WSU public relations students participate in professional ethics workshop...

About 40 Wayne State public relations students - all members of WSU's chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) - worked with agency and business professionals at a September 27, 2013, workshop to arrive at best practices in dealing with real world ethics issues.

Detroit's chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) hosted the event at UofM Dearborn in honor of PRSA Ethics Month. The workshop was titled Fire Prevention Tips: Learn How Not to Get Burned When Ethics Spark a Conflict. It focused on how professionals deal with ethical issues as part of their jobs and included tips to take back to the workplace.

Four public relations professionals shared case studies of real-life ethical dilemmas their actual clients faced. Groups of students, guided by a professional at each table, developed a response to each dilemma. After each group came to a consensus and presented their proposed solutions, speakers described how the real scenario had been managed in its actual occurrence. The workshop also was an opportunity for students to network with area professionals.

WSU PR student Brian Hutcheson found the event to be engaging. "Each scenario had a unique twist and sparked fascinating conversations about how to approach an unexpected controversy in the most ethical way," he said. "There were no easy answers."

"It is sometimes a challenge for public relations professionals to convince clients that the ethical route is always the best one for both the organization and its stakeholders," said Shelly Najor, WSU's PRSSA faculty advisor and a member of PRSA Detroit's Ethics Committee. The PRSA Detroit Ethics Committee unveiled its new PRSA Detroit Ethics Quiz and encouraged members to commit to PRSA Detroit's Ethics Honors Code.