Can PR ever be ethical

The PR industry has always been brought under the spotlight when it comes to the question of ethics in this profession.

The lecture by Michael O’Brian on PR and Ethics unpacked some of the key issues that practitioners sometimes find themselves faced with. She also looked at ethical theories to best illustrate her point.
The cognitive theory - used by philosophers to define the view that there are actual and objective moral truths and absolutes (i.e we can make firm statements one way or another about whether something is good or bad, right or wrong).

Non - cognitive theory - states that morality is purely subjective or is bound up with the specific cultural context of individuals. Non-cognitivists say that there are no moral absolutes, only beliefs, attitudes and opinions.
(For further reading: Exploring Public Relations, Tench & Yeomans, 2006)

Picking up from her discussion it seems as though a PR practitioner's duty is about upholding and protecting public interest.
When it comes to ethics in PR there are various elements that a practitioner has to take into account:
Trust
Ethical guardian
Community building and conflict resolution
Duty to self, profession and society

Given the above accounts a number of questions therefore arise how does a practitioner hold a decision when there's conflict of interest - since public relations is about building and maintaining relationships.
The UK CIPR Code of Conduct states that conflicts of interest (or circumstances that may give rise to them) must be declared in writing to clients, potential clients and employers as soon as they arise.
The Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA) states that ‘a member shall not represent conflicting or competitive interests without the express of the parties concerned’.
Another issue is how does a practitioner balance telling confidential information to the public and safeguarding the employers interests? Given the fact that it is the PR job is to protect the reputation of the employer and is bounded by the codes of ethics.
Ever imagined working for a company and discover serious misconduct. I strongly believe that if an incident has serious repercussions a PR practitioner has a responsibility to act upon that because it is in the public interest. As a practitioner, you would have chosen the right action maybe not the right outcome in terms of loosing your job but at least you would have done the right thing.
It may seem easy to answer these questions; however, these are decisions which practitioners are faced with on a daily basis of which at times can come with detrimental consequences.

Tench and Yeomans (2006, 290) state that ‘it is important for an organization to be represented by someone with who is ethical and professional. It says something about the values of the organization itself. Stakeholders are more likely to trust the organization and believe what it says if the person representing it is regarded as trustworthy’.

On page 144, Kevin Moloney, states that most PR people do not talk of ethics when doing their work: they talk of successful outcomes, keeping principals content, and more profit or salary. I would like to differ with Moloney's view point. I believe that a practitioner operates within the frameworks or principles of an organization they serve. Decisions made by the practitioner would be shaped by what the CEO dictates. Without detracting from the fact that a practitioners job is to advise the CEO or Managing Director of an organization, it is not to take company/organizational decisions but to provide communication advice. However, as I have stated above a practitioner would act ethically in pressing situations rather than being driven by profits.