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Codes of ethics are a moral reflection centred on the duties and rights of a given profession that establishes the minimum moral standards required. These codes imply self-regulation and therefore an individual application on the conduct of professionals. In this chapter we reflect on the main values that guide PR practice based on Schwartz's theory of basic human values, which measures universal values that are recognised throughout all major cultures. A qualitative and quantitative content analysis was carried out of the codes of ethics of six national PR and communication associations and of the Global Alliance's code. The ethics codes were analysed to study the priorities of values stressed by PR professional associations and to highlight the motivational values that may be present in them. Findings show that values contained in the codes of ethics are based on a system of 32 human values; three of the values – the common good, integrity and truthfulness – are identified in all the codes; motivational values relating to universalism, benevolence and conformity are also covered to varying degrees in all the texts. It has been confirmed that the Global Alliance code is the only text that deals with the values of all the motivations described by Schwartz. The PR codes of ethics are based on a list of common ethical values of a collective nature, which are mostly contemplated by the Global Alliance; the main difference at the national level is that Latin countries include in their texts more principles of ethical universalism.

This paper examines the evolution of two separate fields, which are essentially concerned with the same issues but are framed by different academic and professional disciplines and practice. It appears that public affairs management researchers often fail to take into account parallel literature from the discipline of public relations — even when purporting to offer an interdisciplinary approach. Equally, the public relations literature frequently fails to speak the language of business management and narrowly defines such key business activities as marketing, policy and strategy. In this paper, the authors present evidence prescribing the differing evolution of public affairs and public relations. They compare and contrast public affairs and public relations in terms of their definitions, scholarship, survey evidence, leading writers, academic and professional associations and educational programme content. They conclude by offering several suggestions for closing the gap between the two areas.

This paper explores the creation of a global protocol on ethics in public relations. It begins by looking into the global ethical debate. It examines existing codes of ethics of a selection of public relations institutes and associations around the world, provides comparative analysis of these codes and discusses the pros and cons of their enforcement. It suggests that the immediate way forward in a highly litigious world is to provide some values‐based guidance to member associations together with access to an evolving database of case studies illustrating ethical problems. In the medium term more effective sanctions may be possible.

This paper brings together new and existing resource material to provide a detailed profile of the regulatory environments affecting the practice of public relations in the UK, Italy and South Africa. It is hoped that by contextualising the social, political and economic factors specific to each country, readers will be more acutely aware of similarities and differences between PR practices in each country. This approach aims to help drive PR policy development by providing a useful template for further national and continental PR regulatory environment mapping.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of the history and development of public relations education in the USA and Canada.

The research methodology used for this paper is the historical/critical analysis approach.

This paper finds more differences than similarities between public relations educational development in the two countries. The first PR course at a US university was taught at the University of Illinois in 1920 and the first US degree program was offered by Boston University in 1947. The first Canadian university PR course was taught at McGill University n 1948 and the first university degree was offered by Mount Saint Vincent University in 1977. Although PR courses and degrees are offered at a small number of élite US universities, the greatest recent PR curriculum development has been at smaller, second‐ or third‐tier institutions. While a few Canadian universities offer courses and degree programs in the field, most of Canada's recent PR program growth has been at colleges rather than at universities.

Rightly or wrongly, academic institutions often look to North America for direction when it comes to establishing and developing public relations education programs. A number of factual inaccuracies about public relations education history have frequently surfaced in books and journal articles. This paper corrects a number of those inaccuracies and in doing so improves public relations scholarship.

A thorough review of the literature suggests that this paper represents the only journal‐length piece about the history and development of public relations education in Canada and the USA.

This paper aims to encourage PR practitioners to appreciate their role as the pivot of their organisation’s reputation management. It discusses the importance of codes of ethics, claiming that these should be reviewed by public relations associations every 4‐5 years. Good conduct is essential for every PR practitioner as a reputation manager, and PR associations must ensure that codes of ethics are enforced. PR associations should address the challenge posed by the boom in the labour markets for PR practitioners by ensuring that all practitioners are well trained.

This paper discusses the importance and benefits for students of an outside the classroom learning experience, attending an event presentation and workshop organized as part of a class assignment with the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) and industry guest speakers. This study showcases MEPRA’s outreach attempts to students of public relations and communications, which turned into a learning process for the students where not only was the learning outcome of the course achieved, but also the engagement with the MEPRA empowered the students. Data was obtained from an exploratory questionnaire sent to all students who attended the event. The sample included 75 surveys, of which 57 were deemed usable. The results of the survey indicate that the greatest gain for the students was related to awareness and knowledge (information and cognition) about the subject matter gained from the presentation by industry guest speakers at the event. This paper provides insights into the importance of fostering collaborations between a professional association and students of a federal government university in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). The study suggests that future activities driven by students, the professional association and faculty can contribute to developing professionalism in a growing profession in the UAE, ultimately leading to an effective learning environment. This study also emphasizes the importance of experiential learning in an environment where students come from conservative, close-knit families.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the emergence and development of public relations in Italy between 1945 and 1960. Its aim is to examine the main actors (corporate and political) involved in the process, how they were influenced by the USA and the emergence of professional associations devoted to expanding the field

The paper is based on research conducted in US and Italian archives and libraries. It analyzes primary sources concerning corporations, government agencies and professional associations involved in promoting public relations in post‐war Italy, such as the United States Information Service, Standard Oil (NJ), Fiat, Piaggio, Olivetti, Pirelli, Intersind.

This paper argues that the introduction of public relations in postwar Italy was strongly influenced by US companies and government agencies, which had a considerable impact on the emergence of professional associations. It also looks at the specific Italian definitions of public relations and points out that in Italy the field of public relations emphasized the importance of “style” and culture over that of marketing, and was often carried out by an array of “humanists” (poets, graphic designers, and writers).

This paper is one of the first studies about the history of public relations in Italy. It points out the peculiarity of the Italian case, by showing the intersection between the terms “propaganda” and “public relations” in a country that had experienced 20 years of Fascist rule.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the leadership skills and competencies defined in the Pathways to the Profession and understand the value senior corporate communications managers place on those skills and competencies and how senior-level corporate communicators demonstration of those skills and competencies.

Institutional review board approval was obtained for a qualitative research design based on focus groups conducted in four Canadian cities with 25 senior corporate communicators, human resources professionals, and general business managers.

This research has validated the competencies and credentials for senior-level corporate communications and public relations executives as highlighted in the Pathways to the Profession framework. It has also provided the profession with an understanding of the value senior public relations and organizational managers place on professional association membership and professional and academic credentials. This research is an important contribution to the growing body of knowledge on competency frameworks as professional associations, such as the Canadian Public Relations Society, take leadership positions in providing educational institutions with sets of standards for public relations and corporate communications education in Canada.

This research will help the public relations and corporate communications profession provide guidance to educational institutions programming for senior-level public relations and communications management education based on quantifiable data on the value executives place on a particular set of skills and competencies.

This is the first study of its kind that examines the perceived competencies and skills of Canadian senior public relations/communications management leadership. Further this research sought to assess the value of academic and professional credentials necessary for participation in executive leadership roles.