Communication Ethics

COMMUNICATION ETHICS
Kit Laserna

What is Communication Ethics?

COMMUNICATION

 theact or process of communicating; fact of
being communicated.

the imparting or
interchange of
thoughts, opinions, or
information by
speech, writing, or signs.

ETHICS
a system of moral principles

 deals with values relating to human
conduct, with respect to the rightness and
wrongness of certain actions and to the
goodness and badness of the motives and
ends of such actions.

 The principle governing communication, the
right and wrong aspects of it, the moral-
immoral dimensions relevant to
Interpersonal communication are called the
ethics of Interpersonal communication.

 Maintaining the correct balance between
the speaking and listening

 the legitimacy of fear and emotional
appeal

 degree of criticism and praise

A death or an overdose of either of the
factors could result in unfavorable
consequences.

 The principle of honesty on both sides
should be completely applied because any
amount of insincerity from either the listener
or the speaker would not be prudent.

FUNDAMENTALS OF ETHICAL
COMMUNICATION

 responsiblethinking
 decision making

 development of relationships and
communities
 Contexts
 Cultures
 Channels
 Media

UNETHICAL COMMUNICATION
 threatens the quality of all communication
and consequently the well-being of
individuals and the society.

PRINCIPLES OF
ETHICAL COMMUNICATION
 advocate
truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and
reason as essential to the integrity of
communication.
 endorse freedom of expression, diversity
of perspective, and tolerance of dissent to
achieve the informed and responsible
decision making fundamental to a civil
society.
 strive to understand and respect other
communicators before evaluating and
responding to their messages.

PRINCIPLES OF

 promote access to communication resources and
opportunities as necessary to fulfill human potential and
contribute to the well-being of
families, communities, and society.
 promote communication climates of caring and mutual
understanding that respect the unique needs and
characteristics of individual communicators.
 condemn communication that degrades individuals and
humanity through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and
violence, and through the expression of intolerance and
hatred.

PRINCIPLES OF

 Being committed to the courageous
expression of personal convictions in pursuit
of fairness and justice.
 advocate sharing information, opinions, and
feelings when facing significant choices
while also respecting privacy and
confidentiality.
 accept responsibility for the short- and long-
term consequences for our own
communication and expect the same of
others.

INTERPERSONAL
COMMUNICATION
ETHICS

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
 Interpersonalcommunication refers to
communication with another person.
This kind of communication is
subdivided into:
 dyadic communication
 public communication
 small-group communication.

FOUR PRINCIPLES OF
INTERPERSONAL
COMMUNICATION

Principles:
 Inescapable

 Irreversible

 Complicated

 Contextual
 Psychological context
 Relational context
 Situational context
 Environmental context
 Cultural context

FUNCTIONS OF
INTERPERSONAL
COMMUNICATION

 Gaining Information
 Building a Context of Understanding
 Establishing Identity
 Interpersonal Needs
 Inclusion
 Control
 Affection

DISTANCE

 Provides necessary space for each
communicative partner to contribute to the
relationship.
 Is interpersonal space that nourishes the
very thing that keeps persons together
interpersonally—relationship.
 Is an ethical responsibility, not a flaw or a
limitation.
 The importance of distance keeps us from
equating interpersonal communication with
ever more closeness.

INTERPERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
 Begins with each person’s commitment to
active care for the interpersonal
relationship, owned by neither and nurtured
with or without the support of the Other.
 Adheres to the insight of Emmanuel
Levinas, abandoning the expectation of
reciprocity for attentiveness to a call to
responsibility with or without the approval of
the other.

INTERPERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
 Involves:
 Caring for an interpersonal relationship. As
one seeks a path in life, interpersonal
relationship responsibility invites a balance
between distance and closeness in each
relationship, which defines the quality of our
interpersonal lives (Stewart, 2006).
 Sympathy
 Empathy

DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS
 the most frequented basis of our decision
making process, expressing a commitment
to the most basic principles.
 It is regarded as universal, always
applicable whatever the circumstance is.

o We follow these rules
since we think of them as
duties.

UTILITARIAN ETHICS
 focuses on the results
and whether or not it
would benefit the
majority.
 Utilitarianism focuses
on the consequences of
each action or decision.

VIRTUE ETHICS
 concerned with moral character and places
more weight or value on the dignity of an
individual and a humanity’s task of caring for
one another.
 It emphasizes character as opposed to duty
or consequence.

LYING
Deontological Utilitarian Virtue

SITUATIONAL OR CONTEXTUAL
ETHICS
 There is no absolute approach to
situations, each situation should be
addressed as different from each other.
 Every problem should be evaluated in its
particular context or situation.

UNETHICAL COMMUNICATION
IN THE
WORKPLACE

Type Example

Coercive Intimidation and threatening others.

Destructive Backstabbing and inappropriate jokes.

Deceptive Euphemism and lying.

Intrusive Eavesdropping, tapping telephones or
monitoring Internet use

Secretive Hoarding information and cover-ups

Manipulative-exploitative Acts which attempt
to gain compliance or control through
exploitation

FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION
 Freedom of Expression is a basic
human right, It refers to right to
freedom of expression, including the
freedom to seek, receive, and impart
information and opinions of any kind in
any form.
 Internationally, freedom of expression
is protected under the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the
International Covenant of Civil and
Political Rights.
 Used to seek answers and express
opinions

ETHICAL FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION
 Freedom of Expression must be
balanced against society’s need to
maintain order, protect general
welfare and public morality
 There should be limits to free
expression, but only when it involves
harm to others
 People should refrain from hate
speech, the public use of derogatory
and offensive language denigrating
others, particularly on the basis of
race, ethnicity, gender and/or sexual
orientation.

MASS COMMUNICATION
 Mass communication is used to
describe the various means by which
individuals and entities relay
information through mass media to
large segments of the population at the
same time.
 It is the mass production of messages
(message) or information that is
intended to reach a large amount of
people
 Uses mass media; such as
newspapers, TV, radio, books etc.

MASS COMMUNICATION
ETHICS
Ethics
 Truth
 Censorship
 Laws
 Privacy
 Appropriateness
 Sensitivity to other
cultures
 Respect dignity, privacy,
and well being of a
person

ETHIC CODES
 Ethic Codes (or Ethical Codes) are moral
guidelines that are used to help assist
people in making decisions, to tell the
difference between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’
and to utilize this understanding to make
ethical choices
 There are 3 levels;
 Code of ethics (social issues)
 Code of conduct (influence to behavior of
employees)
 Code of practice (professional
responsibility)

CORPORATE CODES OF ETHICS
 Honesty - Professional communicators are honest,
accurate and candid in all communications. This
practice encourages the free flow of important
information in the interest of the public

 Confidentiality
- Protecting the confidences
and privacy rights of employees and
customers is the duty of professional
communicators. Additionally, they must
abide by legal requirements for disclosing
information that affect the welfare of others

 Credit- Give due credit to those who you
get ideas from.

 Free Speech - Principles of free speech and
free ideas should be encouraged.

 Courtesy - Sensitivity to cultural values and
beliefs are crucial.

REFERENCES
 http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Interpersonal_communication
 http://www.pstcc.edu/facstaff/dking/interpr.htm
 http://www.abacon.com/commstudies/interpersonal/infunctions.html
 http://www.mpib-
berlin.mpg.de/en/institut/dok/full/keller/moralobl/kell_moralobl.pdf
 http://www.blurtit.com/q697023.html
 https://teach.lanecc.edu/kenz/llc/userpages.html?thispage=68
 http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/Praxis/Files/Fountaine.pdf
 http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/Praxis/Files/Fountaine.pdf
 http://www.uk.sagepub.com/upm-data/23227_Chapter_7.pdf
 http://www.ehow.com/facts_6726807_corporate-communication-
code-ethics.html

Communication Ethics

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Communication Ethics