COM300 Assignment 1-3 Grade breakdown
Content (40% 28 points)
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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:
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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
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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
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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
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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
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□ 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
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□ 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
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□ 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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