When one looks at the way professions are defined and organized, one finds a set of standards that define the profession and suggest ways to move the professional body forward.
One of the ways professions define themselves is to agree on a common set of standards on a global scale. In 2000, the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (GA) launched a study on ethics to examine, as a first step, all codes of ethics prescribed by the members of the GA. This culminated with the adoption at the GA Annual meeting held in Auckland in 2003 of a global code of ethics with a proposed protocol to facilitate implementation around the world. Indeed it was recognized that GA association members would require some flexibility to account for cultural differences and a set of regional of local rules which would be added to the core global code.
To ensure compliance, members of the GA are now required to adopt the code or certify that they comply with the code in order to maintain good standing with the GA. We are also in the process of translating this important document in several languages. If you have not completed your certification of compliance, it is not too late to do so.