Understanding Intercultural Communication Second Edition Chapter 12 How Can We Become Ethical Intercultural Communicators? Stella Ting-Toomey & Leeva C. Chung OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS NOTES TO INSTRUCTOR: In these slides, we have included many of the chapter’s main concepts and we’ve also included some of our favorite exercises and quotations that we use while teaching our course. ~ Please edit and adapt these slides to fit your teaching style and your goals for each session. ~ Animations are provided so that you may progressively “click” through main points. ~ Live links have been attempted, but if the “Click Here” link on the slide does not work, the actual URL is typed into the notes pages and may be used to create a live link. ~ If this “Instructor Version” is posted, all notes in the “notes pages” will be visible. Therefore, be careful to post the “Student Slides” - which do not include instructor notes or animations - for student viewing. PowerPoint Slides Designed by Alex Flecky and Noorie Baig

TODAY’S MENU I. Intercultural Communication Ethics: Contemporary Issues II. Multiple Ethical Positions: Assessing Pros and Cons III. Becoming Ethical and Flexible Intercultural Communicators

I. Intercultural Communication Ethics: Contemporary Issues Ethics: set of principles of conduct that governs behavior of individuals and groups; a set of standards that uphold the community’s expectations concerning “right” and “wrong” conduct.

I. Intercultural Communication Ethics: Contemporary Issues Discussion Questions: From where did you learn your ethical position? Does it differ from that of the larger culture to which you belong? How?

I. Intercultural Communication Ethics: Contemporary Issues Global Standard Procedure and Local Justice Issues: Five-phase ethical decision-making model: Problem recognition Information search Construction of alternatives Decision making choice Implementation

I. Intercultural Communication Ethics: Contemporary Issues Media Activity: Click here to view the Kenyan tradition of ‘beading’ Discussion Questions: Can you apply the five-phase ethical decision- making model to this ethical dilemma? Can you brainstorm some creative alternative solutions for this dilemma? How would you go about approaching traditional Kenyans to explain your views of their practice? Link to video on “beading:” http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/05/11/kenya.children.beading/index.html?hpt=C1 BEADING: In "beading," a close family relative will approach a girl's parents with red Samburu beads and place the necklace around the girl's neck. "Effectively he has booked her," says Kulea, a member of the Samburu herself. "It is like a (temporary) engagement, and he can then have sex with her." Girls are also "beaded" as an early marriage promise by non-relatives.

I. Intercultural Communication Ethics: Contemporary Issues B. Corporate Responsibility and Local Customary Practice Ethical algorithm formula for local cultural hiring practices. Two conflict types: moral reasoning (a) related to and (b) not related to economic development in country. Two questions: (1) Is it possible to conduct business successfully without undertaking the practice? and (2) Is practice a violation of fundamental international human rights?

I. Intercultural Communication Ethics: Contemporary Issues C. Cultural Value Clash & Communication Preference “Universalistic” or “impartial” value orientation: believe a set of consistent rules should apply to all individuals, regardless of relationship types or circumstances. “Particularistic” value orientation: nature of relationship or situation guides decision.

II. Multiple Ethical Positions: Assessing Pros and Cons Three ethical positions used to assess ethical violations in diverse cultures: A. Ethical Absolutism Position B. Ethical Relativism Position C. Ethical Universalism Position

II. Multiple Ethical Positions: Assessing Pros and Cons A. Ethical Absolutism Position Emphasizes principles of right and wrong (good and bad behavior) in accordance with a set of assumed universally fixed standards regardless of cultural differences. Universality: one set of consistent standards guides behavior on a global level, and cultural context is minimized. The standards, however, are often reflective of dominant or power-holder cultural group lens.

II. Multiple Ethical Positions: Assessing Pros and Cons B. Ethical Relativism Position Emphasizes the importance of understanding cultural context and its underlying traditions, beliefs, and value patterns in judging conduct. Relativists emphasize that ethical/unethical practices should be understood from cultural insiders’ viewpoint.

II. Multiple Ethical Positions: Assessing Pros and Cons C. Ethical Universalism Position Emphasizes importance of deriving inclusive universal ethical standards and then placing ethical judgments against these derived, all- encompassing standards. Judgments require knowledge about underlying similarities across cultures and about the unique features of a culture and involve collaborative dialog, open attitudes, and hard work from all cultural/ethnic and marginalized groups and voices.

II. Multiple Ethical Positions: Assessing Pros and Cons Ethical Absolutism Ethical Relativism Ethical Universalism Pros Fixed standards for all practices Takes role of culture seriously Involves collaborative dialog, open attitudes Cons Culturally imposed perspective by dominant culture, and nondominant cultures are marginalized. Encourages too much cultural flexibility, may perpetuate intolerable cultural practices by being too culturally accepting Requires hard work from all; most using this position are “imposed ethics,” relying heavily on Eurocentric moral philosophies

II. Multiple Ethical Positions: Assessing Pros and Cons D. Meta-Ethics Contextualism Position: An Alternative 4th Position: Meta-ethics: ethical way of thinking that transcends particular ideologies; the application of ethics is understood only through systematic analysis of the multiple layers of the ethical dilemma Strength: emphasizes fact-finding and layered interpretations, takes into serious consideration importance of culture, context, persons, etc. Problem: time-consuming approach

III. Becoming Ethical and Flexible Intercultural Communicators A meta-ethical decision is a discovery process—into our own values, inconsistencies—and prompts us to gather multiple-level information. Can you think of creative solutions other than the ones investigated? Is there a way to prevent similar ethical dilemmas or pressures from arising in the future in this culture?

III. Becoming Ethical and Flexible Intercultural Communicators B. Becoming Flexible: Final Passport Do-Ables Practice parallel thinking. Responsibility for peace lies with each of us—starts with inner peace. Dynamic flexibility: integrating knowledge, open-minded attitude, culture-sensitive skills, and communicating ethically with culturally dissimilar others.

Final Parting Thoughts… An intercultural life is a creative life that demands both playfulness and mindfulness in transforming one’s intercultural journey into a discovery process. ~ Stella Ting-Toomey & Leeva Chung