Creativity vs. Ethics: Russian and U.S. Public Relations Students’ Perceptions of Professional Leadership and Leaders

• Main Authors: Elina Erzikova, Bruce K. Berger
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Insitute for Public Relations 2011-07-01
• Series: Public Relations Journal
• Online Access: https://prjournal.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2011ErzikovaBerger.pdf

The purpose of this study is to investigate possible similarities and differences in American and Russian public relations students’ (N=377) interpretations of such concepts as leaders and leadership in public relations. Three open-ended questions were designed to examine the participants’ perceptions of ethical issues and leadership in PR practice. After American (n=196) and Russian (n=181) students were surveyed, the authors coded their essay-like responses in accordance with emerged themes. American and Russian students were similar in their perceptions of the public relations profession as prestigious and glamorous and PR leaders as superior to other leaders. Significant differences emerged between American and Russian participants on the three main issues—professional ethics, creativity, and the nature of leadership. American students believed that public relations is inherently ethical and societyoriented, and they regarded moral values as the most important values for public relations leaders. Russian students perceived PR as an art that requires a talent, creative thinking, and knowledge of psychological methods of influence. U.S respondents believed that public relations practice is transparent, whereas Russian participants considered public relations hidden persuasion. American respondents perceived public relations leadership as the ability to effectively collaborate with followers, whereas Russian participants thought that public relations leadership is the ability to dominate and impose leaders’ opinions on team members. The fact that American and Russian public relations students might possess an idealized perception of the profession calls for an assessment of teachers’ instruction to create a more balanced and realistic image of the profession.