© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 1 Chapter 4 Weighing the Ethical Issues Technical Communication, 12 th Edition John M. Lannon Laura Gurak

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 2 Know the Major Causes of Unethical Behavior Yielding to Social Pressure: Company expects your loyalty to ignore unethical communication Mistaking Groupthink for Teamwork: Group members feel pressured to not voice questions, criticisms, or bad news by other members of the team

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 3 Understanding Abuse of Communication  Suppressing knowledge the public needs  Hiding conflicts of interest  Exaggerating claims about technology  Falsifying or fabricating data (continued on next slide)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 4 Understanding Abuse of Communication  Using visuals that conceal the truth  Stealing or divulging proprietary information  Misusing electronic information  Withholding information people need for their jobs  Exploiting cultural differences

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 5 Rely on Critical Thinking Reasonable criteria for ethical judgment:  Obligations  To yourself, your customers and clients, your company, your coworkers, the community, and society  Ideals  Consequences

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 6 Legal Guidelines (But Never Depend Solely on Them…)  Laws against deception  Laws against libel  Laws protecting employee privacy  Copyright law  Law against software theft (continued on next slide)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 7 Legal Guidelines (But Never Depend Solely on Them…)  Law against electronic theft  Laws against stealing or revealing trade secrets  Laws against fraudulent, deceptive or misleading advertising  Liability laws

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 8 Plagiarism Plagiarism is when one represents the words, ideas, or perspectives of others as their own.  It is a serious breach of ethics.  Whether intentional or not, plagiarism destroys reputations and can instigate legal action.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 9 Decide Where and How to Draw the Line If your company asks you to do something unethical you have two choices  Resign  Go Public (Whistle-blow)  Whistle-blowers often face career disaster, including lost jobs, black listing, or ostracism.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 10 Any questions? For additional help reviewing this chapter, please visit the Companion Website for your text at