Professional Ethics & Standards Flashcards
7 cards from real APR practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Professional Ethics & Standards flashcards as text
A PR practitioner discovers their client is planning to announce misleading financial projections. What is the PRSA Code-compliant response?
Answer: Advise the client against the release and refuse to distribute false information
The PRSA Code obligates practitioners to be honest and to refuse to distribute false or misleading information on behalf of clients.
Which PRSA Code provision addresses the duty to safeguard confidences and private information of clients?
Answer: Safeguarding Confidences
The Safeguarding Confidences provision requires practitioners to protect private client information and not reveal it without permission.
An APR practitioner is asked to create a front group that obscures the true sponsor of a public campaign. This violates which core PRSA principle?
Answer: Disclosure/Transparency
Creating front groups to hide the real sponsor violates the PRSA principle of disclosure and transparency about the identity of clients.
Under the PRSA Member Statement of Professional Values, what does 'advocacy' mean in an ethical context?
Answer: Serving as responsible advocates for clients while respecting the public interest
Ethical advocacy means serving as a responsible advocate for clients while maintaining respect for the broader public interest.
A practitioner accepts a gift from a vendor who is bidding for a contract the practitioner influences. Which PRSA Code provision is most directly implicated?
Answer: Conflicts of Interest
Accepting gifts from vendors who seek favorable decisions creates a conflict of interest, violating the Conflicts of Interest provision.
Which statement best describes the PRSA's enforcement mechanism for its Code of Ethics?
Answer: The Code relies primarily on voluntary compliance and peer accountability
The PRSA Code is voluntary; enforcement relies on members' own commitment to ethical conduct and professional peer accountability rather than legal penalties.
A PR practitioner working in-house at a corporation realizes their employer is directing them to suppress legitimate safety concerns from the public. The ethical course of action is to:
Answer: Raise the concern internally, and if unresolved, consider withdrawing from the assignment
Practitioners should first attempt to resolve ethical issues internally; if the employer refuses to act responsibly, withdrawal from the assignment may be necessary.