Social responsibility in public relations: A multi-step theory

Abstract

The pressure on public relations practitioners to adopt a posture of “social responsibility” has steadily increased as both consumers, clients, and management look for more harmony in their interrelationships. A great deal of the desire for socially responsible conduct in public relations has come from within the profession itself. Donald K. Wright surveyed a sample of the Texas Public Relations Association to plot their reactions to constraints placed upon them by the groups for whom they work and by public opinion. Most agreed that the level of social responsibility rises as cooperation by management with its PR colleagues increases, and as the public relations practitioner's role in decision making is broadened.