Chapter 4

Business Communication And

The Ethical Context

Outline
A. Background to Ethical Context

Ethical Situations
Ethics As a Communication Issue
Ethics in Corporations An Historical View

B.

Communication on Ethical
Issues

Legal Issues

Key Areas for Ethical Communication

Ethics and Organizational Responsibility

C.

Influences on Personal Ethics

People
Culture
Philosophy
Law
Religion

Background to Ethical
Context
Ethical Situations
Ethics As a Communication Issue
Ethics in CorporationsA
Historical View

Background to Ethical
Context
Ethical Situations
AnEthical dilemmais a complex situation that
often involves an apparent mental conflict
betweenmoral imperatives, in which to obey one
would result in transgressing another. This is also
called anethical paradox.
Making ethical decisions is relatively easy when
all the facts of a situation are known.

Background to Ethical
Context
Ethics As a Communication
Issue
We communicate our values and beliefs to others
via verbal and nonverbal behavior.
We are defined in the eyes of others according to
the way we behave.
We also need to communicate to others the
importance and necessity of good ethics.
It follows that we have a responsibility to act in
ways that promote honesty and fairness to
maximize the personal worth of each person in the

Background to Ethical
Context

Ethics in Corporations A Historical

View
Companies have long fought the battle of corporate
corruption. Because corporations are run by people and no
human being is morally perfect, ethical issues are bound to
arise. How these issues are handled is the best indicator of
a corporations ethical commitment. Establish ethically
moral behavior in your corporation by taking the task
seriously.
When company executives behave unethically, that
behavior often ends up in the news. While most companies
have ethics policies, they don't necessarily enforce or even
follow them. By incorporating ethics into the very heart of
the business and reinforcing the idea of ethical behavior,
businesses can run efficiently, legally and ethically.

Communication and Ethical

Issues
Legal Issues
Key Areas for Ethical
Communication
Ethics and Organizational
Responsibility

Communication and Ethical

Issues
Legal Issues
Communicating ethically in the business arena
challenges you on several levels.
Legal issues have an impact on you personally and on
the organization to which you belong.
Legal issues in business communications become
more complex with the advancing improvement to
technology. Use of new devices increases efficiency
and allows for more productivity, but it also raises
legal concerns as a business worries about the
erosion of privilege, interception of data or storage of
communications.

Communication and Ethical

Issues
Key Areas for Ethical
Communication
Ethical treatment of a subject takes time, thought, and
preparation. As a manager. It is important for you to focus
on ethical communication in three key areas:
Personal Written and Spoken Messages
Cross-Cultural Messages
Advertising Messages

Communication and Ethical

Issues

Key Areas for Ethical

Communication
Personal Written and Spoken
Messages

Your messages, both written and spoken,

demonstrated not only the message, you intended
but also a message regarding your values and
integrity.
Use the guidelines to evaluate your purpose and
motives in each situations.
The guidelines are:
1.Message purpose
2.Research methods
3.Selection of material
4.Development of ideas
5.Use of language

Communication and Ethical

Issues
Key Areas for Ethical
Communication
Cross-Cultural Messages

Never before have so many people from different

cultures lived and worked together.
The world has become a global village, and the work
force reflects that diversity. Because we have such
different customs and ways of communicating, it is
natural that misunderstandings occur in the
workplace.
The cross-cultural ethical outline will help you assess
your ethicality in multicultural situations.
Cross-Cultural Ethical Guidelines:
1.Cultural context
2.Misunderstandings

Communication and Ethical

Issues
Key Areas for Ethical
Communication
Advertising Messages

It is ethically wrong to advertise products in ways

that confuse. Whether promoting a college jazz
event, a gateway weekend, or a line of products for a
multimillion dollar company, the rule for ethical
advertising is consistent:
Tell the truth, dont misrepresent , and dont
manipulate language to create a false impression.
Ethical Guidelines for Advertising:
1.Language
2.Graphics/print
3.Omission
4.Truth

Communication and Ethical

Issues
Ethics and Organizational
Responsibility

Business corporations exists for one reason: to make money .

Today, however, corporations are mindful of their corporate
social responsibility, or CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility),
also known as their "triple bottom line," which includes a
concern for profits, but also an ethical treatment of people
and the world in which we live. Proponents of CSR models say
that businesses are actually more profitable when they
employ high CSR standards, but that idea is still disputed by
some corporate and financial analysts.
Environment
Human Rights
Community Development
Employee Welfare

Influence on Personal Ethics

People
Culture
Philosophy
Law
Religion

Influence on Personal Ethics

People
Your family played a large part in shaping your
personal ethics.
Your family member and friends exert strong
influence on your ethics.
Teacher, especially when you were younger, may
have laid the foundation for ethical decisions.
Personal ethics is strongly influence people around
him including ,parent ,family ,teacher etc.

Influence on Personal Ethics

Culture

Culture is an integral part of every society.

It is a learned pattern of behavior and ways in which
a person lives his or her life.
Culture is essential for the existence of a society,
because it binds people together. In the explicit sense
of the term, culture constitutes the music, food, arts
and literature of a society. Culture is way of life.
A culture is a way of life that is based on beliefs and
values, such as art, food, dance, rituals, religion, etc

Influence on Personal Ethics

Philosophy
Theories of philosophy have long been concerned
with ethical and moral issues.
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental
problems concerning matters such as existence,
knowledge, truth, justice, beauty, validity, mind and
language.
A personal philosophy statement serves as an
introduction to you, focusing more on your beliefs
and values than on life experiences and biographical
data.

Influence on Personal Ethics

Law
Laws, some argue, represent the minimum standard
of behavior.
Law is a set of rules in society set by the
government in order to maintain control.
Law of state has much and more influence one
personal ethics.
Acting ethically mean following the law.

Influence on Personal Ethics

Religion
Religion is belief in super natural and divine power or
powers and how we relate to them. It comprises of
belief and practice.
Religious traditions give instructions to followers
about what's right and wrong. That is, belief systems
define what is or isn't ethical. In some religions,
unethical behavior is punished and ethical behavior is
rewarded. In other religions, teachings provide
guidelines for ethics, but leave latitude for the
believer to interpret what is ethical and what isn't.

Thanks!
For your support and
understanding