Comparing/Contrasting CIPR, PRSA, and IABC Codes of Ethics

In reading through the codes of ethics for each of these organizations, there seemed to be a few re-occurring themes. Things such as sensitivity to cultural values and beliefs, as well as personal taste were found in all three codes. Accuracy in the relaying of information, whether it be between businesses, to the public, when dealing with the media, and so forth also seemed to be a major priority. PRSA and CIPR held similar codes of ethics/conduct, while IABC seemed to focus primarily on ethics within business communications. IABCs code of ethics contained three main principles to which their members must adhere, and these principles are as follows:

1. Professional communication must be legal.
2. Professional communication must be ethical.
3. Professional communication must be in good taste.

(www.IABC.com)

In the preamble to the code, it is stated that the code of ethics that is to follow is based on the assumption that "just societies are governed by a profound respect for human rights and the rule of the law" (www.IABC.com) . When looking at the preamble, it seems as though the code is to be based primarily on what is legal, when what is legal may not necessarily spell out what is ethical. It is my opinion that the code of ethics contained in the IABC web site falls slightly short of what a code of ethics, especially in a field such as public relations in which ethical practices have in the near past been a source of contention, should be.
In addition, IABCs code of ethics seems to be limited to ethical practices within the realms of communication. Both PRSA and the CIPR integrate things such as continuing education and research (PRSA) and competency (CIPR) into their models.
All three models, however, hold a policy that, should a member be found, after a period of deliberation, to have broken the code of ethics, membership to the organization in question will be terminated.