Culture influence on educational public relations officers' ethical judgments: A cross-national study

This paper reports the results of a questionnaire sent to 573 officers practicing public relations in higher education institutions in eight countries-officers from different cultures. The officers were asked to state their opinions on how ethical or unethical were the 25 hypothetical practices used in the study. Based on the findings, difference of culture produced differences in the officers' ethical judgments. The results of the study enhance the idea of cultural relativism and this is seen as a challenge to globalizing public relations ethics.