Ethics in a work place

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Ethics in Workplace Communications

Use the Internet to research codes of ethics from your professional area of interest. Describe one thoroughly in your paper. Provide an introduction with a thesis, and a conclusion. Clearly address:

  • What are some crucial codes of ethics from your professional area of interest?
  • Describe an instance where a worker has violated one of the codes, providing a link to a description of the case (newspaper article, online news source, etc.) in your list of references. Cite and reference this using APA format.
  • Why is it important to maintain integrity at your chosen type of workplace?
  • How would you explain the ethical violation to the worker? What strategies on page 78 of Strategies for Technical Communication in the Workplace would be useful?

Write a paper with a minimum of two full pages, and maximum of three pages. It should be double-spaced with a cover page and reference page, which are not included in the page requirement. Use APA formatting for the entire paper. Cite any internet sources as well as any print or online journal articles you use as support. Appropriate sources include scholarly journal articles, books, credible websites, etc. Carefully evaluate .com sites for bias! Papers should be written using APA Style® format, including proper citation of sources.

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COM300 Assignment 1-3 Grade breakdown Content (40% 28 points) • • • • • Sufficient support for thesis Accuracy in characterizing theory, issues, or facts related to readings Answers or responds to all questions in assignment Provides evidence of personal engagement, i.e., examples from personal practice Analysis, discussions and conclusions were explicitly linked to readings, examples, and facts. Development (20% 14 points) • Writing is clear, accurate, and persuasive • Assignment was well developed • Content is logically organized • Body’s development supports thesis and builds on each previous section • Demonstrates critical thinking Organization and Usage (20% 14 points) • Follows specified format and meets minimum length requirements • Clear thesis statement in introduction in first paragraph • Conclusion restates thesis and summarizes paper Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics (10% 7 points) • Editorial competence (punctuation, spelling, syntax, and grammar) • APA format Message (10% 7 points) • Targets appropriate audience • Appropriate composition of message Ethics, Technology, and Communication Ethical questions often revolve around topics related to technology. For example, a new computer chip that secretly collects personal information about a person’s Websurfing habits presents a privacy dilemma. Should people be allowed to choose whether to have this information collected? Some would say yes, but in the United States, few laws address personal privacy at this level. So the decision becomes less a legal one than an ethical one. The communication about this product (a press release announcing it or a user’s manual that accompanies the computer) plays a central role in this ethical dilemma. Should the technical writer include this information, exclude it altogether, or deemphasize it by using a small font? Typical ethical dilemmas (Gurak 67) Gurak, Laura J., John Lannon. Strategies for Technical Communication in the Workplace, MLA Update Edition, 3rd Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 08/2016. VitalBook file. The citation provided is a guideline. Please check each citation for accuracy before use. Types of Ethical Choices Virtually all areas of science and technology are involved in issues of communication and ethics. Here are a few examples: • • • Medical technologies, such as genetic testing, raise questions about personal privacy and medical insurance. Banking and retail operations, which increasingly collect personal information on consumers, raise concerns about how this information is used and who has access to it. Environmental pollutants, such as pesticides or smokestack output, raise serious questions about the long-term health of the planet. In your own communication, you will often face ethical decisions—about how much information to include, how much to leave out, how to word an issue, or how to shape the information for your audience. Note how the memo from David Michem in Figure 4.1 sounds completely wellreasoned and persuasive. An employee reading the memo, especially one with an existing medical condition, might go straight to the company Web site and sign up for a Medical History Card. But in his desire to make the card program a success, Michem has provided Figure 4.1 An unethical document Note the misleading omission of information about employee confidentiality. employees with no information about confidentiality in his memo. Will the company have access to personal and medical information when employees sign up via the Andrews and McNeel Web site? Will the information be password-protected? Will third parties have access to this information? By omitting this information from the memo, Michem has been misleading, as reasonable as his memo may sound. In the end, communication is never neutral but instead always carries some type of consequence. (Gurak 67-68) Gurak, Laura J., John Lannon. Strategies for Technical Communication in the Workplace, MLA Update Edition, 3rd Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 08/2016. VitalBook file. The citation provided is a guideline. Please check each citation for accuracy before use. How Workplace Pressures Affect Ethical Values Usually, ethical rules are broken not because people are dishonest but because they feel pressure to bend or break the rules. More than 50 percent of managers surveyed nationwide feel “pressure to compromise personal ethics for company goals” (Golen et al. 75). To save face, escape blame, or get ahead, anyone might feel obliged to say what other people want to hear or to suppress or downplay bad news. Figure 4.2 depicts how workplace pressures to “succeed at any cost” can influence ethical values. Ethics are often compromised by outside pressure Despite outside pressures, however, everyone must maintain ethical standards at all times on the job. Unethical decisions can harm a company’s reputation and bottom line. More importantly, unethical decisions can compromise the safety and welfare of workers and customers. When an instruction manual is written and vital safety information is purposely omitted to save on the cost of printing, for example, people can be injured. Why ethics matter Figure 4.2 How workplace pressures can influence ethical values (Gurak 69) Gurak, Laura J., John Lannon. Strategies for Technical Communication in the Workplace, MLA Update Edition, 3rd Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 08/2016. VitalBook file. The citation provided is a guideline. Please check each citation for accuracy before use. Recognizing and Avoiding Ethical Abuses Following are some of the major examples of unethical communication in the workplace. Types of ethical abuses • • • • • • Plagiarizing the work of others. Technical communicators may feel pressure from upper management to produce results quickly and may be tempted to cut corners. Workplace plagiarism occurs when a person claims the work of someone else as one’s own, without citing or even mentioning the original source. Plagiarism may also happen in collaborative work, as when a team leader claims all the credit for the work of team members. Falsifying or fabricating information. Outside pressure to produce results that others seek may tempt people to distort information. For example, research data might be manipulated or invented by a scientist seeking grant money. Developments in fields such as biotechnology often occur too rapidly to allow for adequate peer review of articles before they are published, thereby leading to the release of information that isn’t verifiably correct (“Misconduct Scandal” 2). Suppressing or downplaying information. Withholding information is just as unethical as supplying false information. For example, a report author may purposely fail to mention an important study that contradicts what he or she wants to prove. Or a company may fail to inform the public about a safety hazard in one of its products—or, if the hazard is revealed, may downplay its importance. Exaggerating claims. Organizations that have a stake in a particular technology (e.g., bioengineered foods) may be especially tempted to exaggerate its benefits, potential, or safety and to downplay its risks. If your organization depends on outside funding (e.g., defense or space industry), you might find yourself pressured to make unrealistic promises. Using visual images that conceal the truth. Pictures are generally more powerful than words and can easily distort the real meaning of a message through manipulation. For example, an individual might create a pie chart that paints a more optimistic picture than the data indicate by distorting the sizes of the pie pieces. Or a TV commercial for a prescription drug may list its drastic side effects while showing images of smiling, healthy people, thus downplaying the dangers. Photo editing software makes it especially easy to manipulate images. Stealing or divulging proprietary information. Information that originates in a specific company is the exclusive intellectual property of that company. Proprietary information includes company records, product formulas, test and experiment results, surveys • • financed by clients, market research, plans, specifications, and minutes of meetings (Lavin 5). In theory, such information is legally protected, but it remains vulnerable to sabotage, theft, or leaks to the press. Fierce competition among rival companies for the very latest intelligence gives rise to theft or unethical divulging of such information. Misusing electronic information. Ever-increasing amounts of personal information are stored in databases (by schools, governments, credit card companies, insurance companies, pharmacies), and all employers, of course, keep data about their employees. How we combine, use, and share all of this electronic information raises questions about privacy. If you are designing a Web site, for example, should you create a page that asks customers for their name, address, and other personal information without providing information about how your company intends to use that information? Most Web sites have links to privacy policies that allow customers to learn more about the company’s approach to privacy. The lack of such a policy could be considered an ethical breach. Exploiting cultural differences. Both individuals and organizations can exploit the vulnerabilities of various cultural groups through manipulation or deception. For instance, one employee of a company might exploit another’s English-language limitations for personal gain. So too, an organization might exploit clients for whom the culture places greater emphasis on interpersonal trust than on lawyers or legal wording. To avoid ethical abuses, follow the guidelines provided by professional organizations in your field (e.g., see the American Medical Writers Association Code of Ethics in Figure 4.3), and use the Strategies on page 72. Figure 4.3 A code of ethics from a professional organization Source: American Medical Writers Association Strategies for Avoiding Ethical Abuses • • • • • • • Always cite your sources if the information or data are not your own. For specific advice on avoiding plagiarism and citing outside sources, see Appendix A. Give the audience everything it needs to know. To accurately see things as you do, people need more than just a partial view. Don’t bury readers in needless details, but do make sure they get all the facts and get them straight. Give people a clear understanding of what the information means. Even when all the facts are known, they can be misinterpreted. Try to ensure that readers understand the facts as you do. If you are not certain about your own understanding, say so. Never manipulate information or data in your writing or in your visuals. If you encounter data that contradict what you want to say, include and interpret those data honestly. Likewise, do not make your case via exaggeration, understatement, sugarcoating, or any other distortion or omission. Use common sense or follow your company’s confidentiality guidelines. If you suspect that information may be confidential, assume that it is or ask the appropriate personnel to clarify. Do not exploit cultural inequalities or manipulate international readers. Try to be fair. When producing a document for an international audience, be especially careful about using simple and honest language and visuals. Constantly ask yourself, “Would I stand behind what I have created if I were held publicly accountable for it?” If you would not, then chances are what you have written is unethical to some degree. It may be not entirely honest, fair, confidential, or safe. Checklist for Ethical Communication MyWritingLab™ Use this checklist for any document you prepare or for which you are responsible. Accuracy • • • □ Have I explored all sides of the issue and all possible alternatives? □ Do I provide enough information and interpretation for recipients to understand the facts as I know them? □ Do I avoid exaggeration, understatement, sugarcoating, or any distortion or omission that leaves recipients at a disadvantage? Honesty • • • • • • □ Do I make a clear distinction between what is certain and what is probable? □ Are my information sources valid, reliable, and relatively unbiased? □ Do I actually believe what I’m saying instead of advancing some hidden agenda? □ Would I still advocate this position if I were held publicly accountable for it? □ Do I inform people of the consequences or risks (as I am able to predict) of what I am advocating? □ Do I give candid feedback or criticism, if it is warranted? Fairness • • • • □ Am I reasonably sure this document will not harm innocent persons or damage their reputations? □ Am I respecting all legitimate rights to privacy and confidentiality? □ Am I distributing copies of this document to every person who has the right to know about it? □ Do I credit all contributors and sources of ideas and information? Sources: Brownell and Fitzgerald (1992), p. 18; Bryan (1992), p. 87; Johannesen (1983), pp. 21– 22; Larson (1995), p. 39; Unger (1982), pp. 39–46; Yoos (1979), pp. 50–55. (Gurak 69-73) Gurak, Laura J., John Lannon. Strategies for Technical Communication in the Workplace, MLA Update Edition, 3rd Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 08/2016. VitalBook file. The citation provided is a guideline. Please check each citation for accuracy before use.
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Running head: ETHICS IN WORKPLACE COMMUNICATIONS

Ethics in Workplace Communications
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ETHICS IN WORKPLACE COMMUNICATIONS

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Introduction
Effective communication is a key component to the success of any organization and
highly depends on the ethical behavior of all the stakeholders demonstrated through values such
as integrity, honesty, respect, dignity and fairness. This paper sheds more light of how significant
ethics in workplace communication is critical in computer engineering field and the impacts it
has on the quality of life of system users. Software engineering professionals design and develop
various systems that are used by the public and therefore, carry a huge obligation (Runeson et al.,
2012).
Crucial Codes of Ethics in Computer Engineering
Computer engineering professionals who develop these systems are therefore expected to adhere
to a set code of conduct to ensure their systems meet the required standards and are beneficial to
the users. Some of the critical codes of ethics are categorized as below based on their impact:
I.

Public Responsibility Principle
Software engineers should execute their tasks by acting consistently to the interest of the

public. This means that they are required to accept responsib...


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