Public
relations is generally regarded as a bad thing by consumers, whose cynicism has been aroused by recent events involving major U.S.
corporations and cultural 'institutions' such as Martha Stewart. However, within the last generation, consumers said they were willing to refuse to purchase products or services from any corporations not perceived to be a
corporate good citizen. The question for public relations and for corporations globally is whether it is possible to make corporate actions match the good reputations their public relations departments attempt to create. In
short, can the current disconnect between perceptions of corporate behavior and the corporations' misbehavior with concurrent avowals of rectitude be aligned? There are
cases in which citizen action has brought those elements into
alignment. In other cases-notably Thailand-the government has short-circuited the profit intentions of a major
Corporation to provide for the citizens. However, in far too many cases, the governments look the other way while corporations extolling their own virtues nonetheless participate in human rights-questionable activities. This study identifies the nature of some of the disparities between corporate public relations and corporate socially responsible-or irresponsible-behavior and suggest scenarios that might bring both into alignment. Outline Introduction Methodology Literature Review Findings Background: Burma Campaign UK Aon Corporation Ericsson Ivanhoe Mines Rolls-Royce Unocal: Conclusion