IS

CCM150 Chapter 8 – Ethical Communication Vocabulary

Ethics: Foundations and Scope

  • Ethics = study of principles governing proper conduct & action; concerned with moral quality—distinguishing right vs. wrong.
  • Beyond Laws: Laws state minimum acceptable conduct; ethics offers broader guidance for responsible professional behaviour.
  • Avoiding Harm: Ethical communication prevents technical errors that could cause death, injury, environmental damage, or financial loss.
  • Moral Responsibility of Communicators: Technical communicators are accountable for accuracy, clarity, and completeness of information used in high-stakes decisions.

Recognizing Ethical Problems

  • Definition: Arises when professional function conflicts with other roles or with the rights of others.
  • Conflict of Interest: Specific ethical problem where professional loyalty clashes with outside interests, undermining credibility.
  • Example: A health-care writer who owns drug-company stock may unconsciously bias a manual.

Step-by-Step Ethical Decision-Making

  1. Assess the situation
    • Understand context, constraints, stakeholders.
    • Identify communication goals.
    • Predict/control audience reactions.
    • Anticipate & manage opportunities/threats.
  2. Ask ethical questions (see Table 8.1 in text).
  3. Consider moral obligations to:
    • Yourself, family & friends, clients, colleagues, firm, community, environment.
    • Moral problems emerge when duties to these groups conflict.
  4. Apply ethical principles (rights, utility, virtue) to reach rational resolution applicable across cultures.

Major Ethical Theories & Principles

  • Rights Ethics
    • Moral judgment based on fundamental rights (life, property, privacy, etc.).
    • Ethical = respecting rights; unethical = violating rights.
  • Utilitarian Ethics
    • Ethical action = greatest happiness for greatest number.
    • Unethical action = produces more pain than pleasure for affected parties.
  • Virtue Ethics
    • Focus on character; cultivate virtues, avoid vices.
    • Golden Mean: desirable middle ground between excess & deficiency (e.g., courage vs. rashness/cowardice).
  • Golden Rule
    • Universal norm: treat others as you would like to be treated.
    • Illustrates cross-cultural commonality despite differing applications.

Intercultural Ethics

  • Different Laws/Regulations: Firms must not exploit weaker foreign laws.
  • Sex Discrimination: Varies by country; professionals must uphold equitable treatment regardless.
  • Social Values: Tailor documents to local mores while maintaining ethical standards.

Corporate & Professional Codes of Ethics

  • Many organizations codify expected conduct; critical in high-risk fields (e.g., accounting firms after Arthur Andersen scandal).
  • Codes address conflicts of interest, disclosure, confidentiality, fair representation, etc.

Communicating Ethically: Content, Language, Visuals, Physical Form

  • Ethical lapses can trigger legal liability, brand damage, or patient harm.

Quality Information

  • Definition: Useful, objective, secure—from audience’s perspective.
  • Usefulness
    • Must support decision-making.
    • "Plain Sight/Plain Language" rules: clarity, accessibility (see Table 8.2).
  • Objectivity
    • Avoid: false info, misleading implications, omissions, bias.
    • False info may be intentional or ignorant (fabricated data, falsified records) → severe penalties.
    • Omission: withholding info—sometimes ethically gray.
    • Misleading: false implication, false consensus, exaggeration.
    • Biased info often stems from conflicts of interest.
  • Security: Protect documents from unauthorized alteration or leakage.

Labeling, Certification & Greenwashing

  • Greenwashing: Misleading public into believing a firm/product is eco-friendly.
    • Relies on vague, deceptive labels such as "all-natural", "naturally occurring", "natural ingredients".

Intellectual Property: Copyright & Plagiarism

  • Intellectual Property Theft: Using ideas, inventions, or expressions without credit or compensation (covers trade secrets, software, movies, etc.).
  • Academic Plagiarism—Avoidance Techniques
    • Quote verbatim → cite source & page; use quotes/indent.
    • Paraphrase → cite source & page.
    • Tables/figures → cite source.
    • Ideas/theories → cite source.
  • Professional Complexity
    • Reusing company docs for efficiency.
    • Boilerplates & templates.
    • Collaborative writing—unclear attribution.
    • Need to credit undocumented team ideas.
    • Copyright infringement & fair-use limits.

Trademark, Warranty & Liability

  • Trademarks
    • Distinctive symbol/word/phrase identifying goods or services.
    • Claim ownership: use \text{™}; registered: \text{®} (US PTO grants exclusive use).
  • Warranties
    • Promise to stand behind product.
    • Express: oral/written statement of remedy.
    • Implied: automatic by state law—product will perform as expected.
  • Liability
    • Legal responsibility for consequences; defective instructions can expose firm to lawsuits.

Confidentiality & Privacy

  • Confidentiality: Restricting access to personal/proprietary info; breach occurs if data is shared without authorization.
  • Privacy: Freedom from intrusion; maintain by avoiding:
    • Intrusion on private life (e.g., photographing intimate moment).
    • Publicizing embarrassing facts (e.g., broadcasting patient condition).
    • Presenting false picture (e.g., associating innocent bystander with crime).
    • Using person’s likeness without permission.

Visual Ethics

  • Disguising Document Type: Marketing disguised as education; sales letters posing as objective newsletters.
  • Hiding Mandatory Info: Burying required disclosures in hard-to-find sections.
  • Graph Manipulation
    • Line graphs: alter scale or axis lengths to exaggerate/diminish trends.
    • Pie charts: omit labels; 3-D effects distort slice perception.
    • Pictographs: misuse icon size or ratio; unclear keys.
  • Photo Doctoring: Exaggerating product features, deleting flaws; unethical & potentially illegal.

Discriminatory Language & Inclusive Communication

  • Moral duty to use neutral, specific, unbiased language that does not divide or demean.
  • Discrimination can impact all demographics; vigilant editing required.

Exceptional Populations & Disability Awareness

  • Disability: Physical/mental impairment substantially limiting life activities.
    • Laws improved employment & portrayal, yet communication barriers persist.
  • Exceptional Populations: Encompasses individuals at either end of physical, mental, behavioural spectrum (see Table 8.3).
  • Guidelines: person-first language, avoid pity, emphasize abilities.

Sex Discrimination & Sexist Language

  • Stereotype: Oversimplified image applying to all group members.
  • Sexist Language
    • Demeans, ignores, or stereotypes a sex.
    • Often unintentional; requires deliberate revision.
    • Examples to avoid: generic "he", job titles with masculine markers ("fireman" → "firefighter").

Age Discrimination

  • Avoid patronizing behaviours (e.g., speaking louder/slower to older adults unless asked).
  • Do not assume cognitive decline; maintain respectful, clear, jargon-free language.

Practical Tips for Ethical Communication

  • Double-check data accuracy; cite all sources.
  • Reveal conflicts of interest; recuse if necessary.
  • Use reader-centred design: headings, summaries, plain language.
  • Ensure visuals have honest scales, labels, and sources.
  • Secure confidential files; follow HIPAA, GDPR, or relevant regulations.
  • Apply Golden Rule test before publishing: "Would I find this fair if roles were reversed?"