My Personal Code of Ethics Essay -- Ethics in Public Relations

Preamble I, Rob Geis, commit myself to the code and values that I am about to describe. As a person I have vast life experiences that have affected who I am and what I believe in. As a Public Relations professional it seems that our industry is often under ridicule for being unethical and known as spin doctors. As an ethical student and person I consider these key values as guiding stones to my applied ethical choices. Family, friends, school and religion have all made me the person I am today and influence my ethical choices. When it comes to family I was raised to be respectful of my elders and those around me; however I was also taught to speak my mind when I did not agree. Growing up I met many people who were not allowed to say no to their parents or elders because it was disrespectful. I believe this trait helped me be more open with teachers and family overall. I was also raised to respect women, which is something you do not see often in American culture anymore. I was raised to open doors for women and let them have my seat. As a kid people do things because this is the way people are taught; once people grow up you realize showing people respect is the right thing to do so you continue to do so. Respect is important; however the most influential values I learned were kindness and the power of knowledge. As a kid, I was taught to work hard and have fun later; we were not allowed to leave the house to party or go out unless we had all our homework done. This meant learning to think critically and efficiently in order to do great work in a small amount of time. My parents dropped out of college so that they could give my sisters and I opportunities they didn't have, for this reason I have learned the value of har... ...st of my values I feel only a virtuous person would follow them because it would make them a better person. Works Cited Klein, JÃ ¼rgen, "Francis Bacon", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = . Locke, J. (199). Idea of power. An essay concerning human understanding (p. 358). Raleigh, N.C.: Alex Catalogue. Chilton, B., & Neusner, J. (2008). The Golden Rule: The Ethics of Reciprocity in World Religions. London: Continuum. Kraut, R. (2001, May 1). Aristotle's Ethics.Stanford University. Retrieved January 26, 2014, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/#VirDefConInc Parsons, Patricia. "The Trouble with Rules." Ethics in public relations a guide to best practice. 2nd ed. London: Kogan Page, 2008. 36-37. Print.