Ethics in Government Public Relations and Modern Challenges for Public Sector Organizations

This chapter offers an overview of ethics in the government relations process. Issues management, as the problem identification and solving process in the practice, is examined. Then, three primary approaches to using a moral analysis in issues management for ethical decision-making are discussed: utilitarianism, virtue ethics, and deontology. Modern ethical challenges for public sector organizations arising from social media and the digital environment. A deontological approach is the most rigorous form of ethical analysis and is strongly recommended alone or in concert with the other two approaches.