Enhancing your Ethos and Public Relations

Ethos is all about how a person is able to fit in with a group a people and fit into the expectations that the group has.  Ethos varies for all types of groups. One example that I like, is church vs. bar. When you go to church or interact with the people that you know from their you are going to act a certain way. You will try to uphold yourself as a good *insert religion here* man/woman. If your religion frowns upon birth control you aren't going to purchase it at the store where you often run into those people. You want to ensure that that specific group sees you as a certain way, the way they view as right. If you go to a bar or club, you aren't going to act the same way you would if you were at church. The bar has a different set of expectations than that of the church. Ethos is all about fitting in.

Public Relations is a huge industry today, with so many public figures trying to create the best impression on the public that they can it is no surprise. Public Relations ties in with rhetoric and media so much. Particularly when it comes to ethos, or even more specifically enhancing them. Public relations and enhancing your ethos are practically the same. Perhaps the Greeks use of enhancing ethos was the world's first form of PR. The basic strategies that one can use in order to enhance their ethos include practical wisdom, personal sacrifice or a reluctant conclusion. Public Relations is all about controlling the spread of information, and this can also be tied to the " Three Men make A Tiger" fallacy. What PR and Ethos have in common is that they both aim to control the argument by only letting people see what they want them to see.

One example of a company attempting to enhance it's public image is Wal-Mart. Recently Wal-Mart announced plans to raise their wages well above minimum wage. According to the company wages will be increased by $2.00 an hour for new employees. They state that this change will bring the average pay of a Wal-Mart employee to above $13 an hour. This company is using a strategy that helps enhance ethos. The company is acting like they are making a personal sacrifice in order to provide a raise for employees. In reality, the company is not making a sacrifice, they are enhancing their image in a world that wants the cheapest product but fights for better conditions, easier jobs and more pay. After much backlash over the years over Wal-Mart's minimum wage pay, the company has lost many customers. By raising wages and acting as if they are making a sacrifice in order to treat their employees better they will gain back the loyal customer base that they one had back.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2014/02/11/raising-the-minimum-wage-would-be-good-for-wal-mart-and-america/