Business Communication Ethics

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Business Communication Ethics
Includes material from Guffey text Ch 1
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Examples of Dishonest Business Communication

• Abflex
• claim that 3 minutes per day on the machine will
  produce a washboard stomach
• Publishers Clearing House
• use of large/small font sizes and tricky wording
  to encourage recipients to believe they had won a
  prize and/or buying magazines increased chance of
  prize.
• Beach Nut
• Sold baby apple juice with picture of apple on
  label, but no apples actually used in the
  vitamin-enhanced sugar water

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Discussion Communication Matters

• The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But The
  Truth
• Why do people lie?
• What did you find helpful about this article?

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Ethical Issue Exists When

• Violation of a behavioral norm
• Intent/motive
• Causing harm
• Physical, financial, psychological
• Individual, group, society
• Higher standard for defenseless

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Five Common Ethical Traps (from Guffey)

• The false-necessity trap
• (convincing yourself that no other choice
  exists)
• The doctrine-of-relative-filth trap
• (comparing your unethical behavior with someone
  elses even more unethical behavior)
• The rationalization trap
• (justifying unethical actions with excuses)
• The self-deception trap
• (euphemistic labeling, minimizing perception of
  harm)
• The ends-justify-the-means trap
• (using unethical methods to accomplish a
  desirable goal)

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Additional Ethical Traps(from Bandura, 1990)

• Displacement of responsibility or attribution of
  blame
• just following orders, he made me
• Diffusion of responsibility
• if everyone is responsible, no one is
• Dehumanization
• objectification, stereotyping (Arabs
  terrorists)

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Organizational Ethical Trap Darleys Law

• Performance measurement systems can incentivise
  unethical behavior
• Cheating/lying to protect or advance self
• Cheating/lying to protect or advance
  organization (cooking the books)
• Sub-optimization - Optimize metrics to detriment
  of overall organization

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Goals of Ethical Communication

• Telling the truth
• Half truths
• Exaggerations
• Deceptions
• Video Real Estate example

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Goals of Ethical Communication

• Labeling Opinions
• differentiating between facts (quantifiable
  and/or verifiable) and opinions (beliefs that are
  not verified)
• stating opinions as if they were facts is
  unethical

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Goals of Ethical Communication

• Being Objective
• recognize your own biases and keep them from
  distorting your message
• honest reporting means presenting the whole
  picture and relating all facts fairly
• Video Advertising example

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Goals of Ethical Communication

• Communicating Clearly
• use language comprehensible to average reader
• short sentences, simple words, clear organization
• Example performance goals

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Goals of Ethical Communication

• Giving Credit
• Referring to originators names within the text
• Using quotation marks
• Documenting sources
• Verbal credit for ideas from peers/subordinates

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Tools for Doing the Right Thing
Utilitarianism
Virtue
Rights
Justice
Caring
Common Good
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Rotary 4-Way Test

• Of the things we think, say or do
• Is it the TRUTH?
• Is it FAIR to all concerned?
• Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
• Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"

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Framework for Identifying and Resolving Ethical
Issues (source Dunn Bradstreet)

• Why is this bothering me?
• Am I genuinely perplexed?
• Am I afraid to do what I know is right?
• Who else matters?
• Implications for customers, peers shareholders?
• How does the problem appear from the other side?
• Is it my responsibility?
• What will happen if I do/ dont act?

• What is the ethical concern?
• Legal obligation?
• Honesty, fairness, promise-keeping, avoiding
  harm?
• Whom can give me advice?
• Supervisor, peers, HR, legal, ethics hot line?
• Am I being true to myself?
• Consistency with my values and personal
  commitments? With company values?
• Can I share my decision with family, colleagues,
  customers?
• Can I see my decision on the front page of the
  newspaper?

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Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara
College)

• What benefits and harms are produced ? which
  action best overall?
• What moral rights to the parties have ? which
  action respects those rights?
• Which action treats all equally?
• Which action advances the common good?
• Which action develops moral virtue?

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Ethical Communication Honesty/Integrity

• Being honest means more than not deceiving.
  For leaders within organizations, being honest
  means do not promise what you cant deliver, do
  not misrepresent, do not hide behind
  spin-doctored evasions, do not suppress
  obligations, do not evade accountability, do not
  accept that the survival of the fittest
  pressures of business release any of us from the
  responsibility to respect anothers dignity and
  humanity.
• Dalla Costa The Ethical Imperative 1998

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VIDEO
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The End