ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to provide program managers with both the means of analysis needed for complex ethical dilemmas and the ways to articulate their rationale to others in those sorts of situations. It presents an overview of both the ethical thinking and the methods for rigorous analyses of ethical dilemmas in government public relations and public affairs. Public relations practitioners today report that they are being called upon to counsel the leaders of their organizations on ethical dilemmas. The chapter reviews how managers can identify and spot those ethical challenges before they become major crises through using the communication function called issues management. The public policy issues faced by governments, legislators, regulatory agencies, and their counterparts at various levels of government across any national setting must be monitored and managed with vigilance. Once an option is chosen as the best for how to manage an issue, a strategy surrounding that option is created by the government public relations professional.
