© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 1 Chapter 5 Solving the Ethics Problem Technical Communication, 9/e John M. Lannon PowerPoint prepared by Jimidene Murphy

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 2 Causes of Unethical Communication  Yielding to social pressure groupthink  Mistaking groupthink for teamwork  Allowing personal bias to influence judgment Question: Do you think “objective reporting” exists?

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 3 Understanding Abuse of Communication  Suppressing knowledge the public deserves to know  Nobody wants to admit he fouled things up  Exaggerating claims about technology  Falsifying data  Don’t manipulate data just to support an agenda

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 4 Understanding Abuse of Communication  Stealing or betraying confidential information  If the employer owns it, don’t divulge it!  Misusing electronic information  This is SO easy to do. Just because “everybody does it,” you don’t have to.  Withholding information people need to complete their jobs  Exploiting cultural differences

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 5 Rely on Critical Thinking Reasonable criteria for ethical judgment:  Obligations to various “stakeholders”  Ideals  Consequences (often conflict with ideals) Ethical dilemmas

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 6 Legal Guidelines (But Never Depend Solely on Them…)  Laws against deception  Libel law  Copyright law  Law against software theft  Law against electronic theft  Laws against deceptive or fraudulent advertising  Liability laws LAWS