Ethical dilemmas are everywhere, especially in the Public Relations business.
Sometimes it is hard to decipher between what should be done from an ethical stand point and what should be done from a Public Relations stand point. With every ethical dilemma, one must take all aspects of the dilemma into consideration. One must think about their ethics, beliefs and who the decision will affect. Once this is done, a decision can be confidently made and the one who made the decision can look back and stand upon their decision.
The ethical dilemma at hand is whether or not it is ethical to promote certain products that we know are bad, products that are bad in quality, unsafe and/ or things that may be used illegally. Would it be ethical to promote such products?
Some internal factors could be the company in which we are promoting, because this may hurt the company. Another is the product we are promoting, as it may or may not actually help the person. One more internal factor is the consumer whether they get

hurt using this product or use it illegally. The last internal factor would be the people that work for the company in which we are promoting, because it could put their jobs in danger.
A few external factors would be values we had adopted from our family, friends and or religion. We may also think about what our co workers, and/ or boss may do.
Many different key values surround this situation. First of all, promoting a product that is deemed unsafe, harmful, or that may be used for illegal purposes with our knowledge is not loyal. It is not loyal to our company as we would be reporting something that could potentially harm our business in the long run. It is not loyal to our company, and it is not loyal to the consumer as we are promoting something of bad quality or something that maybe used for illegal purposes. Integrity is another key value that surrounds this situation. If we report such deflated products, this could affect the honesty and integrity of the company negatively.
Numerous people would be affected by someone promoting a product that was of bad quality, unsafe or could possibly be used for something illegal. The company that produces these products would be affected, as they may sell a lot of the products at first, but will eventually have to put out recalls. This hurts the company financially and makes the company look bad in the public eye. More people would be less likely to buy products from them again. The person who promoted the products would be affected, if

they promoted the products knowing the information at hand. This could possibly make them loose their job and there fore, their families would be affected as well. The consumer that bought these products would be affected, as it could harm them, fall apart on them, or could get them into trouble with the law. When a person gets in trouble with the law it affects the police officer and ultimately that tax payer. If something was to be used illegally, there are countess numbers of people in the public it could hurt. When people get hurt, they must see a doctor as well, therefore doctors and nurses would be affected. This may also affect the media, as they would report the stories about the product. Public relations owe a duty to the public, to report and promote things that are beneficial for the public, not harmful. If the people in public relations are going to promote products, events or stories they must think about how this will affect the public.
If the public relations people are going to report on the issues that will negatively affect people, then what is the use for these people?
For one to promote such a product that is either harmful or may be used for illegal purposes, is wrong. It is a different story if one does not know that the product is harmful and promotes it. In this case, the person promoting such a product does know of the product faults. Therefore it would be considered not only wrong, but disloyal and dishonest as previously stated. Not only would ones character be put to the question as to whether or not they have character but their job would also be in question. Not only does promoting such a product hurt others, and defy honest and loyalty to the company, it also makes the one promoting it look as if they are not fit for such a job.

Decisions are always hard to make, however this one is fairly simple. If I were put in the position where I was asked to report on something that was harmful, cheaply made, or that would be used for illegal purposes, I would simply decline. Perhaps, I would suggest to the company on how to make the product better, safer, or point out that is going to be used illegally. If they already knew these things when I pointed it out, then shame on them. However, I still will not promote such a product.
All in all, to promote such a product would be wrong on my part, if I were asked to promote a product such as this. We are faced with ethical dilemmas everyday, and whether it is work or life, we should stop and examine all sides of the dilemma and make a solid choice. If one will think of their own ethics and values they are going against, who promoting these things will harm and who is counting on us as public relations professionals we will see the decision is easy to make. The values of loyalty and honesty were put to the test in this ethical situation. It was also taken into consideration how many people this would affect. After all of that, we in public relations must think about who we owe a duty to, and that is the public we report to.