Leeds Beckett academic's book explores 'Communication Ethics in a Connected World'

In his book, ‘Communication Ethics in a Connected World’, Professor Ralph Tench, Professor in Communications Education at Leeds Beckett University, brings together international researchers’ different perspectives on how to understand and deal with ethical  challenges in a complex and interconnected world.

Professor Tench, who edited the book with Professor Andrea Catellani and Professor Ansgar Zerfass from the Université Catholique de Louvain and University of Leipzig respectively, said: “This book was written from my involvement as a Board Director of the European Public Relations Research and Education Association (EUPRERA) and as a result of the research Congress held in Brussels, September 2014. The book integrates a range of different international empirical and theoretical insights on the theme of ethics but in a technologically connected and networked world.

“The book has direct relevance to academics, students of public relations and strategic communication and also practitioners who are interested in challenging new thinking and experiences of how social and technological environments are shaping and influencing their practice.”

Research contributions have come from numerous European countries and other continents and include general concepts about communication and public relations ethics as well as corporate social responsibility, the specific situation of communication and PR ethics in various European countries and insights on recent research in public relations, including employee communication and engagement.

Professor Tench added: “Numerous issues are discussed in the book; from impact on fields of practice such as internal communications, public affairs and diplomacy to regional and cultural variations in the application of the communication discipline and its implications on ethics and ethical frameworks.

“The key issues currently facing PR practitioners, academics and students, are understanding the role of communication within organisational structures and linking communication strategies more closely with business drivers and strategies. Inevitably this links to the theme of this current book, which is the role and application of communication in a changing technology landscape with ever increasing complexity of networks and relationships that need to be managed.”

Professor Tench is senior member of the Faculty of Business and Law where he directs large research projects such as the current EU Lifelong Learning Programme into Deliberative Engagement with small to medium sized enterprises across Europe.  He is a co-lead author for the largest longitudinal transnational research project in communication, the European Communication Monitor, now in its 10^th year.  He has published five other books in the last three years as well as numerous international journal articles on issues ranging from corporate responsibility to trends in strategic communication management.  He is also a current Board Director of EUPRERA, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy as well as being on the editorial board of 5 international journals.

‘Communication Ethics in a Connected World’ is published by Peter Lang.