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Journal Article 10.1: Tilley, E. (2015). The paradoxes of organizational power and public relations ethics: Insights from a feminist discourse analysis. Public Relations Inquiry, 4(1), 79-98.

Abstract: A qualitative thematic analysis of data from a 13-organization research study focusing on public relations ethics identified five main themes: first, that ethical dilemmas were frequent, widespread, and often handled in ways that practitioners themselves were uncomfortable with; second, labels and stereotypes about public relations practitioners as unscrupulous exacerbated the problem; third, hierarchies and silos of power in relationships within organizations, between organizations, and with clients contributed to the problem; fourth, there were barriers to, and inadequate channels or opportunities for, candid and forthright discussion about these hierarchies and silos, this lack typically manifesting as senior staff self-censoring or parroting optimistic organizational orthodoxy about ethics and junior staff feeling unsafe to criticize organizational processes; and fifth, practitioners used multiple coping strategies to deal with their sense of powerlessness including blaming others (particularly journalists), fatalism, reductive framing, and intentional blocking of awareness and evaluation of ethical issues. While it is possible these themes could be interpreted as evidence of public relations practitioners’ individual moral inadequacy, a broader analytical lens, taking into account the organizational and global power structures the practitioners described, suggests otherwise. Taking its cue from the power-attuned approach of feminist poststructuralists, this article argues that the data should be read as symptomatic, not causal, and that it is to the overarching operating power structures of global capitalism that public relations ethicists could most productively turn their attention if they want to identify loci for change.

Journal Article 10.2: Mishra, K., Boynton, L., & Mishra, A. (2014). Driving employee engagement: The expanded role of internal communications. International Journal of Business Communication, 51(2), 183-202.

Abstract: Increasingly, organizations and their public relations professionals are recognizing the importance of strengthening internal communication with employees. Internal communication is important for building a culture of transparency between management and employees, and it can engage employees in the organization’s priorities. This exploratory study uses findings from interviews with public relations executives to explore the growing role that internal communication plays in employee engagement. Executives employ a variety of communication methods, including face-to-face communication, to communicate with employees. The executives’ chosen communication strategies aim to build trust and engagement with employees. In doing so, public relations executives find themselves in an expanded role of fostering employee engagement.

Journal Article 10.3: Griffin, J. J., Bryant, A., & Koerber, C. P. 2014. Corporate responsibility and employee relations: From external pressure to action. Group & Organization Management, 40(3), 378-404.

Abstract: Research has traditionally portrayed voluntary corporate responsibility (CR) actions toward employees as episodic, discretionary activities that individual firms take in response to marginalized, fringe “gadflies.” In this study, which examines numerous external pressures from a firm’s institutional and task environment, our findings suggest more than simple episodic responses that vary from firm to firm, but rather a conformity of action with respect to a firm’s voluntary activities toward its employees. In the absence of explicit mandates, firms are voluntarily strengthening employee relations, especially if they are increasing employee–relations concerns. Overall, external pressures significantly affect the CR activities that firms direct toward employees.