ABSTRACT
As businesses or public agencies are recently strengthening
their PR sectors to perform their organizational obj ective, the PR
work has surfaced as the core part of an organization. Thus, the importance
of PR is being raised, and PR working-level people are increasing
their awareness of the professionalism in PR. Likewise, with the recent
domestic PR industry growth, the significance of the PRs social responsibility
and ethical aspect is ever growing. In Korea, research has thus far
been conducted briskly on the relationship between the press and PR
working-level people, and on professionalism of PR working-level people,
but the responsibility and ethics of PR working-level people have
not been discussed appropriately.
Hence, this research seeks to be aware of the need for studies
on the ethical aspect of PR, find out the difference in the awareness
between frontline PR working-level people and college students studying
PR ethics, and thus contribute to securing the social responsibility
of PR and work out measures to have sound PR ethics in place.
To this end, this research has analyzed existing researches and
then presented the following three topics:
<Research topic 1>: How different is the awareness of the
social responsibility of PR between PR working-level people and
college students?
<Research topic 2>: How different is the awareness of the
PR ethics between PR working-level people and college students?
<Research topic 3>: How different is the awareness of the
PR ethics status between PR working-level people and college student?
To resolve the above three issues, we conducted surveys on 60 PR
working-level people and college students, respectively, finally
got effective responses from 51 PR working-level people and 57 college
students, and analyzed the results using the statistical program
SPSS 9.0 as well as the analysis method t-test. The research results
are summed up as follows:
First, as the result of research on <Research topic 1>, respondents
generally were found to be aware of the importance of the social
responsibility of PR, and the two groups showed a significant difference
in two questions PR working-level people work with an attitude to
protect customers and the nations people and 'Specified PR ethics
criteria trigger social and responsible acts for PR working-level
people.
As the result of research on <Research topic 2>, respondents
generally said that they evaluated the countrys PR ethics as not
so high. Regarding the awareness of PR ethics, the two groups both
evaluated the PR works sociality, responsibility, and publicity
as high,but gave somewhat negative evaluation to actual awareness
of PR ethics, thus showing a contrast . However, the two groups
showed not so a significant difference in the awareness of PR ethics,
while PR working-level people had somewhat positive awareness of
PR ethics compared to college students.
As the result of research on <Research topic 3>, respondents
evaluated the countrys PR ethics as considerably negative. The two
groups showed a significant difference in two items regarding the
PR ethics status. Likewise, college students showed a more negative
awareness than PR working-level people regarding questions In connection
with PR work, PR working-level people somewhat accept the external
pressure and temptations from journalists and 'In connection with
PR work, PR working-level people are requested by third parties
to shun reporting facts but make exaggerated reports than PR working-level
people. As such, the two groups both had a negative awareness of
the PR ethics status, and in particular college students had a more
negative awareness.
In any sectors, in order to secure professionalism, working-level
people should secure ethics with a priority. Notably, the PR sector
is seen as having somewhat professionalism through the recent rapid
development of PR. Thus, we must now double our efforts to have
the right PR ethics in place.
To this end, most importantly, PR working-level people are required
to have a right awareness of ethics and observe and practice PR
ethics. However, to have PR ethics in place and develop PR in the
right direction, one partys efforts alone cannot achieve this. PR
working-level people, other PR work-related groups, and all environmental
elements surrounding PR, must all concur and endeavor to have PR
ethics in place so as to secure the professionalism and ethics in
PR.
We expect this research to contribute to having PR ethics in place
in Korea, and there would be diverse researches on PR ethics thus
leading to having PR ethics in place and helping PR securing its
position as a professionalism area.
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