paper a very rough draft of a Code of Ethics that each member country of the GA may be able to ascribe too. This is merely a starting point and I suspect would need several re-writes before being acceptable to all member countries. The draft is heavily based on materials received from IPRA and PRSA’s new Code adopted by them in 2001. I have tried to address many of the common areas of concern facing member organizations of the GA.

This draft would be the basis of a universal Code and would require Member Countries to attach an addendum to address specific concerns within
its own organization.

On behalf of the project team,
Don J. LaBelle, APR, Fellow CPRS 

To download the full report, in pdf format, please click here:  pdf file